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ACI 214-77 (Reapproved 1989) Recommended Practice for Evaluation of Strength Test Results of Concrete (ACI 214-77) Reported by ACI Committee 214 american concrete institute P.O. BOX 9094 FARMINGTON HILLS, MI 48333 Fourth Printing, February 1997 ACI Manual of Concrete Practice Most ACI Standards and committee reports ate gathered together in the annually revised ACI Manual of Concrete Practice. The several volumes are arranged to group related material together and may be purchased individually or in sets. The ACI Manual of Concrete Practice is also available on CD-ROM. ‘ACI Committees prepare standards and reports in the general areas of materials and properties of concrete, construction practices and inspection, pavements and slabs, struc- tural design and analysis, structural specifica- tions, and special products and processes. ‘A complete catalog of all ACI publications is available without charge American Concrete Institute P.O. Box 9094 Farmington Hills, MI 48333 ACI Certification Programs The final quality of a concrete structure depends on Qualified people to construct it. ACI certifcation pro- grams identify craftsmen, technicians and inspectors ‘who have demonstrated their qualifications. The follow- ing programs are administered by ACI to fulfil the grow- ing demand in the industry for certified workers: Concrete Flatwork Finisher Concrete Flatwork Technician Conerete Field Testing Technician—Grade ! Concrete Laboratory Testing Technician—Grade | Concrete Laboratory Testing Technician—Grade i Concrete Construction Inspector-In-Training Conerete Construction inspector Concrete Transportation Construction Inspector-In-Training Concrete Transportation Construction Inspector ‘This document may already contain reference to these ‘ACI certification programs, which can be incorporated into project specifications or quality control procedures. If not, suggested guide specifications are available on request from the ACI Certification Department. Enhancement of ACI Documents ‘The technical committees responsible for ACI commit- tee reports and standards strive to avoid ambiguities, omissions, and errors in these documents. In spite of these efforts, the users of ACI documents occasionally find information or requirements that may be subject to more than one interpretation or may be incomplete or incorrect. To assist in the effort for accuracy and clarity, the Technical Activities Committee solicits the help of indi- Viduals using ACI reports and standards in identifying and eliminating problems that may be associated with their use. Users who have suggestions for the improvement of ‘ACI documents are requested to contact the ACI Eng neering Department in writing, with the following infor- ‘mation: 1. Title and number of the document containing the problem and specific section in the document; 2. Concise description of the problem; 3. If possible, suggested revisions for mitigating the problem. ‘The Institute's Engineering Staff will review and take appropriate action on all comments and suggestions received. Members as well as nonmembers of the Inst- tute are encouraged to assist in enhancing the accuracy and usefulness of ACI documents, ERRATA ACI 214-77 (Reapproved 1989) On p. 5, Eq. (3-2a) should read: This document nas been approved for usa by agen cles ofthe Departmentof Dslenaean foristino nie DoD index ol Spectications ane Standards Recommended Practice for Evaluation of Strength Test Results of Concrete (ACI 214-77)* (Reapproved 1989) Reported by ACI Committee 214 V. M. MALHOTRA, ‘Chairmen EDWARD A. ABDUN-NUR RICHARD J. DOERMANN —_V. RAMAKRISHNAN HOWARD T. ARNI RICHARD D. GAYNOR HUBERT RUSCH JOSEPH F. ARTUSO ARNOLD R. KLINE ROBERTO SANCHEZ-TREJO ROBERT M. BARNOFF KR. LAVERY ROBERT G. SEXSMITH T. 6. CLENDENNING ALM. NEVILLE V. D. SKIPPER HERBERT K. COOK ROBERT E. PHILLEO ERLE THORPE FRANCIS J. PRINCIPE Statistical procedures provide valuable tools for assessing and such an approach is also of value in refining design criteria and specifications, The report discusses briefly the numerous variations that occur in the strength of concrete and presents statistical procedures which are useful in interpreting these variations. Is of strongth tests, Keywords: coofficiant of ion; compresion tart: comprestve strength; concrete constuction ty contol sampling: ondord.davinton, sttsial onal CONTENTS Chapter 1—Introduction . Soonconeec0 2 Chapter 2—Variations in strength oe : 2 2.1—General 2.3—Testing methods 2.2-Properties of concrete Chapter 3—Analysis of strength data . aaoeconssseseonece ee 3.1Notation 34Strength variations 3.2General 3.5—Standards of control 3.3—Statistical functions Chapter 4—Criteria - ee beeaa 7 41General 44—Quality control charts 42—Criteria for strength 45—Tests and specimens required requirements 4.8—Rejection of doubtful specimens 4.3—Additional information Chapter 5—References . 4 hese Are iam Tepe Cmte Ane Cn eed ihe SEAS roots ihe Intuies sudan roccie Mu ofan ade nay ea es we Seok ea [ESgERR pats for ealasin of eng ext ess been Gece’ fom ny Fadngracseon urea one ‘dea deed retest performadonconcreehtedoacanprenne senghet S008 5 crig fr sand vol eed er owe nay widget eres System or device. unless pen snonsn writing i obaned fom tke consrp kt "Chaman dng eclpcet ofthe ein Porc CHAPTER I—INTRODUCTION ‘The purposes of strength tests of concrete are to determine compliance with a strength specifica- tion and to measure the variability of concrete. Concrete, being a hardened mass of heterogeneous materials, is subject to the influence of numerous variables. Characteristics of each of the ingredi- ents of conerete, depending on their variability, may cause variations in strength of concrete. Variations may also be introduced by practices used in proportioning, mixing, transporting, plac- ing, and curing. In addition to the variations which exist in concrete itself, test strength variations will also be introduced by the fabrication, testing, and treatment of test specimens. Variations in the strength of concrete must be accepted, but con- crete of adequate quality can be produced with confidence if proper control is maintained, test results are properly interpreted, and their limi- tations are considered. Proper control is achieved by the use of satis- factory materials, correct batching and mixing of these materials, correct batching and mixing of sired quality, and good practices in transporting, placing, curing, and testing. Although the com- plex nature of concrete precludes complete homogeneity, excessive variation of concrete strength signifies inadequate concrete control. Improvement in control may permit a reduetion in the cost of concrete since the average strength can be brought closer to specification require- ments. Strength is not necessarily the most critical fac- tor in proportioning concrete mixes since other factors, such as durability, may impose lower water-cement ratios than are required to meet strength requirements. In such cases, strength will of necessity be in excess of structural de- mands. Nevertheless, strength tests are valuable in such circumstances since, with established mix proportions, variations in strength are in cative of variations in other properties. ‘Test specimens indicate the potential rather than the actual strength of the concrete in a struc- ture. To be meaningful, conclusions on strength of concrete must be derived from a pattern of tests from which the characteristics of the concrete can be estimated with reasonable accuracy. Insuf- ficient tests will result in unreliable conclusions. Statistical procedures provide tools of consider- able value in evaluating results of strength tests and information derived from such procedures is also of value in refining design criteria and speci- fications. This report briefly discusses variations that occur in the strength of concrete, and presents statistical procedures that are useful in the inter- pretation of these variations with respect to re- quired criteria and specifications. For these sta- tistical procedures to be valid, the data must be derived from samples obtained by means of a random sampling plan designed to reduce the possibility that choice will be exercised by the sampler. “Random sampling” means that each possible sample has an equal chance of being selected. To insure this condition, the choice must be made by some objective mechanism such as a table of random numbers. If sample batches are selected by the sampler on the basis of his own judgment, biases are likely to be introduced that will invalidate results analyzed by the procedures presented here. Reference 1 contains a discussion of random sampling and a useful short table of random numbers. ‘Additional information on the meaning and use of this recommended practice is given in Realism in the Application of ACI Standard 214-652 This volume is a compilation of information on ACT 214.65 that was presented at a symposium held at Buffalo, N. Y., in 1971. In addition to the papers from the symposium, it includes reprints of some pertinent papers that were published earlier in the ACI Jourwat, and of discussion that resulted from them. Although the information given was based on ACT 21465, most of it is still relevant. ‘An additional source of material on evaluation of strength tests is ACI Bibliography No. 2, published in 19608 CHAPTER 2—VARIATIONS IN STRENGTH 2.1—General The magnitude of variations in the strength of concrete test specimens depends on how well the materials, concrete manufacture, and testing are controlled. Differences in strength can be traced to two fundamentally different sources as shown in Table 2.1: (a) differences in strength-produc- 2 ing properties of the concrete mixture and in- gredients, and (b) apparent differences in strength caused by variations inherent in the test- ing. 2.2—Properties of concrete It is well established that strength is governed to a large extent by the water-cement ratio. The ‘ACI STANDARD

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