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10 Things you should know about Concrete Materials Testing

1. Concrete is like orange squash the more water you add the weaker it becomes 2. For normal strength concrete 100mm cubes yield the same results as 150mm cubes 3. 100mm cubes are 70% lighter and smaller easier to move, use, store and dispose, the moulds are cheaper and more environmentally friendly too. 4. Unless a cube is cured in water from an early age it will never gain its full strength 5. Clean, oiled calibrated moulds will give the maximum result possible for your cubes 6. The slump test also shows if a mix to too stony 7. The load should normally be discharged placed and compacted 2 hours from batching 8. You don't call a cake flour so why do some people insist on calling concrete, cement? 9. A high slump = wet concrete, low = dry 10. Remember to get the most representative result Sampling throughout the load and mixing your sample
Mark Collyer, Harlow Laboratory Manager