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Gilson Insights

Have questions about your materials testing equipment?  We have the answers to these questions and much more right here! Check back monthly for long-form blog posts, how-to guides and infographics. We’ll address industry insights, the operation and maintenance of specific equipment, and our product line recommendations, all designed to better serve you.

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The GilSonic AutoSiever Maintenance & Operation

Gilson’s AutoSiever for particle sizing is the ideal solution for hard-to-separate fine powders. This blog post explores the cleaning, care, and storage of the GA-6 AutoSiever, acrylic test sieves, and latex components, along with some how-to tips for optimizing sonic sieving performance.

Understanding Concrete Plastic Shrinkage Cracking

If surface moisture evaporates from freshly poured concrete too quickly, the concrete surface dries out and plastic shrinkage cracking can occur. Learn how to monitor and mitigate plastic shrinkage for optimum concrete results.

Relative Density/Specific Gravity of Fine and Coarse Aggregate

Determining relative density, or specific gravity, allows accurate conversion of volumes to gravimetric weights for proportioning materials. Learn more about relative density/specific gravity test methods and the equipment used to perform this laboratory test.

Brass or Stainless Steel Test Sieves: That Was Then, This Is Now

For this blog article, we will look at the use of brass for weaving the mesh of laboratory test sieves and how stainless steel has become a more efficient and cost-effective mesh material.

Construction Materials Testing: An Overview
Construction Materials Testing Resource

The term construction materials testing sounds like a catch-all term for analyzing everything from nails to doorknobs. However, for the civil engineering industry, it has come to mean the characterization of a handful of things by using specific test methods in a construction materials testing laboratory: concrete, aggregates, asphalt, and soils. This blog will take a high-altitude view of what construction materials are, the most important properties to test for, and the right equipment to get the job done.

Reinforcing Steel and Concrete Quality for Nondestructive Evaluation<br />The Comprehensive Assessment of Hardened Concrete Series: Part 2 of 2
Reinforcing Steel and Concrete Quality for Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Guide

While Part 1 of this blog series discussed nondestructive concrete testing methods and equipment, Part 2 will cover equipment used to detect location, orientation, and corrosion of reinforcing steel, the effects of moisture, and how to document concrete quality.

The Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP): Applications and Equipment

The dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) is an efficient tool used to perform soil strength assessments of fine-grained soils, pavement base courses, and more. Learn about the advantages of this tool compared to other penetration testing methods and how to perform penetration tests using the dynamic cone penetrometer.

Concrete Slump Testing: Test Methods, Equipment, and Testing Techniques

Concrete slump testing is the most common test performed on fresh concrete for any application. It is a significant factor when evaluating a concrete batch's compliance with the approved mix design and an eleventh-hour check of its suitability for placement. For this post, we focus on the slump test, how to perform it properly, and the best testing equipment to use.

The Gilson Rice Shaker: A Versatile Tool for Specific Gravity Testing

If you regularly perform asphalt theoretical maximum specific gravity (Rice) tests, the Gilson Rice Shaker is a time-saving tool to have in your lab. Find out why this unit is the key to determining accurate specific gravity determinations for asphalt, aggregates, and soils.

Test Sieve Accuracy: Verification, Calibration, & Performance

Verification, calibration, and performance tests all contribute to the accuracy of test sieves. Understanding sieve accuracy will ensure you get the information you need out of your test sieves or screen trays.