Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions, Vol.

36, May 2003, pp 265-274

RILEM TC 162-TDF: 'TESTAND DESIGN METHODS FOR STEELFIBRE

REINFORCED CONCRETE'

Round-robin analysis of the RILEM TC 162-TDF

uni-axial tensile test: Part I
Test method evaluation

Prepared by B.I. G. Barr and M.K. Lee, with contributionsfrom B. Barragdn,D. Dupont,
R. Gettu,J.F. Olesen, H. Stang and L. Vandewalle

TC MEMBERSHIP: Chairlady: L. Vandewalle,Belgium; Secretary: D. Nemegeer, Belgium; Members: L. Balazs, Hungary;

B. Barr~ UK; J. Barros, Portugal; P. Bartos, UK; N. Banthia, Canada; M. Criswell, USA; E. Denari& Suisse; M. Di Prisco, Italy;
H. Falkner, Germany; R_. Gettu, Spain; V. Gopalaratnam, USA; P. Groth, Sweden; V. H~iusler, Germany; A. Kooiman, the
Netherlands, K. Kovler, Israel; B. Massicotte, Canada; S. Mindess, Canada; H.-W. R,einhardt, Germany; P. Rossi, France;
9 Schaerlaekens, Belgium; P. Schumacher, the Netherlands; B. Schniitgen, Germany; S. Shah, USA; A. Skarendahl, Sweden;
H. Stang, Denmark; P. Stroeven, the Netherlands: R. Swamy, UK; P. Tatnail, USA; M Teutsch, Germany; J. Walraven, the
Netherlands.

ABSTRACT rials. As part of the effort to fulfil that objective, a round

A round robin test programme was carried out on
the uni-axial tensile test recommended by the RILEM
TC 162-TDF [1]. Both plain concrete and steel fibre
reinforced concrete (SFRC) cylinders were tested. Two
concrete strengths and three fibre dosages were included
in the test programme. A comprehensive statistical ana-
lysis was carried out on the results to investigate the
robustness of the test method. Investigations were car-
ried out on the intra-lab variations, inter-lab variations
and within-mix variations. Inter-lab variations were
found to exist but these were not as significant as the
inherent material variation. Although there were diffi-
culties encountered during the test execution, the uni-
axial test was found to be a robust test. The material
parameter obtained from such a test is important in
determining the fracture properties of concrete particu-
larly in non-linear fracture studies.
1. INTRODUCTION
In the beginning of 1999, a research consortium
consisting of eleven academic and industrial partners was
created following an award of a Contract under the
Industrial and Materials Technologies Programme
(Brite-EuRam III) to carry out a project entitled "Test
and Design m e t h o d s for Steel Fibre R e i n f o r c e d
Concrete (Design of SFRC)". One of the objectives of
the project was to investigate appropriate test methods to
characterise the basic material properties of SFRC mate-
robin test programme was carried out on two test confi-
gurations i.e. notched beams under three-point bending
and uni-axial tensile test on cylinders9 This paper pre-
sents the results for the round robin programme carried
out on the uni-axial tensile test.
Due to the presence of a large fracture process zone
ahead of the crack tip in concrete, it is widely accepted
that linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) cannot be
applied directly to concrete. To describe the discrete
crack formation in concrete, the stress-crack width rela-
tionship, o-w, was first suggested by Hillerborg et al. [2]
for use with plain concrete. Subsequently, this concept
was also introduced for the description of crack forma-
tion in fibre reinforced concrete [3]. The o-w relation-
ship is an important input parameter for use with the fic-
titious crack model (FCM) in the description of concrete
fracture behaviour. Various attempts have been carried
out to obtain the complete stress-deformation curves
from concrete and steel fibre reinforced concrete
(SFRC) under tensile loading [4-9] but until now there
is no standard m e t h o d for the direct tensile test.
Recently, the RILEM TC 162 [1] has made recommen-
dations for the determination of the o-w relationship for
fibre reinforced concretes. The recommendations also
point out the possibility of using the test method for
plain concrete specimens.
Several types of concretes were considered in the test
programme. The concrete strengths considered were
C25/30, termed as normal strength concrete (NSC) and
C70/85, termed as high strength concrete (HSC). The
letter "C" denotes the characteristic compressive strength

1359-5997/03 9 tLILEM 265

Materials and Structures/Mat~riaux et Constructions, Vol. 36, May 2003

and the numerals indicate the compressive strengths in are DTU and the Belgian Building Research Institute
N/mm 2 measured from cylinders and cubes respectively. (CSTC). The prepared specimens were then transported
Three different fibre dosages were used for the testing to the three testing labs reported above. Table 1 gives the
programme i.e. 25 kg/m 3, 50 kg/m 3 and 75 kg/m 3. In full details for the round robin test programme.
addition to the SFKC cylinders, plain cylinders were also
tested to essentially act as control specimens. The plain
cylinders provided a means of investigating the strengths, 3. M A T E R I A L S A N D S P E C I M E N
limitations and sensitivity of the test method, as they PREPARATION
clearly do not contain any variations due to fibre distribu-
tion and orientation. 3.1 Type of fibres
Three testing laboratories were involved in this part
of the round robin test programme, with Cardiff Three types of fibres, supplied by N.V. Bekaert S.A.,
University (UWC) as the task co-ordinator. The test were employed for the round robin test programme. All
laboratories are (in alphabetical order): the fibres were hooked ended and collated. Details of the
9 DTU Technical University of Denmark fibres are given in Table 2.
9 KUL Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
9 UPC Technical University of Catalonia.
The above acronyms for each participating laboratory 3.2 First phase
will be used henceforth. During the statistical analysis,
each individual laboratory was assigned a letter (known UWC cast all of the specimens, which were NSC, for
only to the task co-ordinator) to maintain the objective- the first phase of the round robin test programme.
ness of the statistical study. Control specimens in the form of 150 mm cubes and
cylinders (100x200 mm long) were cast along with the
actual cylinder specimens. Each mix had three cubes and
2. TEST P R O G R A M M E cylinders. Two of each of the control specimens were
retained at UWC, whereas the other was transported
The round robin test programme was divided into with the cylinders to the testing labs. The mix composi-
two phases with the first phase considered as a pilot phase tion, based upon earlier work at UWC [10], of cement:
to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the propo- fine aggregate: coarse aggregate: water is equal to 1: 2:
sed uni-axial tensile test. This allowed weaknesses in the 2.5:0.56 by weight. The fine aggregate was a sea-dred-
test definition and execution to be identified and correc- ged concreting sand whereas 10 mm crushed limestone
ted before the entire test programme was carried out. was used for the coarse aggregate component.
UWC prepared all of the test specimens involved in the At 21 days, half of the cylinder specimens from each
first phase. On the other hand, two other labs were invol- mix were taken out of the water and notched. On the
ved in preparing the specimens for the second phase; they other hand, the other half were not notched and left in
the water for curing (these were notched at their respec-
tive testing labs at approximately 7
Table 1 - Overall round robin test programme weeks). A Colchester lathe with a
Firstphase Second phase diamond impregnated blade was uti-
Testinglab C25/30 C25/30 070/80 lised to notch the specimens. A jet of
water was used to cool the cut surface
0 kg/m3 501 kg/m3 252 kg/m3 752 kg/m3 0 kg/m3 253 kg/m3
while the sawing progressed.
DTU 8 8 8 8 8 8 Circumferential notches of 10mm
KUL 8 8 8 8 8 8 depth were cut for the cylinder speci-
UPC 8 8 8 8 8 8
mens. After notching, the specimens
were placed back under water and left
Total 24 24 24 24 24 24 to cure at 20+2~ Subsequently, at
Note: Superscript 1 indicatesDramix 80/60 BN was used 28 days, all the specimens whether
Supersc@t 2 indicates Dramix 65/60 BN was used notched or unnotched were removed
Superscript3 indicatesDramix 80/60 BP was used from the water and wrapped in good
quality cling film. They were then
placed in a curing r o o m (RH 65+5%,
Table 2 - Characteristics of the fibres used T=20+2~ Approximately one week before
Property Dramix65/60 BN Dramix80/60 BN Dramix80/60 BP testing, the specimens were taken out of the
Carbon content Low Low High curing room and sent to their respective tes-
ting labs.
Tensile strength (MPa) 1000 1000 2500
Length (mm) 60 60 60
Aspect ratio 65 80 80
(Length/Diameter)

266
TC162-TDF

3.3 Second phase Table 3 - Strain rate regimes used by the testing labs
First phase of round robin programme
For the second phase, two other laboratories fabrica-
Testing Deformation at which strain Strain rate
ted the specimens; DTU and CSTC prepared the NSC lab rates was applied (IJ m) (p m/min)
and HSC specimens respectively. The mix composition
employed by D T U was 1: 2.07: 2.52:0.51 (cement: fine DTU 9 Oto50 95
9 50 to 1000 9 100
aggregate: coarse aggregate: water). On the other hand, 9 1000 tO 2000 9 500
CSTC used a mix composition of 1: 1.93: 2.66: 0.0075:
KUL 9 0 to 100 95
0.35 (cement: fine aggregate: coarse aggregate: silica
9 100 to 2000 9 100
fume: water). In addition, 7.75 litre/m3 of superplastici-
zer was added to the CSTC mix. UPC 9 Oto50 95
9 50 to 1000 9 100
For the second phase, a similar procedure to the first 9 1000 to 5000 9 500
phase was implemented. However, all the specimens were
now notched at their respective testing labs just before tes- Second phase of round robin programme

ting took place i.e. at 7 weeks after casting. The preparing Testing Deformation at which strain Strain rate
labs also prepared control specimens, but these were not lab rates was applied (p m) (p m/min)
transported but tested at the preparing lab itself.. DTU 9 Oto50 95
9 50 to 1000 9 100
9 1000to 2000 9 500
3.4 Preparation of cylinder specimens KUL 9 0 to 50 95
9 50 to 1000 9 100
For all the cylinders, the specimens were cut to 9 1000 to 2000 9 500

approximately 150 m m in length and their ends were UPC 9 Oto50 95

polished before they were left to dry. The specimens were 9 50 to 1000 9 100
9 1000 to 5000 9 500
then glued, one end at a time, to steel loading platens.

4. TEST SET-UP 4.2 Strain rates

4.1 Description of test set-up
M1 tests were carried out under closed looped condi-
tions with the average of three extensometer (or linear
variable differential transducer, LVDT) readings as the
feedback signal. The three extensometers (or LVDTs)
were mounted across the notch at 120 ~ from each other.
Fig. 1 shows a schematic illustration of the test set-up
used for the round robin test programme. The three labs
used different gauge lengths when carrying out the mea-
surements; DTU, KUL and UPC used gauge lengths of
40 mm, 30 m m and 25 m m respectively.
In general, the strain rates used during the tensile
tests were similar for all the three testing labs. During the
test execution, the labs varied the strain rates at certain
points during the test. Table 3 shows the strain rates used
over various test regimes by the testing labs.
5 RESULTSAND DISCUSSION
5.1 Control specimens
Table 4 shows the test results for the control specimens.
In general, the variability for the control tests was low.

~ Testing machine

~---Metal block
'~Glued
Displacement
transducer 5.2 Typical results
The raw data obtained from the tensile test represents
the load and deformation response of the cylinder speci-
connection mens. Stress is calculated from the load data by simply
dividing the load by the effective cross-sectional area of
~ ~-Displacement
I
~ transducer the notched section. The crack opening, w, is evaluated
by subtracting the elastic deformation of the material
Glued
within the gauge length but located outside the crack.
(:"" Col|nectiorl
This is achieved by assuming the material unloads from
~"%letal block
0
the peak load with the same slope as the tangent at the
A initial loading path, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Subsequently,
Testing Displacement the stress-deformation curve (o-8) and the stress-crack
Side view
machine transducer width curve (o-w) can be plotted.
Plan view
Figs. 3a and 3b show the average ~-6 and (5-w curves
Fig. 1 - Schematic illustration of test set-up. respectively for the plain concrete cylinders. Similarly,

267
Materials and Structures/Mat6riaux et Constructions, Vol. 36, May 2003

Table 4 - Results for control specimens

Concrete Fibre Density Cube Indirect Cylinder
grade dosage strength tensile strength --~- NSC
P fcu strengthft fc -B- HSC
(kg/m 3) (kg/m 3) (N/mm 2) (N/mm 2) (N/mm 2) I[

C25/30" 0 2367 44.5 3.89 35.5

(0.45) (8.58) (8.77) (8.68) -41

C25/30" 252 2400 N/A N/A 39.5

(0.45) (3.56) = t
C25/30" 501 2370 42.6 N/A N/A
(0.88) (10.3) ~ 2 t
>~
C25/30" 752 N/A 36.9 4.04 N/A
(3.39) (3.10) <{ 1
C70/85t 0 2380 82.5 N/A N/A
(0.51) (6.41)
C70/85• 253 2397 91.7 N/A N/A
(0.60) (3,04) 0 /P I I I III , i

Note: Results given are average of all control specimens 0 100 200 300 400 500
Superscript I indicates Dramix 80/60 B N was used
Superscript 2 indicates Dramix 65/60 BN was used Average deformation, 8 (l~m)
Superscript 3 indicates Dramix 80/60 BP was used
Fig. 3a - Averaged o-8 curve for the plain cylinder specimens.
Coeficients of variation, V, given in brackets (%)
N/A - not available
"~tested at 36 days
tested at 32 days 8
* tested at 49 days.
-~- NSC

47 HSC

A Initialslope of
lo

~2-

1-
/ Unloading

F- 0 , , i i

Average deformation, 45 0 100 200 300 400 500

Crack width, w (t~m)
Fig. 3b - Averaged o-w curve for the plain cylinder specimens.

Figs. 4a and 4b show the average o-8 and o-w curves

P respectively for the SFRC cylinders.

5.3 Intra-lab variation

To investigate the variations obtained within each lab

(intra-lab variation), the coefficient of variation, V, of
v
stresses at several points of deformations are considered.
Crack width, w This has been done for all the concrete types involved
and allows detection of any systematic pattern in the
Fig. 2 - Procedure for obtaining the ff-w curve. contribution to the overall variation from any particular

268
TC 162-TDF

4 4

0 2 5 / 3 0 (25) -~- C25/30 (25)

--a- C25/30 (50) C25/30 (50)

3 -
3 - --*- C25/30 (75) C25/30 (75)

- x - C70/85 (25) C70/85 (25)

2- 2 -

1 -

01 . . . . . . . . . t
0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000

Average deformation, 8 (gm) Crack width, w (gin)

Fig. 4a - Averaged 0-6 curve for the SFILC for cylinder specimens. Fig. 4b - Averaged o-w curve the SFKC cylinder specimens.

A
60- 40.

.•
D ,-'"" (>
== 5o
9
30

~40-
,.9 0
m
X-.. ..X"
E /'
"X'"
A
A .*'O
"5 3 0 - 20
O
<.=
o Lab A
20- o Lab A
A ,,,'
<3. [] Lab B
., <> 10 A
[] Lab B A

9g 1 0 - []
A Lab C
z~ Lab C
A
0 -- -• Overall
- -x- Overall
0
0 i i i i i i i i i i

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Deformation, 5 (l~m) Deformation, 8 (gm)

Fig. 5 - Intra-lab variation for plain NSC cylinders. Fig. 6 - Intra-lab variation for plain HSC cylinders.

lab. In the discussions, the testing labs will be referred to bably due to the fact that the loads recorded in the post-
as Lab A, Lab B and Lab C so that an unbiased and cracked phase are very low and a small change in the load
objective view can be adopted. will cause a relatively large error. The loads recorded
Figs. 5 and 6 show a plot of V for the stress at increa- well into the post-cracked phase may also be within the
sing deformations for the plain NSC and plain HSC limits of the recording devices.
cylinders respectively. Figs. 7 to 10 show similar plots obtained for the
In general, the value of V increases with increasing SFRC cylinders. In general, it can be observed that the
deformation. Considering the range from 10 lam to 100 value of V rises as the test progresses up to a certain
~m, the value of V increases from 11.5% to 46.9% for deformation. The value of V then reaches a plateau and
the plain NSC cylinders. On the other hand for the plain seems to stabilise. Attention is now directed at Fig. 8 for
HSC specimens, V increases from 16.7% to 36.2% in the C25/30 with 50 kg/m 3 of fibres. The value of V
the range considered. This increasing value of V is pro- decreases after a deformation of 1000 ~m. This is

269
Materials and Structures/Materiaux et Constructions, Vol. 36, May 2003

5O 60
A
0
0 0 o Lab A
U} [] [] []
50 [] Lab B
40 0
D ..X . . . . . . . . . . . X ........................ X
t, Lab C
40 o
o - -x-- Overall
[]
| ao .X. . . . . . x ........... ;'<"
E X
,"0 [] " ' ' " , ,
A A
O 30 ." -, .
ZX "-,. &
O
~ 2o O "'~(
A
o Lab A 20 D
>
ZX
[] Lab B Z~
lO Lab C
.2 10
--~--Overall
O
O
0 i i i i

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Deformation, 8 (~m) Deformation, 5(~m)

Fig. 7 - Intra-lab variation for the C25/30 (with 25 kg/m 3 of Fig. 8 - Intra-lab variation for the C25/30 (with 50 kg/m 3 of
Dramix 65/60 BN fibres) SFKC cylinders. Dramix 80/60 BN fibres) SFKC cylinders.

50 7O
A A
~, Lab A

[] Lab B 6 60 [] []
X, t~ []
~ 40. ,~ " " , , A O
A
: X zx Lab C
.' % 50 X ........... X .........
: %, zx -- -x-- Overall
W [] .-
8 30 ~ A
E ~ 40
[] ",.,.
"6 []
e,- 8 [] C O
o
~ 20-o ~ 3o
o Lab A
m
>
20 [] [] Lab B

~ 10- ._~ Lab C

u
lO
o --~--Overall
O O O
O O
0 i i i i 0 r i i i

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Deformation, 8 (~m) Deformation, 8 (~m)

Fig. 9 - Intra-lab variation for the C25/30 (with 75 kg/m 3 of Fig. 10 - Intra-lab variation for the C70/85 (with 25 kg/m 3 of
Dramix 65/60 BN fibres) SFRC cylinders. Dramix 80/60 BP fibres) SFKC cylinders.

because several specimens were not tested to a deforma- variability.

tion of 2000 t*m. In general, the overall variation is To determine the significance of the variation intro-
within the range of 27% to approximately 50% for the duced by the different test set-ups, a statistical analysis
deformations considered. was carried out using the plain cylinder specimens. The
plain concrete cylinder results were used for this analysis
because this would remove the variations due to the
5.4 Inter-lab variation introduction of fibres into the concrete matrix. The sta-
tistical tests carried out are the analysis of variation
It is expected that there will be variation introduced (ANOVA) and post-hoc tests. The post-hoc tests carried
by the different test set-ups. More importantly, it would out are the Scheff~ and Bonferroni tests.
be interesting to know the extent and severity of this The ANOVA method is able to indicate whether

270
TC 162-TDF

Table 5 - Compilation of ANOVA analysis results for plain concrete cylinders occur. Post-hoc tests enables us to
pin-point the sources of the diffe-
Concrete Statistical Stress, 0, at prescribed deformations
rences. Similar to the ANOVA test,
grade (Fibre parameters 020 030 040 050 o l o 0 0200
Omax (~10 the post-hoc tests relies on the fe,u,v
dosage)
statistical tables. The Scheff~ test
C25/30(0) u 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 differs from the Bonferroni tests in
V 17 16 16 16 16 16 15 13 that it is more conservative in the
f-ratio 1.55 0.751 14.7 23.6 17.7 9.28 6.54 2.57
sense that the probability of a Type
I error is less.
fcrit 3.56 3.63 3.63 3.63 3.63 3.63 3.68 3.81
It is acknowledged here that
f/fcrit 0.434 0.207 4.05 6.51 4.89 2.56 1.76 0.676 there are several limitations to the
C70/85(0) u 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 statistical tests carried out. The sta-
tistical tests assume that the samples
V 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
come from an identical source (a
f-ratio 3.43 3.44 3.18 2.17 2.16 1.84 0.392 3.53 population) and thus any significant
fcrit 3.74 3.74 3.74 3.74 3.74 3.74 3.74 3.74 difference must be caused only by
0.918 0.920 0.849 0.581 0.578 0.493 0.105 0.945
the difference in treatment, the
f/fcrit
treatment in this case being the test
Note: Figures in bold indicatef/fcrit ratio greater than unity set-up. However, in the case of the
o x indicates the stress at theprescribed deformation ofx (~tm). r o u n d robin test p r o g r a m m e ,
samples were mixed in batches.
Moreover, no consideration has
Table 6 - Compilation of post-hoc test results for plain concrete cylinders been given to variation introduced
Concrete Post-hoc Stress, 0, at prescribed deformations by transportation of the concrete
grade (Fibre test Om~ 010 020 030 040 050 0 1 0 0 0200 cylinders, notching procedure etc.
dosage) A complete consideration of all
C25/30(0) Scheffd * * C-A C-A C-A B-C B-C * these other factors is not possible. A
full theoretical and mathematical
C-B C-B C-B
explanation of the statistical tests is
Bonferroni * * C-A C-A C-A B-C B-C * beyond the scope of this paper and
C-B C-B C-B can be found from books on statis-
C70/85(0) Scheff~
tics [11-13].
Table 5 summarises the calcula-
Bonferroni tions carried out via the ANOVA
Note: B-C means sign~cant difference observed between resultsfor lab B and lab C method. It can be observed that the
* means no statistical difference ident~ed. plain NSC cylinders show no signi-
ficant difference in the peak stress,
there are any significant differences in the test results at a Om~x. On the other hand, significant differences are detec-
particular confidence level. An f-value can be computed ted in the post-peak parameters. For the plain HSC cylin-
using the different sets of results. This f-value is then ders, no significant differences are detected.
compared with the fcrit-value obtained from statistical Table 6 shows the results of the post-hoc tests. Both
tables. These statistical tables are given in terms of fa u v. the Scheff~ and Bonferroni tests show that the plain
The value of ot here represents the level of confidence, NSC cylinders exhibit significant difference at or=0.05 in
whereas u and v are the degrees of freedom associated the post-peak region. As for the plain HSC cylinders, no
with the test results. The degrees of freedom can be said difference is indicated.
to be factors which take into account the number of The plain NSC cylinders were tested in the first
treatments and samples. Normally, in statistical infe- phase of the round robin programme whereas the plain
rences, a value of o~=0.05 is adopted. This value of 0r has HSC cylinders were tested in the second phase. The labs
been used in this study. The value of 0t is the probability had not carried out the proposed uni-axial tensile test
of making a Type I (or 0t error) i.e. when we accept that prior to the project, and thus experience had to be gai-
there is a difference when in reality there is none. A ratio ned from the first phase of the project. This experience
of f/fcrit larger than 1 would indicate the null hypothesis was put to good use in the second phase and this may be
(i.e. that there is no significant difference) has to be the reason for the significant improvement for the inter-
rejected at the particular level of 0t. lab variation in the HSC cylinders. A possible cause for
In addition to ANOVA, two other statistical tests the large variation shown by the normal strength
were carried out. These tests were the Bonferroni and concrete cylinders is the rotational stiffness of the test
Scheff4 tests, collectively known as post-hoc tests. set-ups. Differences in the machine rotational stiffness
ANOVA can give an indication of the existence of signi- can give rise to differences in results. Another reason can
ficant differences between various sets of results but it be the accuracy of the data loggers. When conducting a
does not tell us where the difference or differences uni-axial test, the stress level can be expected to be at a

271
Materials and Structures/Materiaux et Constructions, Vol. 36, May 2003

Table 7 - Compilation of ANOVA analysis results for SFRC cylinders The results of the analysis are shown in
Table 7. It can be observed that almost all
Concrete Statistical Stress, (3, at prescribed deformations
wf the values considered for the S[:RC cylin-
grade (Fibre parameters Omax 050 (~200 0500 0"I000 02000
dosage) ders do not show a significant difference.
Interesting points to note is that the value
C25/30(25) u 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 OfOmax for C25/30 (with 25 kg/m 3 of
V 21 21 21 21 21 20 21 fibres) and C70/85 (with 25 kg/m 3 of
f-ratio 5.43 2 . 7 4 0,110 0.226 0.196 0.533 0.165
fibres) is found to have significant diffe-
rences between the testing labs. Otherwise,
fcnt 3.47 3 . 4 7 3 . 4 7 3 . 4 7 3 . 4 7 3 . 4 9 3.47
the post-peak region practically does not
f/fcrit 1.56 0.790 0.032 0,065 0.056 0.153 0.048 display significant variations. Thus, SFRC
C25/30(50) u 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 specimens are not as sensitive as their plain
concrete counterparts to variation in the
V 19 19 19 19 19 9 19
uni-axial test set-ups.
f-ratio 0.46 6 . 5 7 0,295 0,482 1,102 1.52 0.385 Table 8 shows the summary of the
fcrit 3.52 3 . 5 2 3 . 5 2 3 . 5 2 3 . 5 2 4 . 2 6 3.52 post-hoc tests conducted on the SFRC
0.132 1 . 8 7 0.084 0.137 0.313 0.357 0.109
specimens. From the table, it can be seen
f/fcrit
that the greatest variation can be expected
C25/30(75) u 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
to be within the pre-cracking phase of the
V 14 13 13 13 13 11 13 specimens and just after cracking. Also
f-ratio 1.10 4 . 5 1 3.98 3 . 5 4 2 . 1 7 0.422 2.91 from Table 7 it can be seen that the seve-
rity of the variations is larger with the
fcrit 3.74 3 . 8 1 3 . 8 1 3 . 8 1 3 . 8 1 3 . 9 8 3.81
C70/85 (with 25 kg/m 3 of fibres) speci-
f/fcrit 0.293 1 . 1 8 1 . 0 5 0.930 0.570 0.106 0.765 mens in relation to the C25/30 (with
C70/85(25) u 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 25 kg/m3 of fibres) specimens. This is indi-
V 17 17 17 17 17 14 17 cated by an f/fcric ratio of 4.79 for the
C70/85 (25 kg/m 3 of fibres) specimens as
f-ratio 17.2 0.242 0.210 0.198 0.217 0.063 0.141
opposed to 1.56 for the C25/30 (25 kg/m 3
fcrit 3.59 3 . 5 9 3 . 5 9 3 . 5 9 3 . 5 9 3 . 7 4 3.59 of fibres) specimens. This can be caused by
f/fcrit 4.79 0.067 0.058 0.055 0.060 0.017 0.039 differences in the rotational stiffness of the
test set-ups.
Note: Figures in bold indicate f/fcrit ratio greater than unity
Ox indicates the stress at the prescribed deformation of x ~m).
To summarise, it seems that by consi-
dering the plain concrete cylinders as
control specimens, there are significant
Table 8 - Compilation of post-hoc test results for SFRC cylinders differences in the results for the first phase.
Concrete Statistical Stress, (3, at prescribed deformations However, in the second phase, the statisti-
grade (Fibre parameters (3max (350 (3200 G500 (31000 (32000 wf cal tests conducted indicate that there are
dosage} no significant differences between the tes-
C25/30(25) Scheff~ B-C * , ting labs. This could be due to experience
9 gained in the first phase being used to good
Bonferroni
effect in the second phase. Thus, in retros-
C25/30(50) Scheff6 9 B-C 9 pect, the decision to divide the round
Bonferroni 9 B-C 9 robin test programme into two phases was
C25/30(75) Scheff~ 9 B-C B-C
, a wise one.
For the SFRC specimens, practically no
Bonferroni 9 B-C B-C 9 significant difference is detected in the
=k
C70/85(25) Scheff~ C-A * * * Ins 9 post-cracked phase. Therefore, the inhe-
C-B rent variability due to the inclusion of
Bonferroni C-A * * r *
Ins 9 fibres into the concrete matrix is the domi-
C-B nating factor in influencing the variability
Note: B-C means difference observed between resultsfrom lab B and lab C in the material property. However, there
* means no statistical difference ident~ed seems to be a significant difference bet-
Ins means insu~cient data ween the labs for the C25/30 (with
a x indicates the stress at theprescribed deformation ofx (I.tm). 25 kg/m 3 of fibres) and C70/85 (with
25 kg/m3 of fibres) specimens in the pre-
very low level within the post-cracked phase. A diffe- peak region. The severity is greater for the C70/85 (with
rence in the accuracy of the measuring device used by 25 kg/m3 of fibres). This could be due to differences in
the testing labs may give rise to variations in the recor- the rotational stiffnesses of the test set-ups involved.
ded results. However, as the main advantage of using SFRC is its
A similar analysis was carried out with the SFR.C. post-cracking toughness, this should not be a concern.

272
TC 162-TDF

100 " 90
A
~ oH-O-B(A)
o N-0-6
~ 8o -I [] H-0-A(B)
[] N-0-15
80- H-0-B(B)
J. N-O-5 W
"0
x H-0-A(C)
x N-0-14
W ' H-0-B(C)
=
Q) 60- + N-0-13
E o N-0-16 ~ 5o 0
X
0 []
.2 ,_~ 40 0 o
40-
A

~X
~ 3o o

ZX A
++0 8
~ 20-
o ~+
D+

0 x C. x~ +
:l(( X X
0 , [] 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 0 50 100 150 200 250
D e f o r m a t i o n , 15(gin) Deformation, 8 (lira)

Fig. 11 - Within-mix variations for the plain NSC cylinders. Fig. 12 - Within-mix variations for the plain HSC cylinders.

,-. 60 80-
o N-50-11
O O
~. 70
~ 50 [] N-50-19
o)
W

~ 60
'D
"0
X A N-50-22
~ 40 )K
m A X x N-50-23 , ~50
E E
'~ 30 0 i x N-50-18 ~ 40
t- O
C
O 0
,--
[] o H-25-C(A)
m o N-50-20 ~ 3o
~ 20 o x m A [] H-25-D(A)
X
0
20 H-25-C(B)
0 C
8 [] x H-25-D(B)
)K [ ] X 0 ~ lO x H-25-C(C)
0 0
0 o H-25-D(C)
0 i i i t i 0 i i i i

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Deformation, ~ (gm) Deformation, ~ (~m)

Fig. 13 - Within-mix variations for the C25/30 (with 50 kg/m 3 of Fig. 14 - Within-mix variations for the C70/85 (with 25 kg/m 3 of
Dramix 80/60 B N fibres) SFILC cylinders. Dramix 80/60 BP fibres) S F R C cylinders.

5.5 Within-mix variation
It can be seen from the previous investigation (inter-
lab variation) that statistical differences were detected for
various parameters for the concrete types considered.
However, there does not seem to be a systematic pattern
to these differences and thus the variations are not cau-
sed solely by the test set-ups. Another possible source of
error is the inherent material variability due to fibre dis-
tribution and orientation variation at the failure section.
To investigate this, the results were further conside-
red by separating them according to mix and the testing
lab. Test specimens from one particular mix have to be
conducted at one particular testing lab for this investiga-
tion to be relevant, otherwise both inter-lab and within-
mix variations may be introduced.
The variations of the measured stress at various
values of deformations are once again considered. The
results are shown in Figs. 11 to 14. The results for the
C25/30 cylinders with 25 kg/m 3 and 75 kg/m 3 of fibres
are already given by Figs. 7 and 9 (because for those two
types of SFRC, 24 cylinders were made with one mix

273
Materials and Structures/Mat~riaux et Constructions, Vol. 36, May 2003
and distributed equally between the test labs). It can be
observed that the variability is still significant. Clearly,
most of the values of V lie above 10%. These observa-
tions suggest that the inherent variability of the material
is the main contributory factor to the variations obser-
ved within the overall test results. However, the high
variations observed can also be caused by the relatively
small cross sections of the notched test cylinders. It is not
feasible to investigate this matter within the context of
the round robin test programme and further work is
required to verify this possibility.
6. CONCLUSION
To evaluate the reproducibility of the proposed uni-
axial cylinder test, an investigation was carried out on
the variation of the round robin uni-axial test results.
After carrying out statistical tests on the plain
concrete cylinders, it is apparent that there seems to be
significant differences in the test results from the diffe-
rent testing labs. Several causes may be attributed to this
finding. There could be differences in the rotational
stiffness of the test set-ups which would result in diffe-
rent boundary conditions. Also, the load recorded in the
post-cracked phase is very small and a slight change in
the load will result in a relatively large error. The loads
recorded well into the post-cracked phase may also be
within the limits of the recording devices and this may
effect the level of variation obtained.
Similar statistical tests carried out for the SFRC indi-
cates that there is no significant difference in the post-
cracked region. But there is a significant difference in
the pre-cracked phase characterised by Om,x (for two of
the four types of SFRC tested). This again could be cau-
sed by differences in the boundary conditions.
By separating the results according to mix and test
labs, the inherent material variability within a mix
(within-mix variation) was investigated. The within-mix
studies show that the variation within a mix itself is
significant. Most of the V values at prescribed deforma-
tions lie above 10%. This finding suggests that for such a
test geometry, the material variation is the dominating
factor in the observed variations. However, it is feasible
that the high variations observed can also be caused by
the relatively small cross sections of the test cylinder but
this cannot be verified from the work reported here.
A study of the general variation due to the material
did not reveal a trend relating the change in fibre dosage
with a change in the level of variation. Overall, the
variability in the SFRC cylinder results is found to be at
a relatively high level, within the range of 30% to 50%.
Although there were difficulties encountered during
the test execution, the uni-axial test was found to be a
robust test. The material parameter obtained from such a
274
test is important in determining the fracture properties
of concrete particularly in non-linear fracture studies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The work reported in this paper forms part of the
Brite-Euram project "Test and Design Methods for Steel
Fibre Reinforced Concrete", contract n ~ BRPR-CT98-
0813. The partners in the project are: N.V.Bekaert S.A.
(Belgium co-ordinator), Centre Scientifique et
Technique de la Construction (Belgium), Katholieke
Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Technical University of
Denmark (Denmark), Balfour Beatty Rail Ltd (Great
Britain), University of Wales Cardiff (Great Britain),
Fertig-Decken-Union GmbH (Germany), Ruhr-
University-Bochum (Germany), Technical University of
Braunschweig (Germany), FCC Construccion S.A.
(Spain), Universitat Polyt&nica de Catalunya (Spain).
REFERENCES
[1] RILEM TC 162-TDF, 'Test and design methods for steel fibre
reinforced concrete. Uni-axial tension test for steel fibre reinforced
concrete. Recommendations', Mater. Strnct. 34 (235) (2001) 3-6.
[2] Hillerborg, A., Mod&r, M. and Petersson, P., 'Analysis of crack
formation and crack growth in concrete by means of fracture
mechanics and finite elements', Cement and ConcreteResearch 6 (6)
(1976) 773-782.
[3] Hillerborg, A., 'Analysis of fracture by means of the fictitious
crack model, particularly for fibre reinforced concrete', The
InternationalJournal of Cement Composites 2 (4) (1980) 177-184.
[4] Gopalaratnam, V.S. and Shah, S.P., 'Softening response of plain
concrete in direct tension', ACIJourna182 (3) (1985) 310-323.
[5] Gopalaratnam, V.S. and Shah, S.P., 'Tensile failure of steel fiber
reinforced concrete',Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE 113
(5) (1987) 635-652.
[6] Guo, Z.-H. and Zhang, X.-Q., 'Investigation of complete stress-
deformation curves for concrete in tension', A CI MaterialsJournal
84 (4)(1987) 278-285.
[7] Li, V.C., Chan, C.-M. and Leung, C.K.Y., 'Experimental deter-
mination of the tension-softening relations for cementitious
composites', Cement and ConcreteResearch 17 (3) (1987) 441-452.
[8] Wang, Y., Li, V.C. and Backer, S., 'Experimental determination
of tensile behavior of fiber reinforced concrete', ACI Materials
Journal 87 (5) (1990) 461-468.
[9] Marzouk, H. and Chen, Z.W., 'Fracture energy and tension pro-
perties of high-strength concrete',Journal of Materials in Civil
Engineering, ASCE 7 (2) (1995) 108-116.
[10] Taylor, M.R., Lydon, F.D. and Barr, B.I.G., 'Mix proportions
for high strength concrete', Construction and Building Materials 10
(6) (1996) 445-450.
[11] Cramer, D., 'Fundamental statistics for social research: step-by-
step calculations and computer techniques using SPSS for
Windows', Routledge, 1998.
[12] Wadsworth, ll.M., 'Handbook of statistical methods for engi-
neers and scientists 2nd edition', McGraw-Hill, 1998.
[13] Keeping, E.S., 'Introduction to statistical inference', Nostrand,
1962.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.