Services offered by a concrete lab and testing firm

Concrete Material testing

Some clients are asking an external concrete lab to help them test and validate their concrete mixes. This could be to define properties of new concrete types with specielt requirements to CO2 impact, concrete strength obtained in a certain time period, concrete casted under difficult conditions (see our page about hot weather concrete or winter concrete).

The concrete testing firm would often use test and change parameters like:

  • Aggregate shapes, size, type eg. 
  • Fly ash content
  • Accelerating admixtures
  • Retarding admixtures
  • Superplasticizers for concrete
  • Use of new green cement types wil reduced normal cement content (often partly replaced with clay)

Test of fresh concrete

When concrete is casted, then various tests are usually conducted to ensure the right quality and properties are obtained. 

Examples of tests done could be, but not limited to:

  • Slump testing
  • Compacting factor
  • Flow table test
  • Bleed test
  • Density
  • Water content (Water cement ratio)
  • Concrete and material temperatures
  • Air content

Inspection and testing of existing concrete

On both newly as well as old casted various tests can be conducted. This could be to do final approvals on constructions, 5-year checks, regular checks on constructions as well as testing old constructions if risks for structural failures are identified. 

Examples of tests done could be, but not limited to:

  1. Concrete specimen test / break test of cubes or cylinders
  2. Tensile strength test
  3. Core drill test
  4. Corrosion analysis (non destructive methods)
  5. Chloride migration test
  6. Water penetration test
  7. Water absorption tests
  8. Alkali reactivity
  9. Shrinkage test
  10. Creep test