A COMPARATIVE ANALYTICAL STUDY IS DESCRIBED OF THE CRITICAL STRESS DISTRIBUTIONS DEVELOPED IN SPLITTING TESTS ON CONCRETE SPECIMENS OF VARIOUS SHAPES. ASSUMING LINEAR ELASTIC BEHAVIOR, THE SPLITTING STRESSES FOR THE FOUR FOLLOWING CASES ARE INVESTIGATED FOR CONCENTRATED LINE LOADING: (1) CYLINDER SPECIMENS; (2) CUBE SPECIMENS; (3) BEAM SPECIMENS; AND (4) CUBE SPECIMENS TESTED DIAGONALLY. IT IS DEMONSTRATED THAT SPECIMENS (1), (2) AND (3) HAVE SIMILAR DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS OF TENSILE STRESS. IN PARTICULAR, THE CUBE SPLITTING TEST FORMS A SUITABLE PRACTICAL ALTERNATIVE TO THE STANDARD CYLINDER SPLITTING TEST TO ASSESS THE TENSILE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE. THE STUDY OF SPECIMEN (2) IS EXTENDED TO INCLUDE THE EFFECTS OF DISTRIBUTED LOADS ON THE STRESS PATTERNS. /AUTHOR/