{"id":4811,"date":"2026-07-11T09:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T01:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/rebound-hammer-test-concrete-en-12504-2-astm-c805\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T09:20:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T01:20:22","slug":"rebound-hammer-test-concrete-en-12504-2-astm-c805","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/rebound-hammer-test-concrete-en-12504-2-astm-c805\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebound Hammer Test on Concrete (EN 12504-2 \/ ASTM C805): Method &#038; Apparatus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- nleeat --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-guide-meta\" style=\"border-left:4px solid #10243e;background:#f4f7fb;padding:12px 16px;margin:0 0 20px;font-size:14px;color:#3d4c60\">Written by the <strong>NL Scientific Engineering Team<\/strong> &middot; Reviewed by our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/certifications\/\">ISO\/IEC 17025 (SAMM 835) accredited<\/a> calibration laboratory &middot; Last updated <strong>11 July 2026<\/strong><\/div>\n<p>The <strong>rebound hammer test<\/strong> (Schmidt hammer) is the most widely used non-destructive check of in-place concrete, estimating surface hardness and, through correlation, compressive strength uniformity.<\/p>\n<h2>What the Test Measures<\/h2>\n<p>A spring-driven plunger impacts the concrete surface and the rebound distance is read as a rebound number (R). Harder, stronger concrete rebounds further. The test assesses uniformity and comparative quality; it is not a replacement for core or cube strength results.<\/p>\n<h2>Apparatus Required<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Rebound hammer (Type N, impact energy 2.207 Nm, for normal structures) with reading scale or digital display<\/li>\n<li>Abrasive stone for surface grinding<\/li>\n<li>Reference anvil for calibration verification (expected R &asymp; 80 on steel anvil)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Test Procedure<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Verify hammer on the reference anvil before and after each series.<\/li>\n<li>Grind a smooth, dry test area of at least 300&times;300 mm; avoid surfaces with honeycombing, carbonated skin or coatings.<\/li>\n<li>Hold the hammer perpendicular to the surface; take at least 9 readings (EN) spaced not less than 25 mm apart and 25 mm from edges.<\/li>\n<li>Record the orientation (horizontal, vertically up\/down) \u2014 rebound values must be corrected for impact direction.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Calculation &amp; Reporting<\/h2>\n<p>Report the median rebound number per EN 12504-2. Discard the set if more than 20% of readings differ from the median by more than 30%. Strength estimation requires a correlation curve established against cores or cubes from the same concrete.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptance Criteria<\/h2>\n<p>Rebound numbers for normal structural concrete typically range 25&ndash;50. Values are affected by carbonation (up to +50% overestimate on old surfaces), moisture and aggregate type \u2014 grind carbonated layers and correlate before judging strength compliance.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<h3>How accurate is the rebound hammer for strength?<\/h3>\n<p>With a mix-specific correlation, &plusmn;15&ndash;20% at best. Without correlation it should only rank areas of the same structure for uniformity or locate suspect zones for coring.<\/p>\n<h3>How often should the hammer be calibrated?<\/h3>\n<p>Verify on the steel anvil each day of use; return the hammer for servicing and recalibration after roughly 2,000 impacts or whenever anvil readings drift outside the manufacturer&#8217;s band.<\/p>\n<h2>Recommended Apparatus<\/h2>\n<p>NL Scientific manufactures the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/product\/rock-test-hammer\/\">Rock Test Hammer<\/a> for this method. Browse the full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/product-category\/concrete\/\">Concrete Testing Equipment<\/a> range or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/contact-us\/\">request a quotation<\/a> from our engineers.<\/p>\n<p><!-- nlfaq --><br \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@type\": \"FAQPage\", \"mainEntity\": [{\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"How accurate is the rebound hammer for strength?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"With a mix-specific correlation, \u00b115\u201320% at best. Without correlation it should only rank areas of the same structure for uniformity or locate suspect zones for coring.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"How often should the hammer be calibrated?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Verify on the steel anvil each day of use; return the hammer for servicing and recalibration after roughly 2,000 impacts or whenever anvil readings drift outside the manufacturer's band.\"}}]}<\/script><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by the NL Scientific Engineering Team &middot; Reviewed by our ISO\/IEC 17025 (SAMM 835) accredited calibration laboratory &middot; Last updated 11 July 2026 The rebound hammer test (Schmidt hammer)&hellip;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3749,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[164,176],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-concrete-testing"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4848,"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4811\/revisions\/4848"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nlscientific.com\/en_ph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}