Properties of Hardened Concrete

Presentation Outline
• Definition and significance of strength
• Strength~porosity relationship
• Factors affecting strength of concrete
- Water-cement ratio
- Aggregate-cement ratio
- Properties of aggregate
- Compaction, mixing temperature & curing conditions
- Effect of age
g
• Tensile strength of concrete
• Relation between tensile and compressive strength
• Bond strength of concrete

1
Strength and its Significance
Definition
The strength of a material is defined as the ability to resist stress(es)
without failure, which is sometimes identified with the appearance of
cracks.

Significance
In concrete design and quality control, strength is the property
generally specified. This is because, compared to most other
properties, testing of strength is relatively easy. Moreover, many other
properties of concrete can be deduced from the strength of concrete.
Although in practice, concrete is subjected simultaneously to a
combination of compressive, shearing and tensile stresses in two or
more directions, the 28-days uniaxial compressive strength of
concrete determined by a standard compression test is accepted
universally as a general index of concrete strength.

Strength~Porosity Relationship
Definition
Porosity can be defined as the ratio of the volume of voids to the total
volume of a sample. For homogenous materials, it can be expressed
as:
S = So.e-kp
where:
S = Strength of the material
So = Intrinsic strength at zero porosity
k = Constant
p = Porosity
This expression shows that the strength is inversely proportional to the
porosity of the material. Although concrete is not a truly homogenous
material but still equation can be applied with some modifications to
determine the strength of concrete. Hence to control the strength of
concrete, control of porosity is absolute necessary.

2
Porosity of Concrete
Mechanism
The proportions by volume of the constituents of cement paste before
and during hydration of cement can be shown as:

Porosity of Concrete
Mechanism
• The hydrated cement consists of the solid products of hydration
plus the water which is held physically or is adsorbed on the large
surface area of the hydrates; this water is called gel water, and is
h ld iin gell pores (about
held ( b t 2nm
2 iin di
diameter).
t ) ThThe volume
l off gell water
t
is 28% of the volume of the cement gel.
• In addition to the gel water, there exists water which is combined
chemically or physically with the products of hydration and is called
combined water. The combined water is non-evaporable, and in
fully hydrated cement represents about 23% of the mass of dry
cement.
cement
• The volume of hydrated products is less than the absolute volume
of cement and water, hence a residual space/pores are left in the
hydrated paste, which are called capillary pores. They can be empty
or filled with water (capillary water) depending upon the water
content of the mix. Capillary pores are much larger than gel pores.

3
Porosity of Concrete
Mechanism

Types of Pores
Gel Pores: 2 nm diameter
Capillary : 1 m diameter

Schematic description of the paste-pore structure

Porosity of Concrete

Pore Size Distribution in Hydrated Cement Paste

4
Porosity of Concrete
Development of Model
Let:
C = mass of original cement
h = degree of hydration
Mc = mass of combined water

Since the mass of combined water is 23% of the mass of dry cement
which has hydrated fully.
Mc = 0.23Ch ……...…(1)
When a volume of cement Vc has hydrated
y fully,
y, a volume of empty
py
capillary pores, Vec, equal to 0.185Vc is formed. The specific gravity of
dry cement is 3.15, therefore the mass occupied by the solid Vc is
3.15Vc. Hence, for a degree of hydration h, the volume of empty
capillary pores is:
Vec = 0.185Vch

Porosity of Concrete
Development of Model
Vec = 0.185 (C/3.15) h = 0.059Ch ..……….(2)
Hence, the volume of combined water is:
(0.23 - 0.059)Ch = 0.171 Ch ..……….(3)

The volume of the solid products of hydration is given by the sum of

the volumes of the combined water and of the hydrated cement, i.e.
Vp = (Ch/3.15) + 0.171 Ch = 0.488 Ch ..……….(4)
o obta
To obtain tthe
e volume
ou eo of ge
gel water,
ate , Vgw, we
e use tthe
e fact
act tthat
at itt a
always
ays
occupies 28% of the volume of cement gel, so the gel porosity is:
V
gw
p  0.28  ..……….(5)
g V V
p gw

5
Porosity of Concrete
Development of Model
Substituting from Eqs (4) and (5),
Vgw = 0.190 Ch ..……….(6)

The volume occupied by the capillary water, Vcw, can be derived as:
Vcw = Vc + Vw - [Vuc + Vp + Vgw + Vec] ..……….(7)

where Vc = volume of original dry cement = C/3.15

Vuc = volume of unhydrated cement = Vc(1-h)

After
f substitution, Eq. (7)
( ) becomes:
Vcw = Vw - 0.419 Ch ..……….(8)

Using the above equations, the volumetric composition of the cement

paste can be estimated at different stages of hydration.

Porosity of Concrete
Development of Model
The total volume of the capillary pores is a fundamental factor in
determining the properties of hardened concrete. This volume is given
by Eqs (8) and (2).
Vcw + Vec = Vw - 0.36Ch = [W/C - 0.36h]C ..……….(9)

It is usual to express the volume of the capillary pores as a fraction of

the total volume of the hydrated cement paste; this is called the
capillary porosity, Pc, and is:
w 
 c  0.36 hC
pc 
Vc  Vw
or
w
 0.36 h
pc  c ..…….(10)
w
0.317 
c

6
Porosity of Concrete
Development of Model
The total porosity of the cement paste can now be calculated, as the
ratio of the sum of the volumes of gel pores and of capillary pores to
the total volume of the cement paste:
w 
0.190Ch    0.36 h C
pt  c 
w
0.317 
c
whence
w
 0.17 h
pt  c ..……...(11)
w
0.317 
c
Equations (10) and (11) demonstrate that porosity depends upon the
water/cement ratio and on the degree of hydration.

Porosity of Concrete
Development of Model
The expression for porosity derived earlier assumes that the fresh
cement paste is fully compacted. i.e., it contains no accidental or
entrapped air. If such air is present, then equations (10) and (11)
becomes, respectively:
w a
  0.36
pc  c c ..……...(12)
w a
0.317  
c c
and
w a
  0.17 h
pt  c c ..……...(13)
w a
0.317  
c c

Where a = volume of air in the fresh cement paste

7
Porosity of Concrete

p

Effect of Water-Cement Ratio (w/c) on Capillary Porosity

Porosity of Concrete

p

Effect of Curing Time and Degree of Hydration on Capillary Porosity

8
Porosity of Concrete

Porosity (%)

Water-cement ratio

Effect of Water-Cement Ratio (w/c) and Degree of Hydration on Total Porosity

Concrete Porosity
Permeability coefficient, x10-14 (m/s)
Compressive Strength

p

Porosity (%)

Effect of Porosity on Compressive Strength and Permeability

9
Gel/Space Ratio
Definition
It is the ratio of the volume of the cement gel to the sum of the
volumes of cement gel and of capillary pores. i.e.,

V p  Vgw
Gel / space ratio  x  ..……...(14)
( V p  Vgw )  ( Vcw  Vec )

Making appropriate substitutions, Eq (14) becomes:

0.678 h
x ..……...(15)
w
0.318 h 
c
or, if entrapped or entrained air is present,
0.678 h ..……...(16)
x
w a
0.318 h  
c c

Gel/Space Ratio
Significance
The gel/space ratio can be used to estimate the minimum water/
cement ratio required for the cement gel just to occupy the available
space.
The gel/space ratio is related to the compressive strength of concrete,
fc, by the following expression:
fc = A x b ..……...(17)
where A and b are constants which depend on the type of cement.

The constant A represents the intrinsic or maximum strength of the gel

(when x = 1) for the type of cement and type of specimen used. In
other words, the maximum possible strength is achieved in a fully-
hydrated cement paste having a water/cement ratio of 0.36 (minimum
w/c for complete hydration) and compacted in the usual manner.

10
Gel/Space ratio

Relation between the Compressive Strength of Mortar and Gel/Space Ratio

Total Voids in Concrete

While calculating porosity, the total volume of voids was represented
as the volume of pores and of accidental or entrapped air, as a
proportion of the volume of cement gel including voids. Sometimes, it
is necessary to calculate the volume of voids as a proportion of the
volume of concrete
concrete.
Consider a concrete mixture having mix proportions of cement, fine
and coarse aggregates as C : Af : Ac, by mass, a water/cement ratio of
w/c, and a volume of entrapped air of a. The total volume of voids in
the concrete, Vv, is given by:
Vv = Vgw + Vcw + Vec + a .....……(18)

Using Eqs (6) and (9), the above expression becomes:

w 
Vv    0.17 h  C  a ..……...(19)
c 

11
Total Voids in Concrete
Now, the total volume of concrete V is given by:
C A A
V  f  c  w a ..……...(20)
3.15  f  c

Where f and
Wh d c are the
th specific
ifi gravity
it off th
the fi
fine and
d th
the coarse
aggregate, respectively.

Note
• The above equations are based on the assumption that there is no
loss of water by bleeding or segregation.
• If the aggregate is not absorbent,
absorbent then it is the absolute
absol te specific
gravity that should be used in Eq (20).
• If the aggregate absorbs water and is in the saturated and surface-
dry condition at the time of mixing, then use the bulk specific gravity.
• If the aggregate is dry, the absorption of the aggregate must be
determined and the effective water/cement ratio should be used.

Total Voids in Concrete

The proportion of total voids in concrete, i.e., the concrete porosity, P
can be derived from Eq. (19) and (20) as:
w a
 0.17 h 
V c c
P v  ..……...(21)
( )
V 1 Af 1 Ac w a
0.317    
 f c c c c c

Example
Concrete mix proportions = 1:2:4
Water-cement
Water cement ratio = 0.55
0 55
Air content = 2.3%
Sp. gravity of fine aggregate = 2.60
Sp. gravity of coarse aggregate = 2.65

12
Total Voids in Concrete
Example
Using Eq. (20),
a a 2.3
 
V 1 2 4 100
   0.55  a
3.15 2.6 2.65
Hence volume of entrapped air, a = 0.074

if, degree of hydration, h = 0.7

Using Eq
Eq. (21)
(21),
Porosity of concrete, P = 15.7%

Pore Size Distribution in Concrete

It is not the total porosity but the pore size distribution that actually
controls the strength, permeability and volume changes in a hardened
cement paste. Pore size distributions are affected by the water-
cement ratio, and the degree of hydration. Large pores influence
mostly the compressive strength and permeability; while small pores
influence the drying shrinkage and creep of concrete.

Cumulative Volume of Pores Larger than Indicated Pore Diameter in Concrete

13
Pore Size Distribution in Concrete

Variation of Pore Size Distribution of Hydrated Cement Paste with W/C Ratio

Pore Size Distribution in Concrete

Variation of Pore Size Distribution of Hydrated Cement Paste with Age

14
Factors affecting Strength of Concrete

Interplay of Factors Influencing Concrete Strength

Factors affecting Strength of Concrete

Water-cement Ratio
The water-cement ratio is fundamentally the most important variable
affecting the strength of concrete. By controlling the water-cement
ratio,, most of the properties
p p of concrete can be controlled.
In general, the strength of concrete reduces by increasing the water-
cement ratio due to a possible increase in porosity.

The water-cement ratio rule is

considered as one of the major
developments in concrete
ength

technology The mathematical form

technology.
Compressive Stre

Fully Compacted Concrete

of water-cement ratio rule can be
explained by the following laws:
• Abrams law
• Feret law
Water/Cement Ratio

15
Factors affecting Strength of Concrete
Water-cement Ratio
Abrams Law (1919)
“For a given cement and conventional aggregates in workable mixes,
under similar conditions of placement, curing and testing, the strength
of concrete is solely a function of the cement to free water in the plastic
mix.”

K1
fc 
K 2w / c

fc = Compressive
strength
w/c = Water-cement ratio
K1, K2 = Empirical constants

Factors affecting Strength of Concrete

Water-cement Ratio
Feret Law (1896)
Since the water/cement ratio and the degree of compaction both affect
the volume of voids in concrete (and hence porosity), so the volume of
air should also be included as specified in Feret’s expression.

2
 Vc 
f c  K  
 Vc  Vw  Va 

fc = Compressive strength
Vc,Vw,Va = Absolute volumetric proportions of cement, water, and air
K = Empirical constant

16
Factors affecting Strength of Concrete
Water-cement Ratio
Discussion
• This figure
g shows that the rangeg of

Compressive Strength
h
the validity of water/cement ratio Vibration

rule is limited. At very low values of Hand compaction

the water/cement ratio, the curve

ceases to be followed when full Fully Compacted
Concrete
compaction is no longer possible Insufficiently
Compacted Concrete
(the point of departure depends
upon the means of compaction). Water/Cement Ratio

• It is also found that in mixes with a very low water-cement ratio and
an extremely high cement content (> 530 kg/m3), retrogression of
strength occurs when large size aggregate is used.
However, in practice, the water-cement ratio is the largest single
factor affecting the strength of fully compacted concrete.

Factors affecting Strength of Concrete

Aggregate-cement Ratio
For a constant water-cement ratio, the strength of concrete increases
by increasing the aggregate-cement ratio. i.e., a leaner mix leads to a
g
higher strength.
g ((However,, this is applicable
pp onlyy to low or medium
strength concretes with water-cement ratio 0.50 or above)
The following may the reasons behind this behavior.
• A large amount of aggregate absorbs a greater quantity of water, the
effective water-cement ratio thus being reduced. So the total water
content/m3 of concrete is lower in a leaner mix than in a rich one.
• A higher aggregate content would lead to lower shrinkage and lower
bleeding, and therefore cause less damage to the bond between the
aggregate and the cement paste.

It is found that when the volume of aggregate is increased from zero

to 20%, there is a gradual decrease in compressive strength but
between 40% to 80%, there is an increase.

17
Aggregate-cement Ratio

Relation between the compressive strength and volume of aggregates at a

constant water-cement ratio of 0.50.

Factors affecting Strength of Concrete

Properties of Aggregate
Shape and Texture
• The stress at which significant cracking commences in concrete is
affected by the shape and texture of the aggregate: smooth gravel
leads to cracking at lower stresses than rough and angular crushed
aggregate. This effect is similar in tension and compression and is
due to a better bond and less micro-cracking with an angular
crushed aggregate.
• The influence of aggregate shape is more apparent in modulus of
rupture test than in the uniaxial compression or tension test
test. This is
due to the presence of a stress gradient which delays the progress
of cracking. Hence concrete with an angular shaped aggregate will
have a higher flexural strength than when rounded-shape aggregate
is used.

18
Factors affecting Strength of Concrete
Properties of Aggregate
Strength
• For low to medium strength concrete, failure can occur either due to
the failure of matrix or failure of aggregate. In general, the strength
of aggregate is much higher than the strength of cement paste, so in
such concretes, the strength of concrete is not affected by the
strength of aggregates.
• For high strength concrete, the failure can occur in the following
modes:
- failure of cement matrix
- failure of aggregate
- failure of bond between matrix and aggregate
The strength of such concretes is governed by the strength of
aggregate.

Factors affecting Strength of Concrete

Properties of Aggregate
Maximum Size
• It is well known fact that larger the aggregate particle, the smaller
the surface area to be wetted per unit weight. Thus, extending the
grading of aggregates to a larger maximum size lowers the water
requirement of the mix, so that, for a specified workability and
richness, the water-cement ratio can be lowered with a consequent
increase in strength. However, this is valid only to low or medium
strength concrete with water-cement ratio 0.50 or above.
• In high strength concrete
concrete, the strength decreases as the maximum
size of aggregate is increased. An increase in maximum size of
coarse aggregate lower the bond area so that volume changes in
the paste result in larger stresses at interface and moreover
discontinuities are introduced by large coarse aggregate particles,
which lower the strength.

19
Factors affecting Strength of Concrete
Compaction
Compaction has a direct effect on the ultimate strength of concrete.
The presence of voids in concrete greatly reduces its strength. 5% of
g by
voids can lower strength y as much as 30%,, and even 2% of voids
can result in a drop of strength of more than 10%.
Voids in concrete are in fact either bubbles of entrapped air or spaces
left after excess water has been removed.
• At a give water-cement ratio, high-strength concretes (containing a
high cement content) suffer a considerable strength loss with
increasing amounts of entrained air,
air whereas lowlow-strength
strength
concretes tend to suffer only a little strength loss. This point is of
great significance in the design of mass-concrete mixtures.
• Both compaction by hand and compaction by vibration can produce
a good or a poor quality concrete; the result depends on the quality
of workmanship and care.

Factors affecting Strength of Concrete

Influence of Temperature
Generally, the higher the temperature of concrete at placement, the
greater the initial rate of strength development, but the lower the long
g
term strength.
That is why it is important to reduce the temperature of fresh concrete
when concreting in hot climates. This effect can be explained as:
• Due to high temperature, a rapid initial hydration causes a non-
uniform distribution of the cement gel with a poorer physical
structure, which is more porous than the structure developed at
normal temperatures.
temperatures
• There is insufficient time available for the products of hydration to
diffuse away from the cement grains. As a result, a concentration of
hydration products is built up in the vicinity of the hydrating cement
grains which retards subsequent hydration, and thus the
development of long-term strength.

20
Factors affecting Strength of Concrete
Curing Conditions
The hydration process can proceed satisfactorily only under conditions
of saturation, thus curing plays an important role in the strength
p
development of concrete.
• For a given water/cement ratio, the longer the moist curing period,
the higher the strength assuming that the hydration of anhydrous
cement particles is still going-on.
• For a given water-cement ratio, the strength of the continuously
moist cured concrete is usually 2-3 times greater than the strength
of continuously air-cured concrete. A minimum period of 7 days is
generally recommended for concrete containing normal Portland
cement while it is usually more for blended cements.
• The lower the curing temperature, the lower the strength
development. At a curing temperature near freezing, the strength
becomes half of the strength developed at normal temperature
curing. Below freezing, there is hardly any strength development.

Factors affecting Strength of Concrete

Curing Conditions

Influence of curing conditions on strength

21
Factors affecting Strength of Concrete
Effect of Age
The strength of concrete is traditionally characterized by the 28-days
value, as it is believed that 90% hydration is completed after 28 days.
p
So this value is used in all specifications and design
g pprocedures.
• A normal strength concrete gains 20% of its 28 days strength after 1
day, 55% after 3 days and 80% after 7 days. While for high-strength
concrete with mineral admixtures, the strength development is
rather slow due to slower reactions of pozzolans.
• The rate of gain of strength is also affected by the water-cement
ratio. Mixes with a low water-cement ratio ggain strength
g ((as a
percentage of long-term strength) more rapidly than mixes with
higher water-cement ratios. This is because with low w/c ratio, the
cement grains are closer to one another and a continuous system of
gel is established more rapidly.

Factors affecting Strength of Concrete

Effect of Age

Relative gain of strength with time in OPC concretes

22
Tensile Strength of Concrete
Plain concrete is very weak in tension and most concrete structures
are designed on the assumption that concrete will take the
compression while all the tensile stresses will be resisted by steel.
This ppoor tensile behavior of concrete is due to the discontinuities
between the hydrated cement paste and aggregates; and also the
flaws within hydrated cement paste, which causes concrete to fail in a
brittle fashion (without adequate warning) when subjected to tensile
stresses.
The cracking of concrete structures is depended on the tensile
strength of concrete and for such structures, the tensile strength is
usedd as a d
design
i parameter,t lik
like over and
d underground
d d water
t ttanks,
k
containment vessels for nuclear reactors etc.
For design purposes, the tensile strength of concrete can be taken as
10% of its compressive strength at 28 days.

Relation between Tensile and Compressive Strength

The tensile and compressive strength of concrete can be related by
the following empirical expression suggested by BS 8007:1987
ft = 0.12(fc)0.7
where fc is the compressive strength determined by cubes
cubes. If the
compressive strength is determined by cylinders, the following
expression suggested by ACI should be used:
ft = 0.3(fc)2/3

In general, the relation between tensile and compressive strength

depends
depe ds o
on thee following
o o g factors:
ac o s
• Size of the specimen
• Shape and surface texture of coarse aggregate
• Moisture condition of the concrete
• Method of testing the concrete in tension (splitting strength or flexural test)

23
Relation between Tensile and Compressive Strength

Relation between compressive and tensile strength of concrete

Bond Strength of Concrete

The strength of bond between steel reinforcement and concrete arises
primarily from friction and adhesion, and from mechanical interlocking
in the case of deformed bars. Bond is affected by the properties both
of steel and of concrete, and by the relative movement due to volume
changes (e(e.g.
g shrinkage of concrete)
concrete).
In general terms, bond strength is approximately proportional to the
compressive strength of concrete up to about 20 MPa. For high
strength concretes, the increase in bond strength becomes
progressively smaller.
Protective surface treatment of reinforcement may reduce the bond
strength,
t th because
b in
i ttreated
t d steel,
t l ththe advantage
d t off surface
f rustt in
i
bond is absent.
A rise in temperature reduces the bond strength of concrete: at 200 to
3000C, there may be loss of one-half of the bond strength at room
temperatures.

24
Bond Strength of Concrete

Relation between compressive and bond strength of concrete

Questions/ Queries ???

25