BASIC EQUIPMENT IN MATERIAL TESTING

“Material testing refers to evaluation of any kind of construction materials. Construction industries
conform with the material testing result to avoid risk of substandard materials that may result to the
collapse of structure. Strength of infrastructure is not solely dependent on the design itself, moments, or
shear behavior as the workmanship, how well the materials are made or prepared, is also a big factor.”

Engr. Roselle Gonzales

1. Masonry Trowel- used for mixing small volume of concrete mixes for preparation of concrete samples

2. Slump Cone- used to measure the workability of the fresh concrete mix

- “Slump Cone Test” is performed for acceptance purposes. It is done to record

mixtures’ characteristics or as an indirect method of determining the water-cement
ratio

3. Concrete Sample Molds- available in the range of shapes and sizes. It is designed to its specific needs
and complies to recommended standards

3.1 Concrete Cylindrical Mold- used to test compressive strength of concrete

3.2 Cube Mold- used to test compressive strength of concrete

3.3 Concrete ? Mold- used to test the flexural? Strength of concrete XD

4. Tamping Rod- deals with the ? of fresh concrete specimen in test applications. It is a stainless steel
rod which is corrosion is ?

5. Vicat Apparatus- used to determine the consistency, ? and ? of hydraulic cement, mortar, and ?

6. Gilmore Needle Apparatus- for determining the initial and final set times of cement etc

7. Universal Testing Machine- it is used to test the strength and compressive strength of materials like
steel bars and concrete

8. Soil Scoop- to gain soil sample

9. Digital Weighing Scale- used to measure weight or mass. Capacity is 600g with sensitivity up to 0.05g

10. Drying Oven- designed for drying large quantities of soils and aggregates samples

11. Evaporating Dish- used for evaporation of solution

12. Moisture Cans/Tins- also for sample drying

13. Rubber Mallet- used to break large mass of samples into desired particles

14. Set of Sieves (Manual or Automatic)- with progressive smaller sizes

15. Sieve Shaker

16. Rockwell Hardness Tester- used to test the hardness of materials by indention?
UNIVERSAL TESTING MACHINE

A Universal Testing Machine is an electric machine used in Engineering where the main properties of a
given specimen of a construction material are being tested. In UTM, we test the Mechanical properties
like Tension, Compression, and Bending capacity and some other properties of the materials. The usual
process of the UTM is pulling, compressing, bending or stretching materials until they break. Materials
could be metal or non-metal. These different tests determine the quality of the material as well as how
suitable it is for particular use.

The UTM is used primarily by laboratories that manufacture or mold various plastics. UTM is also
sometimes called Tensile Tester, Compression Tester, Bend Tester, Materials Testing Machine,
Materials Test Frame, and Universal Tester.

UTM has different parts with its own functions. It has 2 major parts: the Host Machine and the Machine
Controller.

The Host Machine is cylindrical-underneath, a hydraulic loading, and hydraulic clamping specimen. This
machine operates or functions easily and it reads correctly. The host machine represents where the
exact section the test should be conducted. For the tensile strength test, it should be conducted at the
tension section using two-flat/round grip plate, upper and lower clamp. The tension section is in the
upper part of the host machine. The compressive and flexural strength test should be conducted at the
compression and flexural section, the lower part of the host machine. For the compressive and flexural
test, we use the upper and lower plate, wheel load and bending platform.

These are the minor parts of the Host Machine: the cylinder was fixed on bottom support with bolts. The
piston was fixed on work table, while work table supports column. When piston is moving; work table,
column, and upper crosshead also moves. The screw cross over work table, down end was fixed on
bottom, and the up end was connected with up crosshead. There is a remote box/controller button at
the lower crosshead so it is easy to adjust the original test space and can clamp the upper and lower
clamp automatically and column lift upper crosshead to achieve tensile, compression and bending test.

The Machine Controller is the one that process the data of materials being tested. It stores and displays
the test data. The machine also provides the illustration and graph of the curves using the computer.
The printer can print the test report and draw the test curve of the material.

These are the minor parts of the Machine Controller: on the left-upwards side of the control machine,
there are two power switches. The bigger one with mushroom head is the emergency top switch and
the other one is the power switch. The two hand wheels of Load and Unload are used to control loading
and unloading hydraulic oil. “Pump” is oil pump switch to startup oil motor unit inside controller
cabinet. The “Jaw” button is tensile grip switch. The tensile grip and remote box will be able to work
after pressing the jaw button. When clamping samples, take note that the upper grip should first clamp
and then lower grip will be next, otherwise the hydraulic clamps will not work well. When doing tensile
test, please turn off the tensile grip button or the “jaw” button to keep the electrical valve work for a
long time.

Before using the UTM, certain conditions should be observed to ensure the safety of the operator:

1. Room temperature must be at least 10degC to 35degC

2. Relative humidity not more than 80%
3. No quaky or vibration condition
4. No caustic medium around
5. Level installation on steady base, level degree no more than 0.2/1000
6. Power supply should be 3-phase, 220V, 50/60Hz, 2.5KW