TOP BUILDERS

INTERNATIONAL CO. LTD.

Method Statement
for In-Situ Pull Off Test on Marble

Project: Venetian Macau in Cotai, Macau

Re: Work Package 5115 (Top Builders), Prefabricated Bathroom
Revision: B
Date: 2006/07/13

METHOD STATEMENT FOR IN-SITU PULL OFF TEST ON

MARBLE
In Accordance With In-house Method DLA31
1.

EQUIPMENT
z Pull off test apparatus
z Saw cut machine
z Vacuum Apparatus
z Vernier Caliper
z Engineers square

2. PROCEDURE
2.1
Record all the information and test result on work sheet DLA 31A
2.2
Set up vacuum apparatus at the selected location,
2.3
Mix the epoxy resin adhesive: ARALDITE XH 111 A/B as the manufacturers
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11
2.12
2.13
2.14
2.15
2.16
2.17
2.18

instruction.
Fix the aluminum dolly onto the exposed marble surface and the marble size to
be 100100mm.
Carefully position the aluminum dolly ensuring the axis of the dolly is same as
the axis of tile sample and be right angled to its surrounding surface.
Apply the dolly holder to hold the dolly in position
Allow minimum one hour for the adhesive be hardened.
Check the hardness of adhesive before setting up the pull off machine.
Screw the pulling rod of the pull off machine into the dolly as far as possible.
Connect the pulling rod to the pull off machine
Check the pull off machine is perpendicular to the surrounding surface using
the engineers square.
Pre-set loading rate at 0.05 N/mm/second, see Table 1 for the accrual setting
for the specific size of the tile under test.
Zero the pull off machine and apply loading by rotating the handle of the pull
off machine.
The loading speed should follow the pacer bar of the screen of the pull off
machine until failure.
Record the failure load which shown on the pull off machine.
Measure and record the dimension of the test specimen by the vernier caliper,
taking the average of each pair of two measurements as its length and width.
Inspect and record the proportion of failure in concrete, render, tile adhesive,
tile and interface between layers in percentage.
Record the condition of the opening (the broken surface of the actual element

2.19

tested) by taking a photograph, making sure a sticky label with key

information on it which stuck right next to the hole when taking the
photograph.
Take photographs in the laboratory at 90 intervals of its surfaces and one at
the broken end of the tile sample which still adhered on the dolly.

3. CALCULATION AND TOLERENCE

Calculate the pull off strength by dividing the failure load by the measured sectional
area and express the final result to the nearest 0.1 N/mm.
4. REPORT
Report test result on report form DLA 31. Sample as below:
Size Of Tile
(mm)
4545

Calculated Sectional Area

(mm)

Setting
(KN/second)

2025

0.1013

4595

4275

0.2138

100100

10000

0.5

150150

22500

1.125

200200

40000

2.0

300300

90000

4.5

TABLE 1