Tensile strength of plain concrete under sustained load by PT machine

摘要

This article illustrates new research regarding long-term deterioration in the tensile strength of plain concrete samples due to sustained stress loading. Two different water-cement ratio mixtures were subjected to sustained load using a Pressure Tension (PT) apparatus. Both saturated and oven dry samples were tested. Long-term PT strength under different load levels was found to decrease linearly as a function of the logarithm of time, corroborating existing creep studies. Pressure tension testing was used to determine the original strength of samples, and the effects of sustained load on tensile strength were analyzed. These results were compared with previous data obtained by direct tension tests to demonstrate efficacy of pressure tension testing for long-term creep studies. In addition, based on the analysis of failed samples, an assumption for the mechanism of the damage process is proposed. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.