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CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Cement Concrete

The uniform mixture of well-proportioned amount of cement, sand (fine aggregate), crushed
stones (coarse aggregate), water and sometime other admixtures is called Cement Concrete. On
setting and allowing sufficient time to gain strength, the plastic mixture (called fresh or green
concrete) yields a solid strong hard mass, known as hardened concrete or simply Concrete.

1.2 Structural Uses of Concrete

Cement concrete is widely used in almost every civil engineering constructions like buildings,
bridges, canals, dams, tunnels, tanks, and even in road pavements also. It is most commonly used
construction materials because of the following major reasons:

i) It is excellent resistant to water,

ii) It can be casted into various shapes and sizes,
iii) Its constituents are cheap and readily available and
iv) Lesser energy and tools are sufficient for its preparation.

Cement concrete finds its application in very wide areas of civil engineering construction. Major
areas of use of cement concrete are:

i) Buildings
ii) Bridges
iii) Foundation/abutments of steel structures
iv) Tunnel, sewer and underground structures
v) Slope stabilization/ Soil improvement by shotcreting, retaining structures, etc.
vi) Offshore structures
vii) Nuclear shield
viii)Refractory and fire proofing
ix) Reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete, precast concrete, etc.

1.3 Constituents of Concrete

Cement concrete is made by mixing four major constituents viz. cement, fine aggregate (sand),
coarse aggregate (crushed stones) and water. In modern days, different other materials has been
manufactured, which if mixed with concrete during its preparation, changes the properties of
concrete. These materials which are added to concrete-mix for modification of desired
properties of concrete are called admixtures.

1.3.1 Aggregates
Aggregates are the inert (chemically inactive) materials obtained from disintegration of relatively
strong rocks e.g. pebbles, gravel, broken stones, sand, etc. It contributes to 70-80% volume of
hardened concrete.
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Review from CEM:

 Classification of aggregate (fine, coarse and all-in)

Fine Agg: Most of which passess through 4.75mm sieve
Coarse Agg.: Most of which retains in 4.75mm sieve
All-in-Agg: Mix of both fine and coarse aggeregate
 Gradation of aggregate
Mixing of aggregate of different sizes so as to obtain dense mix
 Fineness modulus of aggregate
FM gives the average rank of sieve on which the material retains, being
counted from the finest sieve.
 Bulking of Sand
Expansion of sand in volume due to moisture content
 Testing of coarse aggregate (water absorption, shape, abrasion, toughness, impact,
soundness and reactivity)
 Testing of sand (for clay, organic materials and salts)

Classification of Aggregates
Aggregates can be classified on different basis
1. Based on Grain Size
a. Fine Aggregate: grain size is between 4.75 mm to 0.15 mm.
b. Coarse Aggregate: grain size between 7.5 mm to 4.75 mm.
c. All in Aggregate: coarse + fine
2. Based on Origin
a. Natural Aggregates: riverbed, riverbank, beaches, pits, rocks, etc. (It may
comprise igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic rocks]
b. Artificial Aggregates: burnt clays, clean broken bricks, scum slag from blast
furnace, steel shots, etc.
3. Based on Density
a. Standard of Normal Aggregates: 1520-1680 kg/m 3, gives concrete of 2300-2500
kg/m3. [Sp. Gravity: 2.5-2.7]
b. High Density Aggregates: >2080 kg/m3, gives concrete of > 4000 kg/m3. Eg Barite.
[Sp. Gravity: >2.7]
c. Lightweight Aggregates: <1120 kg/m3, gives concrete of 350-750 kg/m3. [Sp.
Gravity: < 2.5]
4. Based on shape
a. Rounded : minimum voids, require minimum cement, but poor interlocking and
bonding.
b. Irregular: better interlocking than round, slightly greater voids.
c. Angular: Higher voids, require more cement, but best interlocking and bonding.
d. Flaky: Aggregates having its least dimension less than 0.6 times its mean
dimension. It has poor bonding and has adverse effect on homogeneity of mix and

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its strength. Flakyness index is a quantity defined as percentage by weight of flaky

particles in a sample.
e. Elongated: Aggregates having its larger dimension greater than 1.8 times its mean
dimension. It has poor bonding and not considered suitable for medium to high
strength concrete.
5. Surface texture
a. Glassy
b. Smooth
c. Crystalline
d. Granular
e. Honeycombed or porous

Properties of good Aggregates [Refer IS 383:1970]

Aggregates must be clean, hard, strong, dense, durable, properly shaped, well graded, free from
veins and adherent coatings, chemically stable, free from injurious amount of disintegrated
pieces, alkali, vegetable matter and resistant to abrasion, freezing and thawing. The major
properties are:

a. Inertness and Soundness: It should not react with cement or any other aggregate or
admixture used for concrete making. [reactive silica in aggregate + alkali (Na 20, K20)
aggregate-alkali reaction alkali-silicate gel  swells by absorbing moisture 
Internal pressure  cracking and deterioration]. Also, aggregate shall be able to resist
the specified freezing and thawing test and accelerated soundness test specified in
IS2386:1963.
b. Hardness and Abrasion resistant: It should be sufficiently hard and abrasion resistant to
resist the wearing in fresh and hardened state.
c. Strength: It should be sufficiently strong (|10| stronger than cement paste) to resist the
stress in the concrete in compression and tension.
d. Toughness: It should be sufficiently tough to withstand impact or a vibratory load that is
expected in the concrete.
e. Bond Strength: It should develop sufficient interlocking or bonding with cement paste
and within itself to resist split or shear.
f. Shape: Angular aggregates have best interlocking capacity while rounded are better in
filling voids. However flaky particles (aggregate having its thickness less than 0.6 times
the mean size) and elongated particles (length of any aggregate greater than 1.8 times
the mean size) are not desirable in any case and are limited to small percentage only.

Gradation of Aggregates
When all aggregates of same size are used in making concrete, they could not be packed tightly,
leaving high amount of voids. Principally, the voids between larger particles should be filled by
just smaller particles and so on. So each sized aggregate should be proportioned accordingly so
as to obtain a good dense concrete. Well grading makes low voids which further makes resulting
concrete:
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a. Strong d. Low cement quantity g. No bleeding

b. Durable e. Smooth appearance h. Ease in Work
c. Economic f. Low Shrinkage
However, no perfect grading can be done but grading should be done in specified limits, which
is satisfactory.

Sieve Analysis is performed to determine the quantity of different sizes of aggregates and
approximate mean size in a sample. According to IS 2386, 10 sieves [63, 50, 40 or 31.5, 25, 20 or
16, 12.5, 10, 6.3, 4.75, 2.36 mm] are arranged, larger at top and for general use, 10 kg samples
for coarse aggregate and 1 kg sample for fine aggregate is taken and sieved on the sieve set. Air
drying is done before sieving to reduce clogging, and sieving can be done manually or in Sieve
shaker.

A curve may be drawn between cumulative % passing and sieve size in a semi-log graph which
would be a S-curve. From the graph, mean size of aggregate and any other size like D50, D10,
D90, etc. can be found out. Also the % retained on each sieve should conform to the standard as
per work.

For important structures, coarse aggregate is separated into two-three sizes and proper
quantities are then mixed to result in densely packed concrete.

Fineness Modulus:
It is another method to describe the size of aggregates. It is performed by sieve analysis. Five
sieves [80, 40, 20, 10, and 4.75 mm] are used for coarse aggregate, Six Sieves [4.75, 2.36, 1.18,
0.6, 0.3 and 0.15 mm] are used for fine aggregate and all ten sieves are used for all in one
aggregate. Fineness modulus is the index no. equal to the ratio of cumulative % wt. retained to
an arbitrary number 100. High value of FM indicates coarse size while low represents finer
aggregate. FM gives the average sieve size on which the material retains, being counted from
the finest, i.e. 0.15mm.

Although this method is not much reliable since for different distribution, FM may be same,
because of its easiness, it is also used for gradation of aggregates. Different limits have been
specified for fine, coarse and mixed aggregate of different maximum size.

When it is desired to obtain a combined aggregate of a definite fineness modulus F, the amount
of fine aggregate (X) of fineness modulus Ff, to be mixed with unit volume of coarse aggregate
of fineness modulus Fc is determined from relationship:

𝐹𝑐−𝐹
 𝑋 =
𝐹−𝐹𝑓

1.3.2 Cement
Materials which posses the property of cohesion and adhesion between different materials to
form a strong bond between them are known as cementing materials or Cement. Lime was the
majorly used cementing material in early time. In 1824, Joseph Aspidin invented a new type of
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cement, which on hardening, resembles in looks with famous limestone rock of Portland in
England, and hence the cement is named as Portland Cement. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
is extremely fine powdery cementing substance obtained by burning together of fixed proportion
of calcareous and argillaceous raw materials at high temperature, and grinding the product. It is
now the most important civil engineering cementing material, used in almost all types of
construction works like buildings, bridges, water tanks, tunnels, etc. and works requiring use of
cement is commonly referred as “Civil Works”.

Composition of Cement
Ordinary Portland Cement is made from two basic ingredients namely calcareous (containing
calcium) and argillaceous or siliceous (containing clay i.e. silica plus alumina) materials along with
small amount of other compounds.

The usual ingredients for manufacture of cement and their functions are:

Typical
Limits
Sn Ingredient / Avg Functions
(%)
(%)
 Combines with clay to form Calcium silicates (C3S,
C2S) which imparts strength.
Lime
1 60-67 62  Excess amount will lead to slaking and disintegration
CaO
of cement on setting.
 Smaller amount results in poor strength.
 It is also responsible for strength.
Silica,
2 17-25 22  Higher amount increases strength but will also
SiO2 (clay)
increase hardening and setting time.
 It is responsible for quick setting of cement by
forming aluminates with calcium.
Alumina  It also acts as flux and hence reduces the
3 3-8 5
Al2O3 temperature required in clinker.
 Excess amount will impart quick setting, but reduces
strength badly.
Iron Oxide  It gives extra hardness to cement.
4 0.5-6 3
Fe2O3  It also gives colour to the cement.
 It also imparts colour and hardness to cement.
Magnesia
5 0.1-4 2  Excess amount will make cement unsound [cement
MgO
expands on setting]
Calcium
 It acts as retarder, i.e. it increases the setting time of
Sulphate
6 3-5 4 cement, which otherwise would be only few
(Gypsum)
CaSO4 minutes.
 Very small amount of sulphur trioxide makes cement
Sulphur &
7 1.3-3 1 sound in nature.
its Oxides
 They shall not be greater than prescribed value.
Alkalies 0.4-
8 1  These are considered as impurities in cement.
Na20, K20, ... 1.3
This is only a concise note. Students are required to refer books and class notes for full 1-6
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Excess amount causes efflorescence and may cause


reaction with reactive silica of aggregate in cement
concrete
IS269-1989: Indian standard specification for 33 grade cement, specifies the different
requirements for the composition of cement.

Composition of Clinker (Bogue’s Compounds)

During the process of manufacturing, all the ingredients of cement except gypsum is heated in a
kiln up to a temperature of 1450-1550 oC. This produces the fused mass in the form of balls called
Clinker. These compounds were first identified by R.H Bogue, and hence these compounds are
also called Bogue’s compounds. Grinding of clinker with little amount of Gypsum is done to
obtain Fine Cement. The major compounds of Clinker are as follows:

Sn Compounds Range Characteristics

(Chemical formula) (%)
Abbreviation (Average)
1 TriCalcium Silicate 45-65  Faster rate of reaction (hydration)
(3CaO.SiO2) (48)  Gives early strength
C3S  Higher rate of heat evolution.
 ≈25% water required
2 DiCalcium Silicate 20-35  Slower rate of reaction, and slower hardening
(2CaO.SiO2) (25)  Provides most of ultimate strength
C2S  Lesser rate of heat evolution
 ≈21% water required
3 TriCalcium Aluminate 5-15  First compound to start hydration.
(3CaO.Al2O3) (10)  Responsible for setting of cement in early stage
C3A which would make “flash set” in absence of
gypsum.
 Much Higher Rate of heat evolution.
 ≈40% water required
4 TetraCalcium 8-18  Slow rate of reaction, and least heat evolution.
Alumino-Ferrite (10)  Poor cementing value
(4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3)  Comparatively inactive.
C4AF

In abbreviated notations for Bogue’scompounds, C stands for CaO, S stands for SiO2, A stands for
Al2O3, F stands for Fe2O3 and H stands for H2O. Bogue has suggested a set of equations for
estimating the percentage of major Bogue’s compounds from the percentage of major oxide
compounds present in raw-materials in manufacturing of cement. The equations are as follows:

a. C3S = 4.07 C – 7.60 S – 6.72 A – 1.43 F – 2.85 (SO3)

b. C2S = 2.87 S – 0.754 (C3S)
c. C3A = 2.65 A – 1.69 F
d. C4AF = 3.04 F

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Hydration of cement
When cement comes in contact of water, a chemical reaction occurs between them that result
in formation of new compounds responsible for gain of strength of hardened cement of cement-
concrete. This phenomenon of reaction of cement with water is called hydration of cement.
Hydration is an exothermic reaction and certain amount of heat is produced during hydration
called heat of hydration.

Properties of Cement
Different properties of cement are

1. Fineness: Generally speaking, finer the cement in grain size, the better is its quality. Finer
cement can react with water quickly [exposed surface will be greater] and hence hardens
faster. For OPC, when sieved in IS Sieve no 9 [90 micron] for fifteen minutes, the residue
shall not exceed 10%.
2. Soundness: Cements expand to some extent on setting that may cause cracking.
Soundness is the capacity of cement to form a non-disintegrating, strong mass of cement
on hardening. “Le-Chatelier’s test” is commonly done to determine the soundness of
cement which shall not exceed 10mm for sound cement.
3. Setting time: Setting is the process of changing of plastic state of cement to stiff solid
state, which might not be so strong. Although time required for setting is greatly
influenced by temperature, water content, humidity etc.., for normal cements in normal
condition, initial setting time shall not be less than 30 minutes and final setting time shall
not be more than 10 hours. It can be tested by “Vicat Apparatus”.
4. Compressive Strength: it the strength of cement in compression. It is tested by subjecting
compressive strength to the casted cubes of 7.06 cm wide made from mortar of
composition
𝑝
1 cement : 3 sand(standard) and water in percentage is calculated from:
𝑝 = 𝑛 ∗ 3.5 % where, 𝑝 is the quantity of water required to make paste of
4 𝑛
normal consistency. The compressive strength shall not be less than 175kgf/cm 2 after 7
days of curing on water.
5. Tensile Strength: It is the strength of cement in tension. Briquette of special dumbbell
shape is made from mortar similar for compressive test but the amount of water given
by 𝑝 = 0.195𝑝𝑛 ± 2.5 . They are cured and tested by giving tension in Tensile testing
Machine. It should not be less than 25kgf/cm2 after 7 days.
6. Specific gravity: The specific gravity of cement varies from 2.8 to 3.15.
7. Composition: The chemical composition of cement should be as prescribed, which can be
ascertained by various tests.

1.3.3 Water
Water is another very important ingredient of concrete. Hydration of cement and hence, gain of
strength is only possible when cement reacts with water. Hence, both quantity and quality of
water shall be accurately maintained.

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Approximately, C3S in cement required 24% of water by weight and C2S requires 21% of water
by weight. On an average, 23% of water is required for complete hydration of cement particles.
Approximately, additional 15% of water is required to fill-up gel-pores (space between hydrated-
cement particles), without filling which, further hydration of cement-particle is not possible.
Hence approximately 38% of water by weight of cement is required for complete hydration of
cement particles. Higher water-content will only help in formation of undesirable capillary
cavities.

Chemically, water used for mixing and curing shall be free from any reactive substances that can
harm the concrete in any way. Normally, potable water (suitable for drinking) is considered
satisfactory. Different carbonates, bi-carbonates, sulphates, chlorides, phosphates, etc present
in water have negative impact on strength and durability of concrete. These compounds may
accelerate of retard setting process and may reduce strength and durability. Hence amount of
these chemicals shall be confirmed against the prescription. Similarly, silts and suspended
particles interfere with setting, hardening and bond characteristics of concrete. Hence turbidity
and amount of different types of solids shall be confirmed to be in limits as prescribed.

Sea water is considered unsuitable for concrete works, as it contains large amount of salts and
other compounds. Sea water con only be used for mixing and curing of plain-cement concrete
under un-avoidable situations. The sea-water may affect setting-time, strength and durability of
concrete. In RCC or pre-stressed concrete, the corrosion becomes significant if the sea-water is
used and hence its use is prohibited for such works. It is always advised to provide higher cover
(>7.5cm) for reinforcement in RCC in-case there is no-other option than to use salty-water for
RCC-works.

1.3.4 Admixtures
The basic ingredients of cement concrete is cement, sand (fine aggregate), crushed stones
(coarse aggregate) and water. However, many a times, it is desirable to modify properties of
fresh and hardened concrete, quality performance and durability of concrete. In such case, some
additional substances are mixed in concrete at the time of mixing. Such additional substance
added to cement concrete during mixing is called admixture. Sometimes, similar substances are
added in the manufacturing process of cement during grinding. Such substances are called
additives of cement.

There are various types of admixtures that cause different modification to concrete properties.
Some promotes faster setting of concrete while some retards the setting process of concrete.
Some increases the workability (easiness for handling) while some increases strength of cement.
The choice of admixtures depends on nature of work and the environment in which concrete is
being casted.

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2. PROPERTIES OF FRESH CONCRETE

2.1 Fresh Concrete

Cement concrete is prepared by through mixing of cement, fine aggregates, coarse aggregate
and water with or without other admixtures. The mix in its initial stage is plastic in nature that
can be easily handled and casted as required. The concrete in such plastic stage is called fresh
concrete.

2.2 Hydration of Cement

When cement comes in contact of water, a chemical reaction occurs between them that result
in formation of new compounds responsible for gain of strength of hardened cement of cement-
concrete. This phenomenon of reaction of cement with water is called hydration of cement.

2.2.1 Heat of Hydration

The chemical reaction between cement and water (i.e. hydration) is exothermic. Hence, certain
amount of heat is produced during reaction that depends on compound in cement that is taking
part in hydration. The major hydration reactions of different compounds of cement are as
shown:
a. 2C3S + 6H → C3S2H3 (61%) + 3Ca(OH)2 (39%) + Heat (502 J/gm)
b. 2C2S + 4H → C3S2H3 (82%) + Ca(OH)2 (18%) + Heat (260 J/gm)
c. C3A + 6H → C3AH6 + Heat (867 J/gm)
d. C4AF + 2Ca(OH)2 + 10H → C3AH6 + C3FH6 + Heat (419 J/gm)
where,
C3S2H3 denotes 3CaO.2SiO2.3H2O also called C-S-H gel or calcium silicate gel, that
gives the strength to the hardened cement paste.

From above reactions it can be concluded that maximum heat is produced by hydration of C3A,
followed by C3S and then by C2S. The amount of C4AF is very small, hence it has very little effect
on production of heat. As the rate of hydration of C3A is very high, and at the same time, it his
highest heat of hydration, most of the initial heat production is contributed by C3A. Later, C3S
has major contribution to heat of hydration. Hence, different types of cement are produced with
different rate of heat production by varying the percentage of these compounds to suite the
environment.

2.2.2 Hydration of Different Compounds

Cement has four major compounds that hydrates (reacts with water) to produce a hard
compound having strong adhesive property responsible for strength of cement. The hydration
reactions are shown above. Out of those hydration compounds, C-S-H, produced by hydration of
C3S and C2S, contributes to major strength of the concrete. C-A-H and C-F-H has very little
contribution to strength, while C-H has no contribution to strength of concrete, and just a by-
product.
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Hydration of C3 A and C4 AF
Different compounds have different rate of hydration. C3A hydrates at very high rate as soon as
the water is mixed and producing C6AH6 causing flash-set and lots of heat of hydration. Similar
reaction occurs with C4AF. The reaction is as follows:
 C3A + 6H → C3AH6
 C4AF + 2CH + 10H → C2AH6 + C3FH6
If such reaction occurs, it would be impracticable to mix, transport and place the concrete to
accurate size. Hence, gypsum (calcium-sulphate: CaSO4) is added in the cement to retard its
hydration. The hydration of C3A in presence of gypsum would be as follows:
 C3A + 32H + 3CaSO4 → C6AS3H32 (tri-sulphate hydrate: ettringite)
 C3A + 18H + CaSO4 → C4ASH18 (mono-sulphate hydrate)

In presence of gypsum, C3A reacts with 32 molecules of water to form ettringite that cause large
volume change in concrete (upto 3 times the volume of its ingredients). But, as this reaction
takes place in fresh-stage of concrete, volume-change has no adverse effect. C4AF has also similar
hydration. As the concentration of gypsum goes on decreasing with progression of reaction, the
production of mono-sulphate hydrate is promoted. If C3A is more than 5% in cement, due to high
Alumina and lesser sulphate, at later stage, ettringite itself decomposes to form mono-sulphate
hydrate.

Hydration of C3S and C2S

C2S hydrates at slowest rate and then C3S. Recalling hydration of C3S and C2S,
 2C3S + 6H → C3S2H3 (61%) + 3Ca(OH)2 (39%)
 2C2S + 4H → C3S2H3 (82%) + Ca(OH)2 (18%)
it can be seen that C3S produces comparatively lesser quantity of C-S-H but higher quantity of
useless calcium hydroxide than that produced by C2S. Also, C3S hydrates at faster rate producing
more heat of hydration than C2S. And the quality and density of C-S-H produced by C3S is inferior
to that produced by C2S. Hence, it can be said that, cement with more C3S has faster rate of gain
of strength with higher heat of hydration suitable for concreting at cold temperatures but
produces concrete of lesser strength. However cement with higher C 2S content has slower rate
of strength gain, but the ultimate strength is much higher.

The by-product Ca(OH)2 which occupies 20-25% volume of concrete has not only zero
contribution to strength of concrete, but sometimes harmful to concrete also. Particularly in
hydraulic structures, it dissolves in water and gets leached, making the concrete porous. If the
concrete is used in soils or water containing sulphates, the calcium-hydroxide forms calcium-
sulphates which further reacts with C3A causing deterioration of concrete by forming ettringite
on hardened concrete.

In modern cement, certain additives are added (or admixtures are added during concrete mixing)
that consumes Ca(OH)2 thus eliminating the bad effect of it. The only advantage of it is that, being
alkaline in nature, it maintains the pH value around 13 in concrete which resists the corrosion of
reinforcements in RCC structures.
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2.3 W/C ratio

In concrete, major function of water is to react with cement (hydration) to form hard and strong
compound. As the aggregate is inert, the amount of required water is directly related to amount
of cement used in the concrete. Hence the ratio of amount of water to amount of cement
(usually by weight), also called water-cement ratio (w/c), is very important for hydration of
cement and quality of concrete.

Aggregate are very strong compared strength of cement paste. Hence, strength of concrete is
highly dependent on strength of cement-paste. And the strength of cement paste depends on
its compactness and hydrated compounds. Normally, as the hydration proceeds, the water is
used up and the voids are filled-up by the hydrated compounds (as the volume of compounds
increased in hydration). Hence, more the cement hydrated, more is the compactness of paste
and more is the strength. However, if too much water is used, some voids remain un-occupied
resulting in low-strength concrete.

Though use of more water in concrete makes is more easy to handle, it degrades the strength of
concrete. Hence minimum water, but sufficient for hydration of cement gives the most strong
concrete. In 1918, Abram’s gave a equation for strength of concrete which is commonly referred
as Abram’s law as:
𝐴
𝑆 = , provided the mix is workable.
𝐵𝑥

where, x = water-cement ratio by volume.

A = constant (=14000 lbs/[Link]. for 28 days) (=96.53 MPa)
B = constant (=7)

2.4 Production of Fresh and Hardened Concrete

The ingredients for both good and bad concrete are same. Hence proper procedures and
methods are required for preparation of good concrete. Concrete is firstly prepared in plastic
form, which is casted to required shape using formworks and cured to allow for hydration and
development of strength. Different stages of concreting work are: Batching, Mixing, Handling,
Placing, Compaction, Curing and Finishing.

2.4.1 Batching
The right proportioning of ingredients to be mixed for preparation of concrete is called batching
of materials for concrete production. Unless the materials are mixed in right proportion, even
the best quality materials may also make very bad concrete. Hence the proportioning is
determined based on material properties, required strength, durability and workability (easiness
in handling) of concrete. Batching can be done in two ways viz. volume batching and weight
batching.

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Volume Batching:
In this method, the proportioning of materials (ingredients for concrete viz. cement, fine
aggregate, coarse aggregate and water) is done by measuring their volume. Volume batching
shall be done only if it is allowed for the construction and the proportioning is specified based
on their volume.

Features of Volume Batching:

 Easy method
 Erroneous method
a. Depends on level of compaction
b. Depends on shape and size of aggregates
c. Depends on moisture content on sand (bulking)
 Done for less important or minor job
 1 – bag cement (50 kg) is taken as 35 litres
 Volume of aggregate is measured by measuring box
a. Measuring box may be made from any material with pre-defined capacity
(usually 35-litres – equal to one-bag of cement)
b. Standard gauge box is recommended (usually wooden) with 33.33cmx30
cm base and 45cm height, marked in interval of 5cm such that each 5cm
height is equal to 5 litres.
 Though water is used based on experience in local construction, w/c ratio of 0.5
by weight (i.e 25 litres of water per bag of cement) shall be maintained.

Common proportion of volume batching:

Sn. Desired Strength Cement Sand Coarse Aggregate

1 M10 1 3 6
2 M15 1 2 4
3 M20 1 1½ 3
 M10 represents concrete mix generating concrete of strength (within 95%
Confidence Interval) equal to 10N/mm2 when casted, cured and tested
according to corresponding standard.
 For higher strength, volume batching shall not be done.
 water cement ratio shall be around 0.5-0.55
 The proportion does not guarantee the desired strength for all conditions
of working environment and material properties.

Weight Batching:
In this method, proportioning of ingredients is done by measuring the weight of individual
materials.

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Feature of Weight Batching:

 Correct method
 Requires weighing arrangements: Manual or automatic weighing plants are available.
 Moisture content in aggregates shall be adjusted in proportioning.
 Most common method and done for any size of job. In large job, this method is
mandatory.
 Depending on size of job, it can be done on per-bag cement basis or higher quantity of
cement for large batch. In continuous mixer, batching shall also be done on continuous
basis.
 Water shall also be weighted (or its volume can also be measured as one litre of water is
equivalent to 1-kg of water)

2.4.2 Mixing
Through mixing of materials is essential for uniform and homogeneous concrete. There are two
methods of mixing: Hand mixing and Machine mixing.

Hand Mixing
In this method, mixing is done by using tools but with power of hands of workers.

 Suitable for small works.

 Additional 10% cement is required to compensate loss of strength than machine mixing.
 Shall be mixed over impervious floor
 Done on per-bag basis
 The mixing procedure shall be as follows:
o Lay 50% Coarse Aggregate
o Lay 50% Fine Aggregate
o Add 100% cement distributed over the aggregate
o Add remaining Fine Aggregate
o Add remaining Coarse Aggregate
o Dry mix from one side spreading on layer of 20cm
o After dry mix, sprinkle water and continue mixing to get homogeneous fresh
concrete.

Machine Mixing
In this method, power of machine is used for mixing of concrete,

 Used for medium to large works (mandatory)

 Turns out to be economical for large works.
 Gives more homogeneous and uniform mix at much lower w/c.
 Different types of machine mixer are available.
 During pouring, segregation shall be noted.

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 The loading in mixer shall be as : 50% CA + 50% FA + 100% Cement + 50% FA + 50% CA.
25% water shall be loaded before loading other materials and 75% of water immediately
after loading of other materials.
 If plasticizers is to be used, 1-lit of water shall be reserved and mixed after 50% of mixing.
 The drum shall be rotated for 25 to 30 revolutions. The revolution speed of the mixer
varies but the common speed is 15 to 20 revolutions per minute.

Machine Mixer

Pan Type Drum Type

Tilting

Non-tilting

Reversing

Forced Action

2.4.3 Transportation (of fresh Concrete)

Mortar
Pan
Wheel
Helicoptor Barrow/
Cart

Means of Bucket
Pump /
Pipeline Concrete and Rope
/ Skip and
Transport Hoist

Truck
Mixer /
Chute
Transit
Belt Mixer
Conveyor

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Concrete shall be moved from the mixing site to formworks. Due attention shall be given to avoid
loss in homogeneity and workability during transportation. There are different methods of
transportation and shall be chosen based on site condition and requirements. Some methods
are listed below.

Pumpable concrete shall be used if pumping is to be used. Such concrete has relatively smaller
size of aggregate and higher workability with slump value of at least 75mm.

2.4.4 Placing
After transportation, the concrete shall be placed (usually on formwork) to the right shape and
size. Depending on the site, different things shall be considered during placing. Few are discussed
below:

 For Foundation (on earth):

o Any vegetation or organic material shall be removed.
o Loose earth shall be removed or compacted.
o The earth shall be damped.
 For Slab:
o Concrete shall be dumped, not dragged.
o For high thickness, concrete shall be done in layers, compacting each layer.
For RCC works, the thickness of each layer shall be 15 to 30 cm
For mass concreting, the thickness of each layer shall be 35 to 45 cm.
o During compaction of layered concrete, vibrator needle shall penetrate to
previous layer also.
 Concreting in previous layer (old concrete):
o Cold joint shall be avoided.
o The joint shall be well cleaned with wire-brush and water-jet. Sand blasting can
be used where necessary.
o The surface shall be thoroughly wetted, and a thin layer of cement slurry may be
applied to the surface, before concreting.
o If further concrete is necessary, the top surface shall be left rough for proper
bonding.
 For RCC:
o The placement and cover of the rebar shall be checked before placing concrete.
o Mould-releasing agent (plastic, grease, other chemical) shall be applied on surface
of formwork.
 For Column
o Tremie or can shall be used.
o Or special formworks with opening on one side at different height shall be used.
o Considerations shall be made to avoid segregation.
 For underwater concreting:
o Tremie pipe can be used.

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 Slip-formwork:
o It is a special method in which same formwork is used to proceed concreting of
long/tall structure, concreting a portion at a time.
o Special considerations shall be made to avoid cold-joint.
o During removal of formwork, extra care shall be made to avoid damage to the
concrete.

2.4.5 Compaction
The concrete shall be appropriately compacted in place right after placing. The primary objective
of compaction is to remove the air/voids that might be trapped during mixing, transporting or
placing of concrete. As the air/voids drastically reduces the strength of concrete, compaction is
very necessary to achieve the desired strength. The voids are more present in stiff concrete (with
lower w/c) and more attention shall be given in compaction of such concrete. Basically, 100%
compaction (i.e. 0% air entrapped) is desired for impervious and durable concrete. The major
methods of compaction are as follows:

 Hand Compaction
o Can be done for concrete of upto 15-20 cm layers.
o Concrete of high consistency is required for hand compaction.
o It can be done in three ways viz.
 Rodding
 Ramming and
 Tamping
 Compaction by Vibrator
o It is suitable in general purpose concreting.
o It can compact concrete of even lower w/c ratio.
o Vibration set particles in motion, reducing the friction causing temporary
liquefaction. It makes the particle settle well.
o Different types of vibrators are available for different purpose as:
 Needle (internal) vibrator or Immersion vibrator – for common concreting
 Formwork vibrator – for thin layer of concreting
 Table vibrator - in labs
 Platform vibrator – In precast Industry
 Surface vibrator – For thin concrete sections / Road
 Vibratory roller – in Mass concrete
 Compaction by pressure and jolting – In precast industry / Block manufacture
 Compaction by spinning – in pipe manufacture

2.4.6 Curing
Providing favorable environment for concrete to gain strength in desired time without harmful
changes is called curing. The strength of concrete is achieved by hydration of cement.
Approximately 23% water for hydration and 15% water to fill-up capillary pores (gel) by weight

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of cement is required for complete hydration. Though, the water used during mixing is generally
greater than required, it evaporated from the surface, leaving dry top-layer of concrete, that may
cause rapid shrinkage and insufficient hydration.

Curing is done to keep the concrete moist and warm enough so that the hydration of the cement
continues at optimum level for best gain in strength without any adverse effects. Different
common methods of curing are as follows:

 Water Curing
o Immersion – Precast
o Ponding – slabs, pavements
o Sprayings – plasters, vertical concrete
o Wet-covering (saw-dust, sand, jute, etc) – vertical surface, concrete in difficult
position
 Membrane Curing
o Concrete covered with thin membrane to prevent evaporation loss.
o Generally used after 2-3 days of water-curing
o Useful in inaccessible areas
o A thin impervious layer is created on the surface of the concrete.
o Eg. Bitumen, polyethylene, water-proof paper, rubber compounds, etc.
 Application of Heat
o Steam curing gives uniform temperature – no differential expansion crack
o Fast method, and useful in conjusted area.
o Useful in pre-cast industry
o Heat increases the rate of hydration as-well.
 Miscellaneous
o Chemicals like calcium chloride are used as surface coating. It absorbs moisture
from atmosphere as stays wet for longer period.

2.4.7 Finishing
Concrete can be given desired finishing during casting, during partially hardened state or after
fully hardened state. Finishing can be given to concrete in major three ways:

 Formwork Finish
 Surface Finish
 Applied Finish

2.5 Workability and its tests

Workability is the measure of the ease in mixing, transporting, placing and compaction of
concrete due to the property of concrete itself. In normal concrete, water provides lubrication
for easy handling of concrete and higher amount of water makes the concrete more workable
by fluidizing the mix. Just being mobile or higher fluidity may not be workable for certain types
of work.

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Road Research Laboratory, UK defines workability as “the property of concrete, which

determines the amount of useful internal work necessary to produce full compaction”.

2.5.1 Measurement of Workability

Workability can be measured by various methods. Some common methods of measurement of
workability are:

a) Slump Test,
b) Compaction Factor Test,
c) Flow Test,
d) Kelly ball Test,
e) Vee Bee Consistometer Test, etc.

Slump Test
 This test measures the consistency property of the concrete
 It is not suitable for very dry or very wet concrete
 It’s simple and easy to use in lab as well as in site.
 It’s most widely used method.

This method uses a special metallic mould in shape of truncated circular pyramid with internal
diameter of 20cm and 30m at two ends. The length (height) of the mould is 30cm that has a flat
non-absorbent metal base. The procedure of carrying out the slump test is as follows:

 The mould is erected over the plate with smaller-dia side on top.
 Mould is filled with fresh concrete in 3-4 layers, each layer being compacted by tamping
25 times with 60cm long tamping steel rod of 16mm dia.
 The top surface is leveled. The height of concrete equals height of mound, i.e. 300mm.
 Then, the mould is lifted vertically, that allows concrete to subside.
 The new height is measured and the height of subsidence is calculated.
 This subsidence height in mm is taken as slump-loss or slump value.

Compaction Factor Test

This method is developed by Road-Reseach lab, UK and is based on energy principle. It measures
the level of compaction in concrete on application of fixed amount of energy for compaction by
free-fall. This method is regarded as more precise and sensitive than slump test. It utilizes three
moulds, two are frustum of cone and one is cylinder. The first mould has diameter of 25.4cm and
12.7cm with a height of 27.9 cm. The second mould has diameter of 22.9cm and 12.7cm with a
height of 22.9cm. And the third mould (cylinder) has diameter of 15.2cm and a height of 30.5cm.

The moulds are so arranged that, concrete from first (top) mould falls on second mould (middle)
and to the third mould (cylinder). The procedure of carrying out this test is as follows:

 Fill the first mould without compaction, closing the bottom door.
 Open the bottom door, to make the concrete free-fall and collect on the second could.

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 Again open the bottom door of the concrete to free-fall and collect on cylinder.
 Cut the extra concrete in the cylinder to level.
 Determine the weight of the partially compacted concrete due to free-fall in the cylinder
(by weighting with concrete and once empty)
 Remove the concrete from cylinder and refill the cylinder in 5cm layers, each layer being
compacted with tamping rod or by vibration.
 Then the compaction factor is determined as the ration of weight of partially compacted
concrete to the weight of fully compacted concrete.
(𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒)
i.e. C.F.= (Weight of fully compacted concrete)

Flow Test
It is another method of determining workability of concrete in which, concrete is allowed to flow
or spread by subjecting to jolting. The amount of flow indicates the quality of concrete with
respect to consistency, cohesiveness and proneness to segregation.

It consists of a mould in shape of frustum of cone with diameters of 17cm at top and 25 cm at
bottom, that rest on a larger-dia plate, with arrangements of jolting the plate, by raising to
12.5mm and suddenly dropping. The procedure for carrying out this test is as follows:

 Put the mould over the impervious plate with smaller dia on top.
 Fill the mould in two layers rodding each layer 25 times with 16mm dia and 61cm long
steel tamping rod.
 Level the top surface
 Gently lift the mould vertically up and remove it.
 Jolt the plate by raising and dropping through 12.5mm, 15 times in about 15 seconds with
a jolting arrangement provided in the table. It will spread the concrete to larger area.
 The diameter of flowed concrete is measured (average of different directions).
 The flow is determined as:
(spread dia. in cm) − 25cm
% flow = ∗ 100%
25

The common flow value ranges from 0 to 150%.

2.5.2 Factors affecting Workability of Concrete

For concrete to be workable, it shall offer minimum friction between the particles, between
particle and formwork and reinforcements. Major factors affecting workability are as follows:

a) Water Content: More water increases the fluidity and hence the workability of the
concrete, but it reduces the strength as well. Hence, if more water is required, cement
shall also be added to maintain the water-cement ratio.
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b) Mix Proportion: Mix with high aggregate to cement ration (lean mix) has lesser paste for
lubrications resulting in lesser workability.
c) Size of Aggregates: Larger size of aggregate has relatively lesser surface area requiring
lesser paste for wetting, which increases the workability.
d) Shape of Aggregates: Rounded (and cubical) aggregate has lesser surface area (and voids
as well) for wetting by paste and has lesser friction as well, thus increasing the
workability.
e) Surface Texture of Aggregates: Aggregate with rough texture has higher friction and
higher surface area as well thus reducing the workability, but has better bonding.
f) Grading of Aggregates: Well graded aggregates has less voids and hence more paste is
available for lubricating (paste is not trapped in voids), as well as it makes the concrete
more cohesive and aggregate can easily slide over each other, thus greatly increasing the
workability.
g) Use of Admixtures: Admixtures like plasticizers and super-plasticizers highly increases the
workability. Other admixtures like air-entraining agents, fine glassy pozzolanic materials,
etc also increase the workability of concrete.

2.6 Segregation and Bleeding

2.6.1 Segregation
Separation of constituents of materials of concrete is called segregation. It breaks the
homogeneity of the concrete causing strength degradation and other undesirable effects. Due
to variation of sp. gravity of different constituents, they tend to separate under influence of
gravity. Segregation can be categorized in three types:

a) Coarse aggregate separating our or settling down from rest of the concrete.
b) Paste or matrix separating away from the coarse aggregate.
c) Water separating out from the rest of the material (also called bleeding).

Cohesive mix with optimum water and proper graded aggregate of proper size, shape and
texture has minimum segregation. In such case, the matrix is attached to aggregate and the
tendency of segregation is highly reduced.

Factors promoting segregation:

a) Badly proportioned mix
b) Insufficient mixing (bad mixer)
c) Excess water
d) Dropping of concrete from height
e) Transporting through long distance
f) Over vibration (wet-mix)
g) Quickly working on surfaces

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Remedies:
a) Remixing of concrete for a short time after long transportation
b) Cohesive or rich mix shall be prepared
c) Delayed finishing
d) Use of more cement or finer cement.
e) Use of admixtures like air-entraining agent

2.6.2 Bleeding
It is a particular form of segregation in which water moves in the concrete. Usually, water comes
out to the surface and accumulates. Bleeding occurs more in wet mix or when laid in thin
sections. Badly proportioned or insufficiently mixed concrete has also higher bleeding problem.
The bleeding in concrete has following issues:

 Working (finishing) on bleeded surface forms cement-paste with high water content
called Laitance. It has very low strength when hardened (due to high w/c) causing weak
surface that may strip off in future or generate dust or mud.
 If the bleeded water is mixed with top-layer concrete, it will develop higher shrinkage
cracks.
 If concreting is being done in layers (or concreting shall be done over that in future), the
bonding will be poor. Hence, the laitance shall be removed before next lift of the
concrete.
 In some cases, during movement of water, some of it may accumulate under aggregates
and reinforcements in RCC (more under flaky particles), causing poor bond.
 The movement of water during bleeding forms channels causing higher permeability
reducing the strength and durability of the concrete.

Early bleeding when concrete is in fully plastic stage is however not harmful and may even helpful
if concrete can be compacted to subside and fill the cavities after bleeding. Bleeding delays the
finishing work and application of curing application (if compound is to be used). The amount of
bleeding as expressed as:
Quantity of bleeded water
% bleeding = ∗ 100%
Total water in conc

2.7 Concreting in extreme temperatures

The rate of hydration of concrete is very dependent on the temperature on which it is cured.
There arise different problems while concreting in very cold or very hot temperatures, both
during the concreting and curing. This is discussed in the following sections.

2.7.1 Concreting in Cold Weather

The major effects of cold-weather (very low temperature) in concreting are as follows:

a) Delay in setting and hardening

o Rate of hydration decreases with decrease in temperature.

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o It increases the time for formworks and curing.

o The progress of work will be slow, that affects economy.
o It also makes the concrete more vulnerable to frost action.
b) Freezing of concrete in early stage
o If water is frozen, then the hydration stops.
o The expansion of water in concrete during freezing induces crack on low-strength
concrete, as the hardening process is not sufficient.
o It also affects the durability..
c) Freezing and thawing cycle
o The alternate freezing and thawing causes early disintegration and fatigue in the
concrete,

To prepare good quality concrete in very cold weather, different precautions shall be adopted
based on volume and location of the job as well as available resources. The common precautions
for concreting in cold weather are as follows:

a) Shielding of wind in the working area and insulating the plant with insulators.
b) The site shall be well managed for quick delivery, finishing and covering of the concrete
with insulator like straw, jute sacks, plastic sheets, water-proof paper, etc.
c) The material for concrete can be pre-heated. Water can be easily headed in a container.
Coarse aggregate can be heated with closed steam coils under stock pile, or by steam or
hot air, if stored in a room. Sand can be heated over steel plates, while cement shall not
be heated.
d) The form-work or sub-grade can also be heated (to the temperature of concrete) so that
heat of concrete is not absorbed by them.
e) Special type of cement like rapid hardening cement, high alumina cement, etc. can be
used that have higher heat of hydration and keeps the concrete warm.
f) Accelerating admixtures is also commonly used that increases the rate of hydration.
Calcium chloride is a good accelerator, but use in higher amount increases the corrosion
in steels embedded in RCC.
g) Where possible, electrical heating can also be adopted for curing (maintaining the
temperature) of the concrete by passing alternating current through it.
h) Where caging is possible, specially in pre-cast industry, low pressure steam (or hot air)
circulation maintains the temperature thus accelerating the hydration.

2.7.2 Concreting in Hot Weather

While concreting in very hot weather also, certain problems arises. Typically, if the
temperature exceeds 40oC, then these problems are high. The major problems in hot weather
concreting are:

a) Rapid rate of hydration and setting causing early stiffening of the concrete.
b) Rapid evaporation and loss of water from the surface and formwork.
c) Higher plastic shrinkage due to faster drying.

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d) Less time for finishing.

e) Difficulty in air-entrainment and curing.

Different measures can be adopted to reduce the effects of hot-weather in concreting. The
major precautions that are commonly employed for hot-weather concreting are:

a) Management of Materials
o Aggregates shall be stock-piled in shade.
o Regular sprinkling of water to aggregate.
o Arrangement for circulation of cold air in aggregates.
o Using cold water (upto 5oC).
o Low heat cement can be used.
o Retarding admixtures are also helpful in delaying the setting process.
b) Management of Concreting Work:
o Scheduling the concreting work in evening (but with sufficient lighting)
o Use of more masons for quickly finishing the work.
o Transporting the concrete in deep containers.
o Covering of concrete with moist materials as early as possible.
c) Curing of Concrete:
o The concrete shall be cured with cold water.
o The surface shall be continuously made wet either by ponding, or using water
absorbing materials in surface like cloth, jute, sand, etc.
o If possible, shade shall be maintained on the concrete.

2.8 Types and functions of admixtures

Admixtures are the materials other than cement, fine aggregate (sand), coarse aggregate (gravel)
and water that is mixed with other ingredients during mixing of concrete, to modify the required
properties of fresh or hardened concrete to suit the need.

Sometimes, while modifying some desired property, it has negative effect on some other
property. Hence, accurate assessment of effect of admixtures shall be done before their use,
especially when using multiple admixtures or using them in larger quantity. Similar to
admixtures, if some materials is added during manufacture of cement (generally while grinding
clinker), they are called additives.

Admixtures can be broadly classified in two groups, viz. chemical admixtures and mineral
admixtures.

a) Chemical admixtures: These are the admixtures containing basic ingredients as

chemicals. They are usually availiable in liquid form and used in relatively low doses
(0.04% to 5% by weight of cement).
b) Mineral admixtures: These are the admixtures basically obtained from various natural or
artificial minerals. They are usually available in fine powder and used in relatively higher
dose (upto 80% by weight of cement).
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Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) has specified different types of chemical admixtures
(IS9103:1999) as given below:

a) Accelerating admixtures (Accelerators)

b) Retarding admixtures (Retarders)
c) Water reducing admixtures (Plasticizers)
d) Super-plasticizing admixture (Super plasticizer)
e) Air-entraining admixture
f) Water-proofing admixture

Similarly, ASTM (C494) has specified various types of chemical admixtures as below:

a) Type A: Water Reducing Admixture

b) Type B: Retarding Admixture
c) Type C: Accelerating Admixture
d) Type D (A+B): Water Reducing and Retarding Admixture
e) Type E (A+C): Water Reducing and Accelerating Admixture
f) Type F: High Range water Reducers (HRWR / Super-plasticizer)
g) Type G (F+B): High Range Water Reducer and Retarding Admixture

Beyond above classification, there are various other types of admixtures that have different
effect on concrete. Some of them are listed below:

 Water-proofing admixture,
 Gas forming admixture,
 Air detraining admixture,
 Grouting admixture,
 Workability admixture,
 Bonding admixture,
 Coloring admixture,
 Alkali-aggregate expansion inhibiting admixture,
 Corrosion inhibiting admixture, etc.

2.8.1 Plasticizer (Water-reducer)

In certain situations, like deep members, concreting in hot weather, pumping of concrete, etc.,
highly workable concrete is required. Just increasing water for increasing workability will be
unmindful. Conventionally, workability can be increased by:

 Improving gradation of coarse aggregate

 Use of higher proportion of fine aggregate
 Use of more cement and water (same water-cement ratio)

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However, these methods have only little impact and use of higher cement is uneconomical too.
Thus, special type of chemical compound which can be mixed with concrete for increasing the
workability of concrete is called plasticizer.

The organic or combination of organic and inorganic substances, which allows reduction of water
content for given workability (or increases workability for given water-cement ratio) is called
plasticizing admixture or plasticizer. They are also referred to as water-reducers. They contain:
 Anionic surfactants like lignosulphonates and their derivatives, salts of
hydrocarbons, etc.,
 Nonionic surfactants like polyglycol esters, acids of hydroxylated carboxylic acids
and their derivatives,
 Other compounds like carbohydrates.

These plasticizers are used in amount of 0.1% to 0.4% by weight of cement and can reduce water
by 5-15% or increase slump by 30-150mm. Some plasticizers entrain air also, hence it shall also
be considered while using plasticizers that air entrainment may reduce the strength of concrete
than expected.

The major phenomenon by which plasticizers work are:

a) Dispersion of floc: Formation of floc entraps water. The plasticizer induces the negative-
charge on the particles, causing the particles of floc to repell each other and disperses,
releasing the entrapped water. Hence, more water will be available for lubrication and
increases the workability.
b) Plasticizers also reduce the surface-tension of water thus increasing the flowability and
penetration of water to every part of concrete.
c) They also create lubricating film on surface of particles which increases the workability
of concrete.
d) Some plasticizers have retarding effect also in initial stage, which reduces the water-
consumption due to hydration and hence, more water is available during mixing, that
increases the workability.

Due to all these advantages just by using in very small quantity, they are widely used to increase
workability, increase strength or to reduce cement-content.

2.8.2 Super-plasticizers (High range water reducers)

They are improved and more powerful version of plasticizers with high water reducing capacity.
They are used when high degree of water reduction is required maintaining the required
workability especially for flowing concrete, self-leveling concrete, self-compacting concrete,
high-performance concrete, etc. Upto 30% water reduction is achievable with the use of super-
plasticizers maintaining water-cement ratio of just 0.25.

Unlike use of higher water, they increase workability maintaining homogeneous and cohesive
concrete without tendency of segregation or bleeding. However some of them may entrain air,
its effect shall be considered.
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Different common chemicals normally available in market as super-plasticizers are:

a) Sulphonated Melamine- Formaldehyde condensates (SMF)

b) Sulphonated Naphthalene-Formaldehyde condensates (SNF)
c) Modified lignosulphonates
d) Carboxylated acrylic easters copolymers
e) Others (eg. sulphuric-acid easters, amide polysaccharide mixtures, carbohydrate easters,
etc.)

2.8.3 Retarders (Retarding Admixtures)

They are such admixtures that delay the setting time of concrete (or mortar). As it slows down
the hydration rate, it keeps concrete workable for long period of time giving additional time for
mixing, placing, compaction and finishing.

They are normally used to delay stiffening of concrete when travelling through long distance, or
for architectural finishing. It also prevents early slump-loss when concreting in high
temperatures.

They are used in very small quantity. 0.05% sugar by weight of cement has noticeable retarding
effect, while more than 0.2% may virtually prevent setting. Common chemicals used as retarders
are:

a) Calcium sulphate (gypsum)

b) starch / sugar and carbohydrate derivatives
c) cellulose
d) lignosulphonic-acids
e) Soluble zinc salts, borates, etc.

2.8.4 Accelerators (Accelerating Admixtures)

These admixtures increases (accelerates) the rate of hydration thus shorten the setting and
hardening time. They are used in urgent-repair work, in cold weather concreting, or under-water
concreting. They are also used in pre-cast industry for early formwork removal, or when rapid
construction is desired. However, they reduces the strength of concrete to some extent, hence
their use shall be limited.

Common accelerating admixtures are:

a) Calcium chloride
b) Calcium nitrite/ calcium nitrate/ calcium formate
c) Sodium chloride/ sodium fromate
d) Barium chloride
e) Triethanolamine
f) Soluble carbonates, silicates and flurosilicates, etc.

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Though chloride admixtures (specially calcium chloride) are economic and effective admixture
as accelerator, its use is limited to 0.15% of cement for RCC and 0.06% for pre-stressed concrete
as it promotes corrosion in reinforcing steel.

2.8.5 Air-entraining Admixtures

These admixtures induce millions of small micro-air bubbles of 5-80 micrometre, thus producing
air-entrained concrete. Unlike entrapped air of random size and random position these
admixtures produces micro-air bubbles of almost uniform size and uniformly dispersed with
average spacing of 200-250 micrometre.

These micro-air bubbles act as flexible ball-bearing thus increases workability. Also it reduces the
segregation and bleeding of concrete. The most important advantage of air-entrainment is the
improvement of resistance to freezing and thawing action and increase in durability.

Water is held in concrete in combined state, gel-pores or capillary pores. Combined water do not
freeze, while gel-pores are too small to form ice. Hence ice-formation occurs in capillary pore of
concrete during very cold weather, causing volume increase (about 9%) causing pressure
development and cracking of concrete. These micro-air bubbles provide the space to escape
excess water or adjust the volume increase due to ice formation thus releasing the pressure and
increase the durability of concrete.

However, there is some loss of strength of concrete due to increase in voids, and corresponding
adjustment may be required in mix-proportioning. Upto 10% air-entrainment can be done to
produce concrete especially for insulation purpose.

Natural wood resins, animal or vegetable fats and oils, fatty acids, aluminium powder, etc. are
used in manufacture of air-entraining admixtures.

2.8.6 Pozzolanic or Mineral Admixtures

They are finely divided mineral powder (called pozzolana) that can replace high proportion of
cement (upto 80% by weight of cement can be mixed). They have following advantages on
concrete:

a) It acts as mineral filler, making the concrete dense and watertight, and increases
workability in fresh state.
b) It reduces the cost of cement, as most of the pozzolana is derived from waste product of
other industries.
c) It reduces the risk of sulphate attack to concrete by consuming the calcium-hydroxide, a
byproduct of hydration. Instead, it forms strong calcium-silicate gel thus increasing the
ultimate strength of concrete.
i. C3S + H2O → C-S-H + Ca(OH)2
ii. C2S + H2O → C-S-H + Ca(OH)2
iii. Ca(OH)2 + H2O + Pozzolana → C-S-H

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d) Due the replacement of certain volume of cement, the rate of hydration is less causing
low heat of hydration, and slow gain of strength. Hence early strength is reduced, but
ultimate strength is not hampered.

Common mineral admixtures (pozzolana) used in cement concrete are:

a) Blast-furnace slag
b) Fly-ash
c) Silica fume
d) Coal ash
e) Rice-husk ash
f) Surki (Burnt brick/clay dust)
g) Stone dust, etc.

2.9 Quality control at the site

Good design is not sufficient but its actual implementation is required for full quality of work and
performance of structure as expected. Hence quality control at site is very important for
expected outcome. For overall quality of concreting works, quality shall be maintained on each
steps of works (workmanship) and materials. The major requirements for quality work are
discussed in following section.

2.9.1 Using Quality Material

[Link] Cement: Cement used shall confirm the relevant standards. Engineer shall not rely on
any advertisements or claims by company but rely on characteristics given on
standards or determined from actual tests.
[Link] Mineral Admixtures: They shall confirm relevant standards (or codes) and shall be
uniformly blended with cement before use.
[Link] Aggregate: They shall conform to IS383. Natural aggregate shall be preferred. They
major checks for aggregate are as follows:
 They shall not absorb more than 10% water by their own mass.
 Its nominal size shall be as large as possible, but not greater than 25% of
minimum thickness of member to be casted.
 Also, the nominal size of aggregate shall not be larger than clear spacing of
rebar or minimum cover plus 5mm in case of RCC works.
 Coarse aggregate and fine aggregate shall be batched separately.
 Grading of aggregate shall be checked frequently.
[Link] Water: The following requirement of water shall be maintained:
 Water shall be clean and free from deleterious materials and chemicals, i.e.
potable water shall be used.
 The PH value of water shall not be below 6.
 Water shall be used by measuring. Mixer shall have arrangement for water
measurement.

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 If tested, and compared with concrete made with mineral water, the
reduction in 28 days strength shall not exceed 10% and initial setting time
shall not fall below 30 minutes.
[Link] Admixture: It shall comply with IS9103. Also, following things shall be checked:
 Its effect on workability, durability and strength shall be checked.
 Chloride content for each batch (drum) shall be checked against permissible
limits.
 If multiple admixtures are used, their interactions shall be assessed on test
concrete before use.
[Link] Reinforcements: It shall also comply with relevant code. It shall be free from loose
rust, paints, mud or any detachable material on its surface. Such materials can be
cleaned using sand-blasting.

2.9.2 Maintaining the Workability

Concrete shall have adequate workability for placing and well compaction with available means.
Workability shall be checked at frequent intervals as per IS1199. The IS456:2000
recommendations for workability requirements for different placing conditions are as follows:

2.9.3 Appropriate Storage of Materials

The storage of material shall be done as per IS4082 so that there is no any adverse change in
quality of materials.

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2.9.4 Good Concreting Practice

Following major things shall be considered during concreting for quality work:

a. Mix proportion shall be confirmed (on test concrete) at site as per specification.
b. Method of batching (volume/weight) and mixing (hand/machine) shall be as per
specification.
c. Due consideration shall be made for change in material property, moisture content, etc.
d. Quality of admixtures (if used) shall be confirmed against requirements.
e. Regular monitoring of workability and strength by cube-test shall be conducted.
f. After mixing, concrete shall be transported quickly, placed and compacted as soon as
possible.
g. During hot/cold weather, concrete shall be transported in deep container.
h. Concrete shall be deposited to final position and compacted before initial setting.
i. Concrete shall be dumped, not dragged or thrown (allow to free fall) from more than 1.5m.
It will be wise to limit the free-fall height to 1m.
j. Special care shall be given for compaction at corners, edges and around the heavily
reinforced areas.
k. Curing shall be appropriately done depending on type of cement, use of admixtures and the
weather condition.

2.9.5 Good formwork and reinforcement laying practice

Following things shall be well maintained regarding formworks and laying of reinforcements for
quality concreting works:

a. Rigidity and strength (in vertical and horizontal direction) of formwork shall be sufficient for
placing and compaction of concrete as well as movement of manpower and equipment over
it.
b. The formwork shall prevent loss of slurry during placing and compaction.
c. The dimension, shape and lines of formwork shall be within the specified limits.
d. Formwork shall be clean and appropriate releasing agent shall be used (for easily removal of
formwork as well as to prevent damage to concrete during removal of formwork).
e. Reinforcements shall be placed and maintained in position with cover-blocks, spacers, chairs
or supporting bars.
f. The cover to concrete shall be appropriately maintained.

2.9.6 Following Good Quality Assurance Plan

Quality assurance measures shall be adopted and accordingly quality control and checks shall be
done. The basic idea over quality assurance is that, use of good quality materials, good
equipment and good workmanships will produce good-quality concrete. Hence, all equipment,
materials, manpower (workmanship) and properties of produced concrete shall be checked for
required level of quality. The methods and intervals for such test shall be agreed beforehand as
a quality assurance plan and shall be followed for quality work.

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3. PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

3.1 Hardened Concrete as a Three Phase System
On allowing sufficient time for hydration, the fresh plastic concrete turns into a stiff, rigid and
strong mass referred as hardened concrete or simply concrete. The concrete is mainly made from
bonding of aggregate with cement paste that hydrates to form calcium-silicate-gel along with
calcium hydroxides and some ettringite. Hence, normally the structure of hardened concrete can
be divided into three phases:

a. Paste Phase: It is mainly a dense network of fibrous C-S-H gel with some calcium
hydroxides generated as by-product during hydration. It is the most important
phase in concrete that influences the overall behaviour of hardened concrete.
Strength, durability, creep, shrinkage and elastic properties of concrete are mainly
dependent on the quality of the paste structure.
b. Aggregate Phase: It is the most voluminous phase in the concrete that is part of
aggregate used in the concrete. They do not take part in chemical reaction, yet
influence the overall strength of the concrete. They act as filler in between the
cement paste.
c. Transition Zone Phase: In microscopic level, there exists a third phase between
the aggregate phase and the paste phase, called transition zone phase. In this
phase, the concentration of crystalline calcium hydroxide and ettringite is high,
that do not contribute in strength. Moreover, bleeded water that accumulated
under aggregates makes the zone further weaker. Hence these zones are the
zones of weakness and greatly affect the mechanical behaviour of the concrete.
Due to shrinkage and temperature variation, they already develop some micro
cracks that extend or propagate upon loading the concrete causing bond failure
in the concrete.

3.2 Deformation of Hardened Concrete, Moduli of Elasticity

Concrete deforms on application of loads. Concrete is mostly used to resist the compressive load
as its compressive strength is relatively very high than its tensile strength.

Since concrete is heterogeneous, multi-phase material, its behavior depends on its constituents,
mainly the aggregate and cement-paste. Generally, aggregate are much stronger than cement-
paste (nearly 10 times) and hence the overall property mainly depends on the quality of cement-
paste and its bonding with aggregate.

Deformation Characteristics of Concrete

The deformation characteristics in compression (as concrete is mainly used to resist compressive
loads) can be studied from the stress-strain relation (curve) of the concrete. The nature if the
stress-strain curve and development of cracks in concrete can be explained as follows:

a. The stress-strain relation of concrete is highly non-linear (from almost beginning).

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b. Upto 10-15% of ultimate strength, the curve is almost straight. But beyond that, the
micro-cracks on the concrete start to develop making the curve non-linear.
c. At initial stage of loading (Stage-I : upto 30% of ultimate load), short micro-cracks exists
in transition zone only. The curve is slightly non-linear.
d. When the stress increases to 30-50% of ultimate stress (Stage II), the length and width of
micro-cracks in transition zone increases causing the curve to be more non-linear.
e. When the stress is further increased to 50-75% of ultimate stress (Stage III), these cracks
propagate from transition zone to matrix (cement paste). The cracks will be longer and
wider and the concrete shows much higher non-linearity.
f. If the stress reaches 75-100% of the ultimate stress (Stage-IV), there is rapid propagation
of cracks in transition as well as paste-matrix. It causes the curve to be flatter and finally
move down indicating failure. During failure, unstable system of cracks are developed
that causes spontaneous progression of cracks.

Modulus of Elasticity of Concrete:

The modulus of elasticity represents the deformability of the concrete. Higher modulus indicates
stiffer concrete with lesser deformation at same load. The modulus of elasticity of concrete can
be determined in different ways.

a. By subjecting cube/cylinder to uniaxial compression:

Stress = F/A ; Stain = D/L
b. By conducting bending test
D = PL3/48EI (for mid-point loading of simply supported concrete beam)
c. By subjecting concrete to longitudinal vibration.
E = Kn2L2p (K = 4x10-15GPa, n = resonating frequency, L = length, p = density)

Types of Elastic Moduli of Concrete:

For load-deformation behavior of concrete, the modulus of elasticity is very important. However,
due to non-linear relation of stress and strain, the modulus of elasticity is not constant even for
same concrete at various stage of loading. Typically, the elasticity is the slope of stress-strain
curve. Hence, as the curve is non-linear the elasticity is also changing. Hence, commonly, few
types of elasticity are defined to be used for different purposes. They are:
a. Initial tangent modulus:
It is determined by taking tangent at origin for stress-strain curve. It is suitable while using
concrete in low stress.
b. Tangent modulus:
It is determined at any point of curve by taking tangent with the stress-strain curve at
that point. The value is dependent on the stress-level, and varies from point to point. It
is important when a more accurate analysis is required.
c. Secant Modulus:
It is determined from the slope of scant joining origin and a fixed point on the curve. This
is most common modulus in use as it indicates an average value for the stress-level in

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use. It is determined typically by taking secant passing through point in curve

corresponding to 15, 25, 33 or 50% of stress level.
d. Chord Modulus
This modulus is determined by taking slope of a cord joining two points in stress-strain
curve corresponding to two different stress levels. Hence it is useful, if concrete is
subjected to stress within some fixed range. It is mainly used in research purpose only.

The major factors that affect the elasticity of the concrete are:
a. Strength:
As per IS456:2000, the short term elastic modulus, E=5000*sqrt(f ck)
b. Moisture content:
Wet concrete has higher E than the dry concrete. However, subjecting concrete to wet
condition for long time may have other disadvantages.
c. Quality of aggregate and paste:
1 𝑉𝑝 𝑉
= +𝑎 [V = volume, E = elasticity]
E 𝐸𝑝 𝐸𝑎

Poisson Ratio of Concrete:

Poisson’s ratio is the ratio of lateral strain to corresponding longitudinal strain. It indicates the
extent of deformation in perpendicular directions, when deformed on longitudinal direction.
Typically, strong concrete has lower value. The poisons ratio of concrete typically ranges from
0.15 to 0.2.

3.3 Creep, Shrinkage and Thermal Expansion

3.3.1 Creep
Creep is defined as gradual increase in strain (deformation) under sustained stress (or load). The
creep is mainly dependent on the quality of cement-paste phase and the age of concrete while
placing permanent load.

Creep is believed to occur due to movement (or adjustment) of pore-water due to stress. It has
been found that some part of creep strain (about 15%) is reversible too. The major factors that
affect the creep are:

a. Stress on the concrete (or load or elastic strain)

More the stress level, higher is the creep.
b. Age during loading
Lesser the age during loading, higher is the creep. At higher age, more water is hydrated
to form gel. Hence creep phenomenon is reduced.
c. Duration of loading
Higher the duration of loading, higher is the creep. However, the increase in creep
decreases with time.
d. Mix Proportion:
Rich mix with low w/c (or high strength concrete) has relatively lower creep.
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e. Aggregate properties:
Aggregate with higher E-value shows makes concrete showing lesser creep. Also, well-
graded aggregate with lesser voids makes concrete showing lesser creep.
f. Other factors like Size of member, Environmental condition, etc.

The total creep in concrete has been found to be proportional to to the stress for stress level
upto one-third of characteristic strength ( s =< 1/3 fck ). The amount of creep is generally
expressed in terms of creep-coefficient determined as the ratio of ultimate creep strain to elastic
strain (short term). i.e. Cc = 𝜖𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑝/𝜖𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 . IS456:2000 recommends the following value of creep
coefficient for different age of loading:

Age of Loading (in days): 7 days 28 days 1 year

Creep Coefficient, Cc: 2.2 1.6 1.1

3.3.2 Shrinkage
Contraction in volume (or length) of concrete due to various phenomenon is called shrinkage.
The total shrinkage depends upon constituents of concrete, size of member and environmental
conditions. For given humidity and temperature, total shrinkage is most influenced by the total
amount of water present during concrete mixing and to lesser extent, by the cement content.
Both higher water during mixing and higher cement content results in higher shrinkage. In
absence of test data, IS456:2000 recommends taking the total shrinkage value 0.0003
approximately.

The total shrinkage in concrete can be divided into four types as follows:

a. Plastic Shrinkage: It is the shrinkage due to loss of moisture at plastic (green) stage.
Moisture loss due to evaporation mostly occurs on exposed surface of slabs, road-
pavements, etc.
b. Drying Shrinkage: It is the shrinkage due to loss of pore-water over a long period, in dry
condition. It depends on amount of gel relative to aggregate.
c. Autogeneous Shrinkage: It is the shrinkage without moisture movement, possibly due to
consumption of water during hydration. It is of very small quantity.
d. Carbonation Shrinkage: It is the shrinkage which occurs while the carbon dioxide in
atmosphere reacts with calcium hydroxide of concrete to produce calcium carbonate. It
is also of very low quantity and can be considered good for concrete as calcium hydroxide
will be used-up at compromise of very small shrinkage.

3.3.3 Thermal Expansion

Concrete expands on increase in temperature and vice-versa. The coefficient of thermal
expansion depends on nature of cement, the aggregate, cement content, relative humidity and
the size of concrete section as well. However, under normal circumstances, the expansion mainly

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depends on the aggregate, and IS456:2000 recommends the value for linear coefficient of
thermal expansion of concrete with different aggregates as follows:

Sn. Aggregate Material Coefficient of thermal expansion ( x10-5 /oC)

1 Quartzite 1.2 – 1.3
2 Sandstone 0.9 – 1.2
3 Basalt 0.8 – 0.95
4 Granite 0.7 – 0.95
5 Limestone 0.6 – 0.9
Expansion of concrete in structure results in secondary stresses. Hence, normally structures
exceeding 45m in length are designed with one or more expansion joints.

3.4 Fatigue, Impact and Cyclic Loading

3.4.1 Impact Loading
The load that is applied suddenly at short time interval is called impact load. And the strength
shown for impact load is called impact strength.

With increase in load, micro-cracks are first developed at transition zone that propagates to
cement paste. Hence under impact loading, concrete shows increased strength due to lesser
available time for propagation of cracks.

Compared to standard loading rate of 0.24 Mpa/sec., if concrete is loaded at lower rate (say 0.07
MP/sec), it shows about 12% reduction in strength while it shows about 12% increase in strength
if loaded at higher rate (about 6.9 Mpa/sec). The impact strength is found to increase with:

a. Increase in rate of loading

b. Increase in surface roughness of aggregate
c. Decrease in aggregate size
d. Increase in tensile strength
e. Improved transition zone.

The CEB-FIP Model Code (1990) recommends following relation for impact strength:
fc,imp 𝜎𝛼
. = ( )𝑠
𝑓𝑐 𝜎0

where, 𝜎0 = 1.0 𝑀𝑝𝑎/𝑠; 𝜎𝑠 = 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒;

𝑓
𝛼 = 1/ (5 + 9 ∗ 𝑐 ) ; 𝑓𝑜= 10 𝑀𝑝𝑎/𝑠
𝑓𝑜

3.4.2 Cyclic Loading and Fatigue

Loading that is applied and removed repeatedly is called cyclic loading. On application of cyclic
load, material shows reduced strength (and elasticity) at higher cycles of load.

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The phenomenon of reduction of strength of material due to repeatedly acting load (or cyclic
load) is called fatigue. Fatigue occurs due to progressive micro-cracking at interfacial transition
zone and past matrix in multiple cycles of load, causing strength and stiffness degradation.

Fatigue is found to be more if the acting load is high, very near to ultimate stress level. Generally
speaking, cyclic loading exceeding 50% of ultimate stress has pronounced adverse effect. Typical
test shows that, at 5000 cycles of load, concrete fails at only 70% of its ultimate monotonous
stress.

John Hanson has proposed an equation for possible number of cyclic load within fixed range, a
concrete specimen with certain strength can bear as follows:
𝑓
1− 𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑓𝑐
. Log(N) = − 1.9; where 𝛽 = 0.0685; 𝑓 = 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒
𝑓 𝑐
𝛽∗(1− 𝑚𝑖𝑛 )
𝑓𝑚𝑎𝑥

An example with 𝑓𝑐 = 20 𝑀𝑃𝑎; 𝑓𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 5 𝑀𝑝𝑎; and different 𝑓𝑚𝑎𝑥 shows following results:

fc (N/mm2) 20 20 20 20 20
fmax (N/mm2) 18 16 14 12 10
fmin (N/mm2) 5 5 5 5 5
Number of Cycle (N) 2 302 47,000 1.2 Million 1.1 Billion

3.5 Effect of Porosity, Water-cement Ratio and Aggregate Size

3.5.1 Effect of Porosity
Higher pores reduces the strength of concrete. Higher water content and insufficient compaction
results in porous concrete that has relatively low strength. Typically, the capillary pores in
concrete shall be filled with hydrated products of cement (gel) over time causing filling of pores
and increase in strength with time.

On hydration of cement, the hydrated product has relatively more volume that can fill the space
of hydrated cement, the reacting water as well as some extra capillary pores. Typically, the
volume of cement expands by 2.06 times on hydration.

Gel Space Ratio:

The hydrated product of cement (comprising mainly calcium-silicate-gel and calcium hydroxide)
is usually called gel. The available volume in concrete for the gel (volume of voids, cement and
water, that are converted to gel) is termed as space. It has been found that, the strength of
concrete is highly dependent on the ratio of gel to space, called gel-space ratio.

If “S” be the strength of concrete with gel-space ratio “x”, then the strength can be related to
gel-space ratio as: S = 240 x3 .

And, x can be expressed as

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0.319 𝛼𝐶∗ 2.06

volume of gel 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 =
x = = 0.319 𝛼𝐶+𝑊+𝐴
volume of space (𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡+𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟)+𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑑𝑠

where, 𝛼 = fraction of hydrated cement, C=weight of cement, W=volume or weight of water;

A=volume of air/voids; 0.319 is the factor to convert weight of cement to its volume (=1/3.135)
and 2.06 is a factor to convert volume of cement to volume of its hydrated products.

For full compaction (no voids), the above equation reduces to:
0.319 𝛼𝐶∗ 2.06 0.657𝛼
𝑆 = = .
0.319 𝛼𝐶+𝑊 0.319𝛼+w/c

3.5.2 Effect of Water-cement Ratio

Higher water cement ratio (w/c) during concrete mix results in concrete with poor strength.
Basically, more pores (or space) will be formed in such concrete resulting in lesser gel relative to
space. (space occupied by water is high) that cannot be fully filled by hydrated products. Abram
has given a relationship of strength with water-cement ratio by volume known by Abram;s rule
as follows:
𝐴
. 𝑆 = 𝐵𝑥
where, S = strength in lbs/[Link].
A = 14,000 lbs/[Link].
B = 7 for 28 days strength
x = water cement ratio by volume.

High water-cement ratio increases the porosity and permeability of concrete and reduces its
durability. Higher w/c also increases shrinkage and creep of concrete and reduces the resistance
to cyclic loading as it deteriorates the transition zone.

3.5.3 Effect of Aggregate Size

The effects of aggregate size on properties of hardened concrete are as follows:

 For lean mix (low strength concrete), larger size of aggregate gives stronger concrete.
 Larger aggregate has lower surface area. Hence, for same workability, lower w/c can be
maintained to obtain stronger concrete.
 For rich mix, size shall be optimized to obtain strongest concrete.
 For rich mix, due to higher heterogeneity by larger aggregate and lower surface area for
bonding; it shows lesser strength beyond certain size (around 40mm).

3.6 Durability of Concrete

A durable concrete is one that performs satisfactorily in the working environment during its
anticipated exposure conditions during service. The materials and mix proportions specified and
used should be such as to maintain its integrity and, if applicable, to protect embedded metal
from corrosion.
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One of the main characteristics influencing the durability of concrete is its permeability to the
ingress of water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, chloride, sulphate and other potentially deleterious
substances.

The factors influencing durability include:

a. the environment;
b. the cover to embedded steel;
c. the type and quality of constituent materials;
d. the cement content and water/cement ratio of the concrete;
e. workmanship, to obtain full compaction and efficient curing; and
f. the shape and size of the member.

3.6.1 Requirements for Durability

A. Shape and Size of Member:
a. promote good drainage of water and to avoid standing pools and rundown of
water
b. Member profiles and their intersections with other members shall be designed
and detailed in a way to ensure easy flow of concrete and proper compaction
during concreting
c. The life of the structure can be lengthened by providing extra cover to steel, by
chamfering the corners or by using circular cross-sections or by using surface
coatings which prevent or reduce the ingress of water, carbon dioxide or
aggressive chemicals

B. Exposure Conditions
a. The general environment to, which the concrete will be exposed during its
working life is classified into five levels of severity, which shall be considered
during concrete mix design and detailing.
b. For concrete exposed to abrasive action, for example, in case of machinery and
metal tyres, corresponding requirements shall be fulfilled.
c. Where freezing and thawing actions under wet conditions exist, enhanced
durability can be obtained by the use of suitable air entraining admixtures. Since
air entrainment reduces the strength, suitable adjustments may be made in the
mix design for achieving required strength.

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d. For concrete exposed to sulphate attack, appropriate type of cement,

recommended cement content and w/c ratio shall be maintained. Generally,
higher cement content and lower w/c ratio is required for higher concentration
of sulphates in environment. For the very high sulphate concentrations, some
form of lining such as polyethylene or polychloroprene sheet; or surface coating
based on asphalt, chlorinated rubber, epoxy; or polyurethane materials should
also be used to prevent access by the sulphate solution

C. Concrete Cover
The protection of the steel in concrete against corrosion depends upon an
adequate thickness of good quality concrete.

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D. Concrete Mix Proportions

a. The free water-cement ratio is an important factor in governing the durability of
concrete and should always be the lowest practical value.

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b. The minimum cement content shall be maintained as per exposure condition.

c. Cement content (not including fly ash or ground granulated blast furnace slag) in
excess of 450 kg/m3 shall not be used unless special consideration is done for
increased risk of drying shrinkage, thermal cracking and alkali-silica reaction.
E. Mix Constituents
a. Deleterious constituents in aggregates shall not exceed the specified limits.

b. The amount of solids present in mixing water shall be within limits.

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c. The total amount of chloride content (as Cl) in the concrete at the time of placing
shall be limited.
d. The total water-soluble sulphate content of the concrete mix, expressed as SO3,
should not exceed 4% by mass of the cement in the mix.
e. Precautions in selection of aggregates and cement, use of impermeable
membrane or limiting cement content shall be done where alkali-silica reaction
may occur.
F. Protection Against Aggressive Soils and Water
a. Drainage shall be appropriately maintained to lower ground water specially
where alkali concentrations are high. Additional protection may be obtained by
the use of chemically resistant stone facing or a layer of plaster of Paris covered
with suitable fabric, such as jute thoroughly impregnated with bituminous
material.
b. Adequate workability and compaction (full) without segregation should be
ensured.
c. Good finishing practices are essential for durable concrete
d. Overworking the surface and the addition of water/cement to aid in finishing
should be avoided.
e. It is essential to use proper and adequate curing techniques to reduce the
permeability of the concrete.
f. Concrete in sea-water or exposed directly along the sea-coast shall be at least
M20 Grade in the case of plain concrete and M30 in case of reinforced concrete.
The use of slag or pozzolana cement is advantageous under such conditions.
g. Where unusually severe conditions or abrasion are anticipated, such parts of the
work shall be protected by bituminous or silica-fluoride coatings or stone facing
bedded with bitumen. Reinforcement shall be protected from exposure to saline
atmosphere during storage, fabrication and use.

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4. INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL TYPES OF CONCRETE

Depending on requirements, different types of concrete is being manufactured in modern days.

Some of the commonly used special types of concrete are described below.

4.1 Light Weight Concrete

Normally, density of concrete is 2200 to 2600 Kg/m3, while that of timber is only around 800
kg/m3. Heavier the material of construction more will be the self-weight, hence low-density
members are economical. Being contained with higher percentage of air, they are commonly
used for sound absorption, sound proofing, thermal insulation and fire-resistant material.
Similarly, there are various other areas of use where light-weight concrete is preferred both as
structural-member or non-structural member. Hence use of light-weight concrete is rapidly
increasing in modern days, with concrete as light as upto 300 kg/m 3.

Light-weight concrete can be prepared, mainly by three different ways:

a. By replacing usual mineral aggregate by cellular porous or light-weight aggregate.
(Light weight aggregate concrete)
b. By introducing gas or air bubbles. (Aerated Concrete)
c. By omitting fraction of sand from concrete. (No-fines concrete)

4.2 Light Weight Aggregate Concrete

Light weight aggregate concrete is a light weight concrete made by replacing usual mineral
aggregates in concrete by cellular porous or light-weight natural or artificial aggregated. Owing
to production of large-scale artificial industrial light-weight aggregates, in U.K., France, Germany
and USA, light-weight aggregate concrete is widely used. Common light weight aggregates are
given below:

Natural light-weight aggregates Artificial light-weight aggregates

l. Pumice a. Artificial cinders
m. Diatomite b. Coke breeze
n. Scoria c. Foamed slag
o. Volcanic cinders d. Bloated clay
p. Sawdust e. Expanded shales and slate
q. Rice-husk, groundnut-huk, bagasse, etc. f. Sintered fly ash
g. Exfoliated vermiculite
h. Expanded perlite
i. Thermocole beads, etc.
Natural light-weight aggregate are rate and are not of uniform quality whereas by-product of a
large-number of industry are being used for artificial light-weight aggregate. Hence natural light-
weight aggregate are rarely used, except pumice, which is rather used frequently.

Light weight aggregate being porous usually produces harsh concrete and absorbs water. Hence
consideration shall be made for required workability (like air-entrainment), prevention of water
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absorption (by impermeable coating of aggregate) and strength of the concrete. Being porous,
special consideration shall be made for durability of concrete (like coating of reinforcement, use
of special type of admixtures, etc.).

4.3 Aerated Concrete

Aerated concrete is a light-weight concrete which is prepared by introducing large volume of air
(or gas) into the slurry of cement (with or without lime), fine sand and water. Such concrete
generally don’t have coarse aggregates and are very light. Such concrete is also called gas
concrete foam concrete or cellular concrete.

Different ways of manufacturing aerated concrete are as follows:

a. Using chemical in mix that forms gas during mixing.
b. Mixing preformed stable foam with the cement-sand slurry.
c. Gasification by using metal powers.

Some foam-giving agents (chemicals) or air-entraining chemicals in large-amount are used to

manufacture aerated concrete, but this method can aerate concrete only to limited value. Hence
it is used only when lightly aerated concrete is desired.

Mixing of pre-formed foam is also limited to small-scale, especially when accurate control in
voids is desired.

Gasification using aluminum powder or such other material like zinc, is widely used for
manufacture of aerated concrete in industrial level. The powder is mixed in cement-fine
aggregate slurry and reacts with calcium hydroxide liberated during hydration. The reaction
produces a large quantity of hydrogen gas which is entrapped in the slurry mix, giving cellular
structure.

Aerated concrete can be produced in density range of 300-800 kg/m3 having excellent thermal
insulation property. They can be produced in wide range of density and strength making it
suitable for different purposes like sound insulation, thermal insulation, building blocks, load-
bearing walls, and even pre-cast reinforced concrete.

4.4 No-fines Concrete

It is the concrete made by omitting the fine-aggregate in the concrete. Very often, single sized
coarse aggregate (passing through 20mm sieve and retained in 10mm sieve) are used. They have
large proportions of voids and light in weight with a density of 1600-1900 kg/m 3. It can even be
reduced upto 360kg/m3 using light weight aggregate.

Having low thermal conductivity, sufficient strength to be used as load-bearing walls, it is

commonly used as partition or load-bearing walls. Being rough texture, in some places, it offers
architecturally attractive look, while in other place, it provides good base for plastering.

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Precise control in water-cement ratio and aggregate-cement ratio is necessary to produce

cohesive mix sufficient to get smeared with aggregate but preventing settling of paste at bottom
(segregation) and with sufficient strength.

No-fines concrete has relatively low compressive strength (1.4-14 MPa) and very low bond
strength. However, as the aggregates are in contact with each-other, its compaction can be easily
done by rodding and have much lower drying shrinkage.

4.5 High Density Concrete

Concrete with density greater than 3360 kg/m 3 is called high density concrete. Concrete of upto
5280 kg/m3 can be obtained using iron as both fine and coarse aggregate. High density concrete
finds its special usefulness in shielding the radiations (specially Nuclear particles and electro-
magnetic waves like X-ray, Y-ray, etc.) harmful for living beings in related industries.

Where high-density concrete are used as shielding, generally, they also have to withstand high
loads and high temperatures. Thus, strength, heat resistant and durability is also very important
for such concrete, which is obtained by using dense aggregate, strictly controlling w/c ratio,
maintaining sufficient workability and using good compaction technique for full compaction. It
is also found that concrete with higher amount of hydrogen-molecules have better shielding
ability for nuclear particles. So limonite, geonite and serpentine aggregate are preferred for
nuclear shielding. Some common heavy-weight aggregates are listed in the table below.

Common Heavy-Weight Aggregates

Barite Limonite Steel shots
Magnetite Geonite Punching scrap
Ilmenite Serpentine
Hematite

Due to heavier height of aggregate, high-density concrete has higher tendency of segregation.
Hence care shall be taken while proportioning, to make rich paste and during mixing,
transporting, placing and compacting concrete to avoid segregation. Consideration shall be done
for heavier-weight of concrete for form-work design and stripping of formwork.

4.6 Fibre Reinforced Concrete

Fibre reinforced concrete is a produced by uniformly dispersing suitable type of discontinuous
and descrete fibres in mixture of concrete. Concrete is a brittle material inherently consisting
microcracks. On application of load, these cracks open-up and propagates. It causes non-linear
and inelastic deformation of concrete causing brittle failure.

Addition of closely spaced and uniformly dispersed fibres act as crack arrester, checks the
widening and propagation of cracks and substantially improve the properties of concrete. These
fibres are small piece of strong material with its length to diameter ratio (called aspect ratio) of
30 to 150. The properties of fibre-reinforced concrete are dependent on volume of fibres, aspect

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ratio of fibres, orientation of fibres, size of coarse aggregates, workability, mixing and
compaction of concrete.

Common fibres used for fibre-reinforced concrete are listed below.

Sn. Fibre Properties

1. Steel Fibre  Most commonly used (dia of 0.25 to 0.75mm)
 May get rusted on surface
2. Polyproplyne and  Good impact strength
nylon fibre  High tensile strength
 Low modulus of elasticity and low flexural strength
3. Asbestos  Easy and can be mixed with cement
 Higher flexural strength
 Tensile strength is high. (560-980 MPa)
4. Organic Fibres like  For unimportant works
jute & canesplits  Low strength
5. Glass Fibre  Very high tensile strength (1020-4080 MPa)
 alkali-resistant glass-fibre are very-much durable.
6. Carbon fibre  High tensile strength (2110-2815 MPa)
 High value of elasticity and flexural strength.
 Good durability
7. Basalt fibre  Durable and non-corrosive
 High toughness and impact strength
 Failure mode changes to brittle.
The fibre-reinforced concrete has improved static and dynamic properties, tensile strength,
toughness and fatigue resistance. Similarly, it is much easier and faster method for where it
substitutes RCC. It is been used for air-field, road-paement, flooring, bridge-deck, canal lining
and various pre-cast works like wall-panel, roof panel, blocks, beams, etc.

4.7 Self Compacting Concrete (SCC)

It is a special type of concrete that has ability to flow under its own weight through heavily
congested reinforcements and thin sections retaining the homogeneity of mix without
segregation. Hence the concrete is homogeneous and fully compacted everywhere under self
weight without necessity of vibration or other measures. A good SCC has following
characteristics:
a. Filling ability
b. Passing ability
c. Segregation resistance

SCC is made in three ways:

a. Increasing Powder content
b. Using VMA (Viscosity modifying admixture) or superplasticizers.

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c. Combined

Cement and mineral admixtures (finer than 125 micron) are considered as powder in concrete.
More powder content makes the cement flowable. Higher percentage of mineral admixtures like
fly-ash, silica-fume, ground granulated blast furnace slag, stone dust, etc. is used in SCC. Also
relatively higher percentage of fine-aggregate is used in SCC on account of use of small sized
coarse aggregate (upto 20mm). Various VMA or new generation superplasticizers in larger dose
can be used to make SCC. In most of the cases, combined method is used to obtain SCC.

The advantages of SCC over normal concrete are:

a. Faster construction
b. Reduction in site manpower
c. Better surface finish ty tut try
d. Easier placing
e. Improved durability
f. Greater freedom in design
g. Thinner concrete sections
h. Safer working environment
i. Reduced noise level

In SCC, high flowabilility is required maintaining high strength. Thus, relatively higher dose of
admixture, and more than one admixtures (usually VMA and superplasticizers) are required to
obtain such concrete with very high workability, which may have other side-effects. Similarly,
relatively greater amount of powder is used in SCC that may lead to higher heat of hydration,
greater shrinkage and more creep. Thus, different aspects shall be considered while producing
SCC.

4.8 Shotcrete
It is concrete with small sized coarse aggregate that is conveyed through hose and pneumatically
projected at a high velocity. The momentum of the concrete itself is sufficient to support and
compact itself. Similar application of mortar is generally referred as Gunite.

Shotcrete can be produce by dry or wet process. In dry process, water is mixed only just before
jetting of concrete from hose while in wet process, water is mixed to prepare wet concrete which
is later conveyed the hose by pressure. Both method has their own advantage but in general,
wet method is simple, easy and uniform, while dry method can produce concrete of high
compaction and strength with low water-cement ratio.

They are commonly used in tunneling works and over-head concreting. Due to high cost of
application, they are only used when normal-concreting is feasible. The properties of shotcrete
are similar to normal concrete, but it is very difficult to obtain high-strength concrete (above
28Mpa). Suitable admixtures and fibres may be used to increase the strength or modify other
properties of shotcrete as required.

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