Measurement of tensile strength of brittle rocks using a half ring shaped specimen

A tensile test using a half ring (HR) shaped specimen is attempted for the determination of the tensile strength of rock materials. The HR test is a 3-point bend test similar to the semicircular bend (SCB) test. However, the HR specimen is a curved prismatic bar. The theoretical tensile strength of this special bar can be obtained by an analytical formula derived from a basic theory of strength of materials. Owing to the eccentricity of the HR...