Abstract

Toughness measurements are considered to be an important scale for evaluating the post crack performance of a fibre reinforced concrete. There are various international standards that lay down different testing procedures and the corresponding deflection measurements. This paper presents a complete review on the various flexural testing methods for fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) prescribed by different standards and the methods for characterizing the toughness of FRC. Also reviewed are the significant advantages of these methods, the ways in which the deflections are measured and the practical problems associated with the measurement of deflection. This paper also discusses the various factors such as size of the specimen, stiffness of the testing machine, the rate of loading and type of loading, which influence the test results.

Key words: Toughness, fibre reinforced concrete, flexural loading, size effect, stiffness.