HITACHI PLANT TECHNOLOGIES (PVT) LTD

BASIC INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

CHAPTER 15

TESTING

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15.1 TESTING OF CONCRETE

Two tests were carried at our site for testing concrete.
1.
Slump test (for workability)
2.
Cube test (for strength)

15.1.1 SLUMP TEST

The characteristics of the fresh concrete will affect full compaction, are its
consistency
, Mobility and compatibility. A concrete said to be workable when it can be
readily mixed easily placed, properly compacted and nicely finished.
. We used slump cone, tamping road, steel plate and measuring device for
slump test. First the mould was inspected to make sure the internal surface was
clean and dry and free from set concrete. Then the slump cone was placed on
the steel plate.
It was filled with concrete in 3 layers each of equal depth. Each layer should b
compacted by tamping 25 times with tamping rod. The blows should be evenly
distributed over the surface of the layer and the rod should penetrate the whole
depth of the layer. Then top surface was leveled by using the tamping rod.
After about the 6 min the slump one was removed from the concrete by
using rising slowly in a vertical direction. The height of the slump was
measured immediately by using the measuring device. Allowance of the slump
height of the structural concrete is 120 mm in the site

This test is used to check the workability of the concrete that we

are going to use. The test carried out a special mould called slump cone and a
standard steel rod called tamping rod.

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600mm

300 mm

Diameter =16 mm

Tamping rod
200 mm

Slump cone

First the cone placed on a steel plate. Then the cone is filed in three
layers of concrete and each layers tamped 25 terms by using slandered tamping
rod. After tamping, the cone is lifted carefully.
Slump is the difference between the height of the concrete cone and after
removal of the mould. In our site we used 120 mm slump for ready mix
concrete.
Tamping rod
H = Slump

Slump cone

Concrete mixture
Steel plate

STRENGTH TESTS FOR CONCRETE

The concrete is test for
1. Compressive strength
2. Tensile strength
In our site we test it for only compressive strength. There for we use cube test

15.1.2 Cube Test

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Cube test is most commonly using method measuring strength hardened concrete.
The specimens are cast in steel or cast iron mould generally 150 mm cube; but mould should
be in cubical shape.
Before assembling mould in thin oil layer must be applied inside surface of the mould
to prevent the development of bond between the mould and concrete. And cube should be
clamped rigidly because the use of rigidly connected mould is essential for compaction
According to the stranded method the mould must have to filled in the three layers, and each
layer should compacted 25 times of the slandered tamping rod. The final layer should filed to
overflowing and after compaction excess concrete should removed and must be finished by
trowel smoothly. Then the cube should store undisturbed place for 24 hours, and the end of
the period the mould is removed and the cube is further cured in the water tank for 7 days
After that the specimen was crushed by using the crushing machine, and the find the
compressive strength of concrete

Diameter = 20mm
25 x 25mm

150mm

150mm
150mm
TEST CUBE

100mm

300mm
Weight of a tamping bar is 1.8 Kg
TAMPING BAR

15.2 TESTING OF SOIL

15.2.1 SAND CONE TEST
This test is use to find the density of the soil. In our site we use it for to find the
density of the soil that compacted in sludge drying bed area. In site we use it for find the
density in trenches compacted soil. Determine the in-situ density of natural or compacted
soils using sand replacement method. The main application of this test is the cases like
embankment and pavement construction; this is basically a QC test or quality control test
where certain degree of compaction is required.
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INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, KATUNAYAKE

HITACHI PLANT TECHNOLOGIES (PVT) LTD

BASIC INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

Sand Cone Test

A small hole is dug in the compacted material to be tested. The soil is removed and weighed,
then dried and weighed again to determine its moisture content. A soil's moisture is figured
as a percentage. The specific volume of the hole is determined by filling it with calibrated
dry sand from a jar and cone device. The dry weight of the soil removed is divided by the
volume of sand needed to fill the hole. This gives us the density of the compacted soil in lbs
per cubic foot. This density is compared to the maximum Proctor density obtained earlier,
which gives us the relative density of the soil that was just compacted.
15.3 TESTING OF AGGREGATES

15.3.1 Sieve analysis

A sieve analysis is a practice or procedure used to assess the particle size
distribution of a granular material.
The size distribution is often of critical importance to the way the material performs
in use. A sieve analysis can be performed on any type of granular materials including
sands, crushed rock down to a minimum size depending on the exact method. Being
such a simple technique of particle sizing, it is probably the most common.

Sieves

Preparation
In order to perform the test, a sample of the aggregate must be obtained from the
source. To prepare the sample, the aggregate should be mixed thoroughly and be
reduced to a suitable size for testing. The total weight of the sample is also
required.
Procedure
A suitable sieve size for the aggregate should be selected and placed in order of
decreasing size, from top to bottom, in a mechanical sieve shaker. A pan should
be placed underneath the nest of sieves to collect the aggregate that passes
through the smallest. The entire nest is then agitated, and the material whose
diameter is smaller than the mesh opening passes through the sieves. After the
aggregate reaches the pan, the amount of material retained in each sieve is then
weighed.
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Results
The results are presented in a graph of percent passing versus the sieve size. On
the graph the sieve size scale is logarithmic. To find the percent of aggregate
passing through each sieve, first find the percent retained in each sieve. To do
so, the following equation is used,

%Retained =

100%

Where WSieve is the weight of aggregate in the sieve and WTotal is the total
weight of the aggregate. The next step is to find the cumulative percent of
aggregate retained in each sieve. To do so, add up the total amount of aggregate
that is retained in each sieve and the amount in the previous sieves. The
cumulative percent passing of the aggregate is found by subtracting the percent
retained from 100%.
%Cumulative Passing = 100% - %Cumulative Retained.
The values are then plotted on a graph with cumulative percent passing on the y
axis and logarithmic sieve size on the x axis.
Engineering applications
Gradation is usually specified for each engineering application it is used for. For
example, foundations might only call for coarse aggregates, and therefore an open
gradation is needed. Gradation is primarily a concern in pavement mix
design. Concrete could call for both coarse and fine particles and a dense graded
aggregate would be needed.

NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN ENGINEERING SCIENCES

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, KATUNAYAKE