Effective Tools Used To Test Your Building Strength

The type of tools you will need to test the concrete structure largely depends on the types of tests or evaluations you need to meet building standards and follow common construction practices.

The following are some of the most common testing ways used by testing services, engineering firms, developers, and builders whenever building or testing:

•    The Rebound Hammer Test – This test is performed to estimate the compressive strength of concrete using a rebound hammer. The rebound produced by aspring-loaded mass depends on how hard the stricken surface is. When the plunger of a rebound hammer is pressed against concrete, the mass, which is spring-controlled, rebounds—the extent of which depends on the hardness of the surface. The rebound value is taken and read from a graduated scale designated as the rebound index. This can be read directly from a graph on the body of the rebound hammer.

•    The Core Cutting Test – This test is a partially destructive test on concrete, often used to correlate its different properties vis-a-vis UPV, rebound number, electrical resistivity, etc. Testers often take 4-inch diameter cores to determine compressive strength. The conversion of core strength depends on various factors like the effect of coring, the core’s shape, size effect, H/D ration, and the direction of coring in relation to the place of the concrete.

•    Concrete Testing – Concrete testing is done in a wide variety of ways, ranging from design mixing to chloride content testing, chloride permeability rating, chloride binding, cube compressive strength testing, ultrasonic surveys, depth of carbonation, drying shrinkage or wetting expansion tests, flexural strength tests, porosity and water absorption tests, as well as sulphate content tests, all of which require specialized equipment to perform.