Concrete

Technology

Quality Control

Harza Engineering Company

Purpose
■ To assure placement of consistent,
uniform concrete in the work
■ To minimize variation in concrete
properties such that the concrete
will perform in a predictable
manner
■ To achieve maximum economy in
the work
Where does
quality control
begin?
■ It begins in the production of
materials used in concrete
(sampling and testing):
 Portland cement
 Pozzolan
 Coarse and fine aggregates
■ Uniformity of concrete production
will be no greater than the
uniformity of materials used in that
concrete
How does
quality control
continue?
■ Handling and stockpiling
■ Batching and mixing
■ Sampling and testing fresh
concrete
 Slump
 Air content
 Unit weight
 Temperature
■ Transporting and placing the
freshly mixed concrete
How do we
measure quality
control?
■ The most common measurement
is the uniformity of the
compressive strength specimens
determined from statistical
concepts (ACI 214)
■ These same statistical concepts
can also be applied to test results
on materials used in the concrete,
on the fresh concrete, and on other
properties of the hardened
concrete.
Primary criteria
for application
of statistical
concepts
■ The primary criteria for application
of statistical concepts is that the
data to be analyzed has been
developed from random sampling,
and
■ At least 30 consecutive test results
are available for analysis.
Normal distribution
curve
Level of
acceptance
Standards of Concrete
Control
(General Construction Testing) ACI
214
■ Excellent: Std. Dev. below 2.76 MPa
■ Very Good: Std. Dev. of 2.76 to 3.45 MPa
■ Good: Std. Dev. of 3.45 to 4.14 MPa
■ Fair: Std. Dev. of 4.14 to 4.83 MPa
■ Poor: Std. Dev. above 4.83 MPa
Within-test variation
Standards of
Concrete Control
(Field Control Testing) ACI
214
■ Excellent: Coefficient of variation
below 3.0 percent
■ Very good: Coefficient of variation
of 3.0 to 4.0 percent
■ Good: Coefficient of variation of
4.0 to 5.0 percent
■ Fair: Coefficient of variation of 5.0
to 6.0 percent
■ Poor: Coefficient of variation
above 7.0 percent