Compressive strength remains one of the more important and most often tested performance properties of concrete. This is due to the fact that, from a structural standpoint, the designer has made design assumptions based upon the actual compressive or flexural strength of the concrete and they need to verify that the concrete can achieve the strength values they have assumed.
Strength is also very important from a contractual standpoint since building codes reference the CSA A23.1 standard for the minimum concrete performance requirements of the various CSA Exposure classes and strength is one of the minimum requirements for all, except class N exposure conditions.
Improper casting and initial site curing of concrete samples can have very significant impacts on the final compressive strength of the concrete being evaluated, so extreme care and control is required in order to perform this work correctly.
