The Wedge Splitting Test: Influence of Aggregate Size and Water-to-Cement Ratio

Since the development of the wedge splitting test (WST), techniques have been used to extract material properties that can describe the fracture behavior of the tested materials. Inverse analysis approaches are commonly used to estimate the stress-crack width relationship; which is described by the elastic modulus, tensile strength, fracture energy, and the assumed softening behavior. The stress-crack width relation can be implemented in finite element models for computing the cracking behavior of cementitious systems. While inverse analysis provides information about the material properties of various concrete mixtures there are limitations to the current analysis techniques. To date these techniques analyze the result of one WST specimen, thereby providing an estimate of material properties from single result. This paper utilizes a recent improvement to the inverse analysis technique, which enables the stress-crack width response to be determined simultaneously from multiple experimental tests. The effect of water-to-cement ratio and aggregate size are discussed. A comparison of epoxy-impregnated cracked WST specimen and material properties indicate a relationship between fracture properties and characteristics of load induced cracks.