CONCRETE

What is Concrete?
Composite material which is made up of binder and filler materials.

Cement + Water

Coarse Aggregate + Fine Aggregate

What do we expect out of Concrete?

Desired Strength (Design strength) Workable (Easily spread able) Durable (Withstand for long life)

Grade of Concrete
M 15, M 20, ...
Average compressive strength after 28 days in N/mm2

Mix

Grades of Concrete
1. Ordinary Concrete M10 to M20
2. Standard Concrete M25 to M55 3. High Strength Concrete >M55

Grades of Cement

- Classified based on its 28 days comp. strength

Grade of Cement
28 days Compressive Strength

(1) 33 Grade Cement

(2) 43 Grade Cement

33 N/mm2
43 N/mm2

(3) 53 Grade Cement

53 N/mm2

Colour of cement
The colour of cement should be greenish-grey for OPC and dark grey for FA based PPC. The colour of OPC depends on its raw materials used. If the raw materials contain more iron, the resultant cement will be darker in colour. As regards PPC, it is related to the type of pozzolona admixted. It should be noted that colour has no effect on any of the properties of cement. The strength is dependent on the correct proportion of raw materials mixed.

SPECIFICATION LIMITS OF CEMENT

Initial Setting Time Final Setting Time Soundness Fineness Comp. Strength (MPa) 3 days 7 days 28 days Grade of Cement 33 43 53 Not less than 30 minutes Not more than 600 min. Not more than 10mm. Not less than 225 m2/kg >16 >22 >33 >23 >33 >43 >27 >37 >53

Hydration of Cement
Cement Cement + Water = Paste Rock like substance 1. C3A

Formed within about 24 hrs of 2. C4AF addition of water

Formed within a week Mainly responsible for earlier strength of 3. C3S cement Formed very slowly Responsible 4. C S 2 for progressive strength

TYPES OF CEMENT
OPC Ordinary Portland Cement
33 Grade (IS:269-1989) 43 Grade (IS:8112-1989) 53 Grade (IS:12269-1987) PPC - Portland Pozzolona Cement (IS:1489) Rapid Hardening Portland Cement (IS:8041) Sulphate Resistant Portland Cement (IS:12330) Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (IS:455) Low Heat Portland Cement (IS:12600)

Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)

Cement in which pozzolana is added with

the cement clinker.

Pozzolana is a siliceous or aluminous

material such as flyash, volcanic ash.

The % of flyash permitted by BIS is 10 to

25%.

OPC Vs PPC
Characteristics
1. % of pozzolana 2. Heat of hydration

PPC
More than OPC Less than OPC, which causes smaller shrinkage and free from cracks Better than OPC Rate of strength gain is lesser than OPC

3. Workability 4. Strength

Age of Cement Vs Strength

Cement loses its strength as it ages. Cement age % of strength

Fresh 15 days
30 days 60 days 90 days 180 days
BIS

100 92
90 85 80 70

prescribes that cement should be used within 90 days of its production. Incase it is used at a later date then it should be tested before use.

Field Tests on Cement

Check

that the bag displays IS mark and number to which it confirms to. Check the manufacturing week on the bag. Open the bag and take a good look at cement, there should be no lumps. Check the colour of cement. It should be uniform. Check that an handful of cement when thrown in a bucket of water floats for some time and then settles down.

CEMENT TESTS
Consistency - Vicat Apparatus Initial Setting Time - With 1mm needle Final Setting Time - With Annular ring Soundness - LeChatlier/Autoclave Fineness - Air Permeability Compressive Strength - 50 Sq.cm. cubes

Aggregates
Coarse Aggregate

In concrete, size from 75 micron to 50mm.

4.75mm Sieve

Fine Aggregate

Its purpose is to fill the voids in the coarse aggregate and to act as a workability agent.

Fine Aggregate (IS:383-1970)

Passing 4.75mm IS sieve.

Natural sand and Crushed stone fines can be

used. Zones I to IV. Zone I to III are preferable. Zone I is too coarse and Zone IV is too fine. Zone IV is not recommended for RCC works.

Grading of Fine Aggregates

IS Sieve Size
10mm 4.75mm 2.36mm 1.18mm 600 300 150

Percentage of Passing For Zone I Zone II Zone III Zone IV 100 100 100 100 90-100 90-100 90-100 95-100 60-95 75-100 85-100 95-100 30-70 55-90 75-100 90-100 15-34 35-59 60-79 80-100 5-20 8-30 12-40 15-50 0-10 0-10 0-10 0-15

Required Properties of Coarse aggregate

Specific Gravity It should have good crushing strength and density. Surface Texture It should be smooth to slightly rough but not honeycombed. Particle Shape It should not be flaky or elongated. Porosity It should have very low water absorption. Stability It should be chemically inert. Impurities It should be free from mineral impurities like mica, clay and silt. Compactness It should be well graded, as then only the voids can be less.

Limits for 40mm & 20mm graded aggregate

% of Passing

Size of Sieve 63mm 40mm 20mm

40mm agg.
100 95 100 30 70

20mm agg.
100 95 100

10mm 4.75mm

10 35 05

25 55 0 - 10

Tests on Coarse Aggregate

1.Crushing Value 2.Impact Value 3.Abrasion Value 4.Flakiness Index

Water
Potable water is generally suitable for mixing of concrete. Shall be free from impurities, oils, acids, alkalies and salts. pH shall be between 6 to 8. Sulphate < 400 mg/lit. Chlorides < 2000 mg/lit. for PCC works < 500 mg/lit. for RCC works Sea water is not permitted for mixing and curing.

Admixtures
To To To To To To To To To To accelerate initial setting cement retard initial setting of cement increase the strength of concrete improve the workability increase bond between old and new concrete increase bond between steel and concrete produce colour concrete inhibit corrosion of concrete produce non-skid surfaces increase resistance to chemical attack.

Accelerators & Retarders

Accelerators
Accelerate

Retarders

setting of Delay the setting of concrete concrete Generally used in cold Generally used in hot environment environment & long haul Assist in early removal Results in reduction in of form work micro cracks Calcium Chloride, Lignin, Sugars, Calcium formate, Tartaric acid and its Calcium nitrate, Sodium salts, etc. Pottasium hydroxide, etc

Superplasticizers (SP)
One of a class of admixtures called water reducers that are used to lower the mix water requirement of concrete. Also called as Superfludizers, super waterreducers and high range water reducers. Water reducer Normal water reducers Superplasticisers % of reduction of water requirement 10 to 15%

About 30%

Classification of SP
(1) Sulphonated melamine formaldehyde (SMF) (2) Sulphonated napthalene formaldehyde (SNF) (3) Modified lignosulphonates (MLS) (4) Sulphonic acid esters (5) Carbohydrate ester, etc. ---------------------------------------------Mostly available are SMF and SNF.

Advantages of Reducing Water Cement ratio

Increased compressive / flexural strength Increased denseness Reduced porosity Increased water tightness Increased resistance to weathering Better bond between successive layers Better bond between concrete and reinforcement Less volume change from wetting and drying

 High workability permits easy and quick placement. High workability can be achieved by (i) Same cement with more W/C (ii) More cement with same W/C But, both methods, lead to segregation, excessive shrinkage, undesirable heat development, and long-term detrimental effects. SP (0.3 0.6% by wt.)About 200mm slump.

Flowing Concrete

Without SP
With 0.30% SP

With 0.60% SP

Production of Concrete

The quantities of cement, fine aggregate and various sizes of coarse aggregates shall be measured by weight. Different types of cement shall not be mixed. Quantity of water shall be measured. Any admixture to be added shall me measured / weighed. Graded coarse aggregate shall be used to get more homogenous concrete. Zone IV sand shall not be used for RCC works.

Necessary correction shall be made for moisture content present in aggregates.

The concrete should have a workability such that it can be placed in the form work and compacted with minimum effort without causing segregation or bleeding.
Compressive Strength of concrete is almost inversely proportional to the W/C ratio. Excess water leads to reduction in strength of concrete.

Curing of Concrete

Curing has a strong influence on the properties of hardened concrete such as durability, strength, and watertightness. Adding water with cement starts the reaction, called as hydration. Hydration produces a stone like substance the hardened cement paste. It is necessary that water be present in the concrete until the reaction reaches equilibrium. Both the rate and degree of hydration, and the resulting strength of the final concrete, depends on the curing process. Once the water is removed, hydration ceases and cannot be restarted.

Methods of Curing
(Sea water should not be used for curing)

Spraying with water. Covering with wet mat. Covering with wet sand. Covering with waterproof paper to prevent evaporation. Flooding with water by building small dams. Steam curing

Tests for Concrete

Slump / Compacting factor Cube strength Beam / Flexural strength Core test Non-Destructive test

Slump Test

Slump Value
a. PCC b. RCC widely spaced RF (Solid Colns., Piers, Abuts., Footing, Well steining) c. RCC medium spaced RF (Pier, abut. Caps, box culverts, well curb, well cap, walls with tk.>300mm) d. RCC & PSC highly congested RF (Deck slab girders, box girder, walls with tk.<300mm) e. Under water concreting Type of Structure Slump in mm 25 40 50 50 75

75 125 100 - 200

Frequency of Sampling
Qty. of Concrete(m3) 1- 5 6 15 16 30 31 50 51 and above No. of Samples 1 2 3 4 4 plus one
additional sample for each additional 50m3.

Acceptance Criteria
Comp. Strength
The

mean stn. determined from any group of four consecutive samples should exceed the specified characteristic comp. stn. by 3 MPa Stn. of any sample is not less than the specified char characteristic comp. stn minus 3 MPa

Factors affecting Performance of Good Concrete

Cement Quantity Cement Curing Composition Compacting
HARDENED Hardened CONCRETE Concrete

Aggregate Size Aggregate Shape

Placing

Transportation

Aggregate Quantity Water Mixing Quantity

Nominal Concrete Mixes ratios and their compressive strength in 28 days.

Grade of Concrete M-5 M - 7.5 M - 10 M - 15 M - 20

Nominal Mix Ratio 1 : 5 : 10 1:4:7 1:3:6 1:2:4 1 : 1.5 : 3

Compressive Strength in MPA 5 7.5 10 15 20

Structural Members and Tentative design Mixes.

Pile Pile cap Piers, Abutments Deck Slab Approach Slab M 35 M 30 M 30 M 25 M 30

Wearing Coat (PCC)

Crash Barrier

M 30
M 40