How Do You Measure The Strength Of Concrete Blocks?
How Do You Measure The Strength Of Concrete Blocks?
The compressive strength of a concrete masonry unit is calculated by dividing the maximum load in Newton by the unit’s gross cross-sectional area in square millimeters. A concrete block’s compressive strength is the closest 0.1 N/mm2 for each unit and the average for the eight units.
There are many different methods used to test the compressive strength of concrete.
Some of the most common methods are the rebound hammer, the Schmidt hammer, the penetration resistance test, the ultrasonic pulse velocity, the pullout test, the drilled core, and the cast-in-place cylinders.
Where Are Aerated Concrete Blocks Used?
Aerated concrete blocks are used in a variety of applications, including walls, floors, and roofs. They are especially popular for use in buildings that need to be lightweight and strong, like apartments and offices.
Aerated concrete blocks are also used in construction projects around the world. They are often used to create walls and floors in new buildings and repair and rebuild old buildings.
How Do You Manufacture Concrete Blocks?
The concrete block manufacturing process follows the steps of concrete block production, which are:
1. Mixing:
A conveyor belt is used to carry sand and gravel into storage bins. Portland cement is often stored in massive vertical silos, which keep it dry.
The appropriate amount of raw material (sand, gravel, and cement) is delivered by gravity or mechanical structure into a weigh batcher (this ensures the correct measure of each material).
For many minutes, a stationary mixer mixes the mixture. A planetary mixer and a pan mixer are the two types of mixers. After combining, water is added to a mixer.
However, the water temperature does important, so if harsh weather is an issue, they may need to employ a chiller or a heater. This is blended for 6 to 8 minutes and may involve the addition of admixture chemicals or colored pigments.
2. Molding:
Once mixed, it is dumped onto an inclined concrete block conveyor and conveyed in an elevated hopper. After it is transported, the mixing cycle begins again.
The flow of concrete into another hopper is controlled. The concrete is subsequently pressed into molds in a block machine, which is made up of an exterior mold box and many mold liners.
The liners determine the block’s exterior form and the block cavities’ inside the shape. Compact blocks are loaded into a flat steel pallet and then transferred to a chain conveyor, which passes through a spinning brush to remove loose debris.
3. Curing:
Pallets of blocks are automatically stacked and placed on a drying rack. Every rack can accommodate hundreds of blocks. When the rack is full, a set of rails is built for transport to a curing kiln.
A kiln may contain numerous racks and is often a low-pressure steam kiln. The blocks can be left in the kiln for up to three hours at room temperature until they solidify.
The curing procedure might take up to 24 hours, during which steam is gradually injected to raise the temperature.
When a certain temperature is attained, the steam is turned off, and the blocks are allowed to soak in the hot, wet air. After that, they are dried by raising the temperature of the kiln.
4. Cubing:
The cured block racks are wheeled out of the kiln, and pallets of blocks are unstacked and placed on a chain conveyor. These are then pushed off a steel pallet, and the empty pallets are put back into the block machine, where a fresh set of molded blocks is produced.
If the blocks are split-faced, the procedure is to mold two blocks together and then send them through a splitter to fracture them and generate a rough stone-like texture on one side once cured.
A cuber aligns each block before stacking them to form a cube three blocks wide, 6 blocks deep, and 3 to four blocks high. They are then transported outdoors with a forklift to be stored.
