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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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Cement Testing Resource Guide: Methods & Equipment

"…[Hydraulic] cement can't be characterized as just one material."

In this blog, we discuss what specifications define hydraulic cement and their use, as well as test methods and which testing equipment to use for your test application.

Air Meter Calibration: A Step-By-Step Guide

In this blog, concrete air meter calibration will be broken down into everyday language in such a way where the practice won't be tough to carry out and won't take long either.

Concrete Air Testing: Why, When, & How: An In-Depth Look

Testing for air content is always recommended to profile characteristics of the admixtures in concrete. In this blog, we discuss what, why, and how to perform such test methods for concrete air testing.

Tyler Ley, Inventor of the Super Air Meter: The Interview

He's the professor who's passionate about concrete! In this exclusive Gilson interview, Dr. Tyler Ley discusses some of the history of concrete testing, his incredibly entertaining and informative videos on YouTube, and how he invented one of the industry's most innovative tools - the Super Air Meter!

Fineness Modulus of Aggregate

When designing concrete mixes, fineness modulus of the fine aggregate alone is required for effective proportioning of mixes. This blog post explores the process of determining and calculating fineness modulus, and how to accordingly select proportions of coarse aggregate.

The Gray Pages: ASTM’s How-To for Concrete and Aggregates Testing

The Gray Pages: the how and why of test methods and a guide to performing concrete and aggregate tests efficiently while complying with requirements within the standards.

Choosing a Standard Concrete Compression Testing Machine
 concrete compression machines

This 5-step guide is designed to help you select the specific standard concrete compression machine and adaptive accessories that best meet your laboratory concrete compressive testing needs.

Construction Materials Testing Certifications: an Overall Compilation
 Overall Certification Compilation

Over the past several months, we have explored various materials testing technician certifications and what it takes to achieve them. This final summary blog in the series includes what’s new, schedules for 2018 programs and testing, and a downloadable PDF Resource List. As any additional information becomes available, we will update the blog series accordingly.

The Road to Earning a Technical Certification in Concrete
Concrete Technical Certification

This is the second in Gilson’s series on preparing for construction materials testing certification of technicians working in concrete, asphalt, aggregates, and soils/geotechnical fields. This blog post provides information and resources specifically related to some of the different concrete technician designations.

Construction Material Testing: 7 Things to Know About Certification
Construction Materials Testing: 7 Things to Know About Certification

An ever-increasing number of regulations, project requirements and even individual test methods require that laboratory and field personnel undergo specific training and pass certification examinations before they can perform certain tests for the record. This, and the wide array of training and certification programs available from different organizations, underscore the importance that the engineering and construction communities place on expertise, competency and accuracy in all areas of construction materials testing.