CE3410 - Construction Materials Laboratory

EXPERIMENT-1
(Group-II)
Narender
Roll No.: CE15B014
DATE: 17th Sept 2018

Objective:
To determine the soundness of a given cement Paste.

Apparatus:
a) Le Chatelier apparatus - It consists of a small split cylinder of spring brass of 0.5 mm
thickness, forming a mould 30mm internal diameter and 30mm high. On either side of the
split are attached two indicators with pointed ends AA the distance from these ends to the
centre of the cylinder being 165mm. The mould shall be kept in excellent condition with
the jaws more than 0.5mm apart.

b) Water bath
c) Measuring flask
d) Digital weighing balance
e) Scale
f) Weight
g) Glasses
h) Tray

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Material required:
Cement, Water

Theory:
One of the most critical properties of cement is its soundness. Unsoundness in cement is caused
by undue expansion of some of the constituents like free lime produced in the manufacturing
process of cement. Another possible case of unsoundness is the presence of too high a magnesia
content in the cement. As the cement absorbs moisture, free lime expands to many times its original
volume and develops considerable force when hydrated; its delayed hydration may readily disrupt
the mass. One advantage of slow setting cement is that more time is given to hydrate the lime
before the mass becomes rigid. In the soundness test, a specimen of hardened cement paste is
boiled for a fixed time so that any tendency to expand is speeded up and can be detected.

Procedure:
1. Take 100g of cement sample.
2. Prepare the cement paste by gauging cement with 0.78 times the water required to give
a paste of standard consistency about 38%.
3. Mix the water and cement for 3-5 minute.
4. Lightly oil the Le-chatelier mould and place it on a lightly oiled glass sheet and filled
with cement Paste.
5. The mould is then covered with another piece of the glass sheet, a small weight is
placed on this covering glass sheet, and the assembly is immediately submerged in
water at a temperature of 27ºC and kept there for 24 hours.
6. The distance separating the indicator points is measured, and the mould was again
submerged in water at the temperature prescribed above.
7. The water is then brought to boiling, with mould kept submerged for 25 to 30 minutes,
and is held there for three hours.
8. The mould is removed from the water, allowed to cool and the distance between the
indicator points is measured.
9. The difference between these two measurements is found and reported as the expansion
of cement.
Calculations:
 Normal consistency = 38 %
 Water required for soundness test = 0.38 x0 .78 x 100 = 29.64 ml
 Initial distance b/w clips after 24 hours of immersion in water = 16.5 mm
 Final distance after 3 hours of Immersion in water at boiling Temperature = 19.4 mm
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  Then expansion of cement = 2.9 mm

Result and Discussions:

 Expansion (soundness) of the cement obtained is 2.9 mm.
 Since, cement expansion is less than the allowable expansion i.e. 10 mm. Hence, it
resists more to expand.
 Soundness feature varies with the types of cement and weather conditions.

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 EXPERIMENT NO-2
(Group-II)
Narender
Roll No.: CE15B014
DATE: 17th Sept 2018

Objective:
To determines the specific gravity of cement using Le-Chatelier flask.
Apparatus:
a) Le-Chatelier’s flask
b) Digital weighing balance
c) Kerosene

Materials required:
Cement, Kerosene

Theory:
The specific gravity of cement is not a property, usually determine for its own sake but it is
necessary for the measurement of its specific surface. The specific gravity is defined as the
ratio between the weight of a given volume of cement and weight of an equal volume of water.
The test for finding the specific gravity of Portland cement was initially considered to be of
much importance given the fact that other tests lead to more definite conclusions. The most
popular method of determining the specific gravity of cement is through the use of a liquid
such as water free kerosene which does not react with cement. A specific gravity bottle or a
standard Le-chatelier’s flask may be used.

Procedure:
1. Weigh a dry empty Le-Chatelier’s standard flask (W1).

Fig. Le-Chatelier’s standard flask

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 2. Weigh 64g of cement and place in the flask in small increments and weigh the flask
with the cement (W2).

3. Fill the kerosene in the flask containing cement till it is half full. Use glass rod to mix
thoroughly to remove the entrapped air. Add more kerosene till it is in flush with the
graduated mark of the flask.

4. Weigh the flask and take the reading (W3).

5. Pour some of the kerosene out and introduce a weighted quantity of cement into the
container. Roll the bottle gently in the inclined position until no further air bubble rises
to the surface. The bottle is filled to the top with kerosene, and it is weighted (W4).

Observations & Calculations:

(𝑾𝟐−𝑾𝟏)
Specific gravity of cement, 𝑺𝒈 = [(𝑾𝟐−𝑾𝟏)−(𝑾𝟑−𝑾𝟒)∗𝑺𝒌]

Where, W1 = Weight of empty flask

W2 = Weight of flask + Cement

W3 = Weight of flask + Cement + Kerosene

W4 = Weight of flask + Kerosene

Sk = Specific gravity of Kerosene (Sk = 0.79)

Trial No. W1(g) W2(g) W3(g) W4(g) Specific Gravity

1. 137.39 200.08 398.18 351.54 2.35
2. 31.131131.73 195.15 393.45 346.98 2.37

For trial 1: Kerosene level in flask was 20.1 ml

For trial 2: Kerosene level in flask was 20 ml

Results & Discussions:

 The Specific Gravity of cement obtained: 2.36 (average)
 The acceptable value of specific gravity of cement is approx. 3.15. But if the SG value is
greater than 3.15, it means that cement contains more amount of moisture which affects the
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 setting time and hardening of concrete.
 Low SG of cement will change the total mix design of concrete in terms of compositions.
 Variations in the results may occur due to some reasons given below:
o Quality of the cement.
o Moisture present in the cement.
o Weigh balance fluctuations.
o Difference in the level of kerosene added twice for same trial.

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 EXPERIMENT NO-3
(Group-II)
Narender
Roll No.: CE15B014
DATE: 18th Sept 2018

Objective:
To determine the fresh properties (workability) of a given concrete mix by slump test.

Referenced Codes:
 IS 1199-1959: Methods of sampling and analysis of concrete.

Apparatus Required:
 Mould for slump test: Frustum of height 30cm with bottom diameter 20cm & upper 10cm.

20 cm

Fig. Mould for slump test

 Measuring scale
 Non porous base plate
 Tamping rod: 60cm long and rounded at one end
 Trowel
 Sieve

Materials Required:
Cement, Sand, Course Aggregates (10mm & 20mm diameter).

Theory:
Slump test is used in lab and field to find out the slump (decrease in the height of concrete when we
lift up the mould) of fresh concrete mix. This test is used extensively at site works all over the world.
This test is used to determine the slump of plastic hydraulic cement concrete.
 Slump <15mm (Non-Plastic)
 Slump>15mm (Plastic)

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There are three types of slump given below:
1- True Slump
2- Shear Slump
3- Collapse slump

 We discard the collapse slump due to the very high value of slump.
 Shear slump occurs due to the lack of cohesion in concrete mix.
 We often use the term 100% compaction by temping rod but actually in 100% compaction, we
have percentage of air voids less than 3% by volume of concrete. Test
Note: More is the slump value more will be its workability.

Procedure:
1) Prepared the concrete mix by following the processes mentioned below. The details of mix
are described in the section- observations and calculations.
 Wet the concrete mixer with water.
 Measured the calculated quantities of cement, sand, coarse aggregate and water.
 Prepared the concrete mix using mixer by running it 3 – 5 minutes.
2) Oiling the interior of slump mould, non- porous plate and temping rod.
3) Placed the mould on a steel plate over a level surface.
4) The mould is filled to a depth of 70mm and 2/3 of volume fills to a depth of 160mm. Each
layer is given 25 strokes with the help of temping rod uniformly distributed over the cross-
section of each layer.
5) Complete the entire test with an elapsed time of 2.5minutes.
6) The Mould was slowly lifted immediately after the concrete was filled.
7) Allowed concrete to subside and measured the length of pick of the specimen from the
bottom.
8) Cleaned mould and mixer immediately after the use.
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Observations and Calculations:
1) Concrete mixing
Concrete Grade = M15
Mix Details = Cement: Sand: Coarse :: 1 : 2 : 4 by weight
Water Cement Ratio = 0.4
Total Mass of Concrete Required = 13.19 kg.
Including Wastage = 1.5 x 13.19 = 19.72~ 20 kg.
Cement = 2.84 kg
Sand = 5.70 kg
Coarse Aggregate (10mm) = 5.715 kg
Coarse Aggregate (20mm) = 5.715 kg
Water = 1.14 kg

2) Fresh Properties
Slump trial 1 = 95 mm.

205 mm

Slump= (300-205) mm= 95 mm

Slump trial 2 = 90 mm.

Average Slump = 92.5 mm.

Results and Discussion:

 The slump of the concrete mix design obtained: 92.5mm.
 The first trial of mix dessign with water cement ratio 0.5 was not successful. We got zero
slump for the first trial. The reasons for that were

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 o Not proper mixing (mixed for less than the required time).
o Sand, coarse aggregates were slightly wet.
 Then we reduced the water cement ratio to 0.4 for second trial. Then, we got good slump in
second trial.

EXPERIMENT NO-4
(Group-II)
Narender
Roll No.: CE15B014
DATE: 18th Sept 2018

Objective:
To determine the fresh properties (workability) of a given concrete mix (M15) by compaction factor
test.

Referenced Codes:
 IS 1199-1959: Methods of sampling and analysis of concrete.

Apparatus Required:
 Two conical hoppers and bottom cylinder

 Tamping rod compaction factor apparatus

 Weighing balance
 Trowel

Materials Required:
Cement, Sand, Course Aggregates (10mm & 20mm diameter).

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Procedure:
1) Prepared the concrete mix by following the processes mentioned below. The details of mix
are described in the section- observations and calculations.
 Wet the concrete mixer with water.
 Measured the calculated quantities of cement, sand, coarse aggregate and water.
 Prepared the concrete mix using mixer by running it 3 – 5 minutes.
2) Oiling the interior of the conical hoppers, bottom cylinder and over tamping rod.
3) Weigh the empty cylinder (W).
4) Fill the upper hopper by pouring the concrete sample in it.
5) Open the hinged door at the lower end of the upper hopper allowing the concrete to fall into
the lower hopper.
6) Immediately open the gate of at the bottom of the lower hopper to allow the concrete to fall
into the cylindrical mould.
7) Remove the excess concrete above the top level of the mould by using a trowel.
8) Take the weight of the cylindrical mould with concrete (partially compacted concrete) and
find out the weight of the concrete (W1).
9) Now remove the concrete from the mould and refill it with the same concrete sample in 5 cm
layers.
10) Compact the each layer of the concrete fully by using a steel rod or mechanical vibrator. (
There should be no air voids present in the concrete)
11) Now take the weight of the cylinder with concrete (Fully compacted concrete) and find out
the weight of the concrete (W2).
12) Calculate the compaction factor by below given formula.
𝑊1−𝑊
Compaction Factor = 𝑊2−𝑊

Observations and Calculations:

1) Concrete mixing
Concrete Grade = M15
Mix Details = Cement: Sand: Coarse :: 1 : 2 : 4 (by weight)
Water Cement Ratio = 0.4
Total Mass of Concrete Required = 13.188 kg.
Including Wastage = 1.5 x 13.188 = 19.722 ~ 20 kg.

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Cement = 2.84 kg
Sand = 5.70 kg
Coarse Aggregate (10mm) = 5.715 kg
Coarse Aggregate (20mm) = 5.715 kg
Water = 1.14 kg
2) Fresh Properties
Weight of empty cylinder, W = 6.3 kg
Weight of cylinder with partially compacted concrete, W1 = 16.07 kg
Weight of cylinder with fully compacted concrete, W2 = 16.33 kg
Compaction Factor = 0.97

Results and Discussion:

Compaction factor of mixed concrete achieved is 0.97

Value Of Compacting Factor Standard Of Workability

0.95 Good
0.92 Medium
0.85 Low

The concrete poured through the hoppers to the bottom cylinder is fully compacted which is not true.
When it falls into bottom cylinder it also entrains some amount air which reduces it compaction a
little bit.
In second step of Compacting factor test for workability of concrete, when the concrete was poured
directly into the cylinder in layers maintaining a minimum thickness of 5mm it lead to the full
compaction. So, this result is acceptable.

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