Cube tests and the uniaxial compressive strength of concrete

Abstract

Summary The cube is undoubtedly the most convenient specimen to use when large numbers of crushing tests are required for concrete control purposes. The cylinder, or prism, on the other hand can give a much better estimate of the uniaxial compressive strength of concrete. The recent tendency has been to favour the adoption of the cylinder as the standard specimen, despite its shortcomings regarding convenience. The paper shows that variable differences can occur between the cube crushing strength and the uniaxial compressive strength, and then indicates how these differences can be greatly minimized by a suitable modification of the testing technique. This simple modification to the cube test enables the uniaxial strength to be determined very readily. The extremely convenient cube specimen can therefore now be used for uniaxial compressive strength determinations as well as for normal control purposes. The continued use of the cube as the standard form of test specimen is therefore recommended.