Objective of the test: To check the strength and quality of a cube specimen of size 150 mm x 150 mm

x 150 mm at various surfaces

Method adopted: Non-destructive tests are performed on the cube to evaluate its strength and
quality.

Personnel conducting the test: Dinesh Rishi, Nisarg Patel, Kiran, Pranaya, the students of CTM-1, M
Tech, NITW.

Equipment used:

1. Rebound hammer test:

Rebound Hammer test is a Non-destructive testing method of concrete which provide a convenient
and rapid indication of the compressive strength of the concrete. The rebound hammer is also called
as Schmidt hammer that consist of a spring-controlled mass that slides on a plunger within a tubular
housing.

Principle involved:

Rebound hammer test method is based on the principle that the rebound of an elastic mass depends
on the hardness of the concrete surface against which the mass strikes. The operation of the rebound
hammer is shown in figure2.2. When the plunger of rebound hammer is pressed against the concrete
surface, the spring-controlled mass in the hammer rebounds. The amount of rebound of the mass
depends on the hardness of concrete surface. Thus, the hardness of concrete and rebound hammer
reading can be correlated with compressive strength of concrete. The rebound value is read off along
a graduated scale and is designated as the rebound number or rebound index. The compressive
strength can be read directly from the graph provided on the body of the hammer.

2. Ultra-sonic pulse velocity meter: The equipment consists of a pair of transducers, one for
generating electric pulse and the other for receiving the pulse. It consists of an amplifier to amplify
the pulse, an electronic timing device to measure the time taken by the pulse to reach the other end.

Principle: The ultrasonic pulse is generated by an electro-acoustical transducer. When the pulse is
induced into the concrete from a transducer, it undergoes multiple reflections at the boundaries of
the different material phases within the concrete. A complex system of stress waves is developed
which includes longitudinal (compressional), shear (transverse) and surface (Rayleigh) waves. The
receiving transducer detects the onset of the longitudinal waves, which is the fastest.

Because the velocity of the pulses is almost independent of the geometry of the material through
which they pass and depends only on its elastic properties, pulse velocity method is a convenient
technique for investigating structural concrete.

The underlying principle of assessing the quality of concrete is that comparatively higher velocities are
obtained when the quality of concrete in terms of density, homogeneity and uniformity is good. In
case of poorer quality, lower velocities are obtained. If there is a crack, void or flaw inside the concrete
which comes in the way of transmission of the pulses, the pulse strength is attenuated, and it passes
around the discontinuity, thereby making the path length longer. The actual pulse velocity obtained
depends primarily upon the materials and mix proportions of concrete. Density and modulus of
elasticity of aggregate also significantly affect the pulse velocity.

Specimen description:
 Size of specimen: 150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm

Material used: Concrete

Grade: M 50

Specifications: The cube was casted on 17/11/2017 and was properly cured for 28 days.

Test procedure:

1. Rebound Hammer test

 For testing the specimen, choose a smooth, clean and dry surface or rub a surface with grind
stone to make it smooth.

 The rebound hammer is held at right angles to the surface of the cube for taking the readings.

 The test was conducted on around all the points of observation on 4 faces of cube.

Figure 3 Test procedure - Rebound hammer

2. Ultra-sonic pulse velocity meter:

 The cube surfaces are made clean and smooth and is marked to indicate the points at which
transducers are to be placed

 The transducers are placed on the opposite sides of the cube specimen to be tested on the
marked points

 Switch on the UPV meter and read the values shown on the display.

 Quality is checked using the guidelines provided.

Calculations and Results

1. Rebound hammer test: The readings given by the Rebound hammer are called as Rebound
value or Rebound index, which are to be converted to Compressive strength using the graph provided
by the manufacturer. The graph is shown below.

Results obtained:

Table 1 Rebound hammer results

 S. No Rebound hammer Index (V) Compressive strength

Face 1 42 47
42 47
Face 2 42 47
39 44
Face 3 41 46
41 46
Face 4 42 47
39 44

2. UPV meter

Formula: Pulse velocity= Distance between the two probes (Path Length)/ Time of travel

General Guidelines for Concrete Quality based on the UPV Test Results:

Pulse velocity in concrete (Km/Sec) Concrete Quality (Grade)

>4.0 Very Good to Excellent

3.5-4.0 Good to Very Good, Slight Porosity may Exist.

3.0-3.5 Satisfactory but Loss of Integrity is Suspected

<3.0 Poor and Loss of Integrity Exist

Results obtained

Conclusions: