This method of test describes the procedures for determining concrete permeability to water by capillary absorption method for comparison between controlled specimens and the specimens containing admixtures having surface coatings. This method gives the waterproofing efficiency of admixtures and coating, thus also of the greatest interest for durability of concrete offers protection to reinforcement from corrosion.

For all test specimens materials, proportions, workability, mixing, compaction, casting, curing, temperature and testing method should be kept identical for conclusive comparison between controlled and admixture/coated specimens.

Casting of Specimens
10cm cubes of the following mix are to be cast by hand compaction filling the cubes in two layers each layer to be rammed 35 times by ramming rod 16mm dia 600mm in length one end bullet pointed. A set of 3 cubes shall be prepared with the recommended dosage of admixture. The other set of 3 cubes shall be made without any admixture (controlled cube). In case of surface coating is to be tested, then all the six cubes shall be made of the same mix.

Mix Proportions
OP Cement 43 grade = 200 Kg/m³
Sand Zone II = 850Kg/m³
20-5mm aggregate = 1115lg/m³
Water= To give slump of 40⁺_-5mm or compaction factor of about 0.90.

The above is a suggested mix of sand and aggregate having specific gravity of 2.6. Mixes may be designed as per local aggregates.
Cement:Aggregate ratio should be kept 1:9 to 1:10

Liquid admixtures usually reduce the water demand, but in very lean mixes there shall not be much reduction in mixing water.
The water of the liquid admixture should be accounted in the mixing water. A few trials of controlled concrete workability will be required for getting the exact quantity of mixing water for obtaining required workability. As far as possible this controlled concrete mixing water should not be exceeded with the admixture mix. The lean mix as recommended above will be desirable for this type of test.

Procedure of Testing
After 24 hours of casting, all the cubes shall be demoulded and cured in clean water in the same curing tank for 28 days. After 28 days of curing all the cubes shall be dried in a ventilated oven at the temperature of 100^oC to ⁺_-10^oC till constant weight. If surface coating is to be tested, then as per recommendations of the manufacturer three cubes to be surface coated at one face and upto the height of 5 cm on all the four faces. After coating and conditioning, these cubes along with the controlled cubes shall again be died in the oven at a temperature of 50^oC to ⁺_-2^oC till constant weight. Coated cubes faces should be kept upward while keeping them in oven, sot that coating should not be damaged. The coating after its application should withstand without any physical and chemical change a temperature of 50^oC, which is a temperature normally reached of concrete surfaces exposed to sun at most places of India during summer. A coating sensitive to this temperature should not be tested with this method.

All the six weighted cubes shall be placed in the same glazed or glass flat tray, so that the cubes are dipped up to a level of 1.2cm. The level of the water shall be maintained throughout the experiment by adding fresh water from time to time. Evaporation of water from exposed cubes surfaces and tray is prevented by covering the entire set up by polythene. Care should be taken that polythene should not disturb the set up. Determine the gain in weight of the cube at different intervals till the weight of cube become constant.

The permeability of each cube of a set shall be found by determining the coefficient of water absorption with the help of the formula:

A= M_w/t
Where A – Coefficient of water absorption.
M_w – Amount of water absorbed per unit area.
T – Time in second for absorption

From the test results the effectiveness of admixtures and coating may be compared with controlled specimens. This method is simple for testing waterproofing admixtures and coating without any special equipment.

This paper by Er. Kaushal Kishore was first published in NBM&CW magazine.

Designers and builders of construction projects no longer can consider quality control testing an option or convenience. In the past decade, testing for the quality of materials and finished construction has become a necessity that no responsible builder can neglect.

The truth of this statement is proved not only by construction delays and cost overruns but also by catastrophic failures of major structures. Such catastrophies include dam failures, collapses and foundation breakdowns in multi-storeyed office and apartment structures; and other failures in stadia, factories, schools, auditoria, public buildings and bridges.

Each construction project determines its own individualized testing needs. A variety of factors influence the type of testing required. Among these factors are size of the structures, terrain, type of soil and subsurface conditions at the construction site and other conditions peculiar to the specific location. The expertise of the construction engineers and technical personnel working on the project will also have an influence on the testing and inspection need.

Testing facilities may range from a simple, inexpensive test kit carried in a portable chest to a fully equipped Central Testing Laboratory.

A small Field Testing Laboratory, which can perform all the required tests can be set up at any construction site with a small investment of about Rs. 71,300/-. The equipments of the Laboratory shall be as given below:

With the above equipments, the following testing of construction materials can be conducted:-

1. TESTING OF COARSE AND FINE AGGREGATE:
a) Sieve analysis as per IS : 2386 (Part-I)- 1963.
b) Deleterious materials as per IS: 2386 (Part-II) – 1963.
c) Specific gravity, density, voids and absorption as per IS: 2386 (Part-III) – 1963.
d) Soundness as per IS: 2386 (Part-V) – 1963.

2. TESTING OF COARSE AGGREGATE:
a) Aggregate crushing value as per IS: 2386 (Part-IV) – 1963.
b) Elongation and flakiness index as per IS: 2386 (Part-I) – 1963.

3. TESTING OF FINE AGGREGATE:
a) Silt content as per IS: 2386 (Part-I) – 1963.
b) Material finer than 75 micron as per IS: 2386 (Part-I) – 1963.
c) Organic impurities as per IS: 2386 (Part-II) – 1963.
d) Bulking as per IS: 2386 (Part-III) – 1963.

4. TESTING OF CEMENT AS PER IS: 4031:
a) Fineness of cement by dry sieving.
b) Determination of soundness by le-chatelier method.
c) Determination of consistency and setting time.
d) Determination of compressive strength.

5. CONCRETE MIX DESIGN
6. TESTING OF FRESH CONCRETE:
a) Test for workability as per IS : 1199-1959.
b) Determination of density, yield, cement factor and air content as per IS : 1199-1959.
c) Casting of cubes as per IS : 516-1959.
d) Test for cement content of fresh concrete.
e) Test for water/cement ratio and concrete 28 days compressive strength in 15 minutes of any grade of cement, so that any concrete batch discharged from the mixer found sub-standard should not be allowed for placing.

7. TESTING OF HARDENED CONCRETE:
a) Compressive strength as per IS : 516-1959.
b) Density.
c) Non-destructive testing of concrete structures as per IS: 13311 (Part-II)- 1992.

8. TESTING OF CONCRETE ADMIXTURES AS PER IS: 2645 AND IS: 9103.
a) Workability test.
b) Permeability test by capillary absorption method
c) Setting time
d) Compressive strength
e) Bleeding.

9. TESTING OF BRICKS:
a) Compressive strength as per IS: 3495 (Part-I) – 1976.
b) Water absorption as per IS: 3495 (Part-II) – 1976.
c) Efflorescence as per IS: 3495 (Part-III) – 1976.

10. TESTING OF TARFELT AS PER IS: 1322 – 1982.
a) Pliability test
b) Storage sticking test
c) Heat resistance test
d) Water absorption test.

11.TESTING OF GLAZED TILES AS PER IS: 777- 1970.
a) Impact strength test
b) Water absorption test

12. TESTING OF MARBLE AS PER IS: 1124-1974
a) Water absorption test
b) Specific gravity test

13. TESTING OF WOOD AS PER IS: 287-1973
a) Compressive strength
b) Moisture content
c) Density

14. TESTING OF FLUSH DOOR SHUTTER
a) Knife test as per IS: 1659-1969.
b) Glue adhesion test as per IS: 2202 (Part-I) – 1973
c) End Immersion Test.

The above laboratory can be set up at any construction site in a small covered area of about 16 sq. meter with small investment of only Rs. 71,300/- which can perform tests on almost all construction materials including quality control of fresh concrete, testing of hardened and non-destructive testing of concrete structures. However, such laboratory must have well experienced persons to run it properly. A person may be trained in 15 days time for conducting all the above mentioned tests.

REFERENCES:
1. Dr. C.B. Kukreja, Kaushal Kishore, Dr. S.K. Kaushik, V.K. Gupta, “Materials Testing Laboratory Manual”, Standard Publishers Distributors, 1705-B, Nai Sarak, Delhi-110 006
2. Kishore Kaushal, “Concrete Mix Design Based on IS: 456-2000” Standard Publishers Distributors, 1705-B, Nai Sarak, Delhi-110 006
3. Kishore Kaushal, “Non-Destructive Testing of Concrete”, Builders Friend, Lucknow, Feb. 1982, pp. 3-4
4. Kishore Kaushal, “Testing Hadened Concrete by Surface Hardness” Indian Concrete Institute Bulletin, Sep. 1987, pp. 17-22.
5. Kishore Kaushal, “Concrete Cube Testing- is Performed Assured” Civil Engineering and Construction Review, New Delhi, Jan. 1990, pp. 23-24.
6. Kishore Kaushal, “Concrete Cube Testing”, Bulletin of Indian Concrete Institute, No. 51, Apr-Jun. 1995.
7. Kishore Kaushal, “Concrete Cube Testing”, Civil Engineering & Construction, Apr. 1995, pp. 33.
8. Kishore Kaushal, “ Evaluation of Cracks in concrete Structures”, Civil Engineering & Construction May. 96, pp. 46-51.
9. Kishore Kaushal, “Simple Testing of Admixtures & Surface Coatings for Permeability to Water”, NBM & CW Feb. 2000.
10. Kishore Kaushal, “28-days Strength of Concrete in 15 Minutes”, Civil Engineering and Construction, Aug. 1992, pp. 38-41
11. Kishore Kaushal, “Testing Concrete For Cement Content Water Content And Ph Value”, Civil Engineering & Construction, Apr. 2008, pp. 54-59.

We at engineeringcivil.com are grateful to Sir Kaushal Kishore for submitting this very useful field test information to us.

Soil inspection or say geotechnical inspection is very important in understanding the physical properties of soil and the rocks beneath. This is required to ascertain the the type of foundation required for the proposed construction. Various tests are done to explore the sub surface and surface characteristics of soil .Some of these are given below.
Just click on the link to go to the details of that particular test
1) Water Content – There are two test which can be done to determine the water content of soil. These are
a) Calcium Carbide Method
b) Oven Drying Method
Other tests on soil are :
2) Free Swell Index Of Soil
3) Plastic Limit Of Soil
4) Liquid Limit Of Soil
5) Particle Size Distribution Of Soil
6) The Specific Gravity Of Soil
7) The In-Situ Dry Density Of Soil By Sand Replacement Method
8 ) The In-Situ Dry Density Of Soil By Core Cutter Method
9) The Maximum Dry Density And The Optimum Moisture Content Of Soil

Bitumen is a mixture of organic liquids that is black, highly viscous, sticky product used for paving roads, waterproofing products (used in sealing roofs). There are many tests which are conducted to check the quality of bitumen. Bitumen is very important component of many construction sites like roads, highways. Many tests are done to ensure the quality of bitumen. Some of these are given below :-

1. Bitumen Content
2. Ductility Of Bitumen
3. Penetration of Bitumen
4. Specific Gravity of Bitumen
5. Softening Point Of Bitumen
6. Flash And Fire Point Of Bitumen
7. The Marshall Stability of Bituminous Mixture

Just click on the names of the tests above to know the entire procedure of how we perform these tests.

There are many tests which are conducted to check the quality of concrete. These tests are basically divided into two categories
1. Various Lab Test On Fresh Concrete.
Under these, we have the following tests
a) Slump Test – Workability
b) Compacting Factor
c) Vee- Bee Test

2.Various Lab Test On Hardened Concrete.

There are two kinds of tests which are done on hardened concrete. These are non destructive test and destructive tests. In non destructive test, the sample is not destroyed and this test is very useful in determining the strength of existing buildings or structures where as in destructive test a sample is made and then destroyed to find out the strength of concrete.Compression test is the example of destructive test. Here are the nondestructive tests.

a) Rebound Hammer Test

b) Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test