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Designation: D 2936 – 95
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS
100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA 19428
Reprinted from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Copyright ASTM

Standard Test Method for

Direct Tensile Strength of Intact Rock Core Specimens1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 2936; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope conforming to the requirements of 8.2. The device shall be

1.1 This test method covers the determination of the direct verified at suitable time intervals in accordance with the
tensile strength of intact cylindrical rock specimens. procedures given in Practices E 4 and shall comply with the
1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as requirements prescribed therein.
standard. 5.2 Caps—Cylindrical metal caps that, when cemented to
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the the specimen ends, provide a means through which the direct
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the tensile load can be applied. The diameter of the metal caps
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- shall not be less than that of the test specimen, nor shall it
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- exceed the test specimen diameter by more than 1.10 times.
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use. Caps shall have a thickness of at least 30 mm (11⁄4 in.). Caps
shall be provided with a suitable linkage system for load
2. Referenced Documents transfer from the loading device to the test specimen. The
2.1 ASTM Standards: linkage system shall be so designed that the load will be
D 2216 Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Water transmitted through the axis of the test specimen without the
(Moisture) Content of Soil and Rock2 application of bending or torsional stresses. The length of the
D 4543 Practice for Determining Dimensional and Shape linkages at each end shall be at least two times the diameter of
Tolerances of Rock Core Specimens2 the metal end caps. One such system is shown in Fig. 1.
E 4 Practices of Force Verification of Testing Machines3 NOTE 1—Roller of link chain of suitable capacity has been found to
E 122 Practice for Choice of Sample Size to Estimate the perform quite well in this application. Because roller chain flexes in one
Average Quality of a Lot or Process4 plane only, the upper and lower segments should be positioned at right
angles to each other to effectively reduce bending in the specimen.
3. Summary of Test Method Ball-and-socket, cable, or similar arrangements have been found to be
generally unsuitable as their tendency for bending and twisting makes the
3.1 A rock core sample is cut to length and its ends are
assembly unable to transmit a purely direct tensile stress to the test
cemented to metal caps. The metal caps are attached to a specimen.
testing machine and the specimen is loaded in tension until it
fails. 6. Sampling
6.1 Select the specimen from the cores to represent a valid
4. Significance and Use
average of the type of rock under consideration. This can be
4.1 Rock is much weaker in tension than in compression. achieved by visual observations of mineral constituents, grain
Thus, in determining the failure condition for a rock structure, sizes and shape, partings, and defects such as pores and
many investigators employ tensile strength of the component fissures, or by other methods such as ultrasonic velocity
rock as the failure strength for the structure. Direct tensile measurements.
stressing of rock is the most basic test for determining the
tensile strength of rock. 7. Test Specimens
7.1 Preparation—Prepare test specimens in accordance
5. Apparatus
with Practice D 4543, except that the degree of flatness and
5.1 Loading Device, to apply and measure axial load on the smoothness of the specimen ends is not critical. End surfaces,
specimen, of sufficient capacity to apply the load at a rate such as result from sawing with a diamond cutoff wheel, are
entirely adequate. Grinding, lapping, or polishing beyond this
1
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D-18 on Soil point serves no useful purpose, and in fact, may adversely
and Rock and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D18.12 on Rock affect the adhesion of the cementing medium.
Mechanics.
Current edition approved June 15, 1995. Published August 1995. Originally
7.2 Water content of the specimen at the time of test can
published as D 2936 – 71. Last previous edition D 2936 – 84 (1989)e2. have a significant effect upon the deformation of the rock.
2
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 04.08. Good practice generally dictates that laboratory tests be made
3
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vols 03.01, 04.02, and 08.03. upon specimens representative of field conditions. Thus, it
4
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 14.02.

1
 D 2936
follows that the field water content of the specimen should be 10. Report
preserved until the time of test. On the other hand, there may 10.1 Report the following information:
be reasons for testing specimens at other water contents, 10.1.1 Source of sample including project name and loca-
including zero. In any case, the water content of the test tion, and if known, storage environment (often location is
specimen should be tailored to the problem at hand and frequently specified in terms of the borehole number and depth
reported in accordance with 10.1.6. If the water content of the of specimen from the collar of the hole),
specimen is to be determined, follow the procedures given in 10.1.2 Physical description of the sample including: rock
Test Method D 2216. type, location and orientation of apparent planes, bedding
7.3 If water content is to be maintained, and the elevated planes, and schistosity; and large inclusions or inhomogene-
temperature enclosure is not equipped with humidity control, ities, if any,
seal the specimen using a flexible membrane or apply a plastic 10.1.3 Date of sampling and testing,
or silicone rubber coating to the specimen sides. 10.1.4 Specimen length and diameter, also conformance
8. Procedure with dimensional requirements,
10.1.5 Rate of loading or deformation rate,
8.1 Cement the metal caps to the test specimen to ensure
10.1.6 General indication of water condition of sample at
alignment of the cap axes with the longitudinal axis of the
time of test, such as, as-received, saturated, laboratory air dry,
specimen (see Note 2). The thickness of the cement layer
or oven dry (it is recommended that the moisture condition be
should not exceed 1.5 mm (1⁄16 in.) at each end. The cement
more precisely determined when possible and reported as
layer must be of uniform thickness to ensure parallelism
either water content or degree of saturation,
between the top surfaces of the metal caps attached to both
ends of the specimens. This should be checked before the 10.1.7 Direct tensile strength for each specimen as calcu-
cement is hardened (see Note 2) by measuring the length of the lated, average direct tensile strength of all specimens, standard
end-cap assembly at three locations 120° apart and near the deviation, or coefficient of variation,
edge. The maximum difference between these measurements 10.1.8 Type and location of failure (a sketch of the fractured
should be less than 0.10 mm (0.005 in.) for each 25.0 mm (1.0 specimen is recommended), and
in.) of specimen diameter. After the cement has hardened 10.1.9 Other available physical data.
sufficiently to exceed the tensile strength of the rock, place the NOTE 4—The number of specimens tested may depend upon the
specimen in the testing machine, making certain that the load availability of specimens, but normally a minimum of ten is preferred. The
transfer system is properly aligned. number of specimens tested should be indicated. The statistical basis for
relating the number of specimens to the variability of measurements is
NOTE 2—In cementing the metal caps to the test specimens, use jugs given in Practice E 122.
and fixtures of suitable design to hold the caps and specimens in proper
alignment until the cement has hardened. The chucking arrangement of a 11. Precision and Bias
machine lathe or drill press is also suitable. Epoxy resin formulations of
rather stiff consistency and similar to those used as a patching and filling 11.1 Precision—Due to the nature of the rock materials
compound in automobile body repair work have been found to be a tested by this test method, it is, at this time, either not feasible
suitable cementing medium. or too costly at this time to produce multiple specimens which
8.2 Apply the tensile load continuously and without shock have uniform mechanical properties. Therefore, since speci-
to failure. Apply the load or deformation at an approximately mens which would yield the same test results cannot be tested,
constant rate such that failure will occur in not less than five Subcommittee D18.12 cannot determine the variation between
nor more than 15 min. Note and record the maximum load tests since any variation observed is just as likely to be due to
carried by the specimen during the test. specimen variation as to operator or laboratory testing varia-
tion. Subcommittee D18.12 welcomes proposals to resolve this
NOTE 3—In this test arrangement failure often occurs near one of the problem that would allow for development of a valid precision
capped ends. Discard the results for those tests in which failure occurs
either partly or wholly within the cementing medium.
statement.
11.2 Bias—There is no accepted reference value for this test
9. Calculation method; therefore, bias cannot be determined.
9.1 Calculate the tensile strength of the rock by dividing the
maximum load carried by the specimen during the test by the 12. Keywords
cross-sectional area; express the result to the nearest 35.0 kPa 12.1 loading tests; rock; tension (tensile) properties/tests;
(5 psi). tensile strength

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