Concrete Testing

Accurate, independent testing of concrete to Irish and European standards.

BHP Laboratories is the largest independent materials testing laboratory in Ireland providing a wide range of engineering & scientific measuring, testing and analysing services to numerous industries throughout Ireland and the UK. We provide a comprehensive range of testing and analysing solutions for concrete as part of a structural investigation.

BHP Laboratories provides Structural Investigation services to clients in the construction industry, including main contractors, designers, consulting engineers, owners/developers, and other relevant parties. For concrete testing, this includes a combination of site and laboratory sampling, testing, and advising services.

Services include;

Desk study
Site visit and development of proposal for scope of testing and investigation
Concrete Testing
- Insitu compressive strength assessment of concrete by core drilling
- Concrete surface assessment by Rebound Hammer (Schmidt) to determine consistency of rebound values and locate positions for further inspection
- Reinforcement cover and layout testing – cover, spacing, size
- Concrete GPR scanning to determine layout out of multiple layers of reinforcement to a depth of 800mm
- Concrete breakouts to confirm findings of scanning
- Corrosion assessment of embedded reinforcement (Half-Cell)
- Corrosion assessment potential of concrete surface (Resistivity)
- Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) testing
- Determination of water absorption of concrete (permeability)
- Pull-Off testing to determine the condition of the concrete surface for the application of repair materials and/or waterproofing
- Laboratory testing of cores and dust samples including:
  - Visual Assessment
  - Density
  - Compressive Strength
  - Carbonation
  - Chloride Ingress Profile
  - Sulphate Content
  - Cement Content
  - High Alumina Cement (HAC)
  - Water-Cement Ratio
  - Thin Section Petrographic Examination

All testing is carried out by experienced technicians in our INAB ISO 17025 accredited laboratory, with results delivered to agreed turnaround times. We also provide on-site sampling and testing, with a fleet of fully equipped vehicles and field operatives covering all of Ireland.