1|Page

UNIT - 3

Civil Engineering Material and Equipment- Materials: Stone, Bricks, Cement, Mortar, Concrete, Steel,
Timber; Equipment: Excavator, Bulldozer, Road rollers, Concrete Mixer, Needle Vibrator, Non-destructive
testing equipment.
I. STONES
Stones or rocks are aggregates of minerals forming the earth’s crust. Stones have no definite shape or
chemical composition and are non-homogeneous, being usually a mixture of two or more minerals.
Based on chemical composition stones can be classified into three types-
• Silicious- Stones in which silica (or sand) is the main constituent. Examples: sandstone, granite
etc.
• Argillaceous- Stones in which alumina (or clay) is the main constituent. Examples: mudstone,
slate etc.
• Calcareous- Stones in which calcium carbonate (or lime) is the main constituent. Examples:
limestone, marble etc.

➢ Requirement of a good building stone:

• It must have good appearance.
• It must have high crushing strength.
• It must have high durability.
• It must have close-grained and compact structure.
• It must be hard, tough and resistant to abrasion.
• It must be easily workable.
• It must be well seasoned.
• It must have low porosity.
• It must have high specific gravity.
• It must offer high resistance to fire.
• It must offer high resistance to electricity.

➢ Uses of common building stones:

• Granite-
• It is mainly used as large building blocks for heavy engineering works such as piers, light
houses, harbours etc.
• Its fine quality is used for decorative monumental facing works where high polish is desired.
• Sandstone-
• Its compact and fine-grained quality is used in ashlar masonry and other works of
architectural appearance.
• Rough and coarse-grained sand stones are used for rubble masonry.
• Marble-
• It is mainly used for ornamental and highly precise works such as in floor finishing,
staircase, windowsill etc.
• It is also used for making electrical switch boards and wall linings etc.
• Limestone-
• It is the principal source for cement industry.
• It is used in blast furnaces, bleaching, tanning and other industries.
• Basalt and trap-
• It is most suitable as road metal and railway ballast.
• They are also used in rubble masonry where they are cheaply and easily available.

CE - 101
 2|Page

II. BRICKS
Bricks are man-made construction material in the form of clay blocks having uniform shape and size.
Bricks are commonly used in the construction of walls, columns, roofs, paving floors and as coarse
aggregates under floors.
Unlike stones, bricks do not require dressing and art of being laid. Thus, at places where stones are not
easily available but there is plenty of clay for manufacturing bricks, the bricks replaced stones.
➢ Constituents of good brick earth:
• Alumina 20-30%
• Silica 35-50%
• Silt 20-25%
• Lime
• Oxides of Iron
• Magnesia 1-2%
• Soda and Potash

➢ Manufacturing of bricks:
• Preparation of brick earth
• Selection of site- A suitable site is selected and topsoil (about 20 cm deep) containing roots
of vegetation is removed.
• Digging and cleaning- The soil below 20 cm is dugout and cleaned off from stones, grass,
pebbles etc. and lumps of soil are broken.
• Weathering and blending- The clean soil is spread out and left for atmospheric action
known as weathering, for a period of few weeks to some months. Also, at this stage sand,
clay and other ingredients are mixed in required proportions to develop qualities for
moulding. The mixing of required ingredients is known as blending.
• Tempering- Tempering is kneading of brick earth under human or animal foot or in Pug
Mills
• Moulding of bricks- After the preparation of brick earth, bricks are moulded into required shape
and sizes by- hand moulding and machine moulding.
• Drying of bricks- The moulded bricks are sacked on their edges one over the other, maintaining
adequate space in between for circulation of air. The bricks are dried on raised temporary
platforms and often covered to protect from direct sunlight and rain. Bricks produced on large
scale are dried in special chambers which receive heat from special furnaces built for the purpose.
• Burning of bricks- The dried bricks are burnt in special kilns to impart strength and hardness to
the bricks.

➢ Classification of clay bricks:

As per the recommendations of Indian standards (IS: 1077-1976) bricks are classified as:

CE - 101
 3|Page

Bricks

Sun dried/ Burnt/Pucca

Kuccha bricks bricks

First class Second class Third class/ Overburnt/

bricks bricks Pilla bricks Jhama bricks

Figure 1: Classification of bricks

• Sundried bricks-
These bricks after moulding have been dried in sun and used in construction of temporary and
low-cost structures especially in rural areas. These types of bricks should not be used in structures
or places exposed to heavy rainfall.
• Burnt bricks-
• First class bricks
o They are uniformly burnt bricks and are regular in shape.
o Its edges are sharp and well-defined.
o Its surface is smooth, clean and free from cracks.
o It is of uniform pleasing red colour.
o It is sufficiently hard and do not produce marks when scratched with fingernail.
o It produces metallic ringing sound when struck with one another.
o It does not break when dropped from a height of 1-1.5 m.
o Uses- These bricks are excellent for all types of construction. However, mostly used in
exterior walls or face works where plastering is not required. Also, used in reinforced
brick works.
• Second class bricks
o They are uniformly burnt bricks but are irregular in shape.
o Its edges are neither straight nor well-defined.
o Its surface is rough but free from lumps and cracks.
o It does not have a uniform colour.
o It is sufficiently hard and do not produce marks when scratched with fingernail.
o It produces metallic ringing sound when struck with one another.
o Uses- Suitable of construction of exterior and interior walls where plastering is to be
done.
• Third class bricks
o They are under-burnt bricks.
o It is irregular in shape and size.
o Its surface is rough, and edges are irregular.
o It has a light yellowish colour, also known as Pilla bricks
o It is soft.
CE - 101
 4|Page

o It produces dull sound when struck with one another.

o Uses- Suitable for ordinary constructions and in dry areas.
• Over-burnt bricks
o They are over-burnt bricks.
o It is irregular in shape and size usually available in the form of lumps.
o It is hard and strong.
o It produces metallic ringing sound when struck with one another.
o Uses- Mainly used are brick ballast under flooring and in foundation.
III. CEMENT

Figure 2: Manufacturing process of cement

Before the discovery of cement, lime was used as binding medium. First use of lime as a construction
material may date back to pre-historic time. Lime and volcanic ash were used by Romans. In medieval
India Lime and Surkhi were used.
Joseph Aspdin, a builder, in the year 1824 invented and named this binding material as Portland Cement.
Cement is an extremely fine material having adhesive and cohesive properties. It provides binding
mediums for all discrete ingredients like stone, bricks, sand, aggregates etc. It is available in market in
dry form in 50 kg bags having different grades like- 43 grade, 53 grade etc. (these numbers correspond to
the compressive strength of cement)
India is the second largest producer of cement after China.

CE - 101
 5|Page

➢ Production of cement
Portland cement is manufactured by two processes- wet and dry process. However, dry process is more
economical and requires less power/fuel consumption.
• Dry process
• Cement is produced by burning calcium carbonate found in Limestone or chalk; and silica,
alumina and iron oxide found in clay or shale at about 1500̊ C.
• The materials sinter and partially fused to form Clinker
• The clinker is cooled and ground to a fine powder with some gypsum, resulting in Ordinary
Portland Cement (OPC)
• The flow diagram is shown in Figure 2.
➢ Approximate composition of cement
• Lime 60-66%
• Silica 18-25%
• Alumina 3-8%
• Iron oxide 1-5%
• Magnesia 0.1-4%
• Calcium sulphate 3-5%
• Sulphur trioxide 1-2%
• Alkalis 0.4-1.3%
IV. MORTAR
Mortar is a homogenous mixture of cement, sand, and water (Figure 3).
For making mortar, sand must be of good quality, and it should be free of impurities like clay, dust, oxide
of irons etc. It must be cleaned completely before mixing with cement. Sand provides strength and offers
resistance against shrinkage and cracking. It provides bulk to mortars, hence, making it economical. Using
just cement would not only make it extremely costly, but also impractical.
Cement mortar is used in all types of construction work due to its strong and durable properties. Mortar
can be used for several purposes such as plastering over bricks or other forms of masonry, for flooring
etc., and with the addition of coarse aggregate, it can also be used to make concrete.
Cement mortar also provides a superior medium to create a smooth surface on walls made from bricks or
other forms of masonry. Different types of mortars are used in masonry construction based on their
applications, binding materials, strength, bulk density, and their purposes.

Figure 3: Mortar composition

➢ Mix proportion
Proportion means the relative quantity of different components to be mixed to make a good mortar, or
simply the ratio between cement and sand. Following are the proportions of cement mortar which is
commonly recommended for different works:
1. Masonry Construction:

CE - 101
 6|Page

• For ordinary masonry work with brick/ stone as a structural unit. – 1:3 to 1:6
• For reinforced brick work – 1:2 to 1:3.
2. Plaster Work:
• For External Plaster and Ceiling Plaster – 1:4
• Internal Plaster – 1:5 to 1:6
3. Flooring Work- 1:4 to 1:8
4. Pointing Work- 1:1 to 1:3
➢ Uses
• To bind masonry units like stone, bricks, blocks, cement etc.
• For Plastering on walls and slabs to make them impervious.
• As a filler material in Ferro cement works and stone masonry.
• To fill cracks and joints in the wall.
• Use of cement mortar gives a neat finishing work to wall and concrete work.
• For pointing the joints of masonry.
• For preparing the building blocks.
V. CONCRETE
Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand (fine aggregate), stones (coarse aggregate) and water taken in
various proportions depending on the strength required.

Modern concrete invariably has additional ingredients other than the four components mentioned above.
• Chemical Admixture: Used for specific Property/performance enhancement. Such as-
accelerators, set retarders, water reducers etc.
• Mineral Admixture: Used for improvement of long-term strength and durability performance.
Such as- Fly ash, silica fume, rice husk ash and other pozzolanic materials.
*Using above admixtures, high strength and high-performance concrete can be designed.
➢ Advantages of Concrete:
• Lower life cycle cost
• Mould-ability
• Robustness.
• Can be designed for desired property
➢ Disadvantages of Concrete
• Low tensile strength.
• Lower ductility (highly brittle)

➢ Composition of basic Concrete mix

If we evaluate the concrete composition to see what concrete is made of, we can see there are four
basic ingredients within the concrete material mix:
• Binding materials (like cement or lime)
• Aggregates or Inert Materials
• Fine aggregate (sand)
• Coarse aggregate (stone chips, brick chips)
• Water
• Admixture (e.g. Pozzolana)

CE - 101
 7|Page

➢ Different types of concrete

There are other various types of concrete for different applications that are created by changing the
proportions of the main ingredients. Such as:
• Light weight concrete
• Aerated concrete
• High density concrete
• High-strength Concrete
• High volume fly ash concrete
• Self-compacting concrete
• Sulphur-infiltrated concrete
• High-Performance Concrete
• Rapid Strength Concrete
• Polymer Concrete
• Vacuum concrete
• Roller compacted concrete
• Geopolymer concrete
• Fibre reinforced concrete

VI. STEEL
Steel is one of the most important materials in civil engineering due to its high strength, durability and
relatively low cost. It is a ferrous metal and is practically a pure form of iron having proportion of carbon
between 0.1-1.1%.

➢ Composition
• Iron up to 99%
• Carbon 0.1-1.1%
• Silica up to 0.3%
• Manganese up to 0.5%
• Phosphorous and sulphur less than 0.1%
➢ Classification of steel
Based on the chemical composition steel can be categorised as:
• Carbon Steel- Depending on the carbon content, steel is further classified as-
1. Low carbon/Mild steel 0.10%≤ C <0.25%
Uses- Used for making steel reinforcement bars, steel sections (such as I, T and C
sections) etc.
2. Medium carbon steel 0.25%≤ C <0.60%
Uses- Used for making steels tools like tong, hammer etc.
3. Low carbon/Mild steel 0.60%≤ C <1.10%
Uses- Used for making bars and rods used in pre and post stress structures, high speed
cutters, drills etc.
• Alloy steel- Alloy steels are produced from carbon steel and one or more alloying elements.
These additions can improve the mechanical properties of the alloy. For example- Steel
combined with chromium (and sometimes nickel) is called stainless steel. Stainless steel
generally does not form rust on their surfaces and do not discolour.
• Tool steels- It contains varying amounts of tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt and vanadium that
have properties that are particularly suitable for making tools. They offer good resistance against
abrasion, impact and corrosion.
• Galvanized steel- Galvanisation can be used to help prevent steel from corroding. This involves
coating steel in zinc. The coating of zinc prevents corrosive substances from reaching the base
metal.

CE - 101
 8|Page

Based on the use in construction steel can be categorised as:

• Light gauge steel- They are available in the form of thin sheets and are easily workable to make
steels frame systems. It is flexible and safe.
• Structural steel- Structural Steel is yet another one of the popular types of steel used in
construction which is used mainly to give a base or structure to the building. Available in
different specifications & shapes like – T, I and C sections, plate type, bar or rod-type etc.
• Rebar steel- Rebar steel also known as reinforcing steel or steel reinforcement is used to
strengthen the concrete and masonry. Various types of rebars available in market are-
1. Rolled round bars and square bars- used for windows and grill works.
2. TMT (Thermo-mechanically treated) bars- offer excellent strength, shake – resistance,
and quality. Used for making reinforcement bars.
3. Ribbed bars- have high yield strength also known as High Yield Strength Deformed
(HYSD) bars. These are formed by cold twisting. Also, there are ribbed mild steel
bars. HYSD bars are used extensively for precast concrete works.

Figure 4: Light gauge steel

Figure 5: Structural steel sections

Figure 6: Types of rebars

CE - 101
 9|Page

➢ Grading system of steel- It identifies steels based on properties such as:

• Elasticity.
• Density.
• Melting point.
• Thermal conductivity.
• Strength.
• Hardness.

VII. TIMBER
The word timber refers to the wood used for construction. This word derives from old English word
‘timberian’ which means ‘to build’. Timber has been one of the primary materials of engineering
construction and has been used for various structural purpose.
➢ Terms used for timber
• Standing timber- A timber in the form of a standing tree.
• Green timber- A felled tree which has not lost its moisture.
• Rough timber- A timber in the form of felled tree.
• Converted timber- A timber that has been sawn into various market sizes such as beams, battens,
planks etc.
• Structural timber- A timber used as frame or load bearing member.
• Clear timber- A timber free from defects.
➢ Advantages of timber
• It is stronger in terms of its proportion of weight compared to other materials.
• It can be easily worked to any shape and size.
• It can be easily jointed.
• Structural members are light.
• Durable if properly seasoned.
• Resale value is good.

➢ Structure of wood
The structure of wood in cross-section is shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Structure of wood

CE - 101
 10 | P a g e

➢ Classification of trees
1. Based on their mode of growth
• Endogenous tress: These trees grow inwards. In these trees fresh fibrous mass is in the
innermost portion. These trees do not yield good timber for structural works. This group is
confined largely to tropical semitropical regions.
Timber derived from these trees have very limited engineering applications. Example of
endogenous tress are:
• Palms: It is locally used as piles because of their long, straight stems.
• Bamboo: Is used in making temporary structures like- scaffoldings.
• Exogenous trees: These trees increase in bulk and annual rings are formed in the horizontal
section of such a tree. Timber which is mostly used for engineering purpose belongs to this
category. This timber can be divided into two groups:
• Soft woods: Such as deodar
• Hard woods: Such as oak and teak.
Table 1 shows the difference between soft wood (coniferous) and hard wood (deciduous) trees.
Table 1: Difference between hard and soft wood

2. Based on durability
• High durability: If the average life is more than 10 years.
• Moderate durability: If the average life is 5-10 years.
• Low durability: If the average life is less than 5 years.
3. Based on grading
Depending on the permissible stresses, defects etc, IS: 12326-1976 classifies timber into three grades:
• Special Grade
• Grade-I
• Grade-II.
4. Based on availability
IS: 339-1963 classifies timber as:
• X– Most common, 1415 m3 or more per year.
• Y– Common, 335 m3 to 1415 m3 per years.
• Z– Less common, less than 335 m3 per year.

➢ Properties of Good Timber

• Colour: It has a uniform colour.
• Odour: It gives pleasant odour when cut freshly.
CE - 101
 11 | P a g e

• Soundness: It produces clear ringing sound when struck.

• Texture: Texture is fine and even.
• Grains: It has a close-grained structure.
• Density: Higher the density stronger is the timber.
• Hardness: Harder timbers are strong and durable.
• Warping: It does not warp under changing environmental conditions.
• Toughness: It is capable of resisting shock loads.
• Abrasion: It does not deteriorate due to general wear. This property should be investigated, if
timber is to be used for flooring.
• Strength: It has high strength in bending, shear and direct compression.
• Modulus of Elasticity: It has high modulus of elasticity and used in construction.
• Fire resistance: It resists fire.
• Permeability: It has low water permeability.
• Workability: It offers good workability and do not clog the saw.
• Durability: It offers good resistance against the action of fungi and insect attack
• Defects: It is free from defects like dead knots, shakes and cracks.

➢ Seasoning of Timber:
Seasoning is the process of reducing moisture content of timber to a desired level. The purpose of
seasoning are as follows:
• To impart hardness, stiffness, strength, durability and resistance to electric shocks.
• To help maintain shape and size of structural timber.
• To make it fit for preservation treatments.
• To improve wood working quality such as gluing, painting, varnishing etc.
• To minimise the tendency of cracking and warping.
• To reduces weight and save transportation cost.

➢ Methods of Seasoning
1. Natural Seasoning
• Air seasoning- It is carried out under shed on a raised platform about 300 mm high and are
stacked as shown in Figure 8. Care is taken to see that there is proper air circulation around
each timber member causing the moisture content to reduce. Timber seasoned by this method
is left with 15% moisture. This is a slow but a good process of seasoning.
• Water seasoning- It is carried out on the banks of rivers as shown in Figure 9. The thicker end
of the timber is kept pointing upstream side. After a period of 2 to 4 weeks the timber is taken
out. During this period sap contained in the timber is washed out to a great extent. Then timber
is stalked in a shed with free air circulation.

CE - 101
 12 | P a g e

Figure 8: Air seasoning of timber

Figure 9: Water seasoning of timber

2. Artificial Seasoning- In this method timber is seasoned in a chamber with regulated heat,
controlled humidity and proper air circulation. Seasoning can be completed in 4 to 5 days only.
The different methods of artificial seasoning are:
• Boiling- In this method timber is immersed in water and then water is boiled for 3 to 4 hours.
Then it is dried slowly. Instead of boiling water hot steam may be circulated on timber. The
process of seasoning is fast, but costly.
• Kiln Seasoning- Kiln is an airtight chamber as shown in Figure 10. Timber to be seasoned is
placed inside it. Then fully saturated air with a temperature 35°C to 38°C is forced in the kiln.
The heat gradually reaches inside timber. Then relative humidity is gradually reduced, and
temperature is increased, and maintained till desired degree of moisture content is achieved.
• Chemical Seasoning- In this method, the timber is immersed in a solution of suitable salt. Then
the timber is dried in a kiln. The preliminary treatment by chemical seasoning ensures uniform
seasoning of outer and inner parts of timber.
• Electrical Seasoning- In this method high frequency alternate electric current is passed
through timber. Resistance to electric current is low when moisture content in timber is high.
As moisture content reduces the resistance reduces. Measure of resistance can be used to stop
seasoning at appropriate level.

CE - 101
 13 | P a g e

Figure 10: Kiln seasoning of timber

➢ Preservation of Timber
Preservation of timber means protecting timber from fungi and insects attack so that its life is increased.
Timber is to be seasoned well before application of preservatives. The following are the widely used
preservatives:
• Tar- Hot coal tar is applied to timber with brush. The coating of tar protects the timber from the
attack of fungi and insects. It is the cheapest way of protecting timber. Main disadvantage of this
method of preservation is that appearance is not good after tar is applied. It it is not possible to
apply other attractive paints. Hence tarring is made only for the unimportant structures like fence
poles.
• Paints- Two to three coats of oil paints are applied on clean surface of wood. The paint protects
the timber from moisture. Paint improves the appearance of the timber. ‘Solignum’ paint is a
special paint which protects the timber from the attack of termites.
• Chemical salt- These are the preservatives made by dissolving salts in water. The salts used are
copper sulphate, zinc chloride etc. After treating the timber with these chemical salt, paints and
varnishes can be applied to get good appearance.
• Creosote- Creosote oil is obtained by distillation of coal tar. The seasoned timber is kept in an
airtight chamber and air is exhausted. Then creosote oil is pumped into the chamber at a pressure
of 0.8 to 1.0 MPa at 50°C. After 1 to 2 hours timber is taken out of the chamber.
• ASCO- This preservative is developed by the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. It consists of-
• 1 part by weight of hydrated arsenic pentoxide (As2O5.2H2O),
• 3 parts by weight of copper sulphate (CuSO4.5H2O) and
• 4 parts by weight of potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) or sodium dichromate
(Na2Cr2O7.2H2O).
This preservative is available in powder form. By mixing six parts of this powder with 100 parts
of water, the solution is prepared. The solution is then sprayed over the surface of timber. This
treatment prevents attack from termites. The surface may be painted to get desired appearance.

➢ Uses of Timber
Timber is used for the following works:
• For heavy construction works like columns, trusses, piles etc.
• For light construction works like doors, windows, flooring and roofing.
• For other permanent works like for railway sleepers, fencing poles, electric poles and gates.
• For temporary works in construction like scaffolding, shoring, strutting and packing of materials.
• For decorative works like showcases and furniture.
CE - 101
 14 | P a g e

• For body works of buses, lorries, trains and boats

• For industrial uses like pulps (used in making papers), cardboards, wallpapers
• For making sports goods and musical instruments.

VIII. EXCAVATOR

Figure 11: Excavator

• Excavator as shown in Figure 11, is an essential construction equipment widely used in the civil
construction industry.
• Their general purpose is excavation, but other than that, they are also used for many purposes like
heavy lifting, demolition, river dredging, cutting of trees, etc.
• Excavators contain a long arm with a digging bucket attached at the end.
• The operator manoeuvres the heavy equipment, from the cab of the excavator, throughout the
construction site
• The cabin arrangement can be rotated up to 360 degrees, giving the operator the ability to work in
multiple areas from one location.
• Excavators are available in both wheeled and tracked forms of vehicles.

IX. BULLDOZER

Figure 12: Bulldozer

• Bulldozers (shown in Figure 12) are a commonly equipment used in construction.

• Due to their wide tracks, the bulldozer can manoeuvre through difficult terrain of construction
site. Also, the heavy weight of bulldozer is dispersed across a wide footprint, allowing it to work
on different types of soil muddy or sandy.
• The bulldozer is primarily used as earth-moving equipment. The blade on the front of the bulldozer
is used to push or remove the soil, sand, and debris on construction sites.
• The plate is lowered and raised using hydraulic pistons.
• Bulldozers can also be equipped with an attachment called a ripper. A ripper is located on the
back of the bulldozer and is used to break up surface rock, pavement, asphalt, or concrete.

CE - 101
 15 | P a g e

X. ROAD ROLLER

Figure 13: Road roller

A road roller (sometimes called a roller-compactor, or just roller) is a compactor-type engineering vehicle
as shown in Figure 13. It is used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads
and foundations. Road rollers are frequently referred to as steamrollers, regardless of their method of
propulsion.

XI. CONCRETE MIXER

Figure 14: Rotary drum type mixer

A concrete mixer (also cement mixer) is a device that homogeneously combines cement, aggregate (e.g.
sand or gravel), and water to form concrete. A typical concrete mixer (Figure 14) uses a revolving drum
to mix the components. For smaller volume works, portable concrete mixers are often used so that the
concrete can be made at the construction site, giving the workers ample time to use the concrete before it
hardens. An alternative to a machine is mixing concrete by hand.

XII. NEEDLE VIBRATOR

Figure 15: Needle vibrator

Vibrators as shown in Figure 15 are normally used for compacting concrete at site. In the case of vibration,
compacting gets effected via a reduction in inner friction between diverse particles of concrete due to
oscillation of debris which ends up in a dense and compact mass of concrete.
CE - 101
 16 | P a g e

XIII. NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING (NDT) EQUIPMENT

Non-Destructive Tests are useful for testing and evaluation of concrete strength after construction and
during its lifetime. These tests are conducted to ensure the quality of concrete construction as per required
specification for intended use.
Following equipment are used for NDT of concrete:
➢ Rebound Hammer
Rebound hammer (Figure 16) is used for testing surface strength of concrete. Rebound hammer
provides rebound number after testing of concrete which is used for concrete strength estimation.

Figure 16: Rebound hammer

➢ Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Meter
Ultrasonic pulse velocity meter (Figure 17) is used to test the quality of concrete after construction.
Qualities such as uniformity and homogeneity of concrete, location of internal defects in concrete,
porosity, cracks.

Figure 17: Ultrasonic pulse velocity meter

➢ Pull out Testing Equipment
There are two types of pull-out tests. One is Pull out "Lok" test which is used for testing concrete
during construction stage while other test Pull Out "Capo" test is used for testing concrete after
construction. Both tests are used for assessment of concrete surface zone strength and measures
the pull-out force for concrete (Figure 18).

CE - 101
 17 | P a g e

Figure 18: Pull-out testing

➢ Windsor Probe Test
Penetration resistance test is conducted on concrete structures using Windsor Probe test machine
as shown in Figure 19. In this test method, a steel probe is fired on the concrete surface by a sudden
explosion. The penetration is inversely proportional to the strength of concrete. The result of the
test is influenced by aggregate strength and nature of formed surfaces of concrete.
The purpose of the penetration resistance test is used to determine the uniformity of concrete,
specify the poor quality or deteriorated concrete zones, and evaluate the in-place strength of
concrete. It is sometimes necessary to estimate the strength of concrete on-site for early form
removal.

➢
Figure 19: Windsor Probe test machine

CE - 101