Concrete

With fully equipped field concrete testing specialised teams covering the UK, ESG are able to provide a comprehensive testing service to prove the quality of fresh and hardened concrete. This encompasses UKAS accredited on-site manufacture of cubes, workability and air content testing and laboratory tests to determine compressive strength, density and cement content.

Our services include:

Fresh Concrete Testing

Soil Mechanics provide highly skilled technicians to carry out the on-site sampling and making of concrete test cubes which are cured and tested in strict accordance with British Standards at our UKAS accredited laboratories.  

• On-site UKAS accredited service for sampling fresh concrete
• On-site UKAS accredited service for workability testing of fresh concrete
• On-site UKAS accredited service for air content testing of fresh concrete
• On-site UKAS accredited service for cube making 

Hardened Concrete Testing

• Laboratory storage, curing and testing
• Compressive strength of concrete cube
• Compressive strength of concrete core
• Carbonation depth on core
• Chloride content analysis
• Sulphate content analysis
• Analysis of hardened concrete

All of these services are accredited by UKAS to comply with the requirements of BS EN ISO 17025.

Concrete Cube Collection Service

ESG provides a concrete cube collection service. All cubes are appropriately cured in readiness for testing.

Cube Mould Hire Service

We hire out cube moulds, thermostatically controlled curing tanks and other associated equipment to enable customers to make their own concrete cubes.

Concrete Investigations

For bridge assessments and condition surveys we offer a complete investigation service using qualified in-house expertise to efficiently and effectively identify all types of reinforced (and mass) concrete deterioration. We undertake both visual inspections and non-destructive testing including:

• Investigating the corrosion of reinforcements
• Analysing the cover and depth of carbonation, frost and environmental damage, water penetration/dampness
• Petrography studies
• Cover meter surveys
• Half cell surveys 
• Resistivity surveys
• Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys
• Thermographic imaging
• Vibration monitoring
• Ultrasonic testing
• Tapping survey

On-site Sampling and Inspection

Our safe and accurate methods for the on-site sampling of both freshly poured and hardened concrete include:

• Coring
• Dust drilling
• Bulk sampling

For detailed examinations of the stresses applied to the concrete after pouring and curing we have all the instrumentation and know-how required to undertake efficient and effective:

• Post-tension duct inspections
• Boroscope surveys
• Alkali-silica reaction investigations

BRE Special Digest 1

To assess the risk of attack on buried concrete from aggressive ground conditions e.g. arising from sulphates and/or acidic soil we use the very latest in-house technologies to quantify the risks outlined in the SD1 guidelines. Technical consultancy is available from our team of professional engineers and is backed up by a testing facility dedicated to SD1.

ESG is UKAS accredited for SD 1 and TRL447 methods.

Chemical Analysis of Concrete

Chemical analysis of concrete is undertaken at one of three UK based material testing laboratories which provide valuable information regarding the cause(s) of failure of concrete. Our testing programmes are used to analyse:

• Chloride content
• Concentrations of major cement constituents i.e. calcium, silica, magnesium, iron, aluminium
• Sulphate content
• Presence of high alumina cement
• Alkali content (sodium and potassium ions)
• Cement content