WATER TO CEMENT RATIO Ambuja Cement AMBUJA TECHNICAL LITERATURE SERIES (t;)Comprehensive list of booklets published by Technical Services Q Economic Usage of High Quality Cement Aug. 1994 Q Ordinary Portland Cement - Physical & Chemical Properties Jan. 1996 Q Equipments for Transporting & Placing Conerete Q Brick Masonry & Plaster junov « waLavaLauy Feb. 1996 Q Aggregates for Mortar & Concrete May 1996 Batching & Mixing of Mortar and Concrete Ingredients (eNsusH & SNHALA) Jun. 1996 Q Concrete Transportation & Placement Jul. 1996 Q Concrete Compaction Aug. 1996 Q Quality Control of Concrete Works Sep. 1996 Q Reaching for the Sky Oct. 1996 Q Curing Nov. 1996 Q Mechanisation of Concreting Part | - Batching, Mixing and Transporting Dec. 1996 Part Il - Concrete Placing by Pumping Jan. 1997 Part Ill - Concrete Materials & Quality Control Feb. 1997 Q Flooring and Tiling (Hinol & MALAYALAM) Mar. 1997, Q Reinforcement Steel Apr. 1997 Q Ordinary Portland Cement ino, maLavaLan a Kannan’) = May 1997 Q Concrete Test Cubes Jun. 1997 Q Concrete Mix Design Jul. 1997 Q Slump Test Aug. 1997 Curing enor maLavacaw & SINHALA) Sep. 1997 Q Plastic Cracking of Concrete Oct. 1997 Q Aggregates for Mortar & Concrete Nov. 1997 (HINDI, MALAYALAM, KANNDA 8 SINHALA)December ‘99 WATER TO CEMENT RATIO 1.0 INTRODUCTION This publication has been devoted to one of the most, if not the most important factor required to be specified, controlled and insisted upon while manufacturing concrete. Significance of Water to Cement ratio (W/C) has been understood by very few concrete producers. Many feel that controlling W/C means reduction of water and thereby production of stiff unworkable concrete mix. It is unfortunate that many in the field of concrete production have not realised that workability can be maintained at the desired level even while maintaining strict control over the low W/C. In simple words, if water is required to be increased, cement should also be increased such that specified W/C does not increase. Another simple way is to reduce the aggregate quantity or in other words to reduce the aggregate to cement ratio of the concrete mix. Allover the country on small, medium and even on many large projects water addition and control is done manually (See Figure 1). If not strictly supervised the water addition is done without any care or technical consideration (See Figure 2). Figure 1: Manual batching of water using Figure 2 : Random addition of water without a proper container. care or consideration for WIC ratio.As aresult of this W/C most often exceeds the specified or stipulated limits. Generally, low strength concretes (15 MPa or 20 MPa) are specified in our country. As good quality cements are available, strengths of these low grade concretes are achieved easily with high W/C. This results in poor durability of reinforced concrete structures. Before durability aspects and their dependence on W/C ratios are discussed it is essential to understand the hydration process between cement and water. 2.0 HYDRATED CEMENT PASTE When cement is mixed with water hydrated cement paste is formed. The hydrated paste consists of three parts. The first part consists of hydration product, second part anhydrous cement and the third capillary pore. The percentages of these parts will vary with the degree of hydration of cement which will in turn depend on curing conditions (duration of hydration, temperature and humidity). After completion of hydration, the part containing anhydrous cement disappears and the cement paste only consists of capillary pores and hydration product. The volume of capillary pores reduce as hydration process continues or progresses. It has been observed that cement water paste with more volume of water will also occupy greater total volume of space and after completion of hydration process will therefore end up with larger volume of capillary pores. Therefore, it can be concluded that there will be progressive reduction in the capillary porosity due to increased degree of hydration and decreaed W/C. As the capillary pores in cement paste reduces the strength increases and permeability of the concrete or mortar prepared using the paste decreases. For normally hydrated portland cement mortars, Powers developed an exponential relationship of the type S= kx°, between the compressive strength (S) and the solids to space ratio (x), where k is a constant equal to 34,000 psi. The effect of increasing solid/space ratio (I-P) on compressive strength and permeability is given in Figure No. 3. If the solid/space ratio decreases from 0.7 to 0.6 or in other words the capillary porosity (P) increases from 0.3 to 0.4 the permeability drops from 110 x 10" to 20 x 10°? cm/sec. Further increase in solid/space ratio or decrease of W/C will not significantly reduce the permeability.Figure No. 4 shows that capillary porosity reduces as the W/C reduces and degree of hydration increases. This effect of capillary porosity is also observed on strength as seen in Figure No. 3 based on Power's equation given above. 3.0 DEFINITION OF WATER/CEMENT RATIO In 1918, extensive studies were done by Duff Abrams at the Levis Institute, University of Illinois and a relation between W/C and concrete strength was developed. This is known as Abram’s W/C rule and is expressed by the following equation. 2 2 & x alias é E & 20 80> e 3 g 2% 10 4402 : : 8 5 1 of 10 09 08 O07 06 05 04 Solid / Space Ratio (I-P) 03 304 Fe 100% \._ 75% 5 Hydration 505 & s Zo6- 079 —gt 9203040506 Capillary Porosity, Vol. Fraction P Figure 3 & 4 : Influence of water/cement ratio and degree of hydration on strength and permeability. A combination of water/cement ratio and degree of hydration deter- mines the porosity of hydrated cement paste. The porosity and the opposite of porosity (solid / space ratio) are exponentially related to both the strength and permeability of the material. The shaded area ‘shows the typical capillary porosity range in the hydrated cement pastes. where f, is the compressive strength and k, and k, are empirical constants It was only thereafter that W/C started gaining importance as many properties of hardened concrete are influenced by this ratio. The WIC is difficult to define because the aggregates in the concrete absorb water within their mass, often to an unknown degree. If all the water absorbed by the aggregate particles is neglected and just water on the surface is considered along with water added to the mix than the W/C is called “free W/C”. 3If water absorbed by the aggregate particles is also considered in addition to the water on the surface of the particles as well as water added to the mix then the W/C is called “total W/C”. The free W/C has direct bearing on the properties of cement pastes in concrete and therefore has a direct influence on concrete strength and durability. Hence W/C needs to be more accurately measured. The disadvantage, however is that it is less easy to measure the amount of water only on the surface of the aggregate particles and without disturbing the absorbed water. Besides, this method involves getting the aggregate into a saturated but surface-dry condition. The total W/C is less accurate measure of quality of cement paste in concrete but it is easier to measure by thoroughly drying the aggregates. The term WIC ratio is likely to disappear from concrete technology as in concrete mixes besides use of cement, many types of cementitious materials like flyash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, silica fume, rice husk ash, metakaolin and even fillers are also added to improve the durability of concrete specially in severe environments. Hence, this ratio will now be known as water to cementitious material ratio (W/CM) or water to binder ratio (W/B). The relation of W/C ratio with strength will therefore be different when cementitious materials are used and the ratio is redefined as W/CM or W/B. It may be more relevant when very early age strengths are to be established as at an early stage other ingredients of cement may not have undergone significant chemical reactions. In such cases W/C only based on mass of portland cement will be more relevant. The W/C ratio’s influence on strength at various ages and durability will also depend on the type of cement used. In case of use of liquid chemical admixture the liquid content of the admixture should be included in the total mass of water in the mix while determining the wc. It is also important to note that cement and various cementitious materials have different specific gravities eg. portland cement has around 3.15 specific gravity as compared to 2.90 specific gravity of flyash. Some of those cementitious materials react with calcium hydroxide produced by the hydration of portland cement. The type and composition of cementitious material will affect the long term volume of solid products of hydration. It must be remembered that microstructures of concrete, which influences its strength 4and durability, depends on the volumetric propertions of various components of hardened concrete and not on proportions by mass. Except when concrete is fully submerged in water, some cement will be left unhydrated. This is an important consideration to be given when hardened concrete is being examined to determine the W/C ratio of the original mix. The traditional role of W/C ratio is a determinant of strength. It is also an indicator 4.0 ROLE OF WiC for durability. 4.1 Strength D.A. Abrams stated “While there is agreement amongst authorities that the ratio of the amount of water to the amount of cement is a major influence on the strength of concrete, there is less agreement on the form of the relationship. The significance of the amount of water upon strength is the parameter”. A more rational parameter is the relative density of the cement paste, which is also linearly related to strength. As compressive strength is easily specified and tested it is mostly used as a measure to assess quality of concrete. Within a normal range of strengths, the compressive strength is inversely related to W/C. (See Figure No.5) However, it must be noted that for fully compacted concrete pro- duced, using sound and clean aggregates, the strength and other desirable properties of concrete under a given job condition are governed by quantity of water used per unit of cement. 7,000 Non - Air- Entrained Concrete ‘Specimens : 6* x 12" Cylinders 6,000 | \Cement : Type I or Normal z L 28 days &. 5,000 ge BS 4000- £s ao 2 oe 3 3 3,000 23 3 53 E= 2,000 _ td oe 0 L 035 045 055 065 Water/Cement Ratio Figure 5 : Influence of the water/cement ratio and moist curing age on concrete strength. (Reference - Design and Control of Concrete Mix- tures, 13th Edition, Portland Cement Association, ‘Skokie, Il, 1998. p. 6)4.2 However, strength for a given W/C may vary due to the following reasons: o Changes in aggregates such as maximum size, grading, surface textures, shape, strength and stiffness. a Different types of cements and their sources. Oo Different type of cementitious admixtures used. Entrapped and entrained air content. coo Different types of chemical admixtures and their dosages. a Length of curing time and presence of humidity around the structure. In the past, the water content of the mix, for a given workability, varied little with variation in strength. Earlier with the increase in the cement content and at a constant water content, the W/C ratio decreased and the strength increased. Now with the advent of powerful water reducing chemical admixtures, it is possible to significantly vary the water content of the mix. Therefore, for a given workability and water content, variation in strength can be significant without variation of cement content. Durability As WIC governs the porosity of the hydrated cement paste the value of W/C is relevant to many aspects of durability. However, W/C alone does not determine the durability or even the permeability of concrete. The following factors also contribute : Q Voids in concrete as a whole and not in cement paste alone (other voids being honeycombs, entrapped air, cracks, entrained air etc.) Q Extent of connectivity between the pores that determine the penetrability of the aggressive agents. (4 In case cementitious materials are used in cement the influence of W/C on the various properties is not the same as using neat Portland Cement. The W/C is now redefined as water/cementitious material ratio (W/CM) or water/binder ratio (W/B). The denominator CM or 6B=c+fk where inc and fare the weight of cement and cementitious material or binder added to the mix per unit volume and k accounts for the difference between the influence of portland cement and binder. However, the value of k is different not only for different binders but also for same type of binder. It is also different for different ages of concrete (hydration stages). However, long term (after several months) there would be no difference expected between the cementitious material and portland cement and therefore k would equal to one. The main reason for difference between k value for different types of binders or same type of binders from different sources is the volume occupied by the different binders in a mix per given mass. 5.0 PERMEABILITY The presence of water in concrete has to be seen in a proper perspective. Water-is required for assisting mixing process of all materials, for giving workability to concrete and for cement hydration reaction. Water is present in concrete from the beginning. Depending on ambient temperatures, environmental conditions and the thickness of concrete element, evapourable water in capillary pours and absorbed water is lost resulting in empty or unsaturated pores. Hence, concrete will be vulnerable to water related destructive phenomena when exposure of the concrete to the environment leads to resaturation of the pores and when there is insignificant or no water left after drying. The resaturation of the pores will depend on the hydraulic (water) conductivity of the concrete element. This is also known as the coefficient of permeability (k), often commonly known as “Permeability”. The permeability of concrete is of fundamental importance specially when there is a possibility of penetration of potentially aggresive chemicals (water, chlorides, sulphates, carbon-dioxide etc.) which may be either in liquid or gasous form. Study of the structure of hardened cement and water paste has shown that the hydrated cement gel contains many very fine pores which have diameters around 0.015 micron and they occupy 28% by volume of the total cement paste. These pores are extremely fine and therefore virtually impermeable. 7Capillary pores are considerably larger and have diameter upto about 5 micron and they will occupy upto 40% by volume of the total cement paste depending on W/C used and the extent of chemical hydration which has taken place. Voids larger than capillary pores would be generally entrapped air or voids resulting from inadequate placing and compaction of concrete. Generally, entrapped air to the extent of 1% to 2% of the total volume of concrete is expected to be present. Large quantity of entrapped air and voids must be avoided by using good mix design, good supervision and quality control of all steps for concrete manufacture. It is therefore extremely important to have low permeability by controlling the volume of the capillary pores by specifying and controlling the W/C at site. Powers and others have shown the significance of W/C and the degree of hydration on coefficient of permeability (Refer Figure Nos 6 & 7) . In Figure 3 the quantity of water flowing per second through a given thickness of concrete has been measured and expressed as a Coefficient by “kK” by Powers and others in the expression given below. dq _KAhA dt kL Where dq_ is the rate of flow of water in cm*/sec. dt A __ isthe cross sectional area of the sample in cm?. Ah is the loss in hydraulic head through the sample in cm. L__ is the thickness of the sample in cm. Chemical composition and fineness of cement do not have significant influence on the coefficient of permeability. However, coefficient of permeability significantly varies with W/C. In Figure No 6. it is observed that coefficient of permeability rapidly increases once W/C increases above 0.55. From Figure No. 7, it can be concluded that permeability rapidly drops after first few days due to hydration of cement paste. However, this clearly shows how important it is to cure concrete in the early days to reduce permeability.g 3 8 8 8 r—_| Coefficient of permeability - cr/s 6 }—] Coefficient of permeability - 10"cri/s 8 8 8 8 / 10° 10° 10° a 10" 02°03 04 05 06 07 08 CS RN OMNIS EONS? Water / Cement Ratio ‘Age - days Figure 6 : Example of the relation between —_Figure 7: Example of the reduction of permeability permeability water/cement ratio for mature cement —_of cement paste by cement hydration (water /cement paste (93% of the cement hydrated) ratio 0.7). The time necessary for cement paste which has been kept continuously damp, to hydrate sufficiently for the capillary pores to be blocked has been investigated by Powers and others and given in Table 1 below : Table 1 - Relation between age of concrete at which Capillary pores become blocked and W/C ‘Age of concrete at which capillary wic pores become blocked 3 days 7 days 14 days 6 months 1 year infinity In a hydrated cement paste the control of coefficient of permeability would depend on the size and continuity of the pores at any point during the hydration process. The co-efficient of permeability of freshly mixed cement paste is of the order of 10“to 10° cm/sec. With the hydration process in progress the capillary 9porosity reduces and so does the permeability (See Table 2 given below) as observed by Powers and others. Table 2- Reduction in permeability of cement paste (W/C = 0.70) with the progress of hydration ‘Age Coefficient of Permeability (Days) (cm/sec x 10") Fresh 2000 x 108 5 4000 6 1000 8 400 13, 50 24 10 Ultimate 6 6.0 PERMEABILITY OF CONCRETE Itis logical to assume that by addition of aggregate particles of low permeability in the cement paste, permeability of the system will reduce because the aggregates would intercept the channels of flow within the cement paste matrix. Figure No. 8 clearly indicates, on the contrary, that the addition of aggregates to cement paste or mortar increases the permeability considerably. It is also observed that larger the aggregate size greater is the coefficient of permeability. The permeability coefficient for moderate strength concrete (containing 38mm aggregate, 356 kg/m® cement and 0.50 W/C) and low strength concrete used in dams (containing 75 to 150 mm aggregate 148 kg/m* cement and 0.75 W/C) are of the order of 1 x 10°° and 30 x 10°” cm/sec respectively. The reason for increased permeability due to presence of aggregates in the cement paste is due to microcracks which are present in the transition zone between the aggregate and the cement paste. Depending on the aggregate size and grading, bleeding occurs when aggregates are present in a concrete mixture, which weakens the strength of the transition zone. In the early days of hydration periods the transition zone develops cracks due to differential strains between the cement paste and the aggregates. These differential strains are mainly induced by drying shrinkage, thermal shrinkage and externally applied load. Cracks developed in transition zone are too small to be seen with a naked 10eye but are larger in width than most of the capillary pores present in the cement paste and therefore are responsible in establishing the interconnections between capillary pores which causes an increase of permeability. £ 30000 140 2 20000 dmax = 75 mm, 2 Max Aggregate eer ae x 120 4¥ein coaealt ED < 3in 33 aa Fs gE 100 tin 30 fp 2000} 20 S 27 2 Ge" 1000 108 3B 60 248 FS sool 45 5 9 a% Ox dae 2 60 18% SP 2001 2 a Be F 400}. Cement 1, 2 40 12 8 a Paste é 8 2 20 6 Be 20, = 3 E5101 0 0 ég of 04 05 06 07 08 09 04 05 06 07 080910 Water / Cement Ratio Water / Cement Ratio (a) Figure 8 : Influence of water/cement ratio and maximum aggregate size on concrete permeability : (a) Kq Is @ relative measure of the flow of water through concrete in cubic feet per year per square foot of area for a unit hydraulic gradient. (a), From concrete Manual, 8th Edition, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 1975, p. 37 (b), adapted from Beton-Bogen, Aalborg Cement Co., Aalborg, Denmark, 1979.] 7.0 SELECTING WATER CEMENT RATIO The W/C is the ratio by weight between water and cement. The selected W/C must be the lowest value required to meet the following design consideration. Q Strength Q Durability Q Impermeability It is extremely important to first select W/C ratio based on the environmental conditions or exposure conditions within which the concrete structure is to be constructed. The requirements of durability as per IS 456 (under revision), for various environmental or exposure conditions are given below in Table No.3. oatTable 3 : Requirement of Durabiligy as per IS : 456 (Under Revision) Minimum Cement Contents and Maximum water cement ratio required in cement concrete to ensure durability under specified conditions of exposure. Plain Concrete Reinforced Concrete Minimum Grade (Pcc) (RCC) of Concrete Exposure | Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum Cement Free Cement Free PCC Roc Kg/m* wit Kg/m* wic Mild 220, | 0.60 300 0.55 = M-20 Moderate 250 0.60 300 0.50 M-15 M-20 Severe 260 0.50 350 0.45 M-20 M-25 Very Severe 300 0.45 400 0.45 M-20 M-35 Extreme 300 0.40 400 0.40 M-40 Note 1: When the maximum water cement ratio can be strictly controlled the cement content in the above Table may be reduced by 10 percent. Note 2: The minimum cement content is based on 20 mm aggregate. For 40 mm aggregate, it should be reduced by about 10 percent; for 12.5 mm aggregate, it should be increased by about 10 percent. Environment | Exposure Conditions Mild Concrete surfaces protected against weather or aggressive conditions. Moderate Conerete surfaces sheltered from severe rain or freezing whilst wet. Concrete exposed to condensation and rain. Concrete continuously under water. Concrete exposed to non-aggressive subsoil / ground water or coastal environment. Severe Concrete surfaces exposed to severe rain, alternate wetting and drying or occasional freezing whilst wet or severe condensation Concrete in contact or buried under non-aggressive soil / ground water, completely immersed in sea water. Very Severe Concrete surfaces exposed to sea water spray, corrosive fumes or severe freezing conditions whilst wet. Extreme Concrete surfaces exposed to abrasive action, for example, machinery, metal tyred vehicles or water carrying solids. Surface of members in tidal zone. Members in direct contact with liquid / solid aggressive chemicals.The FIP recommendations and BIS codal requirements for concrete exposed to sea water also restrict W/C ratio depending on exposure zone as shown in Table No.4 given below : Table No.4 BIS codal requirements 1S-156 (under revision) for max.W/C FIP Recommendations Exposure Zone pri hiel Permenantly submerged < 0.45 0.45 Coastal Zone upto 1km from coastal line Atmospheric (Exposed to sea water spray) Splash (Tidal) When durability does not control the W/C, it should be selected on the basis of concrete compressive strength. In such cases, if possible, co-relation between strength and W/C should be developed using materials available at site. If laboratory data or site records for this co-relation are not available or cannot be obtained because of time limitations then Figure No. 9 should be utilised depending on the grade of cement proposed to be used and concrete grade specified. If flexural strength rather than compressive strength is the basis for design, as in pavement and floors on grade, tests should be made to determine the relationship between W/C and flexural strength. An approximate relationship between flexural and compressive strength is MR = KVZ where MR = flexural strength or modulus of rupture in psi. K constant ( 8 to 10) Vj, = compressive strength, psi= 700 3 oot$ = E = § 500-4 a c E 40-5 A E200 8 2 200 8 z 100 2 00 | 030 035 040 045 050 055 060 065 WATER / CEMENT RATIO. 28 - Days Strength of Cement tested according to IS : 4031 - 1968 ‘A 31.9-368N/ mm? (825-375 Kg om’) E 51.5-564N/ mm? (625-575 Kg on?) B 368-41.7 N/mm? (375-425 Kg cm) F 564-61.3N/mm? (575-625 Kg fom) © 41.7-48.6N/ mm? (425-475 Kg om?) G 613-63.7N/mm? (625-875 Kg fom) D 486-51.5N/ mn? (475-525 Kg ir) G Has been introduced in view of higher grade cement available in our country. A to F are as per 1S10262-1982 “Recommended Guidelines for Concrete Mix Design.” Figure 9 : Relation between Free Water Cement Ratio & Concrete Strength for different Cement Strengths A to G. 8.0 DETERMINATION OF W/C Accuracy of batching allowed, both for water and cement, is generally between + 1% to 3% therefore the likelihood of variation of W/C can be 1_ W ty 1.03 W 1.03 C c ice. (0.97 TO 1.03) WIC. If W/C = 0.5, it can vary at the time of concrete production between 0.485 to 0.515 i.e. + 0.03 of the specified value. The issue of determination of W/C of concrete crops up in disputes while investigating the quality of concrete in an existing structure. There are two main problems with this. a Although there are some petrographic and chemical methods for measuring the W/C, their precision is low, because they require a number of assumptions to be made for interpretation. A report of concrete society, 14“Analysis of Hardened Concrete” stated “In favourable circumstances, with reliable analysts the result is likely to be within 0.1 of the actual WIC,’ Even with a precision of + 0.1 or at best + 0.05 of the true value, the variation is quite large for assessing the quality of concrete and W/C accurately. a The problem with determining the W/C is that this term has a proper meaning only at the time when concrete has set and begun to harden. The W/C at that time will depend on a number of factors some known others unknown. Water added to the mix at the mixer Water content on aggregate surface. Water content in chemical admixtures, Water added subsequently prior to placing concrete. Water lost during transportation due to evaporation. Water lost during transportation due to absorption by aggregates. Water lost after placing if bleeding occurs. Water lost during placing itself. Water lost during compaction. It is therefore not possible to establish even the original W/C of the concrete mix during its production. It is therefore always safer to justify quality by specifying and determining compressive strength of concrete and establishing criterion for evaluation and acceptance based on the same. Therefore, it is always prudent to specify high strength concrete such that W/C required to satisfy the strength requirement is much lower than the W/C required to satisfy the durability requirement. Durability aspects are practically well taken care of when high strength concrete is specified. Durability aspects cannot be practically taken care of when low strength concrete is specified even with restriction on W/C. This is because acceptance criteria of low strength concrete cannot be established by compressive strength when durability requirement of W/C is lower than W/C required to attain the compressive strength. 159.0 CONCLUSIONS Importance to W/C is not given on many sites in our country. Most often 1:2:4 concrete is still used where W/C > 0.8. This is one of the reasons, if not the main reason, for poor durability of concrete structures in our country leading to costly repairs and rehabilitation. When concrete is made using very high W/C, as stated above, large capillary pores in cement paste allow high permeability of water along with other chemicals like chlorides and sulphates (if present) which cause deterioration of concrete. To have durable concrete structures, it is essential to specify low W/C but since WC is difficult to measure or control it is sensible to specify high strengths (over 30 MPa) of concrete so that durability requirement for maximum W/C and minimum cement contents are fully satisfied. Simple and accurate tests to determine W/C of fresh concrete have still not been developed. At present such tests are cumbersome and not sufficiently precise. In any case adequate care has to be exercised in batching of water, cement and cementitious materials to control the W/C or W/CM or W&B. These ratios control permeability and therefore durability of concrete and are equally responsible for strength of concrete. 10.0 REFERENCES 1 T.C. Powers, L.E. Copeland, J.C. Hayes and H.M. Mann, “Permeability of Portland Cement Paste”, Journal of the American Concrete Institute Proceedings, Vol. 51, No.3, Nov. 1954, Pg. 285 to 298. 1 T.C. Powers, L.E. Copeland and H.M. Mann “Capillary Continuity or Discontinuity in Cement Pastes’, Journal of PCA, Research and development laboratories, Vol. 1, No.2, May 1959, Pg. 38 to 48, “Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures”, Portland Cement Association, Illinois, U.S. 1979. 2 “Analysis of Hardened Concrete”, Concrete Society, Technical Report No.32, 1989, Pg. 110. BW. Shacklock, “Concrete Constituents and Mix Proportion”, Cement and Concrete Association, UK, 1994. -P. Kumar Mehta and Paulo J.M. Montero, “Concrete Microstructure, Properties and Materials”, Indian Edition, Indian Concrete Institute, June 1997. ‘Adam Neville, “How useful is the water-cement ratio 2”, Concrete International, Sept.1999, Pg. 69 to 70. vo 16O;ojoO;oOjo;oO|;o\;o\|o oOjojo\jo\;o;o\jo o Comprehensive list of booklets published by Technical Services Durability of Concrete Brick Masonry - Tools & Correct Practices (HIND! MALAYALAM & SINHALA) Plaster - Tools & Correct Practices (HINDI, MALAYALAM 8 SINHALA) Crazing Drying Shrinkage Flooring, Tiling - Tools & Correct Practices (HINDI, MALAYALAM & SINHALA) Concrete Compactioin (anol, wALAYALAM & SINHALA) Concrete Admixtures - Plasticizers Correct Construction Practices (Hino!) Brick Masonry QA / QC of Concrete Works - A Case Study Formwork - Inspection and Safety Plastering Rubble Masonry (Hino! aNo MALAYALAM) Cement Concrete Roads for Mumbai - A Case Study Tiling on Floors & Walls Production of High Quality Cement Concrete Verses Cement - Storage and Transportation Mandovi River Bridge Collapse - A Case Study Cement - Storage and Transportation (Hino) The Challenges and Opportunities of Indian Ready Mixed Concrete Industry Cover to Reinforced Concrete Concrete for the Next Millennium Dec. Jan. Feb. 1997 1998 1998 . 1998, . 1998 1998 Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. 1999 1999 1999Ambuja Cement Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd. Technical Services Division Elegant Business Park, Andheri-Kurla Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai- 400 093. Tel: 56240108-09 Fax:91-22-55040411