Understanding the Tensile Properties of Concrete

6

Dynamic test devices for analyzing the tensile properties of concrete

P. Forquin,     University of Lorraine, France

W. Riedel,     Ernst Mach Institut, Germany

J. Weerheijm,     TNO and Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

Abstract:

Owing to their low tensile failure strain, concrete is a difficult material to test under dynamic tensile loading. Indeed, conventional testing apparatuses such as high-speed hydraulic presses or Split Hopkinson Bar facilities rely on a mechanical balance of the specimen implying a short round-trip time in the specimen in comparison with the loading time to failure and consequently loading-rates below few hundreds of GPa/s. Above this threshold the specimen is clearly unbalanced and these methods ...