KSCE ,Murnal of Civil Engineering

Vol. 1. No. 1/ December1997

t
pp. 11~18 L StructuralEngineering ]

Determination of Dynamic Young's Modulus of Concrete at

Early Ages by Impact Resonance Test

B y K w a n g - M y o n g Lee*, D o n g - S o o Kim** a n d J e e - S a n g Kim***

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o.

Abstract

Young's modulus of concrete increases with hardening of the concrete at early

ages. Young's modulus measured statically has been widely used to assess the
variation of modulus with curing ages. However, this method is costly because the
numerous test specimens are required. The dynamic testing technique has an
advantage of performing the m e a s u r e m e n t nondestructively without breaking
specimens. Furthermore, the perceived difference between static and dynamic
moduli is becoming smaller due to the improvement of accuracy in the static
measurement.
In this paper, the impact resonance method, which is a dynamic Young's modulus
measurement technique, is bliefly described. Dynamic Young's modulus of concrete
of 28-day compressive strength ranging from 35 MPa to 65 MPa is evaluated at
early ages by the impact resonance test. Based on the test results, it is found that
the resonance frequency increases significantly even in the early curing age of
concrete and the dynamic Young's modulus correlates quite well with early-age
concrete strength, showing the possibility of using this dynamic testing technique
in the evaluation of concrete strength.

Keywords : dynamic, young's modulus, impact, resonance

. . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4" H . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " . . . . . ~" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 0 " 0 "

1. Introduction advantage of performing the measure-

ment nondestructlvely without break-
Dynamic testing techniques such as ing specimens. The variation in dynam-
an impact resonance test have an ic Young's modutus of early age con-

* A s s i s t a n t Professor, D e p a r t m e n t of Civil E n g i n e e r i n g , S u n g K y u n K w a n U n i v e r s i t y , Suwon,

Korea.
** Associate Professor, D e p a r t m e n t of Civil E n g i n e e r i n g , KAIST, Daejeon, Korea.
*** S e n i o r R e s e a r c h e r , O u t s i d e P l a n t Tech. Lab., K o r e a Telecom, Daejeon, Korea.

T h e m a n u s c r i p t for t h i s p a p e r w a s s u b m i t t e d for r e v i e w on O c t o b e r 6, 1997.

Vo]. 1. No. 1 / December 1997 11

 Kwang-Myong Lee, Dong-Soo Kim and Jee-Sang Kim
crete can be d e t e r m i n e d u s i n g an
identical specimen by m o n i t o r i n g the
variation in r e s o n a n t frequencies over
a period of time. The perceived differ-
ence between static and d y n a m i c modu-
li is becoming s m a l l e r due to the
i m p r o v e m e n t of accuracy in the static
m e a s u r e m e n t , and static modulus can
be converted from the d y n a m i c mo-
dulus using developed correlation.
The objectives of this research are to
provide the f u n d a m e n t a l relationship
between m o d u l u s and s t r e n g t h of early-
age concrete, and to assess the feasibil-
ity of using the impact resonance(IR)
test for the non-destructive evaluation
of s t r e n g t h of the early age concrete
specimens.
2. Background
2.1. Static Modulus versus Dynamic
Modulus
Dynamic techniques in measuring
moduli of concrete specimens have not
been used widely because of perceived
differences between moduli m e a s u r e d
statically a n d dynamically. As t h e accu-
racy of static m e a s u r e m e n t s improves,
this perceived difference continues to
decrease, and there is a growing under-
s t a n d i n g in civil engineering t h a t
strain a m p l i t u d e is a key variable in
predicting the behavior w h e t h e r the
strain comes from static or dynamic
phenomena (Tatsuoka and Shibuya 1992;
Kim and Stokoe 1994).
Both d y n a m i c and static moduli of
portland c e m e n t concrete were meas-
ured by W a t s o n et a1.(1991). I m p a c t
resonance m e t h o d was used in the
m e a s u r e m e n t of d y n a m i c moduli a n d
unconfined compression test using very
sensitive load cell and micro-proximi-
tors (gap sensors) was performed to
m e a s u r e static moduli accurately at
-12
small s t r a i n s on the order of 10 ~. They
found t h a t t h e values of static Young's
m o d u l u s at strains below a threshold of
10 -5 agreed w i t h those values m e a s u r e d
dynamically and static m o d u l u s of con-
crete specimen decreases w i t h increas-
ing s t r a i n above t h a t t h r e s h o l d strain.
The differences between d y n a m i c and
static moduli can be explained by the
differences in s t r a i n levels used in
testing, as well as a loading rate effect.
The modulus m e a s u r e d dynamically
was found to be about 10% g r e a t e r t h a n
the value m e a s u r e d in the conventional
static t e s t which is based on stress and
s t r a i n at 40% of t h e failure stress.
2.2. Determination of Dynamic Young'
s Modulus of Concrete
In this study, the impact resonance
(IR) m e t h o d is used to d e t e r m i n e the
d y n a m i c Young's modulus of concrete
at small s t r a i n s based on elastic wave
propagation theory. The u n c o n s t r a i n e d
compression wave velocity of a concrete
specimen can be d e t e r m i n e d by exciting
the specimen in longitudinal mode and
observing the frequencies at which it
resonates. The r e s o n a n t frequencies of
the specimen are frequencies at which
waves reflect off the specimen ends a n d
add constructively, and therefore con-
trolled by wave velocity, specimen
geometry, and b o u n d a r y condition.
The specimen is suspended in the air
using two flexible straps as shown in
Fig. 1 and the b o u n d a r y conditions are
free at both ends. IR t e s t i n g equipment
consists of signal e• accelerome-
ters, a n d a waveform analyzer. The
basic operational principle is to induce
a excitation at one end of the specimen
and m o n i t o r the response of the speci-
m e n at the other end. An i n s t r u m e n t e d
h a m m e r (PCB Model GK291B01) is
used to g e n e r a t e a compressional wave
K S C E J o u r n a l of Civil E n g i n e e r i n g
 Determination of dynamic young's modulus of concrete at early ages by impact resonance test

m i n e d from t h e r e s o n a n t f r e q u e n c y os

Supp?a (Acccler~v:ter)
--
Fr=m=
Transducer
t h e specimen in t h e first mode. Fig. 1
(b) shows a typical f r e q u e n c y - d o m a i n
r e c o r d for t h e u n c o n s t r a i n e d compres-
la~tror~en~
Hammer
sion wave (Kim et al. 1997). T h e
u n c o n s t r a i n e d compression wave veloci-
ty, ~o, of the s p e c i m e n is calculated
from:

v c = f~. ~ (1)

w h e r e fl is t h e first mode r e s o n a n c e
f r e q u e n c y and A is t h e wave l e n g t h of

DyrJamirAnilyzer
Signal
first mode (2 x s p e c i m e n length). Once
t h e u n c o n s t r a i n e d wave velocity is
(a) Schematic diagram of impact resonance test d e t e r m i n e d , the Young's m o d u l u s is
given by
0.04 -
E= p , 2 (2)
c
0.03 -- f l : 8.32 KHz

0.02
E specimen.
0.01
O.CO
I I I '
5000 1C(~0 15000
Frequency (Hz)
(b) Typical frequency domain result
Fig. 1. Dynamic Young's Modulus Test Setup
in t h e specimen. Piezoelectric accet-
e r o m e t e r s (PCB Model 303A12) which
can o p e r a t e reliably over wide ampli-
tude a n d f r e q u e n c y ranges, a r e used to
m o n i t o r the response of t h e specimen.
T h e o u t p u t signals from t h e accelerom-
eters and i n s t r u m e n t e d h a m m e r are
conditioned and t h e n recorded w i t h a
waveform analyze,'. T h e w a v e f o r m an-
alyzer has t h e capacity to p e r f o r m d a t a
acquisition a n d signal processing. T h e
schematic d i a g r a m of IR s e t u p is shown
in Fig. 1.
The Young's modulus, E, is deter-
w h e r e r is the bulk d e n s i t y of t h e
It is i m p o r t a n t to n o t e t h a t one
a t t e m p t s to m e a s u r e the u n c o n s t r a i n e d
I compression velocity (,~) in the IR t e s t
200~
while in the pulse velocity m e a s u r e -
m e n t one m e a s u r e s t h e c o n s t r a i n e d
compression wave velocity (,p), which
is controlled by the c o n s t r a i n e d mo-
dulus, M. The r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n M
a n d E is d e t e r m i n e d as follows, once
t h e Poisson's ratio, u, is obtained:
1- u (3)
M = (1+ u) (1-2 u)
3. Experimental Work
E x p e r i m e n t a l work was focused on
t h e e v a l u a t i o n of t h e d y n a m i c Y o u n ~ s
m o d u l u s of concrete at early age using
t h e i m p a c t r e s o n a n c e method. In this
w o r k t h r e e m a i n p a r a m e t e r s were
selected, namely: (1) concrete type -
t h r e e different compressive s t r e n g t h s ,
(2) c u r i n g condition w e t a n d air
curing, and (3) c u r i n g age - 6 h o u r s to

Vol. 1. No. 1 / December 1997 --13-

 Kwang-Myong Lee, Do~g.Soo Kim and Jee-Sang Kim

28 days. 3.2. Test Procedure

3.1. Specimen Preparation
Concrete cylinders with fl00 x 200mrn
were cast for the experiment. Three
concrete mixes, C1, C2, and C3, were con-
sidered in t h e test. T a bl e 1 shows t h e
m i x t u r e p r o p o r t i o n s of t h e t e s t e d con-
crete mixes. To pr oduc e high s t r e n g t h
concrete, silica f u m e was u s e d 5% or 10%
of cement content by weight, and to con-
trol t h e w o r k a b i l i t y of t h e concrete, hi gh
r a n g e w a t e r r e d u c e r w as added.
F r e s h concrete was pr oduc e d by nor-
mal mix i ng pr oc e dur es . After f r e s h
concrete was placed into cylinder molds,
the molds w e r e e x t e r n a l l y v i b r a t e d for
30 seconds to e n s u r e p r o p e r placing of
the concrete. All cylinders w e r e covered
with plastic sheets for 24 h o u r s a f t e r
the fresh concrete was placed in t h e
molds. T h e cylinders w er e t h e n pl aced
in w a t e r unt i l t h e day of t e s t i n g except
the specimens t h a t w e r e k e p t u n d e r ai r
curing for d y n a m i c m o d u l u s test.
I m p a c t r e s o n a n c e and uni-axial com-
pression tests w ere carri ed out on t he
cylinders to e v a l u a t e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p
b e t w e e n d y n a m i c Young's m o d u l u s and
s t r e n g t h of t h e concrete mixes, t o g e t h e r
w i t h static Young's m o d u l u s and split-
t i ng tensile s t r e n g t h . A u n i v e r s a l test-
ing m a c h i n e was used for both t h e uni-
axial com pressi on and splitting tensile
t est s of cylinders. D y n a m i c Y o u n ~ s
m o d u l u s of concrete was m e a s u r e d at
e a r l y ages usi ng t h e i m p a c t r e s o n a n c e
t e s t equi pm ent .
4. Test Results and Discussion
4.1. Static Test Results
T h e m e c h a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s of t est ed
specimens are listed in Table 2. T h e
t a r g e t e d compressive s t r e n g t h s of C2
and C3 at 28 days w ere 60 M P a and
75 MPa, respectively; however, actual
s t r e n g t h s for C2 and C3 were a b o u t 50
M P a and 65 MPa, respectively. It is
believed t h a t t h e s t r e n g t h reduct i on
was due to t he use of gravel whose

Table 1. Mix Proportion of Concrete Mixtures

(kg/nO
Grade Silica Coarse
Cement Water Fine Agg. HRWR (%)W/ (C+SF)
(MPa) Fume Agg.
C1 400.0 200.0 988.3 702.2 0 0.50
C2 + 520.0 26 180.2 1030.8 605.5 1 0.33
C3 520.0 52 160.2 1036.9 623.5 E 2 0.28

Tabte 2. Mechanical Properties of Tested Specimens

Type Property 3 day 7 day 28 day

fo(MPa) 13.6 19.1 33.8
C1
f~p(MPa) 1.7 2.2 2.6
C2 fdMPa) 36.2 40.9 50.5
f~p(MPa) 1.7 3.3 3.8
fi(MPa) 45.3 51.0 64.8
C3
~r(MPa) 2.3 4.7 5.1

--!4-- KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering

 Determination of dynamic young's modulus of concrete at early ages by impact resonance test

surface w a s s m o o t h e r t h a n t h a t of p r e s s i v e s t r e n g t h at 7 d a y s w a s a b o u t
c r u s h e d rocks, r e s u l t i n g in w e a k e r 80% o f t h e 2 8 - d a y s t r e n g t h , w h i c h is
aggregate-paste bond strength. The corn- typical for s i l i c a - f u m e concrete.

'7. : , |; T
o
i t! rg
11
r 1
/1/ = t ~J
iJ F -,t r
\/ "

0.00 10,11tl 20.00 I0.1~ 20.00

Frequency tkHz) Frequency (kHz)

(a) 6 hrs - C2 (b) 6 hrs - C3

!
c~

IL

10.00 20.00 0.00 20.00

0,CO
Fmqua~"y (kHz) F,requllmCy ~Hz)

(c) 24 hrs - C2 (d) 24 hrs - C3

2. K; ''I
e~
,

o
V

c=
cl

j
\
t
o
o 20.00
0.00 10.00 10.00
Frlq~g~Cy IIkH2) Frequency (kl-lz)

(e) 672 hrs - C2 (0 672 hrs - C3

Fig. 2, Typical Frequency Domain Results Obtained from Specimens Cured in Wet Condition

Vol. 1, No, 1 / December 1997 15

 Kwang-Myong Lee, Dong-Soo Kim and dee-Sang Kim

4.2. Dynamic Test Results v a r i a t i o n in t h e f r e q u e n c y of t h e domi-

T h e d y n a m i c m o d u t i of t h e s p e c i m e n s
were m e a s u r e d by impact resonance
m e t h o d a t v a r i o u s c u r i n g ages f r o m 6
h o u r s to 28 d a y s . Fig. 2 s h o w s t h e
f r e q u e n c y d o m a i n r e s u l t s of C2 a n d C3
specimens cured u n d e r wet conditions.
The multiple reflected P wave domi-
n a t e s t h e r e s p o n s e of t h e s p e c i m e n , a n d
t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g f r e q u e n c y a p p e a r s as
t h e p e a k in t h e f r e q u e n c y d o m a i n . T h e
n a n t p e a k w i t h c u r i n g t i m e c a n be
n o t i c e d in t h e figure. As c u r i n g t i m e
i n c r e a s e s , t h e f r e q u e n c y of t h e d o m i -
nant peak clearly increases, indicating
t h e i n c r e a s i n g s t i f f n e s s of t h e s p e c i m e n .
T h e v a r i a t i o n s in t h e d y n a m i c Y o u n g '
s moduli of the three different strength
specimens with curing age are shown
in Fig. 3. T a b l e 3 also lists t h e d y n a m i c
t e s t r e s u l t s on r e s o n a n t f r e q u e n c y , P-

Table 3. Dynamic Test Results of Tested Specimens

Resonant Compression Dynamic Young's

Time i
Frequency (Hz) ! Velocity (m/s) Modulus (GPa)
Type
(hr) i
Air Wet Air Wet Air Wet
3875 3850 1550 1540 5.6 5.5
I0 4425 4350 1770 1740 7.2 7.0
I 17 6125 5925 2450 2370 13.9 13.0
i--
: 24 7O50 6825 2820 2730 18.4 17.3
C1 F
i 72 8300 8400 3320 3360 25.6 26.2
i
168 8625 9250 3470 3700 27.9 31.7
336 8850 9375 3540 3750 29.1 32.6
672 8950 9650 3580 3860 29.7 34.6
4700 4950 1880 1980 ! 8.2 9.1
!
15 8200 8700 3280 3480 ! 24.6 28.1
20 I 8600 9050 3440 3620 ! 27.0 30.4
24 !] 8750 9200 3500 3680 27.9 31.5
C2
72 9400 9850 3760 394O 32.1 36.1
144 9550 10150 3820 4060 ; 33.2 38-3
360 ;
9700 1[ 10300 3880 4120 34.1 39.5
i

672 ! 9800 10450 3920 i 4180 i 34.9 ~ 40.8

f §
i 4650 4700 1860 ~ 1880 ! 8.3 i 8.4
13 r 8500 8850 34OO i. 3540 27.4 I 29.8
18 !i: 8850 9250 3540 ~
i 3700 !' 29.6 ] 32.6
26 9100 9550 3640 i 3820 31.3 I 34.8
72 9500 10100 3800 4040 34.1 40.0
144 9700 10350 3880 4140 35.6 ! 40.9
360 9850 10500 3940 4200 36.6 !' 42.2
672 9950 10600 398O 4240 37.3 43.0

16 KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering

 Determination of dynamic young's modulus o f concrete at early ages by impact resononce test

wave velocity, a n d d y n a m i c Younges w h a t g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t cured in dry

modulus, at selected curing ages, The condition, m e a n i n g t h a t more active
m o d u l u s increases rapidly at the early c e m e n t h y d r a t i o n occurred in concrete
ages up to about 30 hours and then, specimens u n d e r wet curing condition.
the rate of increase diminishes thereafter.
The m o d u l u s of C2 and C3 developed 4.3. R e l a t i o n s h i p between Strength
rapidly in the early ages due to the and D y n a m i c M o d u l u s of Concrete
effect of silica fume used in producing Both strength-velocity a n d strength-
the high s t r e n g t h concrete. At a n y dynamic Young's modulus curves are
given time, the m o d u l u s of the speci- generated from the test results for all
m e n cured in wet condition was some-

' ! illi
t iiiiii i~III......iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(
~0 ..... J....... ..... !......i~
iiii(iiill
ttl
g r = ! oc:
I,-
r162 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ~ . . . . . . . .
IIJ
>
r, gl
gl
IAI

I I II O
~ 1D 84 O

~ ! i l!ll o
....... i ...... i ............. ~ j J ~ r
i
3200 36o0 4ooo
o i ,~ r
44O0

VELOCITY (m/s)

TIME (hr)
(a) V e l o c i t y vs. C o m p r e s s i v e s t r e n g t h

(a) A i r C u r i n g 80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

~ill itl V,_~ ,~.

O..
....... 9 .... ;.... .. . . . . . . . . 9. . . . .. .. . . . :

N
~ 40

lqllPfi
#
~ !Jil f.L 20 . . . . 9 . . . . : . . . . . ..~; ,.~.;...: . , . .:

o 11i!!i
IQ
0
24
r

DYNAMIC
28
~

YOUNG'S
i
~.
" j
~(&

MODULUS
t I
40

(GPa)
I
44

TIME (hr) (Iv) D y n a m i c Y o u n g ' s m o d u l u s v s . C o m p r e s s i v e s t r e n g t h

(b) W e t C u r i n g
Fig. 4. Relationship between compressive
Fig, 3. Variations in Dynamic Young's strength and velocity or dynamic Young's
Modutus with Curing Age modulus

Vo], 1. N o . 1 / December 1997 -17-

 Kwang-Myong Lee, Dor~gLSoo Kim and Joe-Sang Kim
specimens at selected curing ages when
compressive tests w a s carried out, as
shown in Fig. 4. Although t h e t e s t d a t a
were not sufficient, good correlation
b e t w e e n strength and velocity(or dy-
namic Young's modulus) are obtained
with this limited data set. This relation-
ship can be expressed b y the equation
of the form (Pessiki a n d J o h n s o n 1996)
fc = a( ,bc) (4-a)
fc = e(~d) (4-b)
where fc is compressive s t r e n g t h of
concrete in MPa, E d is dynamic Young's
modulus in GPa, ~0 and is velocity in
m/s a, b, c and d are constants and can
be found by the linear regression of In
fc versus either I n "c or i n E d. Eq. (4)
represents a good fitting of the test
results given in Fig. 4. By a linear
regression of the tested data, constants
a and b are d e t e r m i n e d as 2.321E-23
and 6.728, respectively, a n d c a n d d
were 3.88E-4 and 3.182, respectively.
Consequently, once the dynamic Young'
s modulus of a concrete sample is
measured, compressive s t r e n g t h of the
concrete at ear]y ages can be easily
e v a l u a t e d using Eq. (4).
5. Conclusions
The following conclusions can be
d r a w n from this study:
(I) The impact r e s o n a n t m e t h o d can
be used to evaluate dynamic Young's
modulus of early-age concrete b y deter-
mining P-wave velocity of the concrete
specimens.
(2) Stiffness of concrete develops
rapidly even at early ages. At a n y given
time, the m o d u l u s of concrete specimen
cured in w e t condition is slightly
g r e a t e r t h a n t h a t cured in dry condi-
18-
tion.
(3) The early-age concrete strength
can be e s t i m a t e d from the relationships
b e t w e e n the strength and the P-wave
velocity or dynamic Young's modulus.
More e x p e r i m e n t a l work needs to be
p e r f o r m e d to p u t this approach on a
t r u l y firm footing.
References
1. Kim, D. S., Park, H. C., and Lee, K.
M. (1997). "Nondestructive Evalua-
tion of Concrete M e m b e r s using
Impact Echo Method." KCI Journal,
Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 109-119.
2. Kim, D.-S., and Stokoe II, K. H.
(1994). "Torsional Motion Monitor-
ing S y s t e m for Small-Strain Soil
Testing." Geotechnical Testing Jour-
nal, G T J O D J , Vol. 17, No. 1, March,
pp. 17-26.
3. Pessiki, S. a n d Johnson, M. R.
(1996). ~Nondestructive Evaluation
of Early-Age Concrete S t r e n g t h in
Plate S t r u c t u r e s by the Impact-Echo
Method." A C I Material Journal, Vol.
93, No. 3, pp. 260-271.
4. Tatsuoka, F., and Shibuya, S. (1992).
"Deformation Characteristics of Soils
and Rocks from Field and Laborato-
ry M e a s u r e m e n t s . " Proceedings of
the 9 th Asian Regional Conference on
Soil Mechanics and Foundation En-
gineering, Bangkok, Vol. II, Dec., pp.
101-170.
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K. H., and Fowler, D. W. (1991). "Is
there a Difference B e t w e e n Static
and D y n a m i c Moduti of Concrete?."
Proceedings of Society o f Exploration
Geophysicists 61 ~ Annual Internation-
al Meeting and Exposition, Houston,
Texas, Nov., Vol. I, pp. 526-529.
K S C E J o u r n a l of Civil E n g i n e e r i n g