Qualification of elastomer pad caps for compression testing of concrete specimens

Abstract

The typical parameter of the quality of concrete that can be used for structural purposes is the compressive strength of hardened concrete cylinders and drilled cores. The execution of the test requires conditioning its bases to ensure a series of requirements, providing two methodologies in the regulations. One is to head the bases with mortar or cement paste, or with sulfur mortar; the other, the use of elastomeric pad caps between the base and the loading plates.

At an earlier stage, verification of compliance with the requirements imposed by the standard for the use of said pads was carried out. In this paper, it is proposed to continue with the verification, based on the application of the qualification process proposed in the regulations, comparing results obtained in the compression resistance test, using elastomeric pad caps on the one hand and the traditional mortar sulfur header for another.