Concrete Mix Design

1. THE PRINCIPLE OF MIX DESIGN

Mix design means to develop the concrete composition (in terms of kg of each component in 1 m3 of concrete) by taking into account: the data dealing with the placement of fresh concrete such as workability, transportation time, temperature, slump loss, density of metallic reinforcements, etc. the engineering properties required in service for the hardened concrete such as strength, durability, drying shrinkage, creep, elastic modulus, etc.; the available materials in terms of cement , aggregate, and chemical admixtures. Due to the experience accumulated in more than a century, some consolidated relationships between concrete properties in the fresh and/or the hardened state on one hand, and the concrete composition on the other, have been consolidated. These relationships concern: - the water-cement ratio (w/c) which is the most important parameter affecting the most important properties such as strength, durability, permeability, drying shrinkage, and creep; - the choice of the aggregate which, for the type (natural or crushed) and size, affect the amount of mixing water and then at a given w/c the amount of cement and therefore all the properties depending on the cement content (c): thermal gradients related to the amount of cement hydration, shrinkage, etc.; - the use of chemical admixtures, and in particular of water reducers, which can improve the properties of fresh and hardened concrete: workability, compressive strength, durability, etc.; - the cement content (c) which often is presented as most signicant parameter of the mixture, is really the consequence of the other parameters; the most important technical contributions of cements to the properties of concrete, and in particular to the durability of concrete structures, is the type of cement: slag cements CEM III, pozzolanic cements CEM IV, and composite cements CEM V are denitely better than other cements in protecting the concrete from sea water in maritime works, from de-icing salts in highway concrete structures,
mineral admixtures such as y ash, blast furnace ground granulated slag, silica fume, ground limestone will be considered as part of blended cements according to the European cements 1

from sulphate-rich in ground works such as foundations, tunnels, etc. The other important parameter of the cement is its strength class which can reduce the demoulding time particularly in winter times or allows the manufacture of high-strength concretes for special purposes.

2. TYPES OF MIX DESIGN

We can distinguish two types of mix design: simple mix design when the requirements are: - characteristic strength (fck); - workability (W); - type and strength class of cement (tc); - maximum size (Dmax) and type of aggregate (natural or crushed); complex mix design which includes at least an other parameter such as: - early compressive strength; - exural and or tensile strength; - durability; - permeability. These additional requirements can need a water-cement ratio different from that determined by the characteristic strength. In such a case the lowest w/c is chosen to meet all the requirements.

2.1 SIMPLE MIX DESIGN

Figure 1 schematically shows the full process of a simple mix design to determine the content of cement (c), water (w), sand (s), gravel (G) (in kg/m3) and the volume of air (Va) in L/m3. The characteristic strength (fck), in MPa, is transformed into a mean 28-day compressive strength (fmc28) according to the following equations depending on the Criterion 1 or 2 adopted to check the concrete characteristic strength: Criterion 1 (for the initial 3 test results): fmc28 fck + 4 Criterion 2 (for the following 15 test results): fmc28 fck + 1,48 where is the standard deviation. [1] [2]

CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH

WORKABILITY OF TYPE/SIZE OF FRESH CONCRETE AGGREGATE

1*

2**
TYPE AND STRENGTH CLASS OF CEMENT

MEAN COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (28 days)

Vw = w dc Vcon = 1000 L

w/c da w w/c

a = Va da

Va = Vcon - Vc - Vw - Va ds

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE AVAILABLE AGGREGATES

s = Vs ds

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE IDEAL AGGREGATE da

G = VG dG

* Criterion 1 to assess the characteristic strength ** Criterion 2 to assess the characteristic strength
Fig. 1 - The full process of a concrete mix design

Trough Fig. 2 the fmc28 strength is transformed into the water-cement ratio (w/ c) provided that the type and strength class of the available cement is known.
100

t = 28 days
CUBE 28-DAY COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (MPa) 80

Cement: CEM I 52.5 R CEM II-A/L 42.5 R CEM III-B 32.5 R

60

40 30 20

0,3

0,5

0,61

0,71

0,9

1,2

0,68

w/c

Fig. 2 - The inuence of cement strength class on the concrete compressive strength

Trough Fig. 3 the amount of mixing water is determined by knowing the required slump, and the maximum size (Dmax) and the type of aggregate (natural or crushed). The amount of mixing water must be reduced by 10 kg/m3 for natural aggregates and increased by 10 kg/m3 for cruched aggregates.
25 Dmax: 40 20
Workability (slump in cm): L
20 10

15

10

100

150

190 200 215 230 250 Mixing water (w) in kg/m3

300

Fig 3 - The inuence of the aggregate maximum size on the workability of the fresh concrete
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Through Fig. 4 the air percentage by volume of concrete (a) is determined.

4

a' (%)

0 0

20

40 Dmax (mm)

60

80

Fig. 4 - The inuence of the aggregate maximum size on the air volume a (in % by concrete volume) Then the cement content (c) is calculated:

c = w/ (w/c)

[3]

CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH

WORKABILITY OF TYPE/SIZE OF FRESH CONCRETE AGGREGATE

1*

2**
TYPE AND STRENGTH CLASS OF CEMENT

MEAN COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (28 days)

w/c w w/c
a = % by vol. of air
5

The volume (in L per 1 m3 of concrete) of aggregate Va is determined through a volume balance by subtracting to the volume of 1 m3 of concrete (Vcon) the volume of cement (Vc), of water (Vw), of aggregate (Va) and of air (Va):

Va = Vcon Vc Vw Va = 1000 - c/dc - w - 10 - 10 a

where dc = density of cement 3.15 kg/L

[4]

CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH

WORKABILITY OF TYPE/SIZE OF FRESH CONCRETE AGGREGATE

1*

2**
TYPE AND STRENGTH CLASS OF CEMENT

MEAN COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (28 days)

Vw = w dc Vcon = 1000 L

w/c da w w/c

a = Va da
da = density of aggregate 2.7 kg/L

Va = Vcon - Vc - Vw - Va

The last important aspect of the mix design deals with the combination of two or more aggregates (in general sand and gravel) in order to produce a combined aggregate as close as possible to an ideal aggregate.

The ideal aggregate can be a set of particles with the minimum volume of voids among the aggregate particles (Fller and Thompson) or an aggregate with a slightly higher volume of voids (Bolomey) in order to improve the workability.

CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH

WORKABILITY OF TYPE/SIZE OF FRESH CONCRETE AGGREGATE

1*

2**
TYPE AND STRENGTH CLASS OF CEMENT

MEAN COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (28 days)

Vw = w dc Vcon = 1000 L

w/c da w w/c

a = Va da

Va = Vcon - Vc - Vw - Va

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE AVAILABLE AGGREGATES

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE IDEAL AGGREGATE

Independently of the adopted ideal aggregate the volume of total aggregate Va can be divided in the volume of sand (Vs) an the volume of gravel (VG):

Va = Vs + VG

[5]

CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH

WORKABILITY OF TYPE/SIZE OF FRESH CONCRETE AGGREGATE

1*

2**
TYPE AND STRENGTH CLASS OF CEMENT

MEAN COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (28 days)

Vw = w dc Vcon = 1000 L

w/c da w w/c

a = Va da

Va = Vcon - Vc - Vw - Va

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE AVAILABLE AGGREGATES

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE IDEAL AGGREGATE

Finally the volume of sand and aggregate are converted in weight (kg/m3) of sand (s) and gravel (G) by knowing the specic weight of sand (ds) and gravel (dG):

s = Vs ds G = VG dG

[6] [7]

CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH

WORKABILITY OF TYPE/SIZE OF FRESH CONCRETE AGGREGATE

1*

2**
TYPE AND STRENGTH CLASS OF CEMENT

MEAN COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (28 days)

Vw = w dc Vcon = 1000 L

w/c da w w/c

a = Va da

Va = Vcon - Vc - Vw - Va ds

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE AVAILABLE AGGREGATES

s = Vs ds

PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF THE IDEAL AGGREGATE da

G = VG dG

So the nal result of a mix design is to give the full recipe of the concrete (in kg/m3) in terms of cement (c), water (w), sand (s), and coarse aggregate such as a gravel (G).

2.2 EXAMPLE OF A SIMPLE MIX DESIGN

An example of simple mix design will be shown with the cube characteristic strength (fcu/ck) determined according to the Criterion 1 or 2. These are the requirements and available ingredients: fcu/ck = 20 MPa workability: slump = 15 cm cement: CEM II A/L 42.5 R maximum size (Dmax) of the coarse aggregate = 40 mm

Criterion 1
By adopting the Criterion 1 the 28-day mean compressive strength fcu/mc28 is:

fcu/mc28 = fcu/ck + 4 = 20 + 4 = 24 MPa

The cube 28-day mean compressive strength (fcu/mc28) of 24 MPa corresponds to a water-cement ratio (w/c) of 0.77 according to Figure:
100

t = 28 days
CUBE 28-DAY COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (MPa) 80

Cement: CEM I 52.5 R CEM II-A/L 42.5 R CEM III-B 32.5 R

60

40 30 20

0,3

0,5

0,61

0,71 0,77

0,9

1,2

w/c

10

Therefore the cement content (c) is.

w/c = 0.77 = 190/c = 0.77 c = 190/0.77 = 247 kg/m3

From Fig. 4 the percentage of air (a) by volume of concrete is determined: in the presence of a coarse aggregate with the maximum size of 40 mm a = 1% which corresponds to a volume Va of 10 L/m3:
4

a' (%)

0 0

20

40 Dmax (mm)

60

80

The aggregate volume (Va) is then determined through the equation [5]:

Va = Vcon Vc Vw Va = 1000 247/3.15 190 10 = 721 L/m3

If the density of the aggregate (da) is 2.7 kg/L , the weight of the aggregate (a) can be determined:

a = Va da = 721 2.7 = 1948 kg/m3

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Table 1 shows the composition of the concrete in terms of c, w and a as a function of the required properties and the available batching plant according to the Criterion 1. Table 1 - Properties, available materials and concrete composition according to Criterion 1 Required Properties fcu/ck = 20 MPa Slump = 15 cm Criterion 1 Available Materials Cement: CEM II-A/L 42.5R Dmax of aggregate = 40 mm K = 4 MPa Concrete Composition w = 190 kg/m3 c = 250 kg/m3 a = 1950 kg/m3

Criterion 2
By adopting the Criterion 2, the 28-day mean compressive strength fcu/mc28 is:

fcu/mc28 fcu/ck + k
where is the standard deviation:

(fcu/i28-fcu/cm28)2 n-1

where fcu/ic28 is the 28-day cube compressive strength of the individual test and n is the number of the available tests. If the standard deviation of the batching plant is 7 MPa , the fcu/mc28 can be determined through the equation [2]:

fcu/mc28 20 + 1.4 = 20 + 1.4 7 = 30 MPa

12

From Fig. 2 the w/c = 0.68 can be determined when the cement CEM II-A/L 42.5 R is adopted:
100

t = 28 days
CUBE 28-DAY COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (MPa) 80

Cement: CEM I 52.5 R CEM II-A/L 42.5 R CEM III-B 32.5 R

60

40 30 20

0,3

0,5

0,61

0,71

0,9

1,2

0,68

w/c

From Fig. 3 the amount of mixing water can be determined (w = 190 kg/m3) when the required slump is 15 cm and the maximum size of the available aggregate is 40 mm:
25 Dmax: 40 20
Workability (slump in cm): L
20 10

15

10

100

150

190 200 215 230 250 Mixing water (w) in kg/m3

300

13

Therefore the cement content (c) is:

w/c = 0.68 = 190/c c = 190/0.68 = 279 kg/m3

From Fig. 4 the percentage of air (a) by volume of concrete is determined : in the presence of a coarse aggregate with the maximum size of 40 mm, a = 1% which corresponds to a volume of Va of 10 L/m3. The aggregate volume (Va) is then determined through the equation [5]:

Va = Vcon Vc Vw Va = 1000 279/3.15 190 10 = 711 L/m3

If the density of the aggregate (da) is 2.7 kg/L , the weight of the aggregate (a) can be determined:

a = Va da = 711 2.7 = 1920 kg/m3

Table 2 shows the composition of the concrete in terms of c, w and a as a function of the required properties and the available batching plant according to the Criterion 2. Table 2 - Properties, available materials and concrete composition according to Criterion 2 Required Properties fcu/ck = 20 MPa Slump = 20 cm Criterion 2 Available Materials Cement: CEM II-A/L 42.5R Dmax of aggregate = 40 mm K = 1.4 7 = 10 MPa Concrete Composition w = 190 kg/m3 c = 280 kg/m3 a = 1920 kg/m3

Therefore for the same characteristic strength (fcu/ck) of 20 MPa there are two 28-day mean compressive strength (fcu/28mc) of 30 Mpa or 24 MPa depending on the Criterion (1 or 2 respectively) adopted. Consequently there are two concrete compositions.

Criterion 1 w = 190 kg/m3 Criterion 2 w = 190 kg/m3

c = 250 kg/m3 c = 280 kg/m3

a = 1950 kg/m3 a = 1920 kg/m3

There are other properties, such as drying shrinkage, creep and thermal heating which depend on the concrete compositions and then on the adopted Criterion 1 or 2 to assess the characteristic strength.

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2.2 COMPLEX MIX DESIGN

When, besides the 28-day compressive strength, there are other required properties for the hardened concrete (durability, permeability, early compressive strength, exural or tensile strength) the mix design becomes complex since the w/c value depends on more parameters. Figure 5 indicates the different w/c as a function of the specic property. Since the w/c must be only one, the lowest value (w/c)min is selected among all the required values, so that all the required properties of the hardened concrete are met:

CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH

EARLY COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH (w/c)2

DURABILITY

(w/c)1

(w/c)3

(w/c)min

(w/c)5

(w/c)4

PERMEABILITY

FLEXURAL/TENSILE STRENGTH

Fig. 5 - Choice of the mimimum water-cement ratio (w/c)min to meet all the required properties

Once the w/c is selected, the complex mix design goes on with the other steps as in the simple mix design.

2.2.1. EXAMPLE OF COMPLEX MIX DESIGN

An example of complex mix design will be shown with the cube characteristic strength (fcu/ck) determined according to the Criterion 1. These are the requirements and available ingredients: fcu/ck = 25 MPa durability: exposure class = XC4 w/c 0.50 workability: slump = 15 cm

15

 cement: CEM II B/L 32.5 R maximum size (Dmax) of the coarse aggregate = 40 mm The choice of the water-cement ratio capable to meet both the characteristic strength and the durability requirement is illustrated in Fig. 6 where the fcu/ck according to the Criterion 1 is shown as a function of w/c for a cement CEM II B/L 32.5 R:

80 70 60 fcu/ck (MPa) 50 40 30 20 10 0 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 w/c

Fig. 6 - Choice of the w/c as a function of the characteristic strength and durability

CEM II B/L 32.5R Exposure class: XC4 (w/c)2 0.50 fcu/ck* = 36

fcu/ck= 25 (w/c)2 0.6 (w/c)1 0.7 0.8

The (w/c)1 for the strength requirement of (fcu/ck of 25 MPa is 0.63, whereas to meet the durability requirement (exposure class = XC4) the water-cement ratio (w/c)2 is at most 0.50. Between the values of 0.63 and 0.50 the lowest value must be adopted as water-cement ratio: (w/c)min = 0.50 The amount of mixing water (190 kg/m3) is the same as that determined in the example of simple mix design (Fig. 3) due to the same Dmax of 40 mm and the same required slump of 15 cm. Therefore the cement content (c) is:

w/c = 0.50 = 190/c c = 190/0.50 = 380 kg/m3

According to Fig. 4, the percentage of air (a) by volume of concrete, in the presence of a coarse aggregate with the maximum size of 40 mm, is a = 1% which corresponds to a volume of Va of 10 L/m3.
16

The aggregate volume (Va) is then determined through the equation [5]:

Va = Vcon Vc Vw Va = 1000 380/3.15 190 10 = 679 L/m3

If the density of the aggregate (da) is 2.7 kg/L , the weight of the aggregate (a) can be determined:

a = Va da = 679 2.7 = 1834 kg/m3

The rounded off composition of the concrete is: c = 380 kg/m3 w = 190 kg/m3 a = 1830 kg/m3

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