Duff A. Abrams (1880,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, – 1965,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) was an American researcher in the field of composition and properties of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...

. He developed the basic methods for testing concrete characteristics still in use today. A

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

with the

Lewis Institute Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has pro ...

, he studied the component materials of concrete in the early 20th century. D. A. Abrams was

researcher Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

, and director of the

research laboratory A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often im ...

of the

Portland Cement Association Portland Cement Association is a non-profit organization that promotes the use of cement and concrete. The organization conducts and sponsors research, participates in setting cement manufacturing standards, and disseminates free designs of concre ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. He investigated the influence of the composition of concrete mixes on the strength of the end product. Some of the results of his research was: * the definition of the concept of fineness modulus; * the definition of the water-cement ratio; * a test method for the workability of a concrete mix by using what is called 'Abrams cone', see

concrete slump test The concrete slump test measures the consistency of fresh concrete before it sets. It is performed to check the workability of freshly made concrete, and therefore the ease with which concrete flows. It can also be used as an indicator of an impr ...

. In a comprehensive research program, Abrams established the relationship between the water-cement ratio and the

compressive strength In mechanics, compressive strength or compression strength is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to reduce size (as opposed to tensile strength which withstands loads tending to elongate). In other words, compre ...

of concrete. The results were first published in 1918 in ''D. A. Abrams, Design of Concrete Mixtures, Bulletin 1, Structural Materials Research Laboratory, Lewis Institute, Chicago, 1918.'' He was also president of the American Concrete Association (ACI) from 1930 until 1931. He was elected in 1915 a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

. He was awarded the Frank P. Brown Medal in 1942.

Bibliography

* 1913 – ''Tests of Bond Between Concrete and Steel'' * 1918 – ''Design of Concrete Mixtures'' (The effect of the water content and the grain size and grain size distribution on the compressive strength of concrete. Test methods for the water-cement ratio and fineness modulus). * 1919 – ''Effect of Curing Condition on Wear and Strength of Concrete'' (Describing 120 tests on cylinder-shaped samples and 300 tests on cubic samples in various moisture conditions and testing periods varying from 3 days to 4 months). * 1919 – ''Effect of Fineness of Cement on Plasticity and Strength of Concrete '' (Experimental research on the effect of the fineness of concrete and various types of additives on plasticity and strength). * 1920 – ''Effect of Hydrated Lime and Other Powdered Admixtures in Concrete '' * 1920 – ''Effect of Storage of Cement '' (Investigation of storage conditions for periods up to 5 years). * 1920 – ''Effect of Tannic Acid on Strength of Concrete '' * 1921 – ''Quantities of Materials for Concrete, D. A. Abrams en Stanton Walker '' (Recipes for concrete reporting its strength after 28 days of curing ranging from 2000 to 4000 psi). * 1922 – ''Flexural Strength of Plain Concrete '' (Relationship between flexural strength and compressive strength)

References

External links

*
An extract - Design of Concrete Mixtures

List of Publications by D.A. Abrams on scholar.google.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Duff 1880 births 1965 deaths American civil engineers Concrete pioneers People from Cook County, Illinois Engineers from Illinois Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science