Muddasar Ahmed (cms id 6139) Material engineering Lab practicals

Practical no 1 FINENESS(Test To Check Fineness Of Cement)

So we need to determine the fineness of cement by dry sieving as per IS: 4031 (Part 1) 1996.The principle of this is that we determine the proportion of cement whose grain size is larger then specified mesh size. The apparatus used are 90m IS Sieve, Balance capable of weighing 10g to the nearest 10mg, A nylon or pure bristle brush, preferably with 25 to 40mm, bristle, for cleaning the sieve. Sieve shown in pic below is not the actual 90m seive.Its just for reference.

Procedure to determine fineness of cement i) Weigh approximately 10g of cement to the nearest 0.01g and place it on the sieve. ii) Agitate the sieve by swirling, planetary and linear movements, until no more fine material passes through it. iii) Weigh the residue and express its mass as a percentage R1,of the quantity first placed on the sieve to the nearest 0.1 percent. iv) Gently brush all the fine material off the base of the sieve. v) Repeat the whole procedure using a fresh 10g sample to obtain R2. Then calculate R as the mean of R1 and R2 as a percentage, expressed to the nearest 0.1 percent. When the results differ by more than 1 percent absolute, carry out a third sieving and calculate the mean of the three values. Reporting of Results Report the value of R, to the nearest 0.1 percent, as the residue on the 90m sieve.

Practical no 2

SOUNDNESS(Test To Check Soundness Of Cement)

Soundness of cement is determined by Le-ChatelierS method as per IS: 4031 (Part 3) 1988. Apparatus The apparatus for conducting the Le-Chatelier test should conform to IS: 5514 1969 Balance, whose permissible variation at a load of 1000g should be +1.0g and Water bath.

Procedure to determine soundness of cement i) Place the mould on a glass sheet and fill it with the cement paste formed by gauging cement with 0.78 times the water required to give a paste of standard consistency.

ii) Cover the mould with another piece of glass sheet, place a small weight on this covering glass sheet and immediately submerge the whole assembly in water at a temperature of 27 2oC and keep it there for 24hrs. iii) Measure the distance separating the indicator points to the nearest 0.5mm (say d1 ). iv) Submerge the mould again in water at the temperature prescribed above. Bring the water to boiling point in 25 to 30 minutes and keep it boiling for 3hrs. v) Remove the mould from the water, allow it to cool and measure the distance between the indicator points (say d2 ). vi) (d2 d1 ) represents the expansion of cement.

Practical no 3 CONSISTENCY(Test To Check Consistency Of Cement)

The basic aim is to find out the water content required to produce a cement paste of standard consistency as specified by the IS: 4031 (Part 4) 1988. The principle is that standard consistency of cement is that consistency at which the Vicat plunger penetrates to a point 5-7mm from the bottom of Vicat mould. Apparatus Vicat apparatus conforming to IS: 5513 1976, Balance, whose permissible variation at a load of 1000g should be +1.0g, Gauging trowel conforming to IS: 10086 1982.

Procedure to determine consistency of cement i) Weigh approximately 400g of cement and mix it with a weighed quantity of water. The time of gauging should be between 3 to 5 minutes. ii) Fill the Vicat mould with paste and level it with a trowel. iii) Lower the plunger gently till it touches the cement surface. iv) Release the plunger allowing it to sink into the paste. v) Note the reading on the gauge. vi) Repeat the above procedure taking fresh samples of cement and different quantities of water until the reading on the gauge is 5 to 7mm. Reporting of Results Express the amount of water as a percentage of the weight of dry cement to the first place of decimal.

Practical no 4

INITIAL AND FINAL SETTING TIME(Test To Check Initial And Final Setting Time Of Cement)

We need to calculate the initial and final setting time as per IS: 4031 (Part 5) 1988. To do so we need Vicat apparatus conforming to IS: 5513 1976, Balance, whose permissible variation at a load of 1000g should be +1.0g, Gauging trowel conforming to IS: 10086 1982. Procedure to determine initial and final setting time of cement i) Prepare a cement paste by gauging the cement with 0.85 times the water required to give a paste of standard consistency. ii) Start a stop-watch, the moment water is added to the cement. iii) Fill the Vicat mould completely with the cement paste gauged as above, the mould resting on a non-porous plate and smooth off the surface of the paste making it level with the top of the mould. The cement block thus prepared in the mould is the test block. A)INITIALSETTINGTIME Place the test block under the rod bearing the needle. Lower the needle gently in order to make contact with the surface of the cement paste and release quickly, allowing it to penetrate the test block. Repeat the procedure till the needle fails to pierce the test block to a point 5.0 0.5mm measured from the bottom of the mould.The time period elapsing between the time, water is added to the cement and the time, the needle fails to pierce the test block by 5.0 0.5mm measured from the bottom of the mould, is the initial setting time. B)FINALSETTINGTIME Replace the above needle by the one with an annular attachment. The cement should be considered as finally set when, upon applying the needle gently to the surface of the test block, the needle makes an impression therein, while the attachment fails to do so. The period elapsing between the time, water is added to the cement and the time, the needle makes an impression on the surface of the test block, while the attachment fails to do so, is the final setting time.

Practical no 5

WORKABILITY(Workability of Fresh Concrete by Slump Test)

Slump test is used to determine the workability of fresh concrete. Slump test as per IS:

1199 1959 is followed.The apparatus used for doing slump test are Slump cone and Tamping rod. Procedure to determine workability of fresh concrete by slump test. i) The internal surface of the mould is thoroughly cleaned and applied with a light coat of oil. ii) The mould is placed on a smooth, horizontal, rigid and nonabsorbent surface. iii) The mould is then filled in four layers with freshly mixed concrete, each approximately to one-fourth of the height of the mould. iv) Each layer is tamped 25 times by the rounded end of the tamping rod (strokes are distributed evenly over the cross section). v) After the top layer is rodded, the concrete is struck off the level with a trowel. vi) The mould is removed from the concrete immediately by raising it slowly in the vertical direction. vii) The difference in level between the height of the mould and that of the highest point of the subsided concrete is measured. viii) This difference in height in mm is the slump of the concrete.

ReportingofResults The slump measured should be recorded in mm of subsidence of the specimen during the test. Any slump specimen, which collapses or shears off laterally gives incorrect result and if this occurs, the test should be repeated with another sample. If, in the repeat test also, the specimen shears, the slump should be measured and the fact that the specimen sheared, should be recorded. Typical Questions Ques 1. What is the ideal value of slump? Answer 1 In case of a dry sample, slump will be in the range of 25-50 mm that is 1-2 inches. But in case of a wet concrete, the slump may vary from 150-175 mm or say 6-7 inches. So the value of slump is specifically mentioned along the mix design and thus it should be checked as per your location.

Slump depends on many factors like properties of concrete ingredients aggregates etc. Also temperature has its effect on slump value. So all these parameters should be kept in mind when deciding the ideal slump Ques 2. How does a superplasticizer effect the slump of concrete? Answer 2 Value of Slump can be increased by the addition of chemical admixtures like mid-range or high-range water reducing agents (super-plasticizers) without changing the water/cement ratio. Ques 3. How much time one should take to raise the cone? Answer 3 Once the cone is filled and topped off excessive concrete from top is cleared raise the cone within 5-10 seconds. Ques 4. What are the dimensions of the cone used in Slump Test? Answer 3 The dimensions are Top Diameter 10cm Bottom Diameter 20cm Height 30cm

Practical no 6

COMPACTING FACTOR(Workability of Fresh Concrete by Compacting Factor Test)

Compacting factor of fresh concrete is done to determine the workability of fresh concrete by compacting factor test as per IS: 1199 1959. The apparatus used is Compacting factor apparatus.

Procedure to determine workability of fresh concrete by compacting factor test. i) The sample of concrete is placed in the upper hopper up to the brim. ii) The trap-door is opened so that the concrete falls into the lower hopper. iii) The trap-door of the lower hopper is opened and the concrete is allowed to fall into the cylinder. iv) The excess concrete remaining above the top level of the cylinder is then cut off with the help of plane blades. v) The concrete in the cylinder is weighed. This is known as weight of partially compacted concrete. vi) The cylinder is filled with a fresh sample of concrete and vibrated to obtain full compaction. The concrete in the cylinder is weighed again. This weight is known as the weight of fully compacted concrete. Compacting factor = (Weight of partially compacted concrete)/(Weight of fully compacted concrete)

Practical no 7
SIEVE ANALYSIS(Sieve Analysis of Aggregates) Sieve analysis helps to determine the particle size distribution of the coarse and fine aggregates.This is done by sieving the aggregates as per IS: 2386 (Part I) 1963. In this we use different sieves as standardized by the IS code and then pass aggregates through them and thus collect different sized particles left over different sieves. The apparatus used are i) A set of IS Sieves of sizes 80mm, 63mm, 50mm, 40mm,31.5mm, 25mm, 20mm, 16mm, 12.5mm, 10mm, 6.3mm,4.75mm, 3.35mm, 2.36mm, 1.18mm, 600m, 300m, 150m and 75m. ii) Balance or scale with an accuracy to measure 0.1 percent of the weight of the test sample. The weight of sample available should not be less than the weight given below:-

The sample for sieving should be prepared from the larger sample either by quartering or by means of a sample divider. Procedure to determine particle size distribution of Aggregates. i) The test sample is dried to a constant weight at a temperature of 110 + 5oC and weighed. ii) The sample is sieved by using a set of IS Sieves. iii) On completion of sieving, the material on each sieve is weighed. iv) Cumulative weight passing through each sieve is calculated as a percentage of the total sample weight. v) Fineness modulus is obtained by adding cumulative percentage of aggregates retained on each sieve and dividing the sum by 100. Reporting of Results The results should be calculated and reported as: i) the cumulative percentage by weight of the total sample ii) the percentage by weight of the total sample passing through one sieve and retained on the next smaller sieve, to the nearest 0.1 percent. The results of the sieve analysis may be recorded graphically on a semi-log graph with particle size as abscissa (log scale) and the percentage smaller than the specified diameter as ordinate.

Various Lab Test On Concrete

There are many tests which are conducted to check the quality of concrete. These tests are basically divided into two categories 1. Various Lab Test On Fresh Concrete. Under these, we have the following tests a) Slump Test Workability b) Compacting Factor c) Vee- Bee Test 2.Various Lab Test On Hardened Concrete. There are two kinds of tests which are done on hardened concrete. These are non destructive test and destructive tests. In non destructive test, the sample is not destroyed and this test is very useful in determining the strength of existing buildings or structures where as in destructive test a sample is made and then destroyed to find out the strength of concrete.Compression test is the example of destructive test. Here are the nondestructive tests. a) Rebound Hammer Test b) Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test

Rebound Hammer Test

REBOUND HAMMER Rebound hammer test is done to find out the compressive strength of concrete by using rebound hammer as per IS: 13311 (Part 2) 1992. The underlying principle of the rebound hammer test is The rebound of an elastic mass depends on the hardness of the surface against which its mass strikes. When the plunger of the rebound hammer is pressed against the surface of the concrete, the pring-controlled mass rebounds and the extent of such a rebound depends upon the surface hardness of the concrete. The surface hardness and therefore the rebound is taken to be related to the compressive strength of the concrete. The rebound value is read from a graduated scale and is designated as the rebound number or rebound index. The compressive strength can be read directly from the graph provided on the body of the hammer. Procedure to determine strength of hardened concrete by rebound hammer. i) Before commencement of a test, the rebound hammer should be tested against the test

anvil, to get reliable results, for which the manufacturer of the rebound hammer indicates the range of readings on the anvil suitable for different types of rebound hammer. ii) Apply light pressure on the plunger it will release it from the locked position and allow it to extend to the ready position for the test. iii) Press the plunger against the surface of the concrete, keeping the instrument perpendicular to the test surface. Apply a gradual increase in pressure until the hammer impacts. (Do not touch the button while depressing the plunger. Press the button after impact, in case it is not convenient to note the rebound reading in that position.) iv) Take the average of about 15 readings.

InterpretationofResults The rebound reading on the indicator scale has been calibrated by the manufacturer of the rebound hammer for horizontal impact, that is, on a vertical surface, to indicate the compressive strength. When used in any other position, appropriate correction as given by the manufacturer is to be taken into account.

Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Method

ULTRASONIC PULSE VELOCITY This test is done to assess the quality of concrete by ultrasonic pulse velocity method as per IS: 13311 (Part 1) 1992. The underlying principle of this test is The method consists of measuring the time of travel of an ultrasonic pulse passing through the concrete being tested. Comparatively higher velocity is obtained when concrete quality is good in terms of density, uniformity, homogeneity etc. Procedure to determine strength of hardened concrete by Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity. i) Preparing for use: Before switching on the V meter, the transducers should be connected to the sockets marked TRAN and REC. The V meter may be operated with either: a) the internal battery, b) an external battery or c) the A.C line.

ii) Set reference: A reference bar is provided to check the instrument zero. The pulse time for the bar is engraved on it. Apply a smear of grease to the transducer faces before placing it on the opposite ends of the bar. Adjust the SET REF control until the reference bar transit time is obtained on the instrument read-out. iii) Range selection: For maximum accuracy, it is recommended that the 0.1 microsecond range be selected for path length upto 400mm. iv) Pulse velocity: Having determined the most suitable test points on the material to be tested, make careful measurement of the path length L. Apply couplant to the surfaces of the transducers and press it hard onto the surface of the material. Do not move the transducers while a reading is being taken, as this can generate noise signals and errors in measurements. Continue holding the transducers onto the surface of the material until a consistent reading appears on the display, which is the time in microsecond for the ultrasonic pulse to travel the distance L. The mean value of the display readings should be taken when the units digit hunts between two values. Pulse velocity=(Path length/Travel time) v) Separation of transducer leads: It is advisable to prevent the two transducer leads from coming into close contact with each other when the transit time measurements are being taken. If this is not done, the receiver lead might pick-up unwanted signals from the transmitter lead and this would result in an incorrect display of the transit time.

Interpretation of Results The quality of concrete in terms of uniformity, incidence or absence of internal flaws, cracks and segregation, etc,indicative of the level of workmanship employed, can thus be assessed using the guidelines given below, which have been evolved for characterizing the quality of concrete in structures in terms of the ultrasonic pulse velocity.

In High strength concrete in buildings, 56 or 91-day compression test results are sometimes adopted instead of 28-day compression test results. Why?
In normal concrete structures, 28-day test results are often adopted. However, in the construction of high-rise buildings using High strength concrete, compressive strengths based on 56 or 91-day compression test results are commonly used instead. Since the process of construction of high-rise buildings involves the construction of lower levels firstly in which they are not loaded for a period of a year and more. Substantial material savings shall be resulted from using 56 or 91-day compression test results. Moreover, with later ages of test results used, other cementing materials can be incorporated into the concrete mixture which improves the durability of concrete in terms of heat generation in hydration and other aspects.

In carrying out compression test for concrete, should test cubes or test cylinders be adopted?
Basically, the results of compression test carried out by using cubes are higher than that by cylinders. In compression test, the failure mode is in the form of tensile splitting induced

by uniaxial compression. However, since the concrete samples tend to expand laterally under compression, the friction developed at the concrete-machine interface generates forces which apparently increase the compressive strength of concrete. However, when the ratio of height to width of sample increases, the effect of shear on compressive strength becomes smaller. This explains why the results of compression test by cylinders are lower than that of cubes. Reference is made to Longman Scientific and Technical (1987).

Practical no 8

Aggregate Abrasion Value

AGGREGATE ABRASION VALUE This test helps to determine the abrasion value of coarse aggregates as per IS: 2386 (Part IV) 1963. The apparatus used in this test are Los Angles abrasion testing machine, IS Sieve of size 1.7mm, Abrasive charge 12 nos. cast iron or steel spheres approximately 48mm dia. and each weighing between 390 and 445g ensuring that the total weight of charge is 5000 +25g and Oven. Sample Preparation The test sample should consist of clean aggregates which has been dried in an oven at 105 to 110oC to a substantially constant weight and should conform to one of the gradings shown in the table below:

Procedure to determine Aggregate Abrasion Value The test sample and the abrasive charge should be placed in the Los Angles abrasion testing machine and the machine rotated at a speed of 20 to 33 revolutions/minute for 1000 revolutions. At the completion of the test, the material should be discharged and sieved through 1.70mm IS Sieve.

Reporting of Results i) The material coarser than 1.70mm IS Sieve should be washed, dried in an oven at a temperature of 100 to 110oC to a constant weight and weighed (Weight B). ii) The proportion of loss between weight A and weight B of the test sample should be expressed as a percentage of the original weight of the test sample. This value should be reported as, Aggregate abrasion value = (A-B)/B x 100%.