The Brazilian test is widely used to measure the indirect tensile strength of rocks and con- crete. In this study, a Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system is incorporated during the split tensile test to capture and characterize the complex full…
The Brazilian test is widely used to measure the indirect tensile strength of rocks and con- crete. In this study, a Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system is incorporated during the split tensile test to capture and characterize the complex full field deformation, crack nucleation and propagation in steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) specimens, along with the comparison and correlation with the data computed through strain gauges on both faces of the specimen. The displacement and in- plane strain fields are evaluated across the full surface of the specimens using DIC. In the standard practice of Brazilian tests, the computation of matrix failure or load responsible for crack initiation in the concrete matrix is difficult. Using DIC it is possible to capture the exact location of crack initiation and the load corresponding to the crack initiation. Due to the difficulty of performing a direct uniaxial tensile test, Brazilian tests are used to assess the indirect tensile strength of concrete. The indirect tensile strength is typically calculated based on the assumption that the fracture failure occurs at the point of the maximum tensile stress i.e., at the center of this specimen. To make sure that the width of the loading contact and the stability of the specimen during a test, this research introduces the T-shape loading mechanism along with the hinge arrangement above the specimen. The results show the test’s success with no instability of the specimen during the test and crack propagation at the center of the specimen.