Fracture properties of fibrous self compacting concrete using three-point bend test and wedge splitting test methods

Abstract

PurposeFracture properties of concrete are mainly influenced by specimen shape, size and type of testing method. The study aims to identify the characteristic divergence in fracture – evaluating testing methods, i.e. three-point bend test and wedge splitting test for fibrous self-compacting concrete.Design/methodology/approachA total of nine mixes with three different coarse aggregate sizes (20, 16 and 12.5mm) and three coarse to fine aggregate quantities (40–60, 45–55 and 50–50) were considered to examine the influence of materials on fracture parameters of fibrous self-compacting concrete. For three-point bend test, size effect method was considered to analyze the fracture properties.FindingsThe experimental investigation revealed that fracture energy calculated from wedge splitting test was reasonably on higher side for maximum coarse aggregate-based specimens for all coarse to fine aggregate quantities, while for the size effect method, fracture energy value was maximum for least coarse aggregate sized specimens.Originality/valueThe fracture properties of fibrous self-compacting concrete obtained from wedge splitting test method was higher than the size effect method. This is due to the consideration of only peak load for determining the fracture properties in size effect method analysis.