PRC-II

LAB MANUAL

JOB NO .5
DETERMINATION OF SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH

Standard
ASTM C 496

Significance
It is used in design of light weight concrete and to evaluate shear resistance of concrete. It
is also used to determine the development length of reinforcement.
1. Splitting tensile strength is generally greater than the direct tensile strength and lower
than the flexural strength (modulus of rupture).
2. Splitting tensile strength is used in the design of structural light weight concrete
members to evaluate the shear resistance provided by concrete and to determine the
development length of the reinforcement.

Apparatus
1. Test machine
2. Cylindrical specimen

Related theory
Split tensile strength
Splitting tensile strength test on concrete cylinder is a method to determine the tensile
strength of concrete. The concrete is very weak in tension due to its brittle nature and is
not expected to resist the direct tension. The concrete develops cracks when subjected
to tensile forces.

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Size Of The Specimen

The specimen is a cylinder of 150mm diameter and 300mm height. Determine the
diameter to the nearest 0.25mm by averaging the three diameters. Determine the length to
the nearest 2mm by averaging at least two lengths. Split

Size Of Bearing Strips

According to ASTM specifications, the bearing strips should be 3.2mm thick and 25mm
wide. There is no restriction on their length. Splitting Tensile Strength.
Rate Of Loading
The rate of loading should be such that a stress of 0.7 1.4 MPa/min is produced.

Procedure
This test method consists of applying a diametrical force along the length of a cylindrical
concrete at a rate that is within a prescribed range until failure. This loading induces
tensile stresses on the plane containing the applied load and relatively high compressive
stresses in the area immediately around the applied load. Although we are applying a
compressive load but due to Poissons effect, tension is produced and the specimen fails
in tension. Tensile failure occurs rather than compressive failure because the areas of load
application are in a state of triaxial compression, thereby allowing them to withstand
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LAB MANUAL

much higher compressive stresses than would be indicated by a uniaxial compressive

strength test result. Thin, plywood bearing strips are used to distribute the load applied
along the length of the cylinder.The maximum load sustained by the specimen is divided
by appropriate geometrical factors to obtain the splitting tensile strength. Splitting

Observation And Calculation

Split tensile strength is calculated by

T= 2 P /(3.14ld)

where:
T = Tensile splitting strength
P = maximum applied load indicated by the testing machine

L= Length (in. or mm)

d = diameter, (in. or mm)

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LAB MANUAL

Comments

GROUP C-1-D
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