DCC10022 – BRICKWORKS AND CONCRETE LABORATORY

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

DCC10022 – BRICKWORKS AND CONCRETE
LABORATORY

LAB WORKSHEET TITLE : COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST

ON THE CONCRETE CUBE

❖ CLO1 : Perform practical activities using appropriate tools and

techniques for concrete works with safety awareness. (P3 ,
PLO5)
❖ CLO3 : Participate actively in a teamwork during practical
activities. (A3 , PLO9)

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OBJECTIVE
To determine the strength and the workability of concrete mixture

THEORY
✓ To determine the concrete fulfils the required specification, 2 types of
testing to be conducted are Wet Concrete Testing such as slump,
compacting factor and Vebe Consistency while hard concrete testing such
as cube test and beam flexural strength
✓ Hard concrete test were conducted at the age of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days
after curing
✓ The increment rate of the concrete strength will depend on the
temperature and moisture during hardening process

SCOPE OF WORK
✓ Use this test method to determine the compressive strength on 7 days
concrete cube samples using standard mechanical compressing machine
✓ Compare the result determine with the mix design being selected

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APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENTS

TROWEL

SHOVEL

VARIOUS PAN

ADJUSTABLE SPANNER

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WEIGHING BALANCE
STANDARD CUBE MOULDS

(150MM X 150MM X 150MM).

TAMPING ROD
COMPRESSION MACHINE

GREASE OIL
DRYING OVEN, IF NEEDED
CAPABLE OF ATTAINING A
TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST 200+
9°F (93 +5°C)

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SPECIFICATION REFERENCES
i.Select mix ratio for conrete grade.

ii. Water Cement Ration (W/C)

W/C = ( Mass of Cement)/(Mass of Water) 1 Litre = 1Kg
Mass of cement = 2 Kg
Mass of water = 1.5 Kg

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
W/C =
𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝟐 𝑲𝒈
W/C =
𝟏.𝟓 𝑲𝒈

W/C = 1.33 Kg

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PROCEDURES
1. 150mm x 150mm x 150mm standard cube mould is to be used for concrete
mix.
2. Make sure the apparatus and associated equipment are clean before test and
free from hardened concrete and superfluous water.
3. Assemble the cube mould correctly and ensure all nuts are tightened.
4. The interior surfaces of the assembled mould are required to be thinly coated
with grease oil to prevent adhesion of concrete.
5. Place the mould on level firm ground.
6. Fill with sampled concrete to a layer of about 50mm thick or 1/3 of the mould
height.

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7. Compact the layer of concrete thoroughly by tamping the whole surface area
with the tamping rod 35 tamps.

8. Repeat step (6) & (7) until the mould is all filled

9. Remove the surplus concrete after the mould is fully filled and trowel the top
surface flush with the mould.

10. The concrete will be left for 24 hours setting.

11. Record the date of the mixture and submerged cube in the curing tank and
test on the 7 days

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Testing - Testing should be carried out on the 7th and 21th or 28th day.
i. Remove specified test specimen from the curing tank.
ii. Wipe to a surface dry condition and remove any loose sand grains for test
surfaces.
iii. Let the specimen dries first naturally under the sun hot (make sure the cube is
totally dried before test).

iv. Determine the weight of the dry specimen by carefully weighing and measure
the dimensions of the specimen.

V. Place the cube to be tested at the center plate of the compression machine.

vi. Ensure both plates are in contact with the lower surface of the concrete plate.

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vii. Release the load valve to raise up the bottom plate until the cube touch the
above plate.
viii. Record the maximum load that will crush the tested cube.

ix. Repeat the above step using the other cubes. Record the result accordingly

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RESULTS
Nature of Test : Cube Test
Tested Material : Hardened Concrete

PART 1
NO. ITEMS MEASUREMENT
1 Concrete Ratio (Mixture) 2:3:6

2 Water Cement Ratio 1.33 Kg

3 Slump Reading

PART 2
NO. MATERIAL SOURCE WEIGHT (KG)
1 Cement 2

2 Fine Aggregate (sand) 3

3 Coarse Aggregate 6

PART 3
Date of Date of Age Weight of Compaction Cube Notes
Cube Testing During Cube (Kg) Force (kN) Strength
Made Testing (N/mm2)

22/5 7 7 7.394 160.4 7.129 G25

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SAMPLE OF CALCULATION:
1) How to determine the Water Cement Ratio (w/c).
W/C = ( Mass of Cement)/(Mass of Water) 1 Litre = 1Kg
Mass of cement = 2 Kg
Mass of water = 1.5 Kg

W/C =(Mass of Cement)/(Mass of Water)

W/C = (2 Kg)/(1.5 Kg)
W/C = 1.33 Kg

2) How to determine the concrete strength.

160.4 Kn X 1000 N = 7.129 N/mm2
22500

3) How to determine the concrete density.

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Conclusion
Concrete cube testing and maintaining good cube test records does not mean
quality control of concrete works. Often the records show excellent cube results
but the actual concrete is extremely poor. Concrete cubes are often cast with the
stiffer mix (lower water to cement ratio) or using additional cement while actual
concreting is done without any regards for water to cement ratio which in turn
influences strength and durability of the structure

DISCUSSION
Answer the questions.

State the value of the 7.129 N/mm2

compressive strength
result.

State the mean target 16.25 N/mm2

strength of.

a) State if your result is between the range of concrete strength vs age (if not,
state why it happened)
i. Insufficient water-cement ratio to undergo hydration reaction in old age
ii. High temperature speeds up the hydration reaction, but the products gained
won't be uniform or of good quality. This can leave pores which affect the
strength of concrete.
iii. An impermeable concrete can undergo moisture penetration, frequent freeze,
and thaw that creates cracks in concrete. Chemical attacks can corrode the
reinforcement reducing the yield strength of reinforcement

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b) Determine 3 difficulties during the testing being carried out.

i. Difficulty in keeping the sand completely isolated
ii. To wait for the results of the sieve takes a long time
iii. Difficulty finding suitable sand

WHAT IS SIGNIFICANCE OF CUBE TEST

The purpose of a concrete cube test is to ensure that the concrete meets its expected
compressive strength. If the concrete doesn’t hit its design strength or if it hasn’t been
tested the supplier can’t guarantee its quality. And if the supplier can’t guarantee
quality, then there’s a big risk that the concrete might not be up for the job. It could
crack, crumble or collapse in just a few months. You can only be 100% confident about
the quality of your concrete if you use a supplier that cube-tests.

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