ACCELERATED CURING TEST OF CONCRETE

(IS:9013-1978)
ACCELERATED CURING BY BOILING WATER METHOD
Normally, the strength of concrete is found out after 7 days and 28 days. For some construction activities, it may be
too late and need to know the strength earlier. IS: 9013-1978-Method of making, curing and determining compressive
strength of accelerated cured concrete test specimen.

PROCEDURE
1.

Prepare the specimen and store it in moist air of at least 90% relative humidity and at a
temperature of 27+2oC for 23 hrs + 15 minutes.

2.

Lower the specimen, into a curing tank with water at 100 0C and keep it totally immersed for 3
hours 5 minutes

3.

The temperature of water shall not drop more than 3 oC after the specimens are placed and
should return to boiling within 15 minutes.

4.

After curing for 3 hours 5 minutes in the curing tank, the specimen shall be removed from
the moulds and cooled by immersing in cooling water 27+2oC for a period of at least 2 hours

In the boiling water method. the age at the time of test shall be 28 hrs 20

5.

min

The corresponding strength at 28 days can be found out from the following correlation. (It is however suggested that
a new specific correlation should be developed for the specific concrete used at site.)
R28 (Strength at 28 days) = 8.09 + 1.64 Ra
Where,
Ra = Accelerated Curing Strength in MPa.

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH TEST OF

CONCRETE (IS:516-1959)
PROCEDURE
1.

Representative samples of concrete shall be taken and used for casting cubes 15 cm x 15 cm x
15 cm or cylindrical specimens of 15 cm dia x 30 cm long.

2.

The concrete shall be filled into the moulds in layers approximately 5 cm deep. It would be
distributed evenly and compacted either by vibration or by hand tamping. After the top layer has
been compacted, the surface of concrete shall be finished level with the top of the mould using a
trowel; and covered with a glass plate to prevent evaporation.

3.

The specimen shall be stored at site for 24+ h under damp matting or sack. After that, the
samples shall be stored in clean water at 27+2 0C; until the time of test. The ends of all cylindrical
specimens that are not plane within 0.05 mm shall be capped.

4.

Just prior to testing, the cylindrical specimen shall be capped with sulphur mixture comprising
3 parts sulphur to 1 part of inert filler such as fire clay.

5.

Specimen shall be tested immediately on removal from water and while they are still in wet
condition.

6.

The bearing surface of the testing specimen shall be wiped clean and any loose material
removed from the surface. In the case of cubes, the specimen shall be placed in the machine in
such a manner that the load cube as cast, that is, not to the top and bottom.

7.

Align the axis of the specimen with the steel platen, do not use any packing.

8.

The load shall be applied slowly without shock and increased continuously at a rate of
approximately 140 kg/sq.cm/min until the resistance of the specimen to the increased load breaks
down and no greater load can be sustained. The maximum load applied to the specimen shall
then be recorded and any unusual features noted at the time of failure brought out in the report.

CALCULATION
Compressive strength is calculate using the following formula
Compressive strength (kg/cm2) = Wf / Ap
Where
Wf = Maximum applied load just before load, (kg)
Ap = Plan area of cube mould, (mm2)

HOW TO CHECK QUALITY OF CEMENT ON SITE?

It is necessary to check the quality of cement on site at the time of preliminary inspection. It is not possible to check
all the engineering qualities of cement on site but there exist some field test which gives us a rough idea of quality of
cement. While on site we can perform these field tests to judge the quality of cement. These field tests are as follows:

FIELD TESTS ON CEMENT

1. DATE OF PACKING
Date of manufacture should be seen on the bag. It is important because the strength of cement reduces with age.

2. COLOUR
The cement should be uniform in colour. In general the colour of cement is grey with a light greenish shade. The
colour of cement gives an indication of excess lime or clay and the degree of burning.

3. RUBBING
Take a pinch of cement between fingers and rub it. It should feel smooth while rubbing. If it is rough, that means
adulteration with sand.

4. HAND INSERTION
Thrust your hand into the cement bag and it should give cool feeling. It indicates that no hydration reaction is taking
place in the bag.

5. FLOAT TEST
Throw a small quantity of cement in a bucket of water. It should sink and should not float on the surface.

6. SMELL TEST
Take a pinch of cement and smell it. If the cement contains too much of pounded clay and silt as an adulterant, the
paste will give an earthy smell.

7. PRESENCE OF LUMPS
Open the bag and see that lumps should not be present in the bag. It will ensure that no setting has taken place.

8. SHAPE TEST
Take 100g of cement and make a stiff paste. Prepare a cake with sharp edges and put on the glass plate. Immerse
this plate in water. Observe that the shape shouldnt get disturbed while settling. It should be able to set and attain
strength. Cement is capable of setting under water also and that is why it is also called Hydraulic Cement.

9. STRENGTH TEST
A block of cement 25 mm*25 mm and 200 mm long is prepared and it is immersed for 7 days in water. It is then
placed on supports 15000 mm apart and it is loaded with a weight of 340 N. the block should not show any sign of
failure.

WHAT IS STANDARD SAND USED FOR CMENT

TEST?
Standard sand is used to assess the quality of cement, lime, pozzolana and other mineral admixture used in
construction industry. Previously it was imported from U.K. Now it is available at Ennore, Madras.

CHARACTERISTICS

Standard sand shall be of quartz material

Colour of the standard sand is light grey or whitish

It should be free from silt

The sand grains should be angular, but a small percentage of flaky or rounded particle is
permissible

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF STANDARD SAND

All the particles of standard sand fall within the size range of 2 mm to 90 micron (as mentioned in the table below)
Particle Size

Percentage

2 mm to 1 mm

33.33%

1 mm to 500 micron

33.33%

33.33%
500 micron to 90 micron

The processed sand is marketed in three grades(Grade I, Grade II & Grade III).

Indian Standard Sand

(Price at ex-factory with effect from 16/07/2014)
Rate per M.T. of Indian Standard Sand
Cost of the Material
Size Specification and Grade

Packing Charges

Total

Indian Rupees

2mm to 1mm - Grade-I

1mm to 0.5 mm - Grade-II

19,000/-

3,000/-

22,000/-

0.5mm to 0.09 mm - Grade-III

Plus applicable taxes will be charged from time to time

WHAT IS SANDBLASTING?
Sand blasting is the process of roughening and cleaning the surface of old and set concrete (or in any corroded steel
surface) by means of coarse sand and air applied under pressure of 90 to 100 pounds per square inch (6.33 to 7.03
kilogram per square centimeter) through a nozzle, so as to erode the laitance and grout from the old and fresh
concretes monolithic.
Sand blasting of rock is also done so that concrete may be placed on or against a clean surface as required
according to specifications.
There are two types of sand blasting, namely wet sand blasting and dry sand blasting. In wet sand
blasting water is also used along with sand and air under pressure, while in the latter, only sand and air under
pressure are used. Normally the concrete and rock surface etc., are wet sand blasted to keep down the dust.
The percentage of different sizes of sand particles for efficient sand blasting shall be as follows:
Size

Percentage

8 mesh per inch (25.40 mm)

26

16 mesh per inch (25.40 mm)

30

30 mesh per inch (25.40 mm)

23

50 mesh per inch (25.40 mm)

21

For effective sand blasting it is essential that pressure of air should be between 90 to 100 pounds per square inch
(6.33 to 7.03 kilograms per square centimeter). If pressure falls below 90 pounds per square inch (6.33 kilograms per
square centimeter), sand blasting becomes in effective. If sand having large percentage of fines is used, it will not
provide the requisite cutting power and the whole effort goes waste. A good quality well graded sand-blast-sand is
needed for achieving the objective of sand blasting.