3/4/2017 COMPRESSIVESTRENGTHOFCONCRETECUBES

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COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE CUBES

Home (http://theconstructor.org) / Concrete (http://theconstructor.org/concrete/) / COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE

Compressivestrengthofconcrete:Outofmanytestappliedtotheconcrete,thisistheu
whichgivesanideaaboutallthecharacteristicsofconcrete.Bythissingletestonejudgeth
Concretinghasbeendoneproperlyornot.

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Compressivestrengthofconcretedependsonmanyfactorssuchaswatercementratio,cem
qualityofconcretematerial,qualitycontrolduringproductionofconcreteetc.

Testforcompressivestrengthiscarriedouteitheroncubeorcylinder.Variousstandardcod
concretecylinderorconcretecubeasthestandardspecimenforthetest.AmericanSociety
MaterialsASTMC39/C39MprovidesStandardTestMethodforCompressiveStrengthofCylin
Specimens(http://theconstructor.org/concrete/compressivestrengthtestonconcretecylin

Forcubetesttwotypesofspecimenseithercubesof15cmX15cmX15cmor10cmX10
dependinguponthesizeofaggregateareused.Formostoftheworkscubicalmouldsofsiz
15cmarecommonlyused.

Thisconcreteispouredinthemouldandtemperedproperlysoasnotto
haveanyvoids.After24hoursthesemouldsareremovedandtest
specimensareputinwaterforcuring.Thetopsurfaceofthesespecimenshouldbemadeev
Thisisdonebyputtingcementpasteandspreadingsmoothlyonwholeareaofspecimen.

Thesespecimensaretestedbycompressiontestingmachineafter7dayscuringor28days
shouldbeappliedgraduallyattherateof140kg/cm2perminutetilltheSpecimensfails.Lo
dividedbyareaofspecimengivesthecompressivestrengthofconcrete.

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Following are the procedure fortesting Compressive strength of Concrete Cubes

APPARATUS

Compressiontestingmachine

PREPARATIONOFCUBESPECIMENS

Theproportionandmaterialformakingthesetestspecimensarefromthesameconcreteus

SPECIMEN

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6cubesof15cmsizeMix.M15orabove

MIXING

Mixtheconcreteeitherbyhandorinalaboratorybatchmixer

HANDMIXING

(i)Mixthecementandfineaggregateonawatertightnoneabsorbentplatformuntilthemix
blendedandisofuniformcolor

(ii)Addthecoarseaggregateandmixwithcementandfineaggregateuntilthecoarseaggre
distributedthroughoutthebatch

(iii)Addwaterandmixituntiltheconcreteappearstobehomogeneousandofthedesiredc

SAMPLING

(i)Cleanthemoundsandapplyoil

(ii)Filltheconcreteinthemoldsinlayersapproximately5cmthick

(iii)Compacteachlayerwithnotlessthan35strokesperlayerusingatampingrod(steelba
and60cmlong,bulletpointedatlowerend)

(iv)Levelthetopsurfaceandsmoothenitwithatrowel

CURING

Thetestspecimensarestoredinmoistairfor24hoursandafterthisperiodthespecimensa
removedfromthemoldsandkeptsubmergedinclearfreshwateruntiltakenoutpriortote

PRECAUTIONS

Thewaterforcuringshouldbetestedevery7daysandthetemperatureofwatermustbeat

PROCEDURE

(I)Removethespecimenfromwaterafterspecifiedcuringtimeandwipeoutexcesswaterf

(II)Takethedimensionofthespecimentothenearest0.2m

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(III)Cleanthebearingsurfaceofthetestingmachine

(IV)Placethespecimeninthemachineinsuchamannerthattheloadshallbeappliedtoth
thecubecast.

(V)Alignthespecimencentrallyonthebaseplateofthemachine.

(VI)Rotatethemovableportiongentlybyhandsothatittouchesthetopsurfaceofthespe

(VII)Applytheloadgraduallywithoutshockandcontinuouslyattherateof140kg/cm2/min
specimenfails

(VIII)Recordthemaximumloadandnoteanyunusualfeaturesinthetypeoffailure.

NOTE

Minimumthreespecimensshouldbetestedateachselectedage.Ifstrengthofanyspecime
than15percentofaveragestrength,resultsofsuchspecimenshouldberejected.Average
givesthecrushingstrengthofconcrete.Thestrengthrequirementsofconcrete.

CALCULATIONS

Sizeofthecube=15cmx15cmx15cm

Areaofthespecimen(calculatedfromthemeansizeofthespecimen)=225cm2

Characteristiccompressivestrength(fck)at7days=

Expectedmaximumload=fckxareaxf.s

Rangetobeselectedis..

Similarcalculationshouldbedonefor28daycompressivestrength

Maximumloadapplied=.tones=.N

Compressivestrength=(LoadinN/Areainmm2)=N/mm2

=.N/mm2

REPORT

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a)Identificationmark

b)Dateoftest

c)Ageofspecimen

d)Curingconditions,includingdateofmanufactureofspecimen

f)Appearanceoffracturedfacesofconcreteandthetypeoffractureiftheyareunusual

RESULT

Averagecompressivestrengthoftheconcretecube=.N/mm2(at7days)

Averagecompressivestrengthoftheconcretecube=.N/mm2(at28days)

Compressive strength of concrete at various ages:

Thestrengthofconcreteincreaseswithage.Tableshowsthestrengthofconcreteatdifferen
comparisonwiththestrengthat28daysaftercasting.

Age Strengthpercent
1day 16%

3days 40%
7days 65%
14days 90%
28days 99%

Compressive strength of dierent grades of concrete at 7 and 28

MinimumcompressivestrengthN/mm2 Specifiedcharacteristiccompr
GradeofConcrete
at7days (N/mm2)at28da
M15 10 15
M20 13.5 20
M25 17 25
M30 20 30
M35 23.5 35
M40 27 40
M45 30 45

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