Full Paper

Proc. of Int. Conf. on Advances in Design and Construction of Structures 2012

Predicting 28 Days Compressive Strength of Concrete

from 7 Days Test Result
Ahsanul Kabir1, Monjurul Hasan2 and Md. Khasro Miah3
1
Bangladesh University of Engg. & Tech. /Dept. of Civil Engineering, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Email: akabir@ce.buet.ac.bd
2
Z H Sikder University of Science & Tech. /Dept. of Civil Engineering, Shariatpur, Bangladesh
Email: hasan.m.m.ce@gmail.com
3
Dhaka University of Engg. & Tech. /Dept. of Civil Engineering, Gazipur, Bangladesh
Email: mkhasro@duet.ac.bd

Abstract—Concrete structures are designed on the basis of 28
days cylinder crushing strength. 28 days cylinder strength
actually represents the characteristic strength of the concrete.
It is mandatory to test the concrete cylinders at the age of 28
days as per almost all building code requirements. Though it
is quite time consuming to wait 28 days for such tests, it is
important to continue the construction work and ensure the
quality control process. This paper presents a simple
mathematical model to predict the compressive strength of
concrete at 28 day from early age (say 7 days) results. The
model is a simple equation (a rational polynomial) that consists
of only two constants and one variable which is the age of
concrete in days. It is found that the constants have the relation
of a surface polynomial with the strength of a particular day
(7 th day or 14 th day). This is further simplified with a direct
correlation of one of the coefficient with concrete strength
value. The mathematical model is developed based on the
analysis of stone aggregate concrete data collected from a
previous study and is validated with some experimental data
of cylinder tests performed in the Concrete laboratory of
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET),
Dhaka. The proposed model has a good potential to predict
concrete strength at different age with high accuracy. This
has been finally employed to predict 28 days strength of
concrete made with brick aggregates from their 7 days test
results.
Index Terms—concrete, compressive strength, brick aggregate
concrete, strength prediction.
I. INTRODUCTION
Concrete has its benefits of strength, availability,
durability, flexibility and economy. In case of designing a
concrete structure, the compressive strength of concrete is
an essential element. 28days compressive strength of
concrete is usually considered as the design strength. To
ensure this strength it is necessary to wait a considerable
time i.e. 28 days. It becomes mandatory because it also
represents the quality control process of concrete mixing,
placing, compaction, curing etc. Concrete mix design is a
process that uses code recommendation and blends with the
experience of the concerned engineer. Due to some error in
mix design or mix preparation at site the test results may fail
to achieve the designed strength, then repetition of the entire
Corresponding Author: Dr. Ahsanul kabir, Department of Civil
Engineering, BUET, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
© 2012 ACEE
DOI: 02.ADCS.2012.1.505
process becomes mandatory, which can be costly and time
consuming. For every failure, it is necessary to wait at least
28 days, thus the need for an easy and reliable method for
estimating the final strength at an early age of concrete is a
long felt necessity. Hence, a rapid and suitable concrete
strength prediction would be of great significance [1].
Many studies are being carried out to explore the behavior
of concrete and to make a better prediction of its characteristic
strength. In this paper a mathematical model to evaluate the
concrete strength from early age test results is discussed
which represents a relationship equation in between concrete
strength and its age [2]. A simplification of the model is also
proposed. The model is established based on the experimental
result of concrete cylinder tests made with stone aggregate
[3] and then checked for stone aggregate concrete prepared
and tested in a different laboratory of a different country [4].
Finally, the same model is used to predict 28 days strength of
concrete made with brick aggregates.
II. BACKGROUND
Early prediction of concrete compressive strength enables
to know quickly about the concrete and its probable weakness
and decide to continue the construction or manage the
destruction program. Therefore, prediction of the
compressive strength of concrete has been an active area of
research. Several methods for early estimation have been
introduced in some previously published studies. These
attempts were made to predict the 28 days concrete
compressive strength from early days test results but those
had some limitations [5].
Many efforts are made on using different techniques as
computational modeling, statistical techniques. A number of
research efforts have concentrated on using multivariable
regression model to improve the accuracy of prediction. In a
recent study [6] multivariable power equation is chosen as
an effective model for prediction of strength of different ages
of concrete (Eq. 1). The general format of the equation is
given below:
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