LABORATORYEXPERIMENT.

Standard procedure for the determination of rock

material indirect tensile strength by the Brazilian test
(ASTM Standard Test Method D3967-81)

Objectives:

The purpose of the test is to determine the splitting tensile strength of rock
material by diametrical line compression of a disk form specimen.

Equipment:
A suitable testing machine, capable to load to the rock specimen at the
required speed (see test procedure) and measure the applied load with the
required accuracy.
Loading platens of hardened steel between which the rock specimen is
compressed
Procedure:
1- The test specimen must have the form of a cylinder, with end faces
perpendicular to the axis. The cylindrical surface must be free from obvious
tool marks and any irregularities across the thickness of the specimen should
not exceed 0.25 mm. The end faces must be flat to within 0.25 mm and
square and parallel to within 0.250. At least ten specimens should be taken
from one sample to obtain a meaningful average.
If the sample rock is anisotropic due to the presence of weakness planes or
preferred orientation of minerals, the specimens should be prepared in such a
way that both directions parallel as well as perpendicular to such planes can
be tested (axis of the cylinder parallel to the plane).

2- The specimen diameter shall preferably be not less than NX core size (54
mm), or at least 10 times the average grain size. The thickness/diameter ratio
should be 0.5 to 0.6.

3- The specimen must be wrapped with the extra thick masking tape around
it. If masking tape is not available cardboard can be used to prevent stress
concentrations.

4- The load on the specimen must be applied continuously at a constant rate

such that failure occurs within a few minutes. The actual loading rate
depends on the strength of the material and the size of the specimen and may
vary from 10 to 50 kN/minute

Calculations:
The splitting tensile strength of the specimen can be determined with the
following formula:

2P
(Indirect) tensile strength = π∗L∗D (Mpa)

In this formula P is the maximum load at failure (MN).

L is the length of the specimen (m) and D is the specimen diameter (m).
Sample No. L D P