CC203 – CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

CONCRETE MATERIALS AND MIXTURES

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Concrete is a composite with properties that change with time. During service, the quality of concrete
provided by initial curing can be improved by subsequent wetting as in the cases of foundations or
water retaining structures. However, concrete can also deteriorate with time due to physical and
chemical attacks. Structures are often removed when they become unsafe or uneconomical. Lack of
durability has become a major concern in construction for the past 20 to 30 years.

In some developed countries, it is not uncommon to find large amount of resources, such as 30 to 50%
of total infrastructure budget, applied to repair and maintenance of existing structures. As a result,
many government and private developers are looking into lifecycle costs rather than first cost of
construction. Durability of concrete depends on many factors including its physical and chemical
properties, the service environment and design life. As such, durability is not a fundamental property.

One concrete that performs satisfactory in a severe environment may deteriorate prematurely in
another situation where it is consider as moderate. This is mainly due to the differences in the failure
mechanism from various exposure conditions. Physical properties of concrete are often discussed in
term of permeation the movement of aggressive agents into and out of concrete.

1.1 Basic Properties of Concrete

Concrete is made by mixing :-

 Cement
 Water
 Course aggregates
 Fine aggregates
 Admixtures (if required)

The aim is to mix these materials in measured amounts to make concrete that is easy to:
Transport, place, compact, finish and which will set, and harden, to give a strong and durable
product. The amount of each material (cement, water and aggregates) affects the properties
of hardened concrete.

A concrete mix is designed to produce concrete that can be easily placed at the lowest cost.
The concrete must be workable and cohesive when plastic, then set and harden to give strong
and durable concrete.

The mix design must consider the environment that the concrete will be in; ie exposure to sea
water, trucks, cars, forklifts, foot traffic or extremes of hot and cold.
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Proportioning Concrete is a mixture of Cement, Water, Coarse and Fine Aggregates and
Admixtures. The proportion of each material in the mixture affects the properties of the final
hardened concrete. These proportions are best measured by weight. Measurement by volume is
not as accurate, but is suitable for minor projects.

As the cement content increases, so does strength and

Cement Content durability. Therefore to increase the strength, increase the
cement content of a mix.
Adding more water to a mix gives a weaker hardened
Water Content concrete. Always use as little water as possible, only enough to
make the mix workable.
As the Water to Cement ratio increase, the strength and
durability of hardened concrete decrease. To increase the
Water to Cement Ratio
strength and durability of concrete, decrease the Water-
Cement ratio.
Too much fine aggregate gives a sticky mix. Too much coarse
Aggregates
aggregate gives a harsh or boney mix.

1.2 Cement

Definition :
A building material made by grinding calcined limestone and clay to a fine powder,
which can be mixed with water and poured to set as a solid mass or used as an
ingredient in making mortar or concrete.

Function :
Binds the coarse and fine aggregates by filling the voids and chemically reacting with
the water.

Process to produce concrete (Hydration Process) :

Water

Hydration Chemical Reaction Cement Paste

Concrete

Cement Aggregate

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Chemical Composition of Cement

Lime CaO 63 %
Silika SiO2 20 %
Alumina Al2O3 6%
Iron Oxide Fe2O3 3%
Magnesia MgO 1.5 %
Sulphur Trioxide SO3 2%
Others 4.5 %

Types of cement are :-

a. Ordinary Portland cement

b. Rapid Hardening Portland cement
c. Sulphate-Resisting Portland cement
d. Low Heat Portland cement
e. Modified Portland cement
f. Portland Blastfurnace cement
g. White Blended cement

1.3 Cement Storage Method

The primary concern for storing cement is to prevent exposure to moisture. Cement stored in
damp air or moisture sets more slowly and has less strength than cement that is kept dry.

Bagged cement stored on a job site should be stacked closely together on pallets to reduce air
circulation and to raise the cement above any moisture sources; it should also be covered with
tarpaulins or other water-proof covers for further protection from moisture.

If possible, store cement inside a structure to further reduce the potential for moisture exposure,
but never place the cement directly next to an exterior wall. The relative humidity within the
structure should be reduced as much as possible.

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1.4 Aggregate

Aggregates are generally thought of as inert filler within a concrete mix. But a closer look reveals
the major role and influence aggregate plays in the properties of both fresh and hardened
concrete. Changes in gradation, maximum size, unit weight, and moisture content can all alter
the character and performance of your concrete mix.

The fine and coarse aggregates generally occupy 60% to 75% of the concrete volume (70% to
85% by mass) and strongly influence the concrete’s freshly mixed and hardened properties,
mixture proportions, and economy

Fine Aggregate Coarse Aggregate

Consist of natural sand or crushed stone with Consist of one or a combination of gravels or
most particles smaller than 5 mm crushed stone with particles predominantly
(0.2 in.) larger than 5 mm (0.2 in.)

Aggregate properties :-

a. Surface texture
b. Particle shape
c. Strength
d. Hardness
e. Permeability
f. Chemical composition
g. Cleanliness

1.5 Basic Concept of Concrete Mix

Mix design can be defined as the process of selecting suitable ingredients of concrete and
determining their relative proportions with the object of producing concrete of certain minimum
strength and durability as economically as possible. One of the ultimate aims of studying the
various properties of the materials of concrete, plastic concrete and hardened concrete is to
enable a concrete technologist to design a concrete mix for a particular strength and durability.

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The design of concrete mix is not a simple task on account of the widely varying properties of
the constituent materials, the conditions that prevail at the site of work, in particular the
exposure condition, and the conditions that are demanded for a particular work for which the
mix is designed.

Design of concrete mix requires complete knowledge of the various properties of these
constituent materials, these make the task of mix design more complex and difficult. Design of
concrete mix needs not only the knowledge of material properties and properties of concrete in
plastic condition; it also needs wider knowledge and experience of concreting. Even then the
proportion of the materials of concrete found out at the laboratory requires modification and re
adjustments to suit the field conditions.

The Water Cement Ratio

Too much water and not enough cement means concrete will be weaker and less durable.

The water to cement ratio (W/C) is the weight of the water divided by the weight of cement.
The lower the ratio, the stronger the concrete.

W/C = Water = 20 litres = 0.5

Cement 40 kg

Concrete Mix Design

Concrete mix design are often given by ratio ----- cement : fine aggregate : coarse aggregate

The two criterias for a successful mix ratio are :-

a. High compressive stress

b. Adequate workability

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Mix Ratio
1:1½:3 Pre-Stressed Concrete
1:2:4 Reinforced Concrete
1:3:6 Concrete Slab (Hard soil)
1 : 5 : 10 Concrete base
Other mix ratio Depends on design requirements

Characteristic Strength
Concrete Grade Types of Concrete
(N/mm2)
7 7
Concrete
10 10
15 15 Lightweight Concrete
20 20
Reinforced Concrete
25 25
30 30 Pre-Stressed Concrete (pre)
40 40
Pre-Stressed Concrete
50 50
(post)
60 60

Types of mixture :-

a. Prescribed Mix
Prescribed mix is a mix for which the purchaser prescribes the exact composition and
constituents of the concrete and is responsible for ensuring that these proportions
produce a concrete with the required performance. Effectively the purchaser selects
the materials and mix proportions to satisfy the required strength and durability needs
but does not specify these parameters.

b. Designed Mix
A mix considering all ratio of mix is by weight where strength of concrete is constant
cost of concrete can be reduced. It is designed by the engineers, not much varies in
strength and it is economical.

c. Nominal Mix
A mix considering all ratios in volume where strength and cost of concrete and
strength of concrete is varies. It is vary widely in strength due to less or more mix in
coarse and fine aggregate and another main factor it is not economical.

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The design of concrete mix will be based on the following factors :-

a. Grade of concrete.
This gives the characteristic strength requirements of concrete. Depending upon the
level of quality control available at the site, the concrete mix has to be designed for
a target mean strength which is higher than the characteristic strength.

b. Type of cement
The type of cement is important mainly through its influence on the rate of
development of compressive strength of concrete as well as durability under
aggressive environments.

c. Maximum nominal size of aggregate

It is found that larger the size of aggregate, smaller is the cement requirement for a
particular water cement ratio. Aggregates having a maximum nominal size of 20mm
or smaller are generally considered satisfactory.

d. Minimum water cement ratio

The minimum w/c ratio for a specified strength depends on the type of cement.

e. Workability
The workability of concrete for satisfactory placing and compaction is related to the
size and shape of the section to be concreted.

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1.6 Fresh Concrete

Definition :
Concrete that has been recently mixed and is still workable and plastic.
Concrete that possesses enough of its original workability so that it can be placed and
consolidated by the laying methods.

Workability of a concrete related to fresh concrete which ease or difficulty with concrete to
handled, transported and placed between the forms with segregation and bleeding.

Concrete that is stiff or dry may be difficult to Handle, Place, Compact, and Finish and, if not
constructed properly, will not be as strong or durable when finally hardened. A slump test can
be used to measure the workability of concrete.

Factors influencing concrete workability are :-

a. Water/cement ratio
b. Aggregate/cement ratio
c. Shape and fleshiness of aggregates
d. Additive substance

1.7 Additives in Concrete Mixture

An admixture is a material added to the batch of concrete before or during its mixing to modify
its freshly mixed, setting or hardened properties. About 80% of concrete produced in North
America have one or more admixtures. About 40% of ready-mix producers use fly ash. About
70% of concrete produced contains a water-reducer admixture. One or more admixtures can
be added to a mix to achieve the desired results.

The reasons to use admixtures are :-

 Increase slump and workability

 Retard or accelerate initial setting
 Reduce or prevent shrinkage
 Modify the rate or capacity for bleeding
 Reduce segregation
 Improve pumpability and finishability
 Retard or reduce heat evolution during early hardening
 Accelerate the rate of strength development at early ages
 Increase strength (compressive, tensile, or flexural)
 Increase durability or resistance to severe conditions of exposure, including
application of deicing salts and other chemicals (air-entraining)
 Decrease permeability of concrete
 Control expansion caused by the reaction of alkalis with potentially reactive
aggregate constituents
 Increase bond of concrete to steel reinforcement (bonding)
 Increase bond between existing and new concrete
 Improve impact and abrasion resistance (hardness)
 Inhibit corrosion of embedded metal
 Gas-forming
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Types of additive

Catalyzing admixtures are added to concrete to shorten the setting

time and accelerate the early strength development of concrete.
These are used in cold weather conditions (below 5°C or 41°F). Some
widely used and effective chemicals that accelerate the rate of
hardening of concrete mixtures, including calcium chloride, other
chlorides, triethanolamine, silicates, fluorides, alkali hydroxide, nitrites,
nitrates, formates, bromides, and thiocyanates.

The benefits of accelerating admixtures are :- Catalyzing Substances

- Reduced bleeding
- Earlier finishing
- Improved protection against early exposure to freezing and
thawing
- Earlier use of structure
- Reduction of protection time to achieve a given quality
- Early removal of form
- In some case, early load application
The purpose of this admixture is to not only reduce the required water
but to offset the unwanted effects of high temperature. As the
temperature goes up, the setting time is reduced. Another purpose is
the keep the concrete workable during the entire placing and
consolidation period.
Retarding Substances
The benefits from retarding admixtures are :-
- Greater flexibility in extending the setting time
- Prevention of cold joints
- Aid in finishing in hot weather
- Permitting full form deflection before the initial set
Water-reducing admixtures are added to obtain certain workability
(slump) at a lower water-cement ratio (w/c). The slump can be
reduced by about 1 to 2 inches without the addition of water. For a
given air content, concrete strength is inversely proportional to the
water-cement ratio. The reduction in water needed to obtain the
desired slump will increase the strength. These admixtures can
reduce the amount of water required by 20% to 30%. The Water Decreasing Substances
compressive strength may increase as much as 25% and the flexural
strength may increase as much as 10%. They are used to improve the
quality of the concrete and to obtain certain strength at lower
cement content. Water reducers are so important in concrete, that
they could be considered as one of it ingredients. Water reducers are
mostly used for hot weather concrete placing and to aid pumping.

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It may reduce the water requirement by 12-40%. They are used to
produce normal workability at a lower w/c ratio. They may be used
to produce a highly flowable concrete (slumps of 8 to 11 inches).

Potential advantages :-
- Significant water reduction
- Reduced cement contents Plasticizing Substances
- Increased workability
- Reduced effort required for placement
- More effective use of cement
- More rapid rate of early strength development
- Increased long-term strength
- Reduced permeability
Air-entrainment introduces tiny air bubbles in concrete during the
mixing process. It helps protect against damage caused by
repeated freezing and thawing cycles. It also imparts better
workability, improved homogeneity, decreased segregation and
decreased bleeding. More than 80% of Portland-cement concrete Air Trapping Additive
pavements in the United States contain air-entrained admixtures.
Entrapped air, are large air voids while entrained air, are tiny voids
between 10 to 1000 micrometers. The admixture may be a liquid
added during batching or a powder blended with the cement.

1.8 Standard Laboratory Testing of Cement and Aggregate

Standard Testing for Sand
Standard Testing for Cement

Standard Testing for Aggregate

• Fineness • Silt Test • Sieve

Test • Sand Analysis
• Mortar Test Segregation Test
• Softening Test • Aggegate
Points Impact
Value

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