CONCRETE

Concrete is an artificial stone manufactured from a mixture of binding materials and inert materials
with water.
Concrete = Binding materials + Inert materials + Water
Concrete is considered a chemically combined mass where the inert material acts as a filler and the
binding material acts as a binder.
The inert materials used in concrete are termed aggregates. The aggregates are of two types namely-
(i) fine aggregate and (ii) coarse aggregate
Fine Aggregate: Sand and Surki are commonly used as fine aggregates in Bangladesh. Stone
screenings, burnt clays, and fly ash are sometimes used as a substitute for sand in making concrete.
The fine aggregate should not be less than 3/16 inch in diameter.
Coarse Aggregate: Brick khoa, broken stones, gravels, pebbles, etc. of the size of 3/16 to 2 inches
are commonly used as coarse aggregate in Bangladesh.
Functions of Aggregates in Concrete
 The aggregate gives volume to the concrete around the surface of which the binding material
adheres in the form of a thin film.
 The void in the coarse aggregate is filled up with fine aggregate and again the void in the
fine aggregate is filled up with the binding materials.
 Finally, the binding material binds the individual units of aggregates into a solid mass with
the help of water.
Function of water in Concrete
 Wet the surface of aggregates to develop adhesion because the cement paste adheres quickly
and satisfactorily to the wet surface of the aggregates.
 To prepare a plastic mixture of the various ingredients and to impart workability of concrete
to facilitate placing in the desired position.
 Water is also needed for the hydration of the cementing materials to set and harden during
the period of curing.
Classification of Concrete: There are mainly two types of concrete namely:
i. Lime Concrete = Lime + Surki + Khoa (or Stones) + Water
ii. Cement Concrete = Cement + Sand + Khoa (or Stones) + Water
Lime Concrete: Lime concrete consists of lime, surki, and khoa or stones in the proportion of 1:2:5
unless otherwise specified.
 The khoa or stones should be soaked thoroughly in water before mixing.
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Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, Associate professor, Department of ACEE. SAU, Sylhet.
 The lime and surki in the required proportion are to be first mixed dry by volume on a clean
watertight platform till the colour is uniform.
 The requisite quantity of thoroughly soaked khoa or stones is then added and the whole is
again mixed very thoroughly.
 Water is then added gradually and mixing is continued till a workable mixture is obtained.
 Concrete is to be laid in layers not exceeding 3 inches in thickness.
 Each layer is to be thoroughly compacted before the next layer is laid.
 Concrete is to be wet well while setting and at least 7 days after the final layer is completed.
 Lime concrete is used mainly in foundation and terrace roofing.
Cement concrete: It consists of cement, sand, and brick khoa or stones sized in the proportion
1:2:4 or 1:3:6.
 The ingredients are measured by volume (dry) according to the required proportion.
 The khoa or stones are soaked thoroughly in water before use.
 The fine and coarse aggregates are mixed dry first on a clean watertight platform.
 The cement is then added and mixed thoroughly till the colour is uniform.
 The required quantity of water is then gradually added and the whole is mixed thoroughly.
 The quantity of water should be such that the mixture would give a good workability.
 The concrete is to be prepared in small quantities which can be used within 45 minutes and
any unused concrete after that time should not be used.
 In foundation works, the concrete is to be rammed properly till the water appears on top and
khoa or stone is left uncovered by mortar.
 In reinforced concrete work, the concrete is to be poked thoroughly with steel rods of
recommended size to get rid of voids and to ensure a good bond between the concrete and
the reinforcing steel.
 As soon as the concrete has set the surface should be sprayed with water.
 The process of curing is to be applied for 28 days to attain its proper strength.
 Mixing concrete by hand does not generally produce good concrete. Where a large quantity
of concrete is required and also a very good quality concrete is desired, the mixing is done
in a mechanical concrete mixer.
Advantage of Concrete over Other Materials of Construction
1. Concrete is free from defects and flaws with which natural stones are associated.
2. It can be manufactured to the desired strength and durability with economy.
3. It can be cast to any desired shape.
4. The maintenance cost of concrete structures is almost negligible.

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Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, Associate professor, Department of ACEE. SAU, Sylhet.
5. Concrete does not deteriorate appreciably with age.

Segregation: It can be defined as the separation of the constituents of a mixture so that their
distribution is no longer uniform.
 In concrete, there are two forms of segregation. First, the coarse particles tend to travel
further along a slope or settle more than finer particles. The second form of segregation,
occurring particularly in wet mixes, by the separation of grout (cement plus water) from the
mix.
 The first type of segregation may occur if the mix is too dry addition of water would improve
the cohesion of the mix but when the mix becomes too wet, the second type of segregation
would take place.
 Segregation depends on the method of handling and placing of concrete.
 If the concrete is transferred directly from the mixer or mixing place to the final position in
the formwork, the danger of segregation is small.
 On the other hand, dropping concrete from a greater height to the final position, segregation
is encouraged.
 Concrete should always be placed directly in the position in which it is to remain and must
not be allowed to flow or be worked along the formwork.
 It may be noted that entrained air reduces the danger of segregation.
 With a correct method of grading, handling, transporting, and placing, the danger of
segregation can be greatly reduced.

Bleeding: Bleeding is a form of segregation in which some of the water in the concrete mix tends
to rise to the surface of freshly placed concrete.
 This is caused by the inability of the solid constituents of the mix to hold all of the mixing
water when they settle downwards. As a result of bleeding the top of the concrete becomes
too wet and a porous, weak, and non-durable concrete will result.
 If the bleeding water is remixed during the finishing of the top surface, a weak wearing
surface will be found. This can be avoided by delaying the finishing operation until the
bleeding water has evaporated.
 On the other hand, if the evaporation of water from the surface of the concrete is faster than
the bleeding rate, cracking may result.
 Reduction in bleeding is obtained by the addition of pozzolona or aluminum powder. Air
entrainment also effectively reduces bleeding. Physical properties of fine aggregate (size)
also affect bleeding.

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Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, Associate professor, Department of ACEE. SAU, Sylhet.
CONCRETE MAKING
Conveying and Placing of Concrete
 Concrete should be conveyed and placed in such a manner as to avoid segregation of the
material and should be placed vertically into the formwork.
 The movement of concrete in any direction except the vertical, results in the separation of
its components.
 Conveyance of concrete mix should be so planned that the mixed mass is used within 30 to
40 minutes. This is necessary to prevent the danger of concrete getting its initial set.

Curing: The most important step in the making of concrete is the curing, as hydration of cement
takes place only in the presence of moisture and at favorable temperatures, these conditions must
be maintained for a suitable time interval 'called the curing period.
Some of the most effective methods of curing are
i) By covering the exposed surface with moist sand, earth, gunny bags, etc., and sprinkle
water at intervals to keep the covering wet.
ii) Floors and other horizontal surfaces may be cured by impounding water in earthen or
sandy bunds in squares or rectangles over the entire area. The water depth in the enclosed
areas may be maintained 2 to 3 in.
iii) Walls, columns, and other vertical surfaces are wrapped with gunny bags over the
surface, and the wrapped materials are kept continuously wet by sprinkling water.

Strength of Ordinary Portland Cement Concrete at Various Ages: (Approx.)

3 days 20% 3 months 85%
7 days 45% 6 months 95%
28 days 60% 1 year 100%

Batching and Mixing of Concrete: After fixing the proportions of the different ingredients of
concrete for a particular work, the aggregates, cement, and water are measured out in batches for
mixing. This process is called "batching".
 The batching may be done either by volume or by weight. When concrete is batched by
volume there is always the possibility of variation between one batch and another.
 For all important concrete works batching should be done by weight and mixing by machine
mixers. Machine mixing ensures better and more uniform concrete.

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Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, Associate professor, Department of ACEE. SAU, Sylhet.
 If volume batching is done, care must be taken to allow for the bulking of aggregate due to
unequal filling of measuring boxes and moisture in the sand.
 For volume batching, cement is measured by bag and water in litres. A 50-kg bag of cement
is taken as 35 litres of water.
 For measuring aggregates wooden boxes are made in units of one or more whole bags of
cement, i.e., in units of 35 litres.
 For example, a convenient box size would be 40 cm long, 35 cm wide, and 25 cm deep
(inside dimensions).
 The boxes should be provided with handles for the case of lifting and loading the mixers.
Separate measuring boxes should be provided for the different aggregates.

Consolidation of Concrete: Consolidation of concrete should proceed immediately after placing.

The function of consolidation of concrete is to expel the air bubbles in the mass and make it
impermeable. Hand compaction is done by roding, tamping, or hammering.
 Mechanical compaction is done by the use of vibrators. There are two types of vibrators, the
internal type and the external type. Internal vibrators should be used wherever the sections
are sufficiently large.
 Water gain may occur more readily with vibration than with hand compaction. This water
gain is due to a lack of fine particles in the cement and sand or to an excess of water. It
should be prevented by using non-bleeding cement, more fine sand particles, or less water.

Proportioning of Various Ingredients of Concrete

The object of proportioning the ingredients (cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate, and water)
is to obtain a strong and durable concrete to suit all requirements.
 Following are the possible methods of proportioning
i. Arbitrary method,
ii. Minimum voids method
iii. Sieve analysis method and
iv. Trial mixture method.
 Here we will discuss the Arbitrary method of the group. perhaps the more commonly used
method.
Arbitrary Method: In proportioning the concrete ingredients, the proportion of cement is taken as
unity to be mixed with X parts of fine aggregate and Y parts of coarse aggregate.
 The amount of water is determined from the strength versus water/cement ratio curve and
slump test.

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Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, Associate professor, Department of ACEE. SAU, Sylhet.
 The following table shows the recommended proportions of the concrete materials for
various types of works.

Type of construction Concrete Mix

Mass concrete in foundation and concrete blocks 1:3:6 or 1:4:8
All R.C.C. works in slabs, beams, 'columns, walls, lintels, etc. 1:2:4 or 1:3:6
Dams, reservoirs, overhead R.C.C. water tanks 1:1 :3
Different units of water works and sewage treatment plants, 1:1:4
precast R.C.C. works, etc.

WATER CEMENT RATIO

The ratio of the volume of mixing water to that of cement is termed water cement ratio. Water
cement ratio is a yardstick to obtain a concrete mix of desired strength.
 Experiments have shown that the quantity of water in a mix determines its strength and there
is a water/cement ratio that gives the maximum strength to the concrete.
 It will be found that there is a certain percentage of water below which the water will not be
sufficient to hydrate the cement.
 The use of less water than that required will not give workability and will produce porous
and weak concrete.
 On the other hand, if more water is used than that required, the concrete will be weak.
 The water/cement ratio is usually expressed as a decimal fraction, but for practical purposes,
it is better to express it as so many gallons of water per bag of cement.
 Suppose, 30 lbs of water are required per 100 lbs of cement, then water/cement ratio =
30/100 = 0.3
 This can be expressed as a requirement of water per bag of cement as 0.3 x 112/10 = 3.36
gallons. Because 1 bag of cement = 1.25 cu. ft. = 112 lbs; and 1 gallon of water = 10 lb.

Workability of Concrete
The strength of concrete of a given mix proportion is very seriously affected by the degree of its
compaction, it is therefore, that the consistency of the mix be such that the concrete can be
transported, placed, and finished easily and without segregation. The concrete satisfying these
conditions is said to be workable.

Measurement of Workability (Slump Test)

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Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, Associate professor, Department of ACEE. SAU, Sylhet.
A field evaluation test apparatus for consistency is known as Slump Cone. This apparatus is a
frustum of a cone open at both ends. The top and bottom diameter of the vessel is 4 in. and 8 in.
respectively and its height is 12 in. Fig.1 illustrates the working of the simple device.
The following procedure should be followed
i. Clean the internal surface of the mould and apply oil.
ii. Place the mould on a smooth horizontal non-porous base plate.
iii. Fill the mould with the prepared concrete mix in 4 approximately equal layers.
iv. Tamp each layer with 25 strokes of the rounded end of the tamping rod of a 5/8 in. dia-rod
24 in. long having a bullet point end uniformly over the cross-section of the mould.
v. Remove the excess concrete and level the surface with a trowel.
vi. Clean away the mortar or water leaked out between the mould and the base plate.
vii. Raise the mould from the concrete immediately and slowly in the vertical direction.
viii. Measure the slump as the difference between the height of the mould and that of the height
point of the specimen being tested.
 Slump is measured as indicated in Fig.1. The magnitude of the slump of different work-
abilities is given in the following table.

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Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, Associate professor, Department of ACEE. SAU, Sylhet.
Fig.1: Measurement of slump

The following table gives recommended slumps for concrete to be used in various types of
structures.
Types of Construction Slump, inch
Maximum Minimum
Reinforced foundation walls and footings 5 2
Plain footings, caissons, and substructure walls 4 1
Slabs, beams, and reinforced walls 6 3
Building columns 6 3
Pavements 3 2
Heavy mass construction 3 1
* When high-frequency vibrators are used, the values given might be reduced

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Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, Associate professor, Department of ACEE. SAU, Sylhet.
Factors that influence the concrete slump test
 Material properties like chemistry, fineness, particle size distribution, moisture content, and
temperature of cementitious materials
 Size, texture, combined grading, cleanliness, and moisture content of the aggregates
 Chemical admixtures dosage, type, combination, interaction, sequence of addition, and
effectiveness
 Air content of concrete
 Concrete batching, mixing, and transporting methods and equipment
 Temperature of the concrete
 Sampling of concrete, slump-testing technique, and the condition of test equipment
 The amount of free water in the concrete and
 Time since mixing of concrete at the time of testing.

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Dr. Md. Abdur Rashid Sarker, Associate professor, Department of ACEE. SAU, Sylhet.