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Q Is
Q.
I there
th
any information
i f
ti on the
th significance
i ifi
off diff
differentt types
t
off breaks
b
k when
h cylinders
li d
are tested
t t d
for compressive strength? I'm particularly interested in what are considered "good" break types
versus "bad" break types. For instance, if the strength is lower than expected, can the break
type help to indicate whether the low strength was caused by a testing problem rather than a
problem with the concrete?
A. Figure 1, from ASTM C 39-03, "Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Cylindrical
Concrete Specimens,
Specimens " shows five different types of fracture.
fracture This standard requires that reports
include the type of fracture "if other than the usual cone."
A cone failure results when friction at the platens of the testing machine restrains
lateral expansion of the concrete as the vertical compressive force is applied. This
restraint confines the concrete near the platens and results in two relatively
undamaged cones when the cylinder is tested to fracture. If the friction were
eliminated, the cylinder would expand more laterally and exhibit a splitting failure
similar to that shown in Fig.
Fig l(e).
l(e) Such vertical splitting has been observed in
numerous tests on high-strength specimens made of mortar or neat cement
paste, but the effect is less common in ordinary concrete when coarse aggregate
is present (Neville, A., Properties of Concrete, 4th Ed., Prentice Hall, 1995).