CONCRETE

CONCRETE:
Concrete is defined in ASTM Terminology Relating to Concrete and Concrete
Aggregates as A composite matenal that consists essentially of a binding medium
within which are embedded particles or fragments of aggregate.

Concrete = Binding materials + Inert Materials + Water

(Cement/lime) (Fine / Coarse Aggregate)

Concrete may be considered as being composed of four basic separate ingredients:

1. Binding agent (Cement/lime)

2. Coarse aggregates
3. Fine aggregates
4. Water

FUNCTION OF AGGREGATE IN CONCRETE:

The aggregate gives volume to the concrete, around the surface of which the binding
materials adheres in the form of a thin film. The voids in coarse aggregate are filled
up with fine aggregate and again the voids in fine aggregate are filled up with the
binding materials. Finally, the binding materials bind the Individual units of aggregates
into a solid mass with the help of water.

TYPES OF CONCRETE: (On Weight):

Normal-weight concrete:

Concrete containing natural sand and gravel or crushed-rock aggregates. generally

weighing about 2400 kg/m3 (4000 lb/yd3) is called normal-weight concrete, and it is
the most commonly used concrete for structural purposes.

Light-weightconcrete:

For applications where a higher strength-to-weight ratio Is desired, it is possible to

reduce the unit weight of concrete by using natural or pyro-processed aggregates with
lower bulk densrty. The term lightweight concrete is used for concrete that weighs less
than about 1800 kg/m3 (3000 lb/yd3).

Heavy-weight Concrete:

Heavyweight concrete, used for radiation shielding, is a concrete produced from high-
density aggregates and generally weighs more than 3200 kg/m3 (5300 lb/yd3).
TYPES OF CONCRETE: (On Compressive strength)
1. Low-strength concrete: less than 20 MPa (3000 psi)
2. Moderate-strength concrete: 20 to 40 MPa (3000 to 6000 psi)
3. High-strength concrete: more than 40 MPa (6000 psi)

WORKABILITY
The ASTM C 125-93 definition:
"Property determining the effort required to manipulate a freshly mixed quantity of
concrete with minimum loss homogeneity" is called workability.

The ACI definition of workability, given in ACI 116R-9:

Property of freshly mixed concrete or mortar which determines the ease and
homogeneity with which it can be mixed, placed, consolidated, and finished is called
workability.

Workability of a concrete is a composite property with at least two main components,

as follows:

Consistency: indicates the mobility or flow ability of freshly mixed concrete

Cohesiveness: indicates the water-holding capacity (the opposite of bleeding) and

the coarse aggregate-holding capacity (the opposite of segregation).

NECESSITY FOR SUFFICIENT WORKABILITY:

Concrete must have workability such that compaction to maximum density is possible
with a reasonable amount of work or with the amount that are prepared to put in under
given conditions. The work done is used to overcome the friction between the
individual particles in the concrete and also between the concrete and the surface of
the mould or of the reinforcement. These two can be called internal friction and surface
friction, respectively.The internal friction is an intrinsic property of the mix, workability
can be best defined as the amount of useful internal work necessary to produce full
compaction.

FACTORS AFFECTING WORKABILITY:

• Water Content
• Mix Proportions
• Size of Aggregates
• Shape of Aggregates
• Surface Texture of Aggregate
• Grading of Aggregate
• Use of Admixtures.
MEASUREMENT OF WORKABILITY:

• Slump Test
• Compacting Factor Test
• Remolding Test
• FlowTest
• Ball penetration Test
• Nesser's K-tester
• Two-point Test

Slump test:
Slump test is the most commonly used method of measuring, consistency of concrete
which can be employed either in laboratory or at site of work. It is not a suitable method
for very wet or very dry concrete. It does not measure all factors contributing to
workability, nor is it always representative of the plasticity of the concrete. Repeated
batches of the same mix, brought to the same slump, will have the same water content
and water cement ratio, provided the weights of aggregate, cement and admixtures
are uniform and aggregate grading is within acceptable limits.

The thickness of the metallic steel for the mould should not be thinner than 1.6 mm.
For tamping the concrete a steel tamping rod 16 mm dia 0.6 meter along with bullet
end is used. The internal surface of the mould is thoroughly clean. The mould is placed
on a smooth, horizontal, rigid and non-absorbent surface. The mould is then filled In
four layers, each approximately 1/4 of the height of the mould. Each layer is tamped
25 times by the tamping rod taking care to distribute the strokes evenly over the cross
section. After the top layer has been rodded, the concrete is struck off level with a
trowel and tamping rod. The mould Is removed from the concrete immediately by
raising It slowly and carefully. The difference in level between the height of the mould
and that of the highest point of the subsided concrete is measured.
SLUMP AND COMPACTING FACTOR:
WATER LOSS IN CONCRETE DUE TO:

• Absorption by the aggregate if not saturated

• Evaporation, particularly if the concrete is exposed to sun or wind
• The initial chemical reactions

THE EXACT VALUE OF THE LOSS IN WORKABILITY DEPENDS ON SEVERAL

FACTORS:

• The higher the initial workability the greater the slump loss
• The rate of loss depends on the properties of the cement used; the rate is higher
when the alkali cement is high and when the sulfate content is too low.
• The moisture condition of aggregate; the loss is greater with dry aggregate due
to the absorption of water by aggregate with time.
• The workability of a mix is also affected by the ambient temperature.
•

SEGREGATION:
Segregation can be defined as the separation of the constituent materials of concrete.
A good concrete is one in which all the ingredients are property distributed to make a
homogeneous mixture. If a sample of concrete exhibits a tendency for separation or
say, coarse aggregate from the rest of the Ingredients, then that sample is said to be
showing the tendency for segregation. Such concrete is not only going to be weak;
lack of homogeneity is also going to induce all undesirable properties in the hardened
concrete.

SEGREGATION MAY BE OF THREE TYPES:

1. The coarse aggregate separating out or settling down from the rest o f the matrix.
2. The paste or matrix separating away from coarse aggregate.
3. Water separating out from the rest of the material being a matenal of lowest specific
gravity.

BLEEDING:
Bleeding is sometimes referred as water gain. It is a particular form of segregation. in
which some of the water from the concrete comes out to the surface of the concrete,
being of the lowest specific gravity among all the ingredients of concrete. Bleeding is
predominantly observed in a highly wet mix, badly proportioned and insufficiently
mixed concrete.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE:
1. When still in the plastic state, it must be adequately workable.
2. It must fulfill the required strength parameters.
3. Durability to be able to withstand imposed forces and elements such as traffic
abrasion for a concrete pavement.
4. Other properties that may vary in Importance with the location of the concrete
in a structure are permeability and appearance.

a)Strength,

b)Elastic properties,

c)Fatigue,

d)Durability,

e)Impermeability,and

f)Workabililty

STRENGTH:

• Compressive strength
• Tensile strength
• Flexural strength: The flexural strength of plain concrete is almost dependent
upon the tensile strength. However, experimental results show that the modulus
of rupture is considerably greater than the strength in tension.
• Shear strength

FACTORS CONTROLLING PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE:

a) Grading of aggregates.
b) Moisture content of aggregates.
c) Water/cement ratio.
d) Proportion of various ingredients of concrete.
e) Method of mixing.
f) Placing and compaction of concrete.
g) Curing of concrete.
WATER/CEMENT RATIO:
The strength of concrete at a given age and cured at a prescribed temperature is
assumed to depend primarily on two factors:

a) The water/cement ratio,and

b) The degree of compaction.

The proportion between the amount of water and cement used in a concrete mix is
termed as the water/cement ratio. When concrete is fully compacted, its strength is
taken to be inversely proportional to water/cement ratio and determines the porosity
of the hardened cement paste at any stage of hydration. The use of less water than
required will produce porous and weak concrete.

CURING OF CONCRETE:
Curing is the name given to procedure used for promoting the hydration of cement
and consists of control of temperatures and of the moisture movement from and into
the concrete. Specially, the object of curing is to keep concrete saturated so that
hydration of cement can take place in a suitable environment. The curing for 28 days
imparts maximum strength of concrete.The period of curing is usually a minimum of 7
days for ordinary Portland cement concrete.

METHODS OF CURING:

Depending upon the conditions of site, size, shape and position of concrete structures,
there are various methods of curing:

a) Structures with small surface volume ratio: curing may be done by oiling and
wetting the formworks before casting .

b) Large surface of concrete: Once the concrete has set, wet curing can be
provided by spraying or flooding with water or covering the concrete with wet
sand or earth, sawdust or straw or water hyacinth.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE:
a) Relative Humidity

b) Shrinkage,

c) Strength,

d) Aggregate,

e) Age and Maturity,

f) Type of Cement,

g) Fineness of Cement, and

h) Temperature.

CHEMICAL ATTACK OF CONCRETE:

The common forms of chemical attack are:

a) Leaching out of cement (efflorescence),

b) Action of Sulphates,

c) Sea water attack, and

d)Acid water attack.