(CON 3312)

Material and Concrete Technology (CBE3013S)

Laboratory Manual

Content

Laboratory 1 - Tests on Fresh Concrete

1 Mixing of fresh concrete P. 2
2 Slump test P. 3
3. Density of fresh concrete P. 4
4 Making of test cubes, beams and cylinders P. 5
5 Curing of test specimens P. 6

Laboratory 2 –Tests on Steel reinforcement Bar

6 Tensile test on steel reinforcement bar P. 7

Laboratory 3 – Tests on Hardened Concrete

7 Density of hardened concrete P. 11
8 Schmidt rebound hammer P. 12
9 Cube compression test P. 13
10 Tensile splitting strength P. 15
11 Flexural strength P. 16
Section 6 Tensile Test on Steel Bar

I Apparatus
1. Balance of capacity 20 kg and readable to 0.1 g
2. Steel measuring rule of 1 m in length
3. Universal testing machine
4. Extensometer (gauge length = 100 mm)

II Specimen
1. Plain round steel bar or grade 250
2. Deformed high tensile steel bar or grade 460

III Procedure
1. Weight the test specimen (m) into the nearest 0.1 g.
2. Measure the length of the test specimen (L) to the nearest 1 mm.
3. Lightly inscribe gauge marks on the specimen throughout the length at intervals
of 5/3 d, where d is the nominal diameter of the test specimen.
4. Grip the specimen firmly in the universal testing machine.
5. Record the gauge length of the extensometer and fix it onto the specimen.
6. Adjust the digital readout and the x-y recorder to zero point.
7. Apply the load steadily such that the rate of loading does not exceed 10 N/mm2
per second until the yield stress is reached.
8. Hold the applied load; remove the extensometer from the specimen.
9. Resume applying the load for the subsequent determination of the tensile
strength until failure occurs.
10. Record the maximum load attained (Fm).
11. Remove the fractured specimen from the machine.
P. 7
12. Fit the broken parts of the specimen in proper contact. Identify those four
consecutive gauge marks which have the fracture lying between the middle two
marks. Measure the distance spanning the four consecutive gauge marks (Lu)
to the nearest 1 mm.

IV Calculation
1. Calculate the mass per unit length (M)
m
M= (report in kg/m)
L
Where m is the mass of the specimen,
L is the length of the specimen.

Check if the mass per unit length complies with Table 2 & Table 3.

2. Calculate the effective cross-section area (A)

M
A= (report in mm2)
ρs

Where ρs = 7850 kg/m3 or 0.00785 g/mm2

3. Determine the Young’s Module (E)

On the graph, draw a straight line with overlap most with the curve within the
limit of proportionality.
∆F
∆ stress A
E= = (report in kN/mm2)
∆ strain ∆ strain
Where ∆F is the applied force (can be obtained from the plotted curve).
A is the effective cross-sectional area of the specimen.
∆strain can be obtained from the plotted curve.

P. 8
4. Determine the yield point load (YL)
The yield point load is show from the graph plotted which correspond to 0.33%
total strain for grade 250 steel and 0.43% for grade 460 steel.
(report in kN)

5. Calculate the yield stress (YS)

YL
YS = (report in N/mm2)
A
Check if the yield stress is not less than steel grade.

6. Calculate the tensile strength (TS)

Fm
TS = (report in N/mm2)
A

7. Calculate the percentage elongation (e)

Lu - Lo
E= x 100% (report in %)
Lo
Where Lu is the distance of four consecutive gauge marks which have the
fracture lying between the middle two marks.
Lo is the original distance of four consecutive gauge marks.

Check if the elongation complies with Table 7.

P. 9
P. 10
Section 7 Density of Hardened Concrete

I Apparatus
1. Caliper
2. Balance with stirrup hung beneath and immersed in water.

II Test specimen
Concrete cube of 150 x 150 x 150 mm3

III Procedure
1. Measure the three dimensions (l1, l2 and l3) of the cube with the caliper.
2. Weight the stirrup immersed in water or set the balance reading zero.
3. Place the concrete on the stirrup and fully immersed it in water.
4. Record the apparent mass of the specimen with correction for the apparent mass
of the empty stirrup (mw).
5. Wipe the specimen to remove the surface water and weight it in air (ma).
6. Perform the test once for each test specimen.

IV Calculation

Density determined by water displacement Density determine by dimension

ma - mw V2 = l1 x l2 x l3
V1 = ma
ρw Density =
V1
Where ρw = 1000 kg/m3
ma
Density =
V1

(Report in kg/m3)

P. 11
Section 8 Schmidt Rebound Hammer

I Apparatus
1. Compression machine
2. Schmidt rebound hammer

II Test specimen
Concrete cube of 150 x 150 x 150 (mm)

III Procedure
1. Clean the surface of the cube with a towel.
2. Draw lines on two opposite faces (not the trowelled face) of the cube such that
each face is subdivided into nine equal squares.
3. Carefully place the cube in the compression machine such that:
z The trowelled face is vertical,
z The faces with lines drawn are vertical and accessible from the front or rear
of the compression machine.
4. Apply loading of 158 – 225 kN to hold the cube.
5. For each face, test with the Schmidt rebound hammer on the centre of each
square and record the rebound number.

IV Calculation
1. Convert the rebound numbers to
compressive strength from the
chart on the right.
2. Discard the highest and the
lowest value and then take
average for the remaining values.

P. 12
Section 9 Compressive strength of Concrete

I Apparatus
1. Compression machine
2. Cube checking jig.
3. Caliper
4. Balance of capacity 20 kg and readable to 0.1 g.
5. Feller gauges

II Procedure
1. Identify and remove the cube specimen from curing tank.
2. Wipe off excess water from specimen surfaces with a piece of cloth.
3. Record the date of the specimen cast.
4. Record the cube if it is having an edge broken for 20mm or more in any
direction.
5. Place the cube in cube checking jig with the trowelled surface upwards.
6. Check the contract between the cube and the jib with the feeler gauges.

7. Turn the cube through 90° and repeat the check.

8. Measure the length (l1), width (l2) and height (l) between the three pairs of
opposing faces of the cube with a caliper.
9. Weigh the cube.
10. Place the cube on the centre of the lower platen with the trowelled surface of the
cube vertical.
11. Apply the test load steadily so that the stress is increased at a rate within the
range of 0.2 N/mm2 per second to 0.4 N/mm2 per second until no greater load
can be sustained.
12. Record the maximum load applied (F) to the cube specimen.

P. 13
13. Remove the cube specimen from the test machine. Examine and record the
mode of failure of the specimen.

III Calculation
F l1
Compressive strength = l3
l xl
1 3
l2
(Report in N/mm2)

IV Failure patterns of cubes

(Source: CS1)
P. 14
Section 10 Tensile splitting strength

I Apparatus
1. Compression testing machine
2. Jig for splitting strength test
3. Packing strips
4. Loading pieces

II Test specimen
1. Concrete cylinder of 150φ x 300 (mm)
(Source: ELE)

III Procedure
1. Place the test specimen in the centering jig with packing strips and loading
pieces.
2. Place the jig in the compression machine carefully so that the spacemen is
located centrally.
3. Applied the load steadily and without shock such that the stress is increased at a
rate within the range of 0.02 MPa/s to 0.04 MPa/s.
4. Record the maximum load attained (F).

IV Calculation

The Tensile Splitting Strength ƒct is given by the equation:

2F
ƒct = (report in N/mm2)
π dL
where
F is the maximum load
L is the average measured length
D is the average measured diameter (Source: CS1)

P. 15
Section 11 Flexural Strength

I Apparatus
Flexural loading device

II Test specimen
Concrete beam of 500 x 100 x 100 (mm)

III Procedure (Source: ELE)

1. Carefully place the specimen in the flexural loading device such that:
z the trowelled face is vertical,
z the specimen is in the centre of the loading device, and
z the longitudinal axis of the specimen is at right angle to the rollers.
2. Applied the load steadily and without shock such that the stress is increased at a
rate within the range of 0.03 MPa/s to 0.06 MPa/s.
3. Record the maximum load attained. (Failures outside the middle one-third of
the distance between the supporting rollers shall render the test invalid.)

IV Calculation

The Flexural Strength ƒcf is given by

the equation:
LF
fcf = (Report in N/mm2)
dd1 2
2

where
L is the spacing of the lower rollers or the flexural loading device
(Source: CS1)

F is the maximum load

d1 & d2 are the width and depth of the specimen respectively

P. 16