INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT CIVIL
Master of Engineering (CTM)
Quality Control Lab

Test on Hardened Concrete DISCOVER . LEARN .

EMPOWER
The compressive strength of the concrete cube test
provides an idea about all the characteristics of concrete. By this
single test one judge that whether Concreting has been done
properly or not. Concrete compressive strength for general
construction varies from 15 MPa to 30 MPa and higher in
commercial and industrial structures.
Compressive strength of concrete depends on many
factors such as water-cement ratio, cement
strength, quality of concrete material, quality
control during the production of concrete, etc.
Compressive Strength Definition
Compressive strength is the ability of material or structure to
carry the loads on its surface without any crack or deflection. A
material under compression tends to reduce the size, while in
tension, size elongates.
Compressive Strength Formula
Compressive strength formula for any material is the load
applied at the point of failure to the cross-section area of the face
on which load was applied.
Compressive Strength = Load / Cross-sectional Area
• For cube test specimens cubes of 15cm X 15cm X 15cm are
used. This concrete is poured in the mold and appropriately
tempered so as not to have any voids.
• After 24 hours, molds are removed, and test specimens are
put in water for curing. The top surface of these specimen
should be made even and smooth. This is done by placing
cement paste and spreading smoothly on the whole area of
the specimen.
• These specimens are tested by compression testing machine
after seven days curing or 28 days curing. Load should be
applied gradually at the rate of 140 kg/cm2 per minute till
the Specimens fails. Load at the failure divided by area of
specimen gives the compressive strength of concrete.
Procedure for Concrete Cube Test
1.Remove the specimen from the water after specified curing
time and wipe out excess water from the surface.
2.Take the dimension of the specimen to the nearest 0.2m
3.Clean the bearing surface of the testing machine
4.Place the specimen in the machine in such a manner that the
load shall be applied to the opposite sides of the cube cast.
5.Align the specimen centrally on the base plate of the machine.
6.Rotate the movable portion gently by hand so that it touches
the top surface of the specimen.
7.Apply the load gradually without shock and continuously at
the rate of 140 kg/cm2/minute till the specimen fails
8.Record the maximum load and note any unusual features in
the type of failure.
Compressive Strength of Concrete at Various Ages
The strength of concrete increases with age. The table shows the strength of
concrete at different ages in comparison with the strength at 28 days after casting.

Age Strength percent

1 day 16%
3 days 40%
7 days 65%
14 days 90%
28 days 99%
 TENSILE STRENGTH
• Tensile strength is one of the basic and
properties of concrete. A knowledge of its value is
important
required for the design of concrete structural elements.
• Its value is also used in the design of prestressed concrete
structures, liquid retaining structures, roadways
and runway slabs.
• Direct tensile strength of concrete is difficult to
determine; recourse is often taken to the determinaton
of flexural strength or the splitng tensile strength and
computng the direct tensile.
What is split tensile strength test?
A method of determining the tensile strength of
concrete using a cylinder which splits across the
vertcal diameter. It is an indirect method of testng
tensile strength of concrete.
 Why we are going for
split tensile test?
• In direct tensile strength test it is impossible to apply true
axial load. There will be always some eccentricity present.
• Another problem is that stresses induced due to grips. Due to
grips there is a tendency for specimen to break at its ends.
 TEST SPECIMENS
Cylinder
• The length of the specimens shall not be less than the diameter and
not more than twice the diameter. For routne testng and
comparison of results, unless otherwise specifed the specimens
shall be cylinder 150 mm in diameter and 300 mm long.
 MAKING AND CURING TEST
SPECIMEN
• The procedure of making and curing tension test specimen in
respect of sampling of materials, preparaton of materials,
proportoning, weighing, mixing, workability, moulds, compactng
and curing shall comply in all respects with the requirements given
in IS 516.
Sampling of Materials
• Representatve samples of the materials of concrete for use in
the partcular concrete constructon work shall be obtained
by careful sampling.
• Test samples of cement shall be made up of a small porton
taken from each of a number of bags on the site. Test samples
of aggregate shall be taken from larger lots.
 Preparaton of Materials :

All materials shall be brought to room temperature, preferably

27°±3°C before commencing the tests.
The cement samples, on arrival at the laboratory, shall be
thoroughly mixed dry either by hand or in a suitable mixer in such a
manner as to ensure the greatest possible blending and uniformity
• in the material, care being taken to avoid the intrusion of foreign
mater. The cement shall then be stored in a dry place, preferably
in air-tght metal containers.
Samples of aggregates for each batch of concrete shall be of the
desired grading and shall be in an air-dried conditon. In general,
the aggregate shall be separated into fne and coarse fractons and
• recombined for each concrete batch in such a manner as to
produce the desired grading.
 Weighing

• The quanttes of cement, each size of aggregate, and water for

each batch shall be determined by weight, to an accuracy of 0.1
percent of the total weight of the batch.
Mixing Concrete
• The concrete shall be mixed by hand, or preferably, in a laboratory
batch mixer, in such a manner as to avoid loss of water or other
materials. Each batch of concrete shall be of such a size as to leave
about 10 percent excess after moulding the desired number of test
specimens.
MOULDS
Cylinders
• The cylindrical mould shall be of 150mm diameter and 300mm
height. Similarly the mould and base plate shall be coated with a
thin flm of mould oil before use, in order to prevent adhesion of
the concrete.
TEST FOR SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH
AIM:
To determine the splitting tensile strength of
concrete specimen.
Apparatus:
1. Weights and weighing device.
2. Tools, containers and pans for carrying materials &
mixing.
3. A circular cross-sectonal rod (φl6mm & 600mm
length).
4. Testng machine.
5. Three cylinders (φ150mm & 300mm in height).
 Procedure:
1. Prepare three cylindrical concrete specimens.
2. After molding and curing the specimens for seven days in water,
they can be tested. The cylindrical specimen is placed in a
manner that the longitudinal axis is perpendicular to the load.
3. Two strips of nominal thick plywood, free of imperfections,
approximately (25mm) wide, and of length equal to or slightly
longer than that of the specimen should be provided for each
specimen.
4. The bearing strips are placed between the specimen and both
upper and lower bearing blocks of the testing machine.
 5.The load shall be applied without shock and
increased contnuously at a nominal rate within the
range 1.2 N/(mm2/min) to 2.4 N/ (mm2/min).
6. Record the maximum applied load indicated by the
testng machine at failure. Note the type of failure
and appearance of fracture.
Computatons: Calculate the splitng tensile
strength of the specimen as follows:
T = 2P
πLd
Where:
T: splitng tensile strength, kPa
P: maximum applied load indicated by
testng
machine, kN
L: Length, m
d: diameter, m
Result :
• It is found that the splitng test is closer to the true
tensile strength of concrete it gives about 5 to 12%
higher value than the direct tensile strength test.
Advantage of using this method:
• Same type and same specimen can also be used for
compression test.
• It is simple to perform and it gives uniform results
than the other tension tests like ring tension test and
double punch test.
Flexural Strength
Flexural strength is an indirect measure of the tensile strength of
concrete. It is a measure of the maximum stress on the tension
face of an unreinforced concrete beam or slab at the point of
failure in bending. It is measured by loading 150 x 150-mm (or
(100 x 100-mm) concrete beams with a span length at least three
times the depth.
•Beam mould of size 15 x 15x 70 cm (when size of aggregate is
less than 38 mm) or of size 10 x 10 x 50 cm (when size of
aggregate is less than 19 mm)
•Tamping bar (40 cm long, weighing 2 kg and tamping section
having size of 25 mm x 25 mm)
•Flexural test machine– The bed of the testing machine shall
be provided with two steel rollers, 38 mm in diameter, on which
the specimen is to be supported, and these rollers shall be so
mounted that the distance from centre to centre is 60 cm for 15.0
cm specimens or 40 cm for 10.0 cm specimens.
•The load shall be applied through two similar rollers mounted at
the third points of the supporting span that is, spaced at 20 or
13.3 cm centre to centre.
•The load shall be divided equally between the two loading
rollers, and all rollers shall be mounted in such a manner that the
load is applied axially and without subjecting the specimen to
any torsional stresses or restraints.
PROCEDURE
1.Prepare the test specimen by filling the concrete into the mould
in 3 layers of approximately equal thickness. Tamp each layer 35
times using the tamping bar as specified above. Tamping should
be distributed uniformly over the entire crossection of the beam
mould and throughout the depth of each layer.
2.Clean the bearing surfaces of the supporting and loading rollers ,
and remove any loose sand or other material from the surfaces of
the specimen where they are to make contact with the rollers.
3.Circular rollers manufactured out of steel having cross section
with diameter 38 mm will be used for providing support and
loading points to the specimens. The length of the rollers shall be
at least 10 mm more than the width of the test specimen. A total of
four rollers shall be used, three out of which shall be capable of
rotating along their own axes. The distance between the outer
rollers (i.e. span) shall be 3d and the distance between the inner
rollers shall be d. The inner rollers shall be equally spaced
between the outer rollers, such that the entire system is systematic.
4. The specimen stored in water shall be tested immediately on
removal from water; whilst they are still wet. The test specimen
shall be placed in the machine correctly centered with the
longitudinal axis of the specimen at right angles to the rollers.
For moulded specimens, the mould filling direction shall be
normal to the direction of loading.
5.The load shall be applied at a rate of loading of 400 kg/min for
the 15.0 cm specimens and at a rate of 180 kg/min for the 10.0
cm specimens.
CALCULATION
The Flexural Strength or modulus of rupture (fb) is given by
fb = pl/bd2 (when a > 20.0cm for 15.0cm specimen or > 13.0cm
for 10cm specimen)
or
fb = 3pa/bd2 (when a < 20.0cm but > 17.0 for 15.0cm specimen
or < 13.3 cm but > 11.0cm for 10.0cm specimen.)
Where,
a = the distance between the line of fracture and the nearer
support, measured on the center line of the tensile side of the
specimen
b = width of specimen (cm)
d = failure point depth (cm)
l = supported length (cm)
p = max. Load (kg)
Thanks