Civil Engg Materials Lab Manual

Student Name:
Prepared By
Engr. Khurram Mumtaz Student Roll No.
Dr. Syed Yasir Alam
Construction Materials Lab Manual
Table of Content
JOB No. 1________________________________________________________________________ 2
LAYOUT PLAN OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS LAB ______________________________________ 2
JOB No. 2_______________________________________________________________________ 12
TO STUDY THE IMPORTANT MATERIALS OF CONSTRUCTION _____________________________ 12
JOB No. 3_______________________________________________________________________ 14
TO DETERMINE THE FINENESS OF CEMENT ____________________________________________ 14
JOB No. 4_______________________________________________________________________ 16
TO FIND THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF WOOD SAMPLE __________________________________ 16
JOB No. 5_______________________________________________________________________ 18
TO FIND THE FINENESS MODULUS OF SAND ___________________________________________ 18
JOB No. 6_______________________________________________________________________ 21
TO DETERMINE THE SOLUBILITY OF WOOD BY COLD WATER METHOD _____________________ 21
JOB No.7 _______________________________________________________________________ 23
TO DETERMINE THE DIMENSIONS OF BRICK ___________________________________________ 23
JOB No. 9_______________________________________________________________________ 26
TO DETERMINE THE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF BRICKS________________________________ 26
JOB No. 10______________________________________________________________________ 28
WATER ABSORPTION TEST OF BRICKS ________________________________________________ 28
JOB No. 11______________________________________________________________________ 30
EFFLORESCENCE TEST OF BRICKS ____________________________________________________ 30
JOB No. 12______________________________________________________________________ 32
COMPRESSION TEST OF CONCRETE __________________________________________________ 32
1
Draw the layout plan and label it.
2
Description:
1. Compression and Flexural test Machine
It is an automatic compression testing

machine with capacity of 2000kN, used to
test concrete cylinders and cubes in
compression conforming to standards
ASTM C39 and AASHTO T22. It is also
attached with bending assembly to perform
flexural test on concrete beams with
capacity up to 100kN in flexure conforming
to standards ASTM C78, C293 and
AASHTO T97.
2. Vebe Consistometer
This test method is used to measure the

consistency of stiff to extremely dry
concrete according to EN 12350-3.
Consistency is measured as the time
required for a given mass of concrete to be
consolidated by vibrating in a cylindrically
shaped mould.
3
3. Air entrainment meter
It is used for the determination of air content of

compacted fresh concrete in accordance with EN
12350-7, ASTM C231 and AASHTO T152. Air content
is a very important parameter for the behavior of
concrete to weathering and to verify the air content
variation due to the use of chemical additives to
increase the workability of concrete. The capacity of air
entrainment meter is 7 liters.
4. High Pressure Autoclave
Autoclave is used for conducting expansion test on

cements in accordance with ASTM C151 and ASTM
C490. The autoclave consists of a high-pressure steam
vessel with internal dimensions 154 mm dia. x 430 mm
high to accept a rack for holding 10 specimens. It can
be controlled with pressure gauge, pressure regulator,
temperature regulator, control switches and safety
valve.
5. Length comparator
This apparatus is used for a number of length measurements

concerning mainly cement and mortar specimens with different
lengths.
4
6. Vicat Apparatus
It is a device for determining the normal

consistency and time of setting of Portland
cements in accordance with ASTM C191 and
AASHTO T131. The Vicat frame consists of a
metal stand with a sliding rod. An adjustable
indicator moves over a graduated scale. The
needle or plunger is attached to the bottom
end of the rod to make up the test weight of
300 g.
7. Le-Chatelier Apparatus
It is used to determine the soundness of cement that is volumetric expansion of

standard cement paste upon hydration.
5
8. Electric Pocker Vibrator
It is used for internal compaction of concrete

specimens by providing vibrations through
vibrating rod with 2m long flexible shaft.
9. Impact Testing Machine
It is used to determine the aggregate impact value (AIV) which

provides a relative measure of the resistance of an aggregate to
sudden shock or impact. It is fit with a counter to check the
number of blows delivered to the sample. Supplied complete with
cylindrical measure and tamping rod
10. Bar Sieves (Grid) Set
It is used to determine the flakiness index of

aggregates according to EN 933-3.
6
11. Flakiness Sieves Set
It is used to determine if
aggregate particles are to be
considered flaky according to BS
812:105.1 i.e. their thickness is
less than 0.6 of their nominal
size.
12. Thickness Gauge
It is used to determine if aggregate particles are to be considered flaky according to BS

812:105.1 i.e. their thickness is less than 0.6 of their nominal size.
13. Specific Gravity frame
It is used to find out specific gravity of concrete and

aggregates in accordance with ASTM C127 and
AASHTO T85. The lower part of the frame
incorporates a moving platform, which carries the
water container allowing the test specimens to be
weighted by an electronic balance in both air and
water.
7
14. Curing Tank
It is used to cure (keep wet) concrete

specimens so that they can attain max
strength. The curing tank is fit with a
2000W electric heater incorporating a
thermo-regulator so that temperature
of water can be maintained. An upper
rack is also present to hold a second
layer of concrete cubes.
15. Concrete Flow Table
It is used to find the workability of concrete in

accordance with BS EN 12350-5. It is generally
used for high workability concrete. The
diameter of the resulting flow is measured
16. Vibrating Table
It is used to compact the

concrete by vibrations. It
provides 3000 vibrations per
minute. A pedal switch is
provided to switch on and off.
8
17. Concrete Mixer
It is a drum type mixer and is used to

mix the ingredients in order to obtain a
uniform concrete mix. The mixing
capacity of the drum is 75 liters.
18. Ultrasonic pulse velocity

apparatus
It is used for quality control and inspection

of concrete in accordance with EN 12504-4
and ASTM C597. It measures the transit
time of ultrasonic pulses through concrete
for inspection of new and old structures,
slabs, columns, walls, fire damaged areas,
precast and prestressed beams, cylinders
and other concrete forms.
9
19. Concrete Test Hammer
It is used to evaluate the surface hardness

of hardened concrete in order to evaluate
the strength in various parts of the
structure.
20. Penetrometer:
It is a used to calculate the initial setting time. In this we

drive the instrument in concrete mix and draw graph
between time and reading on scale.
10
21. Crushing Value Apparatus
It is used to find the crushing value of aggregate sample. The aggregate crushing
value provides relative measure of the resistance of an aggregate to crushing under a
gradually applied compressive load.
22. Crack microscope
A high quality microscope designed for

measuring crack widths in concrete
members, masonry walls and other
structures. The apparatus operates by an
adjustable lamp unit and the image is
focused by turning a knob. The eyepiece
scale can be turned through 360° to align
with the direction of the crack or pitch
under examination.
11
1. Timber:
Timber refers to the wood contents of standing (live)
trees that can be used for lumber or fiber production. The
word timber is also used for sawn lumber. Timber is an
important construction material which is used for making
windows, doors and cottages etc.
2. Sand:
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and
mineral particles. It is principle component of glass
manufacturing and brick manufacturing and serves as fine
aggregate in concrete. Sand taken from different areas have
different properties e.g. Ravi sand is finest, Chenab sand
finer than that and most coarse is Lawrencepur sand and is
the most suitable sand for use in concrete but is not easily
available in plain areas and thus a mixture of Chenab and
Lawrencepur sand is used to reduce the cost factor as Lawrencepur sand is costly in plain
areas.
3. Clay:
Clay is a naturally occurring granular material
composed primarily of fine grained materials which show
plasticity through a variable range of water content and can
be hardened when dried or fired. It is used for manufacture of
12
cement, artificial aggregates and stones, in glass manufacturing and
also in tiles and brick manufacturing.
4. Crushed Stones:
These are formed by crushing stones and rocks and are an
important component of concrete and aggregates. These are available
in different sizes and their properties also vary with the place of their quarrying.
5. Aggregates:
It is a broad category of coarse and particulate material used
in construction including sand, gravel, crushed stones, slag and
recycled concrete. Mining of sand, gravel and stone and light weight
aggregate is carried out in the hilly areas and the properties of the
aggregates are location specific. Sand, gravel and stones are
among the primary building materials. Clay, pumice etc. are
secondary.
6. Shale:
Also called mudstone, shale is a fine grained sedimentary
rock whose original constituents are clay, minerals or mud. Shale is
the most common sedimentary rock.
7. Lime:
It is the general term for various naturally occurring minerals and materials derived
from them which are related to Calcium. It was used as binding
material in ancient times. Today it is used in mortar and cement. It
has lost its important after the invention of cement because of the
considerable difference in the setting time
13
Significance:
The fineness of cement is an important physical parameter to judge the quality of
cement and thus the quality of concrete. The finer the cement the higher is the strength of
the cement and thus concrete. Good cement should be free from balls of preset cement
because it deteriorates the strength of the concrete and in turn causes the weakening of the
structure. Fineness of cement tells us about how fine and powdered cement is and thus
provides a guiding line for the c/s ratio which should be used in mortar and also in concrete.
If fineness of cement is not correctly determined, all the calculations cannot be carried out
correctly and there’s a much risk of the collapse of building thus it is very important to
determine the fineness of cement used before using it.
Apparatus and Materials:

i. Fine Sieve-Shaker
ii. Sieve# 100( Or Sieve # 200)
iii. Electronic Balance

iv. Wire Brush
v. Cement Samples
Procedure:
A weighed sample of cement was taken in the sieve-shaker and was shook for 5-10
minutes. The mass of retained cement was measured and the percentage fineness of
cement was determined according to the formula:
%age Fineness = 100 – (
Where Wr is the weight retained and Wt is the total weight
14
The procedure was repeated thrice.
Precautions:
a) The sieve should be shook in a round pattern and not linearly to and fro because this
practice can break the particles resulting in incorrect determination of fineness.
b) Unloaded balance should be checked i.e., it should display zero; if zero error exists a
correction factor should be applied.
c) Wire brush should be used to clear the pores of sieve screens.
Observations and Calculations:
Retained
Sr. Total Weight % Fineness
Weight Wr
No. Wt (grams) 100 –( )
(grams)
Fineness of Cement =
Result:
15
Principle and Significance:

Porosity of a material has direct effect on moisture content. More the porosity more
will be its moisture content. The properties of material vary with variations in moisture
content that is why moisture is removed from greenwood to make it suitable for
commercial purposes. Moisture in wood makes it easier for fungi and other protozoan to
attack the wood. Moisture beyond the limits causes the wood to loose strength; it also
makes wood unsuitable for painting for ornamental purpose. So it is necessary to
determine the moisture content of the wood so that it can be removed to allowable
limits. Measuring the moisture content of wood is important in processes like wood
drying, fire retardant treatment, wood preservation etc.
Equipment:
i. Weighing Balance
ii. Electric Oven
iii. Wood Samples
Moisture Content:
Moisture content of a material is calculated by using the formula:
Where Ww is the weight of water and Wd is the weight of Dry sample.
16
Procedure:
Measure the wet weight of the sample and then place the sample in the oven for drying.
Weight the sample after regular intervals till the weight became constant. This gives the
indication that the moisture has been evaporated. Note down the last weight of the sample.
Precautions:
i. Vacuum Desiccators should be used for transporting the sample
ii. Dry sample should be weighed when the weight is constant.
Moisture
Weight of Weight of Weight of Content
Sr. Name of
wet sample dry sample water ‘Ww’
No. Sample
(g) ‘Wdry’ (g) (g)
Results:
Comments:
17
Principle and Significance:

Coarser the sand more will be its fineness modulus value and more will be the
strength of the concrete in which the sand is used as aggregate. So fineness modulus is the
direct measure of the strength of an aggregate.
Fineness Modulus is a measurement of the coarseness and fineness of a given

aggregate. For a fine aggregate like sand FM is calculated from the cumulative percentages
of aggregates retained on sieve no 4, 8, 16, 30, 50, 60, 100 divided by 100.
FM is the index of fineness of an aggregate; the higher the FM the coarser is the
aggregate. Different aggregate grading may have the same FM. FM of fine aggregates is
useful in estimating proportions if fine and coarse aggregates in mix design proportions.
Aggregate content is a factor which has direct and far-reaching effects on both the quality
and cost of concrete. The more the fineness modulus the coarser is the sand and thus
more suitable for concrete. But a compromise has to be made between and cost factors.
Lawrencepur sand, being most coarse is most suitable for concrete but is not easily
available in plain areas and thus Chenab sand is mixed with it to reduce the cost factor.
Apparatus:
i. 3 samples of sand
ii. Sieve-shaker
iii. Sieve Set
iv. Wire Brush
v. Weighing Balance
Procedure:
Weight the sample and stake the sieves in sieve sample in decreasing sieve size. Pour the
sample from the top and after putting led on first sieve shake it for 5 min by sieve shaker.
Weight the material retained on the sieves and calculate fineness modulus.
18
Precautions:
i. Use wire brush to clear the pores for accurate reading.
ii. Shaking should be done in round pattern not to and fro. Mechanical shaker should
be preferably used.

Sample 1.
Total Weight of Sample =
Sieve Weight of soil

Sieve %weight Cumulative % %
Size retained
# retained retained passing
(mm) (g)
No. 4
No. 8
No. 16
No.30
No.50
No.100
Fineness Modulus (F.M)=
19
Results:
Comments
20
Principle:
Solubility of wood is the direct measure of the quality of wood. The greater will be the
soluble material the ower will be the quality of wood. Soluble material is responsible for the
damage of wood because the salts and other harmful materials present in the wood causes
the attack of fungi and diseases and accelerates their growth thus causing the strength and
durability to decrease. Therefore it is very much necessary to calculate the solubility of
wood before employing it in construction so that the weak wood could be discarded.
Apparatus:
i. Wooden Saw-dust
ii. Filter paper
iii. Beaker
iv. Funnel
v. Weighing balance
vi. Oven
Procedure:
Put the weighted amount of saw dust in a beaker. Pour the water in the beaker and
stir the mixture to dissolve all the material. Then filter the mixture and weight the residue
after draying and calculate the solubility.
Formula:
Where Ws is the weight of soluble material and Wo is the weight of sample.
21
Precautions:
a. Temperature of the oven should be kept below 110 o C.
b. Care should be taken while measuring weight.
Result:
Comments:
22
Significance:
The dimensions of brick thus the brick size is very important in construction. Both the
nominal (the size of brick including mortar) and actual (the original dimensions of brick) is
important. It is also important to calculate the number of bricks and thus the cost factor of
the building. Good quality bricks are those whose size is very near to the standard size of
brick i.e.
Apparatus:
i. Brick Samples
ii. Vernier Calliper
Procedure:
Take a sample .Check the zero error of the vernier caliper and take the dimensions
(length, width, height) of brick from three different location .Apply the zero error correction if
there is any zero error .Find the mean of all the dimensions.
Precautions:
a) Readings should not be taken from the damaged portion of the brick.
b) Weight of the brick should be such that it could be handled easily.
c) Brick should not be wet.
23

Length:
Sr. Average
1 (inches) 2 (inches) 3 (inches)
No. (inches)
Average =
Height:
Sr. Average
No. (inches)
Average =
Width:
Sr. Average
No. (inches)
Average =
24
Result:
Comments:
25
Significance:
Compression testing is very significant in any structure. The compressive strength of
bricks must be in accordance with the load it has to bear. The compressive strength of the
bricks used in building dictates the load bearing capacity of the building and certain other
parameters.
Apparatus:
i. Air-Dried Bricks
ii. Plaster of Paris
iii. Compression Machine
iv. Vernier Calipers
Procedure:
Take 3 bricks as samples and cap them (fill the frog of brick) by plaster of Paris.
Measure the length and width of the brick and calculate the area of brick. Place the brick in
compression machine and apply load till failure .Note down the load required to crush the
brick .Calculate the compressive strength by following formula
Formula:
Precautions:
a) Bricks should be properly capped to ensure uniform distribution of load over the
surface area of brick.
b) Readings should be taken properly.
c) Wet bricks should not be used.
26
d) Instruments should be checked for zero error and if error exists a correction factor
should be applied.
Brick Length Width Area

No.
Brick Area LOAD LOAD Compressive

Brick Label
No. strength
Result and comments:
27
Significance:
Water absorption test of bricks is very important as far as the strength of building is
concerned. It is also important for the mix design proportions because the water retained by
bricks has to be included in the calculations. If more water is retained by the bricks, the
amount of water in concrete should be calculated according to that.
Apparatus:
i. Brick Samples
ii. Weighing Balance
iii. Water Tank
Procedure:
Take samples and specify names .Weight them in dry conditions and dip them
vertically in water. The bricks remained immersed in water for 24 hours. Remove the water
from the surface of brick by some dry cloth and weight the brick.
Formula:
W1 = Wt. of dry Sample
W2 = Wt. of wet Sample
W2 – W1 = Wt. of water absorbed
Precautions:
i. Care should be taken while weighing the bricks.
28
ii. Bricks should be immersed in water vertically to increase the effective area of
absorption of water by the bricks.

%age
Sample Name Dry Wt. Wet Wt.
Absorption
Result:
Comments:
29
Significance:
Efflorescence of bricks is very important because it tells us the amount of salt and
other impurities present in the earth used for bricks. The salts can react with mortar and the
reinforcement present in concrete causing strength to weaken.
Apparatus:
i. Samples of Bricks
ii. Water Tank
Procedure:
Take two samples of bricks and immerse in water for 24 hours. Take the bricks out
and determine percentage of brick surface covered with the salts. The extent of
efflorescence is determined according to the following
Slight: 10% to 15%
Medium: 15% to 50%
High: > 50%
Less than 10% is negligible.
Precautions:
a) Care should be taken while determining the percentage of area covered with salts.
b) Brick should be immersed vertically to increase the effective area of absorption of
water.
30
Result:
Comments:
31
Significance:
Measuring of compressive strength of concrete is very significant as it dictates the
load bearing capacity of concrete and thus we can decide on the basis of this certain
important parameters of building and different structural members.
Apparatus:
i. Compression Testing Machine
ii. Samples of Concrete
iii. Vernier Callipers
Procedure:
Take two samples of concrete, a cube and a cylinder .Measure the dimensions i.e. length of
the cube and the diameter of the cylinder were measured using the Vernier Callipers and
calculate the area .Place the samples in compression testing machine and apply load .Note
the load required to crush the samples and determine compressive strength using the
formula:
Precautions:
i. Damaged blocks and cylinder should not be taken as samples.
ii. Area should be calculated carefully.
iii. Instruments should be checked for zero error and correction factor should be applied
if error exists.
32
Result:
Comments:
33

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Student Name:

Draw the layout plan and label it.

It is an automatic compression testing

This test method is used to measure the

3. Air entrainment meter

It is used for the determination of air content of

4. High Pressure Autoclave

Autoclave is used for conducting expansion test on

This apparatus is used for a number of length measurements

It is a device for determining the normal

It is used to determine the soundness of cement that is volumetric expansion of

8. Electric Pocker Vibrator

It is used for internal compaction of concrete

9. Impact Testing Machine

It is used to determine the aggregate impact value (AIV) which

10. Bar Sieves (Grid) Set

It is used to determine the flakiness index of

11. Flakiness Sieves Set

12. Thickness Gauge

It is used to determine if aggregate particles are to be considered flaky according to BS

13. Specific Gravity frame

It is used to find out specific gravity of concrete and

14. Curing Tank

It is used to cure (keep wet) concrete

15. Concrete Flow Table

It is used to find the workability of concrete in

16. Vibrating Table

It is used to compact the

17. Concrete Mixer

It is a drum type mixer and is used to

18. Ultrasonic pulse velocity

It is used for quality control and inspection

19. Concrete Test Hammer

It is used to evaluate the surface hardness

It is a used to calculate the initial setting time. In this we

21. Crushing Value Apparatus

22. Crack microscope

A high quality microscope designed for

trees that can be used for lumber or fiber production. The

word timber is also used for sawn lumber. Timber is an

important construction material which is used for making

windows, doors and cottages etc.

mineral particles. It is principle component of glass

manufacturing and brick manufacturing and serves as fine

aggregate in concrete. Sand taken from different areas have

different properties e.g. Ravi sand is finest, Chenab sand

finer than that and most coarse is Lawrencepur sand and is

available in plain areas and thus a mixture of Chenab and

composed primarily of fine grained materials which show

plasticity through a variable range of water content and can

be hardened when dried or fired. It is used for manufacture of

cement, artificial aggregates and stones, in glass manufacturing and

also in tiles and brick manufacturing.

important component of concrete and aggregates. These are available

rock whose original constituents are clay, minerals or mud. Shale is

the most common sedimentary rock.

from them which are related to Calcium. It was used as binding

material in ancient times. Today it is used in mortar and cement. It

considerable difference in the setting time