Destructive and Nondestructive Testing on Silica Fume Concrete

In this research, destructive and nondestructive tests are used to monitor the strength of different types of concrete including ordinary Portland concrete (OPC), and silica fume concrete (SFC). OPC and SFC beam samples were exposed to flexure using the universal testing machine until failure. Ultrasonic and rebound hammer tests are conducted on samples of OPC and SFC at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of curing. The results of these tests are compared in order to check the effectiveness and reliability of the nondestructive tests. Statistical analysis is used to correlate the results of the universal testing machine, rebound hammer and ultrasonic pulse velocity and equations are presented. The nondestructive testing is used to investigate the possibility of capturing the occurrence of corrosion in the reinforcing bars.