Research paper on NON–Destructive testing of

Concrete Structures.
(Rashi Mathur , Rajat Kumar Singh , Pushkar Tiwari, Himanshu Sharma,
Deependra Pratap Singh
Students, Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, KIET Group of Institutions)
Guided by Dr. Shailendra Kumar Tiwary and Dr. Sanjeev Singh

ABSTRACT-This work presents a study on the correlation and comparison between

Destructive and a Non-destructive Method of testing the compressive strength of concrete.
Concrete cubes of 150mm x 150mm x 150mm were produced using concrete mix of grade
30N/mm2 cured for 7, 14 and 28days. A total of 3 cubes were produced and used for the
study. A graph is plotted between compressive strength obtained by NDT and destructive test
foe 7, 14& 28 days, from where we got direct formula for finding the compressive strength.
The average percentage of the error was determined to be 5.48%, 4.24% and 2.44% for

proposed concrete cube cured at 7, 14 and 28days respectively. We have also compared it
with pundit plus Compressive test results which is satisfactory.

KEYWORDS: Strength, Concrete, Destructive testing (DT), Non-Destructive testing (NDT)

1. INTRODUCTION

Concrete is a composite material produced from the combination of cement, fine aggregate,
coarse aggregate and water in their relative proportion. It is a ubiquitous building material
because its constituents are relatively cheap, and readily available. In addition to that,
concrete in its fresh state has the ability to be moulded into any desired shape and size. The
strength of concrete is its most important property (especially when needed for structural
purposes) alongside its durability. Therefore, it is very important to ascertain the compressive
strength of concrete before subjecting it to its anticipated loads. Compressive strength of the
hardened concrete can be determined using the destructive and non-destructive testing (NDT)
methods. The destructive testing (DT) method is carried out by crushing the cast specimen to
failure while the non-destructive is carried out without destroying the concrete specimen. The

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main disadvantage of the destructive testing methods is the length of time it takes for the
results to be ready, the equipment and the power required. The rebound (Schmitz) hammer is
one of the most popular non-destructive testing (NDT) methods used to test the strength of
concrete. This is due to its relatively low cost and simplicity in use. Although the non-
destructive testing (NDT) results are much quicker compared to the destructive methods, they
are more of an approximation than exact compressive strength values. In as much as the
rebound hammer results are quicker, and do not destroy the surface of concrete tested, there
is no established relationship between the compressive strength obtained using NDT and DT
[3]. The aim of this research is to compare concrete compressive strengths measured using
destructive method and those measured using the NDT, and the strengths are obtained by a
direct formula by plotting a graph on excel.

2. MATERIALS

Materials: Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, Portable
drinking water was used for the production of concrete and as such no test was performed on
it.

3. METHODS.

Production, Casting and Curing of Concrete Specimen-

Concrete of grade 30 N/mm2 were used for the study. The mix design was done. Concrete
cubes of size 150mm x 150mm x 150mm were produced from the freshly prepared concrete.
The specimen was de-moulded after 24hours and immersed into the curing tank filled with
water and cured for 7, 14 and 28days. Three concrete specimens for M30 grade and curing
period were produced. A total of ninety (3) cubes were produced for the study.

Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of Concrete using the Rebound Hammer: The NDT of
compressive strength of concrete was carried out using the rebound (Schmitz) hammer. The
test was based on the principle that the rebound of an elastic mass depends on the hardness of
the surface against which the mass impinges. The rebound hammer weighs 1.8kg and is
suitable for use both in the laboratory and in the field. It was used to test the hardened
concrete at the end of each curing period. The test was repeated eight (8) times on each
concrete specimen, and a total of eight (8) readings were recorded.

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Destructive Testing (DT) of Concrete Compressive strength using the Compression
Machine: The compressive strength test was carried out using the compression machine.
Three concrete specimens for concrete grade of 30 N/mm2 were tested after curing for 7,
14and 28 days.

4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The results of both DT of compressive strength test and NDT are presented in Tables 1,2 ,3,4
and 5 for concrete cubes of ages 7, 14 and 28 days respectively.

Rebound hammer test results after 7 days- Table1

S.no. 23 Average Quality

1
2 23
3 23
4 20 21.375 fair
5 21
6 21
7 20
8 20

Rebound hammer test results after 14 days- Table2

S.no. Rebound number Average Quality
1 25
2 26
3 24
4 25 25.25 Fair
5 26
6 26
7 25
8 25

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Rebound hammer test results after 28 days- Table3
S.No. Rebound number Average Quality
1 33
2 33
3 33
4 30 31.375 Good
5 31
6 31
7 30
8 30

Nondestructive testing on concrete by pundit plus- Table 4

S.no. Pulse velocity (km/sec) Concrete Quality grading
1 4.347 good
2 4.491 good
3 4.473 good

Calculations-
Average of 1 = 4.437 km/sec (good)

Result data of Destructive testing-

S.No. Compressive strength at Compressive strength
1 7 days 21.7
2 14 days 27.75

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 3 28 days 31.7

Graph plotted between compressive strength obtained by NDT and destructive test foe 7, 14
& 28 days.

Graph between compressive strength obtained by destructive

and non destructive test after 7 ,14 and 28 days
35

f(x) = 0.448469387755102 x + 19.725

30 f(x) = 0.470663265306122 x + 18.3125

25
compressive strength

ndt test results

20
Linear ( ndt test
results)
15
destructive test

10 Linear (de-
structive test)

Linear (de-
5 structive test)

0
5 10 15 20 25 30

time in days

In this graph Y axis represents compressive strength obtained by NDT and destructive test
and X axis represents time in days.

S.No. Time in days Compressive strength Compressive % error

by destructive test strength by NDT

1 7 22.86 21.607 5.48%

2 14 26.004 24.9 4.24%
3 28 32.283 31.4926 2.44%

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.

5. CONCLUSION
The following conclusions are drawn based on the outcome of the experiment and analysis:
1. The average percentage of the error was determined to be 5.48%, 4.24% and 2.44%
for proposed concrete cube cured at 7, 14 and 28days respectively.
2. With increase in curing age strength also increases, with time the percentage error
also decreases.
3. Results concluded that percentage difference between compressive strength by
nondestructive and destructive testing was found out to be low for laboratory
specimens.
4. The results obtained by NDT have not much variation as compared to destructive test,
so we can say that NDT results are reliable.
5. If we do NDT test on a structure after 10 years of its construction, then we can
simulate it with destructive testing by this method.

REFERENCES
1. IS-1311 (Part-1): 1992 Non-Destructive Testing of Concrete -methods of test, Part-I,
Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity.
2. Tarun Gehlot1 , Dr. S. S. Sankhla2 , Akash , Study of Concrete Quality Assessment
of Structural Elements Using Rebound Hammer Test.
3. K. Sanchez, to study Reliability of Rebound Hammer Test in Concrete Compressive
Strength Estimation
4. Md. Roknuzzaman, Md. Bilal Hossain, Md. Ibrahim Mostazid, Md. Rasheed ul Haqu,
to study Application of Rebound Hammer Method for Estimating Compressive
Strength of Bricks by Combined Nondestructive Method,

5. S. Krishna Rao. P. Sravana , T. Chandrashekhara Rao, to study Application of

Rebound Hammer Method for Estimating Compressive Strength of Bricks by
Combined Nondestructive Method