Figure 4.1: Basic Concrete Materials: Water Fine Aggrega
Figure 4.1: Basic Concrete Materials: Water Fine Aggrega
1: Basic concrete
material, is the most widely used materials
material in the construction
Aggrega
industry. It consist of a rotationally
Water
Fine
chosen mixture of binding material
such as lime or cement, well graded
Cement
fine and coarse aggregate, water and
admixture. In a concrete mix, cement
The strength, durability and other
and water form a paste or matrix
characteristic of concrete depend
which fills the voids of the fine
upon the properties of its
aggregate and binds them (fine and
ingredients, the proportion of the
coarse) together. The mixture than
mix, the method of compaction and
placed in forms and allowed to cure
other controls during placing and
and becomes hard like stone. The
curing. Basically, concrete can be
hardening of concrete is caused by
classified into two stages namely;
chemical reaction between water and
cement and it continues for a long
Fresh concrete is a mixture of
time, and consequently the concrete
water, aggregate and admixture. The
grows stronger with age.
constituent materials should be
uniformly distributed after mixing
within the concrete mass during
handling and placing
Harden concrete
workable enough to be easily place concrete mix can be handled from the
inside the forms and work around mixer to its finally compacted shape
the reinforcement. However, this without segregation during placement
additional water should be kept to a and compaction.
minimum. The use of too much of
Factors that affect the workability
water will weaken the strength of
of concrete are;
the concrete.
water/cement ratio
Water occupies space in concrete, as
Aggregate
it evaporates it leaves voids,
Admixture
therefore the more the uncombined
Fineness of cement
water, the more voids there will be
Time and temperature
in the set concrete and the less will
There are four main characteristic
be its density, strength and
of workability, which are;
durability.
Consistency
A state of fluidity of concrete mix,
including the wettest and densest
type and this depends on the water 3.3.1 Strength of Concrete
content in the mix. Strength of concrete is commonly
Mobility considered as its most valuable
The ease with which concrete can
property, other than durability and
flow into the moulds and
around steel (reinforcement) impermeability. Nevertheless
thus completely filling the moulds strength usually gives an overall
(formworks). picture of the quality of concrete
Compactibility
because strength is directly related
The ease with which the concrete
to the structure of the hardened
mixes can be completely compacted
and the air voids removed. cement paste.
segregating types of
are slump test, Vebe test and cylinders are 150 mm diameter by
by, with proper curing the concrete ratio, amount of voids and water-
not done and the durability aspects specimen is subjected, i.e. static,
two types of batching which are; For most small job, volume batching
must be ensure that each constituent mixing water should be placed in the
product. Concrete mixing is normally uniformly with the dry materials until
mixer, but sometime the mixing of remains. This water is added after all
drum mixer, non-tilting drum mixer, and because of this case uniformity is
and dual drum mixer and continues more difficult to achieve, therefore
mixer, while the stirring operation is particular care and effort are
3.5.
The aggregate should be spread in a On small jobs, wheel barrows are the
uniform layer on a hard, clean and usual means of transportation.
non-porous base. Cement is then However, concrete can be handled and
spread over the aggregate and the dry transported by many methods
material are mixed by turning over including the of chutes, buggies
from one end of the heap to another operated over runways, buckets
and cutting with a shovel until the handled by cranes or cable ways,
trucks, pump to force the concrete
through pipelines and equipment to
force the concrete thorough hoses
pneumatically.
hand 3.8:
Pump
3.4.4 Transporting concrete
The various methods used to move The main
the concrete from the mixer or truck consideration in selecting the type of
to the forms depend largely upon the equipment to be used is an economic
job conditions. one, however, certain jobs require
specialized equipment and thus the the forms should be oiled to make
cost is a secondary consideration. form removal easier.
Others factors that need to be looked The concrete should be placed in its
into when selecting the transporting final position rapidly so that it is not
and handling equipment are the too stiff to work. Water should not
segregation of aggregates, loss of be added after the concrete has left
entrained air, loss of cement paste, the mixer. When placing the concrete,
and change in slump. care should be taken to drop the
concrete vertically and not too great
3.4.5 Placing a height.
The methods used in placing concrete 3.4.6 Compaction
in its final position have an important The objective of compaction is to
effect on its homogeneity, density eliminate air holes and to achieve
and behavior in service. To secure maximum density of concrete.
good concrete it is necessary to make During mixing of concrete a
certain preparations before placing. considerable quantity of air is
entrapped and during its
The formworks must be examined for transportation there is a possibility
correct alignment and adequate of partial segregation taking place. If
rigidity to withstand the weight of the entrapped air is not removed and
concrete, impact loads during the segregation of coarse aggregate
construction without undue not corrected, the concrete may be
deformation. porous, non-homogeneous and reduced
Formworks should be moistened the concrete strength.
before the concrete is placed, Therefore the process of removal of
otherwise they will absorb water from entrapped air and of uniform
the concrete and swell. In addition, placement of concrete to form
homogeneous dense mass is termed are at narrow and the reinforcement
compaction. closely packed.
spading as it goes into the form. The possible the placement of stiff, harsh
reason for compaction are to ensure concrete mixes that cannot be placed
entrapped air and forcing the for given mix proportions. Vibrating
Internal vibrator-pocker
External vibrator-clamp to
formwork
In the case of site concrete, active length of time that the concrete is
curing stops nearly always long before to be protected against the loss of
Figure 3.13: Mould for Slump test compacting factor test is shown in
Figure 4.15.
than the slump test and is concrete from the top. During this
door of the lower hopper is opened, The test determines the time
the top of the cylinder is then cut cylinder. The apparatus (Figure 3.16)
The weight of the concrete in the sheet metal cone, open at both ends,
refilled with concrete from the same the consistometer. The glass disc
mm, the layers being heavily rammed and placed just on the top of the
or preferably vibrated so as to obtain slump cone in the pot and before the
full compaction. The top surface of cone is lifted up, the position of the
carefully struck off level with the top the glass disc attached to the swivel
of the cylinder. The compacting arm . The cone is then lifted up and
factor is defined as the ratio of the the slump noted on the graduated
be classified into two types which are moulds, with machine inner surface.
type of destructive test for concrete, and the values were divided with the
owing to the cheapness of the cube cross sectional area of the cube to
2𝑤
𝑓𝑡 =
𝜋𝐷𝐿
Equation 3.1
Where;
W = Load at failure
D = Diameter of cylinder
L = Length of cylinder
Note that, since the failure area is
2) Cylinder Splitting Test (BS
1881: Part 117) DL, the expression is the same as
In this test, cylinders which are 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 2
𝑓𝑡 = ×
typically 300mm long and 150mm in 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑒_𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝜋
Equation 3.2
diameter, are loaded in a compression
tester with their
cylindrical axes horizontal, stress
concentrations being avoided by use
the hardboard or plywood strips
about 12mm wide.
hardness tests. The results are discussed, however, the test may
affected by: (1) surface finish; (2) be planned in advance and the
carbonation of the surface; and test is based o the fact that the
moisture and air will result in air, the rate of air flow over the
age. The decrease being greater for contraction is known as plastic strain
wet mixes than for drier one. and it is aggravated due to loss of
unsaturated air voids. A part of this The mix design is carried out according
particles. The DOE recommends that Sieve Gradin Gradin Gradin Gradi
sizes g g g ng
if no information is available γa should Zone 1 Zone Zone Zone
be taken as 2600 kg/m3 for 2 3 4
10 mm 100 100 100 100
uncrushed aggregates and 2700
5 mm 90 – 90 – 90 – 95 –
kg/m for crushed aggregate.
3
100 100 100 100
No. 7 60 – 75 – 85 – 95 –
5) Determining of the fine and coarse
(2.36 95 100 100 100
aggregate contents
mm)
Total aggregate content consists of
No. 14 30 – 55 – 75 – 90 –
fine aggregate will depends on the (1.18 70 90 100 100
mm)
grading zone 1, 2, 3 and 4 (see
No. 25 15 – 35 – 60 – 80 –
Table 3.5). The general principle in (600 34 59 79 100
1) Choice of Slump
The choice of slump is actually a
choice of mix workability. Workability
can be described as a combination of
several different, but related, PCC
properties related to its rheology:
Ease of mixing
Ease of placing
Ease of compaction
Ease of finishing
Generally, mixes of the stiffest
consistency that can still be placed
adequately should be used (ACI,
2000). Typically slump is specified,
Typical 25 - 1 - 3 0 - 0 - 3
Slump is dependent upon nominal
75 75 maximum aggregate size, particle
as low as
shape, aggregate gradation, PCC
Extremes as 25 as low low as low
as high as 1 as as 0 as 0 as temperature, the amount of
as high as as high as
entrained air and
175 7 high 5
as certain chemical admixtures. It is not
125 generally affected by the amount of
cementitious material. Therefore, ACI
provides a table relating nominal
maximum aggregate size, air content based on the selected water-
entrainment and desired slump to the cement ratio. Table 3.9 is a general
desired mixing water quantity. Table estimate of 28-day compressive
3.8 is a partial reproduction of ACI strength vs. water-cement ratio (or
Table 6.3.3 (keep in mind that water- cementitious ratio). Values in
pavement PCC is almost always air- this table tend to be conservative
entrained so air- entrained values are (ACI, 2000). Most state DOTs tend
most appropriate). Typically, state to set a maximum water-cement
agencies specify between about 4 and ratio between 0.40 -
8 percent air by total volume (based 0.50
on data from ACPA, 2001). 5) Cement Content
Cement content is determined by
4) Water-Cement Ratio comparing the following two items:
The water-cement ratio is a
convenient measurement whose value • The calculated amount based on the
is well correlated with PCC strength selected mixing water content and
and durability. In general, lower water-cement ratio.
water-cement ratios produce • The specified minimum cement
stronger, more durable PCC. If content, if applicable. Most state
natural pozzolans are used in the mix DOTs specify minimum cement
(such as fly ash) then the ratio contents in the range of 300 - 360
becomes a water-cementitious kg/m3 (500 - 600 lbs/yd3).
material ratio (cementitious material
= portland cement + pozzolonic
material). The ACI method bases the
water-cement ratio selection on
desired compressive strength and
then calculates the required cement
Table 3.8: Approximate Mixing Water and Air Content Requirements for Different Slumps and
Maximum Aggregate Sizes
Mixing Water Quantity in kg/m3 (lb/yd3) for the listed Nominal Maximum Aggregate Size
Mild Exposure 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0
Moderate Exposure 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0
Severe Exposure 7.5 7.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0
in 94 lb. sacks, they do not have per Unit Volume of PCC for Different
Fine aggregate Fineness Modulus for
much meaning to the typical
Pavement PCC.
pavement contractor or batching
Fine Aggregate Fineness Modulus
plant who buys portland cement in Nominal 2.40 2.60 2.80 3.00
Maximum
bulk. As such, specifying cement Aggregate
At this point, all other constituent correcting for this, the batched
volume is just the remaining volume: saturated surface dry it will absorb
Unit volume (1 m3 or yd3) water (if oven dry or air dry) or give
and the inherent porosity of gel which the strength characteristics, volume,
acetate, homopolymer emulsions and depends upon the bond between the
are added to increase strength, fibers crossing the crack, and the
Fibers reduce the workability of a mix slag, etc. Since fine aggregates are
and may cause the entrainment of not used, voids will be created and
air. the concrete produced will be light
admixtures are charged into the mix to ensure quality of concrete during
3. 9.6 Supplementary Cementitious plant burns off the carbon and most
Admixtures volatile materials. However,
Several byproducts of other industries
depending on the source and type of
have been used in concrete as
coal, a significant amount of
impurities passes through the concrete. In addition, fly ash extends
combustion chamber. the hydration process, allowing a
The rough and angular-shaped ground fume can have very high strength and
slag in the presence of water and an can be very durable. Silica fume is
Ground slag has been used as a forms. Placing, finishing, and curing
commonly constitutes between 30% Silicon metal and alloys are produced
and 45% of the cementing material in electric furnaces. The raw materials
in the mix. Some slag concretes have are quartz, coal, and woodchips. The