Dynamic split tensile test of Flattened Brazilian Disc of rock with SHPB setup

The Flattened Brazilian Disc (FBD) specimens were impacted diametrically by a pulse shaping split Hopkinson pressure bar to measure dynamic tensile strength of a brittle rock. With application of strain gauge technique, the stress waves traveling through the incident bar, the transmission bar as well as the FBD specimen were recorded and analyzed. The loading history was determined based on the one-dimensional stress wave theory. The dynamic equilibrium condition in the specimen was approximately satisfied, this claim was supported by the numerical simulation of dynamic stress evolution in the specimen, with the conclusion that a short time after impact the pattern of dynamic stress distribution in the specimen was symmetric and similar to that of the counterpart static loading. The validity of the test was further verified experimentally, as the waveforms acting on the two flat ends of the FBD specimen, respectively, were of nearly the same shape, and the rupture modes of the specimens were generally such that crack first initiated at the center of the disc and subsequently propagated along the loading diameter, whereas crush zones were implied to form lastly near the two flat ends of the broken specimen. The dynamic tensile strength of marble was measured at the critical point when the tensile strain wave recorded at the disc center got peak value of the strain derivative with respect to time.