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Introduction
Welcome to CEE 302 Civil Engineering Materials. This course is imperative for any civil
engineer no matter what their option or interest. Any project that is being designed, constructed,
reconstructed, rehabilitated, renovated, remodeled, repaired, or redesigned will have to consider the types
of materials being used. The study of those materials will be based on their mechanical and physical
properties along with how they are combined to affect constructability. Information from other
engineering classes will also be useful.
Each laboratory session is designed to provide hands-on experience with some of the most
common materials used by civil engineers. At the end of this course, you should have an understanding of
what types of materials are best suited for different applications, and you should be able to develop a test
program for those materials.
For every laboratory session you will find information within this manual that will help you plan
for and complete the work. Data sheets, procedures, and space for note taking are included in this manual.
If used correctly, this manual will not only help get you through this course, but could serve as future
reference material.
This manual and the laboratory exercises are constantly being improved, and there may be
changes or additions to the laboratory exercises described in this manual. Your laboratory instructor will
provide information on any changes.
As you will notice soon, this CEE 302 is intensive. You will be expected to perform in a prompt
and professional manner. In order to avoid any misunderstanding that may occur between you and your
TA and to insure that you receive maximum credit for your work, the following guidelines must be
followed:

General Guidelines

 Every machine, instrument, equipment, tool, etc. used to conduct the test must be clean and be
returned to its original place after you are done with the experiment.
 When making specimens or running tests, DO NOT DISCARD any excess material until all
specimens have been made and tests have been performed. After specimens are made and tests
are performed, discard the rest of the material in the black plastic bins or other place as indicated
by the instructor.
 Specimens (of any kind and type) must be labeled. Use label tag and/or markers for this purpose.
Label with: date, course #, section #, group #, sample #, and any additional information that your
T.A./L.T. deems is necessary.
 After your concrete (or mortar) specimens are cast, the mixer (whether it is a concrete mixer,
mortar mixer, etc.) must be cleaned thoroughly. No concrete, aggregate, mortar or paste
whatsoever should remain in the mixer. When cleaning the concrete mixer, do not dump any
remaining material on the ground. Use a wheel barrow for this purpose. Then, discard the
material from the wheelbarrow into the black plastic bins. Hose out the mixer.
 Always sweep the entire area around the concrete mixer.
 Do not flush concrete or mortar down any drain under any circumstance.

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  The following day (at a time specified by the TA/LT), concrete/mortar specimens must be taken
out from molds and moved to the 100% humidity room (unless instructed otherwise by the
instructor). If necessary, label your specimens with a permanent marker with the same
information as the label tag (label tags can get ripped off easily when wet).
 All molds must be washed, cleaned and reassembled IMMEDIATELY after demolding, and
returned back to your own workstation.
 After testing your specimens (compressive strength, flexure, splitting tensile, etc), the crushed
specimens should be dumped in the big dumpsters. Use a wheel barrow for this purpose. Always
sweep the floor around the test machine used.
 Before leaving the lab, all groups must write down their data in the folder assigned for their
section, so that other groups will have access to the data. This will enable all groups to conduct
proper analyses.
 Always check with the T.A. when you are finished with the lab before you leave.

Important
Failure to follow and meet any of the above guidelines will result in a 5 point penalty to the lab
report for the first time, 10 points for the second time, 15 points for the third time and so on. The
TA may impose additional penalties depending on the severity of the violation of the above
guidelines. This policy will be implemented from the beginning of the semester.

Note: It is your responsibility to understand and abide by the above guidelines. The TA is not obliged
and is not responsible for reminding you of the above guidelines and times.

Hints (to achieve a good grade in this course)

 Take advantage of all extra credit activities assigned by your professor and your TA.
 Avoid (as much as you can) all penalties. This can be achieved by following the above
guidelines.

Laboratory Teamwork
Much of the work in the laboratory is done as a group effort. Each group will consist of 4-5 members,
and the members will have specific roles in the preparation of Engineering Testing Reports (ETR) from
the results obtained during the laboratory sessions. Working as groups is vital due to the necessity of
coordinating the following tasks:
 effective test plan
 preparing and conducting tests
 reference work
 processing and interpretation of test results
 compilation of reports

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Understanding teamwork is extremely important. Effective teamwork makes a great difference in this
course to your learning and the promptness of the requested deliverables. Often, you are required to share
test data between different groups in preparing the material testing reports. Therefore, it is your
responsibility to share data where and when it becomes necessary.

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 Format for Engineering Testing Reports
(Long Format)
This format is used to report information at the completion of the following material studies: Asphalt
Concrete, and Portland Cement Concrete. This is a lengthy report and should be given extra care and
time. The long lab report should look like a formal report. Please double space the text in your report.
The following format is to be used:

1. Cover Letter
A cover letter is to be provided with the materials testing report as in a consultant's report with an
executive summary (indicating your important findings, itemized cost of your services, and any other
information which may be pertinent to the report). Your cover letter may have company address,
telephone and fax numbers and company logo. Remember that this letter is the first thing someone sees,
so take care in presenting it in a professional manner. It should be addressed to:
CEE 302 Engineering Group Block 6, Astana, Kazakhstan, 010000.

2. Title Page
 A brief and descriptive title of the laboratory.
 Your name and telephone number.
 Full name of each team member and phone number.
 Dates and names of objectives completed.
 Date report submitted.
 The bottom should contain the statement shown on the sample title page (next page) and be
signed by the person responsible for checking the data.

3. Table of contents
Abstract
Introduction
Procedure
Results and Discussion
Conclusions
Figures with captions
 Figure 1: Stress vs. Strain for fiber beam
 Figure 2: Detail of composite cylinder
Tables with captions
 Table 1: Results for fiber cylinders
 Table 2: Values used for slump comparisons
Appendices
 Calculations

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  References
 Original Data Sheets
All page numbers should be aligned on the right-hand side of the page. In addition, all figures
and tables should be listed under the appropriate heading.

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 Sample Title Page

Concrete
A complete report detailing principles, properties, and experimentation with Portland Cement in
Concrete.

Group #___, Sec. # ___

Captain Pickard 345-4875 (Reporting Member)
Leonard Euler 123-4567 (Group Member)
Barre de Saint-Venant 234-5678 (Group Member)
Albert Castigliano 345-6789 (Group Member)
Stephen Timoshenko (Group Member)

Objective Dates Performed

Cement Setting and Normal Consistency September 08, 2011
Concrete Mix Design – Workability September 15, 2011
Concrete Mix Design – Strength September 22, 2011
Tests on Hardened Concrete September 29, 2011

Report submitted: October 6, 2011

The data in this report have been checked for accuracy by: ____(your signature)______

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4. Abstract
This is a brief summary of what you did, what you found, and why it is important. These are seldom
longer than 6 to 10 sentences. .

5. Introduction
This section is about one page long. Any definitions and background literature are included in this
section. The importance of the experiments and topic of study in general is discussed. Additionally, the
principle objectives of the study are clearly stated.

6. Procedure
This section is a summarized listing of all steps taken to accomplish the experiments. Assume your
audience is familiar with the subject.
If a standard procedure was used (such as an ASTM standard), then you can refer to that procedure and
do not need to list all of the steps in that procedure. But make sure that you list the steps you used to get
to that procedure. Describe any deviations from standard procedures and refer to the appropriate ASTM
specifications.
You can use the Lab Manual as a reference, but you must summarize each procedure and specifically
indicate where to find more details for accomplishing that procedure.
Someone should be able to read the listing of your steps and the standards referred to, and duplicate your
results.

7. Results and Discussion (Including Answers to Questions Posed in the Lab Manual)
Typically this is the longest section of your paper. This section is dominated not by raw data, but by a
summary and an analysis of the results of your testing. The data are usually shown in tables and graphs;
and you must describe in the text what is in each table and graph. Only show data here that you discuss in
the section. Data that are not directly cited in this section should be included in an appendix rather than in
the results and discussion section.
Describe what you found out in the lab. Describe any problems encountered and discuss how to avoid
those problems in the future. Discuss the meaning of the findings from the laboratory exercise(s), and
also address any issues and questions posed in the lab manual.
Answers to the questions posed in the lab manual are to be integrated into the discussion and/or the
conclusions. Do not include a separate “Answers to Questions” section.

8. Conclusions
Primary conclusions that you reach from your discussion are located in this section. Primary conclusions
are often given in a bullet list. In some cases there may have been a question or problem asked in the lab.
The answer can be located in this section. This section is also used to list any recommendations.

9. Appendices
This section contains information regarding calculations, references, and the raw data.

Notes on Figures and Tables

The figures and tables you use in any of your material testing reports should conform to the following
format (see examples below):

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 No graph or table should fill an entire page. This is a waste of paper. However, two graphs on the
same page should be of same dimensions.
 No graph or table should be oriented in such a way that the reader has to rotate the report to look
at that particular graph or table correctly.
 All figures and tables will have a number and a title, and should be referenced in the text where
they are being discussed. References to those figures and tables are given by the numbers, as in
"as shown in Figure 5". References should not be made as "in the following figure"; instead they
should be referenced as “Figure 1 and Table 1 follow as examples”.
 Captions should be placed beneath figures and above tables.
 If any figure, table, or graph is taken from another source, the author and source should be
acknowledged by appropriate references.
 The tables, figures or graphs should be placed following their discussion, and not before.
 The titles and headings should be in bold letters. The same size of font should be used in similar
places, and there should be consistency in using type and sizes of fonts.
 Units should be given in tables (column headings) and on figures (axes labels).

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 Laboratory Grade Sheet: Formal (Long) Report (CEE 302)
Section________ Group _____ Lab ____________ Grade _______

Technical Content (82%) Presentation (15%)

Style………………………………..(5)_______
Cover Letter…………………………...(1)_______ Tense; Objectivity; Logic; Interest;
Title Page……………………………...(1)_______
Conciseness; Clarity
Table of Contents…………………...(2)_______
Abstract…………………………....(8)_______ Mechanics………………………….(5)_______
Spelling; Typing; Punctuation; Grammar;
Purpose ; Procedure; Findings; Conclusions;
Construction
Completeness; Conciseness
Appearance…………………………(5)_______
Introduction……………………... .(8)_______
Fonts; Margins; Spacing; Layout;
Background; Theory; Definitions; Motivation;
Neatness; Consistency
Objectives; Interest

Procedure…………………………..(5)_______
Results and Discussion………...….(50)_______ Comments:
Data; Accuracy; Tables and Graphs; Text;
Observations; Analysis; Comparisons; Expectations;
Implications; Organization; Logic; Completeness

Conclusions………………………..(8)_______
Statements; Basis; Completeness

Appendix (2%)
Raw Data………………………………________
Accuracy; Correctness

Graphs not used in the text……………________

Calculations not shown in the text…...________
References…………………………….________

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 Format for Engineering Testing Reports
(Short Format)
This format is used to report information at the completion of the following material studies: Aggregates,
Masonry, and Wood. The short report format includes only the following sections: Introduction, Results
and Discussion, Conclusions, and Appendices.

1. Introduction
This section is about one page long. Any definitions and background literature are included in this
section. The importance of the experiments and topic of study in general is discussed. Additionally, the
principle objectives of the study are clearly stated.

2. Results and Discussion (Including Answers to Questions Posed in the Lab Manual)
Typically this is the longest section of your paper. This section is dominated not by raw data, but by a
summary and an analysis of the results of your testing. The data are usually shown in tables and graphs;
and you must describe in the text what is in each table and graph. Only show data here that you discuss in
the section. Data that are not directly cited in this section should be included in an appendix rather than in
the results and discussion section.
Describe what you found out in the lab. Describe any problems encountered and discuss how to
avoid those problems in the future. Discuss the meaning of the findings from the laboratory exercise(s),
and also address any issues and questions posed in the lab manual.

3. Conclusions
Primary conclusions that you reach from your discussion are located in this section. Primary conclusions
are often given in a bullet list. In some cases there may have been a question or problem asked in the lab.
The answer can be located in this section. This section is also used to list any recommendations.

4. Appendices
This section contains information regarding calculations, references, and the raw data.

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 Laboratory Grade Sheet: Informal (Short) Report (CEE 302)

Section________ Group _____ Lab ____________ Grade _______

Technical Content (90%) Presentation (6%)

Style………………………………..(2)_______
Introduction……………………... .(10)_______ Tense; Objectivity; Logic; Interest;
Background; Theory; Definitions; Motivation; Conciseness; Clarity
Objectives; Interest
Mechanics………………………….(2)_______
Results and Discussion………...….(70)_______ Spelling; Typing; Punctuation; Grammar;

Data; Accuracy; Tables and Graphs; Text; Construction

Observations; Analysis; Comparisons; Expectations; Appearance………………………(2)_______

Implications; Organization; Logic; Completeness Fonts; Margins; Spacing; Layout;

Conclusions………………………..(10)_______ Neatness; Consistency

Statements; Basis; Completeness

Comments:

Appendix (4%)
Raw Data……………………………...________
Accuracy; Correctness

Graphs not used in the text……………________

Calculations not shown in the text…...________
References…………………………….________

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 Format for Engineering Letter Report
This format is used to report information at the completion of the following material study: High
Strength Concrete. The letter report format includes only the following sections: Introduction, Results and
Discussion, Conclusions, and Appendices.

1. Introduction
This section is about one page long. Any definitions and background literature are included in this
section. The importance of the experiments and topic of study in general is discussed. Additionally, the
principle objectives of the study are clearly stated.

2. Results and Discussion (Including Answers to Questions Posed in the Lab Manual)
Typically this is the longest section of your paper. This section is dominated not by raw data, but by a
summary and an analysis of the results of your testing. The data are usually shown in tables and graphs;
and you must describe in the text what is in each table and graph. Only show data here that you discuss in
the section. Data that are not directly cited in this section should be included in an appendix rather than in
the results and discussion section.
Describe what you found out in the lab. Describe any problems encountered and discuss how to
avoid those problems in the future. Discuss the meaning of the findings from the laboratory exercise(s),
and also address any issues and questions posed in the lab manual.

3. Conclusions
Primary conclusions that you reach from your discussion are located in this section. Primary conclusions
are often given in a bullet list. In some cases there may have been a question or problem asked in the lab.
The answer can be located in this section. This section is also used to list any recommendations.

4. Appendices
This section contains information regarding calculations, references, and the raw data.

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