Wedge splitting test

Xiao, J., Schneider, H., Donnecke, C., Konig, G. (2004) Wedge splitting test on fracture behaviour of ultra high strength concrete, Construction and Building Materials, 18 359-65. 

Figure 2 The wedge-splitting test specimen and configuration for fracture measurements. (From Ref. 24.)...

Figure 3 Schematic load-displacement curves for refractories in the wedge-splitting test.

A particularly interesting and quite practical approach to utilize the above results from the wedge-splitting test is to assess the ratio of the area under the stable fracture curve from the initial loading point to the maximum, referred to as Gc above, and the total area of the stable load-displacement curve that yields the quantity referred to above as Gp- The ratio of the two quantities may be used to define a toughness, ductility, or flexibility ratio as... 

In many fracture tests, a splitting method was employed. Figures 8 to 10 schematically indicate three of the arrangements used. In Fig. 8, a slice, h cm thick, is separated from the rest of the solid by pushing in a wedge which may be as thin as 0.01 cm but may also be more robust and have one of various shapes also the part broken off may be as thick as the remainder. In Fig. 9, a plate, 2h cm thick and w cm wide, is split in the middle to the depth c cm, and the force /required to extend the fissure is measured. Figure 10 shows peeling a ribbon, h cm thick, is peeled off the main body of an identical solid. 

In principle, in the tests of the first type (Fig. 8), the force applied to the wedge need not be known. This force bends the two (partly separated) components of the solid, and the work of splitting can be calculated from the shape of the bent members. If x is the Cartesian co-ordinate along which the wedge moves forward, and y is the height of the bottom surface of the upper member above the middle of the slit, then97 98 ... 

No skin parts form deformed or stretched lips. The separation of the components by the peel test or by splitting with a wedge and the determination of the bond strength between skin and core component by measuring methods was not possible. 

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