QUALITY CONTROL

4.1 CEMENT
Cement is one of the most essential, strength importing material used for concerning purpose on site. It is obtained by crushing stone containing clay & carbonate of lime. Cement is binding material widely used in construction field for all kind of work. It consist compound of lime, silica, aluminum, iron etc. At my site 53 grade O.P.C & P.P.C cement are used.

Field test of cement : FRESHNESS TEST:1. Choose any bag at random. 2. Check the printed manufacturing date. 3. Date marked as W-for week, M-for month, &Y-for year. 4. If date is within 30 days, cement bag can be used for construction purpose other wise the sample is discarded.

SMOOTHNESS TEST:Open the cement bag from one corner. Take a pinch of dry cement & rub between

the fingers. It should feel silky & smooth.

FLOATING TEST:-

1. Take a clean measuring glass jar. 2. Fill the jar with clear water. 3. Take some dry cement & add slowly to the water.

4. Good cement floats for a while & then sinks slowly to the bottom 5. Any light weight impurities may remain floating even after the cement sinks. Heavier impurities sink immediately. 6. The quality of cement can be affirmed by floating test

Storage of cement bags:

The bag should be stored 30cm from the walls.

Number of bags per pile should be more than 10 to 15 bags. Flooring if not done damp proof, the bags should be stored on raised wooden platform / planks above ground level Finally cement bags should be covered in polythene sheets for extra safety during monsoon.

4.2 SAND
Sand is used for plastering, concreting and brick work, sand is also used as fine aggregate to fill in the voids between coarse aggregate. At my site river sand is used. Size of particles not much course nor fine. Very fine sand not advisable for R.C.C. work.

Storage of sand: Sand should be stored closed to the concrete mixer for the purpose of easy handling. It should be stored at such type of ground surface which is free from any dampness, clay, dirt &other vegetable matter. If such ground is not available then once can be prepared by laying a floor of brick or thin layer of lean concrete.

TESTING OF SAND
SILT TEST: Rub a sample of the sand with wet palms. Good, clean sand will not stick to the hand, whereas sand with silt/clay will stick, changing the color of palm. Fill half a glass cylinder with sand & pour clean water until cylinder is full. Add half a teaspoon-full of fine table salt to the water and shake it to dissolve. Salt is a precipitator that causes the Silt to settle faster. Do not use alum (a rapid silt settling compound for murky water), as it causes a floc (a loosely clumped mass of fine particles) and not a settled Silt layer. Close the open end of the cylinder with the palm of the hand and shake vigorously to wash off the very fine Silt the minus 75 micron (0.075mm) particles, from the coarser FA particles. The Silt, being lighter, will remain suspended in the Water only for a few minutes. The cylinder must be kept vertical on a level surface to allow the suspended Silt to settle as a uniform layer. Within about 5 minutes the Silt layer appears as a different shade as compared with the FA, and the Water above will be clear. The silt settlement layer thickness has to be checked both after 10 minutes. The thickness of the Silt layer after 10 minutes will itself further settle and become less, depending upon whether the Silt particles are Organic or pure Rock powder. % silt content = ( x-y ) * 100 x If the % silt is more than 7%, it should be rejected.

4.3

AGGREGATES

Aggregates are the important constituent in concrete. They give body to the concrete, reduces shrinkage and effect economy. Aggregates are divided into two categories from the consideration of size & shape.

COARSE AGGREGATES :Coarse aggregate are obtained by natural sources these are small particles of stone, gravel etc. it should be hard, strong, dense, durable, & free from impurities. Metal 1 Metal 2

:-

10mm to 12.5mm.

Aggregate retain on 4.75mm I.S sieve & 100% passing through 20mm I.S sieve. :12.5mm to 20mm.

Aggregate retained & passed on 20mm I.S sieve & 100% passing through 80mm I.S sieve. FIELD TEST OF COARSE AGGREGATES :

That the aggregate is strong, non-porous & should be free from organic materials. i.g. clay, loam.

Coarse aggregates received at site can be cubical angular, irregular, flaky and elongated usually from the point of lesser cement content, for binding the angular and the irregular aggregates are preferred. Elongated and laminated particles are good shear.

Coarse aggregates should be of single sized variety. They should neither be under size nor oversized. Usually for R.C.C. work metal 1 (12.5mm) and Metal 2 (20mm) is ideal. Aggregates of sizes more than these limits can be used for mass concrete works.

Blackish/grayish of uniform color is suitable & should not feel powdery when sample is taken in hand.

STORAGE OF AGGREGATES : Coarse aggregates received at site can be cubical angular, irregular, flaky and elongated usually from the point of lesser cement content, for binding the angular and the irregular aggregates are preferred. Elongated and laminated particles are good shear.

Coarse aggregates should be of single sized variety. They should neither be under size nor oversized. Usually for R.C.C. work metal 1 (12.5mm) and Metal 2 (20mm) is ideal. Aggregates of sizes more than these limits can be used for mass concrete works.

Blackish/grayish of uniform color is suitable.

FINE AGGREGATES :Aggregates, those passing from 4.75mm I.S. sieve are fine aggregates many a time fine aggregates are designated as coarse sand, medium sand and fine sand.

4.4 WATER
Water is used in almost all the construction activities for different purposes. Water is used for mixing and curing. PLAYS THREE FOLD ROLE IN CONCRETE :-

1.

It distributes the cement evenly through the mix so that every particle of aggregates is coated with it. Water reacts chemically with cement particles by process called Hydration of cement and bring about setting and hardening of cement.

2.

3.

Also water in right proportion impacts workability concrete facilitates cause in placing & compacting of fresh concrete.

 FIELD TEST OF WATER :

It should be clean and free from amount of oils, acid, salts, sugars and organic matters. Percentage of solid should not exceed the following.

ITEM

PERCENTAGE

Organic matter Inorganic matter Sulfates Alkalis

0.02% 0.30% 0.05% 0.10%

STORAGE OF WATER :-

Water stored temporarily in open water storage tank with pipe outlet was consumed for construction work.

4.5 STEEL
Steel received at site was TMT. Bars, conferring to I.S. of the following diameters, 8mm, 10 mm , 12 mm , 16 mm , 20 mm , 25 mm and steel was received at the rate of 33,500 per MT which was supplied by the client. The purpose of steel is to take up tension in concrete. FIELD TEST OF STEEL : The reinforcement should be completely free from corrosion.

When the bar is bending to the required length and angle, it should not break.

STORAGE OF STEEL : Steel was stored at the corner of the plot.

It was stored near the bar bending table and enough space was provided so that the steel fitters can works on it.

Steel cut and ready for use was kept separately from newly received stock. Also the scrap steel not for use was kept separately until disposes.

Thus proper precaution taken in storage of steel prevents it from corrosion and maintains its tensile strength.

The reinforcement shall be clean & free from oil, grease, and loose rust, loose mill scale, salt and chemical contaminants at the time of fixing in position and concreting.

4.6 BRICKS

Bricks which were generally used at our site were common building brick size is 225mm x 100mm x 75mm for internal & 225mm x 150mm x 130mm for external brick work. FIELD TEST ON BRICKS:Following tests are carried out when bricks arrived on our site: The bricks are well burnt & uniform in color (reddish color) & size.

The bricks are free from vegetation, lump, cracks & flows without smooth surface. It should not break when struck with other brick or dropped flat on ground from height of about 1m. It should not absorb water more than 1/6 of its weight when immersed in water for one hour. i.g. 20% absorption. The bricks should not allowed to use with lime or cement mortar unless soaked in water for one hour before use. It should have clear ringing sound when struck on each other. It should sharp corners & straight edges.

STORAGE OF BRICKS:Bricks should not dumped on site. They were stacked on level ground in regular fires. The height of bricks stack should be limited 1.5m to 2m.

TEST ON CONCRETE
1. CUBE TEST:To find the compressive strength of concrete cube of a certain mix. Casting of cube is necessary for mass concreting. Random sample of concrete is to be taken &

casted.

CASTING OF CUBES: First the cube moulds are properly cleaned with water and the sides of cube moulds are applied with crude oil.

 Then the cube moulds are tightened with all buts bolts properly. Then random sample of concrete mix is taken. Concrete is then poured in cube mould in three layers with the help of trowel. Each layer is compacted by giving 35 nos. of strokes with tapping rod. The top surface is finished with trowel after compaction of the last layer. These cubes are allowed to set for 24 hrs. After 24 hrs, cubes are removed carefully without breaking of edge from cube mould. On the cube moulds a code no is made with the help of marker it contains the casting date and mix designation. The cubes are cured by submerging in clean and fresh water until the time of testing. Three specimens are tested after 7 days and remaining three specimens are tested for 28 days of curing. TESTING OF CUBES: After curing period each cube is kept to dry for 2 hrs. At least before testing. Then the weight of each cube is taken with weigh balance. Then cubes are placed properly in hand operated compressive testing made with the code and casting date side of cubes towards front side of machine. Then the load is applied on cubes by hand operating the machine without any interruptions and load is increased continuously at approximately 400 Kg/Min. Until the cracks appears on the sides of blocks. The maximum load applied is noted. Same procedure is repeated for remaining two specimens of cubes.

CUBE TESTING REPORT

Name of site Name of contractor

::-

Sr. No

Identification mark

Size of cube LxBxH

Wt of cube in

Date Of casting

Max. compressive in (N)

Compressive strength in N/mm

2

Average compressive in N/mm2

M3

Kg

7days

28days

7days

28days

7days

28days

CALCUATION:-

Compressive strength of cube= Maximum compressive load at Failure in kg. Contact area of cube in sq cm CONCLUSION:N/mm2 N/mm2

(1)The average compressive strength of cube for 7 days =

(2)The average compressive strength of cube for 28 days = REMARKS: -

For proper mix of concrete the value of compressive strength for 7 days and 28 days shall not less than the following values.

Mix of concrete

Permissible compressive strength of cube in N/mm2

For 7 days For 28 days 10 15 20

M10 M15 M20

7 10.5 14

M25 M30 M35 M40

17.5 21 24.5 28

25 30 35 40

Permissible compressive strength of cubes for 7 days is 70% of total strength.

2. SLUMP TEST:-

Slump test is most commonly used method of measuring consistency of concrete which can be employed either in laboratory or in site. The apparatus for conducting the slump test consists of metallic mould in the form of frustum of cone having the internal dimensions as under:Bottom diameter Top diameter Height : : : 20cm 10cm 30cm

Procedure: The internal surface of the mould is thoroughly clean & free from superfluous moisture & adherence of any old set concrete before commencing the test. The mould is placed on a smooth horizontal, rigid surface & filled in four layers, each approximately in height of the mould. Each layer is tamped 25 times by tamping rod. After top layer has been rodded, the concrete is struck off level with a trowel & tamping rod. The mould is removed from the concrete immediately by raising it slowly & carefully in vertical direction. The difference in level between the height of the mould & that of highest point of the subsided concrete is measured. This difference in height in mm. is taken of Slump of Concrete.