Testing of Cementitious Materials under High-Strain-Rate Tensile Loading Using Elastic Strain Energy

This paper describes a new test system that relies on sudden strain energy release to subject cementitious composite specimens to high-strain-rate tensile loading. The proposed system is (1) more cost effective to build and smaller than existing systems; (2) can be used to test larger specimens, which is an important advantage for cementitious materials; and (3) can be conveniently adjusted to achieve a broad range of strain rates. The theoretical potential of the device is discussed and equations that describe the operation of the system are developed and used to identify influential variables. A computational simulation model of a prototype system is presented and exercised to quantitatively explore the influence of key variables on the accuracy of measured results. The new system has the potential for conducting accurate high-strain-rate testing of cement-based materials in direct tension.