Concrete and Mortar Testing Services
Concrete and mortar play a key role in the construction industry; they are widely used in large infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, dams, and in the housing sector in large and small multi-storey developments. Pre-cast concrete is used for small-scale individual components and in larger-scale construction projects such as load-bearing elements. Mortar is used in more traditional construction for smaller projects such as housing developments.
We provide testing and consultancy services throughout the concrete and mortar production process including materials selection, characterisation, in-situ use, failures, through to demolition and recycling at the end of its life.
Services include:
- analysing the constituent materials that go into cements and concrete mixes to look for contaminants and to assess the suitability for use
- testing additives for conformance which enables the manufacturer to CE mark and test the adequacy of the finished product
- testing the physical characteristics of the finished component, i.e., bend, crush, and tensile strengths and environmental conditions, such as air tightness, water tightness, and durability
- testing load bearing structural panels to destruction
- on-site testing of simulated wind loadings and vertical loading tests
- destructive and non-destructive testing of whole structures and components in-situ
- sample analysis for chemical attack
- forensically analyse concrete to establish failures because of contaminants, inadequate design, or durability factors
- testing of concrete repair techniques and products to enable them to be CE marked or in-situ when applied to verify their performance
Concrete raw material evaluations
Concrete is formed by mixing cement with sand, water, and aggregate. Cement requires a tightly controlled combination of raw materials, including calcium, silicon, iron, and aluminium. We can evaluate the quality of the raw materials extracted from the quarry to be used during the manufacturing process.
During each stage of the manufacturing process, materials must be checked and analysed to ensure the quality of the finished product. Different mineral materials can be added to give specific properties such as educed permeability or greater resistance to sulphates. Lucideon can analyse the purity of the cement additives needs to be checked to ensure satisfactory performance.
White Papers
This white paper provides a broad overview of the concreting process and discusses common deficiencies and degradation mechanisms in hardened concrete structures that require petrographic examination
Digital Image Correlation is a technique that can deliver video footage of the strain development on the surface of a material due to loading or other actions
The purpose of this paper is to show some examples where the results from whole building tests have demonstrated distinct improvements in performance
Case Studies
Testing provided evidence that the strength requirements of the UHPFRC were met at each stage of the flyover restoration process
Analysis of concrete and screed identified that the flooring materials specified were not used and lower-cost alternatives were sourced
Testing and consultancy enabled third party insurance and building control sign-offs