Concrçte
on site
Making
test cubes
tL
BQII r This document
contains 12
L
INTRODUCTION
The eleven bookletsin the Concrete onsite series are updated
replacementsfor thewell-knownMan on thejobpublications,
which were firstissuedin 1968, and becamethestandard
guideson concretingforsite personnel.
Thetitles oftheConcrete on site bookletsare listedonthe
[Link] scopeofconcretingoperations featuredis
similarto the originalseries exceptthat, asmost siteconcrete is
nowsuppliedready-mixed,the series no longerdeals with site
mixingorthe selectionandtesting ofmaterialsfor concrete.
TheTechnical Consultant for this series wasTonyBinns
and the Editor was Bob Tattersall.
Published by
BritishCementAssociation
Century House
Telford Avenue
Crowthorne
BerksRG11 6YS
Telephone 0344762676
Fax0344761214
45.210 First published 1993
ISBNO721O 14429
Price groupAB
© BritishCement Association SAFETY ON SITE
1993 WhenPortland cementismixedwithwater,oreven
becomesdamp,alkalis arereleasedthat canbeharmful to
theskin. Theeffectdependson the lengthofcontact, any
abrasion,theindividual,and thepartofthebody
[Link] should beworn. If
Alladviceor nformatton from the Brttish eyesareaffectedtheyshould bewashedout immediately
CementAssociation isintendedforthose
whowillevaluatethesignihcance and andmedical attention sought.
limitationsofits cc,ntenrsandtake Manyconstruction activitiesare potentiallydangerous
responsibiliw forits useandapplication.
No liability (including thatfor
socare is neededatalltimes. Currentlegislationrequires
negligence)foranyloss resultingfrom allpersons toconsidertheeffects oftheiractionsorlack of
suchadviceor informationisaccepted. action on thehealthandsafetyofthemselvesand others.
Readersshould notethatall BCA
publicationsare suhjectto revisionfrom
Adviceonsafetylegislationmaybeobtained from anyof
time totime andshould thereforeensure thearea officesoftheHealthand SafetyExecutive.
that theyare inpossessionofthe latest
version.
Making test cubes
CONTENTS Avital part ofqualitycontrol 2
Isthereaneeed totest concrete? 2
Equipment 3
Themoulds 3
Sampling 3
For the record 4
Filling the moulds 4
Compaction byhand 4
Compaction byvibration 5
Levelling off 5
Referencing 5
Initial curing 5
Stripping thecubes 6
Transporting thecubes 6
Specialconcretes 6
Certificates 7
MAKING TE5TCUBES 1
A vital part ofquality control
Concrete testcubesarethebasisofthemost
ISThEREANEEDTOTEST
important quality control thereis for CONCRETE?
checkingonhardened [Link] a
The BritishStandard for concrete,BS5328,
sampleoffreshconcrete, and make cubes
from it using special [Link] thensend placesconcrete mixesinto fourcategories:
these to the laboratorywhere,in aspecialised designed,prescribed,standard anddesignated
mixes.
operation, their compressivestrength is Designedmixesaresupplied onthe
measured. understandingthattheconcrete willbe
The main purpose ofthe test is to verify sampledand testedquite frequentlybythe
that theconcrete is abovethe minimum, or purchaseronsite.
characteristic,strength specified. But italso Standard andprescribedmixeswould notbe
testedforstrength but may betestedforfresh
providesa usefulcheckon whether ornot the propertiessuch asworkability.
production ofthe concreteis being properly Withdesignatedmixes,noacceptance
controlled. testing bythepurchaserisnormally necessaiy
When thetestproducesa figurethat istoo becausetheconcrete isqualityassured.
low, the obviousinferenceisthat thereis Any acceptancetesting thatisdonemustbe
somethingwrong with theconcrete—too strictlyinaccordancewithBS 1881 Testing
much water, or an incorrectmix, forinstance. con€retewhich forms thebasisofthisbooklet.
But it could be that a faultycube, badly made
and/orcured, is producing incorrect results.
It is vitalthat youeliminateany possibility The correctproceduresto be adopted for
ofthecube's beingfaulty,andyou do this by sampling,makingandcuring concretecubes
makingand curing thecubesin theproper are givenin BS 1881: [Link]
way. This booklettells youexactly howto do parts applicableto sitecubesare:
[Link] dependson theresultsofcube Part101:Methodofsamp/ingfresh concrete
teststhatitis vitaltheyarecarried outcorrectly. on site
Ifyoudo notfollowexactly thestandard Part108: Methodformakingtestcubesfrom
methodssetout here,your cubesareunlikelyto fresh concrete
beatrue measure ofthequalityoftheconcrete Part111:Methodofnormalcuringoftest
youareusinginyour construction. specimens(20°C method)
2 MAKI\GTEST(:LBES
Equipment Sampling
To make test cubesin biggerthan20 mm,you can use Beforeyou beginmake surethat
accordancewiththe British 100mmcubes. all equipment (especiallythe
Standardyou willneed: All equipment should bewell mould) iscLeanand ingood
• Cubemoulds withbase plates looked after,and notleftonsite condition.
• intheopen to rust.
• Spanners
Mould oil
• Scraper THE MOULDS
• Samplingscoop toholdabout The moulds mustbe ofsteel or
5kgofconcrete cast iron, neverwood, and
• Waterproof baseplate,or complywith BS1881:Part 108.
samplingtray, for remixing Acubemould isusuallyin
concrete. two halvesthat arebolted
• Scoop forfillingthemoulds together andfastenedby clamps
• Steelfloat toametal [Link]
• Standard compactingbar, moulds aremanufactured,and
1.8 kg inweight,380mm long needtobe maintained,toahigh
andwitharamming face degreeofaccuracy. Ifthe inside
25 mmsquare,orasuitable faces becomepitted,scratched Themoult/sshouldbetreated
vibrating hammer orvibrating orout ofplane theycanproduce careJidly, andkept clean
table a misshapencubethatwillgive
• Cleaning rags anincorrect readingwhen Batchesshould be sampledat
• Bucket and/or barrow for [Link],iftheinternal random, andconcrete for
carryingthesamples anglesare not90 degrees, the makingthecubes mustbe
• Dampsacks test resultwill bewrong. representativeoftheentire
• Polythenesheeting Make surethereis no batch.
• Waterproof crayon hardenedmortar leftinside,or The best wayisto take
• Thermostaticallycontrolled onthe faces oftheflangeswhere samplesat specific times, or
watercuring tank thetwo halves meet,otherwise from specific deliveries, and to
they willnotfit properly. decide atthestartoftheday
Thinly coat theflangefaces when theseshould [Link]
withmould oilto prevent times,or deliveries, should be
leakageduring [Link] used fortaking the sampleseach
film must beapplied between day.
thecontact surfacesofthe The numberofsamplesto be
bottom ofthe mould andthe taken willbedecidedbythe
base plate. Withhighly engineer, andwilldepend onthe
workable mixes, athin layerof type ofconstruction. Cubes
grease can be used instead. should be made from mixesthat
The inside faces must alsobe aretoowetortoodryonlyif
lightlycoated withmould oil to they occur at times previously
Theitemsyouwillneed preventthe concretesticking decided.
including thetwo sizesofmould andto stop rusting. The sampleshould bebig
The nuts must always be enough to make two cubes,and
Normally 150mmcubes are checkedfortightness, toensure isbest collected by the standard
used for thetest, butifthe thatthecubeis notmisshapen, samplingscoop as theconcrete is
aggregate inyour concrete is no andto preventgroutloss. beingdischargedfrom the mixer
MAKIN(; lESTCUBES 3
Filling the
or [Link] not concretecan bepoured intoa The re-mixedsample isscooped
suitablebecauseaggregate tends samplingtray—you will haveto into the mould, and theconcrete
toroll offthem, so theconcrete dothisifyoursample is in a iscompacted. Proper
youtest is not typical. bucket. compaction isabsolutely
Thereis onlyonesatisfactory Anon-absorbent base can be essentialtoensure thatno airis
method ofobtaining a sample used as an alternativeto atray. trapped forthiswillreduce the
andthat isto take equal Make onebycovering20mm strength ofthe [Link]
scoopfulsoftheconcrete. exteriorgrade plywoodwith 1% ofentrapped air results ina
steelplate. Itshould bebig 5to 6%lossofstrength, so ifthe
enough (about 1 m square) to concrete cube consistsof4% air,
stop anyofthesample fallingoff therewill beatleast a20%
during the remixing. reduction in strength.
COMPACTIONBY
HAND
Moulds of150 mm should be
filledin three equal layers, each
onecompactedwithastandard
tampingbar beforethenext one
Collectthesampleasthe isadded.
concreteisbeingdischarged The number oframps needed
willdepend on the type ofmix,
Takeonescoop after about butyoumustgiveatleast 35per
one fifth ofthe batch has been
discharged,andthenone from
each remaining fifth oftheload. ReinLeingthesampleina
Withcontinuous mixers,a sampling tray
batch should beregarded as the
dischargeduringone minute, Whenthe remixingis
and thescoopfulstaken at finished,the cubesshould be
twelve-secondintervals. made withoutdelay.
You may sometimesbeforced
to samplefrom alorry,oraheap FOR THE RECORD
thathasjustbeen dumped. In You should make anoteof:
thatcase,scoopmaterial from • The dateand time you took
differentparts oftheheap, thesample
diggingwell belowthesurface. • The temperatureand weather
Do nottakeanyfrom theedge conditions
oftheheap, becauseaggregate • The batch number (ifany) and
mighthavegathered there. themixer,when there is more
Collectthe scoopfulsin a thanone
barrow orbucket, andthen mix • The partofthejobwherethe
themthoroughly, using ashovel concrete was used.
so that thewholesamplewill be Seepage7 fortheway in which The mouldisfihledin three
uniform. Thismixingcan be thisinformation should be layers,each beingJiilly
done inthebarrow, orthe recorded. compacted
4 \AKi\(; Tl(1'BF.
moulds
layer. Amixwitha slumpofless layers, each onebeing INITIAL CURING
than 25 mm willrequire many compactedbeforethe next is Correct curingofthecubes is
more. added. vital ifthey areto givereliable
Asimilarmethod isused for Afterthelast layer,continue results. So, immediatelythe
100mmcubes,withthemoulds vibration until it isimpossibleto moulds havebeen filled, store
beingfilledintwo equallayers, addanymore concrete,and the them awayfrom vibration and
each receivingatleast 25tamps mix isfullycompacted. [Link] and
untilit is fully compacted. You can easilytell when this moistureneedto bekept
stage has been reachedbecause uniform.
COMPACTIONBY airbubbleswill no longerappear These conditions can be
VIBRATION frequentlyonthesurface. achievedindoors bycoveringthe
Useeitheran electricor surfaceoftheconcrete with
pneumatic hammer,or placethe LEVELLING OFF dampsacking,orsimilar
mould on avibratingtable. Whenthefinal layerhasbeen [Link]
Neveruseapoker vibrator. tamped, trowel itssurfacelevel waterproofmembrane such as
Whenusing a vibrating withthetopofthemould. Ifthe polythene.
hammer, itis best to stand the mould istoofull get rid ofthe Ifthecubes arefortesting in
mould ona level surfacewitha excess material bypushing the lessthansevendays,they should
piece ofwoodunderneath it, surpluswitha float towardsthe bestoredlike thisforabout
and oneon [Link] centre ofthemould, and taking 24hours(slightlyless ifthe tests
hammerwithits foot pressedon the excess (includingcoarse are tobe made after oneday)
thetoppieceoftimber. aggregate)fromthere. Donot with thetemperature kept at
Aswithhandcompaction, the removeit byscraping the between l8and22°C.
moulds arefilledin 50mm surface. For tests at seven daysor
Waterwill tendto riseto the more,the cubes must be stored
topofa mix that is too wet,and indampconditions for
thesolidswillsinkin a [Link] 16—18hoursatatemperature
allowforthisawetmixshould between 15and25°C.
beleftproud(2or3mm). Thisrequiredtemperature
means thatyou will have tostore
REFERENCING —and
preferablymake— the
You will needtoaddan cubes indoors, with heating
identif;,zingmark ornumberon providedin winter. Recordthe
thecube so the laboratoryreport maximum and minimum
can be matched tothe right temperaturesofthearea foreach
cube. One wayofdoingthis 24hour period.
isto lightlyscratch thesurface Cubes thatareto betested
ofthewet concretewitha within 24 hours shouldbe sent
matchstick. tothelaboratorystill intheir
However,it is better to write moulds immediatelythey have
the number in waterproof been [Link], thecube
crayon onthe sideofthe cube shouldberemoved from its
when it is finally removedfrom mould anddispatched when it is
itsmould, oronthe mould itself betweenthree and seven days
Compactingthesample witha ifthe cube isto bedeliveredto old,to arriveatleast24 hours
pneumatic hammer thelaboratorystill in its mould. beforethe test date.
MAKlN( lESi CUBES 5
Stripping Transporting
the cubes the cubes
The correct method for Cubes must bekept damp andprotected duringtransport to the
removingatest cubefrom its [Link], orevenpaper forashort
mould is first toslackenthenuts journey.
onthe base plate,andwithdraw '\XThen they arelikelytobe a long time in transit, thecubes should
[Link] the be kept inspecialboxeswithcompartmentslinedwithwetfelt. Or
nutson theside ofthemould they can be placedin apolythene bagcontaining afew drops ofwater
then tap the mould gently to and tied at the neck (a method thatisalso suitableforshortjourneys).
freethecube. In fact any procedurewill dosolongas thecubes stay damp.
Theconcrete willstill be The cubesshould betreated withgreat care. It isvital that they
weak, so you will have totake arriveatthe test laboratorywellmade andin goodcondition, forthe
greatcare not todamage the successofa projectcan depend uponproper testingoftheconcrete.
cube during thisoperation.
Corners knocked off,orslight
cracksin theconcrete,will
weakenthe cube, andwillbe
Special concretes
reported on the laboratory
certificate.
Afterremovingacube, mark
it clearly witha reference
numberinwaterproofcrayon,
even ifyou havealready The methods describedinthisbooklet applyto cubes made mainly
scratchedthenumberin the forthe qualitycontrol or compliancetestingofstructural concrete on
concrete. typical Britishcivil engineeringandbuilding construction sites.
The cubes now needto be Anumberofspecialmixesrequire [Link] of
watercured,so put them these may be found instandard documents;otherswillbewritten by
straight intoa tank ofwater, the produceroftheconcrete,or thespecifier.
which must bekeptbetween Cubetests forall these mixesare beyond thescope ofthisbooklet.
18 and20°C.A thermostatically However, ifyoudo useoneofthem, youcan getthe necessary
controlled heating element is informationon makingtest specimensforthemfrom the following
essentialtomaintain the sources:
temperature—largetanks should No-fines concrete: BS 1881: Part 113: 1983. Methodformaking
have acirculationpump. andcuringno-finestestcubes. BSI, Milton Keynes.
Toensure that thewaterin Dry-leanconcrete more correctlyknown as cement-bound material
thetankis clean, it should be (CBM):Manualofcontractdocuments for highway works Vol1.
changedregularly—atleast once Specflcation forhighway works. 1991. HMSO, London.
amonth. BS 1924: Part 2: 1990. Methodsoftestforcement-sta bilizedand
Thestored cubes make the lime-stabilized materials. BSI, Milton Keynes.
waterin thetankhighlyalkaline. Foamedconcrete: Foamedconcrete—aspecificationforuse in the
Protectiveclothing should be reinstatementofopeningsinhighways. 1991. BritishCement
worn byanyone moving cubes Association.(Addresson inside front cover.)
inand outofthetank. Ifvou get Mortar ProducersAssociation,P0 Box 143, Wokingham,
waterfrom thetankonyourskin Berkshire RG1I 6SW.
wash itoffimmediatelywith Guniteand sprayedconcrete: SprayedConcrete Association,
cleantapwater. P0Box 111,Aldershot,HantsGUll 1YW.
6 MAKI\L l CUBES
CERTIFICATE OF SAMPLING
Sampletaken inaccordancewith
BS 1881:Part 101
Dateofsampling
Time
Nameofworks
Location inworks oftheconcretewhich the
samplerepresents
Locationofsampling ([Link]
truckorfrom aheapofconcrete)
Deliverynotenumberorbatchindentification
Sampleidentity number
Ambienttemperature
Weather conditions
Nameofsampler
Thesamplercertifies that thesampling was doneinaccordancewith BS 1881:Part 101
Signature ofpersonresponsible firsampling
Name(in capitals)
MAKING TESI LUBES 7
CERTIFICATE OF CUBE MAKING
Fortest made inaccordancewith BS 1881:Part 108
Informationto besupplied_____ ________ ________
Dateofsampling
Sampling: Time
Place
Sampleidentity number
Timeofmakingthecubes
Placeofmaking thecubes
Method ofcompaction (handorvibration)
Compaction equipment used
Numberoftamps (forhand tampingonly)
Durationofvibration (forvibration only)
Identificationnumberorcodesofthecubes
Nameofperson makingthecubes
Location ofinitial curing
Method ofinitial curing
Period ofinitial curing
Maximum and Initialcuring Max C Mm
minimum temperatures:
Watercuring Max C Mm
if
Informationto besupplied requested
Nameofproject
Partofworkswhere concreteused
Nameofsupplier
Sourceoftheconcrete
Timeofproduction or deliveryto site
continued:
8 r LUBh
Specification ofconcretemix ([Link])
Workability oftheconcrete
Aircontent(forair-entrainedconcreteonly)
Immersion ofcubes Date
Time
Removalofcubes Date
Time
Temperature record during initial curing
Temperature record during water curing
Age(s) atwhich cubesareto betested
Thetestercertifies thatthetestwasmadeinaccordancewith BS 1881: Part 108and the
cubescuredinaccordancewithBS1881:Part 111
Signatureofpersonresponsiblefor testing
Name(incapitals)
MAKING lEST(UThS 9
—
S
S
The Concreteon siteseries
1 Readv-ni ixet I CO1k ft te
Rein1rcement
:) I'NJrmwor
4 NIovingconcrete
Placing and compacting
6 Curing
7 Construction joints
8 Makinggood and 6nishing
9 Sampling and testingfresh
concrete
10 Making test cubes
11 Winterworking