Title : Compacting Factor Test

Introduction

The compacting-factor test was devised because they recognized the importance of achieving full
compaction in concrete, and therefore the importance of being able to measure the ability of the material
to be compacted. It is always argued that the work in placing concrete is composed of the lost in shock
and the useful work which is expended in overcoming the internal friction of the concrete itself and in
overcoming the friction against the mold and the reinforcements. Of these, it is only the loss against
internal friction that is characteristic of the concrete alone and it is this that they used as the basis for a
definition of workability and they set out to measure.

The standard quantity of work is provided simply by allowing the concrete to fall under gravity
through a standard distance. The apparatus consists simply of two conical hoppers and a cylindrical mold
mounted vertically one above the other, the capacity of the top hopper being greater that of the lower,
which in turn is greater that of the cylinder. The internal surfaces are smooth to minimize surface friction.

Objective

To determine the workability or consistency of concrete mixes from fresh concrete of given grade
and/or proportion using the slump test and compacting factor test.
To determine the concrete fulfills the required specification, 2 types of concrete testing to be
conducted are slump test and cube test (Compacting Factor Test).
Theoretical Background

The Compacting Factor Test is a laboratory test to determine the characteristic strength of the concrete but
the making of test cubes is sometimes carried out by the supervisor on site. This cube test result is very
important to the acceptance of concrete work since it demonstrates the strength of the design mix.

Description of workability, corresponding slump and compacting factor.

Description of Corresponding slump Compacting factor

workability (mm)
Very Low 0-25 0.78
Low 25-50 0.85
Medium 50-100 0.92
High 100-175 0.95

Apparatus

1) Compacting Factor apparatus

2) Sampling tray 1.2 m x 1.2 m x 50 mm deep made from non-corrodible metal
3) Square mouthed shovel
4) Compacting bar or vibrating hammer or table
5) Graduated cylinder
6) Weight balance
7) Tamping rod and iron buckets
Procedure

1. The apparatus was kept on the ground and applied grease on the inner surface of the cylinders.
2. Measured the mass as w1 kg by weighing the cylinder accurately and fix the cylinder on the base
in such a way that the central points of hoppers and cylinder lie on one vertical line and covered
the cylinder with a plate.
3. For each 5 kg of aggregate mixes are to be prepared with water-cement ratio by weight with 2.5
kg sand and 1.25 kg of cement and added required amount of water thoroughly until and unless
concrete appears to be homogeneous.
4. With the help of hand scoop without compacting fill the freshly mixed concrete in upper hopper
part gently and carefully and within two minutes released the trap door so that the concrete may
fall into the lower hopper such that it bring the concrete into standard compaction.
5. Fall the concrete to into the cylinder by bringing the concrete into standard Compaction
immediately after the concrete has come to rest and open the trap door of lower hopper and then
remove the excess concrete above the top of the cylinder by a pair of trowels, one in each hand
will blades horizontal slide them from the opposite edges of the mold inward to the center with a
sawing motion.
6. Cleaned the cylinder from all sides properly. Find the mass of partially compacted concrete thus
filled in the cylinder and say it W2 kg. After this refill the cylinder with the same sample of
concrete in approximately 50 mm layers, by vibrating each layer heavily so as to expel all the air
and obtain full compaction of the Concrete.
7. Stroked off level the concrete and weighed and cylinder filled with fully compacted concrete. Let
the mass be W3 kg.
8. Compaction factor was calculated by using the formula, C.F = W2 W1 / W3 W1

Result

Weight of empty Weight of cylinder with Weight of cylinder with Compaction factor
cylinder (kg) , W1 partially compacted (kg) fully compacted (kg) ,
, W2 W3 (W 2W 1)
(W 3W 1)

4.1 13.8 14.2 0.96

Discussion

It is shown that the amount of energy imparted to the concrete in compacting-factor test is much
less that used in compacting concrete by vibration. Although it is not strictly in accord with the
requirements of the standard, the mass of fully compacted concrete may be found by compacting the
partially compacted material using an internal vibrator or poker and adding further concrete.

We had noticed that by doing this method, a good estimate of the compacting factor may be made
by noting the drop in level of the partially compacted concrete as it is vibrated and further compacted.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the test suffered from the disadvantage that cohesive concrete tends to
stick in the hopper and must be encouraged to fall by pushing a rod through it. This is particularly so for
air-entrained concrete.

This method was found that it was impractical to measure that the work required to produce a
given degree of compaction, so it was developed in which the inverse quantity, the degree of compaction
produced by a given amount of work is measured instead.