DESIGN OF CONCRETE MIX

ACCORDING TO BRE MIX DESIGN

METHOD

INSTRUCTED BY:GROUP MEMBERS: 1.

2.
3.
4.
5.

Hendawitharana S.U
Herath H.M.I
Hewawasam K.S
Hirishanth N.
Indrachapa K.G.L

Name:
Index No:
Course:
Group:
Date of Per:
Date of Sub:

Herath H.M.I
130202B
B.Sc. Eng.(Civil)
B3
18/11/2014
02/11/2014

Introduction

PROCEDURE
The concrete mix was designed according to the given specifications
The constituent materials were weighed with 25% allowance for cement, water, fine aggregate and
coarse aggregate
The material were put into a concrete mixer and mixed well. Additional water was added as required
for the mixture.
After mixing the mixture was poured out onto the ground and again mixed well using shovels.
Compaction factor test
The sample of concrete was placed in the upper hopper up to the brim of the compaction test
apparatus.
ii) The trap-door was opened so that the concrete falls into the lower hopper.
iii) The trap-door of the lower hopper was opened and the concrete was allowed to fall into the
cylinder.
iv) The excess concrete remaining above the top level of the cylinder was then cut off using a
trowel
v) The concrete in the cylinder was weighed
vi) The cylinder was filled with a fresh sample of concrete added in 3 layers. Each layer was
compacted using a compacting bar by 25 tamps. It was vibrated in the mechanical vibrator to
obtain full compaction until the air bubbles ceased coming from the top. The concrete in the
cylinder was weighed again

Slump test
To perform the slump test the concrete was added in 3 layers to the slump cone put on a steel plate. In
each layer the layer was compacted with 15 tamps using the compacting bar. After compacting the top
layer it was cut using a trowel and made smooth
Then the cone was removed and the slump was measured in relation the height of the slump cone
Cubes
The concrete was mixed again for a short time and added to three cube moulds of sizes
150mmx150mmx150mm for hand compaction. This was done in 3 layers for each cube and at each
layer it was compacted by 35 tamps using the compacting bar. The top layer was cut using a trowel and
made smooth.
The 3 moulds for making the machine compacted concrete cubes were placed on top of the mechanical
vibrator and the concrete was added into the moulds. After that the machine was switched on and the

concrete allowed to be compacted until the air inside the concrete was removed when the air bubbles
stopped coming out from the top surface of the concrete mix.
Discussion
For this mix design it was expected that the compressive strength would be about 38 Mpa. But for this
experiment the average compressive strength was 42.75 N/mm. The reasons for this difference can be:
1. The target mean strength was calculated for 7 days. But the compressive strengths for
the cubes were tested after 11 days. This will cause the cement to harden more because
of the increased time.
The specified slump size was 50mm but the actual slump value was 41mm and this is a deviation of
18%. The mix design was not in the accepted workability.
More water was added to the mixture after the initial trial mix constituents.
The coarse aggregate type and the maximum size is also a factor that decides compressive strength and
workability of concrete mix. The coarse aggregates we used were not exactly 20mm, though we
calculated for sizes of 20mm.
The cement properties are taken as recorded and specified but cement batch may not be according to
standards. The cement we used might not be new cement and the bonding might be weaker than in new
cement bonding.

Also there can be discrepancies due to the following human errors, errors in apparatuses:
Errors when measuring the weight of cement, water and cylinder
The concrete might not be mixed properly
Poor quality of concrete though they might be of the appropriate size

 When vibrating the concrete moulds they might be over/under vibrated

Possible reasons
The water content is more than the calculated amount, which can be due to
The fine aggregates and the coarse aggregates used have been wet resulting in an increase of the
water content. This resulted in a more workability than required.
The floor we have used to mix the substances may have been wet.

Suitability of the DoE method of mix design for the local conditions:
The DoE procedure was established based on conditions in United Kingdom . The values that were
calculated in accordance with the DoE method may not be suitable for Sri Lanka due to these reasons:

Climate Differences
Differences in aggregate properties

Sri Lanka is a tropical country with very low climatic variations. But UK is a country
subject to many seasons. The humidity, atmospheric temperature, water temperature
can differ in Sri Lanka and UK. With these differences the DoE method might not be
exactly suitable for Sri Lanka

The aggregate types though they might be of the same size will differ between Sri Lanka and UK. The
aggregate properties such as strength will differ. This will affect the calculations as well as the results.
To ensure that such factors do not affect the designing process the standards need to be amended to
match Sri Lanka. Many experiments need to be conducted and based on these results, the tables and
other calculations can be amended.