ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CONCRETE ABSTRACTS PORTAL

  • The International Concrete Abstracts Portal is an ACI led collaboration with leading technical organizations from within the international concrete industry and offers the most comprehensive collection of published concrete abstracts.

International Concrete Abstracts Portal

  


Title: The Use of Pulse Velocity Measurements to Estimate Strength of Air-Dried Cubes and Hence In Situ Strength of Concrete

Author(s): R.N. Swamy and A.H. Al-Hamed

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 82

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 247-276

Keywords: compressive strength; concretes; curing; evaluation; lightweight concretes; nondestructive tests; ultrasonic tests.

DOI: 10.14359/6558

Date: 9/1/1984

Abstract:
The paste efficiency concept based on the pulse velocity difference between a control specimen and the concrete in the structure can be used to estimate the air-dried cube strength and hence in-situ concrete strength. This paper presents extensive test evidence to substantiate the validity of the paste efficiency principle. It is shown that the use of air-dried cubes (represent-ing in-situ concrete) produces consistent results; this has the further advantage that the method can be used to estimate the probable strength distribution in a structure prior to construction. The results show that in reality the k values relating control specimen strength to structure strength depend on concrete mix proportions, cement content, size and type of dense coarse aggregate and the type of concrete ie normal or lightweight. Based on this project, a set of k values is recommended, which should enable in-situ strength to be estimated to within + 10%; and these values should apply to site conditions with reasonably good quality control. The paper shows that pulse velocity measurements based on the paste efficiency concept can offer a reliable and consistent method of estimating air-dried cube strength which is shown to have some correlation to core strength.