VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

JNANA SANGAMA, BELAGAVI – 590 018, KARNATAKA, INDIA

PROJECT REPORT
Study on uncertainty of compressive
strength of medium strength concrete
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
IN

CIVIL ENGINEERING
Submitted By
Name USN
DHRUVA PRABHU AR 4VP20CV002
K BHAVISH V SUVARNA 4VP20CV003
MUNEESH 4VP21CV008

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

VIVEKANANDA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING &
TECHNOLOGY
[A Unit of Vivekananda Vidyavardhaka Sangha, Puttur (R)]
Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University and Approved by AICTE New Delhi & Govt. of Karnataka
Nehru Nagara, Puttur – 574 203, DK, Karnataka, India
TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUTION 3
2 LITERATURE REVIEW 4

3 OBJECTIVES 6
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INTRODUCTION

The assessment of concrete compressive strength can be achieved non-destructively through the determination of
rebound number and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV). Because of these approaches poor reproducibility, trueness
and Uni-axial compressive apparatus tests yield destructive results with a high degree of uncertainty. In order to
obtain a mean result with an acceptable level of uncertainty, the test must be repeated on several samples of different
water- cement ratio. In this experiment, cubical concrete specimens were subjected to a mixture of all three
procedures. Here each specimen underwent a 28-day curing period. Up to that point, every specimen was examine
using the three previously indicated methods.

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LITERATURE REVIEW 1

Stamatia Gavela (2 December 2023) done study on Uncertainty of concrete compressive strength
determination by a combination of Rebound Number, UPV and uniaxial compressive tests
on cubical concrete samples,
Rebound number (RN) and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) determination provide a non-destructive indirect
estimation of concrete compressive strength (CS). They have an extensive uncertainty, both due to limited
reproducibility and trueness of these methods. Tests on a uniaxial compressive apparatus generate a destructive
result, also with a relatively high uncertainty, which requires repeating this test on multiple samples to produce a
mean result with an acceptable uncertainty. In this work, a combination of all three methods was performed on
cubical concrete specimens. Three different mixes were designed, each corresponding to a different
assigned compressive strength. Six specimens were produced from each mix design, and each specimen was cured
for 28 days. During and until that time, each specimen was tested according to all three aforementioned methods.
Results were compared in pairs and factors related to equipment tolerance and operator variations were assessed.
Regression processes were applied to estimate optimized functions that predict compressive strength based on the
non-destructive RN and UPV measurements. Additionally, a function was estimated as the mean of all three
different test method results. Finally, a statistically significant multivariate function was established along with a
corresponding uncertainty budget. The result is a determination of compressive strength for cubical concrete
specimen with known, reduced uncertainty. These lower uncertainty limits enable achieving conformity assessment
for concrete compressive strength with minimized decision risk. The calibrated multivariate regression function in
combination with its resulting uncertainty intervals are expected to benefit constructors in their aim at interpreting
their measurement data to comply with the EN 206 quality control procedure and accredited laboratories to verify
the validity of their results by performing internal quality control.

LITERATURE REVIEW 2

Seyed Alireza Alav (14 December 2023),have done the study on “Development of a machine learning
model for on-site evaluation of concrete compressive strength by SonReb ” Coring or destructive
testing is typically the default choice for the evaluation of concrete compressive strength in reinforced concrete
(RC) structures. However, it can be impractical and/ or not representative of all areas of interest in a structure.
While various non-destructive test (NDT) methods can be correlated to concrete strength, the accuracy of any
single NDT used for this purpose is generally low. The SonReb method, which combines ultrasonic pulse velocity
readings and rebound number, has been shown to have improved accuracy over single test methods. However,
empirical SonReb equations, calibrated to specific datasets using regression analysis, cannot necessarily be
applied to concrete from other sources without introducing significant errors. This study presents a practical
machine learning (ML) model for on-site concrete strength prediction. A large database was created from
available literature along with new experimental test data. Three different ML models based on an adaptive neuro-
fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) were developed along with a graphical user interface application to facilitate its
use in the field. In addition to the ML models, linear and non-linear regression analyses were also conducted and

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compared with existing equations in the literature. The accuracy of each model was subsequently validated
against core samples extracted from a reinforced concrete slab. The results show that the proposed ML model
and non-linear regression provided the most reliable predictions of concrete strength of the validation specimen
with a mean absolute error of less than 10 % compared with twelve core samples. The findings suggest that ML
can be a potential tool to evaluate the in-place compressive strength of RC

LITERATURE REVIEW 3

S.A. Ayanlere (16 June 2023) done study on Effect of water cement ratio on bond strength of
concrete It is vital that reinforced concrete structures develop and maintain a high level of composite action to
achieve the purpose for which it is designed. This involves transfer of loads or stresses between concrete
and reinforcing steel otherwise known as bond. Studies have shown that bond strength is affected amongst other
factors, by grades of composite materials. There is paucity of information on influence of water-to-cement (w/c)
ratio on the bond strength of concrete. Water is often arbitrarily added to concrete mix to achieve a higher
workability at the construction site, it is therefore pertinent to determine the effect of w/c on bond strength of
concrete and this is the focus of this study. Sieve analysis was carried out on aggregates and for tests on concrete,
cubes and cylinders with reinforcing bars inserted were cast with w/c ratios of 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55 and 0.6 using
mix ratio of 1:2:4. Slump and compaction factor tests were performed on the fresh concrete to determine the
workability followed by the determination of compressive strengths of the concrete cubes at 7, 14, 21 and 28th
day while pull-out test on the hardened concrete cylinders was carried out at 28th day only. Sieve analysis results
showed that fine and coarse aggregates were uniformly graded; w/c ratios of 0.4, 0.45 and 0.5 gave low (stiff
mix) workability while those of 0.55 and 0.6 gave medium (plastic mix) workability for slump and compacting
factor tests. The compressive strength and the pull-out (bond) strength in N/mm2 at 28 day were (23.24, 5.11),
(20.31, 5.34), (18.22, 5.87), (16.76, 4.53) and (16.09, 3.81), respectively for w/c ratios of 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55 and
0.6. The results clearly showed that increase in w/c ratio increases workability and reduces compressive strength
and bond strength of concrete within the range of w/c ratios considered.

LITERATURE REVIEW 4

Aiping Yu at all (22 October 2023) have done the study on “Study on AE characteristics of concrete
with different w/c ratio under uniaxial compression” Using AE characteristic parameters, the failure
process of concrete specimens can be divided into three stages: the initial stage (OA), the stable stage (AB) and
the active stage (BC). There is a good correspondence between the variation trend of AE characteristic parameters
and the development of micro-cracks, which indicates that monitoring the failure process of concrete by AE
technology is helpful to understand the failure mechanism of concrete and evaluate the damage degree of
concrete,There is a significant correlation between AE impact count, peak frequency and damage stage. The
distribution frequency of AE impact counts showed an increasing trend. The OA phase has 2 bands, the AB phase
has 3 bands, and the BC phase has 5 bands. The phenomenon of increasing frequency band can be regarded as the

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precursor of main fracture of concrete specimen. The concrete damage evaluation model D established in this paper
based on AE cumulative ringing count and total energy is very consistent with the main stages of the concrete
failure process, and its slope change curve K has significant changes in different damage stages, so it is feasible to
use this model as the evaluation standard of compressive damage of concrete maThis paper is a preliminary
exploration of the relationship between concrete components and AE response, and the following aspects need to
be studied in the future. terials in engineerig

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Objectives:

To determine uncertainty of compressive strength of medium strength concrete by comparing the result of rebound
hammer, ultra sonic pulse velocity and uni-axial compressive tests on plain cement concrete specimen of different
water-cement ratio.

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Reference:

Aiping Yu a , Zhehan Chen a , Lu Zhang a , Xiuxin Li a , Jinxu Shi a , Feng Fu “Study on AE characteristics of
concrete with different w/c ratio under uniaxial compression” Grosse CU, Ohtsu M, Aggelis DG, et al. AE
Testing: Basics for Research – Applications in Engineering. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2022.

Grosse CU, Ohtsu M, Aggelis DG, et al. AE Testing: Basics for Research – Applications in Engineering. Cham:
Springer International Publishing; 2022. “Development of a machine learning model for on-site evaluation of
concrete compressive strength by SonReb” ACI Committee 228, 228.1R: In-Place Methods to Estimate Concrete
Strength, American Concrete Institute, 2019

Stamatia Gavela a, George Karydis b, George Papadakos , George Zois , Anastasia Sotiropoulou “Uncertainty of
concrete compressive strength determination by a combination of Rebound Number, UPV and uniaxial
compressive tests on cubical concrete samples” Factors influencing the performance of rebound hammer used for
non-destructive testing of concrete members: A review Case Stud. Constr. Mater.(2021)

S.A. Ayanlere , S.O. Ajamu , S.O. Odeyemi , O.E. Ajayi , M.A. Kareem “Effects of water-cement ratio on bond
strength of concrete”Bond strength between reinforcing steel and different types of concrete Procedia Eng.
(2017)

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