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Though slump test is originally designed as a measure of workability, it turns out to be an indicator of excessive water content in concrete only.
Slump test is not considered as a measure of workability because:
(i) There is no connection between the test results of slump test and workability;
Basically, the results of compression test carried out by using cubes are higher than that by cylinders. In compression test, the failure mode is in the form of tensile splitting induced by uniaxial compression.
The Scmidt hammer test is based on the elastic rebound of hammer which presses on concrete surface and it measures the surface hardness of concrete. Since the test is very sensitive to the presence of aggregates and voids at the concrete surface, it is necessary to take more than 10 readings over the area of test.
Basically, the force supplied by a concrete compression machine is a definite value. For normal concrete strength application, say below 50MPa, the stress produced by a 150mmx150mmx150mm cube is sufficient for the machine to crush the concrete sample. However, if the designed concrete strength is 100MPa, under the same force (about 2,000kN) supplied by the machine, the stress under a 150mmx150mmx150mm cube is not sufficient to crush the concrete cube. Therefore, 100mmx100mmx100mm concrete cubes are used instead to increase the applied stress to crush the concrete cubes.
In some countries like Britain, specification for concrete does not normally require cube tests for standard mixes of concrete. The quality control of standard mixes in Britain is achieved by checking if the appropriate mix proportions are adopted during the mixing of concrete. However, in Hong Kong the requirement of testing for compressive strength is still required for standard mixes in the specification because it is impractical to inspect and check all constituent materials (e.g. cement, aggregates etc.) for concrete for compliance.
The Schmidt hammer test involves hitting the in-situ concrete with a spring-driven pin at a defined energy, and then the rebound is measured.
The rebound depends on the surface hardness of the concrete and is measured by test equipment. By referring to the some conversion tables, the rebound result of the test can be used to determine the compressive strength of the concrete. Although past investigations showed that there is a general relationship between compressive strength of concrete and the rebound number, there is a wide range of disagreement among various research workers regarding the accuracy of estimation of strength from Schmidt hammer. In fact, there is about a variation of 15-20% in concrete strength measured by the method.
In pumping operation, the force exerted by pumps must overcome the friction between concrete and the pumping pipes, the weight of concrete and the pressure head when placing concrete above the pumps. In fact, as only water is pumpable, it is the water in the concrete that transfers the pressure.
Retardation of fresh concrete has several advantages as follows:
(i) A rapid hydration process results in loss in concrete strength because the concrete will have a poorer structure with a higher gel/space ratio compared with the concrete with a lower hydration rate.
(ii) During the hydration process, a substantial heat of hydration will be generated. If the hydration process is carried out too swiftly, it will cause a rapid rise in temperature and results in considerable early thermal movement in concrete.
Construction joints are normally required in construction works because there is limited supply of fresh concrete in concrete batching plants in a single day and the size of concrete pour may be too large to be concreted in one go.
Construction joints are created on sites to facilitate the construction process. However, if improperly constructed, the completed construction joints will leave an uneven scar on the concrete surface and affect significantly its appearance. To avoid this, a rebate is formed during the first pour of one side of construction joint. After the other pour is concreted, it will hide the uneven joint inside the rebate.
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