Alternative small-scale tests to characterize the structural behaviour of steel fibre-reinforced sprayed concrete

The flexural beam test EN 14488-3 is considered a reference for the characterization of the post-cracking tensile response of fibre-reinforced sprayed concrete (FRSC). However, the geometry of the specimens is a complication in case of characterising specimens extracted from the structure. The double punch test (DPT) and double-edge wedge splitting (DEWS) test are two alternative approaches that have been introduced to simplify the assessment of the post-cracking response of fibre-reinforced concrete. These tests could allow the characterisation of samples extracted from sprayed test panels or even existing structures. The objective of this experimental study is to demonstrate the possibility to correlate the flexural beam test EN 14488-3, the DPT and DEWS tests, and verify the capacity of these tests in predicting the constitutive model of FRSC. The results indicated high correlations (R² above 0.98) between tests. The constitutive models obtained from the alternative tests were close to those determined employing the flexural beam test. Both the DPT and DEWS test can replace the EN 14488-3 test in systematic quality control or for the confirmation of design parameters of FRSC structure. However, the DEWS test requires more time to prepare the specimens, being more appropriate to parameterize the constitutive models of the FRSC. The DPT, due to its simplicity of execution, becomes more practical for quality control of FRSC. Specimen with different size subjected to the DPT show a similar residual strength pattern.