UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS ENCE 2311, SECTION 602 MECHANICS OF MATERIALS LAB SPRING 2013

LAB REPORT NO. 6

Colum Buckling Test

Lab Conducted:

04/02/2013

Report submitted: 04/09/2013

Submitted by:

_______________________________________ Johan Dreher

OBJECTIVES
To prepare a batch of concrete from premixed bag; perform a slump test; prepare 6x12 test cylinders; perform compression tests on the cylinders at 7 and 28 days; determine and draw stress/strain curves from test results; determine E and Fc at 28 days.

EQUIPMENT
Standard slump cone Slump plate Shovel Steel rod Scoop Rule Tinius Olsen UHMT Cement premixed bag Compressometer 6x12 plastic cylinders Plastic shield Water Steel fload Sulfur dioxide cap Hammer

THEORY
1. Concrete Slump Test. The Slump Test is performed to make sure the consistency of the concrete is optimum. The goal is to check that the concrete mix is workable. Therefore, the measured slump must be within a target range. In general, a wetter mix will be more workable than a drier mix, but the resulting concrete cylinder will also have less strength. The test consists basically in filling a standard slump cone with the concrete mix. After removing the cone, the difference in height is to be measured. The detailed procedure will be explained later.

2. Concrete Compression Test. The concrete is made of cement, water and aggregate. The aggregate is usually rocks and sand. Concrete has relatively high compression strength, but significantly lower tension strength. For that reason it is usually reinforced with steel. Concrete has also a very low coefficient of thermal expansion, and as it matures concrete shrinks. The compression test is made to ensure the properties of the mix correspond to specifications for the application. The ultimate strength of concrete depends on the water-cement ratio, the design constituents, and the mixing, placement and curing methods employed. A concrete mix with a lower water-cement ratio makes a stronger concrete than a mix with higher ratio. In our case, we tried to make the mix as dry as possible in order to achieve a higher strength. The compression test will be conducted 7 and 28 days after filling the cylinders with the concrete mix. Within 28 days the concrete will achieve approximately the 97-98% of its maximum compressive strength. In the other hand, within 7 days the concrete will achieve the 90% of its 28-days strength. The modulus of elasticity of concrete is a function of the modulus of elasticity of the aggregates and the cement matrix and their relative proportions. Concretes modulus of elasticity is relatively constant at low stress levels but starts decreasing at higher stress levels, as matrix cracking develops. The modulus of elasticity of concrete is given by the following empirical equation: The ACI subscript stands for American Concrete Institute. And is the compressive strength of concrete at 28 days (psi). In a compression test, the modulus of elasticity of concrete can also be determined by the slope of the stress-strain curve. The slope will be calculated considering it to be constant from the origin to .

PROCEDURE
1. Slump Test: The first step is to prepare the concrete mix. Put the premixed cement in the box and distribute it uniformly with the shovel. Add some water and mix everything with the shovel. Add more water and mix again carefully. Repeat this several times until the consistency is the desired. Wet the materials. Moist by hand the interior of the slump cone and base.

Secure the cone in the base. Fill 1/3 of the cone with the concrete. Compact the concrete by rodding 25 times. Rodding means to push the steel rod in and out the concrete to compact it into the cylinder. Now fill 2/3 and again rod 25 times, just into the top of the first layer. Fill to overflowing, rodding again this time just into the top of the second layer. Top up the cone till it overflows. Carefully lift the cone straight up making sure not to move the sample. Measure the height difference between the slump cone and the sample.

2. Preparation of concrete cylinders: Moist the interior of the cylinders by hand. Fill the cylinder with the concrete exactly the same way as done with the slump cone. Use a hammer as a vibrator to move out the air. Level off the top using the steel fload.

3. Compression test: Cover the top and bottom of the cylinder with a smooth sulfur dioxide cap. Secure the compressometer in the clinder. Put the cylinder in the UHTM. Calibrate the compressometer. Start loading the specimen. Write down the corresponding load for each deflection value in the data table. After reaching a deflection of 0.01 in, remove the extensometer of the cylinder to make sure it doesnt brake along with the specimen. Load again the specimen until failure. Write down the maximum load. Repeat this procedure for each of the 3 concrete cylinders after 7 and 28 days.