SOP for Core Sample Test to cross verify the concrete strength

(1) Introduction: Generally, the core sample test to cross verify the concrete strength is done wherein
there in any doubt arises about the normal representative corresponding cube strength tests at
various stipulated intervals or in case the corresponding cube tests fail to deliver the desired/
expected minimum strength. However, interpretation of “Core Sample Test” results and equate
the same as equivalent to the corresponding cube test results are very tricky and more of them
than not gives false representation to the concrete strength as this is very much dependent on
many factors. With this outset, this SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) is made to have a common
conclusion on the factors, affecting the core sample test results & corresponding methodologies
to be adopted to mitigate the same as per as practicable along-with outlining the acceptance
criteria.

(2) Sample Preparation: The specimen shall be sawn perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. The
intended load bearing surfaces shall be prepared either by trimming or by capping to improve the
contact with loading machine. Cutting and trimming shall be carried out in such a way that
structural changes of the test specimen are avoided.

Method of End Surface Preparation

a) Trimming: Trimming with a masonry or diamond saw is preferred.
b) Capping
i. Capping with Calcium Aluminate Cement Mortar: It should be done as per clause
7.3.2 IS 516 (Part 4):2018
ii. Capping with Sulphur Mixture Method: It should be done as per clause 7.4 IS 516
(Part 4):2018
➢ Cores should be tested in saturated condition. For the saturated condition, soak in water at 27±3°C
for a minimum of 40 hours and maximum up to 48 hours before testing.
At the time of testing cores shall be in wet condition but all excess surface grit and water should be
removed by wiping off.

(3) Factors affecting the core strength:

Determination of the actual strength of a concrete in a structure is not easy as it is dependent on
the history curing and the adequacy of compaction of concrete. After carrying out many sample
tests, various advanced engineering journals have pointed out that the core strength reduces with
the increase in aspect ratio (length/ diameter), the reduction in core diameter, the presence of
reinforcing steel, the incorporation of gravel in concrete, the increase in core moisture content,
the drilling perpendicular to casting direction, the reduction in concrete strength, the presence of
micro-fissures, elastic modulus, wrong or no application of reliable strength correction factors etc.

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(a) Place of drilling of core: Generally, the in-place strength of concrete at the top of member as cast
is less than the strength at the bottom.
(b) Micro-cracking: Micro-cracks can be present if the core is drilled from a region of the structure that
has been subjected to stress resulting from applied load or restraint of imposed deformation.
Rough handling of core samples may also cause micro-cracks.
(c) Curing: Curing period and curing temperature both affect the strength. In mass concrete,
differential moisture and temperature within the member can give variation in results of cores
taken from outer face and inner mass. Inner mass can have lower compressive strength due to high
initial temperature. Similarly for non-continuous curing, the moisture gradient between surface
and inner mass can result in different strengths in concrete, i.e., lower strength in cores along face
due to less curing and higher strength within the inner mass due to availability of moisture for
continuous curing.
(d) Compaction: Entrapped air in the concrete due to poor compaction or bleeding can reduce the
strength. As the extent of poor compaction or bleeding can vary within the member, visual
inspection of cores is essential to see if there is the presence of voids or honeycombs in the core
samples. The extent of non-compaction and/or bleeding can be assessed by the ultrasonic pulse
velocity testing as per IS 516 (part 5/ section 1).
(e) Moisture Content: Moisture condition of cores also affects the strength. Dried core samples give
about 5 to 10% more strength than saturated samples.

Notes:
(i) The overall average effect of factors mentioned at (a) to (e) and other minor factors like coring
direction, etc., is that the core test is generally 85 to 90 percent of corresponding cube strength
and the same has been considered in the acceptance criteria for core given in IS 456. However,
if cracks are observed in the core, the core should not be tested or if cracking is observed during
testing from failure pattern or from load machine displacement curve, the core results can be
discarded.
(ii) The effect of diameter is considered in the correction factors at cl 8.4. 2(IS 516). While there is
consensus that difference between 100 mm and 150 mm diameter cores are negligible, there
is Less agreement concerning smaller diameter cores. The analysis of large number of cores by
various investigators indicated that the strength of 50 mm diameter cores was on an average 6
percent less than the strength of 100 mm diameter cores. In other tests, the average strength
of 60 mm diameter cores was Less by about 7 percent (for cores with average strength of 30-
32 N/mm2). As the strength increases, the difference reduces. The scatter in results of 60 mm
diameter cores is also found to be more. Therefore, when core diameter is less than 100mm,
more number of cores will give better assessment.

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 Factors to be considered prior to the “Core Sample” test:

(i) The application of latest version of reference code (British/American Concrete Institute/
European Standard Specimen/ Japanese Standard/ Concrete society/IS 456 or IS 516 (Pt.4)
etc.
(ii) Nos. of specimen to be taken- Normally at least 3 specimen are taken & the average values
are reported.
(iii) Location of the core samples are taken- The element should at least be cured for 14 days
for determining early strength, or fully cured for 28 days.
(iv) The rate of load application i.e., 14 N/mm^2/min (cl 8.2 – IS-516) as recommended by most
codes.
(v) The specific aspect ratios (l/d) after trim/capping the samples
(vi) The location/ layer of the sample specimens are taken- Core specimens for compression
tests should preferably not contain reinforcing bars. These may be located before drilling
the core using a pachometer or cover meter. Also, avoid cutting sections containing
conduit, ductwork, or prestressing tendons.
(vii) Visual inspection to be carried out to detect any visual flaws/ honeycomb etc.
(viii) Detection of any micro-cracks through eddy pulse echo tests/UPV machine or any other
acceptable methods
(ix) Methods of handling the core samples. The sample should be placed in a wooden box with
thermocol all around it to avoid collision among the sample and collision with the peripheral
wall.
(x) Interpretation of core sample specimen results through applying appropriate correction
factors
(xi) A complete result sheet with description of methodologies followed throughout the
experiments (End-to-End)
(xii) Direction of drilling.
(xiii) End condition and capping.
(xiv) Reinforcement
(xv) Characteristics of concrete
(xvi) Size of sample
(xvii) The test length of core shall not contain concrete from top 15 percent to 20 percent depth
as top part of the core may not contain uniform distribution of aggregates (maximum up to
60 mm). In case of cores which are not across full depth of member, about 10 percent to
15 percent portion of the bottom side of core may be trimmed off as the portion near to
the broken end may contain some micro cracks/fractures.

4. Measurement and Calculation:

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 ➢ The ratio of diameter to the nominal maximum size of aggregate shall be greater than 3.
➢ The core diameter shall be 100 mm to 150 mm (±10 mm) as per clause 5.5 of IS 516 (Part 4):2018
➢ l/d ratio for the sample should be greater than 2
➢ For l/d smaller than 2, the test value of compressive strength should be corrected as per formula:
F = 0.11N + 0.78
where,
F = correction factor
N = Length/Diameter ratio

For correction factor for core having diameter less than 100mm.

Diameter of core in mm (no. of cores ≥3) Correction Factor

75±5 1.03
<70 1.06

➢ The equivalent cube strength of concrete shall be determined by multiplying the corrected cylinder
strength by 5/4.
Core Diameter – Take three pairs of measurements at right angles, at the half and quarter points of the
length of the core to an accuracy of ±0.01 mm. Determine the average diameter (dm)
Core Length – Measure the maximum and minimum lengths after completion of the end preparation in
accordance with Cl-7 IS -516(excluding capping material) to an accuracy of ±0.01 mm. Determine the
average length.
Mass – Each specimen shall be weighed as received and/or saturated, as specified. The mass shall be
recorded to the nearest 0.1 percentage of the mass of the specimen.
Density – The density of each specimen shall be determined as received and/or saturated, as specified, in
accordance with IS 516 (Part 2/Sec 1)

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Acceptance criteria of core test results:
The acceptance criteria for the core test results shall be as given hereunder.

(a) As the specified compressive strength is generally cube strength, the

results of cores are also expressed in terms of equivalent cube strength.
Accordingly, the acceptance criteria of core test results should also be
correlated to acceptance criteria of cube tests.

Acceptance criteria of Cube test as per IS-456:2000 & Amendment No. 4-

May 2013
1. When the number of samples is only 1[concrete volume = 1 to 5 cum]
Then, minimum requirement: (fck+4) N/mm2 of sample.
2. When the number of samples is less than 4 (i.e., 2,3) [concrete volume
= 6 to 30 cum]
• The requirement of minimum individual test = (fck-2) N/mm2
• The mean of samples = (fck+4) N/mm2
3. Mean of group of 4 non-overlapping consecutive test results in N/mm2
• fck+0.825*standard deviation, or
• (fck+3) N/mm2, whichever is greater.

➢ Individual test result in N/mm2 is greater than or equal to (fck-3)

N/mm2

(b) Acceptance criteria of cube tests in the Indian Standards and other
International Standards are based on statistical analysis technique. The
confidence level considered in the Indian Standard is 95 percent (that is,
95 percent probability that 95 percent of the results will be more than fck
with minimum 30 samples).

(c) For acceptance of concrete based on limited in-situ testing, little lower
confidence level is acceptable. Generally, 75 percent confidence level (75
percent probability of 95 percent results) is considered.

(d) Acceptance of core test results is generally required for two purposes as
mentioned below, particularly for new construction. For existing
structures, the requirement is generally to assess the grade or strength of
concrete in place:

(i) Acceptance for structural adequacy; and

(ii) Contractual acceptance for conformance to specification.

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 (e) If average of equivalent cube strength of minimum three cores is more
than 0.85 times the specified cube strength and no individual core has
equivalent cube strength less than 0.75 times to specified cube strength,
the core test results are considered satisfactory.

(f) The present procedure of IS 456 suggests that a minimum of three cores or
in case where one set of cube samples (set of 4 consecutive sample) has
failed to be considered. The specified strength will be considered as
characteristic strength.

(g) For overall assessment requirement or where large number of cube sets
(each set consisting of 4 consecutive samples) have failed say 2 consecutive
sets or 3 scattered sets have failed (for the same grade/class of concrete)
within a batch to be assessed, minimum 10 cores will be tested.
Notes:
(1) Detecting outliers in test results: Outlier con be detected by inspection of
load- machine displacement curves or using statistical tests. Out of every
10 cores tested. one core test result con be outlier.

(2) Where the requirements of procedure have been met, the concrete can be
said to be meeting requirements of specification of IS 456. But where, 10
or more than 10 cores are taken but the results do not meet the criteria
but results of average of cores from all the individual members tested have
strength more than 0.85 times the specified values and no individual core
has strength less than 0.75 times the specified strength, the concrete in the
particular batch or member may be accepted for structural adequacy and
contractual acceptance/ penalties/deduction may be decided as per
contract provisions by the project authorities.

(3) In case of any doubt or if it appears to have significant uncertainty in core

sample specimen results, any other alternative tests such as NDT or any
other equivalent test may be conducted with mutual consent.
Report:
The following but not the least information’s shall be included in the report on
each test specimen:
a) Identification mark
b) Date of test
c) Age of specimen (if known/supplied)
d) Maximum nominal size of aggregate (if known/supplied)
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 e) Curing conditions, including date of manufacture of specimen in the field
(if known/supplied)
f) Density of specimen (after end surface preparation) and dry density (prior
to capping). The density of a core may be determined by weighing it and
dividing it by the volume calculated from average diameter and Iength.
Wet density to be reported, if specifically asked
g) Method used for preparation of specimen: cutting/grinding/capping etc.
h) Dimensions of specimen (diameter and length (after preparation)
i) Cross-sectional area
j) Maximum load
k) Measured compressive strength
I) Corrected compressive strength
m) Corrected cylinder strength
n) Equivalent cube strength; and

Appearance of fractured faces of concrete (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) and, type of fracture,

if these are unusual.
Note: It is recommended that the tests are to be conducted at NABL accredited laboratory &
given the complexity & % of uncertainty, the whole process right from taking the sample till
laboratory tests along-with the analysis of test results prior conclusion is recommended to be
supervised by civil SME & his/her team.

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