Submitted by:

M.Sc. Student
KAMIRAN MOHAMMED SADIQ HAJI

Report No.: 1
Report about:
Rebound Hammer test
Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................
Objects.......................................................................................
Apparatus...................................................................................
Calibration..............................................................................
Testing of a structure..............................................................
Factors influencing the results...............................................
References................................................................................

Introduction
A Rebound hammer, also known as a Swiss hammer or a rebound hammer, is a
device to measure the elastic properties or strength of concrete or rock, mainly
surface hardness & penetration resistance.
A handy non-destructive testing instrument should be cheap, easy to operate &
should have reproducibility for, fairly accurate results. In 1948, a Swiss Engineer,
Ernst Rebound developed a test hammer for measuring the hardness of concrete
by the rebound principle.
It was invented by Ernst Rebound, a Swiss engineer. The Rebound hammer is
distributed by Proceq & TQC worldwide.
The standard method of determining strength of hardened concrete consists of
testing concrete cubes in compression. The quality of entire concrete of a
structure cannot be fully assessed by testing a few concrete cubes. The results
obtained in testing cubes do not always reflect the actual strength of concrete in
construction. In a whole day, concreting work cubes are cast in a few batches, the
differences (unintentional & intentional) in the composition are not uncommon,
their compaction & their hardening conditions always differ more or less from
those of the structure. In addition, the number of test cubes is generally so small
that they can only be considered as random tests. Sometimes, in case of failure of
cubes, doubtful concrete, cracks, deterioration of concrete, etc. it becomes
necessary to assess the quality & strength of concrete of the structure. As far back
as early thirties, the necessity was felt to develop instruments by which in-situ
strength of concrete may be obtained. Various non-destructive methods of
testing concrete have been developed, which include, Firing method,
Skramtayevs method, Polakovs method, Magnitostroy method, Fizdel ball
hammer, Einbeck pendulum hammer, Ball indentation hammer, Rebound
hammer, Pull out techniques, Windsor probe, Ultrasonic pulse velocity methods,
Radioactive & nuclear methods, Magnetic & electrical methods. In all these
methods of tests, due to simplicity, rebound hammer test based on surface
hardness becomes most popular in the world for non-destructive testing of in-
situ concrete.

Objects
a) The Rebound hammer method could be used for (IS: 13311 Part 2-1992):
assessing the likely compressive strength of concrete with the help of
suitable co-relations between rebound index and compressive strength.

b) Assessing the uniformity of concrete.

c) Assessing the quality of the concrete in relation to standard requirements.

d) Assessing the quality of one element of concrete in relation to another.

Note:
The Rebound hammer method can be used with greater confidence for
differentiating between the questionable and acceptable parts of a structure or
for relative comparison between two different structures.
Apparatus
Operational Principle
The SH consists of a spring-loaded piston which is released when the plunger is
pressed against a surface (Fig. 1). The impact of the piston onto the plunger
transfers the energy to the material. The extent to which this energy is recovered
depends on the hardness (or impact penetration/damage resistance) of the
material, which is expressed as a percentage of the maximum stretched length of
the key spring before the release of the piston to its length after the rebound.
Calibration
Each hammer is furnished with a calibration chart supplied by the manufacturer.
This calibration chart can be used only when material and testing conditions are
similar to those in effect when the calibration of the instrument was carried out.
Each hammer varies considerably in performance & needs calibration for use on
concrete made with aggregates produced from a specific source. A practical
procedure for calibration of the hammer for use on a job in progress is outlined
below:

Prepare a number of cubes covering the strength to be encountered on the job.

Use the same cement & aggregates as are to be used on the job. The cubes should
be preferably as large a mass as possible in order to minimize the size effect on
the test results of a full scale structure. 150 mm cube specimens are preferred.
The cube size must be increased with the increase of hammer impact energy. For
hammer impact energy of 0.225 kgm, 150 mm cubes size will be quite sufficient,
but for hammer of 3 kgm impact energy the cube size shall not be less than 300
mm.
The cubes shall be cast & cured as laid down in IS: 516:1959.
After the curing period the cubes should be removed from wet storage to the
laboratory atmosphere for about 24 hours before testing. It may be noted that
the strength of wet-tested cubes will be normally 10% lower than that of dry
tested cubes.
After cleaning the faces of the cubes they should be gripped in the compression
testing machine under a load of 7 N/mm2 (15.75 Tonnes for 150 mm cubes),
when the impact energy of the hammer is about 2.2 Nm. The load should be
increased for calibration rebound hammer of greater impact energy & decreased
for caliberating rebound hammer of lesser impact energy.
Atleast nine hammer readings should be taken on each of the two vertical faces
accessible in the compression testing machine. The points of impact on the
specimen should not be nearer on edge than 20 mm & should be not less than 20
mm from each other. The same points must not be impacted more than once.
Immediately after taking the hammer readings, the cube should be tested to its
ultimate load.
Repeat this procedure for all cubes.

After discarding the extreme values, average the reading of all the individual
cubes & call this the rebound number.
 The values of rebound numbers & cube compressive strength should be plotted
by fitting a curve or line by method of least squares.
The accuracy of the hammer reproducibility should be ascertained from time to
time using a standard anvil, particularly before the testing of structure.
Calibration is an important stage in the use of every apparatus. The errors of the
apparatus & the accuracy in determining the strength of concrete by non-
destructive methods depend on proper calibration. Calibration should, therefore,
be carried out with great care & on a larger number of specimens. It is interesting
to note that 700 to 1000 tests are needed to plot calibration curves for rebound
hammer.

Fig. A gives calibration curve of Test Hammer. The cubes were cast with OPC 43
grade river sand of Zone II & 20 mm graded crushed aggregate. The cubes were
wet cured for 28 days, & then tested in SSD & room dry condition (dried for 24
hours prior to testing at room temperature).
Testing of a structure
A concrete test hammer of impact energy of 2.207 N.m (0.225 kgm) is quite
suitable for testing concrete in ordinary building and bridge construction. The
procedure for testing a concrete structure is given below:

All members and points of a concrete structure selected for testing should be
marked for identification, they should also be in dry condition.

Testing should be conducted on surfaces that are smooth & uniform, preferably
surfaces created by casting against a form. Avoid rough spots, hony-comb or
porous areas. Free or trowelled surface may also be satisfactory if appropriate
corrections are applied or a special calibration is prepared. If loosely adhering
scale, plaster work or coating is present, this should be rubbed off with a grinding
wheel or stone.

For concrete section less than 100 mm thick, the rebound of the hammer will be
affected by the elastic deformation of the section, & it should be backed up by a
heavy mass placed on the back side.

At each of selected points, made smooth & clean, take six rebound readings. For
each reading shift the hammer 25 mm & take care not to rebound the same spot
twice. The point of impact should be at least 20 mm away from any edge or sharp
discontinuity. Small air pockets near the surface under the point of impact cause
low rebound, on the other hand, immediately over a hard aggregate the impact
will result in a high rebound.

Note: Manufacturer of Rebound hammer recommend at selected points 5 or

better 10 impact reading. BS: 4408; Part 4: 1971 specified at least 9 valid reading
& not more than 25. It is normally better to confine the readings of a test (9 to 25
readings) to an area not exceeding about 300 mm x 300 mm rather than to carry
out random testing extending over the whole structure or unit. Revised CPWD
specifications 2002 specified the result should be the average of at least 12
readings. IS: 13311 (Part 2)-1992 specified around each point 6 readings. ASTM-
C805 required 10 readings to be taken.
 The usual directions of test are either horizontal or vertically down, but any
direction of test can be used a long as it is consistent. Calibration or corrections
for a given direction of test are supplied with the hammer or can be derived.

The rebound values usually are considered reliable when at least six readings
deviate not more than +2.5 to 3.5 on the impact scale. The compressive strength
is then determined by taking average of rebound reading.

Compressive strength of the concrete can be determined from the relationship

between the rebound number & the strength given by the curve. For reliable
results the calibration curve shall be derived from the given set of materials &
conditions. If cubes are available from the structure to be tested, the hammer
should be checked first on Anvil then upon these cubes, if need be the hammer
should be adjusted accordingly & re-checked for satisfactory performance. If it is
found that hammer performance is doubtful, the hammer should be changed.
Factors influencing the results
A - Type of cement
Concrete made of high alumina cement can give strengths up to 100% higher,
whereas super sulphated cement concrete can give 50% lower strength compared
to a calibration obtained on Portland cement cubes. It is necessary to recalibrate
the hammer for different types of cement.

B - Type of aggregate
Gravel and most crushed rocks give similar correlations, but lightweight
aggregates and aggregates with unusual properties require special calibration.
Surface and internal moisture condition of the concrete

This method of testing is applied only on close textured concrete. Open texture
concrete typical of masonry blocks, `honeycombed concrete, or no fines concrete
cannot be tested using this method.

Trowelled and floated surfaces as in floors, are harder than molded surfaces and
in most cases will tend to overestimate the strength.

A wet surface will give rise to under-estimated of the strength of concrete

calibrated under dry conditions. This influence can be considerable and in
structural concrete it is about 10% lower on wet surfaces than on an equivalent
dry surface.

C - Age of concrete
In very old and dry concrete the surface will be harder than the interior, giving
rebound values somewhat higher than normal. New concrete with moist surface
generally has a relatively softer surface, resulting in lower than normal rebound.

D Carbonation of concrete surface

Surface carbonation of concrete significantly affect the rebound hammer test
results. In old concrete where the carbonation layer can be up to 20 mm thick,
the strength may be overestimated by 50%.Limits.

Testing concrete by test hammer has its own limitations. If all factors are taken
into consideration the strength of concrete in a structure may be determined
within an accuracy of +15%. The concrete test hammer is an excellent tool in the
hands of experts. The operation of the hammer is very simple, yet it is not so
simple as to entrust this tool to a raw hand for taking readings of a structure. Its
operation, calibration, taking readings of a concrete structure, analysis and
interpretation of the test data must always be carried out by specialists trained
for this purpose.
References
1. IS: 383-1970, Specification for coarse and fine aggregates from natural
sources for concrete (second revision).
2. IS: 456-2000 Plain & reinforced concrete Code of Practice (Fourth revision).
3. IS: 516-1959 Method of test for strength of concrete.
4. IS: 8112-1989, Specification for 43 grade ordinary Portland cement (first
revision).
5. IS: 13311 (Pat 2) - 1992, Methods of non-destructive testing of concrete
Rebound Hammer.
6. Revised CPWD Specifications, 2002 for Cement Mortar, Cement Concrete &
RCC Works.
7. BS 1881: Part 202-1986, Recommendations for surface hardness testing by
rebound hammer.
8. ASTM C805-85, Test for Rebound Number of Hardened Concrete.
9. Malhotra, V.M. Testing hardened concrete, Non-destructive methos,
Monograph 9, American, Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1976.
10. Zolness N.G. Calibration & use of Impact Test Hammer ACI Journal,
Proceeding V. 54, No. 2, Aug. 1957, pp. 161-165.
11. Akashi, T. & Amasaki, S., Study of the stress waves in the plunger of a
rebound hammer at the time of impact, Spec. publ. SP82-2, American
Concrete Institute Detroit, 1984, pp. 17-34.
12. Kolek, J., Non-destructive testing of concrete by hardness methods. In Non-
destructive Testing of Concrete Timber, Institution of Civil Engineers,
London, 1970, pp. 19-22.
13. Neville, A.M., Properties of Concrete (Fourth Edition) 1996, pp. 625-626.
14. IRC Special Report 17, 1996. State of the Art: Non-Destructive Testing
Techniques of Concrete Bridges.
15. Kishore Kaushal, Testing hardened concrete by surface hardness. Indian
Concrete Institute Bulletin No. 20, Spet. 1987, pp. 17-20.