WORKABILITY TEST OF CONCRETE BY VEE-BEE CONSISTOMETER METHOD (IS-1199-1956)

Objective

To determine the workability of freshly mixed concrete by using of Vee – Bee consistometer apparatus.

Scope and Significance

The workability of fresh concrete is a composite property, which includes the diverse requirements of stability, mobility, compactability, placeability and finishability. There are different methods for measuring the workability. Each of them measures only a particular aspect of it and there is really no unique test, which measures workability of concrete in its totality. This test gives an indication of the mobility and to some extent of the compactibility of freshly mixed concrete. The test measures the relative effort required to change a mass of concrete from one definite shape to another (i.e., from conical to cylindrical) by means of vibration. The amount of effort (called remoulding effort) is taken as the time in seconds, required to complete the change. The results of this test are of value when studying the mobility of the masses of concrete made with varying amounts of water, cement and with various types of grading of aggregate. The time required for complete remoulding in seconds is considered as a measure of workability and is expressed as the number of Vee-Bee seconds. The method is suitable for dry concrete. For concrete of slump in excess of 50mm, the remoulding is so quick that the time cannot measured.

Apparatus

• Cylindrical container,
• Vee-Bee apparatus (consisting of vibrating table, slump cone)
• Standard tamping rod,
• Stop watch and
• trowels.

Procedure

(1) Place the slump cone in the cylindrical container of the consistometer. Fill the cone in four layers, each approximately one quarter of the height of the cone. Tamp each layer with twenty-five strokes of the rounded end of the tamping rod. The strokes are distributed in a uniform manner over the cross-section of the cone and for the second and subsequent layers the tamping bar should penetrate into the underlying layer. After the top layer has been tamped, struck off level the concrete with a trowel making the cone exactly filled.

(2) Move the glass disc attached to the swivel arm and place it just on the top of the slump cone in the cylindrical container. Adjust the glass disc so as to touch the top of the concrete cone, and note the initial reading on the graduated rod.

(3) Remove the cone from the concrete immediately by raising it slowly and carefully in the vertical direction. Lower the transparent disc on the top of concrete. Note down the reading on the graduated rod.

(4) Determine the slump by taking the difference between the readings on the graduated rod recorded in the steps (2) and (3) above.

(5) Switch on the electrical vibrations and start the stopwatch. Allow the concrete to remould by spreading out in the cylindrical container. The vibrations are continued until the concrete is completely remoulded, i.e, the surfaces becomes horizontal and the whole concrete surface adheres uniformly to the transparent disc.

(6) Record the time required for complete remoulding seconds which measures the workability expressed as number of Vee-Bee seconds.

Observations and Calculation

Initial reading on the graduated rod, a

Final reading on the graduated rod, b

Slump = (b) – (a), in cm

Time for complete remoulding, seconds

Results

The consistency of the concrete is reported in seconds.

Standard Values

Workability Description	Vee-Bee Time (in Second)
Extremely Dry	32-18
Very Stiff	18-10
Stiff	10-5
Stiff Plastic	5-3
Plastic	3-0
Flowing	—