Introduction to Construction Testing and Materials

A. Materials Used in Construction

Construction material is an item, material or supply consumed or used in a
construction project and incorporated in the constructed building or structure.
List of materials commonly used in construction:
1. Aggregates
It is a broad category of coarse- to medium-grained
particulate material used in construction, including sand,
gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geo-
synthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined
materials in the world
2. Steel reinforcement
Steel reinforcement are steel bars that are provided
in with plain cement concrete to make it reinforced
concrete.
3. Cement
It is a finely milled mineral powder, usually grey in
color. Mixed with water, cement serves as an adhesive to
bind sand, gravel, and hard rock in concrete.
4. Concrete
It is a composite material composed of fine and
coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement
(cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time.
5. Bitumen
It is a black viscous mixture of naturally or as a
residue from petroleum distillation. It is used for road
surfacing and roofing.
6. Wood
Wood in larger sizes is usually referred to as timber
or beams and is often used to construct the frames of large
structures like bridges and multi-story buildings. Structural
engineers and architects can determine which type of wood
is ideal for a construction project.
7. Stone
The longest lasting building material available is the
one that’s been here for thousands of years.
8. Brick/Masonry
Masonry construction uses individual units (such as bricks) to
build structures that are usually bound together by some kind of
mortar.

B. Equipment and Apparatus Used in Testing Materials

1. Sieve
It is an instrument with a mesh or perforated bottom used to
separate coarse from fine materials of a loose matter.
2. Sieve shaker-
Sieve shaker are used for separation and size determination of
particles. A typical sieve shaker separates particles by passing
them through a series of chambers with mesh filters and agitating
the sample in order to obtain complete separation.
3. CBR Test Machine
CBR test machines are used to measure California bearing
ratio (CBR). The CBR test is a measure of the strength of subgrade soil
and highway sub base and subgrade via a penetration test.
4. Los Angeles Abrasion Machine
Tests for resistance to abrasion in crashed rock, slag,
crushed and uncrushed gravel.
5. Vicat Apparatus
A device for determining the normal consistency and time
of setting of Portland cements that consists of a rod weighing 300
grams, having a needle in each end, and supported in a frame with
a graduated scale to measure the distance to which the needle
penetrates the cement.
6. Concrete Mixer
It is a device that homogeneously combines cement,
aggregate such as sand or gravel, and water to form concrete.
7. Slump Testing Sets
A set of instruments used in slump test. The concrete
slump value determined in this test is used to find the water-
cement ratio in mixes. By measuring the difference between
the mold height and the height of the specimen, researchers
are able to evaluate the concrete consistency.
 Standard Slump cone – Cone shaped mold that can be made of
steel or plastic and should measure 8” (203 mm) diameter at base 4” (102
mm) diameter at top and 12” (305 mm) high.
8. Concrete Molds
Concrete Cube Molds in steel or plastic versions
can be used to form specimens for testing compressive
strength or serve as sample containers for set-time
testing.
9. Universal Testing Machine (UTM)
A universal testing machine (UTM), also known as a
universal tester, materials testing machine or materials test
frame, is used to test the tensile strength and compressive
strength of materials.

10. Rebound Hammer

A non-destructive testing apparatus, whereby
the rebound of the spring driven mass is measured
after its impact with concrete surface. The output of
the rebound hammer is referred to as rebound
number and are correlated with surface hardness of
concrete.

Different Test Conducted in Construction

AGGREGATES
 Sieve Analysis
 Water Absorption
 Aggregate Impact Value
 Aggregate Abrasion Value
 Aggregate Crushing Value
BITUMEN
 Determining bitumen content
 Determining flash and fire point of bitumen
 Determining penetration of bitumen
 Determining softening point of bitumen
  Determining specific gravity of bitumen
 Determining ductility of bitumen
 Determining marshal stability of bitumen
CEMENT
 Fineness Test
 Soundness Test
 Consistency Test
 Setting Time Test
CONCRETE
Test of Fresh Concrete:
 Slump Test
Test of Hardened Concrete:
 Compression Strength Test
 Flexural Strength Test
 Rebound Hammer Test
 Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test
STEEL REINFORCEMENT
 Shear Test
 Bend Test
 Impact Test
 Re-bend Test
 Tensile Strength Test
 Brinell Hardness Test
 Torsion Test

Assessments
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blOmkJ3WaU0&t=315s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss86Cd9qGp4&t=309s