Why is 2-point symmetrical bending preferred in bending tests?

The most significant are the compression stress concentration at the centre loading point and
fretting wear at the outer loading points. The wear at the outer loading points is particularly
important when displacement control is used, as the required reference points of
displacement, the tensile face of the specimen, are lost.
Four point tests are used to reduce the stress concentrations at the centre loading points.
The most common purpose of a flexure test is to measure flexural strength and flexural modulus.
Flexural strength is defined as the maximum stress at the outermost fiber on either the
compression or tension side of the specimen. Flexural modulus is calculated from the slope
of the stress vs. strain deflection curve. These two values can be used to evaluate the sample
materials ability to withstand flexure or bending forces.
The two most common types of flexure test are three point and four point flexure bending tests.
A three point bend test consists of the sample placed horizontally upon two points and the
force applied to the top of the sample through a single point so that the sample is bent in the
shape of a “V”. A four point bend test is roughly the same except that instead of the force
applied through a single point on top it is applied through two points so that the sample
experiences contact at four different points and is bent more in the shape of a “U”. The three
point flexure test is ideal for the testing of a specific location of the sample, whereas, the four
point flexure test is more suited towards the testing of a large section of the sample, which
highlights the defects of the sample better than a 3-point bending test.

3-point bending test: It produces its peak stress at the material mid-point and reduced stress
elsewhere.
4-point bending test: It produces peak stresses along an extended region of the material hence
exposing a larger length of the material.

A flexural test produces compression stress in the concave side and tensile stress in the convex
side of the material. This creates an area of shear along the midline. Thus, in order to prevent
the primary failure of the material to come from the shear stresses but rather from the tensile
or compressions stresses, the span (distance between the two supporting pins) to depth
(height of the sample) ratio must be controlled to minimized shear stresses:
Span to depth ratio (S/d) > 16 is generally acceptable. However, some materials require S/d=32
to 64 to keep the shear stress low enough.
The 3-point bending test systematically underestimates the modulus of elasticity. This
phenomenon is due to the fact that the shear effect and the indentation effect of the loading
head and the supports are neglected. The measured deflection in 3-point bending is the result
of axial strains, longitudinal shear and indentation. The influence of shear stresses depends
on the value of the length to height ratio. The influence of indentation depends on the
material stiffness, the load level applied and the shape of the loading head and supports
Flexural modulus and failure stress obtained by three-point were higher than those obtained in
four-point bending tests
In 4 point load test, the stress goes on the entire middle 1/3th portion uniformly and beam fails at
the weakest point in the middle 1/3 portion of the beam.
In the case of center point load test, the beam forces to fail directly at the centre point of loading.
By this, we cant be sure about the weakest point in the middle centre.
 the test results of center point loading are not the same as of third point load test, it scales
on 10-15 percent higher side but gives an average estimate of concrete’s strength.

 The specimen is loaded at the rate of 4kN/minute for 150mm specimen & 1.8kN/minute
for 100mm specimen.

 If a> 200mm for 150mm specimen

130mm for 100mm specimen
 The calculation for flexural strength of concrete or modulus of rupture will be:
  If a< 200mm & a>170mm for 150mm specimen
If a< 133mm & a> 110mm for 100mm specimen
Flexural strength of concrete or modulus of rupture will be:

Where,
Fb= flexural strength of concrete or modulus of rupture, Mpa.
b= Measured width of specimen(mm)
d= Measured depth of specimen at the point of failure (mm)
L= Span on which specimen was supported(mm)
P= maximum load applied to the specimen(N)

(Note: if “a” is smaller than 170mm for 150mm specimen and smaller than 110mm for 100mm
specimen then the results of the test shall be discarded.)

The Modulus of Rupture is consistently higher in centrally-loaded beams than third-point loaded
beams, but third-point loaded beams exhibit higher post-crack residual strengths.

Center point loading test (as per ASTM C 293)

Third point loading test (as per ASTM C 78)

Calculation of Modulus of Rupture

The formula for modulus of rupture differs for different type of loading system,
1. For a rectangular sample under a load in a three-point bending setup
Equation 1:

 F is the load (force) at the fracture point (N)

 L is the length of the support span
 b is width
 d is thickness
2. For a rectangular sample under a load in a four-point bending setup where the loading
span is one-third of the support span

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Equation 2:

 F is the load (force) at the fracture point

 L is the length of the support (outer) span
 b is width
 d is thickness
3. For the 4 pt bend setup, if the loading span is 1/2 of the support span
Equation 3:
4. If the loading span is neither 1/3 nor 1/2 the support span for the 4 pt bend setup
Equation 4:

 Li is the length of the loading (inner) span