COMPARISON OF CONCRETE COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH VALUES OBTAINED USING REBOUND HAMMER AND DRILLED CORE SPECIMENS

Abstract

Durability of reinforced concrete structures depends on the maintenance conditions, surveillance, and well-timed repair of structures or reconstructions. Usually, the main attention falls on the durability determination based on the evaluation of change of main physical –mechanical properties, especially, on the compression strength of concrete. In this study, tests with the rebound hammer and concrete cores extracted from the existing reinforced concrete elements in hydraulic structures are presented. The comparison of strength values obtained with the rebound hammer and the concrete core specimens of reinforced concrete in hydraulic structures is carried out. The research was performed during the scientific expedition in the period of 2010–2014. The investigated objects are allocated in hydroschemes of Druskininkai, Marijampolė, Klaipėda districts. It was established that the results obtained using the non-destructive method were by 17 % higher than the ones obtained by performing the destructive test. However, it can be said that despite this fact, the non-destructive method offers simplicity and rapidity in use: test results are readily available on site and there is a possibility to test concrete strength of those structures where cores cannot be drilled due to thin-walled or densely reinforced structures.

Keywords: Rebound hammer, concrete core strength, reinforced concrete hydraulic structures.

Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2015.011