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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right User Manual – v4.0 For: ASTM C 1202 AASHTO T 277-832 ASTM C 1760 NT BUILD 492 & French Standards XP P 18-461 or XP P 18-462 GERMANN INSTRUMENTS, A/S GERMANN INSTRUMENTS, Inc. Emdrupvej 102 8845 Forest View Road, DK-2400, Copenhagen NV.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Limited Warranty Germann Instruments warrants the Product against defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of 12 months from the Delivery Date. This Warranty does not apply to: (1) any consumable parts, such as batteries and cables, unless there is evident defect in materials or workmanship;...
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Figure 2 The schematic of a standard Proove´it cell. 1. Reservoir for NaCl solution. 7. Red banana jack. 2. Reservoir for NaOH solution. 8. Black banana jack. 3. Solution filling inlet. 9. Sealing gasket. 4.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Figure 3 The Proove´it testing cells. (a) The standard PR-1000 cell for ASTM C 1202. (b) The PR-1200 cell for ASTM C 1760. (c) The PR-1100 cell with cooling ribs for NT BUILD 492, and RCPT with optional heat reduction. (d) The PR-1000-113-20 modified for the French standard XP P 18-461 for 113 mm diameter and 20 mm thick specimens (cooling ribs can also be mounted here).
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right The bulk electrical conductivity is finally calculated as: σ = K x I x L / (V x D Where: σ = bulk electrical conductivity, mS/m (miliSiemens per meter) K = conversion factor = 1273.2 = current at 1 min, mA L = average length of specimen, mm V= Voltage, V.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right 3. Preparing and producing the specimens In laboratory, specimens may be cast in a 100 mm diameter steel moulds, 200 mm high (see figure 5), with the MRLN-1009 precision steel mould, reusable, 100 mm diameter, 200 mm high (internal dimensions), with an accuracy of 0.02 mm on the dimensions.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right 4. Conditioning the specimens For moistening the samples, boiled (cooled down) or de- aerated tap water is required. Boil the required amount of water for half an hour to make sure the water is free of air. De-aerated water will permeate the concrete specimen more easily.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right NOTE: Do not lift the desiccators containing the samples and water. The water or solution has to be drained prior to removing the top lid and the samples; otherwise, the desiccator may separate at the bottom.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Figure 10 Figure 11 Tighten each hex nut fingertip tight, going from one bolt to another diagonally. Then, tight the nuts diagonally a little further with the 17 mm hex keys in the same order so that the cell half is squeezed evenly and that all the parts are parallel to each other.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right 7. Installing the gaskets with epoxy Epoxy between the gaskets and the specimen has to be applied if the concrete surface is rough or not complete cylindrical, or if notches are present from saw cutting, or otherwise, if the cell cannot be made watertight after assembling.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right NOTE: Disable the sleeping mode in the PC. The operator has to make sure that the PC or laptop power settings are always ON when testing with the instrument. If the computer goes to sleeping or hibernating mode, it will temporarily disconnect the computer from the Proove’it unit, causing an extension of the running time to include the time the computer was in sleeping, hibernating or power saving mode and therefore, an increase of the readings of charged passed as well.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right 10.1 Running the test for ASTM C 1202 and NT BUILD 492 Setup → Voltage - all channels The ASTM C 1202 standard specifies the voltage to be at 60 V. For the NT BUILD 492 the start-up voltage is 30 V and, depending on the initial current measured, the final testing voltage and the time tested over are selected according to what is stated in the NT BUILD 492 standard requirements.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Testing time can be set whether to be the default 6-hours period (ASTM C 1202), or any other testing time (NT Build 492) for each channel. If channels are not stopped, testing will proceed until the selected testing time is achieved. Then, the status of the channels turns “FIN”...
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Start → Start channel To start a channel, select the channel in question with the mouse or press the combination Shift + the Function key for the desired channel, e.g. keys Shift + F4 for channel 4. Once a channel is started up, the text in the pop-up menu will change to a gray color, the Status of the channel will change from OFF to ON and the clock in the Elapsed Time field will start.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Unlock → Unlock channel To unlock a channel, select the channel in question with the mouse or press the combination Ctrl + the Function key for the desired channel, e.g. keys Ctrl + F4 for channel 4. When a channel is unlocked, a yellow unlock symbol will be shown beside the channel number.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Stop → Stop channel To stop a channel, select the channel in question with the mouse or press the combination Ctrl + Shift + the Function key for the desired channel, e.g. keys Ctrl + Shift + F4 for channel 4. Once a channel is stopped, it cannot be started again before resetting the data.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right To save the data from a test and/or reset the channel, select the channel in question with the mouse or press the combination Alt + Shift + the Function key for the desired channel, e.g. keys Alt + Shift + F4 for channel 4.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right The Report Manager will show the table below which will contain every test that has been ran: A specific Test can be opened by clicking on the left column in the table shown above. The data for the channel selected is shown on the right side of the screen.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right More information can be entered for each sample tested as shown below: The test data is presented in a graphic at the bottom of the Report Manager. The X-axis will be automatically adjusted depending on the number of readings. The temperature is indicated with the blue line and the current with the light blue columns.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right NOTE: A company’s logo or address can be inserted in the top of the report. To do so, a file with the size 20 x 80 mm has to be made as a JPEG-file. In the data directory where the software is installed, C:….\proovePCdata, a file with the name Prooveit User Logo.jpg is located.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Delete → Deleting data he test data highlighted can be deleted by clicking on the red button “Delete” located in the upper right side of the Report Manager Window. 10.2 Running the test for ASTM C 1760 For using the Proove’it for the Bulk Conductivity test, the program mode has to be changed by clicking on “bulk conductivity (C 1760)”...
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Once the main screen of the bulk conductivity mode appears, the specimen diameter and length can be set in the setup menu but the test time is always 1 minute, and cannot be changed. Although the standard voltage for ASTM C1760 is 60V, it is allowed to change it.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Setup → Specimen Length Select one of the default 200 mm length options from the menu or input the actual length for the desired channel. Setup → Voltage – all channels Select the testing voltage for the channels; however, the standard voltage according to ASTM C 1760 is 60...
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right To start, unlock or stop a channel, the same instructions applied as mentioned in section 10. Refer to that section for details. Screen shots of a test running and after finishing are shown below. Note that the testing time is always one minute.
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Report →Reporting the data Report Viewer is the application to report data after performing tests under ASTM C1760. It can be started either by selecting the REPORT menu or by clicking on the icon “Bulk Conductivity Report Viewer” of the shortcut created during the installation.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right To copy data to Excel, follow the next steps: 1. Start an Excel file. 2. Place the cursor somewhere in the data area of the Report. 3. Press <CTRL> + A to select the data. 4.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right For checking the electrical continuity of the cell parts, measure the electrical resistance between the mesh and the red or black jacks on the side face of the cell parts. The electrical resistance has to be less than 0.5 Ohm.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right Figure 14 Correct current path (green) and incorrect current paths (red) for one channel of the Proove´it Power Supply Unit. The black jacks are NOT common ground. Never cross-connect different channels. 15. Maintenance of the vacuum pump For oil exchange, adhere to the maintenance manual enclosed with the vacuum pump.
Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right 16. References [1] ASTM C 1202-14: "Standard Test Method for Electrical Indication of Concretes Ability to Resist Chloride Ion Penetration". [2] AASHTO T 277-832: "Rapid Determination of the Chloride Permeability of Concrete". [3] ASTM C 1760-12: Standard Test Method for Bulk Electrical Conductivity of Hardened Concrete”...
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Germann Instruments, Inc. Test Smart – Build Right [17] Nokken, M.R., and Hooton, R.D., 2006, “Electrical Conductivity Testing,” Concrete International, October, pp. 58-63 [18] Snyder, K.A., Ferraris, C., Martys, N.S., and Garboczi, E.J., 2000, “Using Impedance Spectroscopy to Assess the Viability of the Rapid Chloride Test for Determining Concrete 322 Conductivity,” J. Res. Natl.
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