CONCRETE

Concrete
 Concrete is one of the most widely used construction
material and has long history of use.
 Its constituents derive from a wide variety of naturally
occurring materials that are readily available in most
parts of the world.
 Concrete can be made by simple hand mixing methods
or in large quantities in a computer controlled batching
plant. It can be used in wide variety of applications and
perform successfully for longer periods of time.
What is Concrete?
 Concrete is a solid hard material
produced by combining Portland
cement, water, aggregates, and in
some cases, admixtures.
 The cement and water form a paste
that hardens and bonds the aggregates
together.
Concrete features

 Concrete has strength, durability,

versatility, and economy.
Concrete can be placed or molded virtually
into any shape and can be finished to
produce surfaces ranging from glass-
smooth to coarsely textured, and it can be
colored with pigments or painted.
 Demand for concrete with higher strength and
better quality, coupled with larger and faster
mixer trucks, led to the emergence of the ready-
mix concrete industry.
 The ready-mix concrete producer has made
concrete an appropriate construction material
for different types of buildings.
Components of
Concrete
 Portland Cement
 Aggregate - sand, gravel, crushed rock
 Water
 Admixtures - when necessary
Water
 Good water is essential for quality
concrete.
 It should be good enough to drink--free of
trash, organic matter and excessive
chemicals and/or minerals.
 The strength and other properties of
concrete are highly dependent on the
amount of water and the water-cement
ratio.
Aggregates

 Aggregates occupy 60 to 80 percent of

the volume of concrete.
 Sand, gravel and crushed stone are the
primary aggregates used.
 All aggregates must be essentially free of
silt and/or organic matter.
Admixtures

 Admixtures are ingredients other than

portland cement, water, and aggregates.
 Admixtures are added to the concrete
mixture immediately before or during
mixing.
Air Entraining agents:
 Air entraining admixtures are used to
entrain microscopic air bubbles in
concrete.

 Entrained air bubbles:

 improve the durability of concrete exposed to
moisture and freeze.
Retarding admixtures:

 are used to slow the rate of concrete hardening.

 They are useful for concrete that is placed
during hot weather.
Accelerating admixtures

 such as calcium chloride, are used to

increase the rate of hardening--usually
during cold weather.
PROPERTIES OF FRESH
CONCRETE

 Workability
 Consistency
 Segregation
 Bleeding
 Setting Time
 Unit Weight
 Uniformity
WORKABILITY

It is desirable that freshly mixed concrete

be relatively easy to transport, place,
compact and finish without harmful
segregation.
A concrete mix satisfying these
conditions is said to be workable.
Factors Affecting Workability
 Method and duration of transportation
 Quantity and characteristics of cementing
materials
 Aggregate grading, shape and surface
texture
 Quantity and characteristics of chemical
admixtures
 Amount of water
 Amount of entrained air
 Concrete & ambient air temperature
WORKABILITY
 Workability is the most
important property of freshly
mixed concrete.
 There is no single test
method that can
simultaneously measure all
the properties involved in
workability.
 It is determined to a large
extent by measuring the
“consistency” of the mix.
CONSISTENCY

 Consistency is the fluidity or degree of

wetness of concrete.
 It is generally dependent on the shear
resistance of the mass.
 It is a major factor in indicating the
workability of freshly mixed concrete.
CONSISTENCY

Test methods for measuring consistency is:

 Slump test (Most widely used test!)

 Slump Test is related with the ease with
which concrete flows during placement
(TS 2871, ASTM C 143)
4 in

12 in

8 in
The slump cone is filled in 3 layers. Every
layer is evenly rodded 25 times.

Measure the slump by determining the vertical difference between

the top of the mold and the displaced original center of the top
surface of the specimen.
Slump test results

 stiff 0-2”
 massive sections, little reinforcement
 use vibration
 medium 2-5”
 columns, beams, retaining walls
 Fluid 5-7”
 heavily reinforced section, flowable concrete
SEGREGATION
 Segregation refers to a separation of the components
of fresh concrete, resulting in a non-uniform mix

 The primary causes of

segregation are differences in   Sp.Gr. Size
specific gravity and size of Cemen
constituents of concrete. t 3-3.15 5-80 mm
Moreover, improper mixing, 2.4- 5-40
improper placing and improper C.Agg. 2.8 mm
consolidation also lead to 2.4-
F.Agg. 2.8 < 5 mm
segregation.
SEGREGATION

Some of the factors affecting segregation:

 Larger maximum particle size (25mm) and
proportion of the larger particles.
 High specific gravity of coarse aggregate.
 Decrease in the amount of fine particles.
 Particle shape and texture.
 Water/cement ratio.
BLEEDING

 Bleeding is the tendency of water to rise to

the surface of freshly placed concrete.
 It is caused by the
inability of solid
constituents of the
mix to hold all of the
mixing water as they
settle down.
 A special case of
segregation.
BLEEDING
Undesirable effects of bleeding are:
 With the movement of water towards the top, the top
portion becomes weak & porous (high w/c). Thus the
resistance of concrete to freezing-thawing decreases.

 Water rising to the surface carry fine particles of

cement which weaken the top portion and form
laitance. This portion is not resistant to abrasion.

 Water may accumulate under the coarse agg. and

reinforcement. These large voids under the particles
may lead to weak zones and reduce the bond
between paste and agg. or paste and reinforcement.
MIXING OF CONCRETE

 The aim of mixing is to blend all of the

ingredients of the concrete to form a
uniform mass and to coat the surface of
aggregates with cement paste.
MIXING OF CONCRETE

 Ready-Mix concrete: In this type

ingredients are introduced into a mixer
truck and mixed during transportation to
the site.
 Wet – Water added before transportation
 Dry – Water added at site
 Mixing at the site
 Hand mixed
 Mixer mixed
Ready Mix Concrete
Mixing at Site
MIXING OF CONCRETE

Mixing time should be sufficient to produce

a uniform concrete. The time of mixing
depends on the type of mixer and also to
some properties of fresh concrete.
 Undermixing → non-homogeneity
 Overmixing → danger of water loss,
brekage of aggregate particles
CONSOLIDATING
CONCRETE

Inadequate consolidation
can result in:
 Honeycomb
 Excessive amount of
entrapped air voids
(bugholes)
 Sand streaks
 Placement lines (Cold joints)
VIBRATION OF CONCRETE

 The process of compacting concrete

consists essentially of the elimination of
entrapped air. This can be achieved by:
 Tamping or rodding the concrete
 Use of vibrators
VIBRATORS

 Internal vibrator: The poker is immersed

into concrete to compact it. The poker is
easily removed from point to point.
 External vibrators: External vibrators
clamp direct to the formwork requiring
strong, rigid forms.
Internal Vibrators

 To aid in the removal of trapped air the vibrator

head should be rapidly plunged into the mix
and slowly moved up and down.

 The actual completion of

vibration is judged by the
appearance of the concrete
surface which must be
neither rough nor contain
excess cement paste.
External Vibrators

 Form vibrators
 Vibrating tables (Lab)
 Surface vibrators
 Vibratory screeds
 Plate vibrators
 Vibratory roller
screeds
 Vibratory hand floats
or trowels
External Vibrators
 External vibrators are rigidly clamped to the
formwork so that both the form & concrete are
subjected to vibration.
 A considerable amount of work is needed to
vibrate forms.
 Forms must be strong and tied enough to prevent
distortion and leakage of the grout.
External Vibrators
 Vibrating Table:
used for small
amounts of
concrete
(laboratory and
some precast
elements)
CURING OF CONCRETE
 Properties of concrete can improve with age as
long as conditions are favorable for the continued
hydration of cement. These improvements are
rapid at early ages and continues slowly for an
indefinite period of time.
 Curing is the procedures used for promoting the
hydration of cement and consists of a control of
temperature and the moisture movement from
and into the concrete.
CURING OF CONCRETE
 The primary objective of curing is to keep concrete
saturated or as nearly saturated as possible.

 Hydration reactions can

take place in only
saturated water filled
capillaries.
Curing Methods

1. Methods which supply additional water to

the surface of concrete during early
hardening stages.
 Using wet covers
 Sprinkling
 Ponding
Curing Methods

2. Methods that prevent loss of moisture from

concrete by sealing the surface.
 Water proof plastics
 Use liquid membrane-forming compounds
 Forms left in place
Curing Methods

3. Methods that accelerate strength gain by

supplying heat & moisture to the concrete.
 By using live steam (steam curing)
 Heating coils.
Hot Weather Concrete
 Rapid hydration  early setting  rapid loss of
workability
 Extra problems due to
 Low humidity
 Wind, excessive evaporation
 Direct sunlight

Solutions
 Windbreaks
 Cooled Concrete Ingredients
 Water ponding (cooling due to evaporation)
 Reflective coatings/coverings
Cold Weather Concrete

 Keep concrete temperature above 5 °C to

minimize danger of freezing

Solutions
 Heated enclosures, insulation
 Rely on heat of hydration for larger sections
 Heated ingredients --- concrete hot when placed
 High early strength cement
UNIFORMITY OF CONCRETE

 Concrete uniformity is
checked by conducting
tests on fresh and
hardened concretes.
Slump, unit weight, air
content tests
Strength tests
UNIFORMITY OF CONCRETE

 Due to heteregeneous nature of concrete,

there will always be some variations. These
variations are grouped as:
 Within-Batch Variations : inadequate mixing,
non-homogeneous nature
 Batch-to-Batch Variations : type of materials
used, changes in gradation of aggregates,
changes in moisture content of aggregates
PROPERTIES OF
HARDENED CONCRETE
 The principal properties of hardened
concrete which are of practical importance
can be listed as:
1. Strength
2. Permeability & durability
3. Shrinkage & creep deformations
4. Response to temperature variations
Of these compressive strength is the most
important property of concrete. Because;
PROPERTIES OF
HARDENED CONCRETE
Of the abovementioned hardened
properties compressive strength is one of
the most important property that is often
required, simply because;
1. Concrete is used for compressive loads
2. Compressive strength is easily obtained
3. It is a good measure of all the other
properties.