ANALYSIS OF DIRECT TENSILE TEST OF DIFFERENT GRADES OF CONCRETE AND ITS RELEVANCE IN DETERMINING THE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE WITH DIFFERENT BRANDS OF CEMENT

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the direct tensile test of concrete and its relevance in determining the strength of concrete. The aim was to compare the direct tensile strength of concrete with the indirect methods of splitting and flexural tests. The methodology involved casting and testing 100 × 100 × 500 mm concrete specimens with special steel claws at both ends to apply uniaxial tensile stress. The specimens were also tested for compressive, splitting and flexural strengths at 28 days. The results showed that the direct tensile strength of concrete was lower than the splitting and flexural strengths, and that the stress-strain behaviour of concrete under direct tension was different from that under compression. The conclusion was that the direct tensile test is a more accurate and reliable method to measure the tensile strength of concrete than the indirect methods. The contribution to knowledge was that the study provided a new procedure and test setup for direct tensile testing of concrete, which can be used for assessing the performance and durability of concrete structures. The recommendations were to further investigate the effects of different parameters such as concrete mix, curing conditions, loading rate and specimen size on the direct tensile strength of concrete.