Size effect in splitting tests on plain and steel fiber-reinforced concrete: A non-local damage analysis

Recent splitting-tension tests on plain and steel fiber reinforced concrete have shown that, besides the existence of a size effect that depends on the relative width of the loading area, the deformations due to the splitting and compression (including the consequent wedge development) can be uncoupled through tests of whole and previous ly-halved discs. In order to have a better insight into the problem, experiments have been analysed through a non-local damage model. The material properties were first identified using three-point bending test data from geometrically-similar notched beams. Numerical analyses of the splitting tests, both in the traditional and modified test configurations, were then performed with a two-fold purpose. On one hand, it aims at a better understanding of the splitting test, as well as the reliability of jointly using the two types of tests for obtaining the fracture parameters for both plain and fiber concretes. On the other hand, the applicability of the proposed modeling tool is thoroughly checked.