[Type here]
aggregates. They are not the major contributor
MIX DESIGN
GUIDE
ACI NEDUET Students Chapter
acineduetstudentschapter@gmail.com
1.Introduction
The American Concrete Institute (ACI) is a
standard producing organization like ASTM
and AWS. The ACI mix design method is
one of the best basic concrete mix design
methods available today. This section is a
general outline of the ACI standard
proportioning method with specific emphasis
on concrete beam casting. Moreover, It
emphasis on the general concepts one should
have and certain procedures for concrete mix
design. We will be following “Standard
Practice for Selecting
Proportions for Normal, Heavyweight and Mass
Concrete (ACI 211. 9-91) approved by ACI
committee 211.
2.Concrete components
A. Cement
Cement is the adhesive material in concrete that
creates bonding strength between the
aggregates. Cement reacts with water in the dry
mix and takes certain time to harden the
concrete sealing the ingredients together and
forming the strengthened mass. Normally OPC
is used but for special conditions cement types
may vary.
B. Fine Aggregate
The sand and small particles of silt that are
called fine aggregates are used in concrete to
create a homogenous consistent texture of
concrete and to fill in the voids between coarse
TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021
of strength but to have stronger concrete
strength voids are to be filled with fine
aggregate making it dense and more durable.
C. Coarse Aggregate
Coarse aggregate are the bigger pieces of stone
and cover up most of the volume in concrete.
They provide tremendous strength to concrete
and give it rock like strength. Stone, basalt,
gravel and shingle are used as coarse
aggregates in concrete making it more durable
and load resistant. Well graded aggregates
should be used for a more consistent and
efficient mix.
D. Water
Water is used in ratio with that of the
cement however excessive water can
increase the porosity of the concrete.
Water creates a paste with cement to
bond the concrete together drying out
and hardening the mix. This water
should be free of solid particles and
contamination. For concrete water, pH of
3-9 is acceptable but 7.2-7.6 is
recommended for best results.
E. Admixtures
Admixtures are the chemical addition to
the concrete that are used for different
functions. Admixtures such as
superplasticizers are used to increase the
workability of concrete. In the same way
admixtures can be added to increase or
decrease the rate of reaction and to
lessen the water content in concrete.
They are added in small quantities as
required and vary dependent on the
function needed.
[Type here]

3.ACI Concrete Mix Design (Codes and

Specifications)

ACI Specification
ACI has a variety of codes to provide
detailed guidelines and specifications for
the design of various concrete mix
designs.
For instance, ACI 318 (refer to Chapter
19) refers to the three major concepts for
concrete Reference: ACI Method of concrete mix
(a) Limits for the minimum compressive design
strength
(f’c) for the design of Concrete
Referring to Table 19.2.1.1 Certain formulations have also been included in
the codes.
(b) Concrete Durability
The heading encompasses various
factors for effective durability.
Definition states that the factor of
durability depends upon the
endurance of a cementitious material
towards fluid propagation.

TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021

[Type here]

These details and use of chart for the evaluation of mix

design are further elaborated in this document as we
proceed further.

4. Maximum water content (chart/table)

The quantity of water per unit volume of concrete required
to produce a given slump is dependent on the maximum
Coarse Aggregate size, the shape and grading of both
Coarse aggregate and Fine aggregate, as well as the amount
of entrained air.

Table 1 shows Approximate mixing water (lb/yd3) and

Air content for different slumps and nominal maximum
sizes of aggregates for non-air content concrete.

Reference: ACI Mix Design

Reference: ACI Method of concrete mix design

ACI 211 (refer to Chapter 6) include all the necessary

data and charts along with the specified methods
for designing the concrete.

TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021

[Type here]

Reference: ACI Mix Design Reference: ACI Method of concrete mix design

The details for the slump requirement for different types of Table 2 shows Approximate mixing water
(lb/yd3) and
structures have also been specified precisely. Air content for different slumps and nominal
maximum sizes of aggregates for air content concrete.

TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021

[Type here]
Reference: ACI Mix Design
Reference: ACI Mix Design
Reference: ACI Mix Design
5. Calculation for cementitious material
content
A. CALCULATION OF CEMENT
CONTENT:
Once the water content and the w/c ratio is
determined, the amount of cement per unit
volume of the concrete is found by dividing
the estimated water content by the w/c ratio.
Weight of cement= Weight of Water
w/c
TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021
However, a minimum cement content is
required to ensure good finish ability,
workability, and strength.
B. FINE AGGREGATE CONTENT:
There are two standard methods to establish
the fine aggregate content, the mass method
and the volume method. We will use the
"volume" method. "Volume" Method is the
preferred method, as it is a somewhat more
exact procedure .The volume of fine
aggregates is found by subtracting the volume
[Type here]

Reference: ACI Mix Design

Reference: ACI Mix Design

6. Selection of water cement ratio depending on

of cement, water, air, and coarse aggregate Table 4 shows The percent of coarse
from the total concrete volume. Then once the aggregate to concrete for a maximum size
volume is known, the weights of each and fineness modulus.
ingredient can be calculated from specific
gravity. The volume occupied in concrete by
any ingredient can be calculated by dividing
its weight to density of that material.
Table 3 shows Volume of each ingredient
in concrete.

Reference: ACI Mix Design

C. COARSE AGGREGATE CONTENT:

The most economical concrete will have as

much as possible space occupied by Coarse
aggregate since it will require no cement in
the space filled by Coarse aggregate. strength and slump test
Coarse aggregate volumes are based on
oven-dry rodded weights obtained in Water Cement Ratio depending on Slump
accordance with ASTM C 29. The value Test:
from the table multiplied by the dry-rodded
unit weight (the oven-dry (OD) weight of
coarse aggregate required per cubic foot of
concrete). To convert from OD to saturated
surface dry (SSD) weights, multiply by [1 +
absorption capacity (AC)].

TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021

[Type here]

There is no direct relation of W/C ratio with of aggregates can be taken as per the
slump. Rather the method we follow to following table.
calculate cement content is such as, 1st we Reference: ACI Method of concrete mix
calculate water content by the help of below design

Reference: ACI Method of concrete mix design

7. Mix calculation (Example calculations)

mentioned two tables. And then we calculate
the W/C ratio depending upon compressive
strength of concrete required. In the end by
the help of W/C ratio and water content
obtained we calculate Cement content. If the
slump is not specified, it can be taken from
the following table depending upon the type
of construction we aim to do.
Water Cement Ratio depending on strength of
concrete:
Now when the water content is known from
the above table, and we do know the
compressive strength which is required for
our structure, we can select the appropriate
W/C ratio from the following table.

Reference: ACI Method of concrete mix

design
ACI Mix Design Example #1
Now when the slump is known or taken from
Consider the following example: The 28-
the above table, the approximate mixing
day compressive strength should be 4,000
water and air content requirements for
psi. The slump should be between 3 and 4
different slumps and nominal maximum sizes

TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021

[Type here]

in. and the maximum aggregate size should
not exceed 1 in. The coarse and fine
aggregates in the storage bins are wet. The
properties of the materials are as follows:
Cement : Type I, specific gravity = 3.15
gravity (SSD) = 2.67; absorption capacity = 1.3%; fineness
modulus = 2.70; surface moisture = 1.5%
Coarse Aggregate: Bulk specific gravity
(SSD) = 2.70; absorption capacity = 1.1%;
dry-rodded unit weight = 105 lb./ft.3
surface moisture = 1% Fine Aggregate:
Bulk specific

TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021

[Type here]

NOTE: The reference of the above example has been

mentioned in the reference’s section.

8. References:

TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021

[Type here]

http://www.ce.memphis.edu/1112/notes/project_2/beam/
A CI_mix_design.pdf

https://theconstructor.org/practical-guide/aci-
methodconcrete-mix-design/7196/

TEAM RESEARCH: TENURE 2020-2021