CEMENT-CONCRETE

Kushal Gadkari
Assistant Professor,
Civil Engineering Department,
Faculty of Technology & Engineering,
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Vadodara- 390001
Contact:M:9426717037,
Email Id: kushalgadkari-ced@msubaroda.ac.in
Definition
 CEMENT CONCRETE is an artificial building
material which is obtained by mixing together
certain inert materials, called coarse and fine
aggregates with the active constituents.i.e.,
cement and water.

 The mixing in a plastic condition when allowed

to set becomes as hard as stone. The strength
of cement concrete depends upon its
ingredients, their relative quantifies and the
manner in which they are MIXED & PLACED.
Cement concrete can be broadly classified into
following classes or heads:
 Plain Cement Concrete (P.C.C.)
 Reinforced Cement Concrete (R.C.C.)
 Vibrated Concrete
 Precast Concrete
 Prestressed Concrete
 Fibre Reinforced Concrete (F.R.C.)
 Light Weight Concrete (L.W.C.)
PLAIN CEMENT CONCRETE
 ADVANTAGES OF CEMENT CONCRETE
▪ It can be easily moulded into durable
structural items of various sizes and shapes.
▪ It is possible to control the properties of
cement concrete by using different proportions
of aggregates.
▪ It possesses adequate plasticity for the
working.
▪ The ingredients are easily available.
▪ The maintenance cost is almost nil.
PLAIN CEMENT CONCRETE
 PROPERTIES OF CEMENT CONCRETE
▪ Strength of Concrete
▪ Shrinkage of Concrete
▪ Workability of Concrete
▪ Fire Resistance
▪ Durability of Concrete
▪ Other Properties
A. STRENGTH OF CONCRETE
 The concrete should have high compressive strength.
The tensile and shear strength are generally about 8 to
12 % and 8 to 10 % of their compressive strengths
respectively.

 The compressive strength of concrete is

influenced by several factors such as:
 Quality of materials and grading of aggregates
 Water Cement Ratio
 Method of mixing, placing, compacting and curing.
 Cement content
 Age of concrete
A. STRENGTH OF CONCRETE

Table-1: Compressive Strength of 15 KN cube after 28 days

Grade of Strength Proportion

Concrete (N/mm2) (C:FA:CA)
M10 100 1:3:6
M15 150 1:2:4
M20 200 1:1.5:3
M25 250 1:1:2
B. WORKABILITY OF CONCRETE
 Workability is the most elusive property of concrete and it is
quite difficult to define and measure it.
 In the simplest form, a concrete is said to be workable if it
can be easily mixed, handled, transported, placed in position
and compacted. A workable concrete should not show any
segregation or bleeding.
 The segregation is said to occur when the course aggregate
tries to spread out from the finer materials and fine material
at other place in the mass of concrete. The segregation
creates larger voids and reduces the durability and strength
both, and hence should be avoided.
 Bleeding of concrete is said to occur when the excess water
comes up at the surface of concrete. This causes the
undesirable small pores through the mass of concrete.
B. WORKABILITY OF CONCRETE
 The workability of concrete is influenced by
following factors
▪ Shape of aggregate ( rounded or cubical particles give
better workability)
▪ Grading and size of aggregates
▪ Ratio of course and fine aggregates
▪ Efficiency of mixing
▪ Quantity of cement
▪ Quantity of water and the use of any admixture

 Workability of fresh concrete can be determined

by the following tests
1) SLUMP TEST

 Slump test is performed to get a rough idea of

workability (the consistency of concrete mix).
 As shown in Figure, the slump test apparatus
consists of a truncated cone which is open at both
the ends.
 This 30 cm high standard cone having top and
bottom diameters as 10 cm and 20 cm, respectively
is filled with concrete in four approximately equal
layers.
 Each layer is tamped with 25 strokes of a steel rod,
16 mm in dia and 60 cm long, which is rounded at
the tamping end. Immediately after the top layer
has been tamped, the concrete is struck off the
level with the top.
1) SLUMP TEST (continue)
 The mould or standard cone is then raised slowly and carefully in a
vertical direction, thereby causing the concrete to sub-side or settle.

 The difference in vertical heights between the original and subsided or

settled levels, measured in terms of mm, gives the slump:

 SLUMP = 300 – SETTLED HEIGHT OF CONCRETE IN (MM)

 The slump test should not be used for very dry mixes as the results
obtained are not accurate. It should also be recommended that the
nominal maximum size of the aggregates should not exceed 38 mm
for the slump test.
2) COMPACTING FACTOR TEST
 Compaction factor test is better test to determine the
workability, especially for very stiff concrete mixes.
 In this test, the maximum size of the aggregate should
not exceed 38 mm. This test measures the degree of
compaction obtained by spending a known amount of
energy in overcoming the internal friction of the
concrete and this is a measure of workability.
 The details of test apparatus consisting of two conical
hoppers with doors at the bottom and a cylinder
 Compacting factor test procedure consists of filling the
top hopper with concrete without compact it to any
extent and releasing it successively through the two
hoppers and into the bottom cylinder.
2) COMPACTING FACTOR TEST
 After striking of the level, the weight of the concrete in
the cylinder is determined (say w1). The same cylinder
is then filled with the other sample of concrete from the
same batch and the material thoroughly compacted to
get the maximum theoretical weight [without voids (say
w2)]. The ratio of the observed weight (w1) to the
theoretical weight (w2) i.e., w1/w2, is known as
compacting factor.
Table-2: Workability of concrete for slump values & Compacting factor
Compacting Slump value Workability
factor (mm)
0.80 0-15 Very low
0.85 15-25 Low
0.92 50-100 Medium
0.95 100-180 high
3) DURABILITY OF CONCRETE
 The concrete possesses a high durability value,
as it is not much affected by atmospheric
actions.
 With age, the concrete goes on hardening,
thereby increasing in strength.
 It is this property, which gives this material a
district place among the building materials.
4) SHRINKAGE OF CONCRETE
 There is initial shrinkage of cement concrete
which is mainly due to loss of water through
forms, absorption by surfaces of forms, etc.
 The shrinkage of cement concrete occurs as it
hardens. This tendency of shrinkage on one
hand causes cracks in concrete, while on the
other, it grips the reinforcement tightly and
hence proper bond between concrete &
reinforcement when used in R.C.C work.
5) FIRE RESISTANCE
 Concrete is a good insulator and has a
fairly good fire resistance owing to the
presence of pores and also water.
6) OTHER PROPERTIES
 When used with steel in R.C.C work, it can withstand
both compressive and tensile stresses, hence more
utility.
 It is free from corrosion.
 It forms a hard surface, so capable of resisting abrasion.
 Concrete is provided to be economical than steel.
 Purpose made types of concrete further enhance its
utility:
 Vibrated weight concrete…. For partitions
 Light weight concrete…. For more strength
 Lime surkhi concrete…. For economy
PLACING OF CONCRETE
UNDERWATER
 When it is required to place the concrete under water, in
cold weather, or in hot weather, it poses certain
difficulties in doing so, and hence special measures and
precautions may become necessary under such
circumstances. The various possible measures of
tackling such problems or difficulties in each case are
described below:
 The placing of concrete may be necessary for plain
concrete construction works. Under such situations
concreting is done by the following methods:
▪ Tremie
▪ Buckets
▪ Grouted concrete
1. Tremie:
 “Tremie” is nothing but a watertight steel pipe of 15 to
30 cm diameter and of sufficient length whose upper
end extends to the working platform (above water level)
while the lower end reaches to the concreting bed.
 The upper end of the tremie is fitted with a hopper for
pouring concrete into the pipe. The lower end of the
pipe (or tremie) is provided with an automatic check
valve.
 The concrete poured from the hopper displaces air and
water from the pipe and reaches the bed. As the
concreting work proceeds, the tremie are gradually
raised, keeping the lower end of the tremie submerged
in the fresh concrete all the time.
2. Buckets:
 In this method, special bottom opening buckets (either
cubical or cylindrical) is adopted.
 The concrete is to be deposited at greater depths. These
buckets are open at the top but are provided with
collapsible shutter at the bottom.
 The fresh concrete is filled up in the bucket and the top
of the bucket is covered with canvas to protect it from
water when it is being lowered. The bucket is lowered
down to the desired depth to the working face and
deposited there by removing the bottom shutter slowly.
 In this process, it is essential that the bucket should
reach the working face before discharging of concrete to
minimize the concrete loss during placing.
3. Grouted concrete:
 In this method, coarse aggregates are first
uniformly spread within the shuttering and
then rich cement sand slurry (or grout) is
forced through a pipe to replace the water
from the voids of the coarse aggregate already
placed.
 This method is effective under water works
because cement sand grout (1: 1 or 1: 11/2)
which is poured at the bottom, replaces water
being heavier (specific gravity = 2) in nature.
Placing Concrete in Cold
Weather:
 The cold weather (Temperature <4°C) retards the rate
of hardening of concrete though the ultimate strength
remains the same. The strength after 28 days may be
only 50% if cured at 0°C and only 30% if cured at -
10°C. However, it acquires full strength if further cured
at temperature above 21°C later on.

 The cold weather concreting reduces the rate of

hardening and hence the gain of strength at early
stages of setting. This delay in setting of concrete
results in the increase of labour cost, material cost,
waiting time, etc.
Placing Concrete in Cold
Weather:
 Hence, preferably concreting should be done normally at
temperatures between 15°C to 25°C. Moreover, the
temperature of freshly laid concrete should be kept
above 4°C until it has thoroughly hardened. The
concreting should be stopped when the temperature
falls below 4°C.

 If the urgent work is required to be continued when

then following precautions will help in concreting
successfully even at freezing temperature.
Placing Concrete in Cold
Weather:
 A. PRECAUTIONS FOR TEMPRATURE
< 4°C BUT > 0°C:
 Increase of cement content of the mix by about 20 to
25%.
 Use of Rapid hardening cement with an accelerator ( or
admixture) or High alumina cement is usually
recommended.
 Accelerators like Calcium Chloride are used 2% by
weight of cement and are dissolved completely in water
to increase the rate of hardening and hence to increase
the rate of evolution of heat; thus the concrete
temperature is raised while freezing point of the mixing,
water is lowered.
Placing Concrete in Cold
Weather:
 B. PRECAUTIONS FOR
TEMPERATURE < 0°C:

 Water should be heated up to 60°C and the

aggregates should be heated up to 21°C.
 The temperature of mixed concrete should not
be more than 38°C.
 The temperature of mixed concrete should not
be more than 30°C, when high alumina
cement is used.
Placing Concrete in Cold
Weather:
 C. OTHER PRECAUTIONS:

 Timber formwork should be used so

that the effect of temperature is less.

 The concrete should be covered by

cement bags, canvas etc.
Placing Concrete in Hot
Weather:
 When the concrete is placed in hot weather
(i.e. Temperature > 25°C & very high
Temperature >50°C), it would accelerate the
rate of hardening and result in pre-matured
gain of strength, though the ultimate strength
remains the same.
 When extreme hot weather (Temp. >50°C)
conditions exist; it results in quick drying out
of moisture in the concrete and subjected to
contraction stresses, at a stage when concrete
is not strong enough to resist them. This
finally causes shrinkage cracks to develop and
produces inferior quality concrete.
Placing Concrete in Hot
Weather:
 PRECAUTIONS FOR TEMPERATURE >50°C:

 Retarders or chemical compounds, which retard the rate of

hydration of cement in concrete, may be added in proper
quantity.
 The ingredients of concrete may be pre-cooled to bring down
the temperature of concrete within the specified limits.
 The mixed concrete should be conveyed to its final position
with minimum loss of time in order to prevent the losses due
to evaporation, etc.
 There should be desirably two points at which the concrete
can placed, so that if delayed occur at one site then the batch
may be diverted to another site.
Placing Concrete in Hot
Weather:
 Continuity of placing concrete batches should be maintained as
per the planned schedule. It should be noted that scheduling of
concrete deliveries is extremely important in hot weather.
 Concrete surfaces should be fully protected after being placed
in position from the direction sunrays.
 The horizontal surfaces may be covered with wet straw, bags,
sacking, etc. or ponding may be done, while the vertical
surfaces may be wrapped with wet bags, wet sacking, etc. and
continuously sprinkled.
 These concrete surfaces should be kept moist till they are fully
set.
 Where hot dry winds, prevailed, wind breakers should be set up
on site.
 The formwork to receive concrete should be weighted so as to
prevent the loss of water from concrete due to absorption.
2. REINFORCED CEMENT
CONCRETE
 Plain concrete is very strong in compression but its
tensile strength is only about 1/10th of the strength in
compression. So, the use of plain concrete is limited to
the structures in pure compression.
 Steel being equally strong in compression and tension,
is therefore, used to reinforced the concrete in a
suitable way so that it can be used to build supporting
structures when tension also develops. Concrete, thus
reinforced, is known as “Reinforced concrete”.
 This combination is made because long steel bars can
developed its full tensile strength where as it cannot
carry equal amount of compressive force due to its
buckling which is caused by slenderness.
PROPERTIES OF REINFORCED
CONCRETE:
 The combination of steel and concrete becomes practicable in
supporting structures because of the following reasons:
 The concrete develops very good bond with the surface of
steel bars and therefore, the stresses are transferred from one
material to the other which cannot resist individually.
 The steel possesses a high tensile strength, a high modulus of
elasticity and coefficients of expansion and contraction of
concrete and steel are almost equal. Due to equal linear
coefficient, no internal stresses are set up within reinforced
concrete due to variation in temperature.
 Both the materials are relatively cheap and abundantly
available.
 The coating of cement grout or paste on the surface of
reinforcement protect it from corrosion and it the same time,
it does not chemically react with the reinforcement.
ADVANTAGES OF REINFORCED
CONCRETE:
 It is overall economical ultimate cost.
 Its monolithic character provides more rigidity to the
structure.
 It is highly durable and fire resisting. It is not affected
by vermin, termites, fungus, or such other insects.
 Well compacted R.C.C structures are impermeable to
moisture penetration.
 Care and the cost of maintenance of R.C.C structures
are almost negligible.
 The materials used in R.C.C constructions are easily and
abundantly available.
 The fluidity of concrete and flexibility of reinforcement
make it possible the mould and R.C.C members in to
variety of shapes desire.
3. VIBRATED CONCRETE:
 In case of ordinary concrete, the quantity of mortar is
always more than required to fill the voids and these
results in segregation forming a layer on the top (known
as laitance) after vibration. This is likely to cause
differential shrinkage and internal stresses. On drying,
the upper layer becomes porous and is liable to
deterioration.
 In vibrated concrete, a particular type of concrete can
be made stronger and durable by use of mechanical
vibrates.
 The mechanical vibrates of different types are used to
compact the concrete by way of mechanical vibrations.
The vibrations improve consolidation in case of freshly
laid slabs, pavements, aerodrome runways, etc.
A. ADVANTAGES OF VIBRATED
CONCRETE:
 The concrete produced is more impermeable and dense.
 There is a reduction in laitance, and hence in the places
of weakness at the junction of successive layers.
 It is possible to deposit concrete in small opening or
narrow sections or cavities, etc, where hand compaction
is not an effective method.
 In addition to the speed of placing concrete, a better
bond between steel and concrete is ensured.
 Higher aggregate cement ratio being possible, the
shrinkage and creep are reduced.
 Due to better compaction a more even and uniform
finish is imparted to the surfaces of concrete.
 It results in economy of time, material and labour.
B. TYPES OF VIBRATERS:
 A wide variety of vibrators are available
and the selection of an appropriate type
depends upon the nature of the work
for which it is to be used. Vibrators
commonly used of four types.
▪ Internal vibrators
▪ External or foam vibratos
▪ Surface vibrators
▪ Vibrating table or Table vibrators
B. TYPES OF VIBRATERS:
 Internal vibrators:

 “Internal vibrators” are more efficient than other types,

and are commonly used on large works for flat surface
compaction.

 Internal vibrators consist of a metal road, like vibrating

head which immersed in the full depth of concrete layer.
The vibrator is kept in one position for 2 to 3 minutes
and then by removing and placing again. In this, no
energy is absorbed by formwork or shuttering.
B. TYPES OF VIBRATERS:
 External vibrators:

 “External” or formed vibrators are attached to the

concrete formwork externally and the whole vibrating
energy is imparted to concrete through formwork.

 Because lots of energy is wasted in absorption by the

formwork, so they are only use for thin section of walls
for difficult situations, where internal vibrators cannot
be employed.
B. TYPES OF VIBRATERS:
 Surface vibrators:

 “Surface vibrators” are mounted on platforms or

concrete screeds and are generally used to finish the
concrete surface such as bridge floors, roads, slabs,
station platforms, etc.

 Vibrating table:

 “Vibrating table” is used for consolidation of pre-cast

units when concrete is placed on these tables.
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