Quality Assurance, Quality Control

(QA/QC)
and
Concrete Tests
 Quality Assurance And Quality Control (QA/QC)

Quality Assurance (QA)

The Maintenance of a desired level of quality in a service
or product, especially by means of attention to every stage of the
process of delivery or production

Quality Control (QC)

The operational techniques & activities of maintaining
standards and fulfill consumer expectations.

The Difference Between QA and QC

The difference is that QA is process oriented and QC is
product oriented. Testing, therefore is product oriented and thus in
the QC domain. Testing for quality is not assuring quality, it is
controlling it. QA makes sure you are doing the right things, the
right way.
 Project Quality Plan (PQP)

PQP is a Project Specific Quality Plan that describes the activities,

standards, tools and processes necessary to achieve quality in the
delivery of a project.

The main purpose is to describe the necessary information required to

effectively manage project quality from project planning to delivery,
comprising quality objectives in the project, roles and responsibilities
and the Quality Management approach to ensure that the quality
objectives are achieved.
 Inspection & Test Plan (ITP)

ITP is a document detailing a systematic approach to testing a system

or product or material such as visual inspection, dimension inspection,
welding inspection, concrete quality test, rebar quality test, etc..

It is a quality control document that records and controls all inspection

and testing requirements relevant to the sub-contract or process. This
plan is often required in construction contracts and should list out the
various stages of work and show when to conduct test and inspection
and which parties should be involved. The plan should propose hold or
witness points at inspection and recommend permission to proceed
upon approval.

A hold/witness point defines a checkpoint which requires the successful

completion and approval of inspection or test before work can proceed.
 Construction (QA/QC)

(1) Reinforced Concrete Structure

(2) Steel Structure

(1) Reinforced Concrete Structure

(a) Concrete
(b) Rebar/Steel
Testing Of Concrete Ingredient Materials
Cement
- Fineness Test
- Standard Consistency Test
- Setting Time Test
- Soundness Test
- Strength Test
- Heat of Hydration Test
- Specific Gravity Test

Fine Aggregate
- Surface Moisture Content & Absorption Test
- Silt Content Test
- Sieve Analysis Test
- Fineness Modulus Test
- Bulking of Sand Test

Coarse Aggregate
- Absorption Test
- Abrasion Resistance Test
- Soundness Test
 Testing Of Concrete Ingredient Materials (Continued)

Water
- pH Value Test (WHO Standard for Potable Water = 6 to 8.5)
- Percentage of Solids
(a) Chlorides (<2000 mg/l for PC & <500 mg/l for RC)
(b) Sulphates (<400 mg/l)
(c) Suspended Matter (<2000 mg/l)
(d) Inorganic Solids (<3000 mg/l)
(e) Organic Solids (<200 mg/l)

Admixtures
- Information on miscellaneous admixtures is scant so that
they are not covered by national standards. But, useful information is
given in the guide of ACI Committee 212.3R.
- A great numbers of proprietary products are available: their
desirable effects are described by the manufacturers but some other
effects may not be know
Testing Of Concrete

Before/During Concreting (Fresh Concrete)

- Concrete Mix Design
- Concrete Trial Mix
- Workability Test (Slump Test)
- Workability Test (Flow Table Test)

After Concreting (Hardened Concrete)

- Compressive Strength Test (7 days, 14 days, 28 days)
- Rebound Hammer Test
- Windsor Probe Test
- Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) Test
- Coring
Concrete Mix Design

- Concrete Mix Design is the process of selecting suitable ingredients of

concrete (cement, sand, coarse aggregate, water, admixture and so on)
and determining their relative proportions with the object of producing
concrete of required minimum design strength & durability as economically
as possible.
- Design of concrete mix requires complete knowledge of the various
properties of constituent materials (cement, sand, coarse aggregate,
admixtures and so on) and properties of concrete in plastic condition. It
also needs wider knowledge and experience of concreting.

Concrete Trial Mix

- The purpose is enable to check the strength, workability, density and

other properties of concrete. Trial mixes are often taken when new
materials or admixtures are to be used.
Workability Test -Slump Test
Purpose
 To determine slump of plastic hydraulic-cement concretes
 To determine consistency and workability of fresh concrete

ASTM Standard
 ASTM C143 for maximum aggregate size 1.5” (37.5mm)
 Not applicable for Non Plastic Concrete (Slump Less than 0.5”)
(15mm) (Need to do Vebe Test) and Non Cohesive Concrete
( Slump greater than 9”) (230mm) (Need to Do Flow Test)
Principle
1 2
 Measurement of concrete
drop in vertically due to its
own weight under the
gravitational force.

4
Apparatus Needed
1) Slump Cone
2) Tamping Rod
3) Waterproof Base Plate
5
4) Trowel or Scoop
3
5) Measuring Tape
Procedure
 Place the slump cone on cleaned water proof base plate
 Cone dimension must be as per following slide of fig-1
 Place volume of slump mold fills in the cone in three layers and
each approximately one third of the volume of the mould
 Rod each layer with 25 strokes of the tamping rod (16 mm Diameter,
600 mm long)
 Remove the mold from the concrete
 Determine the slump by using the vertical difference between the
top of the mould and the displaced original center of the top of the
specimen
Description with figure of Slump Cone Detail
and Slump Test Procedure

Fig‐1  Slump Cone Detail

Fig‐2  Slump Test  
Procedure
Types of Slump
It can be classified as per following types from slump tests
 Collapse Slump
Too wet or high workability

 Shear Slump
Lack of cohesion of the mix

 True Slump
Maintain the mould shape without collapse and/or
shear, most desirable one.
Essential Knowledge of Onsite and Laboratory Tests

Slump Test
Workability Tests –Flow Table Test
Purposes
 To determine consistency and workability of fresh concrete
 Used for High Workability Concrete (with a slump more than
175mm), when rebars are very congested.
BS Standard
 BS EN 12350-5
Tools Needed
 700mm Square Flat Table with hinged to a rigid base
 Slump Cone
 Tamping Rod
Procedures
 Place the slump cone in the center of plate which has been cleaned
 Place volume of slump mold fills in the cone with two layers
 Compact each layer 10 times by using the tamping rod
 Wait for 30 seconds
 Lift up the core to flow concrete
 Top Plate is lifted with the attached handle a distance of 40mm and
then dropped a total of 15 times
 Flow Value of concrete is measured by taking the average of the
maximum diameter of the pool of concrete and its perpendicular
diameter
 Pool of Concrete more than 600 mm in diameter, can be segregate.
Description with figure of Flow Table Detail and
Measuring Diameter

Fig‐3  Flow Table Apparatus Fig‐4  Lifting the Top Plate

Fig‐5  Measuring the Diameter
Essential Knowledge of Onsite and Laboratory Tests

Flow Table Test

Workability Tests – Vebe Test
Purposes
 To determine consistency and workability of fresh concrete
 Used for Very Low Workability Concrete (with a slump less than 50 mm)
ASTM Standard
 C 1170
Tools Needed
 Vibrating Table
 A Transparent Horizontal Disc Attached to a Rod which Slides Vertically
 Slump Cone (Same as Slump Test)
 Tamping Rod
 Cylindrical Container (D= 240 mm, H= 200 mm)
 Stop Watch
Procedures

 Clean the mold and container, dry it, grease it

 Place the slump cone concentrically in the container
 Fill the mold with concrete mix in four layers
 Compact each layer 25 times by using the tamping rod
 Lift up the mold and the slump value is measured
 The transparent disk is placed on the concrete mix in the cone
 The vibrating table is started as the timing did by using stop watch
 The timing shall stop and recorded in seconds (Vebe seconds) when
the transparent disk is totally covered with concrete and all the
cavities in the mix are disappeared
Vebe Apparatus
 Workability Of Concrete Accordingly to Vebe Time (S)

Workability Discription Vebe Time (s)

Extra Dry 32‐18
Very Stiff 18‐10
Stiff 10‐5
Stiff Plastic 5‐3
Plastic 3‐0
Flowing ‐
Vebe Consistometer Test
 Compressive Strength Test
1. Cube Test
2. Cylinder Test

Cube Test
Purpose
 Determine concrete compressive strength whether it meets
design requirement or not

Sampling Frequency (Ref: CQHP Guidelines)

 Once each day for every classes of concrete placed
 Once for each 50m3 of every classes of concrete placed
Number of Samples
 6 samples for each 50m3, 2 samples from each randomly
chosen truck

Standard
BS EN 12390 – 2

Making Sample Cubes

 150 x 150 x 150 mm Mould
 Check the moulds clean or not
 Fill the mould with concrete with equal layers of 50 mm depth
Making Samples Cubes (Cont’d)
 Numbers of strokes per layer – 35 Strokes
 Remove surplus concrete and smooth over the top surface
 Clean the mould edges
 Numbering System – for record and not to be easily damaged
 Leave the test specimens in the mould at least 16 hours and not
longer than 3 days

Samples Storage
 After removal from the mould, cure the test specimens till
immediately before testing in water of 20°C ± 2°C
Strength Testing (Ref: CQHP Guidelines)
 At least 2 samples are to
be tested for 7 Day Strength
 At least 2 samples are to
be tested for 28 Day Strength
 If the results of the two 7 Day
strength tests are not consistent or not satisfied, another pair of
samples are to be tested for 14-Day Strength
 If the results of two 28-Day strength tests are not consistent
or not satisfied, the remaining samples are to be tested
(%) Achievement of Concrete Strength Accordingly to the Age
 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests - Rebound Hammer Test

 Rebound principle consist of measuring the rebound of a spring driven

hammer mass after its impact with concrete
 Non Destructive Testing
 To determine the compressive strength
 Relation between the strength of concrete and the rebound number of
hammer
 Easy to use for most field applications
 Surface condition, presence of rebar, presence of sub-surface voids
can affect the test results
Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests - Rebound Hammer Test

Standard
 ASTM C805

Tool
 Rebound Hammer Tool consisting of a spring-loaded steel hammer
with a steel plunger in contact with the concrete surface.
Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests - Rebound Hammer Test

Procedure
 Check/Make sure calibration certificate is valid.
 Select the test surface which shall be at least 100mm (4 in)
thickness concrete members, no honeycomb and no porous surface.
 Prepare the test surface – test area shall be at least 150mm (6 in)
in diameter, surfaces with loose mortar shall be ground with the
abrasive stone to be smooth and it is not necessary for smooth
surfaces.
 Hold the instrument firmly with the position of plunger is
perpendicular to the test surface.
 Gradually push the instrument toward the test surface until the
hammer impacts.
Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests - Rebound Hammer Test

Procedure (Cont’d)
 After impact, maintain pressure of the instrument to lock the
plunger in its retracted position.
 Estimate the rebound number on the scale to the nearest whole
number and record.
 Distance between two impact tests > 25 mm (1 in).
 For each test, ten readings shall be taken.
 Find the mean and check that each reading didn’t exceed 6 units
difference from the mean reading.
 Omit (+/- 6) units difference among ten readings, then taken mean
value after omitting the reading which is deviated.
Rebound Hammer Apparatus and Testing Positions
Essential Knowledge of Onsite and Laboratory Tests

Rebound Hammer Test

Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity
(UPV) Test

Objective
 To determine the pulse velocity, crack depth and compressive strength
of concrete.

Standard
 ASTM C597

Apparatus
 (PUNDIT Lab) Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity instrument.
 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – UPV Test

Procedure
 Check/Make sure calibration certificate is valid.
 Apply little amount of grease to the two transducer faces.
 Use the reference bar to check and adjust the time reading on the
instrument to be the same as the calibration number on the bar.
 Press the transducers hardly onto the concrete opposite surfaces
and hold for a while to allow readings to be taken, wait until a
consistent reading appears on the display screen of the instrument.
 Record the stable reading which is the time (T) in microseconds
(µs) for the ultrasonic pulse to travel the path length and pulse
velocity (V) in m/s.
 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – UPV Test

Procedure
 When the pulse velocity is known, it is easy to determine the
compressive strength of concrete by using the graph.

Relationship between the pulse velocity and compressive strength of concrete

 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – UPV Test

1. Direct Measurement

2. Semi-direct Measurement

3. Indirect Measurement
How does UPV System work
 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – UPV Test

1. Direct Measurement
2. Semi-direct Measurementv
Quality of concrete known by using UPV Test

3. Indirect Measurement
 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – UPV Test

Crack Depth Measurement On Structural Member

 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – UPV Test

Crack Depth Measurement On Structural Member

Sample display screen of crack depth

measurement by using TICO and Proceq
products
 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – UPV Test

Crack Depth Measurement

 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – Windsor Probe Test

Objective
 To determine the compressive strength of concrete by penetration
into the concrete structural member (Semi destructive Method).

Standard
 ASTM C803

Apparatus
 Windsor Probe (Penetration Resistant) Testing Unit.
Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – Windsor Probe Test

Procedure
 Calibration of the Windsor probe is best done by obtaining and
testing a concrete core/cube from a structure being
investigated.
 Make sure the concrete surface clean, flat and smooth.
 Insert the probe into the gun.
 Place the gun to the required testing area of concrete member
and pull the trigger holding firmly.
 Measure and record the length of the probe from surface of
tested member .
 Obtain the compressive strength of concrete from the graph.
Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – Windsor Probe Test

Relation between exposed probe length to compressive strength

 Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – Windsor Probe Test

Testing Units Probes

Testing in progress Measuring the exposed probe length

Hardened Concrete Onsite Tests – Windsor Probe Test
Windsor Probe/Penetration Test
Coring/Extraction of core sample from existing structures

Objective
 To determine the compressive strength, carbonation depth,
splitting tensile and flexural strength of concrete by
extraction of cores from existing concrete structure.
(Destructive Method)

Standard
 ASTM C-42/C-42M-18

Apparatus
 Coring Machine, Diamond Bit and Accessories.
Coring Procedures
 Drilled perpendicular to the surface and not near formed joints
 Drilled cores diameter for Compressive strength tests – at lest
3.75 in (95mm)
 Diameter of cores prefer to have at least three times the
nominal maximum size of coarse aggregate used in the
concrete
 Core should be preferably for H/D ratio of 2.
 For values of H/D between 1 and 2, correction factor has to be
applied
Sampling for strength tests
 Cores samples that have not been damaged during removal
 Cores samples must have length at two times of its diameter
(If not able to achieve, factors which are refer to the next slide table)
 Cores samples have no defective or damaged concrete
 Cores samples of hardened concrete which it is not still strong
enough
 Cores Samples which shall not be included reinforcing steel
 Needed three cores at least for strength determination
Correction Factor
Coring Machine and It’s Accessories
Coring/Extraction of Cores Sample
 San Kyu

Consultant Engineer
B.E (Civil)(RIT), M.Engg: (Structure)(AIT)
P.E (Construction) (Registration # 0043), F.MES,
ACPE (Civil), ASEAN Engineer Register (AER),
M.ASCE (Member of American Society of Civil Engineers)

Mobile: 09-5052200, 09-975052200, 09-775052200, 09695052200

Email: [email protected]