DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY-DASMARINAS

COLLEGE OF ENGINERING, ARCHITECTURE, AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
CIVIL AND SANITARY ENGINEERING PROGRAM

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING- LECTURE

M O D U L E 2
Part 2
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TOPICS:
Part 1
3. CONCRETE AND OTHER CEMENTIOUS MATERIALS
3.1 Types of cement
3.1.1 Hydraulic cement
3.1.2 Nonhydraulic cement
3.2 Various cementitious materials
3.3 Uses of concrete
3.4 Portland cement
3.4.1 Types of Portland cement
3.4.2 Strength of cement
3. 4.3 consistency of cement
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Part 2
3.5 Properties of fresh concrete
3.5.1 consistency and workability
3.5.2 Segregation and bleeding
3.6 Mixing, placing, and curing
3. 6.1 Pumping and placing
3.6.2 Finishing and types of finishes
3.6.3 Curing
3.7 Properties of hardened concrete
3.7.1 Compressive strength, Tensile strength, and flexural strength
3.7.2 Stress-strain diagram and modulus of elasticity

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 3.7.3 Shrinkage, creep, and carbonation

3.8 Durability
3.8.1 Alkali-aggregate reaction
3.8.2 Sulfate attack, freeze-thaw cycle and corrosion
3.9 Mix proportion and Design
3.9.1 Mix design procedure
3.9.2 Examples of mix design
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 Part 3

3.10 Admixtures
3.10.1 Chemical admixtures
3.10.2 Mineral admixtures
3.11 Types of concrete
3.11.1 Reinforeced concrete
3.11.2 Prestressed and precast concrete
3.11.3 Fiber-reinforced concrete
3.11.3 Lightweight concrete
3.11.4 High strength and high performance concrete
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Part 2

Gospel Devotion

Psalm 84:11
King James Version

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For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no
good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

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3.5 PROPERTIES OF FRESH CONCRETE

Concrete remains in its fresh state from the time it is mixed until it sets. During this
time the concrete is handled, transported, placed and compacted. Properties of
concrete in its fresh state are very important because the influence the quality of the
hardened concrete.

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3.5.1 Consistency and Workability

CONSISTENCY
Consistency of a concrete mix is a measure of the stiffness or sloppiness or fluidity
of the mix. For effective handling, placing and compacting the concrete, consistency
must be the same for each batch. It is therefore necessary to measure consistency of
concrete at regular intervals. Slump test is commonly used to measure consistency
of concrete.

WORKABILITY
The workability of a concrete mix is the relative ease with which concrete can be
placed, compacted and finished without separation or segregation of the individual
materials.
Workability is not the same thing as consistency. Mixes with the same consistency
can have different workabilities, if they are made with different sizes of stone – the
smaller the stone the more workable the concrete.
Why is the workability of concrete important?
Any concrete mixture needs to be sufficiently workable to be properly placed and
consolidated with the available procedures to fill the forms completely and surround
the reinforcement and other embedded items.

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Consistency and workability are often confused with one
another. Workability means the ease with which concrete can be moved and placed
in forms without segregation. Consistency, on the other hand, is degree of wetness
of concrete. Means how much wet the concrete is.
It is often said that increasing water increases workability of the concrete. However,
this is not always true. Increasing water or degree of wetness doesn’t always increase
the workability. If water is increased, then there are greater chances of segregation.
If concrete is segregated, then it means coarse aggregates are separated from fines.
In this case as coarse aggregates settles down then it is difficult to move and place
the concrete.
Consistency cannot measure workability but it can give indication of workability
of concrete. Consistency of concrete is measured with the help of slump test.
Slump test will be discussed later.

SETTLEMENT AND BLEEDING

Cement and aggregate particles have densities about three times that of water. In
fresh concrete they consequently tend to settle and displace mixing water which
migrates upward and may collect on the top surface of the concrete. This upward
movement of mixing water is known as bleeding; water that separates from the rest
of the concrete is called bleed water.

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 Cause of bleeding of concrete:
Segregation is the cause of bleeding in the concrete mix. Segregation is the
phenomena in which heavy aggregate particles settles down, due to settling of heavy
particles, water rises up to the surface and forms a layer. This upward movement of
water also carries fine particles of cement with it. The top surface of slabs and
pavements will not have good wearing quality.

Bleeding will be more frequent on the surface of concrete, when water to cement
ratio is higher. The type of cement used, quantity of fine aggregate also plays a key
role in rate of bleeding.

Effect of bleeding of concrete:

 Due to bleeding concrete loses its homogeneity.

 Bleeding is responsible for causing permeability in concrete.
 As far as safety is concerned, water that accumulates below the reinforcing bars,
reduces the bond between the reinforcement and concrete.
 In the process of bleeding the accumulation of water creates a water voids and
reduces bond between the aggregate and cement paste.
 Due to bleeding pumping ability of concrete is reduced.
 Increase in the water-cement ratio at the top.
 The accumulation of water at the top, results in delayed surface finishing.

Methods of Reducing Bleeding:

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1) Add minimum water content in the concrete mix, use chemical admixtures to
reduce demand to water for a required workability.
2) Design the concrete mix properly.
3) Use fly ash or other supplementary cementitious materials.

4) Using air entraining admixtures is very effective in reducing the bleeding.

5) Add more cement in the mix.
6) Increase the amount of fine aggregate if sand is coarser (fineness modulus of 2.5
to 2.8 best suited) in mix and reduce aggregate proportionally.

Proper measures should be taken during preparation of mix and method of mixing
to reduce bleeding as it might result in weak structure and a delay in construction
cycle.

PLASTIC SHRINKAGE

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 If water is removed from the compacted concrete before it sets, the volume of the
concrete is reduced by the amount of water removed. This volume reduction is called
plastic shrinkage.
Water may be removed from the plastic concrete by evaporation or by being
absorbed by dry surfaces such as soil or old concrete or by the dry wooden form
work.
SLUMP LOSS
From the time of mixing, fresh concrete gradually loses consistency. This gives rise
to the problems only if the concrete becomes too stiff to handle, place and compact
properly.
Slump loss in concrete is caused due to the following reasons.

 Hydration of cement (generating more heat)

 Loss of water by evaporation
 Absorption of water by dry aggregates
 Absorption of water by surfaces in contact with the concrete.

3.6 Mixing, Placing, and Curing

Mixing concrete is simply defined as the "complete blending of the materials which
are required for the production of a homogeneous concrete"

When it comes to mixing concrete, following three mixing methods are used for the
production of effective and good quality concrete.

1. Hand Mixing of Concrete (Mixing concrete manually without a mixer

machine)
2. Machine Mixing of Concrete (Mixing concrete with a mixer machine)

2. Ready Mix Concrete (Mixing in automatic or semi-automatic batching plant)

Different constructions require different type of concrete mixing. For the efficient
result, using appropriate method of mixing of concrete for the specific use and
application is essential. Several factors affect the method of concrete mixing such
as,

 Location of the construction site with sufficient land for construction activities e.g.
highly congested urban areas
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 Available space for concrete batching and mixing and storage of aggregates
 Volume of concrete needed
 The construction schedule like the volume of concrete required per hour or per day
 Height at which concrete is to be placed
 Cost

Hand mixing of concrete

According to ‘M. M. Goyal’ (Author of Construction Handbook for Civil Engineers

and architects), concrete may be mixed by hand only as an exception when the
volume to be used does not warrant the use of a mechanical mixer. 10% extra cement
shall be added to the nominal mix concrete proportion in case of hand mixing.

Caution:
Never to use hand mixed concrete for important structural elements like columns, shear walls etc.

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 Process of Hand Mixing of Concrete:
 Hand mixing of concrete is done on a hard, clean and non-porous base made of masonry
or flat iron sheet plates.
 The measured quantity of sand is spread on the platform and then the cement is dropped
over the sand.
 The sand and cement are mixed thoroughly for several times with the help of shovels in
the dry state until the mixture attains an even color throughout and is free from streaks.
 Next, the measured amount of coarse aggregates is spread out in uniform layer on the
above mixture and mixed properly. Remember to use measurement boxes for batching of
aggregates, i.e. to determine how much aggregates are to be used.
 Later, the whole mixture is blended properly like turning over by twist from the center to
the side, then back to the center and again to the sides several times.
 After that, depression is made at the center of the mixed materials.
 And, 75% of the required quantity of water is added in the depression and mixed with the
help of shovels.
 Lastly, the remaining amount of water is added and the mixing process is continued till a
uniform color and consistency of concrete is obtained. The total time taken for mixing of
concrete should not exceed 3 minutes.

Machine Mixing of concrete:

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Machine mixing is the process of mixing the ingredients of the concrete with a
concrete mixer machine. It is highly effective for fulfilling the demands of short
mixing time, optimum consistency and homogeneous quality of concrete.

According to ‘A. M. Neville’ (Author of Properties of Concrete), machine mixing

of concrete not only imparts the uniformity of the mix but also discharges the mix
without disturbing that uniformity. Machine mixing of concrete is most suitable in
the large projects where large masses of concrete are needed because it ensures the
consistent homogeneity of the concrete.

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Ready Mix concrete Mixing:

Ready-mix concrete, or RMC as it's also known, refers to concrete that is

specifically batched or manufactured for customers' construction projects, and
supplied to the customer on site as a single product. It is a mixture of Portland or
other cements, water and aggregates: sand, gravel, or crushed stone.

Further, the use of ready-mix concrete results in small waste, efficient workflow,
and removes the necessity for storing ready-mix cement and additional raw
materials on the construction location. It also decreases the time and necessity of the
labor force, while reducing the pollution of the noise and dust.

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3.6.1 Pumping and Placing of Concrete Placing

Mixing, transporting, and handling of concrete should be carefully coordinated with

placing and finishing operations. Concrete should not be deposited more rapidly than
it can be spread, struck off, consolidated, and bullfloated and deposited
continuously as near as possible to its final position.

Placing:
The surface should be cleaned thoroughly to remove any loose matter spread over
it. After having checked the formwork and necessary preparation of the surface,
concrete placing is started. Following precautions should be taken while placing
concrete.

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o Concrete should be laid continuously to avoid irregular and unsightly lines.
o To avoid sticking of concrete, formwork should be oiled before concreting.
o While placing concrete, the position of formwork and reinforcement should not
get disturbed.
o To avoid segregation, concrete should not be dropped from a height more than 1
meter.
o Concrete should not be placed during rain.
o The thickness of the concrete layer should not be more than 15 – 30cm in case of
RCC and 30 – 40cm in case of mass concrete.
o Walking on freshly laid concrete should be avoided.
o It should be placed as near to its final position as practicable.

Concrete Pumping:

Pumped concrete may be defined as concrete that is conveyed

under pressure through either rigid pipe or flexible hose and discharged directly into
the desired location. Pumping may be used for most all concrete construction, but is
especially useful where space or access for construction equipment is limited.

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3.6.2 Consolidation and Finishing of Concrete

Consolidation compacts fresh concrete to mold it within the forms and around
embedded items and reinforcement and to eliminate stone pockets, honeycomb,
and entrapped air.

How do we consolidate concrete?

Consolidation is the process of inducing a closer arrangement of the solid particles

in freshly mixed concrete or mortar during placement by the reduction of voids,
usually by vibration, rodding or tamping, or some combinations of these actions.

By Rodding:

By vibration:

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 a vibrator

External vibrators, alongside internal vibrators, are the second method to

consolidate concrete. External vibrators are affixed on the outside of concrete
formwork.

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Finishing Concrete:

Several techniques have been developed for finishing slabs for floors or pavements.
Good finishing can provide a maintenance free surface and can offset some
deficiencies of a poorly designed mix.

 Screeding -- Excess concrete is struck off to bring the surface to the desired
level and fill any low spots.

 Floating -- After the concrete has hardened and bleed water has disappeared,
the surface is floated to a flat blade. This process compacts and removes
imperfections from the surface while forcing cement and water to the surface.
Excessive floating will cause a high w/c ratio and weaken the surface.

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 Trowelling -- After floating, a surface may be steel-troweled to provide a
really smooth, dense, wear-resistant surface.

 Texturing -- If a skid-resistant surface is desired, the freshly screeded surface

can be textured by scoring the surface with a wire or fiber broom. Excessive
paste can be removed with washing which results in an exposed aggregate
finish.

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  Hardening -- This treatment causes the surface to provide additional durability
and wear-resistance. This is the result of a chemical reaction with calcium
hydroxide in the paste creating more C-S-H.

3.6.3 Concrete Curing

Curing of concrete is defined as providing adequate moisture, temperature,

and time to allow the concrete to achieve the desired properties for its
intended use.

Curing plays an important role on strength development and durability of concrete.

Curing takes place immediately after concrete placing and finishing, and involves
maintenance of desired moisture and temperature conditions, both at depth and near
the surface, for extended periods of time. Properly cured concrete has an adequate
amount of moisture for continued hydration and development of strength, volume
stability, resistance to freezing and thawing, and abrasion and scaling resistance.

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The length of adequate curing time is dependent on the following factors:

 Mixture proportions
 Specified strength
 Size and shape of concrete member
 Ambient weather conditions
 Future exposure conditions

Slabs on ground (e.g. pavements, sidewalks, parking lots, driveways, floors, canal
linings) and structural concrete (e.g. bridge decks, piers, columns, beams, slabs,
small footings, cast-in-place walls, retaining walls) require a minimum curing period
of seven days for ambient temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit1.

Effect of curing duration on compressive strength development is presented in Figure 1.

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There are three main functions of curing:

1) Maintaining mixing water in concrete during the early hardening process

Ponding and immersion

Ponding is typically used to cure flat surfaces on smaller jobs. Care should be
taken to maintain curing water temperature at not more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit
cooler than the concrete to prevent cracking due to thermal stresses. Immersion is
mainly used in the laboratory for curing concrete test specimens.

Spraying and fogging

Spraying and fogging are used when the ambient temperatures are well above
freezing and the humidity is low. Fogging can minimize plastic shrinkage cracking
until the concrete attains final set.

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Saturated wet coverings
Wet coverings saturated with water should be used after concrete has hardened
enough to prevent surface damage. They should be kept constantly wet.

Left in Place Forms

Left in place forms usually provide satisfactory protection against moisture loss for
formed concrete surfaces. The forms are usually left in place as long as the
construction schedule allows. If the forms are made of wood, they should be kept
moist, especially during hot, dry weather.

2) Reducing the loss of mixing water from the surface of the concrete

Covering concrete with impervious paper or plastic sheets

Impervious paper and plastic sheets can be applied on thoroughly wetted concrete.
The concrete surface should be hard enough to prevent surface damage from
placement activities.

Applying membrane-forming curing compounds

Membrane-forming curing compounds are used to retard or reduce evaporation of
moisture from concrete. They can be clear or translucent and white pigmented.
White-pigmented compounds are recommended for hot and sunny weather
conditions to reflect solar radiation. Curing compounds should be applied
immediately after final finishing. Curing compound shall comply with ASTM
C3094 or ASTM C13155.

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 What is Steam Curing?

Steam curing is curing in water vapor at atmospheric or higher pressures.

When cured at atmospheric pressure, the enclosure temperatures are usually
between 40 and 70°C (100 to 160°F). Steam curing is used where early strength
gain is needed and where heat is required for hydration, such as in cold weather

Advantages of Steam Curing

 Best solution for curing concrete during cold weather conditions that facilitates
rapid hardening of concrete.
 High early age strength can be achieved.
 Construction Speed is increased.
 Steam curing is fast compared to other curing methods.

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3.7 Properties of hardened concrete

3.7.1 Compressive strength, Tensile strength, and flexural strength

Definition

Compressive strength of concrete is the Strength of hardened concrete measured by

the compression test. The compression strength of concrete is a measure of the
concrete's ability to resist loads which tend to compress it. It is measured by crushing
cylindrical concrete specimens in compression testing machine.

Table: Compressive Strength of Different Concrete Mixes

The compressive strength of concrete can be calculated by the failure load divided
with the cross sectional area resisting the load and reported in pounds per square
inch in US customary units and mega pascals (MPa) in SI units. Concrete's
compressive strength requirements can vary from 2500 psi (17 MPa) for residential
concrete to 4000psi (28 MPa) and higher in commercial structures. Higher strengths
up to and exceeding 10,000 psi (70 MPa) are specified for certain applications.

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Tensile stress

Ability to resist elongation is tensile strength

It is measured in concrete by two method

1. splitting tensile test

2. three-point loading on prism
Tensile strength of concrete is generally in range of 10–15% of its compressive
strength

Calculation
Calculate the splitting tensile strength of the specimen as follows:

T=


Where:
♦ T = splitting tensile strength, kPa (psi)
♦ P = maximum applied load indicated by the testing machine, kN (lbf)
♦ l = length, m (in.)
♦ d = diameter, m (in.)

Splitting tensile test

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 Three-point loading on prism
Flexural Strength

Flexural strength is one measure of the tensile strength of concrete. It is a measure

of an unreinforced concrete beam or slab to resist failure in bending. It is measured
by loading 6 x 6-inch (150 x 150-mm) concrete beams with a span length at least
three times the depth.

Importance Of Flexural Strength

Many structural components are subject to flexing or bending, such as pavement,

beams and slabs. It's important that concrete mixtures have a flexural
strength able to resist bending or tensile forces.

For a three-point test, the flexural strength (given the symbol σ) can be calculated
using:

σ = 3FL / 2wd2

σ = Flexural strength

F= Failure load L= Effective span of the beam

w = width of sample
d = depth of sample

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3.7.2 Stress-strain diagram and modulus of elasticity

Modulus of elasticity (also known as elastic modulus, the coefficient of elasticity) of

a material is a number which is defined by the ratio of the applied stress to the
corresponding strain within the elastic limit. Physically it indicates a material’s
resistance to being deformed when a stress is applied to it. Modulus of elasticity also
indicates the stiffness of a material. Value of elastic modulus is higher for the stiffer
materials.

Modulus of elasticity, E =
f= applied stress on a body
s= strain to correspond to the applied stress

Modulus of Elasticity of Concrete is the slope of the line drawn from stress of zero
to a compressive stress of 0.45f’c. As concrete is a heterogeneous material. The
strength of concrete is dependent on the relative proportion and modulus of elasticity
of the aggregate.

f'c is the specified compressive strength of concrete using standard cylinders of six
inches diameter and twelve inches height. Usually this is prescribed at the age of 28
days.

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3.7.3 Shrinkage, creep, and carbonation

Concrete Shrinkage

Concrete is subjected to changes in volume either autogenous or induced. Volume

change is one of the most detrimental properties of concrete, which affects the long-
term strength and durability. To the practical engineer, the aspect of volume change
in concrete is important from the point of view that it causes unsightly cracks in
concrete and called concrete shrinkage.

a. Plastic Shrinkage

Plastic shrinkage is contraction in volume due to water movement from the concrete
while still in the plastic state, or before it sets.

b. Drying Shrinkage

Just as the hydration of cement is an ever lasting process, the drying shrinkage is
also an ever lasting process when concrete is subjected to drying conditions. The
drying shrinkage of concrete is analogous to the mechanism of drying of timber
specimen.

c. Autogeneous Shrinkage

Autogeneous shrinkage, also known as “basic shrinkage,” is the shrinkage due to

chemical reactions between cement with water, known as hydration, and do not
include environmental effects such as temperature and moisture changes.

d. Carbonation Shrinkage

Carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere reacts in the presence of water with
hydrated cement. Calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] gets converted to calcium carbonate
and also some other cement compounds are decomposed. Carbonation is
accompanied by an increase in weight of the concrete and by shrinkage.

Carbonation of concrete also results in increased strength and reduced permeability,

possibly because water released by carbonation promotes the process of hydration
and also calcium carbonate reduces the voids within the cement paste.

3.8 Durability

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 Durability of concrete may be defined as the ability of concrete to resist
weathering action, chemical attack, and abrasion while maintaining its desired
engineering properties. For example, concrete exposed to tidal seawater will have
different requirements than an indoor concrete floor.

3.8.1 Alkali-aggregate reaction

In most concrete, aggregates are more or less chemically inert. However,

some aggregates react with the alkali hydroxides in concrete, causing expansion
and cracking over a period of many years. This alkali-aggregate reaction has two
forms: alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and alkali-carbonate reaction (ACR).

Alkali–silica reaction
The alkali–silica reaction, more commonly known as "concrete cancer", is a
deleterious swelling reaction that occurs over time in concrete between the highly
alkaline cement paste and the reactive amorphous silica found in many common
aggregates, given sufficient moisture.

Alkali-silica reaction

Alkali-carbonate reaction (ACR) is observed with certain dolomitic rocks.

Dedolomitization, the breaking down of dolomite, is normally associated with
expansion. This reaction and subsequent crystallization of brucite may cause
considerable expansion.

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Alkali-carbon reaction

End of Module 2 part 2

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https://civilblog.org/2015/04/09/what-are-the-properties-of-fresh-concrete/
https://gharpedia.com/blog/methods-for-mixing-of-concrete-their-procedure-
precautions/
https://www.aboutcivil.org/shrinkage-in-concrete.html

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