Materials of Construction

CIV 321

Prepared by:
Dr. Samer Al
Al-Martini,
Martini, P. Eng.

Concrete Materials

1
 F d
Fundamentals
t l off Concrete
C t
y Concrete is basically a mixture of two components:
aggregates and paste.
y The aggregate component is normally comprised of sand and
gravel or crushed stone.
stone
y The paste component is normally comprised of cementing
materials,, (portland
(p cement with or without supplementary
pp y
cementing materials), water, and air.
y The paste, acting like a glue, hardens due to a chemical
reaction between the cement and water and binds the
aggregates together into a rocklike mass—which is known as
concrete.
concrete
2
 F d
Fundamentals
t l off Concrete
C t
y Aggregates are generally divided into two groups: fine and
coarse.
y The fine and coarse aggregates generally occupy 60% to 75% of
the
h concrete volume
l (70% to 85% bby mass)) andd strongly
l
influence the concrete’s freshly mixed and hardened properties,
mixture pproportions,
p , and economy.y.
y The paste ordinarily constitutes about 25% to 40% of the total
volume of concrete.
y The cementing materials is usually between 7% and 15% and the
water between 14% and 21%.
y Air content in air-entrained concrete ranges from about 4% to
3 8% of the volume of the concrete.
 F d
Fundamentals
t l off Concrete
C t
y

Fig-
g Concrete components:
p cement, water, fine aggregate
gg g
and coarse aggregate, are combined to form concrete.
4
 Fundamentals of Concrete

y Fine aggregates consist of natural or

manufactured sand with particle sizes
ranging up to 5 mm.
y Coarse aggregates consist of one or a
combination of gravels or crushed
stone with pparticles ppredominantlyy
larger than 5 mm and generally
between 10 mm and 40 mm. The most
commonly l usedd maximum
i size
i off
coarse aggregate is 20 mm.
y The paste is usually composed of
cementing materials, water, and
5
entrapped air .
 Fundamentals of Concrete
y Since aggregates
gg g make upp about 60% to 75% of the total volume of
concrete, their selection is important.
y Aggregates should consist of particles with adequate strength and
resistance to exposure conditions and should not contain materials
that will cause deterioration of the concrete.
y A
Aggregates
t mustt conform
f tto certain
t i standards
t d d ffor optimum
ti
engineering use: they must be clean, hard, strong, durable particles
free of absorbed chemicals,, coatings g of clay,
y, and other fine materials
in amounts that could affect hydration and bond of the cement paste.
y A continuous gradation of aggregate particle sizes is desirable for
efficient use of the paste.
y So, the quality of the concrete depends upon the quality of the paste
andd aggregate,
t andd th
the bbondd bbetween
t th
the ttwo.
6
 Particle Shape and texture surface
y The particle shape and surface texture of an aggregate influence the
properties of freshly mixed concrete more than the properties of
hardened concrete. Rough- textured, angular, elongated particles
require more water to produce workable concrete than do smooth, smooth
rounded, compact aggregates (to produce the same workability
concrete).
y The bond between the paste and a given aggregate generally increases as
particles change from smooth and rounded to rough and angular. This
increase in bbondd is a consideration
d in selecting
l aggregates ffor concrete
where flexural strength is important or where high compressive strength
is needed.
y Flat and elongated aggregate particles should be avoided or at least
limited to about 15% by mass of the total aggregate.

7
 CHARACTERISTICS OF AGGREGATES
y The effect of a collection of various sizes in reducing the total
volume of voids between aggregates is illustrated by the simple
method shown in the followingg figure:
g

Fig. The level of liquid in the graduates,

representing voids, is constant for equal
absolute volumes of aggregates
of uniform but different size. When different
sizes are combined, the void-content
decreases. The illustration is
nott to
t scale.
l

8
 Fundamentals of Concrete

Fig-Range in proportions of materials used in concrete,

by absolute volume.
volume Bars 1 and 3 represent rich mixes with
small size aggregates. Bars 2 and 4 represent lean mixes
with
9 large size aggregates.
 Definitions
y Absorption: The increase in weight
g due to water contained in the
pores of the material.
y The bulk density of an aggregate is the mass of the aggregate required to fill
p
a container of a specified unit volume.. The volume referred to here is that
occupied by both aggregates and the voids between aggregate particles.
y Bulk Specific Gravity (also known as Bulk Dry Specific Gravity):
Specific Gravity is the ratio of the weight of a given volume of aggregate to the
weight of an equal volume of water.
y SSD - Saturated, Surface Dry. The condition in which the aggregate
h been
has b soaked
k d ini water andd hhas absorbed
b b d water into i iits pore spaces. Th
The
excess, free surface moisture has been removed so that the particles are still
saturated, but the surface of the particle is essentially dry.

10
 Conversions
y Yard=91.44cm
y Cm=0.01093 yards
y Gram=0.0022pound
y Pound=453.6g
/ 3=[0.0022/(0.01093)
y g/cm / 3]=1685 pound/yard^3
d/ d^
y Ounce (fl oz)=29.6ml

11
12
13
14
 Coarse-Aggregate Grading
y The maximum size of coarse aggregate used in concrete has a
bbearing on the
h economy off concrete. Usually ll more paste, water,
and cement is required for small-size aggregates than for large
sizes, due to an increase in total aggregate surface area.
y The maximum size of an aggregate is the smallest sieve that all of
a particular aggregate
gg g must p pass through.
g
y The nominal maximum size of an aggregate is the smallest sieve
size through which the major portion of the aggregate must pass.
Th nominall maximum-size sieve may retain
The i 5% to 15% off the
h
aggregate depending on the size number. For example, aggregate with
a maximum size of 56 mm has a nominal maximum size of 40 mm.

15
 Gradation and Maximum Size
y Gradingg
y Grading is the particle-size distribution of an aggregate as determined
by a sieve analysis test.
y The range of particle sizes in aggregate is illustrated in figure below.
y The aggregate particle size is determined by using wire-mesh sieves
with square openings. The seven standard (ASTM C 33) sieves for fine
aggregate have openings ranging from 160 µm to 10 mm. The standard
sieves for coarse aggregate have openings ranging from 1.25 1 25 mm to 112
mm.

16
 Gradation and Maximum Size
y The aggregate
gg g pparticle size is determined byy
using wire-mesh sieves with square openings.
y A typical laboratory “sieve shaker” used in
performing a sieve analysis is shown in figure
below.
y Two
T definitions
d fi iti are usedd tot ddescribe
ib th
the
maximum particle size:
¾ Maximum aggregate
gg g size: the smallest
sieve size through which 100% of the aggregate
sample particles pass.
¾ Nominal
N i l maximum i aggregate size:
i theh llargest
seive that retains not more than 10% of the Fig. Making a sieve
aggregate sample (i.e. 90% of the sample pass analysis test of coarse
aggregate
t iin a
this seive) laboratory.
17
 CHARACTERISTICS OF AGGREGATES
y The grading and grading limits are usually expressed as the percentage of
material passing each sieve.
y The following figure shows these limits for fine aggregate and for coarse
aggregate.
y Grading limits and nominal maximum aggregate size affect cement and
water requirements
requirements, workability,
workability pumpability
pumpability, economy
economy, porosity
porosity, and
durability of concrete.
y Veryy fine sands are often uneconomical.
y Very coarse sands and coarse aggregate can produce harsh, un workable
mixtures.

18
 Fineness Modulus
y Retained sieve: 0.15mm, 0.3
mm, 0.6mm, 1.18mm,
2.36mm, 4.75mm, 9.5mm,
19mm, 37.5mm, 75mm, and
150mm
y The FM is an index of the fineness of an aggregate—the higher the FM, the
gg g The fineness modulus of fine aggregate
coarser the aggregate. gg g shall not be less
than 2.3 nor more than 3.1
y An example of how the FM of a fine aggregate is determined.

19
 CHARACTERISTICS OF AGGREGATES
For high-strength concrete, it is desirable
to limit the amount of material passing the
160-µm sieve to a maximum
of 2%.
•Workability problems have been
experienced when the percentage passing
the 315-µm sieve is less than 10.
Th amounts
The t off fifine aggregate
t passing
i the
th
315-µm and 160-µm sieves affect
workability, surface texture, air content, Fig- Fine aggregate (sand).
and bleeding g of concrete.

20
 Maximum Density Gradation

21
 0.45 Power Gradation Chart

22
 Example: 0.45 Power Gradation

23
 Horizontal (the same portion of
agg. pass 2 different sieve sizes

Open graded: missing small

agg. sizes (highly permeable)
Majority
j yp passing
g one sieve
(majority have same diameter)
Gradation curve is nearly
24 vertical
 Gradation Specifications (ASTM C33)

25
 Fineness Modulus, Cont,

26
 Blending Aggregate, Example

27
 Blending Aggregates, Properties
(angularity, absorption, strength)

28
 Blending Aggregates, Properties
(Specific Gravity)

29
 Blending Aggregates

30
 Example Fineness Modulus

31
 Appendix
pp

32
Coupled Effects of Mixing Time & Temp. on Rheological
& Mechanical Properties of Concrete Incorporating SP

Visual Classification
High Fluid Satisfactory
Mixture Mixture
•Slump>600
Slump 600 •Slump>450
(mm) (mm)
•Clear •NO
Segregation Segregation

Marginally Low
Fluid Fl idit
Fluidity
Mixture Mixture
•Slump •Slump<120
120-450
120 450 ((mm))
(mm)
33
 Vibration/Consolidation

Proper vibration makes possible the placement of

stiff concrete mixtures, even in heavily-reinforced concrete
34
members.
 Vibration/Consolidation

35 Honeycomb and rock pockets are the results of

inadequate consolidation.