INTERNAL FRACURE TEST

By RISHIKESAN R
 Necessity…

 The main drawback of cast insitu pullout test is that the

locations of the inserts have to be planned in advance of
concrete placement and the inserts have to be fastened
to the formwork.
 This limits the applicability of the method to new
construction.
 In an effort various drilled in and post-installed techniques
have been investigated.
 Basics

 Internal fracture test is partial destructive method

which is used to find the compressive test of concrete.
 Similar to the pull out test carried, in this method an
expanding wedge anchor bolt is inserted  in a
predrilled hole and its is pulled out of the hole by
applying a pulling force.
 This force is related to the compressive strength of
concrete.
Parts
 Procedure

 A hole is drilled 30-35mm deep into the concrete

using a roto-hammer drill with a 6 mm drill bit.
 The hole is cleared of dust with an air blower and a
6mm wedge anchor bolt with expanding sleeve is
tapped lightly into the hole until the sleeve is 20 mm
below the surface.
 The verticality of the bolt alignment is the checked
before application of the force.
 Procedure…

 The bolt is loaded at standardised rate against a tripod

reaction ring 80 mm diameter.
 After applying initial load to cause the sleeve to expand,
the force required for failure is noted which is the peak
load indicated in the load-movement pattern.
 If the load is reduced after the peak, there is likely to be no
visible surface damage and bolt can be screwed out.
 Else if load is increased, a cone of concrete will be pulled
from the surface.
Movement of Sleeve
Load – Movement graph
Standard Correlation Graph
 Advantages

 This method is simple and cheap.

 It requires only one exposed surface and is
suitable for slender members.
 Strength calibration are effectively independent of
water/cement ratio, cement type and curing.
 Disadvantages

 The test depth is small and test variability is very high.

 The maximum size of aggregate is 20mm and average of 6
readings is required at any member.
 Aggregate size influence the correlation with compressive
strength.
 Surface damage is limited to drill holes if test is stopped
when peak force is reached but further damage may be
caused by frost action.
 If bolt is pulled out the a crater of approximately 80mm
diameter is formed.
 Applications

 Strength estimation of insitu concrete in situations

where other methods are not practical especially in
case of slender members.
 Comparative surveys in in-situ concrete.
 Quality control or strength monitoring purposes,
which are possible if a suitable calibration chart is
available.
THANK YOU