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Factors Affecting Concrete Mix Design Strength

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84 views4 pages

Factors Affecting Concrete Mix Design Strength

building manual

Uploaded by

manish
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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FACTORS AFFECTING CONCRETE MIX DESIGN


STRENGTH
Factors that affects the concrete mix design strengths are:
Variables in Mix Design
A. Water/cement ratio
B. Cement content
C. Relative proportion of fine & coarse aggregates
D. Use of admixtures

A. Water/cement ratio
Water to cement ratio (W/C ratio) is the single most
important factor governing the strength and
durability of concrete. Strength of concrete depends
upon W/C ratio rather than the cement
content. Abrams law states that higher the
water/cement ratio, lower is the strength of
concrete. As a thumb rule every 1% increase in quantity of water added, reduces
the strength of concrete by 5%. A water/cement ratio of only 0.38 is required for
complete hydration of cement. (Although this is the theoretical limit, water cement ratio
lower than 0.38 will also increase the strength, since all the cement that is added, does
not hydrate) Water added for workability over and above this water/cement ratio of
0.38, evaporates leaving cavities in the concrete. These cavities are in the form of thin
capillaries. They reduce the strength and durability of concrete. Hence, it is very
important to control the water/cement ratio on site. Every extra liter of water will
approx. reduce the strength of concrete by 2 to 3 N/mm2and increase the
workability by 25 mm. As stated earlier, the water/cement ratio strongly influences

the permeability of concrete and durability of concrete. Revised IS 456-2000 has


restricted the maximum water/cement ratios for durability considerations by clause
8.2.4.1, table 5.

B. Cement content
Cement is the core material in concrete, which acts as a binding agent and imparts
strength to the concrete. From durability considerations cement content should not be
reduced below 300Kg/m3 for RCC. IS 456 2000 recommends higher cement contents
for more severe conditions of exposure of weathering agents to the concrete. It is not
necessary that higher cement content would result in higher strength. In fact latest
findings show that for the same water/cement ratio, a leaner mix will give better
strength. However, this does not mean that we can achieve higher grades of concrete by
just lowering the water/cement ratio. This is because lower water/cement ratios will
mean lower water contents and result in lower workability. In fact for achieving a given
workability, a certain quantity of water will be required. If lower water/cement ratio is to
be achieved without disturbing the workability,cement content will have to be increased.
Higher cement content helps us in getting the desired workability at a lower
water/cement ratio. In most of the mix design methods, the water contents to achieve
different workability levels are given in form of empirical relations.
Water/cement ratios required to achieve target mean strengths are interpolated from
graphs given in IS 10262 Clause 3.1 and 3.2 fig 2. The cement content is found as
follows:

Thus, we see that higher the workability of concrete, greater is cement content
required and vice versa. Also, greater the water/cement ratio, lower is the
cement content required and vice versa.

C. Relative proportion of fine, coarse aggregates gradation of


aggregates
Aggregates are of two types as below:
a. Coarse aggregate (Metal): These are particles retained on standard IS 4.75mm
sieve.
b. Fine aggregate(Sand): These are particles passing standard IS 4.75mm sieve.
Proportion of fine aggregates to coarse aggregate depends on following:
i. Fineness of sand: Generally, when the sand is fine, smaller proportion of it is enough
to get a cohesive mix; while coarser the sand, greater has to be its proportion with
respect to coarse aggregate.
ii. Size& shape of coarse aggregates: Greater the size of coarse aggregate lesser is
the surface area and lesser is the proportion of fine aggregate required and vice versa.
Flaky aggregates have more surface area and require greater proportion of fine

aggregates to get cohesive mix. Similarly, rounded aggregate have lesser surface area
and require lesser proportion of fine aggregate to get a cohesive mix.
iii. Cement content: Leaner mixes require more proportion of fine aggregates than
richer mixes. This is because cement particles also contribute to the fines in concrete.

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STRENGTH
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