Cement & Concrete Testing Equipment

Cement & Concrete Testing Equipment

Cement and concrete testing is an essential part of Civil Engineering. A structure is utterly dependant on the quality of the materials being used. This is why several tests are performed on cement to determine its compatibility with other materials in the concrete mix design. The quality of cement is determined by a few factors, including: fineness, consistency, initial final setting time, and soundness. Read More...

The actual tests performed on cement include: compression testing, air permeability testing, setting time testing, flexural strength testing, drying shrinkage / expansion testing, length change testing and many more. The most common cement testing methods are the initial and final setting times, air permeability testing, and compression testing.

The setting time of cement is measured in accordance with ASTM C191 using a Vicat needle. The needle is dropped over specified time periods according to two (2) standard methods of operation to check for the initial and final setting times. Method A allows for the use of the manually operated Vicat Apparatus, while method B included the operation of the automated Vicat Apparatus in accordance with qualification requirements for this method.

The fineness of hydraulic cement is measured using the ASTM C204 Air Permeability test This test involves a Blaine Air Permeability Apparatus. The measurement is determined by the specific surface expressed as total surface area in square centimetres per gram, or square metres per kilogram, of cement. Similar to the setting test, the Air Permeability test has two methods. Method A utilizes a manually operated Blain Apparatus, while Method B allows for a use of an Automated Blaine Apparatus in accordance with qualification requirements for this method.

Compression and tensile tests are the major strength tests conducted on concrete. This provides an overall picture of the quality of concrete based on the structure of cement-paste. The compression test measures the compressive strength using cube or cylinder cement specimens in accordance with ASTM C39 / C39M. After a thorough preparation of the concrete mold specimens, they are placed on an even surface platen of the Compression Tester and a steady force of 0.140 to 0.350 MPa per second is applied until a crush occurs. The strength of the cement will be calculated in megapascals by dividing the maximum load in Newtons by the average cross sectional area of the specimen in square millimeters.

Sub-categories

Blaine Apparatus

Blaine Apparatus

The Blaine apparatus is a system that is used to determine the particle size of Portland cement, limes and similar powders. The Blaine value is expressed in terms of their specific surface area. The specified surface is determined by measuring the flow of resistivity of air through a porous bed of the dry cement powder.

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Climatic Curing Chambers

Climatic Curing Chambers

Climatic curing chambers can be used for a laboratory setting or on site use. With ease, the Curemate systems can maintain your desired temperature and humidity, the chambers are the ideal place for curing your cement specimens for further testing.

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High Pressure Autoclave

High Pressure Autoclave

The autoclave has a high-pressure steam vessel measuring about 154 mm dia. x 430 mm internally, suitable for holding a rack with 10 specimens along with the NG62-0033/B molds.

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Mortar Mixers

Mortar Mixers

Robust devices for efficiently mixing cement mortars according to international standards. EN 196-3 | EN 459-2 | EN 413-2 | EN 196-1 | EN ISO 679 | ASTM C305 | EN 480-1 | ASTM C451

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Products

Automatic Vicat Apparatus

Automatic Vicat Apparatus

Vicatronic is an automated, computerized tropicalized Vicat recording device designed and manufactured using the latest and most advanced technology. It is used to determine the initial and final setting times of cements or mortar pastes.

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Manual Vicat Apparatus

Manual Vicat Apparatus

The Vicat frame consists essentially of a metal stand with a sliding rod. An adjustable indicator moves over a graduated scale.

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