Why is fine aggregate used in concrete?

Generally coarse aggregate is blended with finer aggregates (such as sand) to fill in the spaces
left between the large pieces and to “lock” the larger pieces together. This reduces the amount
of cement paste required and decreases the amount of shrinkage that could occur.

What is the workability of concrete?

In simple words, workability means the ease of placement and workable concrete means the
concrete which can be placed and can be compacted easily without any segregation.
Workability is a vital property of concrete and related with compaction as well as strength.

Why is the specific gravity important?

The term “Specific Gravity” (SG) is used to define the weight or density of a liquid as compared
to the density of an equal volume of water at a specified temperature. The temperature used for
measurement is usually 39.2oF (4oC), because this temperature allows water to assume its
maximum density.

What is the purpose of specific gravity test?

Standard Test Methods for Specific Gravity of Water and Brine. 4.1 Specific gravity is an
important property of fluids being related to density and viscosity. Knowing the specific gravity
will allow determination of a fluid's characteristics compared to a standard, usually water, at a
specified temperature.

What is the density of fine aggregate?

coarse aggregate. Natural mineral aggregates, i.e., sand and gravel have a bulk density of 95 to
105 lbs/ft3 (1520 - 1680 kg/m3) and produce Normal- Weight concrete (NWC). Aggregates with
bulk densities less than 70 lbs/ft3 (1120 Kg/m3) are called Lightweight

Why specific gravity of aggregate is important?

Specific Gravity is important for several reasons. Some deleterious particles are lighter than the
good aggregates. ... Specific gravity is critical information for the Hot Mix Asphalt Design
Engineer. The value is used in calculating air voids, voids in mineral aggregate (VMA), and
voids filled by asphalt (VFA)
Why is absorption important in aggregate?
Aggregate absorption is the increase in mass due to water in the pores of the material.
Aggregate absorption is a useful quality because: High values can indicate non-durable
aggregate. Absorption can indicate the amount of asphalt binder the aggregate will absorb.

What is water absorption of fine aggregate?

Recommended Values of Specific Gravity and Water Absorption for Aggregates. The specific
gravity of aggregates normally used in road construction ranges from about 2.5 to 3.0 with an
average of about 2.68. Water absorption shall not be more than 0.6 per unit by weight.

What is absorption capacity of aggregate?

The absorption capacity is used in mix proportioning calculations and can be used to convert
from SSD to OD system or vice versa. Most normal weight aggregates have absorption
capacities in the range of 1 to 2%.

What does slump test indicate?

The concrete slump test measures the consistency of fresh concrete before it sets. It is
performed to check the workability of freshly made concrete, and therefore the ease with which
concrete flows. It can also be used as an indicator of an improperly mixed batch.

What is the ideal value of slump?

What is the ideal value of slump? Answer 1 In case of a dry sample, slump will be in the range
of 25-50 mm that is 1-2 inches. But in case of a wet concrete, the slump may vary from 150-175
mm or say 6-7 inches.

What is a 4 inch slump?

Slump is the measure of concrete consistency and fluidity. It shows the flow and overall
workability of freshly mixed concrete. Simply put, the higher the slump, the wetter the mix. Four-
inch (4”) slump is very common with normal weight concrete and is a good for pumping.

What happens if concrete slump is too high?

Increased porosity also results in more efflorescence, causing the color of the surface to be less
intense or whitish. Excessive slump also can result from accidentally adding too much water-
reducing admixtures or super-plasticizers to a mix. This can result in aggregate segregation and
a serious loss of strength.

What concrete slump do I need?

Concrete Slump
Reinforced foundation wall and footings: Slump shall be between 2 and 5 inches. Footings,
caissons: 1-inch minimum, 4-inch maximum. Slabs, beams, building columns, and reinforced
walls: 3-inch minimum and 6-inch maximum. Pavements: 2-inch minimum and 3-inch maximum.

What happens if concrete slump is too low?

What Problems Occur if Concrete Has Too Low a Slump? Slump is an indication of the ratio of
water to cement in your concrete. The correct ratio of water and cement depends on the
intended use of the concrete. Concrete mixtures with a low slump have a higher proportion of
cement than concrete with a high slump.

How slump is measured?

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. ... In case of a shear slump, the slump value
is measured as the difference in height between the height of the mould and the average value
of the subsidence.

What is the procedure of slump test?

Procedure for Concrete Slump Cone Test
Place the mould on a smooth horizontal non- porous base plate. Fill the mould with the
prepared concrete mix in 4 approximately equal layers. Tamp each layer with 25 strokes of the
rounded end of the tamping rod in a uniform manner over the cross section of the mould.

How do you calculate concrete slump?

Place the cone next to the mound of wet concrete and put the steel bar level on top of it,
extending over the top of the mound. Immediately measure the distance between the bottom of
the steel bar and the top of the concrete mound. The distance, measured to the nearest 1/4 inch
is the concrete slump.
What is the strongest concrete mix ratio?
In making concrete strong, these ingredients should usually be mixed in a ratio of
1:2:3:0.5 to achieve maximum strength. That is 1 part cement, 2 parts sand, 3 parts
gravel, and 0.5 part water.

What is the best concrete ratio?

Best mix to fill up these holes would be 1:4 ratio by volume cement to sand/ballast mix (20mm
stones in the ballast). The total volume of cement in each hole must be at least 1 litre. The
correct mixing ratio would be 1:1.5:1 — 1 cement : 1.5 sand : 1 gravel stones with 0.4 water

What is compressive strength test?

Compressive strength test, mechanical test measuring the maximum amount of compressive
load a material can bear before fracturing. The test piece, usually in the form of a cube, prism,
or cylinder, is compressed between the platens of a compression-testing machine by a
gradually applied load.

How do you measure compressive strength?

Calculating Compressive Strength
The formula is: CS = F ÷ A, where CS is the compressive strength, F is the force or load at point
of failure and A is the initial cross-sectional surface area.

Why is compressive strength test important?

Compressive strength of concrete is one of the most important and useful properties. As a
construction material, concrete is employed to resist compressive stresses. While, at locations
where tensile strength or shear strength is of primary importance, the compressive strength is
used to estimate the required property.

What is the difference between cube compressive strength and cylinder compressive strength?
Cubes do not require capping as they are turned over on their sides, when being loaded. ... The
comparison between the compressive strength of cube and compressive strength of cylinder, a
factor of 0.8 to the cube strength is often applied for normal strength concrete (Al-Sahawneh,
2013).
Why compressive strength of cube is more than cylinder?
If the dimensions of both cube and cylinder are taken standard,then the compressive strenth of
cube will be 1.25 times more. Compressive strength of cube ( 150 x 150 x 150) is higher than
that of cylinder (150 x 300). Length of these two are not same. Buckling may be a factor for
cylinder strength

How do you find the compressive strength of a cylinder?

Compressive strength is measured by breaking cylindrical concrete specimens in a
compression-testing machine. Compressive strength is calculated from the failure load divided
by the cross-sectional area resisting the load and reported in units of pound-force per square
inch (psi) or megapascals (MPa).

Which strength is more cube or cylinder?

The ratio between cylinder and cube strength is typically taken equal to 0.8 at lower to medium
grades, and increasing up to 0.87 for cylinder strength of 90 MPa. ... In structure design,
cylinder strength is used. Cylinder strength is lower because height to diameter ratio is 2 and at
cube height to side ratio is 1.

How do you calculate the strength of a concrete cube?

Concrete specimens are a cast and tested under the action of compressive loads to determine
the strength of concrete. In very simple words, compressive strength is calculated by dividing
the failure load with the area of application of load, usually after 28 days of curing.

Why do we use compressive strength test?

Purpose of Compression Tests:
The goal of a compression test is to determine the behavior or response of a material while it
experiences a compressive load by measuring fundamental variables, such as, strain, stress,
and deformation.

Why curing is done?

Curing of Concrete is a method by which the concrete is protected against loss of moisture
required for hydration and kept within the recommended temperature range. Curing will increase
the strength and decrease the permeability of hardened concrete
What is flexural strength test?
Flexural test evaluates the tensile strength of concrete indirectly. It tests the ability of
unreinforced concrete beam or slab to withstand failure in bending. The results of flexural test
on concrete expressed as a modulus of rupture which denotes as (MR) in MPa or psi.

How do you evaluate flexural strength?

Three-Point Test Flexural Strength Calculation
F means the maximum force applied, L is the length of the sample, w is the width of the sample
and d is the depth of the sample. So to calculate the flexural strength (σ), multiply the force by
the length of the sample, and then multiply this by three.

Why do we do flexural strength test?

The most common purpose of a flexure test is to measure flexural strength and flexural
modulus. ... Flexural modulus is calculated from the slope of the stress vs. strain deflection
curve. These two values can be used to evaluate the sample materials ability to withstand
flexure or bending forces.

What is difference between tensile strength and flexural strength?

Tensile strength is the maximum amount of engineering tensile stress a material can
withstand. ... Flexural strength is the maximum amount of bending it can withstand. Tensile
strength is typically used to describe ductile materials such as metals and polymers, whereas
flexural strength often describes ceramics.

What is mean by flexural strength and why it is important?

The flexural strength of a material is defined as the maximum bending stress that can be
applied to that material before it yields.

What is the difference between flexure and bending?

As nouns the difference between bend and flexure
is that bend is a curve while flexure is the act of bending or flexing; flexion.
What is flexural strength of concrete?
Flexural strength is one measure of the tensile strength of concrete. It is a measure of an
unreinforced con- crete beam or slab to resist failure in bending. It is measured by loading 6 x 6-
inch (150 x 150-mm) con- crete beams with a span length at least three times the depth.

What is the relationship between flexural strength and compressive strength?

Correlation of flexural and compressive test results can also be determined, but it is only an
approximation. Just as background, concrete is usually assumed to be about 10% as strong in
tension as it is in compression. That tensile strength is the basis for its ability to resist bending,
or its flexural strength.