RAK Academic Centre

Materials Lab Sheet

TESTING OF CONCRETE

Aims and Objectives

To determine:
1. The slump of a sample mix of concrete
2. Compressive strength of concrete mix at 7 days
To describe tests, record results, analyse finding and form conclusions

Health & Safety

The Compressive Testing Machine will be operated by an experienced technician.
 Beware not to drop materials on toes.
 Stand a suitable distance away from the equipment during testing.
 Be careful of sharp serrated edges of fractured samples.
 Take care when using cement not to get it on your hands.
 Wear gloves and protective classes.

Apparatus
Compression testing machine
Concrete mixer
Trowel
Slump cone
Tamping rod
Table Vibrator
Two 150mm x 150mm x 150mm Cube moulds

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Material Samples & Procedure

Weigh out these quantities

10mm coarse aggregate -15.0 kg

Fine aggregate - 4.5 kg + 3.0kg of dune sand
Cement (OPC) - 5.25kg

Mix the above together in the concrete mixer while they are dry until they form a
uniform colour.

Then the mix design ratio by mass is ..........................................................................

For the above mix, use a water-cement ratio of 0.50. Calculate how much water is
required using formula below:

Weight of water = weight of cement x water-cement ratio

So weight of water =…………………………………

Add the correct amount of water in steps and again mix until all concrete is uniformly
wet.

a) Slump Test

1. Inspect the slump cone to see that it is clean and damp but not running with
water.

2. Place the cone on the flat board, and hold it firmly in place by standing on the
foot pieces. Fill it in three equal layers, each about 1/3 of the height. Tamp
each layer with 25 strokes of the tamping rod, distributing the strokes well
over the whole layer. Tamp each layer to its full depth, with the rod just
passing through to the layer below.

3. Strike off the top using a rolling / sawing motion of the tamping rod. Clean
away any concrete from around the base of the cone.

4. Carefully lift the mould vertically off the concrete without sideways or twisting
movement. Immediately measure the slump to the nearest 5mm.

5. The slump test is only valid if it yields a true slump. If you have not obtained a
true slump repeat the test.

6. Record the results

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b) Making a cube

1. Re-mix the concrete from the slump test.

2. Fill one of the 150mm cube moulds in three layers, tamping each layer 35
times with a heavy tamping bar. Strike off the top and float it smooth.
Please turn the page
3. Fill the other cube to the top without tamping. Put it on the vibrating table and
vibrates it until the top surface looks glazed and smooth.

4. Why is it important to avoid over-vibration? ...................................................

5. Mark the tops of the cubes with date, and H for hand vibrated or V for
machine vibrated.

6. The fresh concrete cubes are left undisturbed for 24 hours, at the end of
which they are de-moulded and weighed.

7. The cubes will be immersed in the curing tank and stored at 20 ± 1 0C until
ready for testing.

c) Crushing the Cubes

Cube strengths are usually measured at 28 days but you are going to test the cubes
after 7 days of curing. Note down the details of the cubes you are going to test

Hand Vibrated cube

1. Take the Hand Tamped cube from the curing tank. Dry the surface, weigh
cube and measure its dimensions
2. Observe how the load is applied at a constant rate, and that the machine
record the maximum load sustained by the cube.
3. Record the failure modes and load at which the cube failed.
4. Record results and form conclusions.
5. Calculate the compressive strength of the cube

Machine Vibrated cube

1. Take the Machine Vibrated cube from the curing tank. Dry the surface, weigh
cube and measure its dimensions.
2. Observe how the load is applied at a constant rate, and that the machine
records the maximum load sustained by the cube.
3. Record the failure modes and load at which the cube failed.
4. Record results and form conclusions.
5. Calculate the compressive strength of the cube

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 Record Results

Hand Vibrated Cube

Made by group No……………………………Date made……………………………

Water/cement ratio…………………………..Slump (mm)…………………………..

Mass of cube before curing…………………..kg

Age at test………………………days

Mass of cube after curing……………………….kg

Dimensions…………mm x………mm x…………mm

Volume =………………………m3

Density of concrete =……………………..kg/ m3

Cross Sectional Area (CSA) =…………. mm2

Failure mode………………………….. Failure load (F)………………kN

Compressive Strength of cube = ………………………N/ mm2

Machine Vibrated Cube

Made by group No……………………………Date made……………………………

Water/cement ratio…………………………..Slump (mm)…………………………..

Mass of cube before curing…………………..kg

Age at test………………………days

Mass of cube after curing……………………….kg

Dimensions…………mm x………mm x…………mm

Volume =………………………m3

Density of concrete =……………………..kg/ m3

Cross Sectional Area (CSA) =…………. mm2

Failure mode………………………….. Failure load (F)………………kN

Compressive Strength of cube = ………………………N/ mm2

Submission: Individual Laboratory Report

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Use the data you collected during the laboratory tests , produce a word processed
report. The report must be an individual piece of work and should include all
the general requirements as stated in the Assignment Brief.

Apart from the general brief requirements, in your Analysis and Discussion you
should include the following details specific to concrete testing:
 Classify and explain the slump behaviour of the concrete specimen
 Explain the behaviour of the samples under the compressive load up to and
including the point of failure.
 Examine the mode of failure of the concrete cube specimen and comment on
whether it is acceptable or unacceptable.
 With respect to the results obtained, analyze and explain the effect of different
compaction methods on the compressive strength of concrete.

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