Lecture 5 - Fundamentals

January 25, 2002

CVEN 444
 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:(318-99, 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. Layer 1: Fill 1/3 full. 25 stokes
2. Layer 2: Fill 2/3 full. 25 stokes
3. Layer 3: Fill full. 25 stokes
4. 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 15-20 % 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
f’c 12”

0.45f’c 6”

o u c
 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, f’c
• Normally use 28-day strength for design strength
– Poisson’s Ratio,  fc Ec
f’c
• ~ 0.15 to 0.20
• Usually use  0.17 0.45f’c

o u c
 Concrete Properties
– Modulus of Elasticity, Ec
• Corresponds to secant modulus at 0.45 f’c
• ACI 318-99 (Sec. 8.5.1):

where w = unit weight (pcf)

E90 pcf ( psi )  33 w1.5
c < wc <155 pcf f 'c ( psi )

For normal weight concrete

(wc  145 pcf)

Ec ( psi )  57,000 f 'c ( psi )

 Concrete Properties
• In-Class Exercise:
Compute Ec for f’c = 4500 psi for normal weight
(145 pcf) concrete using both ACI equations:

Ec ( psi )  33 w1.5 f 'c ( psi )

Ec ( psi )  57,000 f 'c ( psi )

 Concrete Properties
– Concrete strain at max. compressive stress, o
• See Fig. 3.17 for typical  curves in
compression
 o varies between 0.0015-0.003
• For normal strength concrete, o ~ 0.002
fc Ec
f’c

0.45f’c

o u
 Concrete Properties
– Maximum useable strain, u
• ACI Code: u = 0.003
• Used for flexural and axial compression
fc
Ec
f’c

0.45f’c

o u
 Concrete Properties
Typical Concrete Stress-Strain Curves in Compression
 Concrete Properties
Types of compression failure
There are three modes of failure.
[1] Under axial compression
concrete fails in shear.
[2] the separation of the
specimen into columnar pieces
by what is known as splitting or
columnar fracture.
[3] Combination of shear and
splitting failure.
 Concrete Properties
2. Tensile Strength
– Tensile strength ~ 8% to 15% of f’c
– Modulus of Rupture, fr
• For deflection calculations, use:
f r  7.5 f 'c ( psi ) ACI Eq. 9-9
– Test:
P unreinforced
concrete beam
Mc 6 M
fr   2
I bh
fr
Mmax = P/2*a
 Concrete Properties
2. Tensile Strength (cont.)
– Splitting Tensile Strength, fct
– Split Cylinder Test
P
Concrete Cylinder
Poisson’s
Effect
 Concrete Properties
2. Tensile Strength (cont.)
2P
f ct 
ld
f ct  (5 to 7) f 'c ( psi )

(Not given in ACI Code)

 Concrete Properties
3. Shrinkage and Creep
– Shrinkage: Due to water loss to atmosphere (volume
loss).
• Plastic shrinkage occurs while concrete is still “wet” (hot day,
flat work, etc.)
• Drying shrinkage occurs after concrete has set
• Most shrinkage occurs in first few months (~80% within one
year).
• Cycles of shrinking and swelling may occur as environment
changes.
• Reinforcement restrains the development of shrinkage.
 Concrete Properties
Shrinkage of an Unloaded Specimen

Fig. 3-21, MacGregor (1997)

* 80% of shrinkage occurs in first year
 Concrete Properties
• Shrinkage is a function of
– W/C ratio (high water content reduces
amount of aggregate which restrains
shrinkage)
– Aggregate type & content (modulus of
Elasticity)
– Volume/Surface Ratio
 Concrete Properties
• Shrinkage is a function of
– Type of cement (finely ground…)
– Admixtures
– Relative humidity (largest for relative humidity of
40% or less).
– Typical magnitude of strain: (200 to 600) * 10-6
(200 to 600 microstrain)
 Concrete Properties
– Creep
• Deformations (strains) under sustained loads.
• Like shrinkage, creep is not completely reversible.

P
L, elastic
L, creep
L

P
=L/L
 Concrete Properties

• Magnitude of creep strain is a function of all the

above that affect shrinkage, plus
– magnitude of stress
– age at loading
 Concrete Properties

• Creep strain develops over time…

– Absorbed water layers tend to become thinner
between gel particles that are transmitting
compressive stresses
– Bonds form between gel particles in their
deformed position.
 Concrete Properties
– Tri-axial Compression
• Confined Cylinder
• Improved strength and ductility versus uniaxial
compression F1
• Example: spiral reinforced where,
F1 = longitudinal stress at failure
  f '  4.1 3
F3 = lateral pressure
1 c
F3

F1
 Concrete Properties
– Tri-axial Compression

Fig. 3-15, MacGregor (1997)

 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

– Es = Initial tangent modulus GR 60 (less ductile)

= 29,000 ksi (all grades)
GR 40
Stress
– Note: Es
GR40 has a longer 1
yield plateau
0.20
Strain