What is Rebound Hammer (Schmidt Hammer) ?

The rebound hammer is a nondestructive testing

apparatus, whereby the rebound of the spring driven
mass is measured after its impact with concrete
surface. The output of the rebound hammer is referred
to as rebound number and are correlated with surface
hardness of concrete. The internal mechanism of a
typical Schmidt Hammer is illustrated in Fig. 1. The
plunger is pushed against the concrete, perpendicular
to the surface. As the hammer body is pushed towards
the concrete, the force of the causes the latch to
release, and make an impact on the concrete. At this
point, the hammer impacts the shoulder of the
plunger rod & rebounds. During the rebound the slide
indicator is moved from the hammer mass, and the
rebound distance is recorded. The hammer can be
placed in many configurations; upwards, downwards,
horizontal vertical & at any intermediate
angle. Commercial devices in the market use different
means to display the rebound number after each strike. Older generation devices display
the rebound number through a mechanical slider. Nowadays, most modern hammers use
electrical or even wireless means of displaying the results on data loggers, or smart devices
such as a tablet.

How to Use The Rebound Hammer?

Rebound Hammer is a very simple apparatus to work with; however, in order to collect
reliable, and repeatable readings, certain conditions should be met ahead of testing.   

Preparing Test Surface 

Inspectors should pay attention to the following considerations prior to conducting a
rebound hammer test:
o The testing surface must be at least 150 mm diameter. 
o Ground concrete surface (until its flat) if it is heavily textured or contains loose
mortar. 
o If there is any free moisture or water on the concrete surface, it must be removed
prior to testing.
o Do not test frozen concrete
o Avoid direct testing over steel reinforcement when cover thickness is less than 20
mm. It is recommended to use a rebar locator to avoid testing on shallow depth
reinforcement.

Rebound Hammer Direction

In order to perform the rebound hammer test, the inspector should start by holding the
instrument firmly, and ensuring that the plunger is perpendicular to the test surface. It is
also important to record the orientation of the instrument with respect to horizontal to the
nearest 45degree increment. If the instrument is pointing upwards, a positive angle should
be used & if the instrument points downward a negative angle must be recorded. 

Taking Measurements
1. Once the device is lined up, and the angle has been recorded, the inspector then
gradually pushes the instrument toward the test surface until the hammer impacts.
2. After impact, maintain pressure on the instrument and, depress the side button of
the instrument to lock the plunger in its retracted position.
3. The rebound number is then recorded to the nearest whole number. 
In order to ensure accuracy, 10
readings should be taken from each
test area. In addition, the distances
between impact points should be at
least 25 mm, and the distance between
impact points and edges of the member
should be at least 50 mm. 
As previously mentioned, due to
different effects of gravity on the
rebound as the test angle is changed,
the rebound number will be different for the same concrete and will require separate
calibration or correction charts.

How to Calculate Rebound Number

The following example shows how to rebound number is calculated and reported. Let’s
assume that the following 10 readings are obtained from one test location:
36 | 34 | 36 | 34 | 37 | 35 | 36 | 36 | 43 | 35
The average of these 10 readings is calculated:
Average 1 = (36+34+36+34+37+35+36+36+43+35)/10 = 36.2 🡪 36
Now, discard the readings that differ from the average of 10 readings by more than 6 units
and determine the average of the remaining readings.
Upper limit: 36+6 = 42
Lower limit: 36-6 = 30
By looking into the original readings, we can see that 43 (larger than upper limit 42) should
be discarded from the list, and the average of the remaining readings calculated and
reported as the average rebound number:
Average Modified = (36+34+36+34+37+35+36+36+35)/9 = 35.4 🡪 35

Estimate Concrete Strength Using Rebound Hammer (In-

Place Method)
 In this section, we will review how to Estimate Concrete Strength Using Rebound Hammer.
Initially, this was made through certain calibration curves provided by manufacturers (see
Fig below)

What Affects Rebound Hammer Readings

Although the rebound hammer provides a quick, inexpensive means of checking the
uniformity of concrete, the results can be affected by the following parameters:
o Smoothness of test surface
o Size, shape, and rigidity of the specimens
o Age of test specimens
o Surface and internal moisture conditions of the concrete
o Type of coarse aggregate 
o Type of cement
o Type of mold
o Carbonation of the concrete surface 

Concluding Remarks
o The rebound hammer developed by Schmidt provides an inexpensive and quick
method for nondestructive testing of concrete.
o When using the rebound hammer, the limitations of the test method should be
recognized and taken into account.
o It is extremely important to note that the hammer must not be regarded as a
substitute for standard compression tests but rather as a method for determining the
uniformity of concrete in the structures, comparing one concrete against another, and
reducing the number of core samples. 
References:
o ASTM C805 / C805M-18, Standard Test Method for Rebound Number of
Hardened Concrete, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA,
2018, www.astm.org (DOI: 10.1520/C0805_C0805M-18)