Lab

Assignment 1

Name: Sayed Ayman Mustafa Salman Mahfoodh

ID: 20181110200
Instructor: Dr. Rouya Hdeib
Module name: Civil Engineering Materials
Module code: ASU_6_CEM
Contents
1- General Introduction:............................................................................3
2- Part A: A concrete Mix Preparation.....................................................3
2.1- Introduction.....................................................................................3
2.2- The experimental method................................................................3
2.2.1- Tools and Equipment..................................................................3
2.2.2- Procedure:...................................................................................3
3- Part B: Slump test for fresh concrete....................................................3
3.1- Introduction.....................................................................................3
3.2- The experimental method................................................................3
3.2.1- Tools and equipment..................................................................3
3.2.2- Procedure....................................................................................3
3.3- The results and analysis...................................................................3
3.4- Discussion.......................................................................................3
4- General conclusion...............................................................................3
5- Reference list........................................................................................3
 1- General Introduction:
Concrete is one of the main materials used these days in construction fields for its high resistance
to compression loads. So, the process of preparing the concrete mix must meet all the
requirements specified for each circumstance as per each code and standard such as the Euro
code and ACI. Plus, to guarantee that the concrete mix is suitable to be used in a construction
project many tests must be done on-situ like the slump test or laboratories such as the
compressive strength test according to the standards like ASTM which is followed in this report.

2- Part A: A concrete Mix Preparation

2.1- Introduction
The base of a good structure is high-strength and durable concrete. The control of the durability
and strength of the concrete starts from the mixing stage of the concrete. For example, concrete
consists of cement, sand, water and aggregate; and the proportions and quality of these concrete
ingredients will affect the concrete properties like workability, compressive strength and
durability. Adding extra water to the mix will cause bleeding and segregation to the concrete mix
while casting; while the lack of water will reduce the hydration of the concrete which will
prevent it from reaching its highest compressive strength. Also, the more cement added to the
mixture the higher compressive strength the concrete will reach. Thus, there is a relation between
water and cement which can be calculated through the water/cement ratio. The W/C ratio is
directly proportional to the workability of the concrete and inversely proportional to the early
compressive strength of the concrete mix. What’s more, the conditions in which the concrete will
be cast are important factors of the concrete mix; pouring the concrete into congested formwork
with dense reinforcement is an example where a high workability concrete is needed which is
reached by a higher water/ cement ratio.

2.2- The experimental method

2.2.1- Tools and Equipment:
 A scale
 Buckets
 Electric concrete mixer
 Gloves
 Safety shoes
 Steel shovels
 Trowel shovels

2.2.2- Procedure:
1. The proportion and weight of each material were calculated to meet a concrete based on
the concrete density and the needed volume of concrete to fill cubes and cylinder moulds
that will be used for another test.
2. The bucket was weighted to be filled with the materials.
 3. The steel shovels were used to fill the buckets of (Sand 26%, Aggregate 41%, cement
11% and water 16%) Figure (1).
4. Each material was weighed on the scale to be adjusted to the needed proportions Figure
(2).
5. The two buckets of fine and coarse aggregate were added to the electric concrete mixer
after switching it on to be mixed properly.
6. After that, the bucket of sand was added to the mix, then the cement and finally the water.
7. The electric concrete mixer was switched off several times to add cement to the mix to
adjust it to the desired water/cement ratio Figure (3).
8. A slump test was done on the concrete mixture to make sure of its workability.

Figure 1: Materials of the concrete mix Figure2: Weighing the sand to be added to the Figure 3: Adding cement to the concrete
concrete mix. mixer to adjust the water/cement ratio.

3- Part B: Slump test for fresh concrete

3.1- Introduction
The slump test is a laboratory or in-site test that was used to have an indication of the concrete
uniformity in different batches and to measure the concrete consistency since 1922 due to its
apparatus simplicity and easy procedure. Not only is the workability and quality of concrete is
showed in this test; but the tendency of segregation can be judged during this test also by
tamping on the base plate with the tapping rod. The measured number in the slump test is
depending completely on the principle of gravity which shows whether the sample is in good
working condition or not (CementConcrete, 2022).
3.2- The experimental method
3.2.1- Tools and equipment
 A slump cone with a standard diameter of 300 mm.
 A steel tamping rod of 16 mm diameter.
 A ruler.
 A trowel shovels.
 A plane base (e.g., plywood)
 gloves

3.2.2- Procedure
1. Firstly, the base and the slump cone are cleaned from any past work materials.
2. The slump cone is placed above the base.
3. Three layers of concrete are placed inside the cone accordingly and tamped by the steel
tamping rod with 25 blows per layer while the cone is pressed against the base Figure
(4).
4. The extra concrete at the top of the cone is removed to make a plane surface of the
concrete at the top.
5. The cone mould is pulled vertically upward from the concrete, and then the mould is
flipped over and put beside the subsidence concrete.
6. A steel rod is used to measure the difference between the cone height and the highest
point of the subsidence concrete by using a ruler, and the reading would be the slump of
the concrete mix (mm) Figure (5).

Figure5: Measuring the slump the collapsed

Figure 4: Tamping each layer with the tamping rod. concrete.
3.3- The results and analysis
The slump reading at this test was 164 mm which is considered as a collapse of the concrete
which indicates very high workability and there is a lack of cement or an extra amount of water
which increased the water/cement ratio Figure (5).

3.4- Discussion
This type of concrete is called tremie concrete which can be used for pouring concrete in water
by using a watertight pipe. In addition, the slump test is not sufficient to measure the concrete
workability and the flow test is needed to have more accuracy (CementConcrete, 2022).

4- General conclusion
To conclude, preparing the concrete mix accurately is an important factor of the concrete quality
and each added material can make a big difference to the properties of the concrete mix such as
the water/cement ratio that affects the workability of the concrete which can be measured in the
laboratories or in-site in most cases to meet the specification and the required properties of the
concrete of each construction projects according to the codes and standards.
 5- Reference list
 CementConcrete (2022) Slump test of concrete, slump cone for workability - procedure,
apparatus, Cement Concrete. Available at: https://cementconcrete.org/concrete/concrete-
slump-test/2171/ (Accessed: October 6, 2022).