Experiment No: 01
FLEXURAL STRENGTH TEST
Objective: To determine the Flexural Strength (FS) of cement-stabilized overburden (OB)
specimen.
Code to be followed: ASTM D1635
Need and Scope: Chemical stabilization of soil is the practice of improving the engineering
properties such as strength, stiffness, and durability of subbase/base/subgrade materials of
pavement by using additives. Cracks are supposed to develop when these bounded materials
are repeatedly loaded and go through temperature and humidity variations. A flexural strength
test can be used to assess the capacity of bounded material to resist cracking or fracture. The
four-point bend test is commonly used to determine flexural strength, which involves placing
a sample between two supports and the application of load using the other two points. The peak
load at failure is recorded and used to calculate the FS of the specimen.
Apparatus:
1. Flexure Testing Machines
2. Temperature Control System
3. Miscellaneous
Fig. Schematic view of setup for the flexural strength test
Experimental Procedure:
1. Preparation of test specimens:
• Mix the dry OB sample with the required amount of cement properly.
• Add water to the OB-cement mixture and mix thoroughly to reach desired
optimum moisture content (OMC).
• Then prepare the specimens in prismatic moulds in conjunction with the
appropriate hammer weight, drop height, and compaction effort.
• Cover the moulds with compacted specimens for 2 days to prevent moisture
loss.
• Remove the specimens of size 285 (L) × 75 (b) × 75 (d) from moulds and to
achieve target maturity, place the covered specimen at room temperature for a
specific curing period.
2. Test procedure:
• Place the specimen between two supports such that the effective span length
will be 3 times of the thickness.
• Apply the load at each third point along the effective span length, and record
the peak load at failure at the mid-span of the specimen.
• Calculate FS in the terms of the modulus of rupture (MR) by using the following
formula;
MR (kPa) = (P×l)/(b×d2)
where:
P = Maximum load (N),
l = Span length (mm), and
b, d = Width, and depth of specimen (mm).
Observation and calculations:
Sample No. Failure load (N) FS (kPa) Average FS (kPa)
1
2
3
General remarks:
Questions
1. What are the differences between the three-point and four-point flexure bend tests?
2. Why flexural strengthening is important for good stabilization?
3. What is flexural modulus?
