2.7.

1 Introduction

2.7.2 Required Properties of Concrete

2.7.3 Procedures for Determining Mix

Proportions
2.7.4 Sample Computations

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` Concrete mix design describes methods for selecting proportions for
hydraulic cement concrete.

` Concrete is composed principally of aggregates, Portland cement and water

and may contain other cementitious materials and/or chemical admixtures.

` It will contain some amount of entrapped air and may also contain
purposely entrained air obtained by use of an admixture or air-entraining
cement.

` Chemical admixtures are frequently used to accelerate, retard, improve

workability, reduce mixing water requirements, increase strength, or alter
other properties of the concrete.

` Since strength and other important concrete qualities such as durability,

shrinkage and cracking are related to the total water content and the w/c
ratio, water-reducing admixtures are often used to improve concrete
quality.

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‰ Since less cement can be used with reduced water content to achieve the
same w/c ratio or strength, water reducing admixtures are used widely for
reasons of economy.

‰ Concrete proportions must be selected to provide necessary placeability,

density, strength and durability.

‰ The procedures for concrete mix design presented here are taken from
“Standard Practice for Selecting Proportions for Normal, Heavy weight and
Mass Concrete (ACI 211.1-91)” published by the American Concrete Institute.

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` Placeability mainly denotes workability, which is considered to be that property of
concrete that determines its capacity to be placed and consolidated properly and to
be finished without harmful segregation.
` It describes cohesiveness and compactability. Workability is affected by the
grading, particle shape and proportions of aggregate.

Consistency

ƒ Consistency is the relative mobility of the concrete mixture. It is measured in terms

of slump, the higher the slump the more mobile the mixture.

ƒ It affects the ease with which the concrete will flow during placement. Mixing
water requirements usually are reduced significantly by certain chemical water-
reducing admixtures.

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 2.7.2.3 Strength
‰ Strength at the age of 28 days is frequently used as a parameter for the
structural design, concrete proportioning and evaluation of concrete.

2.7.2.4 Water Cement Ratio

‰ Concrete strength is determined by the net quantity of water used per unit
quantity of cement. The net water content excludes water absorbed by the
aggregates.

2.7.2.5 Durability

‰ Concrete must be able to endure exposures that may deprive it of its

serviceability (freezing and thawing, wetting and drying, heating and cooling,
chemicals etc.)

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 ◦ Sieve analysis of coarse and fine aggregates
◦ Bulk specific gravities and absorptions of aggregates
◦ Natural moisture content of aggregates
◦ Fineness modulus of fine aggregates
◦ Specific gravity of Portland cement

` Based on the above data the concrete mix is prepared in the laboratory. The
concrete mix design gives the proportions by weight of the concrete ingredients per
meter cube of concrete for the specified type of concrete. The mix design data
contains the following:

◦ Water/Cement ratio used

◦ Average slump value achieved
◦ Weight of cement per one meter cube of concrete
◦ Weight of coarse aggregate per one meter cube of concrete

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 ◦ Weight of sand (fine aggregate) per one meter cube of concrete
◦ Amount of free mixing water per one meter cube of concrete
◦ Amount of additive (if required) per one meter cube of concrete

` The job specification may indicate some or all of the following:

◦ Maximum water-cement ratio

◦ Minimum cement content
◦ Air content
◦ Slump
◦ Maximum size of aggregate
◦ Strength

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` If slump is not specified, a value appropriate for the work can be selected from
Table 2.7.1.

Table 2.7.1: Recommended Slumps for Various Types of Construction*

Slump, mm
Types of construction
Maximum** Minimum
Reinforced foundation
75 25
walls and footings
Plain footings, caissons
75 25
and substructure walls
Beams and reinforced
100 25
walls
Building columns 100 25

Pavements and slabs 75 25

Mass concrete 75 25

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*Slump may be increased when chemical admixture are used, provided that the admixture-
treated concrete has the same or lower water-cement ratio and does not exhibit segregation
potential or excessive bleeding.
**May be increased 25 mm for methods of consolidation other than vibration

Step 2: Choice of Maximum Size of

Aggregate
‰ Large nominal maximum sizes of well graded aggregates have less voids than smaller
sizes.
‰ Concrete with the larger-sized aggregates require less mortar per unit volume of
concrete.
‰ In no event should the nominal maximum size exceed one-fifth of the narrowest
dimension between sides of forms, one-third the depth of slabs, nor three-fourths of the
minimum clear spacing between individual reinforcing bars.

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 Step 3: Estimation of Mixing Water and Air Content

‰ The quantity of water per unit volume of concrete required to produce a given slump
is dependent on:

• The nominal maximum size

• Particle shape
• Grading of the aggregates
• Concrete temperature
• Amount of entrained air
• Use of chemical admixtures

‰ Slump is not greatly affected by the quantity of cement. Table 5.2 provides estimates
of required mixing water for concrete made with various maximum sizes of aggregate,
with and without air entrainment.
‰ Depending on aggregate texture and shape, mixing water requirements may be
somewhat above or below the tabulated values, but they are sufficiently accurate for the
first estimate.

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Table 2.7.2: Approximate Mixing Water and Air Content Requirements for Different Slumps and
Nominal Maximum Sizes of Aggregates
Water, kg/m3 of concrete for indicated nominal maximum sizes
of aggregate

Slump, mm 9.5 12.5 19 25 37.5 50 75 150

Non-air-entrained concrete
25 to 50 207 199 190 179 166 154 130 113
75 to 100 228 216 205 193 181 169 145 124
150 to 175 243 228 216 202 190 178 160 -
Approximate amount of 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0.3 0.2
entrapped air in non-air-
entrained concrete,
percent

Air- entrained concrete

25 to 50 181 175 168 160 150 142 122 107
75 to 100 202 193 184 175 165 157 133 119
150 to 175 216 205 197 184 174 166 154 -
Recommended average total air content, percent for level of exposure
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
Extreme exposure 7.5 7.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0

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Step 4: Selection of Water – Cement Ratio

‰ Selection of water-cement ratio w/c is determined not only by strength

requirements but also by factors such as durability.

‰ With typical materials, the w/c ratios given on Table 2.7.3 produce the strength
shown, based on 28-day tests of specimens cured under standard laboratory
conditions. The average strength selected must exceed the specified strength by a
sufficient margin to keep the number of low tests within specific limits.

‰ The required average strength, fcr, can be obtained based on the specified strength,
f’c as follows:

f’c fcr

< 20 MPa f’c+7 MPa

20 – 35 MPa f’c+ 8 MPa

>35 MPa f’c+ 10 MPa

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 Table 2.7. 3: Relationships between Water-Cement Ratio and Compressive Strength of Concrete

Water Cement ratio, by mass

Compressive strength at
Non-air-entrained Air-entrained
28 days, MPa*
concrete concrete
40 0.42 -
35 0.47 0.39
30 0.54 0.45
25 0.61 0.52
20 0.69 0.60
15 0.79 0.70

*Values are estimated average strengths for concrete containing not more than 2 percent air for non-
air-entrained concrete and 6% total air content for air entrained concrete.

For a constant water-cement ratio, the strength of concrete is reduced as the air content is increased.

Strength is based on 152 X 302 mm cylinders moist cured for 28 days.

The relationship in this table assumes a nominal maximum aggregate size of about 19 to 25 mm. For
a given source of aggregate, strength produced at a given water-cement ratio will increase as nominal
maximum size of aggregate decreases.

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 Step 5: Calculation of Cement Content
‰ The amount of cement per unit volume of concrete is fixed by the determinations
made in steps 3 and 4 above.

‰The required cement is equal to the estimated mixing-water content (Step 3) divided
by the water-cement ratio (Step 4).

‰If, however, the specification includes a separate minimum limit on cement in

addition to requirements for strength and durability, the mixture must be based on
whichever criterion leads to the larger amount of cement.

Step 6: Estimation of Coarse Aggregate Content

‰ Aggregates of essentially the same nominal maximum size and grading will
produce concrete of satisfactory workability when a given volume of coarse
aggregate, on an oven-dry-rodded basis, is used per unit volume of concrete.
‰ Appropriate values for this aggregate volume are given in Table 5.4. It can be
seen that, for equal workability, the volume of coarse aggregate in a unit volume
of concrete is dependent only on its nominal maxim size and fineness modus of
the fine aggregate.

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‰ The quantity of coarse aggregate is estimated by taking the volume from Table 2.7.4
and multiplying it by the unit weight of the aggregate.
‰The dry mass of coarse aggregate required for a cubic meter of concrete is equal to
the value from Table 2.7.4 multiplied by the dry-rodded unit mass of the aggregate in
kilograms per cubic meter.
Table 2.7.4: Volume of Coarse Aggregate per unit of Volume of Concrete
Volume of Dry-Rodded Coarse Aggregate* per
Nominal Maximum
unit volume of concrete for different fineness
Size of Aggregare,
modulii of fine aggregate
mm
2.40 2.60 2.80 3.00
9.5 0.50 0.48 0.46 0.44
12.5 0.59 0.57 0.55 0.53
19 0.66 0.64 0.62 0.60
25 0.71 0.69 0.67 0.65
37.5 0.75 0.73 0.71 0.69
50 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.72
75 0.82 0.80 0.78 0.76
150 0.87 0.85 0.83 0.81
*Volumes are based on aggregates in dry-rodded conditions.
These volumes are selected from empirical relationships to produce concrete with a degree of
workability suitable for usual reinforced construction.

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 Step 7: Estimation of Fine Aggregate Content

‰ At completion of Step 6, all ingredients of the concrete have been

estimated except the fine aggregate.

‰Its quantity is determined by difference. Either of two procedures may be

employed: the weight method or the absolute volume method.

‰ If the weight of the concrete per unit volume is assumed, the required
weight of fine aggregate is simply the difference between the weight of fresh
concrete and the total weight of the other ingredients.

‰Table 5.5 can be used to make a first estimate of the unit weight of
concrete.

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 Table 2.7.5: First Estimate of Mass of Fresh Concrete
First Estimate of Concrete Unit Mass,
Nominal Maximum
kg/m3*
Size of Aggregate,
Non-Air-Entrained Air-Entrained
mm
Concrete Concrete
9.5 2280 2200
12.5 2310 2230
19 2345 2275
25 2380 2290
37.5 2410 2350
50 2445 2345
75 2490 2405
150 2530 2435

‰ A more exact procedure for calculating the required amount of fine aggregate involves the use
of volumes displaced by the ingredients.
‰ The total volume displaced by the known ingredients: water, air, cement, and coarse aggregate is
subtracted from the unit volume of concrete to obtain the required volume of fine aggregate.
‰ The volume occupied in concrete by any ingredient is equal to its weight divided by the density
of that material (the latter being the product of the unit weight of water and the specific gravity
of the material).

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 Step 8: Adjustment for Aggregate Moisture

‰The aggregate quantities actually to be weighed out for the concrete must
allow for moisture in the aggregates.

‰Generally, the aggregates will be moist and their dry weights should be
increased by the percentage of water they contain, both absorbed and surface.

‰ The mixing water added to the batch must be reduced by an amount equal
to the free moisture contributed by the aggregate, i.e. total moisture minus
absorption.

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 ◦ Required average strength: 25 MPa
◦ Required slump: 75 to 100mm.
◦ Coarse aggregate nominal maximum size: 37.5 mm
◦ Coarse aggregate dry-rodded unit mass: 1600 kg/m3.
◦ Coarse aggregate bulk specific gravity: 2.68
◦ Coarse aggregate absorption 0.5 percent;
◦ Fine aggregate bulk specific gravity: 2.64
◦ Fine aggregate absorption 0.7 percent
◦ Fine aggregate fineness modulus 2.8.
◦ Cement specific gravity: 3.15
◦ Concrete will be non-air-entrained since the structure is not exposed to severe
weathering.
` From Table 5.2, the estimated mixing water for a slump of 75 to 100 mm
in non-air-entrained concrete made with 37.5 mm aggregate is found to be
181 kg/m3.

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‰ The water-cement ratio for non-air-entrained concrete with a strength of 25
MPa is found from Table 5.3 to be 0.62.

‰ Based on the estimated mixing water and water cement ratio, the required
cement content is found to be 181/0.62 = 292 kg of Cement/m3 of concrete.

‰ The quantity of coarse aggregate is estimated from Table 5.4. For a fine
aggregate having a fineness modulus of 2.8 and a 37.5 mm nominal maximum
size of coarse aggregate, the table indicates that 0.71 m3 of coarse aggregate,
on a dry-rodded basis, may be used in each cubic meter of concrete. The
required dry mass is, therefore, 0.71 x 1600 = 1136 kg.

‰ With the quantities of water, cement and coarse aggregate established, the
remaining material comprising the cubic meter of concrete must consist of
fine aggregate and whatever air will be entrapped.

‰ The required fine aggregate may be determined on the basis of either mass
or absolute volume as shown below:

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` From Table 2.7.5, the mass of a cubic meter of non-air-entrained concrete
made with aggregate having a nominal maximum size of 37.5 mm is
estimated to be 2410 kg.

` Masses already known are:

◦ Water (net mixing) 181 kg

◦ Cement 292 kg
◦ Coarse aggregate 1136 kg
◦ Total 1609 kg

` The mass of fine aggregate, therefore, is estimated to be

2410 – 1609 = 801 kg

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‰ With the quantities of cement, water, and coarse aggregate established, and the
approximate entrapped air content of 1 percent determined from Table 5.2, the sand
content can be calculated as follows:

‰ Volume of Water = 181 kg/1000 kg/m3 = 0.181m3

‰ Solid volume of Cement = 292 kg/ [3.15X1000 kg/m3] = 0.093 m3
‰ Solid volume of coarse aggregate = 1136/[2.68X1000] = 0.424 m3
‰ Volume of entrapped air: [0.01 x 1.000] = 0.010 m3
‰ Total solid volume of ingredients except fine aggregate = 0.708 m3
‰ Solid volume of fine aggregate required:[1.000 – 0.708]= 0.292 m3

‰ Required weight of dry fine aggregate = 0.292 m3 x 2.64 x 1000 kg/m3 = 771 kg

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Batch masses per cubic meter of concrete calculated on the two bases are compared below:

Based on estimated Based on absolute

concrete mass, kg volume of
ingredients, kg

water (net mixing) 181 181

cement 292 292

coarse aggregate (dry) 1136 1136

Sand (dry) 801 771

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` Tests indicate total moisture of 2 percent in the coarse aggregate and 6 percent in
the fine aggregate. If the trial batch proportions based on assumed concrete mass
are used, the adjusted aggregate masses become

◦ Coarse aggregate (wet) = 1136(1.02) = 1159 kg

◦ Fine aggregates (wet) = 801(1.06) = 849 kg

` Absorbed water does not become part of the mixing water and must be excluded
from the adjustment in added water. Thus, surface water contributed by the coarse
aggregate amounts to 2 – 0.5 = 1.5 percent; by the fine aggregate 6 – 0.7 = 5.3
percent. The estimated requirement for added water, therefore, becomes
◦ 181 – 1136 (0.015) – 801 (0.053) = 122 kg

` The estimated batch masses for cubic meter of concrete are:

◦ Water (to be added) 122 kg
◦ Cement 292 kg
◦ Coarse aggregate (wet) 1159 kg
◦ Fine aggregate (wet) 849 kg
◦ Total 2422 kg

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‰ For the laboratory trial batch, it is found convenient to scale the masses
down to produce 0.02 m3 of concrete.

‰ Although the calculated quantity of water to be added was 2.44 kg, the
amount actually used in an effort to obtain the desired 75 to 100 mm slump
is 2.70 kg.

‰ The batch as mixed, therefore, consists of

‰ Water (added) 2.70 kg

‰ Cement 5.84 kg [0.02X292]
‰ Coarse aggregate (wet) 23.18 kg [0.02X1159]
‰ Fine aggregate (wet) 16.98 kg [0.02X849]
‰ Total 48.70 kg

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Continued on Slide No. 2.3
(Asphalt Concrete Mix Design)

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