E.T.S.I. Caminos, 1 Introduction The splitting test, also known as the Brazilian test, is widely used to evaluate the tensile strength of concrete. Because of its simplicity, its use has extended to other materials such as rocks and ceramics. In…
E.T.S.I. Caminos, 1 Introduction The splitting test, also known as the Brazilian test, is widely used to evaluate the tensile strength of concrete. Because of its simplicity, its use has extended to other materials such as rocks and ceramics. In this test, a cylindrical or prismatic specimen is compressed along two diametrically- opposed generators, as shown schematically in Fig. la. To prevent multiple cracking and crushing at the loading points, the load is distributed by two bearing strips, whose width veries according to the various standards. For relatively narrow strips, a nearly uniform tensile stress along the symmetrical plane of the specimen is achieved (Fig. 1 b). Accordingly, the expected rupture mode is the split of the specimen in two across the plane of loading (Fig. le). The maximum (elastic) tensile stress value at failure gives a useful estimate of the tensile strength. Although the rupture into two halves is the expected failure mode, other rupture modes have been observed. Hannant, Buckey and Croft (1973), Bazant, Kazemi, Hasegawa and Mazars (1991), and Castro Montero, Jia and Shah ( 1995), detected the development, in the Brazilian test of concrete and mortar specimens of several sizes, of diagonal cracks in the zone near the applied load. In these cases the specimens break through wedge formation and plastic slip, as sketched in Fig. 2a.