EV216 CIVIL LAB 2

LAB REPORT

Group :4
No. of Experiment : Experiment 4
Title of Experiment : CONCRETE STRENGTH TEST
4.1 Cube Compressive Strength Tests for Hardened Concrete
Date of Experiment : 09 FEB 2022
Lecturer : Ts. Dr. Ng Jing Lin
Group member :

No. Nama No. Student ID

1 Aaryan Amin Premji 1001957060

2 Jason Hwong Jung Xien 1001953796

3 Lee Hong Shen 1002058441

4 Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamud

1002059478
5 Jalal Hassan Jalal Fuqhaa
1001955505
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents
4.1 Cube Compressive Strength Tests for Hardened Concrete ..... 3
Introduction ................................................................................................. 3
Objective ..................................................................................................... 4
Equipment / Apparatus ............................................................................... 4
Materials ..................................................................................................... 4
Methodology / Procedures .......................................................................... 4
Result and Analysis .................................................................................... 5
Discussion and Observation ....................................................................... 6
Conclusion .................................................................................................. 8
Reference .................................................................................................... 8
Rubric ........................................................................................................ 10
4.1 Cube Compressive Strength Tests for Hardened
Concrete

Introduction

In this experiment, we need to ensure that three cubes are produced in the cube test,
each of which must be cured on separate days, such as 3, 7, and 14, respectively. As a
result, in the end of the test, we will get different findings for each cube.

Compressive strength refers to a material's or structure's capacity to sustain stresses

on its surface without cracking or deflection. When a substance is compressed, it
shrinks and when it is stretched, it expands. The concrete cube test for compressive
strength gives you an overview of all the properties of concrete. This single test may be
used to determine whether concrete has been correctly installed. For normal
construction, concrete compressive strength ranges from 15 MPa (2200 psi) to 30 MPa
(4400 psi) and greater in commercial and industrial constructions.

Concrete contains sand, cement, and coarse aggregates as a micro-ingredient (Mix

Ratio) and hardens to achieve 100 percent strength. The value of uniaxial compressive
stress attained when a material fails fully is referred to as compressive strength. The
compressive strength of concrete cubes is often determined experimentally using a
compressive test. Therefore, we known that the factors influence the compressive
strength of concrete is including the water-cement ratio, cement strength, concrete
material quality, and quality control during the manufacturing process.

Age Strength percentage

1 day 16%
3 days 40%
7 days 65%
14 days 90%
28 days 99%
Table 1: The strength of concrete at different ages in comparison with the strength at
28 days after casting.
 Grade of concrete Minimum compressive Specified characteristic
strength (N/mm^2) at 7 days compressive strength
(N/mm^2) at 28 days
M15 10 15
M20 13.5 20
M25 17 25
M30 20 30
M35 23.5 35
M40 27 40
M45 30 45
Table 2: Compressive strength of different grades of concrete at 7 and 28 days.

Objective
The main objective of this experiment was to:
• To understand the compressive strength of concrete at the corresponding time of 3,
7 and 14 days.

Equipment / Apparatus
1. Cube mould 100mm x 100mm x 100mm
2. Tamping rods
3. Trowels
4. Weighing balance
5. Vibrator
6. Compression testing machine

Materials
Water, oil, ordinary Portland cement, sand and 20mm crushed stone aggregate.

Methodology / Procedures
1. The volume for concrete needed was calculated for specimens.
2. The quantities for ingredients for a proportion 1: 2: 4 were calculated and water
cement ratio of 0.75.
3. The mixer, vibrator, and moulds for various specimens, all other apparatus and the
 slump mould were prepared.
4. The required quantities of coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and cement were
weighted properly, and they were placed into the concrete mixer. The coarse
aggregate and fine aggregate were mixed for few seconds by switching the mixer
on and then half of the measured quantity of water was added. After one minute of
mixing, the cement, and the rest of measured quantity of water were added into
concrete mixer and mixed for another two minutes.
5. The concrete mix include those were sticking on the internal wall was poured out
from the mixer on to a tray.
6. Slump test was performed to determine the consistency of the mix.
7. The cube moulds were thinly coated with oil on internal faces and placed on a rigid,
then these moulds were filled with concrete in three layers. The moulds were
vibrated properly in between each addition. After the top layer has been compacted,
the level with the top of the mould has been smoothed as well. Then, the plasterers
floats and wipers were used to clean the outside of mould. The specimens were
leaved for about 24 hours to set.
8. The mould was striped carefully from the concrete specimens. The specimens were
marked with date of casting, group number and specimen number. Then, the
specimens were immersed in the curing tank.

Result and Analysis

Data Analysis
Proportion of mix : 1 : 2 : 4
Water cement ratio: 0.75

Quantity of
Total quantity Quantity Quantity coarse Quantity Water / Weight of Slump
of Concrete of cement of sand aggregate. of water Cement concrete/ (mm)
(m3) (kg) (kg) (kg) (kg) m3 (kg)

0.001 3 6 12 2.25 0.75 - 5

0.001 3 6 12 2.25 0.75 - 2

 Type of To be Date of Date of Specimen
specimen Number W/C cured of casting testing designation Remark
Cube 1 0.75 3 9/2/2022 14/2/2022 - 3 days
Cube 2 0.75 7 9/2/2022 17/2/2022 - 7 days
Cube 3 0.75 14 9/2/2022 24/2/2022 - 14 days

Testing of Cubes
Specimen Dimension Weight Unit Date of Load Compressive Average
Designation mm3 (kg) Weight, testing (kN) Strength Strength
(kg/mm) (N/mm2) (N/mm2)
Cube 1,000,000 - 3 14/2/2022 140 14.0 13
Cube 1,000,000 - 7 17/2/2022 105 10.5 13
Cube 1,000,000 - 14 24/2/2022 145 14.5 13

Figure 1: cube test Figure.2: Reading for test

Discussion and Observation

a) What precaution have you taken during the patching of concrete?

In this experiment, the precautions that taken by us is we will always keep the
tools clean and check before using it to mix or compress the concrete. Besides, we
also clean the cube moulds and apply oil before filling the concrete to make sure no
other impurities and easy for demolding. To ensure the compression is good, we had
filled the concrete into the moulds in 3 layers and level and smoothen the top surface.
Lastly, we had compacted the concrete in the mould by using the tamping rods.

b) Discuss the importance of thorough mixing to get proper strength of the concrete.

From this experiment we have learned that several minor factors affect greatly
the strength of concrete such as quality control during the mixing and production of
concrete, having the correct water-cement ratio etc. Our first slump test formed a shear
slump as we did not compact the mixture well after adding layers. After redoing the test
while taking precaution and ensuring that the compaction is done well, we managed to
get a true slump.

We also realized the importance of mixing the concrete thoroughly to attain

maximum strength. The better the mixing is done, the stronger and more consistent the
concrete will be and the lesser the chances of shrinkage.

Thorough mixing of the mixture allowed us to

get a consistent mixture

A true slump
c) Discuss the importance of curing the concrete. How did you ensure the proper curing
of your specimen?

The accurate result of the maximum compressive strength of concrete curing is

critical because it plays an essential role in the development of strength and the
durability of concrete. It accomplishes this by enabling the concrete to solidify over
time without drying out too soon, preventing the concrete from achieving maximum
compressive strength and becoming unstable. It is also important to keep the water used
for curing at. Note that it has been shown that two concretes with the same components
can have two different compressive strengths.

Conclusion
In this experiment, we can determine the compressive strength of hardened
concrete by compressing three concrete cubes. By observing the dimension and weight
of difference concrete cubes after 3, 7 and 14 days, we found that the concrete in 14
days is more strength than the others two because the result show by the load that can
be patch by the concrete is 145 kN. However, the concrete cube of 3 days is 140 kN
and concrete of 7 days is 105 kN.

The reason that causes the compressive strength of concrete cube on day 7 is
lower than day 3 may because the concrete does not be compressed welly when it was
filled into the mould. Besides that, the workability of concrete can be measured by
carrying out this cube test because the fresh concrete will have a better condition of
handling and pacing after compaction.

Due to the reason that we have a high water-cement ratio for the concrete mix,
the compressive strength of our concrete cube will be low. Thus, to get a higher
compressive strength of concrete we may reduce the water-cement ratio. Furthermore,
the average of compressive strength of a normal concrete block is about 7.5 N/mm2 to
17.5 N/mm2. (Civil Sir, n.d). Therefore, our concrete cube can be defined as a medium
normal concrete block because the average compressive strength is 13 N/mm2.

Reference
1. Compressive strength of Concrete Cubes - Lab Test & Procedure. Civilology.
(2018, April 24). Retrieved February 16, 2022, from
http://www.civilology.com/compressive-strength-of-concrete-cubes/
2. Admin. (2020, March 29). Compressive strength of concrete test procedure: Cube
test of concrete as per is 516-1959. Civil Allied Gyan - No.1 Civil Engineering
Blog. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from
https://www.civilalliedgyan.com/2020/03/compressive-strength-test-of-concrete-
cube.html
3. Compressive strength of concrete block in N/mm2 and KG/CM2. Civil Sir. (6AD).
Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://civilsir.com/compressive-strength-of-
concrete-block-in-n-mm2-and-kg
cm2/#:~:text=For%20normal%2C%20medium%20weight%20concrete,%2Fmm2
%20or%20125kg%2Fcm2.&text=For%20denser%2C%20higher%20weight
%20concrete,%2Fmm2%20or%20175kg%2Fcm2.
4. Lysett, T. (2019, March 1). Everything you need to know about concrete strength:
Cor-TUF. Cor. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from https://cor-tuf.com/everything-
you-need-to-know-about-concrete-
strength/#:~:text=Concrete%20footings%20and%20slabs%20on,psi%20is%20nee
ded%20for%20pavement.
 Rubric
Lab Report Assessment Rubric
Items Unacceptable Satisfactory Moderate Good Excellent
Score 0 1 2 3 4
Introduction Not introduction Background is Background Background Background
is presented. vague or brief, information is information is information is
hypothesis is vague or brief. researched and researched and
vague, or relevant Hypothesis is cited. cited.
explanation is stated but not Hypothesis is Hypothesis is
missing. clear. stated but not in stated in citation
clear explanation format and
explained
Objective No objective is Objectives are Objective Objective are Objective fully
stated irrelevant or are missing at least listed, at least addressed and
not appropriate to one important one important covered relevant
the experiment consideration environmental environmental
concern is and sustainability
covered concern.
Methodology/ No materials and Materials and Materials and Materials and Materials and
Procedures procedures are procedures are not procedures are procedures are procedures are
listed accurately list the listed, but seem listed, important listed in clear
steps of the missing some experimental steps, shown
experiment information, details are figures, each step
some steps are covered, shown is numbered in a
not numbered figures, some complete
and/or are in minor details sentence
incomplete missing
sentences.
 Result and No calculation, Figures, graphs, Figures, graphs, All figures, All figures,
Analysis figures, tables, tables contain tables, graphs, graphs, tables are
graphs are errors or are poorly calculation are calculation, correctly drawn,
provided constructed, have included, some tables are numbered and
missing titles, still missing correctly drawn, following
captions or some important but some have format,
numbers, units or required minor problems calculation are
missing or features or could still be clearly shown.
incorrect. improved
Discussion and Incomplete or Very incomplete or Some of the Almost all the All-important
Observation incorrect incorrect results have been results have been trends and data
interpretation of interpretation of correctly correctly comparisons
trends and trends and interpreted and interpreted and have been
comparison of comparison of data discussed; partial discussed, only interpreted
data. indicating a lack of but incomplete minor correctly and
understanding of understanding of improvements discussed, good
results results is still are needed understanding of
evident results is
conveyed
Conclusion, Incomplete or Conclusions or Conclusions, All-important All-important
safety, and incorrect safety and health safety, and health conclusions, conclusions,
health conclusion, no missing, or missing regarding major safety and health safety and health
safety and health the important points are drawn, have been drawn, have been clearly
were mentioned points but many are could be better made; student
misstated, stated shows good
indicating a lack understanding
of understanding
Reference and No reference was Sections out of Sections in order, Lab report is Lab report is
Formatting mentioned, order, formatting is mostly typed/written in
appearance and report/sentence rough, typed/written well-formatted,
formatting structure/reference sentence using appropriate very readable,
totally is not typed/written generally format, all sentences are
inappropriate using the readable with sections in order, very well written
 appropriate format. some rough spots formatting
in writing style generally good
but could still be
improved,
sentences
mature,
readable style
Timeliness Report handed Report handed in Up to one day Up to one hour Report handed in
in more than more than two late late time
three days late days late