Assessment of strength development at hardened stage on high-strength concrete using NDT

This study proposes model formulae for predicting the strength of concrete by analyzing the relationships between the results of nondestructive testing (NDT) methods and the compressive strength of concrete specimens at the hardened stage. Further, NDT of concrete molds and mock-up specimens was conducted using NDT methods (rebound hammer, ultrasonic pulse velocity). The water/cement (W/C) ratios were set to 0.48, 0.41, and 0.33 to achieve concrete strengths within the compressive strength range of 24-60 MPa. The evaluation parameters included the fresh concrete properties, compressive strength (mold and core), temperature history, maturity, rebound value, and ultrasonic pulse velocity. Evaluation results indicated that the reliability of existing models, based on the rebound and ultrasonic pulse velocity, is significantly low on high-strength concrete of 40 MPa or higher, and cannot satisfy the ±20% error range. Consequently, this study proposes a regression equation of the concrete strength based on the experimental rebound and ultrasonic pulse velocity values in a 24-60 MPa range, which offers satisfactory reliability.