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1- Introduction :

Compressive strength is the capacity of a material or structure to


withstand loads tending to reduce size, as opposed to tensile
strength, which withstands loads tending to elongate. In other
words, compressive strength resists compression (being pushed
together), whereas tensile strength resists tension (being pulled
apart) Compressive strength can be measured by plotting applied
force against deformation in a testing machine, such as a universal
testing machine.
Some materials fracture at their compressive strength limit; others
deform irreversibly, so a given amount of deformation may be
considered as the limit for compressive load. Compressive strength
is a key value for design of structures.
Measuring the compressive strength of a steel drum
Compressive strength is often measured on a universal testing
machine; these range from very small table-top systems to ones
with over 53 MN capacity.[1] Measurements of compressive strength
are affected by the specific test method and conditions of
measurement.
2- how to perfome compression test :

1.

1
Bring the engine to its normal running temperature. This can be done in the
following ways.
o

If you haven't driven your car recently then the engine is most likely
cold. Start your vehicle as usual and keep the engine running for a few minutes.
This should warm up the engine to its normal operating temperature; however
you should be careful not to overheat the engine by keeping it started for too
long. Usually keeping the engine started for 20 minutes is sufficient.

Turn off the car engine and allow the engine to cool if you have
recently taken your car for a drive. If the engine is hot, it should be given
approximately 1 hour to rest before you do a compression test on it.

If you can't start the car engine then just continue with the test
anyway. Even though you won't be able to test the engine's performance
accurately you will still be able to diagnose that the engine is faulty due to its
internal compression if you get a low reading.

2
Switch off the engine completely before beginning the test.

3
Remove the fuel pump relay. This will disable the fuel system so fuel will not be
injected into the cylinders.

4
Disconnect the electrical connection from the ignition coil pack. This will
disable the ignition system since the ignition coil pack will be unable to create
and distribute the spark from the spark plug.

5
Take out the spark plugs and disconnect the wires for each spark
plug. Handle the spark plugs cautiously since the ceramic insulator of a spark
plug can break or malfunction if not handled delicately.

6
Put the engine compression gauge into the first cylinder's spark plug hole
(this is the hole that is nearest to the drive belt). Don't use any additional tools
to tighten the compression gauge, you should only use hand force.

7
Ask a helper to crank the engine over continuously. The needle on the
pressure gauge will rise and once the needle has risen to its maximum reading
your helper should stop the engine. This maximum reading is the maximum
compression value for the first cylinder that you have just tested.

8
Repeat the engine compression test for the other cylinders until you have
tested all of the cylinders on your engine.
3- Specimen Shape & Size Effect
The different sizes and shapes of test specimen used for determining the
compressive strength of concrete along with the strength modification factors are
given in table below:
Shape of Test
Specimen
Cube

Cylinder

Square Prism

Size in mm

Modification factor

100
150
200
150
100
200
150

0.8
0.8
0.83
1.0
0.97
1.05
1.05

* 100 * 100
* 150 * 150
* 200 * 200
* 300
* 200
* 500
* 150 * 450

200 * 200 * 600

1.05

4- Comparison between :
When a specimen of material is loaded in such a way that it extends it is said to
be in tension. On the other hand, if the material compresses and shortens it is
said to be in compression.

Tension

compression

On an atomic level, the molecules or atoms are forced apart when in tension
whereas in compression they are forced together. Since atoms in solids always
try to find an equilibrium position, and distance between other atoms, forces arise
throughout the entire material which oppose both tension or compression. The
phenomena prevailing on an atomic level are therefore similar.
The "strain" is the relative change in length under applied stress; positive strain
characterises an object under tension load which tends to lengthen it, and a
compressive stress that shortens an object gives negative strain. Tension tends
to pull small sideways deflections back into alignment, while compression tends
to amplify such deflection into buckling.
Compressive strength is measured on materials, components, and structures.
By definition, the ultimate compressive strength of a material is that value of
uniaxial compressive stress reached when the material fails completely. The
compressive strength is usually obtained experimentally by means of
a compressive test. The apparatus used for this experiment is the same as that
used in a tensile test. However, rather than applying a uniaxial tensile load, a
uniaxial compressive load is applied. As can be imagined, the specimen (usually

cylindrical) is shortened as well as spread laterally. A Stressstrain curve is


plotted by the instrument and would look similar to the following:

True Stress-Strain curve for a typical specimen


4- Materials used for both tension & compression test :
Concrete and ceramics typically have much higher compressive strengths
than tensile strengths. Composite materials, such as glass fiber epoxy
matrix composite, tend to have higher tensile strengths than compressive
strengths. Metals tend to have tensile and compressive strengths that are
very similar
5- Arised problems :
On compression, the specimen will shorten. The material will
tend to spread in the lateral direction and hence increase the
cross sectional area.
In a compression test the specimen is clamped at the edges. For
this reason, a frictional force arises which will oppose the lateral
spread. This means that work has to be done to oppose this
frictional force hence increasing the energy consumed during the
process. This results in a slightly inaccurate value of stress which
is obtained from the experiment.
As a final note, it should be mentioned that the frictional force
mentioned in the second point is not constant for the entire cross
section of the specimen. It varies from a minimum at the centre,
away from the clamps, to a maximum at the edges where it is
clamped. Due to this, a phenomenon known as barrelling
occurs where the specimen attains a barrel shape.

barreling

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