CONCRETE TESTING

WHY WE HAVE TO TEST

CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL????
a) To ensure the QUALITY of the material
b) To minimize the maintenance cost
c) To spare or reduce the involved parties in
the construction from facing problem at
later stage

2 TYPES OF CONCRETE TEST

Destructive Test
Non Destructive Test

DESTRUCTIVE TEST
Can be done for testing :
a) Compression strength concrete
- Cube test
b) Tensile strength of concrete
- Direct Tension Test
- Split-Cylinder Test
- Flexural Test
c) Flexural Strength

Cube Test
Concrete cube testing is a primary quality
compliance check on the specified design
characteristic compressive strength of concrete
mix supplied to the site.
Concrete cube is prepared by placing 3 layer of
concrete in the mould
Each layer is compacted using rod for 35 times
Then it is cured in a tank of water for 7, 14 and
28 days.
On the 7th day, cube will be taken out for
compressive strength test.

 Cube must be oiled before placing the concrete

 Cube test cured for 7, 14 , 28 days before

testing for compressive strength is carried out

 Cube is placed in a compression test machine to

ascertain the compressive strength

Tensile Strength
Tensile strength of concrete should be high
enough to resist cracking from shrinkage
and temperature changes.
It can be measured using the following test
a) Direct Tension Test
b) Split-Cylinder Test
c) Flexural Test
Normally tensile strength is assessed using
flexural or split-cylinder test.

 SPLIT CYLINDER TEST (ASTM 496)

1. A cylinder specimen of minimum 2-in.
(50mm) dia, placed with its axis in a
horizontal plane.
2.Then it is subjected to a uniform load along
the length of the specimen.
Side Elevation Of The Cylinder

LOAD

Front Elevation

3.Logically, the load will split to 2 parts (P), so

the tensile strength can be calculated as
ft = 2P / ld
l = length of the cylinder
d = diameter of the cylinder
4. The type and shape of coarse aggregate
particles also affect the tensile strength.
5. Split Cylinder Test to determine the tensile
strength of concrete by splitting cylinders of the
concrete in a compression testing machine.

Cylinder before testing

 Split Cylinder Test

 After Split Cylinder Test

FLEXURAL TEST
1. Most common method for measuring the
tensile strength of concrete
2. A concrete beam with span length equal to 3
times the beam depth ( the length of the beam
should be at least 2 in. (50mm) larger than the
span) is subjected to 3rd point loading (ASTM
C78).
3. This produces tensile stresses at the bottom of
the beam and compressive stresses at the top.

 Since concrete is weaker in tension than

compression, the specimen fails where it
breaks into 2 following the formation of a
nearly vertical crack called a flexural crack,
near the section of maximum moment.
From the failure load, the tensile strength
called the modulus of rupture (MOR) is then
calculated as follows
bending stress = Mc = strength in tension
I

 Flexural Test