ASTM C1399 Average Residual Strength Test | UnitedTest Fiber Reinforced Concrete Test Machine

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Material strength is a course that most engineering fields are required to study in university education. This interesting course is very practical and makes use of testing equipment in the materials laboratory.

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Mechanical testing in the transportation industry concerns the load-bearing and fatigue resistance performance of core components such as vehicles, tracks, and containers, directly ensuring transport safety and equipment durability. UnitedTest can cover mechanical testing for all types of transportation materials, complying with national and international standards, and provides customized testing solutions including tensile, fatigue, and impact tests.

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Tensile test evaluates material resistance to stretching, measuring strength/elongation critical for quality control. UnitedTest offers universal tensile testers (10-600KN) compliant with ASTM/ISO standards, providing tailored solutions for metals, polymers, medical & industrial materials.

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ASTM C1399 Fiber‑Reinforced Concrete Average Residual‑Strength Tester | UnitedTest

ASTM C1399 obtains Average Residual‑Strength (ARS) for fiber‑reinforced concrete (FRC), assessing post‑cracking flexural performance of concrete beams using third‑point loading with controlled pre‑cracking procedure. UnitedTest manufactures ASTM C1399 compliant testing machines for FRC material evaluation and construction material quality verification.

ASTM C1399 is a dedicated standard test method to measure the Average Residual‑Strength (ARS) of fiber‑reinforced concrete (FRC). This test focuses on quantifying post‑cracking flexural performance of concrete beams once the cement matrix develops visible cracking.

The test specimen is a concrete beam subjected to third‑point bending loading. The beam is intentionally pre‑cracked in a controlled manner by means of a steel plate. After completing the pre‑cracking step, the steel plate is removed and the specimen is re‑loaded for further measurement. The final calculated output from this test workflow is the Average Residual Strength (ARS), a key index reflecting the load‑bearing capacity of cracked fiber‑reinforced concrete.

This test data supports FRC mix formulation tuning, fiber dosage validation, structural performance assessment, incoming material inspection and civil engineering construction qualification. It is widely adopted by concrete manufacturers, construction laboratories and third‑party testing institutions for infrastructure projects.

UnitedTest designs and manufactures high‑precision ASTM C1399 compliant testing machines, equipped with third‑point bending fixtures to realize controlled pre‑cracking and re‑loading procedures, delivering stable and repeatable ARS test results for fiber‑reinforced concrete research and batch quality control.

Core Test Principle

A third‑point loaded concrete beam is pre‑cracked in an initial loading cycle supported by a stainless‑steel plate. The steel plate restrains sudden brittle deflection when the matrix cracks. After pre‑cracking to 0.20 mm net deflection, the steel plate is removed. The cracked beam is reloaded, and loads are captured at four specified reloading‑deflection points. These load values are used to calculate the average residual strength (ARS), an engineering flexural stress calculated with gross‑section properties, not true material stress. The test isolates post‑crack behaviour contributed by fiber bridging across cracks.

Specimen Information

Specimen geometry: Beam size: 100 mm × 100 mm × 350 mm; test span = 300 mm.

Quantity: At least five beams per concrete sample/test unit.

Specimen types:

1. Molded beams: cast in laboratory or field molds, consolidated on vibration table. Avoid internal vibration/rodding which may cause non‑uniform fiber distribution. Minimum curing age: 7 days under standard curing.

2. Sawed beams: sawn from hardened concrete cores, cast panels or in‑situ structures following ASTM C42/C42M. For stiff fibers longer than 35 mm, sawed specimens are required; the flexural tensile face must be a saw‑cut surface to mitigate fiber‑orientation bias from casting surfaces.

Orientation rules: Molded specimens shall be rotated onto their side for testing; shotcrete specimens are tested in the original shooting direction; sawed‑from‑structure specimens use saw‑cut surface as tensile face.

Testing Equipment Required for ASTM C1399 Residual Strength Fiber Reinforced Concrete

Closed‑loop servo‑controlled testing machine	Recommend UnitedTest Fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) Flexural Testing Machine: Screw‑gear or hydraulic tester with cross‑head displacement‑rate control (no closed‑loop feedback is mandatory), load cell of ~44.5 kN (10 000 lbf) capacity.
Third‑point flexural support fixture	Complies with ASTM C78, span length = 300 mm (12 in) for 100 mm‑square beams.
Deflection measuring assembly	Displacement transducers with minimum resolution of 0.025 mm (0.001 in). Two acceptable configurations: three transducers (mid‑span plus two supports) or two transducers mounted on a frame attached to the beam sides/top to measure net mid‑span deflection excluding machine‑ and seating‑related deformation. Mechanical dial gauges with 0.025 mm resolution are also permitted.
Data acquisition	X‑Y plotter or digital data logger with minimum sampling frequency of 2.5 Hz to record load‑deflection curves.
Stainless‑steel plate	Nominal dimension 100 × 12 × 350 mm (4 × ½ × 14 in), placed under beam during initial loading phase.

Key Test Parameters & Stipulations

Loading rate	0.65 ± 0.15 mm/min (0.025 ± 0.005 in/min)
Initial loading target	0.20 mm deflection with steel plate
Reloading start	after plate removed, deflection zeroed
Reloading end	1.25 mm deflection
ARS deflection points	0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25 mm
ARS formula	ARS = [(P_A + P_B + P_C + P_D)/4] × L / (b d²)
Reporting precision	ARS to 0.01 MPa; set mean to 0.05 MPa

1. Measured deflection must be **net mid‑span deflection**, subtracting apparatus deformation, support seating crushing and torsion effects. Raw machine cross‑head displacement cannot be used directly as beam deflection.

2. Initial‑peak load cannot be interpreted as modulus‑of‑rupture (modulus of rupture) according to ASTM C78 because the steel plate carries part of the load in the first loading cycle.

Standard Test Procedures of ASTM C1399 Residual Strength Fiber Reinforced Concrete

1. Prepare test beams (cast or sawed), cure according to corresponding ASTM practices (C31/C31M, C192/C192M, C42/C42M).

2. Mount the beam on top of the stainless‑steel plate, then place plate‑beam assembly onto the third‑point bending fixture. Adjust deflection transducers to measure net mid‑span deflection, activate data acquisition system.

3. Apply initial loading at constant cross‑head rate of 0.65 ± 0.15 mm/min. Stop loading when net deflection reaches 0.20 mm; discard test if no cracking occurs.

4. Unload, remove the stainless‑steel plate, keep the cracked beam with identical orientation on the supports. Reset deflection measuring device to zero for reloading reference.

5. Reload the cracked beam at the same displacement rate. Terminate the test when reloading deflection reaches 1.25 mm. Record load‑deflection reloading curve data.

6. Measure beam actual dimensions and crack location. Extract load values at 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25 mm deflections on reloading curve.

7. Calculate ARS for each beam and compute set‑average ARS. Compile full test report as per clause‑10 requirements.

Industrial & Engineering Application Fields

Laboratory research & development: Compare performance of different fiber types, sizes, shapes and volume fractions; optimize FRC mixture proportions.

Construction‑specification compliance verification for fiber‑reinforced concrete.

Condition assessment for in‑service FRC structures such as pavements, slabs‑on‑ground, shotcrete linings.

Comparative ranking of fiber products for engineering projects.

Note: It does not require closed‑loop servo control, which makes it suitable for laboratories with conventional hydraulic/screw‑frame testers, though ASTM C1609 is more widely preferred in modern practice.

Related Test Standard:

ASTM C1550	Standard Test Method for Flexural Toughness of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (Using Centrally Loaded Round Panel)
EN 14488-5	Testing sprayed concrete - Part 5: Determination of energy absorption capacity of fibre reinforced slab specimens
ASTM C78	Third‑point bending test for ordinary plain concrete flexural strength; shares beam loading fixture design but lacks servo‑deflection‑control and post‑crack residual‑strength evaluation for fibers.
ACI 544.4R‑18	ACI design guide for fiber‑reinforced concrete, which adopts C1609 parameters as core material inputs
ASTM C1018	Flexural toughness via third-point loaded notched/unnotched rectangular beams (uniaxial bending, residual strength index-based toughness, widely used for cast FRC slabs).
ASTM C1609	Residual flexural strength of FRC using beam specimens (replaced parts of C1018, focuses on post-crack residual load capacity rather than total energy absorption).
ASTM C1399	Average residual strength of FRC beams under repeated loading.
Rilem TC 162-TDF	Test and design methods for steel fibre reinforced concrete - Bending test

Importance of This Test for Fiber‑Reinforced‑Concrete Material

Plain concrete is brittle and loses almost all load‑bearing capacity immediately after matrix cracking. Fibers bridge cracks and retain post‑cracking flexural capacity, which is the key functional benefit of fiber‑reinforced concrete for slabs, pavements and shotcrete structures.

ASTM C1399 quantifies this post‑crack residual strength (Average Residual Strength, ARS), which reflects fiber‑bridging effectiveness across cracked sections.

It provides quantitative data to differentiate fiber‑reinforcement performance: fiber material, geometry, aspect ratio and dosage all affect ARS.

It supports mixture optimization, quality‑control acceptance and material‑performance comparison for FRC products.

Even though this standard has been withdrawn, its underlying concept of residual‑strength evaluation remains central for fiber‑reinforced‑concrete engineering design.

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Fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) Flexural Testing Machine can according ASTM C1550 determines the flexural toughness of fiber-reinforced concrete. Flexural toughness is the maximum stress (put) onto a specimen before it cracks or breaks.

Q1: What is ASTM C1399 test used for?

A1: ASTM C1399 measures Average Residual Strength (ARS of fiber‑reinforced concrete (FRC). It quantifies post‑cracking flexural load‑bearing capacity from fiber bridging after concrete matrix cracks, to evaluate fiber performance in FRC beams. It supports mixture optimization, construction specification compliance check, lab R&D and assessment of in‑service FRC structures.

Q2: Why is ASTM C1399 important for fiber‑reinforced concrete?

A2: Plain concrete loses almost all flexural capacity immediately after cracking. Fibers provide post‑crack strength, which is the core functional benefit for slabs‑on‑ground, shotcrete, overlays and precast elements. This test gives quantitative ARS values to compare different fiber types, fiber dosages and concrete mixes. It works with conventional open‑loop test machines, no mandatory closed‑loop servo control, lowering lab equipment barriers.

Q3: What is Average Residual Strength (ARS)? Is ARS real material stress?

A3: ARS is the average engineering flexural stress calculated from four load points (0.50 mm, 0.75 mm, 1.00 mm, 1.25 mm deflection) on the reloading curve of pre‑cracked beam. It is not true material stress. It uses linear‑elastic flexure formula and gross uncracked‑beam section properties for calculation purpose only, as defined in the standard.

Q4: What is the key difference between ASTM C1399 and ASTM C1609/C1609M?

A4: 1. ASTM C1399 uses a stainless‑steel plate under beam for controlled pre‑cracking, removes plate then reload cracked beam; closed‑loop servo control is not required.

2. ASTM C1609 runs one continuous bending test; closed‑loop deflection feedback control is mandatory to capture post‑peak curve without pre‑cracking steel plate.

3. Published lab data shows C1399 ARS results average 6.4 % lower than residual strength values from C1609 at identical deflection levels.

4. C1399 cannot measure original peak modulus‑of‑rupture; C1609 captures first‑crack peak plus residual performance in one test.

Q5: What specimen size is required for ASTM C1399 test? How many beams?

A5: Standard beam dimension: 100 mm × 100 mm × 350 mm, span length =300 mm (4 × 4 × 14 in, span 12 in). Minimum 5 beams per sample. For stiff fibers longer than 35 mm, sawed beams are required, and flexural tensile surface shall be saw‑cut surface to minimize fiber‑orientation bias.

Q6: What is the loading rate for ASTM C1399 test?

A6: Cross‑head speed: 0.65 ± 0.15 mm/min (0.025 ± 0.005 in/min), applies both for initial loading and reloading phase.

Q7: When will an ASTM C1399 test be marked invalid?

A7: If initial loading reaches net deflection of 0.20 mm (0.008 in) without visible cracking, the test is invalid and shall be discarded. The peak load from initial loading cannot be used for modulus‑of‑rupture calculation because the stainless‑steel plate shares part of the load.

Q8: What deflection points are used for ARS calculation?

A8: Extract loads from reloading curve at four net‑deflection points: 0.50 mm, 0.75 mm, 1.00 mm, 1.25 mm (0.020, 0.030, 0.040, 0.050 in). ARS formula uses average of four measured loads multiplied by beam geometry factors.

Q9: What common mistakes cause bad or scattered C1399 test results?

A9: 1. Using raw cross‑head travel instead of **net mid‑span deflection** (ignoring machine deformation, seating, torsion).

2. Wrong specimen orientation: molded beam not rotated on side; sawed‑in‑situ beam non‑saw‑cut surface used as tensile face.

3. Internal vibration / rodding for beam consolidation, which causes uneven fiber distribution.

4. Forgetting zero deflection reading after removing steel plate before reloading cracked beam.

Q10: Why choose UnitedTest ASTM C1399 Testing Machine, Fiber‑Reinforced Concrete Average Residual Strength Tester?

A10: UnitedTest is a professional global manufacturer of material testing equipment, delivering full‑compliant test solutions for **ASTM C1399 / C1399M‑10 (Reapproved 2015)** standard test method for Average Residual‑Strength of fiber‑reinforced concrete.

Our ASTM C1399 test system evaluates post‑cracking residual flexural performance of FRC beams, widely used for concrete laboratory quality control, fiber product R&D, mixture proportion optimization, shotcrete and slab‑on‑ground material assessment. Even though ASTM C1399 has been withdrawn in 2024, many labs and legacy projects still require this test setup for historical‑data comparison and research purposes.

Complete ASTM C1399 Test System Supply by UnitedTest

- Universal test frame: hydraulic / screw‑gear type with cross‑head speed control, 44.5 kN rated load cell, meets ASTM C78 base requirements. **Closed‑loop servo is optional (not mandatory per C1399 standard)**.

- ASTM C1399 dedicated third‑point bending fixture for 100 × 100 × 350 mm test beams, 300 mm clear span.

- Standard stainless‑steel support plate (100 × 12 × 350 mm) for pre‑cracking initial loading cycle.

- High‑resolution displacement transducer sets for **net mid‑span deflection measurement**, eliminating fixture deformation, seating error and beam torsion.

- Data acquisition system: ≥2.5 Hz sampling frequency, load‑deflection curve recording, built‑in calculation template for Average Residual Strength (ARS).

- Accessories: concrete beam moulds, dial gauges, magnetic gauge holders.

What test can you run with UnitedTest ASTM C1399 equipment?

- Pre‑crack & reload test for fiber‑reinforced concrete beams to compute Average Residual Strength (ARS).

- Compare performance of steel fiber, macro‑synthetic fiber, micro‑fiber concrete with different fiber dosage.

- Lab research for FRC post‑crack toughness, shotcrete test specimen evaluation.

- Compatible with related standards: ASTM C78, ASTM C1609/C1609M for flexural performance testing.

Note: For new construction‑specification projects, UnitedTest also provides upgraded ASTM C1609 closed‑loop deflection‑controlled test solution as the modern preferred alternative.

Why choose UnitedTest for your FRC residual‑strength test lab?

✅ Full hardware kit matches ASTM C1399 apparatus requirements, ready‑to‑install for concrete laboratories.

✅ Provide technical guidance for specimen preparation, test procedure, ARS calculation and report generation.

✅ Customizable fixture, load‑range and software functions for university research, third‑party inspection labs and concrete material factories.

✅ Global after‑sales support, calibration service and standard‑update technical consultation.

We offer customization to meet your specific needs. Our expert team will collaborate with you to develop the perfect product for you