CMT

Porosity

It is the degree to which the volume of the material is interspersed with voids. It is expressed as a ratio of the volume of voids to that of the specimen.

Void Ratio

It is expressed as a ratio of the volume of voids to the volume of solids.

Hygroscopicity

It is the property of a material to absorb water vapor from air. It depends on the relative humidity, porosity, air temperature etc.

It can be expressed by moisture content. Moisture content is the percentage of water contained in a material to its dry mass.

Water Absorption

- It refers to the property of absorbing water when materials are exposed to water.

- It is expressed in % of weight of dry material.

- It depends up on the size, shape and number of pores of material.

Weathering Resistance

The property of a material to withstand against all atmospheric actions without losing its strength and shape.

Water Permeability

It is the capacity of a material to allow water to penetrate under pressure.

Durability

It is the property of a material to withstand against the combined action of atmospheric and other factors.

If the material is more durable, it will be useful for longer life.

Maintenance cost of material is dependent of durability.

Spalling Resistance

The ability of a material to undergo certain number of cycles of sharp temperature variations without failing is known as spalling resistance.

It is the dependent of coefficient of linear expansion.

Coefficient of Softening

It is the ratio of compressive strength of a saturated material to its compressive strength in dry state.

It affects the strength of water absorbent materials like soil.

Refractoriness

The property of a material which cannot melt or lose its shape at prolonged high temperatures (1580oC or more).

Example: fire clay is high refractory material.

Strength

It is the capacity of a material to resist failure caused by loads acting on it.

The load may be compressive, tensile or bending. It is determined by dividing the ultimate load taken by the material with its cross-sectional area.

Strength is an important property for any construction materials. So, to provide maximum safety in strength, factor of safety is provided for materials, and it is selected depending on nature of work, quality of material, economic conditions etc.

Elasticity

The capacity of a material to regain its initial shape and size after removal of load is known as elasticity and the material is called as elastic material.

Plasticity

When the load is applied on the material, if it will undergo permanent deformation without cracking and retain this shape after the removal of load then it is said to be plastic material and this property is called as plasticity.

They give resistance against bending, impact etc. Examples: steel, hot bitumen

Brittleness

When the material is subjected to load, if it fails suddenly without causing any deformation then it is called brittle material.

Fatigue

If a material is subjected to repeated loads, then the failure occurs at some point which is lower than the failure point caused by steady loads.

Creep

It is the deformation caused by constant loads for long periods. It is time dependent and occurs at very slow rate. It is almost negligible in normal conditions. But at high temperature conditions creep occur rapidly.

Impact Strength

If a material is subjected to sudden loads and it will undergo some deformation without causing rupture.

It designates the toughness of material.

Abrasion Resistance

The loss of material due to rubbing of particles while working.

The abrasion resistance for a material makes it durable and provided long life.

Chemical Resistance

The ability of a construction material to resist the effects of chemicals like acids, salts and alkalis.

Underground installations, constructions near sea should be built..

Corrosion Resistance

Formation of rust (iron oxide) in metals, when they are subjected to atmosphere.

So, the metals should be corrosive resistant. To increase the corrosion resistance proper measures should be considered. Otherwise, it will damage the whole structure.

Thermal Capacity

It is the property of a material to absorb heat when it is heated and to release heat when it is cooled.

Thermal Conductivity

The amount of heat transferred through unit area of specimen with unit thickness in unit time

Thermal Resistivity

It is the ability to resist heat conduction.

Specific Heat

The quantity of heat required to heat 1 N of material by 1oC. Useful when we use the material in high temperature areas.

Sieves

Fineness modulus is generally used to get an idea of how coarse or fine the aggregate is. More fineness modulus value indicates that the aggregate is coarser and small value of fineness modulus indicates that the aggregate is finer.

Oven

The moisture content of soil determination is a routine laboratory procedure.

Desiccator

An airtight container used to cool and store soil samples after drying them in an oven to a constant weight, typically for moisture content determination.

Beam Mold

Used to test concrete flexural strength.

Cylinder Molds

Are essential tools in the field of concrete testing, providing a reliable means to produce standard-sized specimens for evaluating the compressive strength and overall performance of concrete.

UTM

Is a versatile piece of equipment used to test the mechanical properties of various materials, components, and structures. It can

apply controlled tensile, compressive, and flexural forces to assess a material's strength, durability, and flexibility.

Soil Auger

Tool used for making boreholes effectively in soil.

Splitter

Used for the precise division into two representative portions of materials such as aggregates, sand, gravel and similar.

Cone Apparatus

Which is a standard procedure for determining the in-place density and unit weight of compacted soil.

Rammer

Is a construction tool designed to compact soil, gravel, and other materials using high-impact force. Unlike vibratory plate compactors, which rely on vibrations, rammers use a vertical percussive motion to drive materials into a dense and stable form.

Soil Hydrometer

Is a buoyant glass tube calibrated to measure the relative density of liquids.

Pyncnometer

is a technique used to determine the specific gravity and density of materials, particularly in the context of soil and aggregates.