Fundamentals

Lecture Goals
Concrete Mixing and Proportioning
Concrete Properties
Steel Reinforcement

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Concrete: Composite material composed of
portland cement, fine aggregate (sand),
coarse aggregate (gravel/stone), and water;
with or without other additives.
Hydration: Chemical process in which the
cement powder reacts with water and then
sets and hardens into a solid mass, bonding
the aggregates together

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Heat of Hydration: Heat is released during the
hydration process.
In large concrete masses heat is dissipated
slowly
temperature rises and
volume expansion
later cooling
causes contraction.
Use special
measures to control cracking.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
1. Proportioning: Goal is to achieve mix with
Adequate strength
Proper workability for placement
Low cost
Low Cost:
Minimize amount of cement
Good gradation of aggregates (decreases
voids and cement paste required)

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Water-Cement Ratio (W/C)
Increased W/C: Improves plasticity and
fluidity of the mix.
Increased W/C: Results in decreased
strength due to larger volume of voids in
cement paste due to free water.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Water-Cement Ratio (W/C) (cont..)
Complete hydration of cement requires
W/C ~ 0.25.
Need water to wet aggregate surfaces,
provide mobility of water during
hydration and to provide workability.
Typical W/C = 0.40-0.60

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Water/Concrete table

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Proportions have been given by volume or
weight of cement to sand to gravel (ie.
1:2:4) with W/C specified separately
Now customary to specify per 94 lb. Bag of
cement: wt. Of water, sand & gravel
Batch quantity: wt. per cubic yard of each
component

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
2. Aggregates
70-75% of volume of hardened concrete
Remainder = hardened cement paste,
uncombined water, air voids
More densely packed aggregate give better
Strength
Weather resistance (durability)
Economical

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
2. Aggregates
Fine aggregate: sand (passes through a
No. 4 sieve; 4 openings per inch)
Coarse aggregate: gravel
Good gradation:
2-3 size groups of sand
Several size groups of gravel

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Maximum size of coarse aggregate in RC
structures: Must fit into forms and between
reinforcing bars:(NSR-10, C.3.3.2)
1/5 narrowest form dimension
1/3 depth of slab
3/4 minimum distance between
reinforcement bars

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Aggregate Strength
Strong aggregates: quartzite, felsite
Weak aggregates: sandstone, marble
Intermediate strength: limestone, granite

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
In the design of concrete mixes, three principal
requirements for concrete are of importance:
Quality
Workability
Economical

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Quality of concrete is measured by its
strength and durability. The principal factors
affecting the strength of concrete , assuming
a sound aggregates, W/C ratio, and the
extent to which hydration has progressed.
Durability of concrete is the ability of the
concrete to resist disintegration due to
freezing and thawing and chemical attack.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Workability of concrete may be defined as a
composite characteristic indicative of the ease
with which the mass of plastic material may
deposited in its final place without
segregation during placement, and its ability
to conform to fine forming detail.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Economical takes into account effective use
of materials, effective operation, and ease of
handling. The cost of producing good quality
concrete is an important consideration in the
overall cost of the construction project.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
The influence of ingredients on properties
of concrete.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
3. Workability
Workability measured by slump test
slump
12

1.
2.
3.
4.

1
2
3
4
Layer 1: Fill 1/3 full. 25 stokes
Layer 2: Fill 2/3 full. 25 stokes
Layer 3: Fill full. 25 stokes
Lift cone and measure slump (typically 2-6 in.)

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Slump test - The measurement of the consistency of the
mix is done with the slump-cone test. The recommend
consistency for various classes of concrete structures .

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
4. Admixtures
Applications:
Improve workability
Accelerate or retard setting and
hardening
Aid in curing
Improve durability

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
4. Admixtures
Air-Entrainment: Add air voids with bubbles
Help with freeze/thaw cycles, workability, etc.
Decreases density: reduces strength, but also
decreases W/C
Superplasticizers: increase workability by
chemically releasing water from fine aggregates.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
5. Types of Cement
Type I: General Purpose
Type II: Lower heat of hydration than
Type I
Type III: High Early Strength
Higher heat of hydration
quicker strength (7 days vs. 28 days for
Type I)

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
5. Types of Cement
Type IV: Low Heat of Hydration
Gradually heats up, less distortion
(massive structures).
Type V: Sulfate Resisting
For footings, basements, sewers, etc.
exposed to soils with sulfates.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Failure Mechanism of Concrete
Shrinkage Microcracks
are the initial shrinkage
cracks due to
carbonation shrinkage,
hydration shrinkage, and
drying shrinkage.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Failure Mechanism of Concrete
Bond Microcracks are
extensions of shrinkage
microcracks, as the
compression stress field
increases, the shrinkage
microcracks widen but
do not propagates into
the matrix. Occur at 1520 % ultimate strength of
concrete.

Concrete Mixing and

Proportioning
Failure Mechanism of Concrete
Matrix Microcracks - are
microcracks that occur in
the matrix. The propagate
from 20% fc. Occur up to
30-45 % ultimate strength
of concrete. Matrix
microcracks start bridge one
another at 75%. Aggregate
microcracks occur just
before failure (90%).

Concrete Properties
1. Uniaxial Stress versus Strain Behavior in
Compression
fc

Ec
12

fc

0.45fc

Concrete Properties
The standard strength test generally uses a cylindrical
sample. It is tested after 28 days to test for strength, fc.
The concrete will continue to harden with time and for a
normal Portland cement will increase with time as follows:

Concrete Properties
Compressive Strength, fc
Normally use 28-day strength for design
strength
fc
Ec
fc
Poissons Ratio,
~ 0.15 to 0.20 0.45fc
Usually use = 0.17
o

Concrete Properties
Modulus of Elasticity, Ec
Corresponds to secant modulus at 0.45 fc
NSR-10 (Sec. C.8.5.1):

(M P a ) =

1 .5

0 .0 4 3

where w = unit weight (Kg/m3)

1440 Kg/m3< wc <2560 Kg/m3

(M P a ) = 4700
For normal weight concrete
(wc 2400 Kg/m3)

f 'c

f 'c

Concrete Properties
Concrete strain at max. compressive stress,
o

For typical
curves in compression
o varies between 0.0015-0.003
For normal strength concrete, o ~ 0.002
fc

Ec

fc

0.45fc

Concrete Properties
Maximum useable strain, u
NSR-10: u = 0.003 (C.10.2.3)
Used for flexural and axial compression
fc

Ec

fc

0.45fc

Concrete Properties
Typical Concrete Stress-Strain Curves in Compression

Concrete Properties
Types of compression failure
There are three modes
of failure.
[a] Under axial
compression concrete
fails in shear.
[b] the separation of the specimen into columnar pieces by
what is known as splitting or columnar fracture.
[c] Combination of shear and splitting failure.

Concrete Properties
2. Tensile Strength
Tensile strength ~ 8% to 15% of fc
Modulus of Rupture, fr
For deflection calculations, use:

= 0 .6 2

f 'c ( M P a )

( N S R 1 0 , C .8 .6 )
Test:

NSR-10Eq. 9-10

unreinforced
concrete beam

fr =
fr

Mmax = P/2*a

Mc 6 M
= 2
I
bh

Concrete Properties
2. Tensile Strength (cont.)
Splitting Tensile Strength, fct
Split Cylinder Test
P
Concrete Cylinder
Poissons
Effect

Steel Reinforcement
1. General
Standard
Reinforcing Bar
Markings

Steel Reinforcement
1. General
Most common types for non-prestressed
members:
hot-rolled deformed bars
welded wire fabric

Steel Reinforcement
Areas, Weights, Dimensions

Steel Reinforcement
2. Types
ASTM A615 - Standard Specification for
Deformed and Plain-Billet Steel Bars
Grade 60: fy = 60 ksi, #3 to #18
most common in buildings and bridges
Grade 40: fy = 40 ksi, #3 to #6
most ductile
Grade 75: fy = 75 ksi, #6 to #18

Steel Reinforcement
2. Types
ASTM A616 - Rail-Steel Bars
ASTM A617 - Axle-Steel Bars
ASTM A706 - Low-Alloy-Steel Bars
more ductile GR60 steel
min. length of yield plateau = sh/y = 5

Steel Reinforcement
3. Stress versus Strain
Stress-Strain curve
for various types of
steel reinforcement
bar.

Steel Reinforcement
GR 60 (less ductile)

Es = Initial tangent

modulus
= 29,000 ksi
(all grades)

GR 40

Stress
Es

Note:
GR40 has a longer
yield plateau

1
0.20
Strain