Modulus of Elasticity and

Poisson Ratio of Concrete

Benjie Cho and Mulugojam Alemu

Undergraduate Civil Engineering
Univ.. of Southern California
Objective
Find the Modulus of Elasticity of Concrete
Find Poissons Ratio of Concrete
Introduction
Compressive Strength of Concrete
Standardardized test of concrete
American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM)
Specifications include
Correct mix

Properly affixing strain gauges

Properly capping the cylinder with sulfur

Procedure
Select (5) 4in diameter by 12in length
concrete with 28-day age with 4 ksi design
strength.
Cap all the bearing surfaces with sulfur to
make the end flat.
Mark area where strain gauges will be
attached.
Clean area with chemical cleaners and
sand paper.
Procedure
Affix strain gauges on their designated area,
one vertical and one horizontal, using glue.
Attach wire to strain gauges by soldering.
Test voltage of the strain gauges.
Place and center samples on the Satec
Universal Testing Machine.
Connect the wires to the P3500 strain
indicator, which in turn is connected to a
computer for recording.
Procedure
Set gauge factor to 2.055 +/- .5% and zero
the strain readings.
Begin loading the specimens and record
values of strain for given loads.
Continue testing until failure of the
specimen.
Organizing the data
Compute the stress by dividing the load
by the cross-sectional area.
Graph the strength against the vertical
and horizontal strains of each specimen.
Find values for the Youngs Modulus and
Poissons ratio from the data.
Calculate the theoretical values the
Youngs Modulus and Poissons ratio.
Calculation procedures
Youngs Modulus
E=(s1-s2)/(e2-.000005)
s1=The stress corresponding to the longitudinal
strain of 50 micro strain.
s2=The stress corresponding to .4f c.
E2=The longitudinal strain corresponding to s2.
Based on ASTM C 469

Poissons Ratio
n=(Lateral Strain)/(Longitudinal Strain)
Example
S2= 2088.9396 psi E = (2088.9396-150.63)/ (962-50) = 2.06E
S1= 150.63 psi
emicro strain

Cylinder #1
6000
Stress (psi)

4000
Horizont Vertical strain

2000 0.4fc'

E
0
-1000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Strain (10E-6)
Cylinder #2
Cylinder #2

6000

5000 Horizontal Strain

Vertical strain
Stress (psi)

4000
0.4fc'
3000

2000

1000

0
-500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Strain (10E-6)
Cylinder #3
Cylinder #3

6000
5000
Horizontal Strain
4000
Stress (psi)

3000 0.4 f 'c

2000
Vertical Strain
1000
0
-500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
-1000
Strain (10E-6)
Cylinder #4
Cylinder #4
5000
Stress (psi)

4000 Horizontal strain

3000 0.4fc'
Vertical strain

2000 0.4 Vertical

1000
0
-500 500 1500 Strain (10E-6)
2500 3500
Cylinder #5
Cylinder #5

5000
4500
4000
3500 Horizontal Strain
Stress (psi)

3000
2500 0.4 fc'
2000 'c Vertical Strain
1500
1000
500
0
-1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Strain (10E-6)
Selected Values of Stress
and Strain
Cylinder #1
Stress (psi) Strain (lat.) Strain (long.) Poisson's
1006.764 6 440 0.013825
2004.217 -11 947 0.013640
3010.265 -20 1462 0.136800
4007.719 -100 2014 0.049460
5221.214 -222 3367 0.065930
Avg. Peak Stress (f 'c) Theoretical E Experimental E
Poisson
6 6
0.055931 5221.214 4.1187 x 10 2.0617 x 10
Cylinder #2
Stress (psi) Strain (lat.) Strain (long.) Poisson's
2000.971 -107.8 438.3 0.245950
1007.369 -39 134.4 0.290179
3011.682 -167.9 800.8 0.136800
4005.205 -191.4 1188.3 0.049460
5077.349 -8.6 1938.9 0.065930
Avg. Peak Stress (f 'c) Theoretical E Experimental E
Poisson
6 6
0.1576638 5077.349 4.0615 x 10 3.36506x 10
Selected Values of Stress
and Strain
Cylinder #3
Stress (psi) Strain (lat.) Strain (long.) Poisson's
1002.117 -50 303.1 0.16496
2011.475 -107 705.0 0.15167
3005.714 -162.5 108.6 0.14658
4003.931 -190.6 1538.3 0.12390
5218.121 -199.2 2196.1 0.09071
Avg. Peak Stress (f 'c) Theoretical E Experimental E
Poisson
6 6
0.135564 5218.121 4.11748 x 10 2.84697 x 10
Cylinder #4
Stress (psi) Strain (lat.) Strain (long.) Poisson's
1002.117 -64.8 414.1 0.15648
2007.574 -145.3 880.5 0.16502
3005.714 -246.1 1403.1 0.17540
4460.386 -185.9 2405.5 0.07728
Avg. Peak Stress (f 'c) Theoretical E Experimental E
Poisson
6 6
0.114836 4460.386 3.8068 x 10 2.295322 x 10
Data
Cylinder #5
Stress (psi) Strain (lat.) Strain (long.) Poisson's
1000.207 -60.2 421.1 0.14296
2010.281 -116.4 825 0.14109
3003.804 -125.8 1244.6 0.10108
4616.358 -709.4 2470.3 0.28717
Avg. Peak Stress (f 'c) Theoretical E Experimental E
Poisson
6 6
0.134460 4616.358 3.8728 x 10 2.434146 x 10
Conclusion
All specimens performed under the
theorectical values of E.
Average E= 2.60E6 psi
Average Poisson Ratio= .119691
Conclusion
Concrete performed to design
specifications.
E= 1.5 - 5 ksi
n= .1
Xiao, Yan. Experimental Analysis of Engineering Materials.
University of Southern California lecture notes 2002.