International Concrete Abstracts Portal

A case history of methods used to evaluate the allowable form removal time for a large diameter tunnel concrete lining is presented. To meet schedule requirements, a concrete placement was to be made every alternate day. A triad of testing was done to evaluate the time at which the reusable, self-propelled, steel-skinned form could be stripped from an existing placement. This testing consisted of field-cured cylinders and nondestructive testing that included embedded thermocouples in the concrete placements and penetration-resistance testing. Reference curves and tables were developed for use in the form removal evaluation. Statistical methods were used on test data obtained from results of testing done with the actual concrete mix to be used in the placements. Control curves were then developed. Target values were selected to be used in determining when the concrete was of sufficient strength to allow for the form removal.

Presents a comparison of 28 day concrete strength as measured by field probe penetration tests and standard laboratory cylinders. Over a period of 11 months, 318 matched sets of tests were performed on 4000-psi concrete at four major projects. Primary field variables include the project location, operators, test guns, and the element type on which the field tests were made. Corrections to account for temperature variations are considered. Results include statistical analysis of the effects of test parameters and the correlation between field and laboratory results. Based on standard statistical tests, it is concluded that the variability of field probe results is similar to that of the corresponding laboratory cylinder tests. Results did not depend significantly on operators or the particular equipment used. However, results did depend significantly on the type of structural element tested and on the range setting of the firing gun. It is concluded that the calibration charts provided with the equipment should be reviewed.

Pullout testing and maturity have practical construction applications. Maturity is used to determine curing duration. The pullout test is used to determine in-place strength and to verify the adequacy of cure. Personal computers with spreadsheet software are tools that can benefit concrete construction. Templates developed using spreadsheet software can be used to acquire and analyze relationships between in-place strength and compressive strength, and maturity. Experimental investigations using pullout testing and maturity were undertaken and are reported using graphic features of spreadsheet software. The results of these experimental investigations show that curing environment can affect in-place strength relationships. Also, the results show that top to bottom strength differences can exist and should be considered when determining in-place strength. The results obtained using the compressible disk pullout assemblies indicate that this test method can be used to determine in-place strength without formwork removal, and the method should be further researched.

A new improved prototype ultrasonic pitch-catch (two-transducer) and pulse echo (one-transducer) system has been developed for concrete. Signal generation and detection is done with piezoelectric crystals. A literature search revealed that no piezoelectric pulse-echo system had been developed for the ultrasonic range ( > 20 kHz) and that pitch-catch measurements needed further development. No commercial system could be found on the market for making pitch-catch measurements. Research by the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station has resulted in the development of a 200-kHz pitch-catch system with a signal-to-noise ratio of 18 and a pulse-echo system with a SNR of 8. The mass and dimensions of the improved system have been reduced significantly from the prior state-of-the-art system. The WES system works well for thickness measurements of portland-cement concrete pavement and can indicate the presence of voids.

A nondestructive test method has been developed for locating defects in concrete. The technique is referred to as the impact-echo method and is based on monitoring surface displacements resulting from the interactions of transient stress waves with internal discontinuities. Paper describes the technique and presents results of laboratory studies designed to evaluate the capabilities of the method. These laboratory studies were carried out on 500 mm thick slabs that contained a variety of artificial flaws embedded at known locations. Frequency analysis of recorded time-domain waveforms is explained and shown to be a quick and simple signal processing technique. Finally, results are presented from a field study in which the impact-echo method was used to investigate a 150 mm thick slab believed to contain voids.