Sonic testing of concrete : a correlation of pulse velocity to the mechanical and physical properties of Winnipeg concretes

Abstract

This dissertation deals with the assessment of a non-destructive test method, namely the sonic pulse velocity method, as applied to concretes of known physical and mechanical properties. Concrete produced by two Winnipeg concrete producers, Building Products and Supercrete, was investigated using three varying mix designs from each plant. Since the aggregate source of the two plants differ, the major difference between the two concretes tested was the properties of the respective aggregates. In hopes that the findings of this study could have a practical local application, mix designs actually used by the two producers in their daily production runs were incorporated into the test program. While the three Supercrete mix designs closely matched the Building Products mixes, the pulse velocity measurements on the hardened concrete differed substantially between the two concretes. This showed the importance of the need to correlate pulse velocity readings to concretes of different properties before sonic methods could be used effectively. A relationship was developed for each of the mixes for pulse velocity versus strength and pulse velocity versus dynamic modulus of elasticity. The test results from this study indicate that sonic tests could not be used as substitutes for other tests normally performed on concrete. Since they do provide a basis for evaluating the uniformity and quality of a given concrete, they can be used as an extension of other methods of testing.