CONCRETE

Composition of Concrete

Concrete is composed mainly of three materials, namely, cement, water and

aggregate (“inert” mineral fillers), and an additional material, known as an
admixture, is sometimes added to modify certain of its properties.

When these materials are mixed and placed in forms and allowed to cure, the
chemical reaction between the water and cement forms a hardened binding
medium of cement paste, which surrounds and holds together the aggregates
by adhering them to a varying degree.

The properties of concrete may be governed by careful selection (design)

and control of the constituent materials. The requirements for a fresh and a
hardened concrete may vary in wide range, dependent on the type of
structure to be cast and the available equipment. For practical concrete
mixes, the cement, water and aggregates should be so proportioned that the
resulting concrete has the following properties:
1. When freshly mixed it is workable enough for economical and
easy uniform placement, but not excessively fluid.
2. When hardened it possesses strength and durability adequate
to the purpose for which it is intended.
3. It involves minimum cost consistent with acceptable quality.

VOIDS 1 - 2 per cent

CEMENT PASTE (cement + water) 25 - 40 per cent
AGGREGATES (Course + Fine) 60 - 75 per cent.
Concrete composition

Concrete Making Materials

Water

Water fit for drinking is generally suitable for making concrete.

Harmful substances if present in large amounts are: salt, oil, industrial
wastes, alkalis, sulphates, organic matter, silt, sewage etc. Smell, sight or
taste should reveal such impurities. Water of doubtful quality should be
submitted for laboratory analysis and tests.

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Water used in concrete mixes has two functions, the first is to react
chemically with the cement, which will finally set and harden, and the
second function is to lubricate all other materials and make the concrete
workable.

The total amount of water required per unit volume of fresh concrete
depends on the following factors.

1. The desired consistency of the concrete, which may be expressed, as will

be seen by the slump or ball penetration test.
2. The maximum size, particle shape and grading of the aggregate.
3. Water reducing or air entraining admixtures.

The use of seawater does not appear to have any adverse effect on the
strength and durability of Portland cement concrete but it is known to cause
surface dampness, efflorescence and staining. Seawater also increases the
risk of corrosion of steel and its use in reinforced concrete is not
recommended.

In general, the presence of impurities in the curing water doesn’t have any
harmful effects, although it may spoil the appearance of concrete.

Water/Cement Ratio

It is the relationship between the total free water and the cement. For a given
type of cement and aggregate, the strength and porosity of the paste-
structure are dependent almost entirely upon the water-cement ratio.
For a given consistency, the lower the water cement ratio in the fresh
concrete, the less voids and more strength, less drying shrinkage and more
durability, meaning all in all a better resulting concrete.

Aggregate

Though the term inert mineral fillers is often used to describe aggregates,
they are not truly inert. Their physical, thermal and at times chemical
properties influence those of the concrete. In choosing aggregate for use in a
particular concrete attention should be given, among other things, to three
important requirements:

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1. Workability when fresh for which the size and gradation of the aggregate
should be such that undue labor in mixing and placing will not be
required.
2. Strength and durability when hardened - for which the aggregate should:
(a) Be stronger than the required concrete strength
(b) Contain no impurities, which adversely affect strength and
durability.
(c) Not undergo into undesirable reaction with the cement.
(d) Be resistant to weathering action.
3. Economy of the mixture - meaning to say that the aggregate should be:
(a) Available from local and easily accessible deposit or quarry.
(b) Well graded in order to minimize paste, hence cement
requirement.

Classification of Aggregates

Aggregates are generally classified based on their source, their chemical

composition, their weight, their size or the mode of preparation.

Based on source

(i) Natural aggregates: obtained from river beds (sand, gravel) or the
quarries (crashed rock)
(ii) Artificial aggregates: generally obtained from industrial wastes such as
the blast furnace slag.

Based on chemical composition

(i) Argillaceous: composed primarily of aluminium (Al2O3), the chief

component of clay.
(ii) Siliceous: composed primarily of silicon dioxide (SiO 2), the principal
ingredient of quartz sand.
(iii) Calcareous: composed primarily of calcium carbonate or lime (CaCO3).

Based on weight

(i) Heavy weight aggregates: includes hematite, barite, limonite, magnetite,

and iron and steel-punching (weight from 2800 to 6400Kg/m3) concrete
is used for radiation shielding.

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(ii) Normal weight aggregates: includes sand, gravel, crushed stone, and air
cooled blast furnace (weight from 2160 to 2560 Kg/m3)
(iii) Lightweight aggregates. (Weight from 1360 kg/m3 to 1840Kg/m3)
for structural concrete, expanded clay, shale, slate, and slag are used
whereas for insulating concrete pumice, scoria, perlite, vermiculite, and
diatomite are used.

Based on size (widely used classification method)

(i) Coarse aggregates (bigger than 4.75mm)

(ii) Fine aggregates (smaller than 4.75mm)

Quality of Aggregates

General requirements for natural aggregates for construction are that

they should be hard, clean and free of any harmful matter to an extent which
would adversely affect the hardening of a binder, or the strength or
durability of the finished material in which they are put. The followings are
properties of aggregates that are used to detect its quality.

1-particle shape: is classified as rounded, irregular, angular, flaky,

elongated, flaky and elongated.

2-surface texture: is assessed as glassy, smooth, granular, rough,

crystalline or honeycombed.

3-Bond: a rougher texture results in a greater adhesion or bond between

the particles and the cement matrix. The same true for angular aggregates
due to its larger surface area. A better bond is also obtained with softer,
porous and mineralogically heterogeneous particles.

4-srength: should be greater tan or atleast equal to the compressive

strength of concrete.
Eventhough is difficult to test the crushing strength of the
aggregate by itself, the required information is usually obtained from
indirect tests: crushing test, abrasion test, impact test, etc.

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Grading of Aggregate

The grading of an aggregate defines the proportions of particles of different

size in the aggregate. The size normally used in concrete varies from 37.5 to
0.15 mm.The table below gives standard series of sieves of square openings
which are used in the sieve analysis of fine and coarse aggregates. Any sieve
down the list has half the clear opening of the one above.

Table: Standard Sieve Size and Square Openings

For Fine Aggregate For Coarse Aggregate

ES series ASTM series ES series ASTM series
Sieve size & Sieve size Clear Sieve size Sieve size Clear
clear opening & clear opening
opening opening

9.5mm 3/8 in 0.375in 75mm 3in 3.00in

4.75mm No.4 0.187in 63mm (2in)* 2.00in

2.36mm No.8 0.0937in 37.5mm 1 ½ in 1.50in

- - - - (1in)* 1.00in

1.18mm No.16 0.0469in 19mm ¾ in 0.75in

600μm No.30 0.0232in 13.2mm (½ in)* 0.50in

300μm No.50 0.0117in 9.5mm 3/8 in 0.375in

150μm No.100 0.0059in 4.75mm No.4 0.187in

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* These sieves are called “Intermediate” or “full size sieves” are not
included in the series for fineness modulus calculations.

Grading is the most important factor in concrete mix design having

considerable effect on the workability and stability of the mix.

Grading is determined by a sieve analysis. A sample of aggregate for sieve

analysis is first surface dried and then sieved through the series, starting with
the largest. Any sieve down the list has half the clear opening of the one
above. The weight retained on each sieve is recorded and the percentage
computed.

The summation of the cumulative percentage of the material retained on the

sieves (not including the intermediate sieves) divided by 100 is called the
fineness modulus. The fineness modulus can be looked upon as a weighted
average size of a sieve on which the material is retained, the being counted
from the finest. For instance, a fineness modulus of 4.00 can be interpreted
to mean that the fourth sieve, 1.18mm (No 16 ASTM) is the average size.
However, it is clear that one parameter, the average modulus can represent
an infinite number of totally different size distributions or grading curves.
Rather it is used as an index to the fineness or coarseness and uniformity of
aggregate supplied.

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Example of sieve analysis of fine aggregate

Sieve size Weight % retained Cumulative % Cumulative %

retained (gr) retained passing
9.5mm 0 0 0 100
4.75mm 30 6 6 94
2.36mm 40 8 14 86
1.18mm 80 16 30 70
600m 160 32 62 38
300m 140 28 90 10
150m 40 8 98 2
Passing 10 2 100 0
150m
Total 500 100 300

Fineness modulus =

Example of sieve analysis of coarse aggregate (19 - 5mm)

Sieve size Weight % Retained Cumulative % Cumulative %

retained (gr) retained passing
37.5mm 0 0 0
*25.44mm 95 1.90 1.90
19mm 730 14.60 16.50
*13.2mm 2818 56.36 72.86
9.5mm 886 17.72 90.58
4.75mm 471 9.42 100.00
2.36mm 0 0 100.00
1.18mm 0 0 100.00
600m 0 0 100.00
300m 0 0 100.00
150m 0 0 100.00
Total 5000 100 #
707.08
*Intermediate sieves.

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#
Sum doesn’t include intermediate sieves.
Fineness modulus

Aggregate is graded so as to have different sizes of particles, from the

required largest size to the very fine.

The use of a well graded mixture of aggregates results in improved

workability of the concrete and economy of the cement since such aggregate
has a decreased amount of voids between the particles and consequently
requires less cement paste. For a given consistence and cement content, a
well-graded aggregate produces a stronger concrete than a poorly graded one
because less water is required to give suitable workability.

With a given sectional dimension of a concrete structural member and

spacing of reinforcements, it is in general recommended to select the
maximum possible size of aggregate. The maximum size and grading are
important because they affect:
(i) Relative volume occupied by the aggregate (i.e. the relative proportions),
hence the economy in producing concrete.
(ii) The surface area of the aggregate which determines the amount of water
necessary to wet all the solids.
(iii) The workability of the mixture.
(iv) The tendency to segregation.
(v) The porosity and shrinkage.
It is important to have a well-graded coarse and fine aggregate with
maximum possible size.

Grading Charts

The results obtained as percent passing or percent coarser can be shown

graphically in aggregate grading charts. On the horizontal axis the sieve
openings are read with arithmetic or logarithmic scale. They are arranged
with increasing sieve-opening sizes from left to right. On the vertical scale
on the left side of the chart the total percentage coarser are indicated as 0 to
100, from bottom to top. The corresponding values for the percentage
passing are read on the right side of the chart.

A grading chart is especially useful in checking whether the results obtained

from the sieve analysis of a given sample fall within the limits specified by

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standards. If they fall within the limits then they are said to satisfy the
standard.

Specific Gravity

The specific gravity of a substance is the ratio between the weight of the
substance and that of the same volume of water. The definition assumes that
the substance is solid throughout.

A section cut through any aggregate shows the existence of pores

(permeable & impermeable). Because of the pores, in concrete technology
distinction is made between absolute specific gravity and bulk specific
gravity.

Let A = Weight of the oven dry sample in air.

B = Weight of saturated surface dry sample in air.
C = Weight of saturated sample in water.

(a) Absolute specific gravity: It is the ratio of the mass of a unit volume
of a material (without pores) to the mass of the same volume of gas-free
distilled water.
(b) Apparent specific gravity: It is the ratio of the weight in air of a
material of given volume (solid matter plus impermeable pores or voids)
to the weight in air of an equal volume of distilled water.
Apparent specific gravity =
(c) Bulk specific gravity: It is the ratio of the weight in air of a given
volume of a permeable material (including both its permeable and
impermeable voids) to the weight in air of an equal volume of water.
Bulk specific gravity =
(d) Bulk specific gravity (saturated surface dry basis): It is the ratio of
the weight in air of a permeable material in a saturated surface dry
condition to the weight in air of an equal volume of water.
Bulk specific gravity (s.s.d) =
In the computation of quantities for concrete mixes, it the specific gravity of
the saturated surface dry aggregates that is always used.

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Rock group Bulk specific gravity
Average Range
Basalt 2.75 2.7 - 2.9
Granite 2.65 2.6 - 2.7
Limestone (firm) 2.65 2.6 - 2.7
Sandstone 2.50 2.0 - 2.6
Trap rock 2.90 2.7 - 3.0

Bulk density

It is the measure of the weight of the aggregate that fills a container of unit
volume, part of which is void because of the loose packing of the particles.
The bulk density is used to convert quantities by weight to quantities by
volume for batching concrete.

Material Kg/m3
Sand (dry) 1520 - 1650
Gravel 1280 - 1440
Crushed stone 1250 - 1400

Porosity, Absorption and Surface Moisture

Various states in which an aggregate may exist.

1. Oven dry - completely dry.
2. Air dry - dry at the surface, some internal moisture but less than the
amount required to saturate the particle.
3. Saturated surface dry - Idealized condition, no free moisture on the
particle, but all voids within the particle filled with water.

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4. Damp or wet - saturated and with free or surface moisture on its surface.

State Oven dry Air dry Saturated surface dry Damp

(moist)

Total none Less than Equal to Greater than

moisture absorp. Cap. Absorp. Capacity absorption capacity
Effective
absorption
Absorption capacity or Surface
total internal moisture
Total moisture

Absorption Capacity, % =

Effective absorption capacity, % =

Free moisture, % =

The absorption capacity is a measure of the porosity of an aggregate.

Material Absorption Capacity, %

by wt.
Sand 0-2
Gravel 0.5 - 1
Basalt 0 - 0.5
Granite 0 - 0.5
Limestone (firm) 0.5 - 1
Sand stone 2-7
Trap rock 0 - 0.5

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Bulking of Sand

Because of their small size and weight, sand particles are easily pushed and
held apart by surface water there by increasing the total volume per given
weight of sand. This phenomenon is known as bulking.

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20

Moisture added, wt.%

A - Fine sand
B - Medium sand
C - Coarse sand

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