Duff A. Abrams (1880–1965) was an American researcher in the field of composition and properties of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

. He developed the basic methods for testing concrete characteristics that remain in use. A professor with the

Lewis Institute The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour ...

, he studied the component materials of concrete in the early 20th century. Abrams was researcher, professor, and director of the research laboratory 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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. 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 a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. He was also president of the American Concrete Association (ACI) from 1930 to 1931. He was awarded the Frank P. Brown Medal in 1942. Abrams investigated the influence of the composition of concrete mixes on the strength of the end product. Some of the results of his research were: the definition of the concept of fineness modulus; the definition of the water–cement ratio; a concrete slump test for the workability of a concrete mix by using what the Abrams cone. 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 Structural system, structure to withstand Structural load, loads tending to reduce size (Compression (physics), compression). It is opposed to ''tensil ...

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.''

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 Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ or ψ), the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviat ...

). * 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