CONCRETE CUBE’S CASTING & TESTING

 Aim:
 To determine the compressive strength of concrete cube.
 To ensure that the concrete meets its expected compressive strength.

 Ref. Standard - IS: 516

 Apparatus & Equipment:

1. Compression test machine,
2. Cube mould of 15 cm size,
3. Curing Tank,
4. Tamping bar,
5. Weighing balance.

 Specimen For Test:

The cube samples shall be 15 x 15 x 15 cm. If the largest nominal size of the aggregate does not
exceed 2 cm, then cube samples of 10 cm may be used as an alternative.
 Casting Of Concrete Cubes For Compressive Strength Test:
 Proportioning: The ingredients should be proportioned as per Concrete Design Mix /
standards.
 Mixing Of Concrete: The concrete should be mixed either by hand or in a laboratory
machine mixer in such a manner as to reduce wastage of water and other materials.

Machine Mixing:

The mixing should be done as follows:

1. Add one half of the coarse aggregate into the mixing drum.
2. Then add cement and fine aggregates and finally add the remaining coarse aggregates.
3. Add the required amount of water.
4. Start the mixing machine until the resulting concrete gives a uniform texture.

 Sampling Of Concrete Cubes:

1. Fill the mould with freshly mixed concrete in layers approximately 5 cm deep.
2. Compact the concrete either by vibrator or by using the tamping bar. (Minimum 35 strokes
per layer for 15 cm cubes and 25 strokes for 10 cm cubes).
3. Finish the top level of the mould using a trowel.
4. Cover the mould with a glass plate or gunny bag to protect evaporation.

 Curing Of Concrete Cubes For Test:

1. Keep the specimens in a place, free from vibration, in moist air and at a temperature of 27°C
±2° C for 24 hours.
2. After 24 hours, mark and remove the samples from mould.
3. Submerge the cubes immediately in fresh and clean water until taken out prior to the test.

 Procedure Of Compressive Strength Test:

1. Remove the specimens from the water before testing.
2. Remove any loose sand or other material from the surface of the specimens and let them dry.
3. Clean the bearing surface of the compression testing machine.
4. Now place the cube in the testing machine in such a manner that the load is applied of the
opposite sides of the cubes.
5. Align the axis of the specimen with the centre of thrust of spherically seated platen.
6. Apply the load until the cube collapse.
7. Note down the maximum load applied to the specimen and any other unusual activities at the
time of failure.

 Points To Be Remembered: Few points must be remembered for compressive strength of

concrete testing.
1. Age Of Test: The test should be done at 7 days and 28 days.
2. Number Of Specimen: At least three specimens, preferably from different batches for testing
at each selected age.

 Calculation For Compressive Strength Concrete:

Reports:
Samples

Details

Specimen 1 Specimen 2 Specimen 3

Compressive Load
380 KN 400 KN 425 KN
(KN)

(380/22500)/ (400/22500)/ (425/22500)/

Compressive Strength
1000 1000 1000
(N/mm²)
=16.8 N/mm² =17.7 N/mm² = 18.8 N/mm²

= (16.8+17.7+18.8)/3
Average Compressive
Strength = 17.7 N/mm²

Precaution:
This compressive strength test of concrete should be done at a temperature of 27°C ± 2°C.
 Compressive Strength Of Concrete Over Time:

Compressive Strength Of Concrete At 7 & 28 Days:

Concrete Cubes Sampling

 SLUMP TEST
AIM:
o Concrete slump test or slump cone test is to determine the workability or consistency of
concrete mix prepared at the laboratory or the construction site during the progress of the
work.
o Concrete slump test is carried out from batch to batch to check the uniform quality of
concrete during construction. The slump test is the most simple workability test for
concrete, involves low cost and provides immediate results.
o concrete slump value is used to find the workability, which indicates water-cement
ratio, but there are various factors including properties of materials, mixing methods,
dosage, admixtures etc. also affect the concrete slump value.

Ref. Standard: IS 1199

Equipment’s Required for Concrete Slump Test:
o Slump cone, non-porous base plate, measuring scale, temping rod. The mould for the
test is in the form of the frustum of a cone having height 30 cm, bottom diameter 20
cm and top diameter 10 cm. The tamping rod is of steel 16 mm diameter and 60cm
long and rounded at one end.

Procedure for Concrete Slump Cone Test:

1. Clean the internal surface of the mould and apply oil.

2. Place the mould on a smooth horizontal non-porous base plate.
3. Fill the mould with the prepared concrete mix in 4 approximately equal layers.
4. Tamp each layer with 25 strokes of the rounded end of the tamping rod in a uniform
manner over the cross section of the mould. For the subsequent layers, the tamping
should penetrate into the underlying layer.
5. Remove the excess concrete and level the surface with a trowel.
6. Clean away the mortar or water leaked out between the mould and the base plate.
7. Raise the mould from the concrete immediately and slowly in vertical direction.
8. Measure the slump as the difference between the height of the mould and that of
height point of the specimen being tested.
NOTE: The above operation should be carried out at a place free from Vibrations or shock
and within a period of 2 minutes after sampling.

Results of Slump Test on Concrete:

Slump for the given sample= _____mm When the slump test is carried out, following are the
shape of the concrete slump that can be observed:

Types of Concrete Slump Test Results

 True Slump – True slump is the only slump that can be measured in the test. The
measurement is taken between the top of the cone and the top of the concrete after
the cone has been removed as shown in figure-1.
 Zero Slump – Zero slump is the indication of very low water-cement ratio, which
results in dry mixes.
 Collapsed Slump – This is an indication that the water-cement ratio is too high, i.e.
concrete mix is too wet or it is a high workability mix, for which a slump test is not
appropriate.
 Shear Slump – The shear slump indicates that the result is incomplete, and concrete
to be retested.

SIEVE TEST FOR FINE AGGREGATES

Fine Aggregate- Fine aggregate is a granular material of size less than 4.75 mm
called fine aggregate. Fine aggregates include the following materials like natural
sand, crushed stone sand, crushed gravel sand, etc.
  Natural Sand: Sand resulting from the natural rock disintegration and deposited by
streams or glacial, known as natural sand.
 Crushed Stone Sand: Fine aggregate created by crushing of hard stone, known as
crushed stone sand.
 Crushed Gravel Sand: Fine aggregate made by crushing natural gravel, known
crushed gravel sand.

Ref. Standard: IS 383

Purpose of Sieve Analysis for Fine Aggregate:

 Sieve analysis for fine aggregate test help to determine the fineness modulus and grain size
distribution of fine aggregates.
 The sieve analysis of fine aggregate indicates the size distribution of fine aggregate particles
in a given fine aggregate sample.
 The fineness modulus is the indication of the mean size of the particles.
 The fineness modulus is used to classify the fine aggregate into four zones, and a change in
the fineness modulus value of fine aggregate indicates a change in the source of material,
which will affect the workability of concrete.

Test Apparatus:
 I.S. Sieve (size 10mm, 4.75 mm, 2.36 mm, 1.18 mm, 600 microns, 300 microns and 150
microns with lid and pan)
 Oven
 Balance 0.01 g accuracy
 Tray
 Brush
 Mechanical sieve shaker

Grading’s of Fine Aggregate:

The grading of fine aggregate should be as per the specified limit mentioned in the following
table and shall be defined as fine aggregate of grading Zones I, II, III and IV.

Sieve Analysis of Fine Aggregate Procedure:

 Take 1 kg of representative sample out of 10 kilograms with the help of the quartering
method.
 Arrange the sieve set in such a manner so that the largest size sieve should be at the topmost
and the smallest one at the bottom (10mm sieve at the top and all other sizes of sieves are
 arranged in decreasing manner. i.e., 4.75mm, 2.36 mm, 1.18mm, 600 µm, 300 µm, 150 µm),
and below 150µm sieve, a pan is fixed.
 After putting 1kg of the sample into the topmost sieve, close the lid, and then the whole sieve
set is arranged in a sieve shaker.
 Sieve analysis for fine aggregate is carried out by sieving the sample aggregate in a sieve
shaker for not less than l0 minutes.
 At the end of sieving, find the mass of fine aggregate material retained on each sieve.

FINENESS MODULUS (FM) OF FINE AGGREGATE

The significance of fineness modulus (FM) is in specifying the proportions of fine and coarse
aggregates when designing concrete mixes.
The higher the value of FM, the coarser the aggregate. Generally, a lower FM results in more
paste, making the concrete easier to finish.

FM= (Cumulative % of weight retained/100)