CIV 0423.

1:
CONSTRUCTION
MATERIALS & TESTING
ENGR. IRISH M. POLINGA, MSCE
LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

• These tools and equipment are essential for the following experiments to be done
in this course.
• Materials Engineer are responsible for the selection, specification and quality of
the materials to be used in a construction project.
• Civil & Construction Engineers must be familiar with materials used in the
construction. Most common materials used are steel, aggregate, concrete, wood
and asphalt. There are also aluminum, glass and fiber-reinforced composites.
LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT

• These materials must meet certain classes or material properties (Ashby & Jones 2005).
• These certain criteria include:
• economic factors
• Mechanical properties
• Non-Mechanical properties
• Production/construction consideration
• Aesthetic properties
• Sustainable design
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
• Sieve
A sieve, fine mesh strainer, or sift, is a
device for separating wanted elements
from unwanted material or for
controlling the particle size distribution
of a sample, using a screen such as
a woven mesh or net or perforated sheet
material.
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
• Mechanical Sieve Shaker
Sieve shakers are devices designed to
help promote particle movement through
a stack of sieves, facilitating accurate
particle separation.
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
• Sample Splitter
Sample splitters work by reducing the
sample size by directing the flow of the
aggregate into two containers through
adjoining chutes. 
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
• Pycnometer
The pycnometer is a flask with a close-
fitting ground glass stopper with a fine
hole through it, so that a given volume
can be accurately obtained. This enables
the density of a fluid to be measured
accurately, by reference to an appropriate
working fluid such as water or mercury,
using an analytical balance.
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
• Universal Testing Machine (UTM)
A universal testing machine is used to
test the tensile stress and compressive
strength of materials. It is named after
the fact that it can perform many
standard tensile and compression tests on
materials, components, and structures.
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT : UTM
Tensile Test:
Clamp a single piece of anything on
each of its ends and pull it apart until
it breaks.  This measures how strong it
is (tensile strength) how stretchy it is
(elongation), and how stiff it is
(tensile modulus).
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT : UTM
Compression Test:
This is where you compress an object
between two level plates until a certain
load or distance has been reached or the
product breaks.
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT : UTM
Peel Test:
Similar to a tensile test.  However, instead
of pulling apart a single piece, you pull
apart two materials that have been bonded
together.  In this test, you one clamp holds
one material and the other clamp holds the
other materials.  Then you pull them apart
for a few inches.  The force is measured up
to 1000 times per second during the test
and the average of all of the force readings
are reported as the “average peel force”.
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT : UTM
Bend Test:
This is a compression test where you support
a length of material by spanning it across
two supports on each end.  There is nothing
supporting the middle portion underneath of
it.  Then you press down from above directly
in the middle of the span of material until the
supported material breaks or reaches a
specific distance.  This test measures how
strong the material in flexure (flexural
strength) and how stiff it is (flexural
modulus).
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT : UTM
Puncture Test:
In this test you secure a circular section
of material around its perimeter.  Then
you come down from above and press the
material with a “puncture probe” until the
material punctures.  The force when the
product breaks is called the “puncture
resistance”.
UTM – Split Tensile Test
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
Vicat Plunger
The Vicat Apparatus is designed for determining the
normal consistency, standard consistency and time
of setting of cement and lime in accordance with
ASTM and AASHTO specifications.

The apparatus consists of a frame bearing a movable

plunger of 300 grams weight. The Plunger is 10 mm
diameter at one end and is fitted with a removable 1
mm diameter needle at the other end. The plunger is
reversible and carries an indicator which moves
over the scale graduated in millimeters.
 LABORATORY TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
Rebound Hammer
The Rebound Hammer Test is a non-
destructive testing method of
concrete which provide a convenient and
rapid indication of the compressive
strength of the concrete.
The rebound hammer is also called as
Schmidt hammer that consist of a spring
controlled mass that slides on a plunger
within a tubular housing.
 Los Angeles Abrasion Machine

The Los Angeles Abrasion test is carried out on aggregates in order to

determine the hardness and abrasion characteristic i.e. ability to resist
degradation due to imposed wheel load.
The principle of this test is to determine the percentage of wear due to
deliberate rubbing action between aggregates.
 Concrete Curing Tanks

The curing tanks are designed for curing cube and cylinder concrete
specimens. Maintaining a stable temperature and preventing loss of
moisture from the specimen are provided in this system.
UTM – Flexural Test
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