ASTM C39 Procedure

1. Bring the cylinders out to the testing machine. Check the cylinders over for
defects (holes, cracks, crumbliness) as you set them on the table, use your
straight edge and nail to check for planeness, and set the ones with ends that are
not plane aside to be saw cut. You will want to look at the perpendicularity of the
cylinder as well, to make sure it does not depart from a vertical axis by more than
half a degree. If you want to break cylinders uncapped, they must be plane within
0.002 inches. Most cylinders don't meet this requirement, so you'll want to either
cap them with sulfur or gypsum paste (ASTM C17), or unbonded neoprene caps
(ASTM C1231).
2. Measure the diameter of each cylinder twice, in the center of each cylinder at 90 degree
angles. Make sure that your two diameters are not off from each other by more than two
percent, or a test on that cylinder would be considered invalid. With the average
diameter, calculate the surface area of each cylinder, using pi to 5 significant digits
(3.1416):

Diameter / 2 = Radius

Area of the cylinder face = Pi * Radius * Radius

3. Make sure that the bearing surfaces of the machine are clean and free of debris,
and if you are using unbonded caps, check the cleanliness of your neoprene
caps. You should have a record at your break station of the number of cylinders
that have been broken on those particular caps. Discard the caps and put new
one in the retaining rings if there are large cracks or gouges in them, or if you
have broken over 100 cylinders on those caps. It is also recommended that you
flip the caps at 50 cylinders.

4. Put the neoprene caps on the ends of your cylinder, and check to make sure they
fit right and are plane and level. Place the specimen on the lower bearing block
(or on a centered spacer, if breaking a 4x8 cylinder) and align it with the upper
bearing block, using the rings on the bottom block to center it.

5. Zero out the machine, and then apply a load at full advance until you get to about
10% of the estimated load. A good spot is around 11000 lbs for a 6x12 cylinder
breaking at 4000 psi. Remember that psi is load divided by the area, so you
could calculate this for any size cylinder and any specified strength. Put the
machine on hold and check the cylinder's alignment with your carpenter's square,
making sure it doesn't depart from vertical by more than 0.5 degrees. If
 everything is good, proceed to the next step, but if the cylinder is off center,
remove the load and readjust the position of the cylinder. A bubble level can help
you tell if it's not aligned properly.

6. You can now apply load to the cylinder. It is permissible to go faster than the
recommended rate of about 28-42 psi/second for the first half of loading. Switch
to a metered advance around 50% of the estimated strength of the cylinder. This
will look like an increase of 1000 lbs/second for a 6x12 cylinder, and 500
lbs/second for a 4x8 cylinder.

7. Don't mess with the loading rate after the halfway point, as the cylinder
approaches its peak load. The cylinder will hit a peak, then drop. If it drops
slightly, the load may begin to increase again, so let it go until the load is
decreasing steadily and you can see clear evidence of a forming fracture pattern,
and then turn the lever back to the off position.

8. Pull the cylinder out of the machine, and then remove the caps. Carry it over to
your wheelbarrow and remove the wrap, letting the pieces fall into the
wheelbarrow. Determine the type of fracture and then write down the load and
the type of fracture.
Summarize Procedure

1. Place the specimen on the lower bearing block so the axis of the specimen is aligned
with the center of thrust of the spherically seated bearing block.
2. Make sure the load indicator is set to zero prior to starting the test.
3. Apply a compressive load of 35 ± 7 psi/s (0.25 ± 0.05 MPa/s) continuously and
without shock until failure or until the operator is certain that the ultimate capacity
has been achieved.
4. Record the maximum load carried by the specimen during the test and note the type
of fracture pattern.