REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN
Lecture No. 09 – Part 2
STRENGTH OF HARDENED CONCRETE - 2
By Sir E. Anacta
1.0—INTRODUCTION
Strength of concrete is commonly considered its most valuable
property, although, in many practical cases, other characteristics, such
as durability and permeability, may in fact be more important.
Nevertheless, strength usually gives an overall picture of the quality of
concrete because strength is directly related to the structure of the
hydrated cement paste. Moreover, the strength of concrete is almost
invariably a vital element of structural design and is specified for
compliance purposes.
2.0—WATER/CEMENT RATIO
In engineering practice, the strength of concrete at a given age and
cured in water at a prescribed temperature is assumed to depend
primarily on two factors only: the water/cement ratio and the degree
of compaction.
When concrete is fully compacted, its strength is taken to be inversely
proportional to the water/cement ratio. This relation was preceded by
a so-called ‘law’, but really a rule, established by Duff Abrams in 1919.
He found strength to be equal to:
where w/c represents the water/cement ratio of the mix (originally
taken by volume), and K1 and K2 are empirical constants. Abrams’ rule,
although established independently, is similar to a general rule
formulated by René Féret in 1896 in that they both relate strength of
concrete to the volumes of water and cement. Féret’s rule was in the
form:
where fc is the strength of concrete, c, w and a are the absolute
volumetric proportions of cement, water, and air, respectively, and K is
a constant.
The water/cement ratio determines the porosity of the hardened
cement paste at any stage of hydration. Thus the water/cement ratio
and the degree of compaction both affect the volume of voids in
concrete, and this is why the volume of air in concrete is included in
Féret’s expression.
In particular, strength at any water/cement ratio depends on: the
degree of hydration of cement and its chemical and physical properties;
the temperature at which hydration takes place; the air content of the
concrete; and also the change in the effective water/cement ratio and
the formation of cracks due to bleeding. The cement content of the mix
and the properties of the aggregate-cement paste interface are also
relevant.
3.0—EFFECTIVE WATER IN THE MIX
Water in the mix can be considered effective when that water which
occupies space outside the aggregate particles stabilizes the gross
volume of concrete, i.e. approximately at the time of setting. Hence the
terms effective, free, or net water/cement ratio.
Generally, water in concrete consists of that added to the mix and that
held by the aggregate at the time when it enters the mixers. A part of
the latter water is absorbed within the pore structure of the aggregate
while some exists as free water on the surface of the aggregate and is
therefore no different from the water added direct into the mixer.
Conversely, when the aggregate is not saturated and some of its pores
are therefore air-filled, a part of the water added to the mix will be
absorbed by the aggregate during the first half-hour or so after mixing.
4.0—GEL/SPACE RATIO
This gel/space ratio is defined as the ratio of the volume of the
hydrated cement paste to the sum of the volumes of the hydrated
cement and of the capillary pores.
The gel/space ratio relates strength to the concentration of the solid
products of hydration of cement in the space available for these
products. Powers has determined the relation between the strength
development and the gel/space ratio which is
where c = mass of cement, vc = specific volume of cement, that is
volume of unit mass, wo = volume of mixing water, and α = the fraction
of cement that has hydrated.
5.0—POROSITY
Porosity, defined as the total volume of the overall volume of pores
larger than gel pores, expressed as a percentage of the overall volume
of the hydrated cement paste, is a primary factor influencing the
strength of the cement paste. It is a well-known fact that there is an
inverse relationship between porosity and strength in solids. Strength
resides in the solid part of a material; therefore, voids are detrimental
to strength.
Generally, at a given porosity, smaller pores lead to a higher strength of
the cement paste.
Direct determination of porosity of the individual structural
components of concrete— is impractical, and therefore precise models
of predicting concrete strength cannot be developed.
6.0—INFLUENCE OF PROPERTIES OF COARSE AGGREGATE ON
STRENGTH
Vertical cracking in a specimen subjected to uniaxial compression starts
under a load equal to 50 to 75 per cent of the ultimate load. The stress
at which the cracks develop depends largely on the properties of the
coarse aggregate: smooth gravel leads to cracking at lower stresses
than rough and angular crushed rock, probably because mechanical
bond is influenced by the surface properties and, to a certain degree,
by the shape of the coarse aggregate.
The properties of aggregate affect thus the cracking load, as distinct
from the ultimate load, in compression and the flexural strength in the
same manner, so that the relation between the two quantities is
independent of the type of aggregate used.
The influence of the type of coarse aggregate on the strength of
concrete varies in magnitude and depends on the water/cement ratio
of the mix. For water/cement ratios below 0.4, the use of crushed
aggregate has resulted in strengths up to 38 per cent higher than when
gravel is used. With an increase in the water/cement ratio, the
influence of aggregate falls off, presumably because the strength of the
hydrated cement paste itself becomes paramount and, at a
water/cement ratio of 0.65, no difference in the strengths of concretes
made with crushed rock and gravel has been observed.
7.0— INFLUENCE OF AGGREGATE/CEMENT RATIO ON
STRENGTH
There is no doubt that the aggregate/cement ratio, is only a secondary
factor in the strength of concrete but it has been found that, for a
constant water/cement ratio, a leaner mix leads to a higher strength
The most likely explanation lies in the fact that the total water content
per cubic metre of concrete is lower in a leaner mix than in a rich one.
As a result, in a leaner mix, the voids form a smaller fraction of the total
volume of concrete, and it is these voids that have an adverse effect on
strength.
Studies on the influence of aggregate content on the strength of
concrete with a given quality of cement paste indicate that, when the
volume of aggregate (as a percentage of the total volume) is increased
from zero to 20, there is a gradual decrease in compressive strength,
but between 40 and 80 per cent there is an increase. The influence of
the volume of aggregate on tensile strength is broadly similar.
8.0—NATURE OF STRENGTH OF CONCRETE
Concrete is considered to be a brittle material, even though it exhibits a
small amount of plastic action. Fracture under static loading takes place
at a moderately low total strain; a strain of 0.001 to 0.005 at failure has
been suggested as the limit of brittle behaviour. High strength concrete
is more brittle than normal strength concrete but there is no
quantitative method of expressing the brittleness of concrete whose
behavior in practice falls between the brittle and the ductile types.
8.1—Strength in tension
Concrete is relatively weak in tension. Hydrated cement paste is known
to contain numerous discontinuities – pores, microcracks and voids –
but the exact mechanism through which they affect the strength is not
known. The voids themselves need not act as flaws, but the flaws may
be cracks in individual crystals associated with the voids or caused by
shrinkage or poor bond.
The pores in the cement paste are not the only possible critical flaws. In
unsegregated concrete, the voids are distributed in a random manner.
While we do not know the exact mechanism of rupture of concrete,
this is probably related to the bond within the hydrated cement paste
and between the paste and the aggregate.
Whereas local fracture starts at a point and is governed by the
conditions at that point, the knowledge of stress at the most highly
stressed point in the body is not sufficient to predict failure. It is
necessary to know also the stress distribution in a volume sufficiently
extended round this point because the deformational response within
the material, particularly near failure, depends on the behaviour and
state of the material surrounding the critical point, and the possibility
of spreading of failure is strongly affected by this state. This would
explain, for instance, why the maximum fibre stresses in flexure
specimens at the instant of incipient failure are higher than the
strength determined in uniform direct tension: in the latter case, the
propagation of fracture is not blocked by the surrounding material.
8.2—Cracking and failure in compression
Fracture in concrete can occur when uniaxial compression is applied;
this has in fact been observed in tests on concrete compression test
specimens. It is possible that failure in such a specimen is governed by
the lateral strain induced by Poisson’s ratio. The value of Poisson’s ratio
for concrete is such that, for elements sufficiently removed from the
platens of the testing machine, the resulting lateral strain can exceed
the ultimate tensile strain of concrete. Failure occurs then by splitting
at right angles to the direction of the load, as in the splitting test and
this has been frequently observed, especially in specimens whose
height is greater than their breadth. The view that concrete fails by
tensile splitting when subjected to uniaxial or biaxial compression was
confirmed by tests.
Poisson’s ratio varies generally between about 0.15 for high strength
concrete and 0.22 for low strength concrete, and it is significant that
the ratio of the nominal tensile and compressive strengths for different
concretes varies in a similar manner and between approximately the
same limits. There is thus a possible connection between the ratio of
nominal strengths and Poisson’s ratio, and there are good grounds for
suggesting that the mechanism producing the initial cracks in uniaxial
compression and in flexure tension is the same.
8.3—Failure under multi-axial stress
Under triaxial compression, when the lateral stresses are high, failure
must take place by crushing: the mechanism is, therefore, different
from that described above, the behaviour of concrete changing from
brittle to ductile. An increase in lateral compression increases the axial
load that can be sustained. With very high lateral stresses, extremely
high strengths have been recorded. It should be noted that, if the
development of pore water pressure in concrete is limited by allowing
the displaced pore water to escape through the loading platens, then
the apparent strength is higher. Thus, in practice, a possible
development of pore pressure is of importance.
In practice, failure of concrete takes place over a range of stresses
rather than as an instantaneous phenomenon, so that ultimate failure
is a function of the type of loading. This is of special interest when
repeated loading is applied – a condition frequently met with in
practice.
Under a biaxial stress, a large interaction is observed when there is a
considerable frictional restraint at the ends of the specimen but, when
the end restraint is effectively eliminated, the effect is much smaller.
Under a biaxial stress the strength is only slightly higher than in uniaxial
compression, and biaxial tensile strength is no different from uniaxial
tensile strength.
The level of uniaxial compressive strength virtually does not affect the
shape of the curve or the magnitude of the values given by it. However,
in compression–tension and in biaxial tension, the relative strength at
any particular biaxial stress combination decreases as the level of
uniaxial compressive strength increases. This agrees with the general
observation that the ratio of uniaxial tensile strength to uniaxial
compressive strength decreases as the compressive strength level rises.
Generally, triaxial compression increases the strength of weaker or
leaner concrete relatively more than that of stronger or richer
concrete.
9.0—MICROCRACKING
Investigations have shown that very fine cracks at the interface
between coarse aggregate and cement paste exist, in fact, even prior to
application of the load on concrete. They are probably due to the
inevitable differences in mechanical properties between the coarse
aggregate and the hydrated cement paste, coupled with shrinkage or
thermal movement. Microcracking has been observed not only in
normal strength concrete but also in wet-cured concrete with a
water/cement ratio as low as 0.25, which had never been subjected to
loading. Studies have shown that pre-loading micro cracks are largely
responsible for the low tensile strength of concrete.
Micro cracks have not been universally defined in terms of size, but an
upper limit of 0.1 mm has been suggested; this is the smallest size
which can typically be detected by the naked eye. For engineering
purposes, a lower limit can be taken as the smallest crack which can be
observed using an optical microscope. As an increasing load is being
applied, these micro cracks remain stable up to about 30 per cent, or
more, of the ultimate load and then begin to increase in length, width,
and number. The overall stress under which they develop is sensitive to
the water/cement ratio of the paste. This is the stage of slow crack
propagation.
Upon further increase in load, up to between 70 and 90 per cent of the
ultimate strength, cracks open through the mortar (cement paste and
fine aggregate); they bridge the bond cracks so that a continuous crack
pattern is formed. This is the fast crack propagation stage. The stress
level at the onset of this stage is higher in high strength concrete than
in normal concrete. The increase in the cumulative length of the
microcracks is large; this was measured using neutron radiography.
However, high strength concrete exhibits a lower cumulative length of
microcracks than normal strength concrete.
The onset of the fast crack propagation stage corresponds to the
discontinuity point in the volumetric strain. If the load is sustained,
failure may take place with time. This occurs both in normal strength
and in high strength concrete.
Microcracking is a general feature of concrete. As long as the cracks are
stable, their presence is not harmful. Paradoxically, while the interface
between coarse aggregate and the hydrated cement paste is the locus
of early microcracks, it is the presence of coarse aggregate particles
that prevents the opening of a single wide crack: these particles act as
microcrack arrestors. The heterogeneity of concrete is thus beneficial.
The aggregate– paste bond surfaces form all the possible angles with
the direction of the external force. As a result, the local stress varies
substantially above and below the nominal applied stress.
10.0—AGGREGATE-CEMENT PASTE INTERFACE
The observation that microcracking is initiated at the interface between
coarse aggregate and the surrounding mortar and that, at failure, the
crack pattern includes the interface, points to the importance of this
part of the concrete. It is therefore necessary to understand the
properties and behaviour of the interface zone, sometimes called the
interfacial transition zone (fully discussed on the last handout of our
Part 1 lecture: Concrete microstructure).
The first fact to note is that the microstructure of the hydrated cement
paste in the immediate vicinity of coarse aggregate particles differs
from that of the bulk of the cement paste. The main reason for this is
that, during mixing, dry cement particles are unable to become closely
packed against the relatively large particles of aggregate.
There is thus less cement present to hydrate and fill the original voids.
In consequence, the interface zone has a much higher porosity than the
hydrated cement paste further away from the coarse aggregate.
The mineralogical characteristics of the fine aggregate affect the
microstructure of the transition zone: in the case of limestone, there is
chemical reaction between the limestone and the cement paste and,
consequently, a dense interface zone is formed.
As far as lightweight aggregate is concerned, if it has a dense outer
layer, then the situation at the interface is the same as with normal
weight aggregate. However, lightweight aggregate with a more porous
outer layer, which encourages the migration of mobile ions towards it,
leads to the formation of a denser interface zone and also to improve
mechanical interlocking of the aggregate particles and the hydrated
cement paste.
11.0—EFFECT OF AGE ON STRENGTH OF CONCRETE
In concrete practice, the strength of concrete is traditionally
characterized by the 28-day value, and some other properties of
concrete are often referred to the 28-day strength. There is no
scientific significance in the choice of the age of 28 days; it is simply
that early cements gained strength slowly and it was necessary to base
the strength description on concrete in which a significant hydration of
cement had already taken place. The specific choice of a multiple of
weeks was, in all likelihood, made so that testing, like placing, would
fall on a working day. In modern Portland cements, the rate of
hydration is much greater than in the past, both because they have a
much higher fineness and because they have a higher C3S content. This
is, however, not necessarily the case with all blended cements.
It is arguable that a shorter period than 28 days could be used for the
characterization of strength, but the age of 28 days seems to have
acquired an immutable position. Thus, compliance with the
specification is almost invariably laid down in terms of the 28-day
strength. If, for some reason, the 28-day strength is to be estimated
from the strength determined at an earlier age, say 7 days, then the
relation between the 28-day and the 7-day strengths has to be
established experimentally for the given mix. For this reason, the
various expressions for the ratio of the two strengths are no longer
thought to be reliable, and they will not be discussed.
Not only the properties of cement but the water/cement ratio also
affect the rate of gain of strength of concrete. Mixes with a low
water/cement ratio gain strength, expressed as a percentage of long-
term strength, more rapidly than mixes with higher water/cement
ratios. This is because in the former case the cement grains are closer
to one another and a continuous system of gel is established more
rapidly. It should be noted that in a hot climate the early strength gain
is high and the ratio of the 28-day to 7-day strengths tends to be lower
than in cooler weather. This is also the case with some lightweight
aggregate concretes.
12.0—MATURITY OF CONCRETE
The strength of concrete increases with the progress of hydration of
cement, coupled with the fact that the rate of hydration of cement
increases with an increase in temperature, leads to the proposition that
strength can be expressed as a function of the time–temperature
combination.
As the strength of concrete depends on both age and temperature, we
can say that strength is a function of Σ(time interval × temperature),
and this summation is called maturity. The datum temperature
generally used is –10 °C (11 °F). The appropriateness of this value for
ages up to 28 days and for temperatures in the range of 0 to 20 °C (32
to 68 °F) has been confirmed; for higher temperatures, a higher
datum may be appropriate. ASTM C 1074-04 describes a method of
determination of the datum temperature.
The fact that the original strength–maturity relation is not applicable
over a wide range of conditions has encouraged some investigators to
develop ‘improved’ maturity functions. Some of these are indeed
improvements, but at the expense of introducing complications in the
development and use of the functions. Other modified maturity
functions offer improved prediction of strength in one range of ages
and temperatures but, in some other range, the prediction fits less
well.
13.0—RELATION BETWEEN COMPRESSIVE AND TENSILE
STRENGTHS
The compressive strength of concrete is its property commonly
considered in structural design but for some purposes the tensile
strength is of interest; examples of these are the design of highway and
airfield slabs, shear strength, and resistance to cracking. From the
discussion of the nature of strength of concrete, it would be expected
that the two types of strength are closely related. This is indeed the
case but there is no direct proportionality, the ratio of the two
strengths depending on the general level of strength of the concrete. In
other words, as the compressive strength, fc, increases, the tensile
strength, ft, also increases but at a decreasing rate.
A number of factors affect the relation between the two strengths. The
use crushed coarse aggregate improves the flexural strength and the
properties of fine aggregate also influence the ft/fc ratio. The ratio is
furthermore affected by the grading of the aggregate. This is probably
due to the different magnitude of the wall effect in beams and in
compression specimens: their surface/volume ratios are dissimilar so
that different quantities of mortar are required for full compaction.
Age is also a factor in the relation between ft and fc: beyond about one
month, the tensile strength increases more slowly than the
compressive strength so that the ratio ft/fc decreases with time. This is
in agreement with the general tendency of the ratio to decrease with
an increase in fc.
The tensile strength of concrete is more sensitive to inadequate curing
than the compressive strength, possibly because the effects of non-
uniform shrinkage of flexure test beams are very serious. Thus, air-
cured concrete has a lower ft/fc ratio than concrete cured in water and
tested wet. Air entrainment affects the ft/fc ratio because the presence
of air lowers the compressive strength of concrete more than the
tensile strength, particularly in the case of rich and strong mixes.6.30
The influence of incomplete compaction is similar to that of entrained
air.
A number of empirical formulae connecting ft and fc have been
suggested, many of them of the type:
n
ft = k(fc)
where k and n are coefficients and values of n ranges from ½ to ¾.
The differences between the various expressions are not large. What is
important, however, is that the power exponent used in the ACI
Building Code 318-026 is too low so that the splitting strength is
overestimated at low compressive strengths and underestimated at
high compressive strengths.
14.0—BOND BETWEEN CONCRETE AND REINFORCEMENT
Since structural concrete is, in the vast majority of cases, used with
steel reinforcement, the strength of bond between the two materials is
of considerable importance with respect to structural behaviour,
including cracking due to shrinkage and early thermal effects. Bond
arises primarily from friction and adhesion between concrete and steel,
and from mechanical interlocking in the case of deformed bars. Bond
may also be beneficially affected by the shrinkage of concrete relative
to the steel.
In a structure, the bond strength involves not only the properties of the
concrete but also other factors. These include the geometry of the
reinforcement and of the structure such as the thickness of cover to the
reinforcement. The state of the surface of the steel is also a factor. The
presence of rust on the surface of the steel, provided the rust is well
connected to the underlying steel, improves bond of plain bars and
does not impair the bond of deformed reinforcement. Coating by
galvanizing or by epoxy affects the bond strength.
The critical property is the tensile strength of concrete. For this reason,
design formulae for bond strength usually express it as being
proportional to the square root of compressive strength.