Ain Shams University,

Faculty of Engineering
Structural Engineering Department
Fall 2020
CES 251: Concrete Technology I

Hardened Concrete
1- What is the property of hardened concrete that can be set to express some
other properties of concrete for which no specific measurement methods are
available? Classify hardened concrete according to these property values.
2- Does the compressive strength of concrete change by using cubic,
cylindrical, and prismatic samples to measure it? Why is that?
3- State the objectives of determining the compressive strength of concrete after
7 days and after 28 days from the date of pouring?
4- Explain the compression test in terms of the following:
- How to prepare samples in the site and laboratory
- Test procedure
- Mode of failure
- Precautions to be taken into account when sending prepared samples
from the site to the laboratory
- Loading rate
- The tolerance in concrete age difference when performing the test
5- A 15 x 15 x 15 cm Cubic compression test specimens were prepared from
different mixes with different w/c ratios, and the failure loads were as
follows:
w/c ratio 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.60 0.70

Failure 7 days 540 470 400 340 280

load (KN) 28 days 800 700 610 560 450
- Draw the relation between w/c and concrete compressive strength after 7
days and after 28 days
- Draw the relation between compressive strength after 7 days and
compressive strength after 28 days
- Discuss the effect of w/c on tested concrete compressive strength
1/4
 Ain Shams University,
Faculty of Engineering
Structural Engineering Department
Fall 2020
CES 251: Concrete Technology I

At w/c = 0.5 determine the value of the expected failure load after 28 days
if the tested specimen is a cylinder with dimensions of 10x20 cm
6- What are the factors that affect concrete compressive strength?
7- Explain the effect of moisture content of tested specimens on the test results
of concrete compressive strength?
8- Draw the relationship between:
- Concrete Porosity & Concrete Compressive Strength
- W/C ratio & Concrete Compressive Strength, at hand compaction and
dynamic compaction
- Degree of compaction & Concrete Compressive Strength
- Age of concrete & Concrete Compressive Strength for various types of
portland cement
- Duration of wet curing in concrete hardening stage & Concrete
Compressive Strength
- Concrete Compressive Strength with varying duration and temperature
of concrete curing
- SSA of all-in aggregates & Concrete Compressive Strength
9- What is the importance of conducting the tensile test for hardened concrete?
do the standard specifications state that it should be carried out?
10- Explain how to perform an indirect tensile test on concrete, showing the
expected failure shape and the stress distribution on the failure plane?
11- What is the relationship between the compressive strength of the hardened
concrete and its tensile strength?
12- State the effect of each of (NMS), impurities on the aggregate surface, and
the moisture content of concrete on the tensile strength of the hardened
concrete

2/4
 Ain Shams University,
Faculty of Engineering
Structural Engineering Department
Fall 2020
CES 251: Concrete Technology I

13- Explain how to perform a bending test for a hardened concrete beam. What
are the results obtained from this test? What were the failure shape and their
reason?
14- What are the different methods for determining the shear strength of
concrete?
15- Does concrete's tensile strength express its shear strength? Explain that.
16- Explain how to overcome the weakness of concrete in the diagonal tension
caused by shearing of the reinforced concrete beams
17- What is the origin of the bond strength between steel reinforcement and
concrete (in the case of smooth and ribbed bars)?
18- State using sketches the different methods of testing bond strength between
concrete and reinforcing steel, with an indication of the best method for
performing this test.
19- Mention the reason for increased bond strength between hardened concrete
and rebar as a result of:
- Increase the cement content
- The change in position of bars from vertical to horizontal position.
- Using ribbed bars
- Increase in embedment length
20- The pull-out test was performed for a 10 mm rebar from a cylindrical
specimen with dimensions of 150 x 300 mm and the value of failure load
was equal to 5.0 KN, determine the value of bond strength between concrete
and rebar, then sketch the distribution of the bond stresses along the rebar
embedment length, showing the following:
- The calculated resistance value for the specimen
- Zero stress point on the embedment rebar surface

3/4
 Ain Shams University,
Faculty of Engineering
Structural Engineering Department
Fall 2020
CES 251: Concrete Technology I

21- When pouring reinforced concrete, concrete cubes were cast, the curing
temperature of the concrete and the cubes was 23 Oc. The cubes were tested
at age of 3, 7 days and the average compressive strength was 10, 16 N/mm2,
respectively. State the curing time required to reach strength to 20 N/mm2.
State how to reduce the curing time required to reach the required strength.
22- Standard concrete specimens cured for 7 days at 25Oc and the compressive
strength was 18 N/mm2, and other standard specimens of the same concrete
were cured for 7 days at 40Oc and the compressive strength was 22 N/mm2,
required:
a) Find the compressive strength of specimens of the same previous
concrete cured for 3 days at 60°C
b) Find the missing time (x hours) in the steam curing cycle (for precast
units) shown in the figure for the previse concrete to reach a compressive
strength = 25 N/mm2 at the end of the curing period.

4/4