ABSTRACT
The study addresses a new test setup for measuring the direct tensile strength of Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) gravity dams. Tensile strength capacity of RCC gravity dams can be measured either by indirect or direct methods. Indirect methods mean that the load is applied indirectly to the specimens, whereas, direct methods, the load is applied directly and the specimen is subjected to pure uniaxial tension condition. Results obtained from direct tension test should yield tensile strength closure to the true tensile strength of the RCC gravity dams. A new test setup for measuring the direct tensile strength capacity of RCC gravity dams is developed. The proposed method is used for cylindrical core with 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height, the specimens is glued to steel plates to the end of the RCC cores, and the steel plate are pulled so that the tension load is transmitted to the RCC in the form of pure tension. Three dimensional Finite Element Methods is used to model the proposed setup and to insure that the setup is designed in away that the tensile stresses are uniformly distributed across the section. An RCC trial mix design was carried out and approximately 100 cores were made. Direct tension test using the proposed setup was used to test the specimens. Results are presented and correlations with compression and split tests are also presented. Also, this study focuses on the possibility and efficiency of using Jordanian Natural pozzolan in roller compacted (RCC) dams.
