The splitting tensile strength test was conducted in accordance with ASTM D 3967-95a standard. Specimen dimension utilized was 50 mm in diameter and 30 mm in height. The specimen was placed in direct contact with two steel bearing plates and then was placed onto the testing machine. The specimen was then applied the compressive load increasing continuously to produce an approximately constant rate of deformation such that failure occurs within 1 to 10 minutes of loading. A 10-kN capacity loading machine capable of applying strain-controlled loading was used for the application of load. The load cell with 2 kN capacity was used. The load was measured automatically using the load cell, which were connected to the Central Data Acquisition (CDA). Test apparatus is shown in Fig. 3.4.