FACULTY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING & EARTH RESOURCES

CONCRETE LABORATORY

SUBJECT CODE BAA 1931

SUBJECT ENGINEERING LAB. I

EXPERIMENT TITLE DESTRUCTIVE TEST : FLEXURAL TEST

DATE OF 16th MAY 2018
EXPERIMENT
GROUP NUMBER 6

SECTION 01G

GROUP MEMBER:
ID NUMBER & NAME 1) AA17105 – LOKE CHEE HOU
2) AA17018 – NUR ATIKAH BT SAMSUN
RAHMAN
3) AA17025 – MAZNIE BT MADRI
4) AA17021 – ENGKU AQILAH SYAKIRAH BT
ENGKU ROSLY
5) AA17030 – MUHAMAD FAIS BIN MOHMAD
RAFI

PERSON IN CHARGE ENCIK HJ MUHAMMAD NURUL FAKHRI RUSLI

REMARKS

ENDORSEMENT
 TABLE OF CONTENT

CONTENT PAGE NUMBER

i) INTRODUCTION 1

ii) OBJECTIVE 2

iii) APPARATUS AND PROCEDURE 3-4

iv) RESULTS 5-6

v) DISCUSSION 7-9

vi) CONCLUSION 10

vii) REFERENCE 11

viii) APPENDICES 11
INTRODUCTION

CONCRETE FLEXURAL TEST

Flexural strength is one measure of the tensile strength of concrete. It is a measure of

an unreinforced concrete beam or slab to resist failure in bending. It is measured by loading 6
x 6 inch (150 x 150-mm) concrete beams with a span length at least three times the depth. The
flexural strength is expressed as Modulus of Rupture (MR) in psi (MPa) and is determined by
standard test methods ASTM C 78 (third-point loading) or ASTM C 293 (centre-point loading).

Flexural Strength of Concrete Flexural MR is about 10 to 20 percent of compressive

strength depending on the type, size and volume of coarse aggregate used. However, the best
correlation for specific materials is obtained by laboratory tests for given materials and mix
design. The MR determined by third-point loading is lower than the MR determined by centre-
point loading, sometimes by as much as 15%.

1
OBJECTIVES

1) To determine the compressive strength of hardened concrete specimen with reference

to the standardized method.
2) To determine the flexural strength of hardened concrete specimen by the use of
simple beam with reference to the standardized third point loading method.

2
APPARATUS

1. Flexural testing machine – the machine must consist of two supports and two loading
point.
2. 100 x 100 x 500 mm plain concrete beam.

3
PROCEDURES

1. The weight and dimension of beam specimen were measured.

2. The location of supports and loading points on beam surface is indicated.
3. The test specimen is turned on its side with respect to its position as moulded and
center it on the support block if the moulded specimen was used. The specimen was
positioned so that the tension face corresponds to the top or bottom of the specimen as
cut from the parent material if sawed specimen was used.
4. Specimen contact surface was grind, cap or use leather shims to eliminate any gap in
excess of 0.10mm between the specimen and the load applying or support blocks.
5. Without shock, the specimen is loaded continuously until rupture occurs.
6. The maximum load carried by the specimen during testing is recorded and the
specimen cross section at one of the fractured faces is measured.
7. One measurement is taken at each edge for each dimension of cross section and one at
the center of the cross section. Three measurements are used for each direction to
determine the average width and depth to the nearest 1mm (include the cap thickness
if the fracture occurs at a capped section).
8. The data was recorded.

Figure 1 : Loading arrangement on Beam Specimen

4
RESULT
Flexural strength :

PL
R
bd 2

Where :

N
R = modulus of rupture ( or MPa)
mm2

L = span length (mm)

P = maximum load carried by the specimen during testing (N)

d = average depth of specimen at the fracture (mm)

b = average width of specimen at the fracture (mm)

CHARACTERISTICS CONCRETE BEAM

Weight (kg) 12.2061

Length (mm) 500

Width (mm) 100

Height (mm) 100

Area, A (mm2) 50000

Maximum load, P (kN) 28.24

Ultimate Strength, (N/ mm2) 14.12

5
CALCULATION

As the fracture initiates in the tension suface within the middle third of the span length, thus
the flexural strength is calculated by using the equation as follows:

R= PL/(bd2 )

Where :

R = modulus of rupture (N/ mm2 or MPa)

P = maximum load carried by the specimen during testing (N)

L = span length (mm)

b = average width of specimen at the fracture (mm)

d = average depth of specimen at the fracture (mm)

Calculation :

28.24(103 ) 𝑥 500
R= = 14.12N/mm2
100 𝑥 1002

6
DISCUSSION

A concrete beam without reinforced steel is weak in tension has lower strength . Failure
in the bottom fiber of plain concrete beam is due to segregation and bleeding of the concrete.
When the water to cement ratio (w/c) is too high, it will cause high density substance such as
aggregate to settle down to the bottom of the concrete and lead to segregation. Segregation and
bleeding will cause honey comb that will weaken the strength of the concrete beam. Bubbles
which trap inside the concrete will leave voids after reaction or evaporation. Presence of voids
in the concrete will also causes failure in the concrete structure.

In order to overcome the failure, the water/cement ratio should be reduced while
maintaining the workability of the concrete.Suggestion is by adding admixture such as super
plasticizer. Course aggregate with rough angular shape and high strength should be taken as
the top priority of the selection of aggregate. Combination of steel as reinforcement bar will
dramatically increase the strength of the concrete beam, as it can resist the tension of the
concrete beam.

The flexural srength we obtained from the test is 14.12N/mm2. This is may be some caused
by some error that affects the results. For causes and errors, we should not dry the beam after
taken out from the fresh water. It should be in saturated surface dry (SSD) condition. That is to
say , only the surface of the beam should be dried.

For precaution and safety measure, the concrete beam should be placed properly in the
right position. Eliminate any gap in excess of 0.10mm between the beam and loading applying
or support blocks by grinding on the beam contact surface. We can wear glove to prevent our
hand to expose with the alkaline solution. This is because when the Portland cement is mixed
with water, the water will become alkaline solution.

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1) Discuss about the origin of failure in the bottom fibre of plain concrete beam

Failure in the bottom fibre of plain concrete beam is due to segregation and bleeding.
When water/cement ration in concrete is high, the workability of concrete is high. This causes
the heavier material such as aggregate will flow down to the bottom of concrete and causes
segregation. While bleeding is due to upwards movement of water. Segregation and bleeding
have resulting in honeycomb structure and hence reduce the strength of concrete. Degree of
compaction that is too high may also causes segregation.

Presence of voids is also the origin of failure of plain concrete beam. Presence of voids
is due to bubbles of entrapped air and the space left after the excess water has been remove
through evaporation.

To overcome the failure, the water content of water should be reduce while maintaining
the workability of concrete. Change in properties of aggregate may also improve the strength
of concrete. Smooth and well-rounded aggregate should be replace by rough surface and odd
shaped aggregate. Reinforcement of concrete beam with steel bars or meshes may prevent
cracking of concrete beam. Plain concrete beam has low tensile strength. Combination of brittle
(concrete) and ductile (steel) material may create a strong product of concrete beam.

2) Discuss about the diffrence between third – point loading and centre – point loading in
flexural strength test .

The third-point loading and centre-point loadig are two basic flexural test.

The main difference between third-point loading and centre-point loading is the
location of load application. Load is applied at the third point along the concrete beam while
load is applied at the midspan of concrete beam for centre-point loading. In third-point loading,
the middle third of beam span is subjected to maximum bending moment and maximum
extreme fibre stress.

In centre-point loading, only the cross section at midspan is subjected to maximum

moment and maximum extreme fibre stress. Hence, compare to the third-point loading, the
probability for centre-point loading to have weak concrete in a region of highest stress is lower.
As a result, flexural strength obtained from third-point loading is about 15% lower than centre-
point loading.

8
 Third-point loading test is preferred than centre point loading because pure moment
with zero shear is subjected in the middle third of the concrete beam. But in the centre-point
test, the area of eventual failure experienced shear stress and unknown areas of stress
concentration beside than moment induced stresses.

3) Compare flexural strength test with other tensile test for concrete.

Tensile test is one of the most fundamental type of mechanical test we can perform on
material. Tensile tests are simple, relatively inexpensive, and fully standardized. By pulling on
something, we can quickly determine how the material react to forces being applied in tension.
As the material is being pulled, you will find its strength along with how much it will elongate.

Whereas flexural test is also knows as modulus of rupture, bend strength , or fructure
strength, is material properties, defined as the stress in a material just before it yield in flexural
test.

In the flexural strength test, failure is controlled by the strength of the concrete at the
tension surface of the beam. However, in the splitting tensile test, failure can be started at
anywhere in the portion of the diametrical plane. Hence, it is expected that splitting tensile test
would be lower than flexural strength test, with average ratio of splitting tensile strength to
flexural strength test for centre point loading of 0.65.

9
CONCLUSION

The objective to determine the flexural strength of hardened concrete specimen by use
of simple beam with reference to the standardized third point loading method is achieved. The
flexural strength that we get is 14.12N/mm2.The most common purpose of a flexure test is to
measure flexural strength and flexural modulus. Flexural strength is defined as the maximum
stress at the outermost fibre on either the compression or tension side of the specimen. Flexural
modulus is calculated from the slope of the stress vs. strain deflection curve. These two values
can be used to evaluate the sample materials ability to withstand flexure or bending forces.
When testing, make sure the load is applied continuously and without shock until the specimen
fails. When making the specimen, make sure the mold is greased properly so that the concrete
does not stick to it.

10
REFERENCES

1. https://www.aboutcivil.org/flexural-strength-of-concrete.html

2. https://www.testresources.net/applications/test-types/flexural-test/

3. http://civilblog.org/2015/06/24/flexural-strength-test-of-concrete-is516-1959/

4. http://www.instron.us/en-us/our-company/library/test-types/flexure-test

5. Civil Engineering Laboratory Manual (3rd Edition), Faculty of Civil Engineering &
Earth Resources, 2018.

APPENDICES

Figure 1 Figure 2

Figure 1 and 2 show the process of taking out our concrete beam to put in water for curing.

Figure 3 Figure 4

Figure 3 and 4 show that the flexural test being carried out.

11