Introduction:

Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials due to

its strength, durability, and versatility. However, the quality and
performance of concrete can vary significantly depending on various
factors, such as materials used, mixing proportions, curing conditions,
and construction practices. To ensure the quality and durability of
concrete structures, rigorous testing procedures are carried out at
different stages of the construction process. This report aims to provide
an overview of the various concrete tests commonly conducted and
their significance in ensuring the structural integrity of concrete.

There are two types of test for concrete :-

1- Destructive test .
2- Non-destructive test .

1- Destructive test

1. Compressive Strength Test:

The compressive strength test is one of the most crucial tests performed
on concrete. It determines the ability of concrete to withstand
compressive forces and is a measure of its overall strength. The test
involves applying a gradually increasing load to a cylindrical or cube-
shaped concrete specimen until failure occurs. The maximum load
sustained by the specimen is then divided by its cross-sectional area to
determine the compressive strength. This test helps in assessing the
quality of concrete, validating mix designs, and ensuring compliance
with specified strength requirements.

Compressive Strength Test Idea:

1- Concrete is poured in the mould and compacted properly to reduce the

amount of voids.
2- After 24 hours, moulds are removed and test specimens are then placed in
water for curing.

3- After the specified curing period [3, 7, 28, 56, or 91 days], specimens are
tested by the compression testing machine.

4- Load is applied gradually until specimen failure.

5- Divide failure load by cross-sectional area of specimen to get the compressive

strength of concrete.

Compressive Strength Test Procedure:

TOOLS/APPARATUS

Compression test machine, moulds, mixer, trowel, tamping rod (steel bar 16 mm
diameter and 60 cm long)

SAMPLE PREPARATION

Samples are taken from the concrete patches used in site or prepared with the
same mixture as used in the field.

Specimen size: 3 cylinders [15 cm x 30 cm] or 3 cubes [15 cm x 15cm x 15 cm]

Minimum three specimens should be tested at each selected age. The Average
of there specimens gives the strength of concrete.

Concrete Mixing:

• by laboratory batch mixer, or

• by hand: First, mix the cement and fine aggregate until the mixture is
thoroughly blended. Then, add the coarse aggregate and mix until the
coarse aggregate is uniformly distributed. Finally, add water and mix until
the concrete appears to be homogeneous and of the required consistency.

Pouring Concrete into moulds :

1- Clean the moulds properly and finish it with oil so that concrete will not stick
into the mould and make latter cleaning difficult.
2- Put concrete in the moulds layer by by layer. Each layer is around 5 cm thick.
Each layer is compacted with a tamping rod [35 stroke]

3- Level the top surface with a trowel

Curing:

Test specimens are kept in the moulds and stored in moist air for 24 hours and
then, the specimens are removed from the moulds and submerged in fresh
water for the specified curing period.

TEST PROCEDURE

1- Get the specimen out of water after curing time and wipe out excessive water
from the surface.

2- Measure the dimensions of the specimen are that will be subjected to load.

3- Place the specimen in the appropriate location in the test machine. Note the
load will be applied to the face perpendicular to the direction of casting.

4- Align the specimen centrally on the base plate of the machine.

5- Make the movable portion of machine touches the specimen top surface.

6- Apply the load gradually at the rate of 140 kg/cm2/minute until the specimen
fails

7- Record the maximum load.

CALCULATION OF COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

Cube size =15 cm x 15 cm x 15 cm

Area of the specimen subjected to load=150 x 150 = 2250 mm2

Maximum load at failure at 7 or 28 days = ………. N

Characteristic compressive strength(f ck) at 7 or 28 days days = Failure Load /

Area = ………….. N/mm2
Average compressive strength of the 3 concrete cubes = [strength of cube 1 +
strength of cube 2 + strength of cube 3] / 3 = ………….N/ mm2 (at 7 or 28 days)

GUIDANCE

The following table gives the strength of concrete at different ages as a

percentage of the strength at 28 days in order to accept the test result.

age % of 28 day strength

1 %16

3 %40

7 %65

14 %90

28 %100

2. Slump Test:
The slump test is a simple and widely used test to determine the
workability of fresh concrete. It measures the consistency and
flowability of concrete, indicating its ability to be properly placed,
compacted, and finished. In this test, a slump cone is filled with freshly
mixed concrete, and the cone is then removed, allowing the concrete to
settle. The difference in height between the original and settled
concrete is measured, providing an indication of its workability.

Principle of Slump test

The slump value of concrete is just a principle of gravity flow of surface of the
concrete cone that indicates the amount of water added to it, which means how much
this concrete mix is in workable condition.

Apparatus for Slump test

Followings apparatus are used in the slump test of concrete:

• Metallic mould in the shape of a frustum of cone having bottom diameter 20 cm

(8 in), top diameter 10 cm (4 in) and height 30 cm (12in).
• Steel tamping rod having 16 mm (5/8 in) diameter, 0.6 m (2 ft.) long with bullet
end.

Procedure of Slump test

During Slump test following steps are followed:

• First of all, the internal surface of the mould is cleaned and free from moisture
and free from other old sets of concrete.
• Then place the mould on the smooth horizontal, rigid, and non-absorbant surface.
• The mould is then filled with fresh concrete in four layers with taping each layer
25 times by taping rod, and level the top surface with a trowel.
• Then the mould is slowly pulled in vertical and removed from concrete, so as not
to disturb the concrete cone.
• This free concrete deform all the surface to subside due to the effect of gravity.
• That subsidence of concrete in the periphery is a SLUMP of concrete.
• The height difference between the height of subsidence concrete and
mould cone in mm is ‘slump value of concrete’.

Recorded slump value of a sample is = ……… mm

Degree of
Placing Conditions Slump(mm)
workability

Binding concrete (member of concrete by spreading,

Compaction
Very Low shallow sections, Pavements using pavers (mixer with
factor 0.75 – 0.8
spreading arrangements)

Mass concrete, lightly reinforced slab, beam, wall,

Low column sections, canal lining, strip footing (ling wall 25 – 75
with smaller width )

Heavily reinforced sections in slab, beams, walls,

Medium columns. Slip formwork (slope concrete), pumped 50-100
concrete.

High Trench fill, in-situ piling 100-150

Tremie concrete (concreting in water by using water

Very high Flow test.
tight pipe to pour concrete.)

Slump test concrete - Apparatus

Table: Value of Slump at different degree of Workability

Shape of concrete slump

When the metal mould is removed from the concrete cone, the slump takes the
following shapes:
 • True Slump: True shape of a slump is only a verified slump. This shape is
measure as the difference between the top layer of the cone to the top of the
slump concrete.
• Collapse Slump: It shows that due to a high water-cement ratio, the shape of a
slump is not a clear dimension. It means, concrete is very high workability, for
which slump test is not suitable.
• Shear Slump: This shape of slump is the same as shear failure of soil. This is an
indication of a lack of cohesion of the concrete mix ingredients. So, a fresh
sample is taken and the test is repeated.

Factors influencing Slump Cone:

Followings factors influence concrete Slump value:

1. Water –cement ratio of concrete.

2. The quality of coarse and fine aggregates, their shape, moisture content,
texture, and grading.
3. The use of plasticizer, superplasticizer admixture, and the sequence of their
mixing.
4. The void ratio of concrete and air content of concrete.
5. The time of the test after mixing of concrete.

Standards for Slump test:

• US – standard: In the United States, this test is known as “ Standard Test Method
for Slump of Hydraulic – Cement Concrete” and flow the code ASTM C143 OR
(AASTO T119).

• United Kingdom & Europe: The older standard for British was first (BS 1881–
102). But, now they use European standars (BS EN 12350-2).

Shapes of Concrete Slump

3. Water Absorption Test:

The water absorption test assesses the porosity and permeability of

hardened concrete. It involves measuring the weight of a dry concrete
specimen, immersing it in water for a specific duration, and then re-
weighing it. The difference in weight before and after immersion
indicates the amount of water absorbed by the concrete. Excessive
water absorption can lead to durability issues, such as cracking,
spalling, and corrosion of embedded reinforcement.

Test Procedure:

1. Remove the sample of asbestos from packaging/container and

either dry for a minimum of 12 hours at 50-110 °C or until the
difference between two consecutive weights made at an interval
of not less than 1 hour, is less than 1% of the mean of the two
measurements.
2. Before weighing, allow time for the sample to cool and condition.
3. If weighing outside the containment cabinet, place the sample in
a suitable pre-weighed sealable container (eg a sealable plastic
bag) and weigh to the nearest 0.01 g. Calculate the dry weight of
the sample by subtracting the weight of the container.
4. After weighing, remove the sample from any container and
completely immerse in water for a minimum of 15 minutes and
until no more visible signs of bubbles being formed are
observed.
5. If the sample is seen to start to disintegrate during immersion,
the test should be terminated and the sample reported as a
licensed asbestos material.
6. If intact, remove the sample from the water and place it on paper
towel for 1 minute per side (upper and lower surfaces) to remove
any excess surface water.
7. Place the sample in the pre-weighed sealable container and
reweigh. Calculate the wet weight of the sample by subtracting
the weight of the container.
8. Calculate the percentage of water absorbed by the sample using
the following equation: ((wet weight - dry weight)/dry weight) x
100.
 9. If the percentage of water absorbed is <30% report as an
asbestos material for which a licence is not required to work on
(eg asbestos cement). If >30% report as an asbestos material for
which a licence is required to work on (eg asbestos insulating
board (AIB) or millboard).

4. Flexural Strength Test:

The flexural strength test evaluates the ability of concrete to resist bending or
flexural stresses. It is particularly important for concrete elements subjected to
bending, such as beams and slabs. In this test, a concrete beam is subjected to a
gradually increasing load until failure occurs. The maximum load sustained by
the beam is then used to calculate the flexural strength. This test helps in assessing
the structural adequacy of concrete members and ensuring compliance with
design requirements.
Apparatus for Flexural Test on Concrete
• Steel, iron cast, or other nonabsorbent material molds with size of
(150mmX150mmX 750mm)
• Tamping rods: ASTM specify large rode (16mm diameter and 600mm long) and
small rode (10mm diameter and 300mm long)
• Testing machine capable of applying loads at a uniform rate without interruption of
shocks
• Scoop
• Trowel
• Balance with accuracy of 1g
• Power driven concrete mixer
• Table vibration in the case of using vibration to compact concrete in molds
Sample Preparation of Concrete
• Determine proportions of materials including cement, sand, aggregate and water.
• Mix the materials using either by hand or using suitable mixing machine in batches
with size of 10 percent greater than molding test specimen.
• Measure the slump of each concrete batch after blending.
• Place molds on horizontal surface and lubricate inside surface with proper lubricant
material and excessive lubrication should be prevented.
• Pour fresh concrete into the molds in three layers.
• Compact each layer with 16mm rode and apply 25 strokes for each layer or fill the
mold completely and compact concrete using vibration table.
• Remove excess concrete from the top of the mold and smoothen it without imposing
pressure on it.
• Cover top of specimens in the molds and store them in a temperature room for 24
hours.
• Remove the molds and moist cure specimens at 23+/-2 o C till the time of testing.
• The age of the test is 14 days and 28 days and three specimens for each test should
be prepared (according to Indian Code, the specimen is stored in water at 24-30oC
for 48hours and then tested)

Procedure of Flexural Test on Concrete

• The test should be conducted on the specimen immediately after taken out of the curing
condition so as to prevent surface drying which decline flexural strength.
• Place the specimen on the loading points. The hand finished surface of the specimen should
not be in contact with loading points. This will ensure an acceptable contact between the
specimen and loading points.
• Center the loading system in relation to the applied force.
• Bring the block applying force in contact with the specimen surface at the loading points.
• Applying loads between 2 to 6 percent of the computed ultimate load.
• Employing 0.10 mm and 0.38 mm leaf-type feeler gages, specify whether any space between
the specimen and the load-applying or support blocks is greater or less than each of the
gages over a length of 25 mm or more.
• Eliminate any gap greater than 0.10mm using leather shims (6.4mm thick and 25 to 50mm
long) and it should extend the full width of the specimen.
• Capping or grinding should be considered to remove gaps in excess of 0.38mm.
• Load the specimen continuously without shock till the point of failure at a constant rate
(Indian standard specified loading rate of 400 Kg/min for 150mm specimen and 180kg/min
for 100mm specimen, stress increase rate 0.06+/-0.04N/mm2.s according to British
standard).
• The loading rate as per ASTM standard can be computed based on the following equation:

Where:
r: loading rate
S: rate of increase of extreme fiber
b: average specimen width
d: average specimen depth
L: span length

• Finally, measure the cross section of the tested specimen at each end and at center
to calculate average depth and height.

Computation of Modulus of Rupture

The following expression is used for estimation of modulus of rupture:

Where: MR: modulus of rupture

P: ultimate applied load indicated by testing machine
L: span length
b: average width of the specimen at the fracture
d: average depth of the specimen at the fracture

5. cement fineness test

Scope
This test method covers determination of the fineness of hydraulic cement by means
of the 150-μm (No. 100) and 75-μm (No. 200) sieves.

Apparatus
1 Sieves—Standard 150-μm (No. 100) or 75-μm (No. 200) sieves conforming to the
requirements of Specification E 11. Wire cloth for standard sieves for cement shall be
woven (not twilled) from brass, bronze, or other suitable wire, and mounted without
distortion on a frame about 50 mm (2 in.) below the top of the frame. The joint between
the cloth and frame shall be smoothly filled with solder to prevent lodging of the
cement. The sieve frame shall be circular, 203 mm (8 in.) in diameter and provided
with a pan and cover.
2 Balance—The analytical balance used in fineness determinations shall conform to
the requirements of 4.2.1 of Test Methods C 114.
3 Weights—The weights used in fineness determinations shall conform to the
requirements of 4.2.2 of Test Methods C 114.
4 Brush—A bristle brush will be required for use in cleaning the 150-μm (No. 100) or
75-μm (No. 200) sieve. A25 or 38-mm (1 or 11⁄2-in.) brush with a 250-mm (10-in.)
handle is a convenient size.

Procedure
Place a 50-g sample of the cement on the clean, dry 150-μm (No. 100) or 75-μm (No.
200) sieve with the pan attached. Do not use washers, shot, slugs, or coins on the
sieve. While holding the sieve and uncovered pan in both hands, sieve with a gentle
wrist motion until most of the fine material has passed through and the residue looks
fairly clean. This operation usually requires only 3 or 4 min. When the residue appears
clean place the cover on the sieve and remove the pan. Then, with the sieve and cover
held firmly in one hand, gently tap the side of the sieve with the handle of the brush
used for cleaning the sieve. Dust adhering to the sieve will thus be dislodged and the
underside of the sieve may then be swept clean. Empty the pan and thoroughly wipe
it out with a cloth or waste, replace the sieve in the pan, and carefully remove the
cover. Return any coarser material that has been caught in the cover during the
tapping to the sieve. Continue the sieving without the cover as described in 5.1 for 5
or 10 min, depending on the condition of the cement. The gentle wrist motion involves
no danger of spilling the residue, which shall be kept well spread out on the sieve.
Continuously rotate the sieve throughout the sieving. This open sieving may usually
be continued safely for 9 min or more, but take care that it is not continued too long.
Then replace the cover and clean, following the same process as described in 5.1. If
the cement is in proper condition, there should now be no appreciable dust remaining
in the residue nor adhering to the sieve or pan.
Make 1-min tests as follows: Hold the sieve, with the pan and cover attached, in one
hand in a slightly inclined position and move it forward and backward in the plane of
inclination; at the same time gently strike the side about 150 times/min against the
palm of the other hand on the upstroke. Perform the sieving over a white paper. Return
any material escaping from the sieve or pan and collecting on the paper to the sieve.
After every 25 strokes, turn the sieve about one sixth of a revolution, in the same
direction (see Note). Continue the sieving operation until not more than 0.05 g of the
material passes through in 1 min of continuous sieving. Then transfer the residue on
the sieve to the balance pan, taking care to brush the sieve cloth thoroughly from both
sides to ensure the removal of all the residue from the sieve.

6. Sieve analysis for aggregate.

SCOPE
The sieve analysis, commonly known as the gradation test, is a basic essential
test for all aggregate technicians. The sieve analysis determines the gradation
(the distribution of aggregate particles, by size, within a given sample) in order
to determine compliance with design, production control requirements, and
verification specifications. The gradation data may be used to calculate
relationships between various aggregate or aggregate blends, to check
compliance with such blends, and to predict trends during production by plotting
gradation curves graphically, to name just a few uses. Used in conjunction with
other tests, the sieve analysis is a very good quality control and quality
acceptance tool. NOTE: Accurate determination of material passing the No. 200
(75 µm) sieve cannot be made with this test alone. This test is recommended
to be used in conjunction with AASHTO T 11 to determine the amount of
material finer than the No. 200 (75 µm) sieve. SUMMARY OF TEST A known
weight of material, the amount being determined by the largest size of
aggregate, is placed upon the top of a group of nested sieves (the top sieve
has the largest screen openings and the screen opening sizes decrease with
each sieve down to the bottom sieve which has the smallest opening size
screen for the type of material specified) and shaken by mechanical means for
a period of time. After shaking the material through the nested sieves, the
material retained on each of the sieves is weighed. The cumulative method
requires that each sieve beginning at the top be placed in a previously weighed
pan (known as the tare weight), weighed, the next sieve's contents added to
the pan, and the total weighed. This is repeated until all sieves and the bottom
pan have been added and weighed. Apparatus Balance, general purpose class
G2 (AASHTO M231). Sieves, mounted on suitable frames, designed not to
leak. Sieves shall conform to AASHTO M92. Mechanical sieve shaker, if used,
must provide a vertical or lateral and vertical motion to the sieve, causing the
particles thereon to bounce and turn so as to present different orientations to
the sieving surface. Sieve shakers must provide sieving thoroughness within a
reasonable time. 2 Oven, capable of maintaining 230 ± 9°F (110 ± 5°C). When
tests are performed in the field where ovens are not available, test samples
may be dried in suitable containers over open flame or electric hot plates with
sufficient stirring to prevent overheating. Sample Preparation Samples should
be obtained in the field and reduced to test size in accordance with AASHTO T
248. Samples are dried to a constant weight in an oven set at 230 ± 9°F (110 ±
5°C), in an electric skillet, or over an open flame.

Procedure
1. Weigh the sample to the nearest 0.1 g by total weight of sample. This
weight will be used to check for any loss of material after the sample has
been graded. Select suitable sieve sizes in accordance with the
specifications.
2. Nest the sieves in order of decreasing size from top to bottom and begin
agitating and shaking the sample for a sufficient amount of time. 3 For
coarse aggregate, the large tray shaker is most commonly used (Figure
1). This device provides a clamping mechanism which holds the sieve in
place during agitation. Shakers of this make need to be run 5 minutes for
size 9 or larger and 10 minutes for sizes smaller than size 9. For fine
aggregate, round 8" (203.2 mm) or 12" (304.8 mm) sieves are commonly
used (Figure 2). These sieves are self-nesting and supported in a shaking
mechanism at the top and bottom by a variety of clamping and/or holding
mechanisms. Small shakers of this type require shaking times of 15
minutes to adequately grade the fine aggregate sample.

NOTE: Every effort should be made to avoid overloading the sieves.

AASHTO defines overloading large sieves as weight retained in excess
of 2.5 times the sieve opening in in. (mm), as expressed in gm/in.2
 (kg/m2 ). For fine aggregate, no weight shall be in excess of 4 gm/in.2
(7 kg/m2 ).

3. Coarse Aggregates After the material has been sieved, remove each tray,
weigh each size, and record each weight to the nearest 0.1 g. Be sure to
remove any aggregate trapped within the sieve openings by gently
working from either or both sides with a trowel or piece of flat metal until
the aggregate is freed. Banging the sieve on the floor or hitting the sieve
with a hammer will damage the sieve. The final total of the weights
retained on each sieve should be within 0.3% of the original weight of the
sample prior to grading. Particles larger than 3 in. (75 mm) should be
handsieved. When passing large stones through sieves, do not force the
aggregate through the sieve openings.
4. Fine Aggregates Weigh the material retained on each sieve size to the
nearest 0.1 g. Ensure that all material entrapped within the openings of
the sieve are cleaned out and included in the weight retained. This may
be done using brushes to gently dislodge entrapped materials. The 8 in.
(203 mm) or 12 in. (304.8 mm) round sieves need to be handled with
special care due to the delicate nature of their screen sizes. As a general
rule, use coarse wire brushes to clean the sieves down through the No.
50 (300 µm) sieve (Figure 3). Any sieve with an opening size smaller than
the No. 50 (300 µm) should be cleaned with a softer cloth hair brush
(Figure 4). The final total of the weights retained on each sieve should be
within 0.3% of the original weight of the sample prior to grading.

7. Splitting test for concrete.

The tensile strength of concrete is one of the basic and important properties which
greatly affect the extent and size of cracking in structures. Moreover, the concrete is
very weak in tension due to its brittle nature. Hence. it is not expected to resist the
direct tension. So, concrete develops cracks when tensile forces exceed its tensile
strength. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the tensile strength of concrete
to determine the load at which the concrete members may crack. Furthermore,
splitting tensile strength test on concrete cylinder is a method to determine the
tensile strength of concrete.The procedure based on the ASTM C496 (Standard Test
Method of Cylindrical Concrete Specimen) which similar to other codes lik IS 5816
1999. Finally, different aspects split cylinder test of concrete specimen will be
discussed in the following sections.

Apparatus for Splitting Tensile Test of Concrete

Testing Machine
Testing machine shall meet the following requirements:

• Firstly, it shall conform to the requirements of Test Method C 39/C 39M.

• Secondly, testing machine should be able to apply the load continuously and without
shock.
 • Thirdly, it should be able to apply loads at a constant rate within the range 0.7 to 1.4
MPa/min (1.2 to 2.4 MPa/min based on IS 5816 1999) splitting tensile stress until
the specimen fails.

Plate or Supplementary Bearing Bar

• It is employed when the diameter or the largest dimension of the upper bearing face
or the lower bearing block is less than the length of the cylinder to be tested.
• Plate width is 50mm
• it shall be used in such manner that the load will be applied over the entire length of
the specimen.

Bearing Strips
• Two bearing strips are used.
• bearing strip size is 3.2 mm thick, 25 mm wide, and of a length equal to, or slightly
longer than, that of the specimen
• The bearing strips placed between the specimen and both the upper and lower
bearing blocks of the testing machine or between the specimen and supplemental
bars or plates if needed.
Sampling of Concrete Cylinders
Concrete specimen moulds
• It shall be made of steel, and 3 mm thick.
• The mould shall be capable of being opened longitudinally to facilitate the removal
of the specimen and is provided with a means of keeping it closed while in use.
• The mean internal diameter of the mould is 15 cm ± 0.2 mm and the height is 30 +/-
0.1 cm.
• The moulds are provided with a metal base plate mould.
• Moulds need to be coated with a thin film of mould oil before use, in order to
prevent adhesion of concrete.

Tamping Rod
• Used for manual compaction of concrete specimen
• It shall be a round, straight steel rod with at least the tamping end rounded to a
hemispherical tip of the same diameter as the rod.
• Both ends rounded, if preferred.
• Tamping rod diameter is 16 mm and its length is 600 mm.
Concrete pouring and compaction
• After the mixture is prepared, it is poured into the oiled mould in layers
approximately 5 cm deep.
• Then, each layer is compacted either by hand or by vibration.
• For manual compaction, use tamping bar.
• Distributed bar stroke uniformly in order to compact it properly.
• Minimum tamping bar stroke for each layer is 30.
• Penetrate strikes in to the underlying layer
• Apply the rode for the entire depth of bottom layer
• complete top layer compaction
• Lastly, the surface of the concrete should be finished level with the top of the
mould,using a trowel and covered with a glass or metal plate to prevent evaporation.

Curing of Specimen
• Casted specimen should be stored in a place at a temperature of 27° +/- 2°C for 24
+/- 0.5 hrs from the time addition of water to the dry ingredients.
 • After that, the specimen should be marked and removed from the mould and
immediately submerged in clean fresh water or saturated lime solution and kept
there until taken out just prior to the test.
• The water or solution in witch the specimens are kept should be renewed every
seven days and should be maintained at a temperature of 27° +/- 2°c.
• For design purpose, the specimen cured for 28 days.
• At last, for each reading, three specimen shall be casted and tested. Then, the
average tensile strength will be taken.

Procedure of Splitting Tensile Test

• Initially, take the wet specimen from water after 7, 28 of curing; or any desired age
at which tensile strength to be estimated.
• Then, wipe out water from the surface of specimen
• After that, draw diametrical lines on the two ends of the specimen to ensure that
they are on the same axial place.
• Next, record the weight and dimension of the specimen.
• Set the compression testing machine for the required range.
• Place plywood strip on the lower plate and place the specimen.
• Align the specimen so that the lines marked on the ends are vertical and centered
over the bottom plate.
• Place the other plywood strip above the specimen.
• Bring down the upper plate so that it just touch the plywood strip.
• Apply the load continuously without shock at a rate within the range 0.7 to 1.4
MPa/min (1.2 to 2.4 MPa/min based on IS 5816 1999)
• Finally, note down the breaking load(P)

Calculations
Calculate the splitting tensile strength of the specimen as follows: T= 2P/ pi LD Where: T =
splitting tensile strength, MPa P: maximum applied load indicated by the testing machine,N
D: diameter of the specimen, mm L: length of the specimen,mm
Report
Report the following information:

• Identification number
• Diameter and length, mm
• Maximum load, N
• Splitting tensile strength calculated to the nearest 0.05 MPa
• Estimated proportion of coarse aggregate fractured during test
• Age of specimen
• Curing history
• Defects in specimen
• Type of fracture
• Lastly, type of specimen

Result
Splitting tensile strength of given concrete =...................N/mm²

2- Non-destructive test .
1- Rebound hummer test

rebound hammer test excels in the quick and effective collection of data
on the quality and homogeneity of concrete in newly constructed buildings
and those already built. A straightforward testing procedure provides an
overall image of the concrete’s condition, draws attention to parts with
reduced strength, and singles out regions that have been damaged by
freezing or fire. It is easier to get accurate values of compressive strength
using correlation data from laboratory experiments.
By striking hardened concrete with the test hammer’s piston, a spring
mechanism is loaded until it trips, releasing the hammer mass. A
predetermined quantity of energy is transferred from the mass when it hits
the piston to the concrete. A simple linear scale records the rebound
number (R-value) as the hammer mass slides along an indicator. When
compared to findings from laboratory tests, Schmidt discovered that these
surface hardness values might reflect relative strength.
 2- Ultrasonic pulse velocity

Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test means to assist the transit time of
ultrasonic pulses with 50–58 kHz, created by an electro acoustical
transducer and passing from one surface of the element to the other. The
transit time of ultrasonic pulses depends on the density and elastic
properties of the material tested. Previous studies demonstrated that with
the increase of the RPAs content, the UPV of RPAC was significantly
reduced as shown in Fig. 8.10. The porosity of concrete has a
considerable impact on the wave velocity of pulses. The addition of RPAs
makes the concrete matrix more porous; thus the velocity of waves is
decreased. It was also found that the pulse velocity of RPAC decreased
from 4500 m/s to 1900 m/s when the amount of RPAs increased from 0%
to 50% as partial substitution of FA. This condition can reflect the poor
quality of concrete in the presence of RPAs.