Kambiz Janamian, José Aguiar - Concrete Materials and Technology - A Practical Guide-CRC Press (2023)

Concrete Materials and
Technology
The design and implementation of high-quality concrete demands an underlying
knowledge of concrete fundamentals as well as its constituent materials, and in vari-
ous formulations. Starting with the basics, Concrete Materials and Technology: A
Practical Guide examines the production and chemistry of cement, as well as the
different types and their applications. Quality control processes and numerous meth-
ods for testing are presented and explained in detail. This book presents the funda-
mentals of concrete technology and serves as a useful guide for civil engineering
students, project managers, concrete quality control managers and technicians.
Features:
• Explains the basics of different components and applications for different

types of concrete
• Presents numerous methods for testing of concrete
Concrete Materials and
Technology
A Practical Guide
Kambiz Janamian and José B. Aguiar

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First edition published 2024

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© 2024 Kambiz Janamian and José B. Aguiar
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data

Names: Janamian, Kambiz, author. | Aguiar, J. (José), author.
Title: Concrete materials and technology : a practical guide /
Kambiz Janamian and José Aguiar.
Description: First edition. | Boca Raton : CRC Press, [2024] |
Includes references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2022062013 (print) | LCCN 2022062014 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032470184 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032470191 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003384243 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Concrete.
Classification: LCC TA439.J34 2024 (print) | LCC TA439 (ebook) |
DDC 620.1/36–dc23/eng/20230123
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022062013
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022062014
ISBN: 978-1-032-47018-4 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-47019-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-38424-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243
Typeset in Times
by codeMantra
I dedicate this to:
Dear Parinaz, my incentive through this life
Contents
Preface...................................................................................................................... xv
Authors....................................................................................................................xvii
Chapter 1 Introduction to Concrete Technology....................................................1

1.1 Concrete Constituent Materials..................................................1
1.2 Water Reduction in Concrete Production...................................4
1.3 Concrete Workability.................................................................4
1.4 Slump Test..................................................................................6
1.5 Hydration Reaction.....................................................................7
1.6 Concrete Curing.........................................................................9
1.7 Compressive Strength............................................................... 11
1.8 Water-to-Binder and Water-to-Cement Ratio........................... 16
1.9 Tensile and Flexural Strength of Concrete............................... 17
1.10 Elastic Module of Concrete...................................................... 17
1.11 Concrete Permeability and Water Tight Structures.................. 19
1.12 Durability and Effect of the Environment on Concrete........... 21
1.12.1 Alkali Aggregate Reaction.......................................... 22
1.12.2 Carbonation Reaction..................................................24
1.12.3 Chloride Attack...........................................................25
1.12.4 Sulfate Attack.............................................................. 27
1.12.5 Effect of Freeze Thaw Cycle....................................... 29
References........................................................................................... 31
Chapter 2 Portland Cement.................................................................................. 35

2.1 What Is the Portland Cement?.................................................. 35
2.2 Cement History......................................................................... 37
2.3 Cement Raw Materials............................................................. 38
2.4 Cement Production................................................................... 39
2.5 Compositions of Portland Cement............................................ 41
2.6 Types of Portland Cement........................................................44
2.7 Other Types of Cement............................................................. 47
2.8 Hydration Reaction................................................................... 49
2.9 Mineral Additives (Supplementary Cementitious Materials)..... 50
2.10 Blended Cement....................................................................... 51
2.11 Quality Control of Cement....................................................... 52
2.11.1 Fineness of Cement..................................................... 54
2.11.2 Particle Size Distribution............................................ 55
2.11.3 Cement Health............................................................. 57
2.11.4 Setting Time of Cement.............................................. 58
2.11.5 Cement Compressive Strength....................................60
vii
viii Contents
2.11.6 Specific Gravity of Cement......................................... 62

2.11.7 Cement Heat of Hydration........................................... 63
2.12 Analysis of Cement..................................................................64
2.12.1 Cement Analysis Formulas........................................ 67
2.13 Cement Transportation............................................................. 69
2.14 Cement Storage......................................................................... 70
References........................................................................................... 71
Chapter 3 Mineral Additives (Supplementary Cementitious Materials).............. 75

3.1 What Are the Supplementary Cementitious Materials?........... 75
3.2 Reaction with Cement and Water............................................. 77
3.3 Silica Fume............................................................................... 78
3.3.1 Silica Fume Specification............................................ 79
3.3.2 Effect of Silica Fume on the Properties of
Fresh Concrete.............................................................80
3.3.3 Effect of Silica Fume on the Properties of
Hardened Concrete......................................................80
3.3.4 Use of Silica Gel or Silica Slurry................................ 81
3.4 Fly Ash..................................................................................... 82
3.4.1 Fly Ash Specification.................................................. 83
3.4.2 Effect of Fly Ash on the Properties of
Fresh Concrete.............................................................84
3.4.3 Effect of Fly Ash on the Properties of
Hardened Concrete...................................................... 85
3.5 Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS)...................... 85
3.5.1 GGBS Specification.................................................... 86
3.5.2 Effect of GGBS on the Properties of Fresh Concrete..... 87
3.5.3 Effect of GGBS on the Properties of
Hardened Concrete...................................................... 88
3.6 Natural Pozzolans..................................................................... 88
3.6.1 Natural Pozzolans Specification.................................. 89
3.6.2 Effect of Natural Pozzolans on the Properties of
Fresh Concrete.............................................................90
3.6.3 Effect of Natural Pozzolans on the Properties of
Hardened Concrete��91
3.7 Comparison Between Different Supplementary
Cementitious Materials�� 92
3.8 Use of Mineral Additives in Concrete Production................... 93
References...........................................................................................94
Chapter 4 Aggregates...........................................................................................97
4.1 Types of Natural Stones............................................................ 98
4.2 Aggregates and the Density of Concrete................................ 101
Contents ix
4.3 Aggregate Size........................................................................ 108

4.3.1 Coarse Aggregates.................................................... 109
4.3.2 Maximum Size of Coarse Aggregate........................ 109
4.3.3 Fine Aggregates......................................................... 111
4.4 Production of Aggregates....................................................... 113
4.4.1 Natural Aggregates................................................... 113
4.4.2 Crushed Aggregates.................................................. 114
4.5 Aggregates Test and Quality Control..................................... 116
4.5.1 Abrasion Resistance.................................................. 116
4.5.2 Sieve Analysis Test.................................................... 116
4.5.3 Density and Water Absorption of Aggregates........... 119
4.5.4 Fillers and Passing by Sieve No. 200........................ 125
4.5.5 Harmful Materials in Aggregates............................. 129
References......................................................................................... 130
Chapter 5 Chemical Admixtures....................................................................... 133

5.1 The Reason for Using Concrete Admixtures......................... 133
5.2 Accelerator Admixtures......................................................... 134
5.2.1 Set Accelerators......................................................... 135
5.2.2 Hardening Accelerators............................................. 137
5.3 Retarder Admixtures.............................................................. 138
5.3.1 Dosage of Retarder Admixtures................................ 139
5.4 Plasticizers and Super-Plasticizers......................................... 141
5.4.1 Admixtures in ASTM Standard................................ 143
5.4.2 Chemical Bases of Plasticizers and
Super-Plasticizers...................................................... 143
5.4.3 Mini Slump Test........................................................ 148
5.4.4 Marsh Funnel Test..................................................... 152
5.4.5 Evaluation of Water Reduction Rate......................... 154
5.5 Air-Entraining Admixtures.................................................... 156
5.6 Water Proofing Admixtures................................................... 159
5.7 Curing Compounds................................................................ 161
5.8 Viscosity Modifier Admixtures.............................................. 163
5.9 Pumping Aid Admixtures...................................................... 164
5.10 Foaming Agent Admixtures................................................... 165
References......................................................................................... 167
Chapter 6 Water for Concrete............................................................................ 171

6.1 Water for Concrete Production............................................... 172
6.2 Water for Concrete Curing..................................................... 174
6.3 Test of Water........................................................................... 175
6.4 Decrease the Amount of Water for Concrete
Production and Curing��175
References......................................................................................... 177
x Contents
Chapter 7 Testing of Concrete........................................................................... 179

7.1 Tests for Fresh Concrete......................................................... 179
7.1.1 Slump Test................................................................. 180
7.1.2 Flow Table Test......................................................... 181
7.1.3 Slump Flow Test........................................................ 182
7.1.4 Rheometer for Concrete............................................ 183
7.1.5 Temperature of Fresh Concrete................................. 184
7.1.6 Density of Fresh Concrete......................................... 185
7.1.7 Air Content of Fresh Concrete.................................. 187
7.2 Tests for Hardened Concrete.................................................. 188
7.2.1 Compressive Strength Test........................................ 189
7.2.2 Concrete Elastic Modules and Poisson’s
Ratio Test................................................................... 192
7.2.3 Density of Hardened Concrete.................................. 195
7.2.4 Permeability of Concrete........................................... 196
7.3 Test of Concrete in the Structures.......................................... 197
7.3.1 Ultrasonic Test........................................................... 198
7.3.2 Schmidt Hammer Test...............................................200
7.3.3 Concrete Core Test....................................................202
References.........................................................................................204
Chapter 8 Durability of Concrete Structures.....................................................209

8.1 Parameters Affecting Concrete Durability............................209
8.2 Durability Against Carbonation............................................. 211
8.3 Durability Against Chloride Ion............................................. 213
8.4 Durability Against Sulfate Ion............................................... 214
8.5 Durability Against Freeze Thaw............................................ 216
8.6 Example for the Durability of a Concrete Structure.............. 217
8.7 First Project: Bridge Deck in North Europe........................... 217
8.8 Second Project: Commercial Building in a Big City
Near the South China Sea��219
References......................................................................................... 221
Chapter 9 Concrete Mix Design........................................................................ 225

9.1 The Goals of Concrete Mix Design....................................... 226
9.2 The Step-by-Step Method for Concrete Mix Design............. 226
9.2.1 Step (1): Specify Standard Deviation........................ 226
9.2.2 Step (2): Specify Mix Design
Compressive Strength.......................................... 228
9.2.3 Step (3): Specify Percentage of Each
Aggregate in Concrete............................................... 228
9.2.4 Step (4): Specify Fineness Module of
Total Aggregates....................................................... 229
Contents xi
9.2.5 Step (5): Specify Water-to-Binder Ratio................... 230

9.2.6 Step (6): Specify Free Water for Concrete................ 233
9.2.7 Step (7): Specify the Amount of Portland
Cement and Other Binders�� 236
9.2.8 Step (8): Specify the Total Volume of Aggregates........ 237
9.2.9 Step (9): Specify the Weight of Aggregates in
Saturated Surface Dry Conditions��238
9.2.10 Step (10): Specify the Real Weight of
Aggregates and Water in Concrete��238
9.3 Example 1 for Concrete Mix Design...................................... 239
9.4 Example 2 for Concrete Mix Design......................................246
9.5 Example 3 for Concrete Mix Design...................................... 254
9.6 Implementation of Mix Design in the Projects......................260
References......................................................................................... 261
Chapter 10 Production, Transportation, and Implementation of Concrete.......... 263

10.1 Production of Concrete in the Laboratory..............................264
10.2 Production of Concrete in the Batching Plant........................ 267
10.3 Concrete Transportation With Truck Mixers......................... 276
10.4 Other Instruments for Concrete Transportation..................... 277
10.5 Concrete Pumping.................................................................. 278
10.6 Compaction of Concrete.........................................................280
10.7 Smoothing the Surface of Concrete Elements........................ 282
10.8 Cold Joint in Concrete............................................................ 283
10.9 Curing of Concrete.................................................................284
10.10 Concrete Recycling System.................................................... 286
References......................................................................................... 287
Chapter 11 Usage of Fibers in Concrete.............................................................. 289

11.1 Steel Fibers............................................................................. 289
11.2 Glass Fibers............................................................................ 292
11.3 Artificial Fibers...................................................................... 294
11.3.1 Polypropylene Fibers................................................. 295
11.4 Natural Fibers......................................................................... 297
References......................................................................................... 298
Chapter 12 Hot and Cold Weather Concreting.................................................... 301

12.1 Calculating Concrete Temperature According to the
Constituent Materials Temperature��301
12.2 Definitions of Hot Weather Conditions for Concrete.............302
12.3 Cement Hydration Reaction at Hot Weather Conditions........304
12.4 The Effects of Hot Weather on the Properties of Concrete......... 304
12.5 Considerations for Hot Weather Concreting.......................... 305
xii Contents
12.6 Concrete Cracking at Hot Weather Conditions......................309

12.7 Chemical Admixtures for Hot Weather Concreting............... 312
12.8 Calculations for Concrete Temperature at
Hot Weather Conditions��313
12.9 Definitions of Cold Weather Conditions for Concrete........... 315
12.10 Cement Hydration Reaction at Cold Weather Conditions...... 316
12.11 The Effects of Cold Weather on the Properties of Concrete........317
12.12 Considerations for Cold Weather Concreting......................... 318
12.13 Chemical Admixtures for Cold Weather Concreting............. 321
12.14 Calculations for Concrete Temperature at Cold
Weather Conditions��322
References......................................................................................... 324
Chapter 13 Concrete for Special Purposes.......................................................... 327

13.1 Self-Compacting Concrete..................................................... 327
13.1.1 Definitions of SCC.................................................... 327
13.1.2 Considerations for SCC Production and
Implementation.......................................................... 328
13.1.3 Tests for Checking the Properties of SCC................ 331
13.1.4 Example for SCC Mix Design and
Implementation.....................................................335
13.2 Watertight Concrete................................................................340
13.2.1 Definitions of Waterproof Concrete and
Watertight Structure..................................................340
13.2.2 Considerations for Watertight Concrete
Production and Implementation��341
13.2.3 Tests for Checking the Properties of
Watertight Concrete.................................................. 342
13.2.4 Example for Watertight Concrete Mix Design
and Implementation...................................................344
13.3 High-Strength Concrete.......................................................... 347
13.3.1 Definitions of High-Strength Concrete.....................348
13.3.2 Considerations for High-Strength Concrete
Production and Implementation................................ 350
High-Strength Concrete............................................ 351
13.3.4 Example for High-Strength Concrete Mix
Design and Implementation��352
13.4 Ultra-High-Strength Concrete................................................ 354
13.4.1 Definitions of Ultra-High-Strength Concrete............ 355
13.4.2 Considerations for Ultra-High-Strength Concrete
Production and Implementation��356
Ultra-High-Strength Concrete��357
13.4.4 Example for Ultra-High-Strength Concrete
Mix Design and Implementation�� 360
Contents xiii
13.5 Mass Concrete........................................................................ 361

13.5.1 Definitions for Mass Concrete................................... 361
13.5.2 Considerations for Mass Concrete Production
and Implementation��362
Mass Concrete..................................................... 363
13.5.4 Example for Mass Concrete Mix Design and
Implementation.......................................................... 363
13.6 Precast Concrete..................................................................... 366
13.6.1 Definitions of Precast Concrete................................. 366
13.6.2 Considerations for Precast Concrete
Production and Implementation�� 366
Precast Concrete........................................................ 367
13.6.4 Example for Precast Concrete Mix Design and
Implementation.......................................................... 368
References......................................................................................... 370
Index....................................................................................................................... 373
Preface
Concrete technology is one of the most important subjects for civil engineers.
The usage of concrete in all kinds of projects is growing every day. So, the design of
high-quality and high-performance concrete is very important. After the production
of concrete, quality control and implementation are also notable.
To design, control, and implement high-quality concrete, we should start with the
knowledge about concrete constituent materials. Their quality control and all combi-
nations of them. After that, we should continue with the concrete mix design and the
process to ensure the quality of the concrete. Finally, the implementation process for
concrete should be considered.
There are many books on the concrete technology subject in the market. The dif-
ference between this book is the practical view to the concrete technology. So, the
book can be useful for civil engineering students, project managers, concrete quality
control managers and technicians, and all of the engineers who should work with
concrete in construction projects.
The first chapter of the book is an introduction to concrete technology. The reader
will know about some expressions in concrete technology that we are going to use
them in the future chapters of the book. So, this part is very important for the starters.
Chapter 2 is about the Portland cement, the most important material of concrete.
The reader will study about the history and production of cement, chemistry of
cement, different types of cement, and the quality control process.
Chapter 3 is about the mineral admixtures. Like Portland cement, they are another
kind of binders in concrete. The use of these materials in concrete is very important
for the durability purpose. So, it is necessary for a concrete technologist to know
about them.
Chapter 4 is about the aggregates, the texture of concrete. These materials are
very important for the rheology and behavior of fresh concrete, and they are also
important for the quality of hardened concrete. Quality control of aggregates is
another subject explained in this chapter.
Chapter 5 is about the chemical admixtures in concrete. These materials are very
important for the production of high-quality and modern concrete. So, it is necessary
to know their specification and usage.
Chapter 6 is about the water for concrete. The specification of suitable water for
concrete will be explained in this chapter.
In Chapter 7, the reader will study about the most important tests for fresh and
hardened concrete. The testing of concrete in the structures is also described in the
last part of the chapter.
Chapter 8 is about the durability of concrete structures. This subject is very
important today, because of the protection of resources in the environment. So, the
production and implementation of durable concrete will be discussed.
Chapter 9 is about the concrete mix design. As mentioned before, the production
of high-quality concrete depends on the concrete mix design. In fact, we should mix
all of the raw materials with the specific amount to prepare a suitable concrete.
xv
xvi Preface
In Chapter 10, the production, transportation and implementation of concrete are

discussed. So, the reader will study about the most advanced techniques of concrete
usage in the structural projects.
Chapter 11 is about the different types of fibers suitable for concrete.
The hot and cold weather conditions could be very harsh for concrete. So, the
implementation of concrete in these conditions is very important. This subject is
explained in Chapter 12.
Chapter 13 is about the special kinds of concrete for special purposes. There are
too many kinds of special concrete in the structures. Some of the most useful ones
are explained in this chapter.
According to the abovementioned, this book can be used as a concrete technology
handbook in most types of construction projects.
Kambiz Janamian
José B. Aguiar
2023
Authors
Kambiz Janamian is an experienced civil engineer and concrete technologist.
He worked for more than 10 years in ready mixed concrete plants as the QC and devel-
opment supervisor and consultant. He also worked as a concrete admixture formulator
and researcher for many years. He was the supervisor for many joint projects between
the concrete industry and universities. His research is related to concrete mix design,
concrete admixtures, PCE super-plasticizers, ultra-high-performance concrete, and
many other subjects related to the concrete technology. He published five books on
concrete technology with the subjects of high-performance concrete, shrinkage and
cracks in concrete, concrete admixtures, concrete mix design, and using of plasticiz-
ers and super-plasticizers.
José B. Aguiar is an Associate Professor with habilitation at the Department of

Civil Engineering of University of Minho, Portugal. He gained his BSc in Civil
Engineering in 1982 and received his PhD in civil engineering in 1990. He has over
250 publications. His main areas of interest include durability of concrete, concrete-
polymer composites, incorporation of wastes in concrete, and energy efficiency of
buildings. He published a book A Comprehensive Method for Concrete Mix Design,
2020, Materials Research Forum.
xvii
1 Introduction to
Concrete Technology
Concrete is the most important construction material with a high amount of usage in
the structures, because:
• It is very simple to find its constituent materials everywhere.

• Fresh concrete is a flexible material. So, you can shape it with all types
of forms.
• The compressive strength of hardened concrete is very good. We can make
a concrete with more than 300 MPa compressive strength nowadays.
• When we use concrete combined with steel bars or steel fibers, the tensile
and flexural strength of the mix will be very good.
So, it is very important for a civil engineer to know about this magic material.
The technique of making and controlling the quality of this material defined as the
concrete technology.
Concrete technology is the technique for the preparation of high-quality constitu-
ent materials and mixing them. It seems that it is a simple work. But really it is not.
The importance of choosing suitable constituent materials and good proportions is
one of the most advanced techniques in civil engineering.
This chapter is the start for a concrete technologist. You should start with some of
the most important expressions and definitions of concrete technology. This funda-
mental knowledge is necessary to continue the other subjects of the book.
Every page of this chapter contains many important definitions and concepts that
you should learn about the concrete technology. We will use these concepts in the
following chapters too many times. So, for beginners, this chapter is the base of other
chapters.
Let’s start our journey with the concrete constituent materials.
1.1 CONCRETE CONSTITUENT MATERIALS

Concrete is a mixture of below materials:
• Portland cement (Figure 1.1): It is a kind of powder, which contains c alcium

silicates and calcium aluminate chemicals. This is the main binder in con-
crete, which reacts with water to harden. This is also the main material
for the smoothness of concrete. We can use about 300–600 kg of Portland
cement in 1 m3 of concrete which is about 10%–25% by weight of concrete
and about 9%–18% by volume of concrete.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-1 1
2 Concrete Materials and Technology
FIGURE 1.1 Portland cement. (Photograph by the author.)
• Water: The material which is necessary for the hydration reaction of cement
chemicals. We can use about 110–250 kg of water in 1 m3 of concrete which
is about 5%–10% by weight and volume of concrete.
• Aggregates (Figure 1.2): They are parts of stone with different sizes from
the biggest size, which is about 25 mm, to the finest size, which is less than
0.075 mm. Aggregates are the texture and structure of concrete. We can use
about 1700–1900 kg of aggregates in 1 m3 of concrete, which is about 70%–
80% by weight of concrete and about 60%–70% by volume of concrete.
• Mineral admixtures (Figure 1.3): These materials act as the helping binder
of concrete. Most of them are the by-products of other industries, which
we can use to increase the performance of concrete, especially in the sub-
ject of durability. Most of the times, we will replace a defined portion of
Portland cement with these materials. For example, between 6% and 70% of
cement can be replaced with these materials. So, the amount of use is about
20–250 kg of 1 m3 of concrete which is about 1%–10% by weight of concrete
and about 1%–10% by volume of concrete.
FIGURE 1.2 Coarse aggregates (left) and fine aggregates (right). (Photograph by the author.)
Introduction to Concrete Technology 3
FIGURE 1.3 The most active mineral admixture (Silica fume). (Photograph by the author.)
• Chemical admixtures (Figure 1.4): These are special chemicals that we

can use for special purposes like better workability, air entraining, accel-
erating or retarding the hardness of concrete, and many other purposes.
We can use a little amount of these chemicals in concrete. Most of the
times, the amount of use is less than 2% by weight of total binder (Portland
cement + mineral admixtures) which is less than 0.5% by weight of con-
crete and less than 1% by volume of concrete. Although the amount of use
for these chemicals is a little, the effect of them is too much on the quality
and performance of concrete. So, in modern concrete technology, using
chemical admixtures is crucial.
FIGURE 1.4 Different chemical admixtures. (Photograph by the author.)

1.2 WATER REDUCTION IN CONCRETE PRODUCTION

As mentioned before, the reason for concrete hardening is the hydration reaction
between Portland cement chemical ingredients and water. This is in fact the reason
for all of the properties of hardened concrete. To complete this reaction, we need a
special amount of water which depends on the type of cement and usage of other
binders (mineral admixtures). We can say roughly that this amount of water is about
25%–30% by weight of cement.
On the other hand, if we make a concrete with this amount of water, the con-
crete will be very dry. Most of the times, if we would like to make a workable con-
crete without using any chemical admixture, we need water about 60% by weight of
cement. This is a huge difference! So, what will happen to our concrete with this high
amount of water?
The excess water would evaporate from the concrete. This moving of water
through the texture of concrete during its hardening will cause some micro-cracks
inside the concrete. So, the concrete will be porous, and it will be less hard for load-
ing. So, we should try to use less water in the production process of concrete. How
can we use less water for concrete production with workability consideration?
The answer is: using plasticizers and/or super-plasticizers. By using these mate-
rials, we can make concrete with the amount of water less than 30% by weight of
cement and good workability. We will talk about plasticizers and super-plasticizers
in the later chapters of this book.
The most important advantages of water reduction in concrete production are:
• Increase the compressive strength of concrete: As mentioned before, using

less water in concrete will cause less micro-cracks in the texture of con-
crete. So, we will have more compressive strength.
• Decrease the permeability of concrete: Less micro-cracks in the texture of
concrete means less permeability. The water and aggressive ions like chlo-
ride or sulfate cannot infiltrate into the concrete and they cannot destroy
concrete or the steel bars.
• Better bonding between concrete and steel bars: Because of the cohesion of
concrete with less water, the bonding between concrete and steel bars will
be better.
• Decrease the shrinkage and probability for cracks (Figure 1.5): Shrinkage
is the reduction of volume of concrete during the time. There are too many
reasons for concrete shrinkage. The problem is cracking which will hap-
pen because of the shrinkage on the surface and even sometimes inside the
concrete. Reduction of water in concrete will help the stability in volume
and decrease cracking.
1.3 CONCRETE WORKABILITY

Workability is defined as the ability of concrete for flowing, pumping, finishing, and
all of the work that we need to do for the implementation of concrete. Workability is
one of the specifications of fresh concrete. A good and workable concrete will cause
better compaction and implementation. So, the final structure will have better quality.
FIGURE 1.5 Cracks on the surface of the concrete. (Photograph by the author.)
Several factors have effects on the workability of concrete:
• Concrete flowability: One of the most important factors affecting workabil-

ity is the flowability of concrete. The more flowable concrete means the more
workable. But as mentioned before, to produce a high-quality concrete we
should use plasticizers and super-plasticizers for the flowability of concrete.
• Type and amount of cement in concrete: There are several types of cement
to use in concrete with different specifications. Some of them are acceler-
ated cements and the others could be retarded. These types of cement can
change the need of concrete for water or super-plasticizer to flow. So, they
could act on the workability of concrete. On the other hand, if we use more
cement in 1 m3 of concrete, the need for water will increase. So, the cement
type and the amount of cement in concrete are the factors that can change
the workability performance of concrete.
• Types of aggregates and their gradation: We will talk about different types
of aggregates in the later chapters. If we use crushed aggregates versus nat-
ural aggregates, they could decrease the concrete workability. Because, by
using crushed aggregates, concrete will be harsh and it could be difficult to
work with it. Another important factor is the amount of fillers in the fine
aggregates. Fillers are the finest part of the aggregates that can be very
important for the workability properties of concrete. Especially, the pump-
ability of concrete depends on the amount of fillers in the fine aggregates.
• Amount of air in concrete: When we produce any kind of concrete, about 1%–2%
of its volume is air bubbles. As these bubbles have circular shape, they can act
positively for the workability of concrete. So, more air bubbles in the texture of
concrete will cause better workability. But do not forget that on the other hand,
more air bubbles in the texture of concrete will cause drastically decrease in the
compressive strength and other mechanical properties of concrete.
• Amount of water in concrete: As you know, increasing the amount of water
in concrete will cause decreasing the compressive strength. But on the other
hand, it can cause better workability properties. So, the optimum dosage of
water in concrete is very important. We can optimize the amount of water
by using a special super-plasticizer for any purpose.
• Concrete and ambient temperature: The water demand and dosage of super-
plasticizer will increase at hot weather conditions. On the other hand, when
we transport concrete from the production plant to the final project, the
ambient and concrete temperature will be very important. Because in this
case, hot weather will cause more evaporation of water and also rapid hydra-
tion reaction of cement, and these two reasons will cause decrease in work-
ability during the transportation time.
• Using plasticizers and super-plasticizers: As mentioned before, one of the
most important reasons for using plasticizers and super-plasticizers is their
effect on the workability of concrete. They can improve the flowability and
sometimes the cohesion of concrete for better workability and pumping.
• Transportation of concrete: The transportation time, especially in hot
weather conditions, is very important. If the transportation time will
increase, the workability will decrease drastically. The other important fac-
tor is the type of mixer and the mixing speed for the transportation of con-
crete. More mixing speed will cause a more rapid hydration reaction and it
will cause decrease in flowability and workability.
1.4 SLUMP TEST

Slump test is one of the most important tests to measure the flowability of concrete.
This test procedure is according to ASTM C143. Although we can say that this is not
an accurate test for the flowability of concrete, it can be useful in many cases.
To do the test, we need a cone with a height of 300 mm and lower role diameter
of 200 mm and upper role diameter of 100 mm (Figures 1.6 and 1.7). We should pour
FIGURE 1.6 The dimensions of the slump cone. (Photograph created by the author.)
FIGURE 1.7 Picture of slump test tools. (Photograph by the author.)
the cone with concrete in three layers. After pouring each layer, we should compact
the layer with a 16 mm rebar with 15 strokes. Then the upper limit of the cone should
be cleaned of concrete. Finally, we should pull up the cone slowly and let the con-
crete fall down. The difference between the height of the cone (300 mm) and fallen
concrete is the slump of concrete, which is an index for the flowability. The more
flowable concrete means a higher number of slump.
For the slump less than 120 mm, we can say that the concrete is a stiff one and the
test is accurate enough. For the slump between 120 and 200 mm, the concrete is a
good flowable concrete. But the test accuracy is not good enough. For the slump more
than 200 mm, the test accuracy is not good and we should use other tests for good
measurement of the flowability. In fact, a concrete with the slump more than 200 mm
is not a normal concrete. We can call these kinds of concrete an easy compacting
concrete or self-compacting concrete.
1.5 HYDRATION REACTION

The hydration reaction is a chemical reaction between Portland cement compositions
and water which causes the hardening of concrete. This reaction is an exothermic
chemical reaction. The heat released by this reaction is called hydration heat.
All of the compositions of cement can react with water. But the most important ones
for all of the mechanical properties of concrete are C3S (tri calcium silicate) and C2S
(di calcium silicate). We will talk about the compositions of cement in Chapter 2. But
you have to know that the most important compositions of any kind of Portland cement
are C3S and C2S. You can see the hydration reaction for these compositions as follows:
(C3S, C2S) + H2O → C-H-S + Ca(OH)2

As you see, the reaction of C3S and C2S with water produces C-H-S (Calcium Hydrate
Silicate) and Ca(OH)2.
The exact chemical structure of C-H-S is not known. But we know that this chem-
ical is responsible for the compressive strength and other mechanical properties of
concrete. So, if we can increase the amount of C-H-S in the hydration reaction, we
can increase the quality and performance of concrete. Now the question is: How can
we do it?
To increase the amount of C-H-S in concrete, we should optimize the hydration
reaction. To do it, we should:
• Use high-quality cement with a good production process: Like any other
material, high-quality cement will cause a suitable hydration reaction.
• Optimize the temperature of concrete during hydration: Concrete tempera-
ture can increase or decrease the hydration reaction speed, especially in the
earlier stage.
• Use less water in concrete production: This will cause optimizing the
amount of water for the hydration reaction.
• Use high-quality plasticizers and super-plasticizers: Some of these chemi-
cals can improve the hydration reaction in addition to reducing water.
• Cure the concrete during the hydration process: It means that we should
control the moisture and temperature during time.
About the hydration heat, you should know that any kind of cement can release
different amount of heat during the hydration reaction. We will talk about different
types of cement later. Some kinds of cement are accelerated ones and the others
are retarded ones. So, accelerated types of cement can release more heat during the
hydration reaction and retarded cements can release less hydration heat.
It is very important to control the hydration heat in some projects because this
heat can damage the quality of concrete. For example, in mass concrete projects like
mass foundations (Figure 1.8) or structure of concrete dams, the problem of hydra-
tion heat could be very important. To control the heat of hydration we should follow
the below considerations:
• Use retarded types of cement: This will cause a decrease in the speed of the
hydration reaction.
• Use less cement in 1 m3 of concrete: It means the minimum cement for con-
crete according to the mechanical properties.
• Use retarder chemical admixtures: These chemicals can control the heat of
hydration.
• Use other types of binders: Binders like slag or fly ash beside the Portland
cement can decrease the heat of hydration.
On the other hand, in some cases, we need to increase the heat of hydration. For
example, in winter and in cold weather conditions (Figure 1.9), to reduce the risk
of icing, we need more heat in the concrete hydration reaction. For this reason, you
should consider below points:
FIGURE 1.8 A mass foundation. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 1.9 Cold weather construction. (“Constructing natural gas line in winter, Finland”
by Jukka Isokoski.)
• Use more cement in 1 m3 of concrete: You can increase the amount of heat
by the hydration reaction.
• Use accelerated types of cement: These types of cement can release more
heat, especially in the earlier stage.
• Use accelerator chemical admixtures: These chemicals can accelerate the
hydration reaction and increase the amount of heat in the earlier stage.
1.6 CONCRETE CURING

Curing is the protection of finished concrete against drying and high changing in
temperature. To achieve maximum performance of any concrete, curing is critical.
For perfect curing, you should consider three points:
• Moisture: the first important point is the protection of concrete against drying.
Hydration reaction needs enough amount of water during the time. On the
other hand, ambient conditions like temperature and wind will dry the surface
of the concrete element. So, we should protect the moisture inside the concrete.
• Temperature: We will discuss the temperature effect on concrete later. For
now, you should know that we should control the temperature of concrete
to prevent freezing and on the other hand, we should control the amount of
heat inside the concrete to prevent cracking. The best temperature for con-
crete is between 15°C and 25°C.
• Time: We should do all of the considerations above, as long as it is possible.
In some texts, the best time for concrete curing is one week. But, really it
is very hard to do the considerations of curing for one week. So, at least we
should do it for 48 hours and continue as much as possible.
Now, we should talk about the exact tasks for concrete curing. We will talk about this
subject later. But, here we will list some of the most important tasks for concrete curing:
• Use of curing compound admixtures (Figure 1.10): We should spray these

chemicals on the surface of the concrete element. So, the moisture evapora-
tion will control. In fact, these chemicals make a film layer on the surface of
concrete and this film will prevent evaporation.
FIGURE 1.10 The implementation of curing compound chemicals. (“Spraying the curing
compound” by Robyn McKinley.)
• Use of covers: If we cover the surface of the concrete with plastic layers, we
can prevent the evaporation of water from the concrete.
• Use of water jet (Figure 1.11) or fogging: With this task, we can secure the
amount of moisture for the hydration reaction.
• Control the temperature of concrete in hot weather conditions: By using
cold water, we can control the temperature of concrete in summer.
• Control the temperature of concrete in cold weather conditions: We can
cover the surface of the concrete with blankets (Figure 1.12) and using of
heaters to control the temperature of concrete in winter. This process is very
important for the curing of concrete in cold weather conditions.
1.7 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

Compressive strength is the most important mechanical property of concrete.
As concrete tensile and flexural strength is low, we need the compressive strength of
concrete for the design of concrete structures.
The important question is: What is strength? And what is compressive strength?
FIGURE 1.11 Water curing of a concrete column. (An Iraqi construction worker” by Jim
Gordon.)
FIGURE 1.12 Suitable blankets to control the temperature of concrete in winter. (Photograph
by the author.)
Strength is the maximum amount of force on one unit of area that a material can
tolerate without failure.
Compressive strength is the maximum amount of compressive force on one unit
of area that concrete can tolerate without failure.
For concrete, as the age of concrete will increase, the compressive strength will
raise. So, this is very important to know the age of concrete for the amount of com-
pressive strength.
The most important age is 28 days because for most kinds of concrete, the increase
of compressive strength after 28 days is very little. We can check the growth of com-
pressive strength at other ages like 3, 7, or 11 days. On the other hand, we can check the
growth of compressive strength at the ages like 42 or 90 days. You can see the common
growing pattern of compressive strength for concrete during the time in Figure 1.13.
You should know that the growing pattern of concrete depends on several fac-
tors like the type of cement, use of mineral additives and the amount of them,
type of mineral additive, and use of chemical admixtures specially accelerators
or retarders. In Figure 1.13 we can see a common pattern for a concrete with only
ASTM type-I cement and without any mineral or chemical admixture.
Now, we would like to see, how can we measure the compressive strength of concrete?
To measure the compressive strength of concrete we should follow these steps:
• Prepare enough amount of concrete as sample. For example, we can give a

sample from a truck mixer that transports concrete to the project. The amount
of concrete should be enough for pouring the molds that we are going to use.
• Choose the appropriate kind of mold that we would like to use. The standard
mold according to ASTM is the 15 × 30 cm cylinder mold (Figure 1.14). But
you can use 10 × 20 cm cylinders or 15 × 15 × 15 cm cubes instead (Figure 1.15).
If you use the latter mold, you should convert the compressive strength to the
equivalent for the 15 × 30 cm cylinder. In different countries all over the world,
the more common kind of mold is different.
120
100
Growth of compressive strength
80
60
40
20
0
0 3 7 28 90 120
Concrete age (days)
FIGURE 1.13 Common pattern for concrete compressive strength growing. (Graph created
by the author.)
FIGURE 1.14 Standard 15 × 30 cm cylinder mold and specimen. (Photograph by the author.)
• Pour the molds according to the ASTM C39 in different layers with good
compaction.
• Release the molds after 24 hours and put the specimens of hardened con-
crete into the water according to ASTM C39.
• In the appropriate age, for example, 28 days, bring the specimen out of the
water, and let the surface dry. Now the specimen is ready for the compres-
sive strength test.
FIGURE 1.15 Standard 15 × 15 × 15 cm cube mold and specimen. (Photograph by the author.)
• Put the specimen under the hydraulic test machine (Figure 1.16) to load it
until failure. You can calculate the compressive strength by dividing the
final force by the surface area of the specimen.
As mentioned before, if we use other kinds of molds instead of the 15 ×  30 cm cylin-
der, we should convert the compressive strength to the equivalent standard cylinder.
There are too many suggestions for this reason in different texts and standards. For
example, to convert the 15 × 15 × 15 cm cube compressive strength to the standard
15 × 30 cm cylinder you can use Table 1.1.
Example 1.1: Calculate the concrete compressive strength for an ASTM stan-
dard cylinder specimen that failed with the maximum force of 82.2 tons.
Area = 7.5 × 7.5 × 3.14 = 176.6 cm2

Compressive strength = (82.2 × 1000)/176.6 = 465 kg/cm2 = 46.5 MPa
Example 1.2: Calculate the concrete standard cylinder compressive strength for a
15 × 15 × 15 cube specimen which failed with the maximum force of 101.6 tons.
Area = 15 × 15 = 225 cm2

Cube compressive strength = (101.6 × 1000)/225 = 452 kg/cm2
FIGURE 1.16 Hydraulic concrete test machine. (Photograph by the author.)
According to Table 1.1 we have:
Standard cylinder compressive strength = 452 – 50 = 402 kg/cm2 = 40.2 MPa
From a compressive strength point of view, we can use four types of concrete:
• Low-strength concrete: Compressive strength less than 30 MPa

• Normal strength concrete: Compressive strength between 30 and 50 MPa
• High-strength concrete: Compressive strength of more than 50–90 MPa
• Ultra-high strength concrete: Compressive strength of more than 90 MPa
TABLE 1.1
Rough Conversion of 15 × 15 × 15 cm Cube Compressive Strength to the
Standard 15 × 30 cm Cylinder
15 × 15 × 15 cm cube compressive strength (MPa) 30 35 40 45 50 55
15 × 30 cm cylinder compressive strength (MPa) 25 30 35 40 45 50
The common compressive strength for concrete in different countries of the world
could be different. For example, in developed countries, the common compressive
strength of concrete is about 50 MPa. But in some other countries, the common com-
pressive strength could be about 25 MPa.
The use of low-strength concrete is a waste of materials and resources because by
using the same materials and using the beneficiary of high concrete technology, we
can make high-strength concrete. We will talk about this subject later. But for now, it
is very important to use a concrete with higher strength and performance.
1.8 WATER-TO-BINDER AND WATER-TO-CEMENT RATIO

As mentioned before, using less water in concrete production means higher strength
and performance. But the real subject is not only less water. It depends on the water-
to-binder and/or water-to-cement ratio.
In this concept, the cement is only pure Portland cement and the binder is the sum
of Portland cement and mineral additives like silica fume, fly ash, ground granulated
blast furnace slag (GGBS), and natural pozzolans.
The complete concept is: If we have lower water-to-cement (w/c) or water-to-binder
(w/b) ratio, then we will have higher strength concrete as can be seen in Figure 1.17.
To decrease w/c ratio, we can increase the amount of cement or total binder and
we can decrease the amount of water. We have restrictions to increase the amount of
cement. Because of the hydration heat, cracking, economical reasons, and low activ-
ity of high amount of cement in concrete, we can use a maximum of 500 kg of pure
Portland cement and a maximum of 700 kg of total binder in 1 m3 of concrete. So, the
best thing that we can do is the reduction of water in concrete production.
70
65
60
55
Compressive strength (MPa)
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6
Water to cement ratio
FIGURE 1.17 Effect of w/c on the compressive strength for different types of cement.
(Graph created by the author.)
On the other hand, if we make concrete with 300–400 kg of pure Portland

cement and water-to-cement ratio of about 0.55–0.6, then we will have concrete with
80–100 mm slump which is not a good slump for the implementation of concrete. So,
what should we do to produce a concrete with w/c of 0.4 and lower?
The answer is using high-performance super-plasticizers. These chemicals will
let the concrete flow without increasing the amount of water. The average dosage
of plasticizers and super-plasticizers is between 0.3% and 2% by weight of binder,
which can be between 1 and 10 kg of admixture in 1 m3 of concrete.
In fact, the amount of use for these chemical admixtures is very low, but the effect
of them is very high in concrete production. We can say that the production of high-
quality and performance concrete is possible only because of the high technology of
these chemical admixtures.
1.9 TENSILE AND FLEXURAL STRENGTH OF CONCRETE

The most important mechanical property of concrete is compressive strength because
the compressive strength of concrete can be high enough to use it in concrete struc-
tures. We can make concrete with a compressive strength of more than 300 MPa. So,
for compressive strength, there are no restrictions.
On the other hand, for tensile strength, concrete is a weak material. We can say
that the tensile strength of a normal concrete is about 8%–12% of the compressive
strength. So, for a 50 MPa concrete that is a good concrete, we will have only about
5 MPa of tensile strength which is very low. So, for the design of concrete structures,
we will not trust on the tensile strength of concrete. In fact, we assume that the tensile
strength of concrete is zero. We only trust on the compressive strength.
As the tensile strength of concrete is very low, we can say that the flexural strength
of concrete is also very low. Because, when we have an element under the positive
flexural load, we will have compression in the upper layer and tension in the lower
layer (Figure 1.18). Because of the lack of tension, we will have the failure of the ele-
ment at the point of tension failure.
1.10 ELASTIC MODULE OF CONCRETE

Elastic module or young module is the stress-to-strain ratio of a solid concrete when
the Hooks law is indefeasible. In fact, it shows the stiffness of concrete. So, when the
compressive strength of concrete will increase, the elastic module also should increase.
To calculate the elastic module of concrete, we need the stress-strain curve. Then
we should calculate the slope of the line tangent to the linear part of the stress-strain
curve. You can see a sample of stress-strain curve for concrete in Figure 1.19.
FIGURE 1.18 Correlation between flexural strength and tensile strength. (Graph created
by the author.)
35
30
25
Stress (MPa)
20
15
10
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Strain (%)
FIGURE 1.19 Stress-strain curve for a C30 concrete. (Graph created by the author.)
To calculate the elastic module for concretes with a compressive strength less than
50 MPa we can use below equation:
E = 5000√f’c
In this equation, E is the elastic module of concrete in MPa, and f’c is the 28 days
standard cylinder compressive strength of concrete in MPa.
Another concept that is important to be known is the ductility of concrete. You
should know that, if the compressive strength of concrete increases, the ductility will
decrease. So, we can say, high strength concrete could be a brittle material.
For the design of concrete structures, using brittle materials is not recommended,
especially in the seismic zones of the world because of the failure type of these mate-
rials. But you have to know three comments for this problem:
• The ductility of concrete with a compressive strength of less than 70 MPa is

good enough to use as a ductile construction material.
• For the concretes with a compressive strength of more than 70 MPa, we can
control the ductility by using suitable steel bars and steel fibers. So, these
concrete also can be used as a good construction material.
• We cannot use concrete as a construction material without using steel bars
or steel fibers, because of concrete weakness against tension. So, by using
steel bars and/or steel fibers with concrete, we will have a very good con-
struction material which we call reinforced concrete.
You can see a typical stress-strain curve for different compressive strength types of
concrete in Figure 1.20.
60
50
40
Stress (MPa)
30
20
10
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
Strain (%)
C20 C30 C40 C50
FIGURE 1.20 Typical stress-strain curve for different types of concrete. (Graph created by
the author.)
As you can see in Figure 1.20, for higher compressive strength, after failure
the stress will decrease with higher amount for the same strain. So, the material
is more brittle. But as described before, we can control it by using steel bars or
steel fibers.
1.11 CONCRETE PERMEABILITY AND WATER TIGHT STRUCTURES

The permeability of concrete is one of the key elements for the quality and perfor-
mance of concrete. As mentioned before, to make a high-quality concrete, we should
reduce w/c or w/b ratio. If we make this kind of concrete, then we are going to make
an impermeable concrete.
For an impermeable concrete, water and other chemicals that can be very harmful
to concrete cannot infiltrate the concrete. We would like to make an impermeable
concrete for two reasons:
• For water-tight structures: Some of the concrete structures need to be water-

tight. For example, swimming pools or water storages, which should be
water tight. For these kinds of structures, we need to decrease the perme-
ability of concrete.
• To increase the durability of structures: We will talk about the durability
in the next part. You should know that, if aggressive chemical ions can go
inside the concrete, they can reduce the mechanical behavior of the concrete
structure. They can destroy the steel bars or the concrete itself. So, to con-
trol the infiltration of chemical ions into the concrete, we need to decrease
the permeability.
There are too many points that we should consider to make an impermeable concrete.
You can see some of them below:
• Reduce the water-to-binder or water-to-cement ratio: It can minimize the

micropores inside the concrete. This is the best way to control the perme-
ability of concrete.
• Use of mineral additives: They can reduce the micropores inside the con-
crete. These materials can reduce w/b and they can also produce more
C-H-S and make a compacted concrete microstructure. The best powder
additive for this reason is the silica fume.
• Use of plasticizers and super-plasticizers: These chemicals can reduce the
w/b and also, and they can help to make a flowable concrete. One of the
most important points to make an impermeable concrete is a good com-
pacted concrete. If we have a good plastic flowable concrete made with a
good super-plasticizer, we can guarantee good compaction of concrete.
• Use of PVC water stop tapes (Figure 1.21) in the joints: If you have any joint
during concreting, you should use the water stop tapes to control the infiltra-
tion of water from the joints.
• Use suitable vibrator machines: As mentioned before, the compaction of
concrete is very important and good vibration is one of the key elements for
the best compaction.
• Prevention of cracking: If you make a good quality concrete with good
implementation, we expect to have an impermeable concrete. But if you
have any kind of crack on the surface of concrete structure, water and other
chemicals can infiltrate from these cracks into the concrete. So, the concrete
cannot be impermeable. To control cracking, you should consider all of the
mentioned in the curing part of this session. You should cure the concrete as
good as possible to control cracking.
• Use of waterproofing admixtures: You can find these kinds of chemicals
in liquid and solid form. They are zooming on the pores inside concrete.
They try to fill these pores to control the permeability. If you would like to
FIGURE 1.21 PVC water stop tape for the joints. (Photograph by the author.)
use these chemical admixtures, you should consider other points that we
mentioned before to make a watertight concrete. The most important mis-
take is thinking of only using a waterproofing admixture.
1.12 DURABILITY AND EFFECT OF

THE ENVIRONMENT ON CONCRETE
One of the most important concepts in concrete technology is the durability of con-
crete structures. What does it mean?
Durability is the perpetuity of the structure against environmental destroyable
effects over time. As we are using the natural resources as the construction materials to
build the structure, we should consider the durability due to sustainable development.
Sustainable development is a kind of development without destroying the natural
resources and the environment. We should consider the sustainable development in
all kinds of industries. In concrete industry, it means that we should produce the best
quality concrete with the highest durability that is possible and by using minimum
natural resources, without destroying the environment. To make a concrete with the
minimum usage of natural resources and without destroying the environment, we
should consider below points:
• Use minimum amount of water to control the consumption of drinkable

water: To do that, we should use plasticizers and super-plasticizers to reduce
the amount of water in concrete mix.
• Use minimum amount of Portland cement to control the air pollution: As
the production of one ton of Portland cement will produce about one ton of
CO2, we should control the usage of pure Portland cement. To do that, we
should replace a percentage of pure Portland cement with the mineral addi-
tives which are waste materials, and also by using plasticizers and super-
plasticizers we can reduce the amount of water and w/c. So, we can use less
Portland cement for the same mechanical properties.
• Use of mineral additives to increase the durability of concrete: As these
materials are by-products of some industries, by using them, we can help to
control pollution from the waste materials.
• Use of recycled materials if it is possible: There are too many trials for the
usage of recycled aggregates in concrete. Sometimes the durability of con-
crete made with the recycled aggregates is low. So, the usage of recycled
aggregates is restricted for some projects. But the researches are going on
and we should try to use these materials again for the production of con-
crete. Because they can increase the pollution of our Earth.
Instead of making an environmental-friendly concrete, we should try to make a

durable concrete for the structures. We will talk about durability in later parts of this
book. But for now, we will discuss five environmental conditions that could affect
the concrete and destroy the steel bars or concrete itself. Also, we will discuss the
prevention methods to control the durability of concrete against these aggressive
environmental conditions.
1.12.1 Alkali Aggregate Reaction

This is a reaction between some active minerals in some kinds of aggregates and
the alkali materials (sodium and potassium oxides) in cement. This reaction needs
also a little amount of moisture to occur. It will cause expansion inside concrete and
severe cracking will happen. So, the control of this reaction is very important due to
concrete durability.
As you can see in Figures 1.22 and 1.23, the cracks of alkali aggregate reaction
(AAR) are very dangerous for the durability and even stability of the concrete struc-
ture. These cracks will happen within about 2 or 3 years after the construction. So,
this is a long-term reaction that proceeds slowly inside the concrete element. Because
of this type of progress, we call this reaction also “concrete cancer.” We will see
destroying of the structural element from inside without any exterior motivator. This
is exactly like the progress of cancer in the body.
We have two types of alkali aggregate reactions:
• Alkali silica reaction: This reaction will happen between the active silica
minerals inside some kinds of aggregates and the alkalis of cement beside
moisture.
• Alkali carbonate reaction: This reaction will happen between the active car-
bonate minerals inside some kinds of aggregates and the alkalis of cement
beside moisture.
The alkali silica reaction (ASR) is more dangerous than the alkali car-
bonate reaction because there are more aggregates with active silica materi-
als. Also, the reaction for active silica is more powerful and more rapid than
for the active carbonate.
With attention to the above mentioned, we realize that the control of
AAR is very important at the time of concrete production. To control this
reaction, we can consider below points:
FIGURE 1.22 Cracks caused by alkali aggregate reaction. (“Surface of a concrete pillar of
the building of the National Gallery of Canada at Ottawa”.)
FIGURE 1.23 Alkali aggregate reaction. (“Bc rueckreise 025 swartz bay 2ndary efflores-
cence alkali silica reactions” by Achim Hering.)
• Checking the aggregates: The first and most important point is testing the
aggregates for the potential of active materials needed for the AAR. There
are several test methods for this reason. For example, we can test the aggre-
gates by ASTM C227 test method.
If the aggregates are potentially active, we should not use them in con-
crete production. But sometimes, we can only use one type of aggregate
or all of the local aggregates are potentially active. In this case we should
consider other points.
• Use of low alkali cement: Low alkali cement is a Portland cement with total
alkali less than 0.6%. If we make a concrete with low alkali cement, we do
not have the danger of AAR in the future even with the potentially activated
aggregates. Because the amount of alkali is not enough to start and progress
of reaction. Sometimes, there is no low alkali cement in a country or region,
because the production process for low alkali cement depends on the raw
materials of the cement factory. So, access to the suitable raw materials for
low alkali cement in some regions is not possible.
• Use of blended cement: Blended cement means the use of Portland cement
mixed with mineral additives with a defined percentage of mixing. When
we use blended cement, we will decrease the amount of total alkali in the
concrete mix. So, we can control the AAR.
• Reduce the permeability of concrete: As mentioned before, moisture is one

of the critical elements for the AAR. So, if the moisture cannot infiltrate into
the concrete, the reaction will control. We can reduce the permeability of any
kind of concrete with the considerations mentioned in the previous session.
1.12.2 Carbonation Reaction
Carbonation reaction is a reaction between carbon dioxide in the air and water which
produce carbonic acid and concrete. This acid will penetrate inside concrete and will
reach the steel bars. As concrete itself is an alkali material, it can protect the steel bars
from corrosion. But when the carbonic acid penetrates the concrete, it will decrease the
pH around the steel bars and the corrosion will start. This corrosion of steel bars will
cause the expansion of the bar and this expansion will cause the cracking of concrete.
So, we can see the signs of corroded steel bars from outside of the concrete element.
The most important element for the carbonation reaction is enough amount of
carbon dioxide in the air. So, the places for this reaction are the big crowded cities
with high air pollution.
The second element for the carbonation reaction is enough amount of moisture.
So, if the humidity of air in a crowded city will be high, the danger of carbonation
reaction will be very high. But it does not mean that only in humid climate conditions
we will have the carbonation attack. With only three to five times of raining in a year,
we can see a carbonation reaction in concrete structures (Figure 1.24).
To reduce the carbonation attack effect in concrete structures, we can consider
below points:
• Reduce the permeability of concrete: As mentioned before, the carbon-

ation reaction needs water and carbon dioxide to penetrate into the con-
crete element. If we reduce the permeability of concrete, we can control the
FIGURE 1.24 Steel bar corrosion in concrete structures. (“This is one of a series of 46 pic-
tures, which compares two bridges. The second bridge (picture 46) crosses a canal inside the
City of Amsterdam” by Achim Hering.)
penetration of water and carbon dioxide into the concrete. So, the carbon-
ation reaction will control. To reduce the permeability of concrete, you can
see previous section of this chapter about permeability.
• Increase the concrete cover on the steel bars: We know that the carbonation
itself does not have any effect on the concrete. It will attack the steel bars
inside the concrete. If we increase the concrete cover on the steel bars, water
and carbon dioxide will arrive to the steel bars later. So, the carbonation
reaction can control.
The carbonation attack in urban structures like bridges has a significant effect on
the durability of these structures. So, the control of this reaction in these kinds of
structures is very important.
1.12.3 Chloride Attack
One of the most dangerous chemical ions for concrete structures is the chloride ion.
This will attack the steel bars and corrosion will start like an electrochemical cell
(Figure 1.25). Some parts of the steel bars will be anode and the other parts act as
the cathode. This kind of corrosion will happen rapidly in concrete structures. So,
the prevention of this attack is more important than the other ones mentioned before.
Chloride attack will produce FeOH and also ferrite oxide which causes the expan-
sion of steel bars and the concrete covering the steel bars.
How can a concrete structure expose to the chloride ion?
Concrete structures can expose to the chloride ion in two main ways:
• Deicing salt: As you know, in winter and at the time of snowing, to melt
the ice, we are using salt or mixing of salt and sand. All kinds of these salts
contain chloride ions. This ion from the surface of roads can move with the
FIGURE 1.25 Corrosion of the steel bars. (“This is one of a series of 46 pictures, which
compares two bridges. The first bridge, (pictures 1–45), is part of the Canadian freeway QEW
(Queen Elizabeth Way)” by Achim Hering.)
wheels of vehicles and can splash to the concrete elements like the columns
of parking lots or bridges and even to the viaducts of the bridges or many
other types of concrete structures. So, when we are using the deicing salts at
cold climate locations, we should consider the chloride attack on the struc-
tural elements which may be exposed to the chloride ion.
• Chloride of sea water: Sea water contains high concentration of chloride.
So, when a structure is exposed to sea water, the danger of chloride attack
will be very high. On the other hand, the chloride ion can evaporate into the
air from the sea water and go so far from the sea. This chloride can attack
the structures that are not contacted to the sea water directly. This kind of
chloride ion is called airborne chloride. The severity of the chloride attack
from airborne ions is not comparable with the attack from direct sea water.
But we should consider the danger of chloride attack in the structure even
tens of kilometers far from the seaside.
As mentioned before, the control of chloride attack to the concrete structures is very
important, especially in the seaside structures. So, to avoid corrosion due to the chlo-
ride attack we should consider below points:
• Reduce the permeability of concrete: To prevent the penetration of the chlo-

ride ion inside the concrete element, we should reduce the permeability of
concrete. To do that, we should consider the points mentioned in the earlier
section of this chapter about permeability. But, you should pay more atten-
tion to this part for the chloride attack. Because it is more dangerous than
the carbonation reaction. For example, the use of a concrete with the mini-
mum w/b ratio is more important.
• Use of mineral additives, especially the silica fume: Many studies showed
that the use of mineral additives, especially the silica fume, besides reduc-
ing the w/b ratio in the concrete mix, can control the chloride attack in
the structures. So, the use of silica fume in the seaside structures in many
countries is mandatory. We will talk about the use of these mineral addi-
tives in concrete in the future. But, to control the chloride attack we should
use these additives in nearly the maximum dosage.
• Curing: Concrete curing is one of the most important points for the reduction
of permeability. But we point it here again because this is very important for
the control of the chloride attack in concrete structures. Chloride ions can
attack the steel bars even from a very thin crack on the surface of the concrete.
• Increase the concrete cover on the steel bars: To retard arriving of the chlo-
ride ion to the steel bars, we should increase the concrete cover on the steel
bars. If the quality of concrete will be high enough, it can prevent the attack
of chloride ions on the steel bars.
• Use of liquid epoxy on the surface of the steel bars: As the control of chlo-
ride attack is very important, some new methods were developed for this
reason. One of these methods is using epoxy on the surface of the steel bars.
This epoxy layer will prevent the formation of the electrochemical cell. So,
it can prevent corrosion.
FIGURE 1.26 Corrosion of the steel bars. (“This is one of a series of 46 pictures, which
compares two bridges. The second bridge (picture 46) crosses a canal inside the City of
Amsterdam” by Achim Hering.)
If we implement all of the above mentioned about the quality of concrete,

there is no need to use the epoxy layer on the surface of steel bars.
• Use of special cover on the surface of concrete: We can use special types
of liquid admixtures which can implement on the surface of the concrete.
These materials can prevent the penetration of chloride ions into the con-
crete. So, they can control the corrosion of the steel bars. If we implement
all of the above mentioned about the quality of concrete, there is no need to
use these covers on the surface of the concrete. Sometimes, for some very
important structures, we can use these materials for more assurance about
the safety of the structure against the chloride attack.
• Cathodic protection: This is a technique to control steel bar corrosion. In
this technique, we should make the steel bars as the cathode in an electro-
chemical cell and use a sacrificial metal as anode which will corrode. This
technique can protect steel bars from corrosion. But, it is not simple to use
that in all kinds of structures. So, as mentioned before, the best we can do is
the production and implementation of a high-quality concrete to protect the
structure from corrosion (Figure 1.26).
1.12.4 Sulfate Attack

Sulfate ion is another dangerous chemical for concrete. Unlike the other chemicals
that attack the steel bars, sulfate only attacks the concrete itself. So, the corrosion
will start from the surface of the concrete.
The concrete elements could expose to the sulfate ion in two ways:
• Sulfate ion from the soil: Soil in some locations could contain a high amount
of sulfate ions to attack the concrete. It will attack the structures that are
in contact with the soil. Like several foundations or some columns. So, we
should test the soil to check the amount of sulfate, when we would like to
start a structure that will be in contact with the soil.
• Sulfate ion from water: Sea water and also under-ground water, if it is in
contact with the sulfate soil, could contain high amount of sulfate ions. It
can attack the structures that are in contact with this kind of water. For
example, offshore structures are in danger of chloride and sulfate attack.
The mechanism of sulfate attack in concrete is the reaction of three calcium alumi-
nate (C3A), which is one of the main compounds of Portland cement, with the sulfate
ion. The real chemical reaction is very complicated and depends on the type of sul-
fate salt (calcium sulfate, sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate). But, the main com-
pounds produced due to the sulfate attack are the ettringite and thaumasite which are
the products of a complicated chemical reaction. In this case, moisture is needed for
the completion of the chemical reaction.
The main important factor for the sensitivity of concrete against sulfate ions is the
amount of C3A in the Portland cement or total binder that we are going to use for con-
crete production. C3A is one of the main compounds of cement. We will talk about
the compounds of Portland cement in Chapter 2. There are different amounts of C3A
in different types of Portland cement (between 3% and 12%). So, the most resistant
cement against sulfate ion is the cement with the lowest amount of C3A.
In the case of a sulfate attack, the main body of concrete will start to destroy
(Figure 1.27). So, the loading capacity of the concrete element will decrease dramati-
cally. But there is no corrosion in the steel bars directly because of the sulfate attack.
In the case of offshore structures, chloride and sulfate will attack the concrete
elements together. So, high attention is needed for the quality of concrete to protect
it from corrosion.
As mentioned before, the protection against sulfate attack is also very important
because this kind of corrosion can decrease the loading capacity of the structure. So,
FIGURE 1.27 Cracks on concrete that can be caused by sulfate attack. ( “Concrete texture”.)
for the protection of concrete structures against sulfate attack, you should consider
below points:
• Reduce the permeability of concrete: As mentioned before, sulfate reaction

in concrete needs moisture to accomplish. So, if we can reduce the perme-
ability of concrete, we can remove the water from the inner parts of the con-
crete element. So, we can protect it from corrosion. Although the corrosion
will start from the surface of the concrete element, we can retard the start of
corrosion in the inner parts of the concrete element.
• Reduce the w/b ratio: Reduction of w/b ratio, besides reducing the perme-
ability of concrete, can prevent the travel of water during the body of con-
crete element. So, it is very important to produce a concrete with w/b ratio
as low as possible.
• Use of ASTM Type II or V cement: The choice of cement in the case of a sul-
fate attack is very important. We will talk about the ASTM’s different types
of Portland cement in Chapter 2. For now, you should know that all types
of Portland cement have more than 8% of C3A instead of type II which has
between 5% and 8% of C3A and type V which has less than 5% of C3A. We
call type V Portland cement the sulfate-resistant cement also. For moderate
exposure to sulfate we can use type II Portland cement and for severe expo-
sure to the sulfate ion we should use type V Portland cement. The definition
of moderate and severe exposure conditions in different texts and standards
are different. But we will talk about this issue in the chapter on durability.
Another important issue is the use of suitable cement in the condition of
chloride and sulfate attack together. In this case, the best cement is type II
Portland cement. Because recent researches showed that a low amount of
C3A will cause more mobility for the chloride ion inside the concrete body.
So, the use of type V cement because of very low amount of C3A is not
good. On the other hand, the use of type I cement with a very high amount
of C3A is not good because of the sulfate ion. The best cement for this case
is type II cement with a moderate amount of C3A, which can control the
mobility of the chloride ion inside concrete and the resistance of concrete
against the sulfate ion together.
• Use of mineral additives: Mineral additives as a percent of the total binder
in concrete mix can reduce the amount of total C3A in the binder. So, it
can prevent corrosion due to the sulfate ion. All kinds of mineral additives
can improve the resistance of concrete against sulfate ions. But, recent
researches showed that the best one is the GGBS. It has a very good effect
on the resistance of concrete against sulfate ions.
1.12.5 Effect of Freeze Thaw Cycle

One of the environmental conditions which can destroy the concrete is the freeze
thaw cycle. If we have the minus temperature at night and plus temperature at day in
a region, and if we have enough moisture inside the concrete elements, then we will
have freeze-thaw cycles in the concrete elements.
Water inside the concrete element will freeze at night. This freezing will cause a
pressure inside concrete because of the expansion of water during the freezing process.
Then in the morning and by growing the temperature more than zero, the ice starts to
melt. This process will repeat during the next night and day. It can happen several times
during the cold season in a region for a concrete element. The pressure inside the con-
crete and the repeating process will cause severe destruction of the concrete element.
A good example of this process is the concrete tables beside the gardens or beside
the streets. There is enough moisture inside these concrete elements because of the
watering of flowers and plants in the garden, or the splash of water caused by moving
of the vehicles which cause always exposure of these elements to water. If the varia-
tion of temperature will happen in the region of these tables, the freeze-thaw cycles
can destroy them as you can see in Figure 1.28.
To reduce the effect of freeze-thaw cycles on the concrete element, you should
consider below points:
• Reduce the permeability of concrete: If we reduce the permeability of concrete,

water cannot infiltrate into the concrete element and if there is no moisture
inside concrete, the freeze thaw cannot progress inside the concrete element. So,
the element will protect against the destroying effect of the freeze-thaw cycle.
To reduce the permeability of concrete you should see the permeability
session in this chapter. If the concrete elements are precast, like tables, con-
trol of the concrete production process and curing and other implementation
considerations will be more easily. So, we can produce high-quality precast
concrete elements.
• Use of air-entraining admixtures: We will talk about air-entraining admix-
tures later in this book. For now, these chemical admixtures can entrain air
bubbles with the similar shape and similar size during all parts of the con-
crete elements body. These air bubbles will act as a safety valve to control
the pressure of water freezing in the freeze-thaw cycle. So, they can reduce
the pressure inside the concrete and the destroying effect of freeze-thaw
cycles will be controlled.
FIGURE 1.28 Freeze-thaw cycles effect on the tables beside a street. (Photograph by the author.)
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of Hydraulic Cement Mortars, ASTM C109-99.
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2 Portland Cement
Portland cement is the most important constituent material for any kind of concrete.
We know that this is a very dangerous material for the environment in the production
process. But there is no way! If we would like to produce a high-quality concrete, we
should use Portland cement.
For a concrete technologist, it is necessary to know about the Portland cement.
From the production process to the chemical constituents, several types of Portland
cement and the usage of this material in different types of concrete. The quality
control process of Portland cement is also another important issue for concrete
technologists.
In this chapter, we will start with the definition of the Portland cement, then we
will talk about the raw materials for the production of cement and also the production
process. In the next part, the subject is different types of Portland cement according
to the ASTM standard. We will learn about other types of cement that we can use
for other purposes instead of the production of normal concrete. The next issue is the
other binders or mineral additives that we can use besides Portland cement for the
production of high-quality concrete. Then we will talk about the quality control of
Portland cement in the factory. Different tests that we should consider to evaluate the
quality of cement to use in the production of concrete will be discussed. Finally, we
will learn about the transportation and storage of cement for different uses.
2.1 WHAT IS THE PORTLAND CEMENT?

Portland cement (Figure 2.1) is a complex powder consisting of calcium silicates and
calcium aluminates, which can react with water and become a hard material during
FIGURE 2.1 Portland cement. (Photograph by the author.)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-2 35
time. The reaction of water and cement is called the hydration reaction, which is the
reason for the hardening of cement-based mortars and concrete.
Portland cement is one of the most important construction materials all over the
world. We can count the uses of this material in the construction industry as below:
• Production of different types of concrete: From light weight to heavy weight

and with different kinds of mechanical properties.
• Production of shotcrete: We can use shotcrete for different purposes, like
the stabilizing of tunnel walls.
• Production of mortar: We can use different types of mortar as the binder for
any kind of finishing in construction projects.
• Production of lightweight mortars: This mortar can be used as the light-
weight filler for roofs and also for the production of different types of light-
weight bricks.
• Production of slurry: We can use slurry as the filler for different types of
finishing or cracks and joints.
You can see that we have many different usages for the Portland cement in the con-
struction industry. So, we have cement production factories in different countries of
the world. Because the construction industry needs this material very much. The only
problem is: “Portland cement production is very dangerous for the environment!”
As we would like to produce 1 ton of cement, we will release about 950 kg of
carbon dioxide into the air (Figure 2.2). On the other hand, the use of resources like
different kinds of fuels depending on the factory is very high for the production of
Portland cement.
Because of these problems, countries all over the world try to modify the usage of
cement in their country. Most of the time, they try to produce the cement according
to their demand and the export of cement is not acceptable for many countries.
FIGURE 2.2 Air pollution by cement factories. (“Al Kufa Cement plant” by Carsten Wiehe.)
Portland Cement 37
We should consider the minimum amount of cement in all types of concrete mix
design. In fact, a good quality concrete with the minimum Portland cement content
is the best choice for the production of concrete according to the sustainable develop-
ment, which is a very important concept to protect resources and environment for the
future generation.
2.2 CEMENT HISTORY

The history of cement refers to many years ago. We found so many ancient con-
structions made of materials similar to the concrete. Many of them are silicate and
lime-based mortars. They are very strong mortars compared with the other ancient
structures made of clay and brick.
The first example of a concrete concept goes to 300 BC for the Romans. They
used volcano ash with lime and water to produce a very strong mortar which could
be hard over time, exactly like the concrete. Volcano ash consists of silicate and alu-
minate. It can react with lime and water like cement to harden. So, Romans used this
mortar for the construction of some important ancient structures like the Pantheon
and Colosseum (Figures 2.3 and 2.4).
From that time, so many people tried to make composite mortars like today’s
concrete consisting of the fillers like sand and different types of binders like cement.
All of the mortars harden during time with the reaction of the binder with water. So,
we can call all of these mortars concrete and we can call all of the binders to produce
these mortars, cement.
The evolution of cement with today’s concept goes to the Joseph Aspdin, an English
mason. He started the production of cement in 1824 and he named it the Portland cement
because it was similar to the limestones of Portland island in the United Kingdom.
This is the reason for the name of the Portland cement that we are using today.
FIGURE 2.3 The Pantheon, one of the most popular ancient buildings in Italy. (“Pantheon
(Rome) – Front”.)
FIGURE 2.4 The colosseum, one of the most popular ancient buildings in Italy. (“A 4 × 4
segment panorama of the Coliseum at dusk”.)
As the Portland cement was a very good binder for the production of differ-
ent types of mortars, most of the advanced countries at that time started to import
the cement from the producers in the UK and then started to produce the Portland
cement in their countries.
The first production of Portland cement in North America was in Pennsylvania,
USA, in 1871. After that, in Canada also, they started to produce Portland cement
in 1889. Now, we can say that in most of the countries all over the world we have at
least one producer of the Portland cement. So, you can access many kinds of Portland
cement with different specifications at any location in the world.
2.3 CEMENT RAW MATERIALS

There are different types of raw materials for the production of Portland cement.
The most important subject is the availability of the raw material near the cement
factory. The list of the raw materials for Portland cement is as follows:
• Silicates: you can find the silicates in marl, calcium silicate stones, clay,
limestone (Figure 2.5), quartzite, or other types of stones with high amounts
of silicate.
• Calcium: you can find calcium in calcite, limestone, clay, marble, marl, and
other types of stones with high amounts of calcium.
• Aluminate: you can find aluminate in clay, bauxite, and limestone.
• Ferrite: you can find ferrite in clay or the different types of iron ore.
• Sulfate: you can use calcium sulfate in the production process of Portland
cement.
Portland Cement 39
FIGURE 2.5 Limestone as raw materials for the production of Portland cement. (Photograph
by the author.)
As mentioned before, most of the cement producers use stones with different types
of raw materials nearby their factory as the main raw material (Figure 2.6). But they
should add the shortage of raw materials from the mines far from their factory.
2.4 CEMENT PRODUCTION

The main part of cement production is the production of cement clinker. Clinker
is baked raw material of cement that we should grind to produce the final cement.
Clinker is in the shape of gray grains with different sizes from about 10 mm or less
to 20 mm or more (Figure 2.7).
There are different types of cement factories in the world. In fact, to operate a
cement factory, we need to buy the instruments from the producers and assemble them
FIGURE 2.6 Mine of raw materials for a cement factory. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 2.7 Portland cement clinker. (Photograph by the author.)
with the guidance of the producers and consults for this industry. So, the production
process depends on the producer and the instruments of the factory (Figure 2.8).
But we can explain a rough process for the production of Portland cement step by
step as follows:
• In the first step, raw materials are derived from the mine nearby the factory.
They are in the form of mid-size to large stone parts.
• The stone parts should be crushed with a stone crusher to the defined par-
ticle size, less than 25 mm.
FIGURE 2.8 Production line in a cement factory. (“Factory of National Cement Share
Company” by DFID- UK Department for International Development.)
Portland Cement 41
FIGURE 2.9 The roller cylinder kiln of a cement factory. (“Cement kiln. Location:
Gorazdze Cement Plant near Chorula (Poland)”.)
• Then the raw materials should grind like a powder and also should mix
together. In this part of the process, we should check the raw materials com-
positions to control the amount of any material that is necessary for the
production of cement. Maybe we should add some other raw materials from
other mines to our raw materials to balance the amount of each chemical for
the best quality of cement.
• Ground raw materials should go to the cement kiln to bake. The kiln is a
roller cylinder with a mild slope (Figure 2.9). Raw materials go to the kiln
from the upper side of the kiln and the flame goes to the kiln from the other
side. In this part of the process, cement will bake and we will have Portland
cement clinker after the kiln.
• The final part of the process is grinding. We should grind Portland cement
clinker after cooling to the ambient temperature with a little amount of
calcium sulfate to produce the final Portland cement powder. The use of
calcium sulfate is for the control of the immediate reaction of cement with
water, which we will talk about later.
We can use two or more different kinds of grinders for cement. The bullet mill
(Figure 2.10) and the roller mill (Figure 2.11). Particle size distribution for the cement
ground with the roller mill is better, but the output of the bullet mills is usually better.
We can use both of them in a cement factory.
2.5 COMPOSITIONS OF PORTLAND CEMENT

We talked about the production of Portland cement in the previous part. In this part,
we are going to talk about the chemical compounds of Portland cement. There are
four major compounds in any type of Portland cement as follows:
FIGURE 2.10 Picture of a bullet or ball mill. (“Top view of a cement ball mill”.)
• Tricalcium silicate (C3S): This is the main component of the Portland

cement which is about 50% to 70% of it. The strength of concrete especially
in the early ages is due to this compound. The hydration heat released from
the reaction of C3S and water is high and most of it will release between the
age of 1 day and 7 days. C3S reacts with water to produce calcium silicate
hydrate (C-H-S) and Ca(OH)2. The C-H-S is responsible for the strength
and impermeability of concrete. So, it is the main product for the hydration
reaction of the Portland cement.
• Dicalcium silicate (C2S): This is the second important compound of the
Portland cement which is about 20% to 30% of it. The strength of con-
crete for ages more than 7 days is due to the reaction of this compound. The
hydration heat for C2S reaction is not high because it will release over a long
period of time. C2S reacts with water to produce C-H-S and Ca(OH)2. The
only difference between C3S and C2S is the speed of the reaction which is
slower in the case of C2S.
Portland Cement 43
FIGURE 2.11 Picture of a roller mill. This is for the raw materials, but similar ones can be
used for cement. (“Hanson Cement, Clitheroe” by Alan Murray-Rust.)
• Tricalcium aluminate (C3A): This compound is not important in the hydra-

tion reaction. Because it will not produce the C-H-S. C3A reacts with water
exactly after the first contact of cement with water and produces the ettr-
ingite which will cause the flash set of cement. So, we should control this
flash set, because we would like to work with the concrete during time. To
control this flash set, we should add a little amount of calcium sulfate to
the Portland cement clinker during the grinding process. The amount of
calcium sulfate could be between 2% and 3% and depends on the target set-
ting time. If we increase the amount of calcium sulfate we can increase the
setting time. Calcium sulfate will react with the C3A and remove it from the
reaction environment. So, the flash set will control.
As mentioned before, C3A is the main cause for the sensitivity of cement
against sulfate attack. In fact, sulfate ion will attack the C3A and the products
of this chemical reaction will cause severe expansion. So, to control the sul-
fate attack in concrete we should decrease the amount of C3A in the cement.
• Tetra-calcium alumino-ferrite (C4AF): This compound does not have any

role in the strength and other mechanical properties of the Portland cement.
But it will be produced in the production process of cement. The only effect
of this compound is on the gray color of the cement.
• Free CaO: In the production of Portland cement it is possible to retain a
little amount of free CaO in the final product. This free CaO will cause
the expansion in the concrete or mortar. So, we should decrease it to the
minimum amount to control this expansion. Standards did not give us the
maximum amount for this free CaO. Instead of that we should control the
expansion of cement with the autoclave expansion test that we will talk
about it in the future.
• Total Alkalis: As mentioned before, to control the alkali aggregate reaction in
concrete we can decrease the amount of total alkalis (Na2O and K2O) to the
minimum. It is not possible all the time and for all of the cement manufactur-
ers to control the amount of alkalis in their cement. Because sometimes, the
type of raw materials do not allow them to produce low alkali cement. Instead
of their effect on the alkali aggregate reaction, these alkalis have no positive
or negative effect on the other properties of concrete and mortar.
2.6 TYPES OF PORTLAND CEMENT

Now that you learned about the compounds of the Portland cement, it is time to talk
about different types of cement. There are different divisions for the types of Portland
cement with different standards. Here, we are going to use the ASTM standards.
According to the ASTM standard we have five main types of Portland cement as below:
• Portland cement type I: This type of cement is the ordinary Portland cement
that we can use for several purposes instead of the places in which concrete
will be in contact with the sulfate ion. In this case, this type of cement can-
not resist the sulfate ion attack. We can produce this type of cement with
different compressive strength types. We will talk about the test for cement
compressive strength which is doing with a special mortar cast in 5 x 5 x
5 cm cubes. According to this standard test we can produce three strength
types for this cement:
Type I-325: This is the lowest strength type for type I cement. Most of
the time, producers try to produce stronger ones. But if we have this kind
of cement, we can use it as the mortar cement or for the production of low-
strength concretes. You can see the compositions and properties of a sample
I-325 cement in Tables 2.1 and 2.2.
TABLE 2.1
Chemical Composition of a Sample I-325 Cement
Chemicals SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO Cl So3 Free Cao Total Alkalis
Amount 23.5% 5.8% 3.1% 60.0% 3.1% 0.02% 2.0% 1.3% 0.75%
Portland Cement 45
TABLE 2.2
Mechanical Properties of a Sample I-325 Cement
Blaine Initial Setting Final Setting 3 Days Comp 7 Days Comp 28 Days Comp Autoclave
(cm2/ Time Time Strength Strength strength Expansion
Parameter gr) (min) (min) (kg/cm2) (kg/cm2) (kg/cm2) (%)
Amount 2950 120 180 140 280 350 0.08
Type I-425: This is the mid-range kind of type I Portland cement. Most
of the cement producers can produce I-425 type of cement. We can use this
cement in all kinds of concrete and mortar except for the sulfate exposure.
You can see the compositions and properties of a sample I-425 cement in
Tables 2.3 and 2.4.
Type I-525: This is the highest strength type of cement. Production of
this cement is a little difficult. So, some of the producers cannot produce
this type of cement. We can use this cement for all kinds of concrete and
mortar. But most of the time, this cement is used for the production of high-
strength concrete.
• Portland cement type II: This is the modified type I cement. In fact, the
difference between this cement and type I cement is the better resistance of
type II cement against sulfate attack.
As mentioned before, C3A is the sensitive part of cement for the sulfate
attack. A usual type I Portland cement has more than 8% of C3A (sometimes
up to 14%). But type II cement has between 5% and 8% of C3A. So, this is
a more resistant cement against sulfate attack. For the places with moderate
exposure to the sulfate ion, we can use type II cement. For the places exposed
to sulfate and chloride together, the best cement is type II. You can see the
compositions and properties of a sample type II cement in Tables 2.5 and 2.6.
TABLE 2.3
Chemical Compositions of a Sample I-425 Cement
Amount 21.0% 5.0% 3.45% 64.0% 2.2% 0.02% 2.2% 1.3% 0.75%
TABLE 2.4
Mechanical Properties of a Sample I-425 Cement
Blaine Initial Setting Final Setting 3 Days Comp 7 Days Comp 28 Days Comp Autoclave
(cm2/ Time Time Strength Strength Strength Expansion
Parameter gr) (min) (min) (kg/cm2) (kg/cm2) (kg/cm2) (%)
Amount 3100 110 160 180 390 490 0.08
TABLE 2.5
Chemical Compositions of a Sample II Cement
Amount 21.1% 4.9% 4.0% 64.2% 2.2% 0.02% 2.2% 1.3% 0.75%
TABLE 2.6
Mechanical Properties of a Sample II Cement
Initial Final Setting 3 Days Comp 7 Days 28 Days Comp Autoclave
Blain Setting Time Time Strength Comp Strength Strength Expansion
Parameter (cm2/g) (min) (min) (kg/cm2) (kg/cm2) (kg/cm2) (%)
Amount 3000 120 190 150 330 410 0.08
• Portland cement type III: This type of cement is the accelerated type. The
amount of C3A and also C3S in this type of cement is high. We can use this
type of cement in cold climate conditions and in cold seasons for more heat
of hydration and control of concrete early age freezing.
Today we have strong accelerator chemical admixtures to use in con-
crete. We can modify the type and amount of acceleration that we would
like for concrete. So, the production of type III cement is reduced in cement
factories. In fact, the demand for this type of cement is reduced because of
the accelerator chemical admixtures.
• Portland cement type IV: unlike type III, this is the retarded type of Portland
cement. The amount of C2S in this type of cement is higher than the others.
So, strength increase will be very slow in this type.
As we have very good retarding chemical admixtures to control and
increase the setting time and strength grow of concrete, the production of
this kind of cement is reduced nowadays.
• Portland cement type V: This type of cement is the sulfate-resistant cement.
It contains less than 5% of C3A. So, the resistance of this cement against
sulfate attack is higher than type II. For the concrete elements which are in
contact with a high amount of sulfate ion, we should use type V Portland
cement. You can see the compositions and properties of a sample type V
cement in Tables 2.7 and 2.8.
TABLE 2.7
Chemical Compositions of a Sample V Cement
Amount 21.7% 4.2% 5.2% 63.9% 2.1% 0.02% 1.9% 1.3% 0.75%
Portland Cement 47
TABLE 2.8
Mechanical Properties of a Sample V Cement
Initial Final Setting 3 Days Comp 7 Days Comp 28 Days Comp Autoclave
Blain Setting Time Time Strength Strength Strength Expansion
Parameter (cm2/g) (min) (min) (kg/cm2) (kg/cm2) (kg/cm2) (%)
Amount 3000 160 210 130 250 330 0.08
For more information about the minimum and maximum amounts of compositions
in different types of Portland cement, you can see Tables 2.9 and 2.10.
2.7 OTHER TYPES OF CEMENT

There are other types of cement instead of five ASTM types mentioned before. We
can use them for special cases. In this section, we are going to talk about them and
their usage. We can name other types of cement as follows:
• Portland cement type IA: According to the ASTM standard, we have type
IA cement. It is exactly type I cement with air-entraining effect. We men-
tioned that for special cases where the concrete element is exposed to freez-
ing and thawing, we need to entrain air bubbles into the concrete. For this
TABLE 2.9
Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Compositions in Different Types of
Portland Cement
SiO2 (%) Al2O3 (%) Fe2O3 (%) CaO (%) MgO (%) SO3 (%)
Type I 18–23 4–7 1.5–5 60–67 0.5–4 1.5–5
Type II 20–24 3–6 2–5 60–67 0.5–5 2–4
Type III 18–22 2–6 1–5 60–67 0.5–5 2–5
Type IV 21–23 3–6 3–6 62–64 1–4 1.5–3
Type V 20–24 2–5 3–6 62–66 0.5–4 1.5–4
TABLE 2.10
Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Compositions in Different Types of
Portland Cement
C3S (%) C2S (%) C3A (%) C4AF (%) Blaine (cm2/g)
Type I 40–65 10–35 6–14 5–13 2900–3600
Type II 35–65 6–35 2–7 7–14 2900–3700
Type III 45–70 5–25 5–15 4–14 3200–4200
Type IV 35–45 25–40 3–5 11–18 2800–3300
Type V 45–65 10–30 1–5 10–20 2800–3500
case, we can use type IA cement. Today, we have air-entraining admixtures

with high quality and low dosage to entrain air into the concrete. So, the
use of type IA cement is very low and cement manufacturers don’t like to
produce this kind of cement.
• Portland cement type IIA: Like before, this is exactly type II cement with
air-entraining effect. This type of cement also is not a regular cement for
production and use in the industry exactly like type IA.
• Portland cement type IIIA: This is also exactly type III cement with air-
entraining effect. This type of cement also is not a regular cement for pro-
duction and use in the industry.
• White cement: This type of cement is for architectural usages when we
would like to produce a concrete or mortar with light color. To produce the
white cement, we should control the amount of C4AF in the final product.
As you know, this is responsible for the gray color of Portland cement.
So, if we reduce the amount of ferrite and magnesium oxides in the raw
materials of cement, we can produce white cement. Most of the time, white
cement is like type I Portland cement in the case of other compositions
instead of C4AF.
• Color cement: This type of cement is only for architectural usage. To
produce this type of cement, we should only add some pigments to the
ground white cement. We can produce different colors of concrete or
mortar with color cements. But the more cheap technique for the produc-
tion of colored concrete or mortar is the usage of pigments separately
from the white cement. Also, we can use these pigments with normal
gray cement for the production of some colors like black, brown, dark
green, dark blue, or red. So, with the use of pigments and gray or white
cement, we can produce many different kinds of colored concrete. So,
the production of color cements was reduced too much in the cement
factories.
• Masonry cement: This is a kind of cement that is the mix of Portland
cement with powdered limestone and other additives to produce a special
cement for mortar. For this kind of cement, the strength and mechanical
properties are not much important. Instead of that, the properties like
price, controlled setting time, good workability, and sometimes the dura-
bility is very important. The production process and additives for this
kind of cement will cause lower carbon dioxide release during the pro-
duction process.
• Expanding cement: This is a special kind of cement with expanding proper-
ties. Unlike Portland cement, this kind of cement will expand after hydra-
tion. So, we can use it for the special purposes for which we need a concrete
without shrinkage. Although this is not a common cement, you can find it in
many countries like European countries or the North America.
• High blain cement: This is a Portland cement with higher blain than nor-
mal. As mentioned before, the normal blain of cement should be more
than 2800 cm 2/g and it is most of the time between 3000 and 3200 cm 2/g.
If we grind this cement more than normal, then we will have a cement
Portland Cement 49
with the blain more than 3200 and up to 4200 cm 2/g. This cement has
special properties like high initial strength, high final strength, and short
setting time. Sometimes and for some special projects, we need these
properties. So, we can use this kind of cement. The production of high
blain cement is possible for all of the Portland cement manufacturers
in the world. The most important point is good particle size distribu-
tion curve for high blain cement that should be considered. In fact, the
particle size distribution shape of high blain cement should be the same
as normal blain cement. The only difference should be only finer total
distribution of particles.
• Calcium aluminate cement: This is a kind of cement that has completely
different properties and constituent material than the Portland cement.
The main material is calcium aluminate which can hydrate with water
and give us special properties like very high initial strength, good
resistance to some chemical attacks, and good resistance to the high
temperature.
• Geopolymer cement: This is a kind of natural cement that is completely
different from the Portland cement. This is a kind of aluminosilicate system
with an alkaline solution. These materials will react and harden like the
Portland cement at room temperature. As we can use some materials like
metakaolin or fly ash for the production of this kind of cement or concrete,
we can say that this is more environment-friendly than the Portland cement.
So, researches on this cement are growing for increasing the usage of this
material instead of Portland cement.
2.8 HYDRATION REACTION

As mentioned in the first chapter of this book, the hydration reaction is an exothermic
chemical reaction between the most important composition of cement and water. The most
important part of the reaction is as below:
(C3S, C2S) + H2O → C-H-S + Ca(OH)2
As you can see, this is a reaction between C3S and C2S with water. It will produce
C-H-S and Ca(OH)2 during the time. The start of the reaction is from the first con-
tact of cement particles with water and it can continue for time to 90 days and even
more. But the most important time is 28 days after the production of concrete. You
know that the most important chemical composition for the mechanical properties
and durability of concrete is the C-H-S. But the Ca(OH)2 is not a useful material
itself. You can see in the next part that, we can use calcium hydroxide in the reaction
with the mineral additives to increase the quality of concrete.
Although the other components of cement will react with the water, the products
of the reaction between C3A and C4AF and water is not as important as the C3S and
C2S products for the properties of concrete.
You can see the hydration reaction products for different compositions of the
Portland cement in Table 2.11.
TABLE 2.11
Hydration Reaction of the Portland Cement
Cement
Composition Reaction
C3S Tricalcium silicate + Water = Calcium silicate hydrate + Calcium hydroxide
C2S Dicalcium silicate + Water = Calcium silicate hydrate + Calcium hydroxide
C3A Tricalcium aluminate + Gypsum + Water = Ettringite
Tricalcium aluminate + Ettringite + Water = Calcium mono sulfo aluminate
Tricalcium aluminate + Calcium hydroxide + Water = Tricalcium aluminate hydrate
C4AF Tetracalcium alumino ferrite + Calcium hydroxide + Water = Calcium alumino
ferrite hydrate
2.9 MINERAL ADDITIVES (SUPPLEMENTARY

CEMENTITIOUS MATERIALS)
The subject of mineral additives in concrete technology is very important. So, we
will talk about this subject in Chapter 3. But for now, you should know briefly about
these materials.
The most important component in these materials is the active SiO2. As men-
tioned before, the hydration reaction between C3S and C2S with water will produce
C-H-S and calcium hydroxide. The C-H-S is responsible for the strength and quality
of concrete. But there is no special effect for the Ca(OH)2 itself.
We can use calcium hydroxide with mineral additives. The active SiO2 can react
with the calcium hydroxide and produce more C-H-S. So, we can consume the
Ca(OH)2 by using mineral additives.
Ca(OH)2 + Mineral additives(SiO2) → more C-H-S
The most important mineral additives are as below:
• Silica fume: This is the by-product of ferro-silica alloy factories. We can

derive it from the releasing chimney of these factories.
This is the most powerful pozzolan material with more than 90% of
active SiO2.
• Fly ash: This is the by-product of electricity power plants whose fuel is the col-
lier. So, if we have this kind of power plants in a country, then we can have the
fly ash. The amount of active SiO2 in the fly ash could be different depending
on the type of collier and the power plant system. But it is about 50% and more.
• Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS): This is the by-product of
steel factories in the process of deriving iron from the minerals. If we
cool down the slag rapidly, we will have a good quality GGBS that we
can use in concrete. The amount of SiO2 in the GGBS is different depend-
ing on the production process of the steel factory. But most of the time,
it is less than 40%.
Portland Cement 51
• Natural pozzolans: These are some materials in the nature with the poz-
zolanic activity. The amount of SiO2 and activity of these natural pozzolans
are different depending on the mineralogy of the material. But, we can find
good quality natural pozzolans in different parts of the world.
2.10 BLENDED CEMENT

We can use Portland cement and mineral additives separately in the concrete mix. But
some of the cement producers mix these additives with the Portland cement to pro-
duce blended cement. If the production process of the blended cements will be accurate
enough, using these cements is much better and simple than the separate use of the
Portland cement and mineral additives. But unfortunately, in some countries, the pro-
duction process and the quality of blended cements are not good. So, most of the time, it
is better to use the Portland cement and mineral additives separately in the concrete mix.
There are different considerations for the good quality of any blended cement as below:
• The quality of mineral additives itself should be high. It depends on the

amount of active SiO2 in the mineral additive.
• The quality of the Portland cement clinker should be high enough to pro-
duce a good quality blended cement.
• The grinding process of the Portland cement clinker and the mineral addi-
tives should be separate because the hardness of these materials is different
from each other. This is especially the case of the GGBS and some of the
natural pozzolans which need grinding. In the case of silica fume and fly
ash, they are in the powder form. So, there is no need for grinding.
• The fineness of mineral additives should be more than the fineness of the
Portland cement. Because the activity of the mineral additives is less than
the Portland cement.
• The mixing of ground Portland cement and mineral additive powder should
be uniform. So, the amount of Portland cement and the mineral additive
should be the same in any portion of the mix.
There are six types of blended cement in ASTM standard. You can see these cements
in Table 2.12.
TABLE 2.12
Blended Cements in ASTM Standard
Type of Cement Explanation
Type IS Portland cement mixed with the slag
Type IP Portland cement mixed with Pozzolan
Type P Pozzolan cement when there is no consideration for the early age strength
Type I (PM) Modified pozzolan cement
Type I (SM) Modified slag cement
Type S Slag cement to use with pure Portland cement in concrete
TABLE 2.13
Different Cement Types in EN197
Type of Cement Explanation Number of Types
CEM I Pure Portland cement 1 type
CEM II Different blended cement 19 types
CEM III Slag cement 3 types
CEM IV Pozzolan cement 2 types
CEM V Composite cement 2 types
In European standard, there are different types of blended cement. You can see
the different types of cement in EN197, European standard in Table 2.13.
As you can see in the table, the CEM I is the only pure Portland cement in
European standard with about 95% to 100% of Portland cement clinker. For the
other types you can see Figure 2.12 which is from the EN197, European standard.
We should consider the use of blended cement in all countries of the world.
Because to produce sustainable concrete, it is very important to use these kinds of
cements in the production process.
Furthermore, it is very important for the cement producers to produce high-qual-
ity blended cements for the concrete industry. By doing this, they will have below
benefits:
• Environment-friendly production process.

• More efficient and beneficial products.
• Several types of products, So, they can sell their cement to all kinds of proj-
ects in any kind of environment.
• Help for the building of durable concrete structures.
• Using waste materials from other industries.
2.11 QUALITY CONTROL OF CEMENT

Like any other material to be used in an industrial production process, we should
control the quality of cement before using it in the concrete production. The only
problem with cement is the hardness and difficulties in the quality control process.
We can name below points as the difficulties for the quality control of cement:
• Expensive test equipment for cement quality control. So, for a project or
ready mixed plant it is difficult to buy them.
• Specified technician lab for cement quality control. There is a need for
physical and chemical lab technician and also concrete lab technician. As
you know, in a construction project or a ready mixed plant, most of the time,
we have a concrete technician lab.
• Number of cement specimens in a concrete plant will be too much because
the amount of cement trucks that transport the cement for a project is too
much and the laboratory should take a specimen from each truck.
Portland Cement 53
FIGURE 2.12 All types of cement in European standard EN197. (Photo retrieved from EN197.)
• Some of the quality control test results will be reachable after some days or
weeks. After this period of time, a concrete plant cannot store the cements.
They should consume all of the cement that they received.
So, what should we do about the difficulties mentioned above?

Unfortunately, most of the construction projects and ready mixed plants do not
test the properties of cement in their laboratory. They should trust the quality control
of cement factories and get the results from them.
Sometimes, we can check the results by testing them in another laboratory that can
do the cement quality control tests. In fact, the projects can give the test results from
the QC of cement factory in a defined period of time. For example, each week or month
or season. Then to check these results, they can get some samples from a random truck
and get them to another laboratory. This will be the best process that we can do to
ensure the quality of cement as the most important constituent material of concrete.
In this part of the chapter, we are going to talk about the most important tests for
the quality control of cement.
2.11.1 Fineness of Cement

As mentioned before, the last process for the production of Portland cement is the
grinding of clinker with calcium sulfate.
One of the most important properties of Portland cement is the fineness of the
particles which has a very high effect on the quality of cement. We can name below
points as the effects of cement fineness on the cement and concrete properties:
• A finer cement means more activity for cement.

• A finer cement means more heat of hydration in the hydration reaction
process.
• A finer cement means higher early age strength and less growth in the
strength of concrete between the age of 7 and 28 days.
• A finer cement will need more water for the hydration reaction.
• A finer cement will consume more plasticizer and super-plasticizer for the
same workability.
• A finer cement will cause less slump retention effect in the transportation
process of concrete.
As you can see above, it is very important to know the fineness of Portland cement
in the projects and the uniformity of the fineness is very important in the quality
control of the concrete. Because if the fineness of cement will differ from one part
to another one, it will have a drastic effect on the properties of concrete. From early
age compressive strength to the amount of water and the final compressive strength.
From the dosage of plasticizer and super-plasticizer to the slump retention effect in
the transportation process of concrete.
The most important test for the evaluation of fineness is the blain test or ASTM
C204 (Figure 2.13). In this test, we can evaluate the area of cement particles in a unit
mass. So, the finer cement will have more area in a unit mass. The unit for the blain
Portland Cement 55
FIGURE 2.13 Blain test equipment. (Photograph by the author.)
test is cm2/g. So, if we do the blain test for a common cement, we will have the result
for about 2800 to 3300 cm2/g.
2.11.2 Particle Size Distribution

In the last part of the chapter, we mentioned fineness as a very important property of
cement. In this part, we would like to talk about another very important property of
cement which depends on the grinding process like fineness.
Particle size distribution is much important than the blain of cement because it is
possible to have two cements with the same blain and different particle size distribu-
tion. In this case, the properties of these cements in the concrete production process
will be different. So, the effect of particle size distribution on the properties of con-
crete is more important than the blain.
FIGURE 2.14 Sieve for cement particle size testing. (Photograph by the author.)
The best size for cement particles is between 5 and 45 μm. The particles finer
than 5 μm have very high activity and can cause problems like drastically decreasing
the setting time, slump loose, and very high amount of hydration heat especially at
early ages. On the other hand, the particles coarser than 45 μm have very low activ-
ity. Their reaction to the production of C-H-S is very low. So, we should restrict the
particles to coarser than 45 μm.
We have a test technique that is not accurate enough to find the percentage of very
coarse particles in cement. We can use 45, 75, or 90 μm sieve and wash the cement on
it. Then we can calculate the amount of cement on the sieve and it will show us the
nonactive or low active part of cement. The standard test method for wet washing of
cement is ASTM C786 or ASTM C430 (Figure 2.14).
But the most accurate test for the particle size distribution of cement is the test
with the laser diffraction method. The instrument for this test is very expensive
and accurate. This kind of instrument is used for the particle size distribution of
other kinds of powders. But the researchers are working on the best methods to use
this instrument, especially for the cement particles. For example, the standard test
method for the particle size distribution of metal powders is ASTM B822. You can
see a picture of the instrument for the laser diffraction method test in Figure 2.15 and
a sample particle size distribution curve for cement in Figure 2.16.
Portland Cement 57
FIGURE 2.15 Particle size distribution analyzer. (“Particle size distribution analyzer 990”
by CILAS).
100
80
Cumulative mass (%)
60
40
20
0
100 50 20 10 5 2 1 0.5
Diameter (micrometer)
FIGURE 2.16 A typical particle size distribution curve for cement. Graph created by
the author.
2.11.3 Cement Health

One of the most important specifications of Portland cement is the stability of vol-
ume in concrete or mortar. If the amount of some materials like free CaO in cement
will be high, the cement mortar or concrete would like to expand. It can cause deep
cracks in the surface and inside a concrete element. So, we can call a cement with
controlled expansion a healthy cement.
To control cement health or expansion, we can use the autoclave expansion test
according to ASTM C151. You can see the exact process for this test in the standard
text. But briefly, we can explain the test as follows:
FIGURE 2.17 Cement prism mold. (Photograph by the author.)
We should make a cement mortar with special sand, cement, and water. Then we
should mold it and make special prisms. To control the expansion of these prisms, we
should put them in the autoclave and check their dimensions. If the dimension change
will be in the defined area, we can use the cement for the production of concrete. You
can see a picture of cement prism molds in Figure 2.17 and a picture of autoclave for
the expansion test in Figure 2.18.
2.11.4 Setting Time of Cement

When we make a concrete, we can see that in three phases:
• Phase 1: This is the fresh concrete phase. In this phase concrete can flow to
a mold, we can shape it and make different types of structural elements, we
can work with concrete, we can pump the concrete to the upper places of the
structure, we can trowel the concrete surface, and we can mix concrete in a
truck mixer or with other types of mixing elements.
As you can see, the hydration reaction did not start in this phase or it is
in the starting state.
In the last point of this phase, the cement in concrete is going to the
initial setting point. So, we can call the time between the first contact of
cement and water to the last of fresh concrete phase the initial setting time.
For a type I cement without any admixture or additive and in the normal
temperature conditions (About 20°) it is usually about 70 to 110 minutes.
• Phase 2: the second phase of concrete is more or less the same as jelly
phase. We can mix the concrete in this phase, but not as easy as before. If
we walk on the surface of concrete element, our shoe trace will stand on
the surface. So, we can say that the concrete is not hard enough to load and
it is not soft enough to work.
If we try to mix the concrete in this phase, we are cracking the bonds
related to the hydration reaction. So, the concrete will be weaker than usual.
In the last point of this phase, the cement in the concrete is going to
the final setting point. So, we can call the time between the first contact of
Portland Cement 59
FIGURE 2.18 Picture of autoclave. (“Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil.Autoclave” by

Mike Peel.)
cement and water to the last of jelly concrete phase the final setting time.
For a type I cement without any admixture or additive and in the normal
temperature condition, it is usually about 150 to 200 minutes.
• Phase 3: This is the hardened concrete phase. In fact, the start of this phase
is the final setting time. Concrete in this phase starts to be hard enough
for loading. We can measure the compressive strength of concrete in this
phase. It will start in the first hours of the hardened phase and will grow
over time. The most important time for the compressive strength is 28 days
after the final setting time.
We should know the initial setting time of cement to set the working time of concrete
made with the defined cement. We should know the final setting time for the mold
release of some concrete elements and precast concrete segments.
We have different types of setting time tests according to the different standards
in the world. But the most important and usable test is the setting time test with Vicat
needle according to the ASTM C 191.
In this test, first we should make a standard cement paste with normal consistency
according to the ASTM C187. In fact, we should determine the amount of water we
FIGURE 2.19 Vicat test instrument. (Photograph by the author.)
need for the normal consistency of cement according to this standard. Then we should
use this paste in the cone of the Vicat test instrument (Figure 2.19). After different
times, we should release the 1 mm needle of Vicat test instrument as you can see in
the figure to fall down on the surface of the cement paste and we should measure the
amount of needle penetration into the cement paste. When the 1 mm needle penetra-
tion will be 25 mm, we can call that time the initial setting time, and when the needle
sink cannot be visible to the paste, it will be the final setting time for the cement.
2.11.5 Cement Compressive Strength

If you would like to make a good concrete with defined compressive strength, and
by special attention to the economy, you should know the minimum compressive
strength of cement that you would like to use. So, this is a very important test for the
concrete mix design accuracy.
Another important fact is the standard deviation for the compressive strength
results for a defined cement. If the standard deviation will be very large, it shows that
the quality control or production accuracy of cement is not good enough to guarantee
the same quality for the cement during the time. It is possible for a cement producer
to give us a cement with a very high compressive strength on some days and a very
Portland Cement 61
low compressive strength on other days. This cement will not be a good choice.
Because first, you should use the minimum compressive strength of cement for your
concrete mix design and it will not be economical for concrete production. Second,
if you use this cement, your concrete quality will be different over time and it is not
good for your resume. So, if you can find a cement with a mean value of the compres-
sive strength but little standard deviation it would be the best choice for you.
As most of the time, we cannot measure the compressive strength of cement in a
concrete laboratory in the projects or ready mixed concrete factories, we should give
the monthly results from the cement laboratory.
The standard test method for the compressive strength of cement is ASTM C109.
To measure the compressive strength of cement, we should use a special mortar with
a defined well-graded silica sand, cement, and water mold in 5 x 5 x 5 cm cubes
(Figure 2.20).
The mixing water was achieved according to the normal consistency test ASTM
C187. The mixing of the mortar should be very good to achieve a steady mortar. Then
the molded specimens should maintain a perfect curing condition in the curing room
with controlled temperature and moisture. Then we can measure the compressive
strength of these cubes with a special test machine (Figure 2.21).
Most of the time, we will use 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 11 days, 28 days, 42 days, and
90 days compressive strength. But, the most important one is the 28 days compressive
strength that we will use in the calculations of concrete mix design.
After testing the cement’s compressive strength, we can compare the results with
the standard specification for that kind of cement. For example, for type I Portland
cement we have three types:
• Type I-525: This is a cement type I with the 28 days compressive strength
of more than 525 kg/cm2 for all of the tests. This is a high-strength cement
with high blain and is suitable for the production of high-strength concrete
and/or high initial strength concrete.
• Type I-425: This is a cement type I with the 28 days compressive strength of
more than 425 kg/cm2 for all of the tests. This is a normal strength cement
and can be used for the production of all kinds of concrete instead of the
places where we should use type II or V cement.
FIGURE 2.20 Molds for cement compressive strength test. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 2.21 Test machine for the cement compressive strength test. (Photograph by
the author.)
• Type I-325: This is a cement type I with the 28 days compressive strength
of more than 325 kg/cm2 for all of the tests. This is a low-strength cement
and is not suitable for the production of concrete. It is better to use it for the
production of special mortars.
2.11.6 Specific Gravity of Cement

We have two kinds of specific gravity for cement and any other powder material as
below:
• Particle-specific gravity: This is the specific gravity of cement particles

without the air voids inside the cement powder. In this book, when we talk
about the cement-specific gravity, we mean the particle-specific gravity.
• Bulk-specific gravity: This is the specific gravity of the bulk powder with the
air voids inside that. We need this kind of specific gravity for the calculation
Portland Cement 63
of the silo capacity. But as you can imagine, this is not a constant digit for
the powders. It depends on the pressure on the surface of the cement. For
example, if you have a huge silo for the storage of bulk cement, the bulk-
specific gravity of cement in the lowest level of silo will be much higher
than the specific gravity of cement in the upper level because the pressure of
higher levels on the surface of lower levels will cause the cement powder to
compress more and more. Also, if you store cement for a long time in a silo,
it will compress during the time and the bulk-specific gravity of cement and
the capacity of the silo will be higher during the time.
As mentioned before, we will use cement particle-specific gravity in the calculations

of concrete mix design. So, it is important for us to know that.
The standard test method for the specific gravity of cement is the ASTM C188.
In this method, we will use the Le Chatelier flask to measure the specific gravity of
cement particles (Figure 2.22).
This is a very simple test that we can do in all cement and concrete laboratories.
But you have to know that, for all types of pure Portland cement, the specific gravity
is about 3.15 to 3.16 kg/L. it depends on the cement clinker. So, if the clinker did not
change, there is no need to repeat the specific gravity test for the cement.
If you use blended cement, you should test the specific gravity to achieve the exact
result because it depends on the type of blended material and the percent of use. By
using this test for all parts of the cement, you can give an idea about the quality of the
blended cement, especially about the percentage of the blended material in the cement.
2.11.7 Cement Heat of Hydration

As mentioned before, the hydration reaction between the cement particles and water
is an exothermic reaction. But the amount of heat released is different for different
types of cement. If we would like to name the types of cement from highest releasing
of heat to the lowest one, it will be as follows:
• Type III
• Type I
• Type II
• Type V
• Type IV
But for each type of cement for example Type I, the heating release could be different
according to the production conditions like the blain, particle size distribution, amount
of C3A in the clinker, and the amount of calcium sulfate in the grinding process.
On the other hand, if you use blended cement, the heat of hydration will be dif-
ferent according to the type of blended material and the percent of that. So, like the
specific gravity test, you can examine the quality consistency of the blended cement
by measuring the heat of hydration.
The standard test method for the heat of hydration is ASTM C186. There is a spe-
cial instrument that you can use to measure the heat of hydration for cement.
FIGURE 2.22 The Le Chatelier flask for cement-specific gravity test. (“Specific gravity test”.)
2.12 ANALYSIS OF CEMENT

To estimate several properties of the Portland cement, there is a need for the chemi-
cal and physical analysis of cement. You can give a special sheet from the cement
producer which is the analysis of cement and you can check different properties of
cement from that. You can see three analysis sheets for three types of cement from a
producer in Figures 2.23–2.25.
As you can see in the figures above, we can understand most of the properties of
cement from the analysis sheet. For example, for the amount of C3A, we have the
following:
Portland Cement 65
FIGURE 2.23 Analysis sheet for a type I cement. (Photograph created by the author.)
• For type I cement, there is no restriction.

• For type II cement, we have maximum amount of 8% and for this cement,
we have 6.98%.
• For type V cement, we have the maximum amount of 5% and for this
cement, we have 4.08%.
And for the amount of autoclave expansion, we have the maximum standard amount
of 0.8 for all of the three types and we have 0.03 for the sample type I cement, 0.01
for the sample type II cement and 0.04 for the sample type V cement.
FIGURE 2.24 Analysis sheet for a type II cement. (Photograph created by the author.)
For the 28 days compressive strength, we have:
• For type I cement, the minimum standard amount is 425 kg/cm2 and sample
cement has the compressive strength of 532 kg/cm2.
• For type II cement, the minimum standard amount is 315 kg/cm2 and sam-
ple cement has the compressive strength of 505 kg/cm2.
• For type V cement, the minimum standard amount is 270 kg/cm2 and sam-
ple cement has the compressive strength of 486 kg/cm2.
To calculate the amount of C3S, C2S, C3A, and C4AF we need the amount of different
chemicals which you can see in the upper rows of the tables.
Portland Cement 67
FIGURE 2.25 Analysis sheet for a type V cement. (Photograph created by the author.)
So, this is very important to achieve the exact amounts of any chemicals in the
cement. We should use the ASTM C114 test method for this reason.
The best technique for the chemical analysis of cement is the XRD or X-ray diffrac-
tion method. This method studies the crystal structure to identify the crystalline phases
present in a material and thereby reveal chemical composition information (Figure 2.26).
2.12.1 Cement Analysis Formulas

There are some important features in the cement quality control that you should check
any time that you would like to use a cement for concrete production. We will describe
some of the most important ones here. Before starting this part, you should know the
abbreviations that we are going to use in the formulation as you can see in Table 2.14.
FIGURE 2.26 XRD test instrument. (“X-Ray Diffractometer” by GFDL.)
TABLE 2.14
Abbreviations for Cement Formulas
Abbreviation Exact Chemical
C CaO
S SiO2
M MgO
A Al2O3
F Fe2O3
• Lime Saturation Factor (LSF): This factor shows us the performance of

clinker baking in the kiln and it should be more than 90 but it cannot be
more than 98.
L.S.F. (MgO < 2) = 100 (C + 0.75M)/(2.85S + 1.18A + 0.65F)
L.S.F. (MgO > 2) = 100 (C + 1.5)/(2.85S + 1.18A + 0.65F)
• Alkali Equivalent (AE): This shows the amount of alkalis in the cement.
Most of the time, it should be less than 0.6. But as mentioned before to
control alkali aggregate reaction we should use a low alkali cement with the
AE less than 0.3.
AE = Na2O + 0.659 K2O
• Alumina Ratio (AR): this shows the amount of alumina in the cement which
is very important for the process of baking clinker. This should be between
1.3 and 2.5 and the best and ideal number is 1.38. If the AR is less than 1.3,
Portland Cement 69
the cement will have low early strength and low heat of hydration, and if the
AR is more than 2.5, it shows that the cement will have high early strength
and high heat of hydration.
AR = A/F
• Bouge formulas: We can calculate the amount of cement compositions by

the below formulations:
If AR > 0.64, we have:
C3S = 4.071C - 6.6 S - 6.718 A - 1.43 F - 2.852 SO3
C2S = 2.867 S -0.754 C3S
C3A = 2.650 A -1.692 F
C4AF = 3.04 F
2.13 CEMENT TRANSPORTATION

After finalizing the cement production, we need to transport the cement to the place of
use. This is very important to transport the cement without any distractions to protect
the quality. For example, cement should prevent from the moisture during transporta-
tion. According to the above mentioned, we have two types of cement in the market:
• Bulk cement: This is the cement to use in the concrete industry and for large
scale of any production of concrete or mortar. This kind of cement can store
in the siloes in cement factory and can transport with the cement bunkers
(Figure 2.27).
Loading process of a bunker is from the top vent in the cement factory and
the discharge of it is by the pressure of air from inside the Bunker which causes
FIGURE 2.27 A picture of cement bunker. (Photograph by the author.)

FIGURE 2.28 Cement pockets stored on a pallet. (Photograph by the author.)
the cement to go out of the tank with a good discharging capacity. For example,
we can discharge 20 tons of cement from a bunker in less than 15 minutes.
• Pocket cement: This is a cement to use in the production of mortar or con-
crete in a smaller scale. The weight of these pockets is different around the
world. But it can differ from 25 to 50 kg per bag. Also, the bags material
could be different. They can be made from paper (Figure 2.28) or some
types of plastic yarn.
2.14 CEMENT STORAGE

Cement is very sensitive to the moisture. So, we should consider prevention from any
kind of moisture for the storage of cement.
For the storage of pocket cement, as you can see in Figure 2.28, you can put the
cement on suitable pallets. So, the ground moisture or flowing water cannot filtrate
into the cement. On the other hand, you should put these pallets inside an indoor area
because rain can transit from the bags of cement.
By doing above mentioned, you can store pocket cement for at least 6 months from
the production date. It doesn’t mean that after 6 months, you cannot use the cement
but it means that you should test it before using it.
Portland Cement 71
FIGURE 2.29 Cement siloes for the storage of bulk cement. (“Cement silos of Günter
Papenburg Beton company” by Christian Schroder.)
For the storage of bulk cement, you should use special cement siloes (Figure 2.29).
These siloes are specially designed for the storage of bulk cement or any other
powder material. They can prevent the cement from the ground and air moisture
and rainwater. You can load these siloes from the cement bunkers very easily by the
air pressure and you can unload cement to the bucket of the batching plant by using
special spiral pipes.
REFERENCES
Aitcin P.C., High Performance Concrete, E&FN SPON, 2004.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Portland Cement,
ASTM C150-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Chemical Analysis of
Hydraulic Cement, ASTM C114-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Sieve Analysis of Fine
and Coarse Aggregates, ASTM C136-01.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Autoclave Expansion
of Portland Cement, ASTM C151-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Heat of Hydration of
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Density of Hydraulic
Cement, ASTM C188-95.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Time of Setting of
Hydraulic Cement by Vicat Needle, ASTM C191-99.
CILAS, “Particle size distribution analyzer 990 particle size analysis CILAS.” Retrieved from:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Particle_size_distribtion_analyzer_990_-_
Particle_size_analysis_-_CILAS.jpg.
DFIDUK Department for International Development, “Factory of National Cement Share
Company.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Factory_of_
National_Cement_Share_Company.jpg.
Diliff, “A 4 × 4 segment panorama of the Coliseum at dusk.” Retrieved from: https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colosseum_in_Rome, _Italy_-_April_2007.jpg.
European Standard Organization, Cement Composition, Specifications and Conformity
Criteria for Common Cements, EN197-1: 2000.
European Standard Organization, Methods of Testing Cement, EN196 Series.
GFDL, “X Ray Diffractometer.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:X_Ray_Diffractometer.JPG.
Iranian Standard Organization, Concrete Specification of Constituent Materials, Production
and Compliance of Concrete, ISIRI2284-2, 2009.
2015.
Ivbuiliev, “Top view of a cement ball mill.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/
wiki/File:Cement_mill_-_top_view.jpg.
Portland Cement 73
Jb957, “Cement kiln. Location: Gorazdze Cement Plant near Chorula (Poland).” Retrieved
from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cement_kiln_in_Gorazdze_Cement_
plant.JPG.
Lamond F.Joseph, Pielert H.James, Significance of Tests and Properties of Concrete and
Concrete Making Materials, ASTM International, 2006.
Mohammadi, 2007.
Murray-Rust, Alan, “Hanson Cement, Clitheroe, it grinds the previously crushed raw material
into fine powder for feeding into the kiln.” Retrieved from: https://www.geograph.org.
uk/photo/4480152.
Nawy G.Edward, Concrete Construction Engineering Handbook, CRC Press, 2008. NAYANA
PB, “specific gravity test” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:SpecificGrafityofcement.gif.
Newman John, Choo Ban Seng, Advanced Concrete Technology, Concrete Properties,
Elsevier, 2003.
Peel, Mike (www.mikepeel.net), “Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil. Autoclave.” Retrieved from:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Instituto_Butantan_2016_081_-_Autoclave.jpg.
Publications, 1992.
Rabax63, “Pantheon (Rome) – Front.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Pantheon_Rom_1_cropped.jpg.
Ramachandran V.S, Beaudion James, Handbook of Analytical Techniques in Concrete Science and
Technology, Principles, Techniques and Applications, William Andrew Publishing, 2001.
Ramachandran, Paroli, Beaudion, Delgado, Handbook of Thermal Analysis of Construction
Materials, NOYES Publications, 2002.
Ramezanianpoor Aliakbar, Arabi Negin, Cement and Concrete Test Methods (Farsi),
Negarande Danesh, 2011.
Schroder, Christian, “Cement silos of Günter Papenburg Beton company located at Lohweg
in Misburg-Sued quarter of Hannover, Germany.” Retrieved from: https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cement_silo_Papenburg_Lohweg_Misburg-Sued_Hannover_
Germany.jpg.
Shekarchizade Mohammad, Liber Nicolas Ali, Dehghan Solmaz, Poorzarrabi Ali, Concrete
Admixtures Technology and Usages (Farsi), Elm & Adab, 2012.
Wiehe, Carsten “Al Kufa Cement plant.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/
wiki/File:Al_Kufa_Cement_plant_-_panoramio.jpg.
3 Mineral Additives
(Supplementary
Cementitious Materials)
Mineral additives or the supplementary cementitious materials are mineral powders
or by-product of other industries that we can use besides cement to increase the
performance of concrete. They can improve the mechanical properties and help us
to produce impermeable concrete which can prevent the attack of the environmental
chemicals on the concrete or the steel bars.
On the other hand, as most of these materials are by-products of other industries,
using them can help to prevent environmental pollution by these materials as waste.
So, using these additives is going to be necessary in the production of concrete all
over the world in many countries.
The third reason for using these materials is the economic benefits. As these mate-
rials are by-products and/or mineral materials, the production process for them is
only the grinding process. So, these are very cheaper than the Portland cement and
as we should replace some amount of cement with these mineral additives, we can
say that they will make the concrete more economic.
According to the above mentioned, most of the concrete technologists suggest
using supplementary cementitious materials for all types of concrete. So, these are
very important raw materials for concrete production.
In this chapter, we will discuss the supplementary cementitious materials,
their types, and their effects on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete.
Also, we will talk about the use of these materials for different needs in concrete
production.
3.1 WHAT ARE THE SUPPLEMENTARY

CEMENTITIOUS MATERIALS?
Supplementary cementitious materials are different types of powders that contain
active SiO2 which can react with water besides cement hydration reaction and pro-
duce more calcium silicate hydrate (C-H-S) which is the main cause of concrete
mechanical properties and performance.
So, the most important material in the supplementary cementitious materials is
the active SiO2 and the pozzolanic activity and power of these materials refer to the
amount of SiO2.
According to the above mentioned, about the active SiO2, we can name the most
important supplementary cementitious materials from the higher activity to the low-
est activity as below:
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-3 75
• Silica fume (in some places of the world they name that as micro-silica but
it is different than powdered silica)
• Fly ash
• Metakaolin and natural pozzolans
• Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS)
You can find the above materials in most places of the world. But you can find some
of them better than the others in some countries. Also, it is possible that you cannot
find some of these materials in some countries. For example, there are no coal-fired
power plants in some countries like most of the countries in the middle east because
they have many mines of fossil fuels in their countries. So, they are not going to fire
the coal for electricity production and you cannot find fly ash in these countries.
Another difference between these materials is their prices in different parts of
the world. Silica fume is very expensive in all parts of the world, and in many coun-
tries, it is more expensive than cement. But for the other supplementary cementi-
tious materials, you can see different prices in different parts of the world which
depends on the suppliers in a country. For example, the mean price of fly ash in
China is cheaper than in Europe because there are more coal-fired power plants in
China than in Europe (Figure 3.1).
In Figure 3.1 the color black refers to the operating coal-fired power plants, and
the other colors refer to the other types of power plants. You can find the places
of the world where there are more coal-fired power plants and you can find cheap
price fly ash.
Without any attention to the price of these materials, you can find many benefits
of using them in concrete. But you should find the best choice depending on the place
you are living and the defined properties of your concrete.
FIGURE 3.1 Coal-fired power plants in the world. (“Global power plants by generation
sources” by Global Energy Observatory, Google, KTH Royal Institute of Technology in
Stockholm, Enipedia, World Resources Institute.)
Mineral Additives 77
3.2 REACTION WITH CEMENT AND WATER

It is very important that the mineral additives itself doesn’t react with water, but they
react with water besides cement, and we can explain the reaction as below:
C3S, C2S + Water → C-H-S + Ca(OH)2
Ca(OH)2 + Active SiO2 → C-H-S
You can see from the equations above that, first C3S and C2S react with water and
make the C-H-S, which is the main cause of concrete mechanical properties and
performance, and Ca(OH)2, which has not any effect on the performance of concrete
itself. After more time the active SiO2 in the supplementary cementitious materials
reacts with the Ca(OH)2 and makes more C-H-S. So, the mechanical properties and
performance of concrete will increase.
The speed of reaction depends on the amount of active SiO2 in the supplementary
cementitious material and the reaction environment. For example, you can accelerate the
reaction by using plasticizers and super-plasticizers like polycarboxylate ether. But if you
do not use any super-plasticizer the effect of mineral additives will decrease drastically.
Using these materials will increase the water demand for concrete as they are powder
materials and also the nature of these materials or the fineness of some of them like
silica fume will cause more water demand. So, if you don’t use any super-plasticizer, the
water you should use will increase and the water-to-binder ratio of concrete will increase
which can cause the decrease of mechanical properties and this reduction of mechanical
properties will terminate the effect of supplementary cementitious materials.
Although we speed up the reaction of mineral additives in concrete, we can see
the effect of the minimum in the age of 11 days and the best time to see the effect
of these materials is 42 days and it will continue to 90 days. So, you can make two
theoretical concrete as below:
• Concrete No. 1: A concrete with a defined 28 days compressive strength of

40 MPa, but without the usage of any supplementary cementitious material.
• Concrete No. 2: A concrete with the same 28 days compressive strength of
the concrete No. 1 but with the usage of a supplementary cementitious mate-
rial (e.g., GGBS).
You can see the behavior of these concretes in Figure 3.2.
From the above figure, you can see below explanations:
• As we have the targeted compressive strength of 40 MPa, we should design

a concrete with higher achieved compressive strength (here 45 MPa).
• As we have the same targeted compressive strength, we should design two
concretes for the same achievement of compressive strength in the 28 days
(here 45 MPa). We will explain the mixed design of concrete with the usage
of supplementary cementitious materials in the future.
• At 7 days, the compressive strength of concrete No. 1 is about 20% more
than the concrete No. 2.
60
55
Compressive Strength (MPa)
50
45
40
35
30
7 days 11 days 28 days 42 days 90 days
Concrete No.1 38 41 45 47 49
Concrete No.2 32 38 45 50 55
Concrete Age
FIGURE 3.2 The effect of supplementary cementitious materials in concrete. Graph cre-
ated by the author.

than the concrete No. 2. You can see the first effects of the GGBS at this age
by decreasing the gap of two concrete compressive strengths.
• At 28 days, you can see the same compressive strength for two concretes.
• At 42 days, the compressive strength of concrete No. 2 is about 7%
more than the concrete No. 1. You can see the victory of concrete No. 2
at this age.
than the concrete No. 1.
So, when you use the supplementary cementitious materials, you will increase the
properties of concrete in the ages more than 28 days.
Now, it is time to explain more about each of the supplementary cementitious
materials in detail.
3.3 SILICA FUME

Silica fume is a very fine powder that is the by-product of ferro-alloy industries. It is
in fact the dust derived from the funnels of these factories.
Silica fume contains more than 90% of active SiO2. On the other hand, it is a
very fine powder (more than 50 times of the Portland cement). The blain of silica
fume could be between 150000 and 300000 cm2/g. The structure of this pozzolan
is spherical. As the activation of Silica fume is very high compared with the other
supplementary cementitious materials, we can call that a super-pozzolan. You can
see the chemical analysis of silica fume in Table 3.1.
TABLE 3.1
Chemical Analysis of Silica Fume
Material SiO2 C Fe2O3 Al2O3 CaO MgO Na2O K2O P2O5 SO3 Cl
Percent 94.43 0.3 0.87 1.32 0.49 0.97 0.31 1.01 0.16 0.1 0.04
FIGURE 3.3 A picture of silica fume powder. (Photograph by the author.)
As you can see in the table, the amount of active SiO2 in this silica fume is 94.43%.
3.3.1 Silica Fume Specification

We can name the specification of silica fume as below:
• Appearance: It is a light gray and very fine powder. Its color is lighter than
the Portland cement (Figure 3.3).
• Specific gravity: It is lighter than cement. Its specific gravity is about
2.2 kg/L.
• Blain: As mentioned before, it is a very fine powder. Its blain is different for
several producers in the different parts of the world. But we can say that it
is between 150000 and 300000 cm2/g.
• Amount of use in concrete: We have different suggestions for the percent-
age of use for this material. But you have to use more than 5% by weight
of total binder (Portland cement plus supplementary cementitious material)
and less than 12%.
3.3.2 Effect of Silica Fume on the Properties of Fresh Concrete

You can see the effect of silica fume on the properties of fresh concrete as below:
• Effect on the water demand: As silica fume is a very fine powder and it con-
tains a high amount of silica, it absorbs too much water. So, water demand
in concrete will increase, when we use silica fume.
• Concrete workability: As we would like to talk about the workability, there
are too many factors that we should consider. So, for the silica fume because
of more water demand, it can reduce the workability. But as silica fume is a
very fine powder it can help the concrete to pump better and the texture of
concrete will improve.
• Segregation and bleeding: As the silica fume is a very fine powder, it can
absorb the excess water. So, it can reduce the segregation and bleeding of
concrete.
• Entrapped air: The amount of entrapped air in concrete will decrease when
we use silica fume because it is a fine powder and reduces the fraction
between the constituent materials in concrete.
• Heat of hydration: When we use silica fume in concrete, we should replace some
amount of cement with this material. So, we can reduce the heat of hydration.
• Setting time: As we use a little amount of silica fume in concrete (most of
the time less than 10%). So, it has not any considerable effect on the setting
time of concrete.
• Pumpability: We have silica fume as a very fine powder. So, it will increase
the amount of cement paste and it has a positive effect on the viscosity and
pumpability of concrete.
3.3.3 Effect of Silica Fume on the Properties of Hardened Concrete

You can see the effect of silica fume on the properties of hardened concrete as below:
• Compressive strength: Silica fume acts as a super-pozzolan. It produces

more C-H-S in concrete. So, it can increase the compressive strength of
concrete, especially in the ages more than 11 days.
• Freeze-thaw resistance: We can produce an impermeable concrete by using
of the silica fume. Moisture cannot go inside an impermeable concrete ele-
ment. So, the destroying effects of freeze-thaw cycles can be controlled by
using the silica fume.
• Shrinkage and crack: There are no straight effects from the silica fume
on the shrinkage of concrete. But as it needs much amount of water, con-
crete made with it will need much curing than normal. So, silica fume will
increase the probability of cracking in concrete.
• Permeability: As mentioned before, we can produce more C-H-S in con-
crete when we use silica fume. On the other hand, the fineness of silica fume
can decrease the number of pores in the concrete texture. So, it can reduce
the permeability of concrete.
• Alkali aggregate reaction: We use the silica fume as a percent of the total
binder in concrete. So, by using it, we are reducing the amount of cement
alkalis for the alkali aggregate reaction and we can control this reaction.
• Sulfate and chloride resistance: As we can reduce the permeability of con-
crete by using the silica fume, we can control the moisture and aggres-
sive ions like sulfate and chloride inside the concrete. So, silica fume can
improve the resistance of concrete against sulfate and chloride attack.
3.3.4 Use of Silica Gel or Silica Slurry

If we would like to name a deficiency for the silica fume, it is the carcinogenic effect
of this material on humans. Scientists talked about different reasons which can cause
silica fume a carcinogen material. For example, the super-fineness of this powder
will cause the particles breathed to stand in the interior layers of human lung and
cannot go out by cough or mucus. So, using silica fume in concrete has some restric-
tions for the laborers who are going to work with it.
To prevent this effect, we can use silica gel or silica slurry that you can see the
definitions as below:
• Silica slurry (Figure 3.4): This is a combination of the silica fume pow-
der and water that they mixed very well together with a good stirrer. The
amount of silica fume in the slurry could be about 20% to 30% by weight.
Sometimes, we can use a little amount of super-plasticizer (specially poly-
carboxylate ether) to ensure the good dispersing of silica fume in the water.
But the amount of super-plasticizer is not too much that we should consider
it in the concrete mix design.
As the production process of the silica slurry is in a factory with a defined
protection process, the safety of this material is much more than the silica
fume powder.
• Silica gel: This is a combination of the silica fume powder, water, and a
special amount of super-plasticizer (most of the time polycarboxylate ether
base) which are mixed very well together with a good stirrer. The amount of
silica fume in the silica gel is about 20% to 40% by weight and the amount
of the super-plasticizer could be between 0.5% and 1.5% by weight. So, we
should consider this amount of super-plasticizer in the concrete mix design.
Like the silica slurry, as the production process for this material is in a factory with
a defined protection process, the safety of this material is much more than the silica
fume powder.
The other important reason to use silica slurry and gel instead of silica fume pow-
der is the importance of dispersion for the silica fume in the total texture of concrete
with the same dosage. Researchers showed that the dispersing of silica gel and slurry
is much better in the construction of concrete than the silica fume powder.
Do not forget to use all kinds of powder additives with the suitable super-plasti-
cizers in concrete because the super-plasticizers can help better and homogeneous
dispersion of these materials in concrete.
FIGURE 3.4 Silica slurry ready to use in concrete. (Photograph by the author.)
3.4 FLY ASH

Fly ash is a very fine powder which is the by-product of electricity power plants that
use coal as fuel. It derives from the funnels of these power plants (Figure 3.5).
Fly ash contains between 30% and 50% of active SiO2. On the other hand, its
blain is about 4000–4500 cm2/g (between 30% and 50% more than normal Portland
cement). The activation of the fly ash is less than the silica fume but more than the
other supplementary cementitious materials.
We have two types of fly ash which depend on the type of coal burned in the
power plant:
• Fly ash type F: It is a low calcium content fly ash.

• Fly ash type C: It is a moderate or high calcium content fly ash.
You can see the chemical analysis of a fly ash type F in Table 3.2 and a fly ash type
C in Table 3.3.
As you can see in the tables above, the amount of active SiO2 in the fly ash is dif-
ferent in types F and C. As type F fly ash has more SiO2, it is a very good pozzolan.
But for type C we may have a little cementing activity. It means that type C fly ash
FIGURE 3.5 A coal fire electricity power plant. (“Electricity power plant”.)
TABLE 3.2
Chemical Analysis of Fly Ash Type F
Material SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO SO3 Na2O K2O
Percent 54 24 11.5 5 1.5 1.5 2.5
TABLE 3.3
Chemical Analysis of Fly Ash Type C
Percent 37 20 7 24 4.5 6 1.5
can activate with water itself because it has high amount of CaO. But the cementing
activity is not too much. So, we use this type of fly ash in concrete production for its
pozzolanic activity.
3.4.1 Fly Ash Specification

We can name the specification of the fly ash as below:
• Appearance: It is a gray to light yellow powder. Its fineness is a little more

than the Portland cement. You can see a picture of the fly ash in Figure 3.6.
• Specific gravity: It is lighter than the cement. Its specific gravity is between
1.9 and 2.6 kg/L.
FIGURE 3.6 Fly ash. (Photograph by the author).
• Blain: As mentioned before, it is about 30% to 50% finer than the normal
Portland cement. Its blain is different for several producers in the different
parts of the world. But it is between 4000 and 4500 cm2/g.
• Amount of use in concrete: We have different suggestions for the percent of
the use of this material. You have to use it between 10% and 35% by weight
of total binder (Portland cement plus supplementary cementitious material).
3.4.2 Effect of Fly Ash on the Properties of Fresh Concrete

You can see the effect of fly ash on the properties of fresh concrete as below:
• Effect on the water demand: As The fly ash has different blain for different
producers, we cannot say anything about the water demand. If the blain is
high (about 4500 cm2/g), it can increase the amount of water, but if the blain
is lower, like 4000 cm2/g, it has no considerable effect on the water demand
of concrete.
• Concrete workability: As the fly ash is a fine powder and it will increase the
amount of total binder in concrete, it can help the concrete to pump better
and the texture of concrete will improve. So, we can say that the fly ash has
positive effect on the workability of concrete.
• Segregation and bleeding: Fly ash is a fine powder that will increase the
total binder. So, it can absorb the excess water and reduce the segregation
and bleeding of concrete.
we use fly ash because it is a fine powder and reduces the fraction between
the constituent materials in concrete.
• Heat of hydration: When we use fly ash in concrete, we should replace
some amount of cement with this material. So, we can reduce the heat of
hydration.
• Setting time: When we use high amount of fly ash in concrete, we are
replacing the pure Portland cement with that. So, as the activity of fly
ash is less than the Portland cement and it will start the reaction in
the ages above 11 days, using the fly ash can retard the setting time of
concrete.
• Pumpability: We have the fly ash as a fine powder. So, it will increase the
amount of binder paste and it has a positive effect on the viscosity and
3.4.3 Effect of Fly Ash on the Properties of Hardened Concrete

You can see the effect of fly ash on the properties of hardened concrete as below:
• Compressive strength: Fly ash acts as a pozzolan material. It produces more

C-H-S in concrete. So, it can increase the compressive strength of concrete,
especially in the ages more than 11 days.
• Freeze-thaw resistance: We can produce an impermeable concrete by
using the fly ash. Moisture cannot go inside an impermeable concrete. So,
the destroying effects of freeze-thaw cycles can be controlled by using
the fly ash.
• Shrinkage and crack: There are no straight effects from the fly ash on the
shrinkage of concrete and there is no effect on the probability of cracking
of concrete.
crete when we use the fly ash. So, it can reduce the permeability of concrete.
• Alkali aggregate reaction: We use fly ash as a percent of total binder in con-
crete. So, by using it, we are reducing the amount of cement alkalis for the
alkali aggregate reaction and we can control this reaction.
crete by using fly ash, we can control the moisture and penetration of sulfate
and chloride ions inside concrete. So, we can improve the sulfate and chlo-
ride resistance of concrete.
3.5 GROUND GRANULATED BLAST FURNACE SLAG (GGBS)

Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) is the by-product of steel production
industries (Figure 3.7). It is the remained material of the melted steel when it comes
out of the furnace, which is cooled down rapidly after coming out. The cooling
process is very important for the activity of SiO2. In fact, the GGBS for concrete
produces has two stages:
• Stage 1: The production process of steel and cooling process of slag in the
steel factory.
• Stage 2: The grinding process in a cement factory which should be sepa-
rated by the cement grinding because of the different hardness of cement
clinker and slag.
FIGURE 3.7 Steel complex factory. (“Foolad Mobarakeh Steel Mill. Isfahan.” by Hasan
Majidi.)
GGBS contains about 30% of active SiO2. As we should grind the slag for the production
of the GGBS, we can adjust the fineness of the final product. As the activity of the GGBS
is much less than the Portland cement, we should grind it more than the cement clinker.
Most of the time, the good blain for GGBS is about 4000 cm2/g. The activity of GGBS
is less than the silica fume and fly ash. But it is a very good material for the production
of a durable concrete. On the other hand, as the production of slag from the production
of steel is very much in the world, it is a good idea to use it in concrete production for
environmental protection. You can see the chemical analysis of a GGBS in Table 3.4.
As you can see in the table above, the amount of SiO2 in this GGBS is 35%. With a
good cooling process, we can activate 99% of this SiO2. Nevertheless, it is not a good
slag for use in concrete production.
3.5.1 GGBS Specification
We can name the specification of the GGBS as below:
• Appearance: It is a gray to light yellow powder. We can adjust the fineness

more than the Portland cement to adjust its activity. You can see a picture of
the slag before grinding in Figure 3.8.
TABLE 3.4
Chemical Analysis of GGBS
Percent 35 13 1 41 9 0.5 0.5
FIGURE 3.8 Picture of slag. (Photograph by the author.)
• Specific gravity: Most of the time, it is lighter than the cement. Its specific
gravity is about 2.9 kg/L.
• Blain: As mentioned before, we can adjust the blain in the cement factory.
Most of the time, the GGBS blain is about 4000 cm2/g. It should be softer
than the Portland cement for its lower activity.
• Amount of use in concrete: There are different suggestions for the percent
of use for this material. For example, in Europe, you can use it up to 95%
of the total binder. But here we suggest to use it between 20% and 50% by
weight of the total binder (Portland cement plus supplementary cementi-
tious material).
3.5.2 Effect of GGBS on the Properties of Fresh Concrete

You can see the effect of GGBS on the properties of fresh concrete as below:
• Effect on the water demand: As the GGBS has different blain for different
producers, we cannot say anything about the water demand. If the blain is
so high (about 4500 cm2/g), it can increase the water demand, but if the blain
is lower like 4000 cm2/g, it has no considerable effect on the water demand
of concrete.
• Concrete workability: As the GGBS is a fine powder and it will increase the
amount of total binder in concrete, it can help the concrete to pump better
and the texture of the concrete will improve. So, we can say that the GGBS
has a positive effect on the workability of concrete.
• Segregation and bleeding: GGBS is a fine powder that will increase the
total binder of concrete. So, it can absorb the excess water and reduce the
segregation and bleeding.
we use the GGBS because it is a fine powder and reduces the fraction
between the constituent materials in concrete.
• Heat of hydration: When we use GGBS in concrete, we should replace
some amount of cement with this material. So, we can reduce the heat of
hydration.
• Setting time: When we use a high amount of the GGBS in concrete, we are
replacing the pure Portland cement with that. So, as the activity of GGBS is
less than the Portland cement and it will start the reaction in the ages above
11 days, using the GGBS can retard the setting time of concrete.
• Pumpability: We have the GGBS as a fine powder. So, it will increase the
amount of binder paste and it has a positive effect on the viscosity and
3.5.3 Effect of GGBS on the Properties of Hardened Concrete

You can see the effect of GGBS on the properties of hardened concrete as below:
• Compressive strength: GGBS acts as a pozzolan material. It produces more

C-H-S in concrete. So, it can increase the compressive strength of concrete,
especially in the ages more than 11 days. But the effect of GGBS on the
compressive strength of concrete is less than the fly ash and silica fume.
• Freeze-thaw resistance: Using the GGBS can help to produce an imperme-
able concrete. Moisture cannot go inside an impermeable concrete. So, the
destroying effects of freeze-thaw cycles can control by using the GGBS.
• Shrinkage and crack: There is no straight effect from the GGBS on the
shrinkage and probability of cracking in concrete.
crete when we use the GGBS. So, it can reduce the permeability of concrete.
• Alkali aggregate reaction: We use the GGBS as a percent of the total binder
in concrete. So, by using it, we are reducing the amount of cement alkalis
for the alkali aggregate reaction and we can control this reaction.
crete by using the GGBS, we can control the moisture and sulfate/chlo-
ride ions inside the concrete. So, we can improve the resistance of concrete
against chloride and sulfate attacks.
3.6 NATURAL POZZOLANS

There are too many materials in the nature which have pozzolanic activity. We can
call them natural pozzolans. For example, we have metakaolin as the anhydrous cal-
cined form of a special kind of clay called Kaolinite which we use most of the time
for the production of the porcelain.
Another example is the different types of volcanic ashes in different parts of the
world which have different pozzolanic activities. In fact, you can find these types of
natural pozzolans in places where we have a volcanic mountain (Figure 3.9).
FIGURE 3.9 A volcanic mountain. (“Popocatepetl [Nahuatl for “Smoking Mountain”]”.)
Like the other types of pozzolans, the main material which is very important in
natural pozzolans is the active SiO2. So, the activity of different types of natural poz-
zolans is different. But most of the time, the activity of natural pozzolans is the same
as fly ash and is more than the GGBS. You should make trials with the natural poz-
zolans when you would like to use them in the production of any industrial concrete
to ensure their activity and effects on the properties of concrete.
Chemical analysis of different types of natural pozzolans is different accord-
ing to its type and the place of origin. But as mentioned before, the most impor-
tant material is the active SiO2 , which is more than 50% for almost all types of
the natural pozzolans. For example, the amount of SiO2 in metakaolin is between
50% and 60%.
3.6.1 Natural Pozzolans Specification

We can name the specification of the natural pozzolans as below:
• Appearance: The appearance of different types of natural pozzolans is dif-

ferent from each other. For example, metakaolin is a light yellow powder
and volcanic ash is light gray powder. You can see a picture of the metaka-
olin under the microscope in Figure 3.10.
• Specific gravity: All types of natural pozzolans are lighter than the cement.
Their specific gravity is about 2.5 kg/L.
• Blain: Natural pozzolans are very fine powders. They are much finer than
the Portland cement. But the blain is different for different types of them.
For example, the blain of metakaolin is more than 180000 cm2/g which is
about 50 times more than the Portland cement.
• Amount of use in concrete: There are different suggestions for the percent
of use for these materials. It depends on the type of natural pozzolan, its
activity, and the reasons of use. You should make trials before using them in
FIGURE 3.10 A picture of metakaolin. (Photograph by the author.)
the production of industrial concrete. Here we suggest to use them between

10% and 30% by weight of the total binder (Portland cement plus supple-
mentary cementitious material).
3.6.2 Effect of Natural Pozzolans on the Properties of Fresh Concrete

You can see the effect of natural pozzolans on the properties of fresh concrete as below:
• Effect on the water demand: As natural pozzolans have different blain and
different properties according to the type and place of origin, their effect
on the water demand could be different. But as they are very fine powders
and if we use them more than 10% of the total binder in concrete, they can
increase water demand.
• Concrete workability: As the natural pozzolans are fine powders and they
will increase the amount of total binder in concrete, they can help the con-
crete to pump better and the texture of the concrete will improve. So, we
can say that the natural pozzolans have a positive effect on the workability
of concrete. On the other hand, you should consider the water demand and
its effect on the workability of concrete.
• Segregation and bleeding: Natural pozzolans are fine powders that will
increase the total binder in concrete. So, they can absorb the excess water
and reduce the segregation and bleeding of concrete.
we use natural pozzolans because they are fine powders and can reduce the
fraction between the constituent materials in concrete.
• Heat of hydration: When we use natural pozzolans in concrete, we should
replace some amount of cement with these materials. So, we can reduce the
heat of hydration.
• Setting time: When we use a high amount of natural pozzolans (more
than 10% by weight of total binder) in concrete, we are replacing the pure
Portland cement with that. So, the activity of any kind of natural pozzolans
is less than the Portland cement and they will start the reaction in the ages
above 11 days, and using them can retard the setting time of concrete.
• Pumpability: We have natural pozzolans as very fine powders. So, they will
increase the amount of binder paste and they have a positive effect on the
viscosity and pumpability of concrete.
3.6.3 Effect of Natural Pozzolans on the Properties

of Hardened Concrete
You can see the effect of natural pozzolans on the properties of hardened concrete
as below:
• Compressive strength: Natural pozzolans produce more C-H-S in concrete.

So, it can increase the compressive strength of concrete, especially in the
ages more than 11 days. The effect of natural pozzolans on the compressive
strength of concrete is similar to the fly ash.
• Freeze-thaw resistance: Using natural pozzolans can help to produce an
impermeable concrete. Moisture cannot go inside an impermeable concrete.
So, the destroying effects of freeze-thaw cycles can control by using natural
pozzolans.
• Shrinkage and crack: There is no straight effect from the natural pozzolans
on the shrinkage of concrete. But if we use a high amount of them in con-
crete, they can increase the water demand and increase the probability of
cracks in concrete.
• Permeability: As mentioned before, we can produce more C-H-S in concrete
when we use natural pozzolans. So, it can reduce the permeability of concrete.
• Alkali aggregate reaction: We use natural pozzolans as a percent of the total
binder in concrete. So, by using them, we are reducing the amount of cement
alkalis for the alkali aggregate reaction and we can control this reaction.
crete by using natural pozzolans, we can control the moisture and chloride/
sulfate ions inside the concrete. So, we can improve the resistance against
the chloride and sulfate attack.
3.7 COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT

SUPPLEMENTARY CEMENTITIOUS MATERIALS
We mentioned all of the properties of supplementary cementitious materials in the
parts before and we discuss the reasons for each property in detail. In this part, you
can see all of the properties in tables to compare these materials with each other for
the best decision-making about using these additives in concrete. You can see the
comparison between the specification of the supplementary cementitious materials
in Table 3.5.
You can see the different suggestions for the amount of use of supplementary
cementitious materials in Table 3.6.
For the amount of use, it is very important to know the target properties of con-
crete to decide about the use of any supplementary cementitious material and also
the amount of use for each one. You can also use a mixture of two of these additives
for the production of a high-quality concrete. For example, use of silica fume and
GGBS together is very common for the production of concrete which is in contact
with sulfate and chloride attack.
You can see a comparison between the effect of supplementary cementitious
materials on the properties of fresh concrete in Table 3.7.
You can see a comparison between the effect of supplementary cementitious
materials on the properties of hardened concrete in Table 3.8.
TABLE 3.5
Comparison Between the Specification of Supplementary Cementitious
Materials
Type of Additive Appearance Specific Gravity (kg/L) Blain (cm2/g)
Silica fume Light gray powder About 2.2 150000–300000
Fly ash Gray to light yellow powder 1.9–2.6 4000–5000
GGBS Gray to light yellow powder About 2.9 About 4000
Natural Pozzolans Light yellow or light gray powder About 2.5 About 180000
TABLE 3.6
Different Suggestions for the Amount of Use of Supplementary
Cementitious Materials
Suggestion of Suggestion of ACI Suggestion of
Type of Additive EN197 (%) 211.1 (%) This Book (%)
Silica fume 6–10 5–15 5–12
Fly ash 6–35 15–35 10–35
GGBS 20–95 25–70 20–50
Natural Pozzolans 6–35 10–20 10–30
TABLE 3.7
Comparison Between the Effect of Supplementary Cementitious Materials on
the Properties of Fresh Concrete
Segregation
Type of Water and Entrapped Hydration Setting
Additive Demand Workability Bleeding Air Heat Time Pumpability
Silica fume Increase Decrease Decrease Decrease Decrease No Improve
slump but considerable
improve effect
texture
Fly ash No Improve Decrease Decrease Decrease Can retard Improve
considerable texture
effect
GGBS No Improve Decrease Decrease Decrease Can retard Improve
considerable texture
effect
Natural Can increase Improve Decrease Decrease Decrease Can retard Improve
Pozzolans texture
TABLE 3.8
Comparison Between the Effect of Supplementary Cementitious Materials
on the Properties of Hardened Concrete
Alkali- Sulfate-
Type of Compressive Freeze-Thaw Probability of Aggregate Chloride
Additive Strength Resistance Cracking Permeability Reaction Resistance
Silica fume Increase Can help Increase Decrease Can control Can help
Fly ash Increase Can help No effect Decrease Can control Can help
GGBS Increase Can help No effect Decrease Can control Can help
Natural Increase Can help Can increase Decrease Can control Can help
Pozzolans
3.8 USE OF MINERAL ADDITIVES IN CONCRETE PRODUCTION

To use mineral additives in concrete production you should consider below points:
• First, you should decide which of the supplementary cementitious materi-

als is the best choice for your concrete according to the target properties of
concrete and the access to that material.
• You should decide about the amount of use of the supplementary cementi-
tious material according to the target properties of concrete.
• You should design a concrete mix by using the mineral additives that we
will talk about it in the future.
FIGURE 3.11 A special silo for silica fume direct use in concrete. (Photograph by the author.)
• It is very important to use mineral additives easily to avoid any mistakes.

For example, you should use them like the Portland cement from the siloes
of the batching plant (Figure 3.11).
• It is very important to disperse the mineral additives in concrete homog-
enously. So, you should use them with good super-plasticizers and a suitable
dosage of them. The best one is the polycarboxylate base that we will talk
about them in the future.
• For better dispersing of mineral additives in concrete texture, it is bet-
ter to produce concrete with a slump more than 180 mm. You will make
this concrete with a super-plasticizer. So, the dispersing process will be
perfect.
REFERENCES
Aitcin P.C., High Performance Concrete, E&FN SPON, 2004.
ASTM C150-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Chemical Admixtures
for Concrete, ASTM C494-99.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Coal fly Ash and
Raw or Calcined Natural Pozzolan for Use as a Mineral Admixture in Concrete, ASTM
C618-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Use of Silica Fume as a
Mineral Admixture in Hydraulic Cement Concrete, Mortar and Grout, ASTM C1240-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Density, Absorption
and Voids in Hardened Concrete, ASTM C642-97.
Diagnosis, Repair, WILEY-VCH, 2004.
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canoes in Mexico and in the Americas.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/
wiki/File:The_volcano, _Popocatepetl_(Nahuatl_for_%22Smoking_Mountain%22,_
on_the_east_side_of_the_Valley_of_Mexico, _errupts_on_Dec.2018.jpg.
- “Electricity power plant.” Retrieved from: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/559959.
European Standard Organization, Admixtures for Concrete Mortar and Grout, EN934 Series.
EN480 Series.
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Enipedia, World Resources Institute. 2019. Global Power Plant Database v1.2.0. Published
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Iranian Standard Organization, Concrete Admixtures, Specification, ISIRI2930, 2011.
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Nawy G.Edward, Concrete Construction Engineering Handbook, CRC Press, 2008.
Popovics Sandor, Concrete Materials, Properties Specification and Testing, NOYES Publications,
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Ramachandran V.S, Beaudion James, Handbook of Analytical Techniques in Concrete Science
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NOYES Publications, 1995.
4 Aggregates
Aggregates are the skeleton of concrete. They are the biggest constituent material of
concrete from the volume and weight point of view. More than 60% of the volume
and more than 65% by weight of any kind of concrete is the aggregates. So, the prop-
erties and specification of them are very important for the production of high-quality
and performance concrete.
Aggregates effect is on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. Some of the
most important effects of aggregates on the properties of fresh concrete are as below:
• The texture and softness of concrete depend on the texture of aggregates.

• Pumpability of concrete depends on the texture of aggregates.
• Workability and malleability of concrete depend on the texture of aggregates.
• The final temperature of concrete depends on the temperature of the
aggregates.
• The water demand of concrete depends on the texture and kind of aggregates.
• The effectiveness of chemical admixtures, especially the super-plasticizers,
depends on the kind and texture of aggregates.
Some of the most important effects of aggregates on the properties of hardened con-
crete are as below:
• For normal strength concrete, the compressive strength of concrete depends

on the shape of aggregates.
• For high-strength concrete, the compressive strength of concrete depends
on the hardness of aggregates.
• Uniform gradation of aggregates can help to control the permeability of
concrete and also it can increase the compressive strength.
• Some of the added residue materials in aggregates can cause decreasing of
the compressive strength of concrete.
• The texture of aggregates can vary the final surface of concrete elements.
You can see that the aggregates are very important for the properties of fresh and
hardened concrete. So, we should test them before use in the production of concrete
and we should check them with standards to ensure their quality.
In this chapter, we are going to talk about the properties of aggregates and the
tests for quality control before using them in the production of concrete. We will talk
about the coarse and fine aggregates and the natural and crushed ones. We will talk
about the sieve analysis test, specific gravity, and water absorption test of aggregates
which are the most important tests for the concrete mix design. We will talk about
the alkali aggregate reaction which is one of the most important defects of some
aggregate used in concrete.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-4 97
4.1 TYPES OF NATURAL STONES

There are several types of natural stones in nature. We cannot use all of them as the
aggregate for concrete because the stones which are suitable for use in concrete as
aggregate should have the below specifications:
• The stone should have enough strength that we can produce a durable con-
crete with higher strength with it.
• The mines of the stones should be available in the places where we would
like to make concrete.
• The price of some types of stones is too high because they are used as the
decorative stones. So, they are not suitable for the production of concrete.
• The chemical behavior of the stone should be controlled because some of
the materials in some types of stones will react with the cement constituents
and cause alkali aggregate reaction which will be very destructive for con-
crete in the future.
• As we should crush the stones and grade them for use in concrete, the hard-
ness of the stone should not be too high which can cause the depreciation of
the aggregate production instruments.
To choose a suitable type of stone for the aggregate production, you should know sev-
eral types of stones in nature. We have three main types of stone or rocks in nature
as bellow:
• Igneous rocks: They are formed from the solidification of molten materials
which came from the volcanoes. They are divided into two types as below:
• Intrusive igneous rocks: They are crystallized below the surface of the earth.
Some examples of this type of rock are Granite and Gabbro (Figure 4.1).
• Extrusive igneous rocks: They are crystallized after coming out of the vol-
canoes on the surface of the earth. Some examples of this type of rock are
Basalt and Andesite (Figure 4.2).
FIGURE 4.1 Picture of granite rock in left and gabbro rock in right. (“Granite” by James St.
John), (“Gabbro” by James St. John.)
Aggregates 99
FIGURE 4.2 Picture of basalt rock in left and andesite rock in the right. (“Basalt” by James
St. John), (“Andesite” by James St. John.)
FIGURE 4.3 Picture of conglomerate rock in the left, sandstone in the right. (“Travertine-
cemented conglomerate” by James St. John), (“Sandstone” by James St. John.)
• Sedimentary rocks: They are formed by the accumulation of sediments over

time. These rocks are divided into three types as below:
• Clastic sedimentary rocks: They are formed from the accumulation of
mechanical weathering debris. Some examples of this type of rock are
Conglomerate, sandstone, and shale (Figure 4.3).
Chemical sedimentary rocks: They are formed when dissolved materials precipitate
from the solution. Some examples of this type of rock are dolomite and limestone
(Figure 4.4).
• Organic sedimentary rocks: They are formed from the accumulation of

plant or animal debris. Some examples of this type of rocks are Diatomite
and Chalk (Figure 4.5).
• Metamorphic rocks: They are modified by heat, pressure, and chemical pro-
cesses from the other types of rocks. They are divided into two types as
below:
FIGURE 4.4 Picture of dolomite rock in the left and limestone rock in the right. (“Dolomite
rock and calcite” by Junpei Satoh), (“Oolitic limestone from the Mississippian of Indiana,
USA” by James St. John.)
FIGURE 4.5 Picture of diatomite rock in the left and chalk rock in the right. (“Diatomite”
by James St. John), (“Chalk from the Cretaceous of Britain” by James St. John.)
• Foliated metamorphic rocks: They have layers that are produced because of
the exposure to direct heat or pressure. Some examples of this type of rock
are Gneiss and Schist (Figure 4.6).
• Non-foliated metamorphic rocks: they don’t have a layered appearance.
Some examples of this type of rock are Marble and Quartzite (Figure 4.7).
According to the above descriptions, you can see which kind of natural rocks in your
area should be suitable for the production of concrete. These natural stones can be
derived from the mines and brought to the aggregate production plants. Then they
will be crushed and graded to different sizes and it is possible to wash them for some
reasons like the separation of soil and other residue materials. Finally, they will be
ready to transport into the concrete production plant for the production of concrete.
You can see pictures of the aggregate production plants in Figures 4.8 to 4.10.
Aggregates 101
FIGURE 4.6 Picture of Gneiss rock in the left and Schist rock in the right. (“Gneiss” by
James St. John), (Source “Biotite Schist” by James St. John.)
FIGURE 4.7 Picture of marble rock in the left and quartzite rock in the right. (“Marble” by
James St. John), (“Sioux Quartzite” by James St. John.)
For the production of finer aggregates, we can use the left-over sands in the river-
beds. We call it natural sand. We can send them to the aggregate production plant and
then crush, grade, and wash them for the production of natural sand. Also, we can use
the coarser sizes as the gravel for the production of concrete. We will talk about the
natural and crushed aggregates in this chapter.
4.2 AGGREGATES AND THE DENSITY OF CONCRETE

The most important constituent material has effect on the density of concrete in the
aggregates. By using different types of aggregates, we can produce concrete with dif-
ferent densities. On the other hand, the density of concrete should be very important
for us. So, we are going to talk about the different types of concrete according to
the factor of density. You can see the density of some of the most important types of
FIGURE 4.8 A mobile stone crusher for the production of aggregates. (“Stone crusher” by
Richard Webb.)
FIGURE 4.9 A sand washing plant. (“Feed section for Evowash sand washing plant” by
Peter Craven.)
rocks in Table 4.1. These ranges are because of the difference in the origins of rocks
and the probable impurities.
Instead of the aggregates, the amount of air in concrete is the other important
factor effecting the density of concrete. When we use a higher amount of air, we will
have a lighter concrete. But unfortunately, it can cause drastically reducing of com-
pressive strength and other mechanical properties.
The effect of other constituent materials on the density of concrete is very low. So,
to evaluate or predict the density of concrete, we should pay special attention to the
aggregates and the amount of air.
Aggregates 103
FIGURE 4.10 An aggregate production plant. (Photograph by the author.)
TABLE 4.1
Density of Different Types of Rocks
Type of Rock Granite Sandstone Quartzite Limestone Dolomite Marble Gneiss
Density (kg/L) 2.6–2.8 2.2–2.8 2.6–2.8 1.8–2.8 2.6–2.9 2.5–2.7 2.7–2.8
According to the above mentioned, we have three types of concrete in the case of
the differentiation of density:
• Normal weight concrete: When we use any type of normal aggregates made
with the types of rocks mentioned in Section 4.1, we will have a normal
weight concrete. The density of this type of concrete which is the most com-
mon type (more than 90% of concrete in the world) is between 2350 and
2450 kg/m3. You can see a picture of a normal type aggregate in Figure 4.11.
We can use this type of concrete in any kind of structure like below examples:
• Columns, walls, roofs, and foundations of urban structures

• Columns, decks, and foundations of the bridges
• Water tank, storages, and pools
• Pavements
• Offshore structures
• Light weight concrete: This is a special type of concrete with lower den-
sity than the normal concrete. We can make light weight concrete with two
techniques:
• Make light weight concrete with air entraining and special gradation of
aggregates: We can make a very light concrete by increasing the amount of
air bubbles inside the concrete. With this technique we can make a concrete
with the density between 300 and 1800 kg/m3.
FIGURE 4.11 Normal type aggregate. (Photograph by the author.)
TABLE 4.2
Examples of Light Weight Aggregates
Type of Light Weight Aggregate Explanation
Leca This is the light weight expanded clay
aggregate made by heating the clay
to around 1200°C in a kiln
Pumice It is a very light grained volcanic rock
Perlite This is a kind of volcanic glass which
can expand when heated and make a
light weight aggregate
• Make light weight concrete by using light weight aggregates: We can use
light weight aggregates as total amount of aggregates in concrete or part of
it. We can make a light weight concrete with the density between 600 and
1800 kg/m3 by using the light weight aggregates.
We have several types of light weight aggregates. You can see some types of it in
Table 4.2. You can see pictures of Leca, Pumice, and Perlite in Figures 4.12 to 4.14.
We have two types of light weight concrete:
• Structural light weight concrete: This is a concrete with good or enough

mechanical properties so that we can use it as the structural element. Most
of the time, this type of light weight concrete will be used for light weight
aggregates. The density of this concrete is usually more than 800 kg/m3 and
less than 2000 kg/m3 and the compressive strength should be more than
25 MPa.
Making a structure with the light weight concrete can reduce the dead
and earthquake load and we can make a structure with good resistance
against the earthquake.
Aggregates 105
FIGURE 4.12 Picture of light expanded clay (Leca) aggregates. (“LECA Aggregates
Granules”.)
FIGURE 4.13 Picture of pumice aggregates. (“Rhyodacite pumice & volcanic ash” by
James St. John.)
• Non-structural light weight concrete: This is a kind of light weight concrete

that we can use it for the production of blocks or other types of void fillers in
the construction industry. This type of concrete is very light (between 300
and 800 kg/m3) but has not enough mechanical properties to use them in the
structural elements (Figure 4.15).
• Heavy weight concrete: This is a special type of concrete that is heavier
than the normal weight concrete. It is made by using special heavy weight
aggregates. You can see some types of heavy weight aggregates in Table 4.3.
Heavy weight concrete is used for shielding the radiation in the areas like X-ray pho-
tography or in the central part of the nuclear reactors to control the radiation out of
the allowed area (Figure 4.16).
You can see pictures of Magnetite, Hematite, and iron ore in Figures 4.17 to 4.19.
We can make a heavy weight concrete with the density between 3000 and 6000 kg/m3
by using the above aggregates as the total aggregate in concrete or a part of it.
FIGURE 4.14 Picture of perlite aggregates. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 4.15 A type of roof block made with non-structural light weight concrete.
(Photograph by the author.)
Aggregates 107
TABLE 4.3
Examples of Heavy Weight Aggregates
Type of Aggregate Density (kg/L) Explanation
Magnetite 5.1–5.2 This is a type of iron oxide mineral
Hematite More than 5.2 This is a type of ferric oxide with high iron content
Iron aggregates More than 7.2 Different size iron or steel particles
FIGURE 4.16 An X-ray medical photographer in left and nuclear reactor in right. They
should protect with the heavy weight concrete. (“X-ray table” by Broken Sphere), (“Nuclear
electricity power plant”.)
FIGURE 4.17 Magnetite rock which can be used for heavy weight aggregate production.
(“Magnetite rock” by James St. John.)
FIGURE 4.18 Hematite rock which can be used for heavy weight aggregate production.
(“Hematite rock” by James St. John.)
FIGURE 4.19 Iron ore used as heavy weight aggregates. (“Specularite” by James St. John.)
4.3 AGGREGATE SIZE

To produce a compact and dense structure concrete, we should use different sizes of
aggregates from the bigger size to the finer ones. So, we should check the compat-
ibility of aggregates in the case of their size and shape for concrete that we will talk
about it in the future.
In ASTM standard, we have different sizes of sieves, which we should use to
check the aggregate size by using sieve analysis. We will talk about the sieve analysis
test of aggregates in the next part of this chapter. Now you can see the sieve sizes in
Table 4.4.
Aggregates 109
TABLE 4.4
ASTM Sieve Sizes for Aggregates
Sieve Size (mm) 25 19 12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15 0.075
Sieve No – – – – 4 8 16 30 50 100 200
We have different sieve sizes in (mm) and different sieve numbers from 4.75 mm
(No. 4) to 0.075 mm (No. 200). According to these sizes, we can separate two kinds
of aggregates from the size point of view:
• Coarse aggregates
• Fine aggregates
4.3.1 Coarse Aggregates
Coarse aggregates are defined as aggregates coarser than 4.75 mm. So, we can say
the border between the fine and coarse aggregates is 4.75 mm. The limit of coarse
aggregate is very broad. We can have an aggregate with a size of 25 mm or coarser
or we can have an aggregate with a size of 9.5 mm or a little coarser all as coarse
aggregates. So, in different parts of the world, we can see different aggregate sizes as
the coarse aggregate. Here we mention the most common types:
• Size 5–12: The aggregates with a size of between 4.75 and 12.5 mm. The
nominal size of this kind of aggregate is about the size of a pea (Figure 4.20).
• Size 12–19: The aggregate with a size of between 12.5 and 19 mm. The
nominal size of this kind of aggregate is about the size of an almond.
• Size 12–25: The aggregate with a size of between 12.5 and 25 mm. In this
case also, the nominal size is about the size of an almond. The only differ-
ence is the coarser size which is 25 mm in this type. We can call 12–19 and
12–25 aggregates as gravel (Figure 4.21).
To produce a well-designed concrete, most of the time, we should use 5–12 coarse
aggregates with one of the 12–19 or 12–25 ones. We cannot mix 12–19 and 12–25 for
the production of one concrete. Sometimes, we may have a kind of coarse aggregate
with a size of between 4.75 and 19 or 25 mm. In this case, there is no need to use 5–12
aggregates separately.
4.3.2 Maximum Size of Coarse Aggregate

One of the most important topics for concrete mix design is the choose of maximum
size of coarse aggregate for the desired concrete. We can choose 25, 19, or 12.5 mm as
the maximum size of coarse aggregates. If we choose 12.5 mm as the maximum size,
we should use only 5–12 aggregates as coarse. If we use 19 mm as the maximum size,
we should use a mix of 5–12 and 12–19 or only 12–19 as the coarse aggregates and if
we use 25 mm as the maximum size, we should use a mix of 5–12 and 12–25 or only
12–25 as the coarse aggregates.
FIGURE 4.20 Picture of 5–12 aggregates. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 4.21 Picture of 12–25 aggregates. (Photograph by the author.)
To choose the maximum size of coarse aggregate in concrete, we should consider

several factors as below:
• We should consider the type of concrete in the case of needed compressive

strength. If we need more compressive strength, we should use a smaller
aggregate size.
• We should consider the slump and rheology of concrete. To produce a high
slump concrete if we use a smaller aggregate size, we need more water or
super-plasticizer.
Aggregates 111
• We should consider the type of structural elements in the case of any rebar
congestion or using concrete in the thin elements or in huge structures. For
huge structures, it is better to use larger aggregate size and for thin or con-
gested structures it is better to use finer aggregates.
• We should consider the availability of coarse aggregates. Sometimes, it is
possible that we are convicted to use a type and size of coarse aggregates.
In this case, we should adjust some of the specifications of concrete with
the aggregates.
In the case of structural elements ACI 211-1 recommends as below:

“The maximum size of coarse aggregate should not exceed one fifth of free dis-
tance between forms and one third of slab diameter and three fourth of distance
between rebars in the structural element.”
In the case of structural type with new technology and concrete compressive
strength, we recommend Table 4.5 to choose the maximum size of coarse aggregate.
4.3.3 Fine Aggregates
Fine aggregates are defined as aggregates finer than 4.75 mm. So, all of the particles
passed by sieve No. 4 are defined as fine aggregates. In most parts of the world, they
call fine aggregates as sand. Particle sizes for fine aggregates are not as broad as the
coarse aggregates. But we have four types of fine aggregates:
• Sand 0–2.36: This is the aggregate with a size between 0 and 2.36 mm.
This is a very soft sand. We can use it for the production of concrete. But
we should consider the total aggregates sieve analysis to get the best result.
Most of the time, we will use this type of sand for the production of mortar.
• Sand 0–4.75: This is the aggregate with a size between 0 and 4.75 mm. This
is the best type of sand for the production of concrete. But sometimes, we
cannot find a 0–4.75 sand in some regions of the world because the produc-
tion process will be harder than the other ones.
TABLE 4.5
Recommendation for the Maximum Size of Coarse Aggregates
According to the Type of Structure and Concrete Compressive Strength
Concrete Compressive Recommended Max Size of
Strength (MPa) Structural Element Coarse Aggregate (mm)
Less than 30 Foundations 25
Less than 30 Floors, columns, walls 19
30–45 Foundations, floors 19
30–45 Columns, walls 12.5
45–70 All types of elements 12.5
More than 70 All types of elements 9.5
• Sand 0–9.5: This is the aggregate with a size between 0 and 9.5 mm. In this
type of sand, we have some percent of coarse aggregate that we should con-
sider in the mix design (Figure 4.22).
• Dune sand: This is the aggregate with a size between 0 and 0.6 mm. You
can find this type of sand in the deserts of some regions of the world like the
Middle East. We can use this type of sand for the production of concrete. But
most of the times, we use it mixed with other types of sand (Figure 4.23).
FIGURE 4.22 Picture of 0–8 sand. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 4.23 Picture of dune sand. (Photograph by the author.)

Aggregates 113
4.4 PRODUCTION OF AGGREGATES

As mentioned before, aggregates are made from different types of rocks in nature.
But the production process for each kind of aggregate should be different. In this
case, we have two types of aggregates:
• Natural aggregates
• Crushed aggregates
4.4.1 Natural Aggregates
This is a type of aggregate that is derived from the riverbeds. So, the shape of them
is circular (Figure 4.24). The production process for this type of aggregate is the
separation of different sizes with special riddles. Sometimes, for better quality, we
may use a sand maker machine to crush some of the aggregates for the production of
natural sand. It can help us to have better sizing and also, we can have some crushed
aggregates mixed with the natural which can help to give better compressive strength
in concrete. Finally, we should wash these aggregates for the separation of clay and
other harmful materials. You can see a picture of a sand washer in Figure 4.9 and a
sand maker machine in Figure 4.25.
The positive effects of using natural aggregates in concrete are because of the
circular shape of them, which can cause better movement of aggregates inside fresh
concrete. These effects are as below:
• Improvement of the rheology and workability of concrete.

• Improvement of concrete pumpability.
• Prevention of segregation and bleeding in concrete.
• The ability to produce concrete with a higher initial slump.
The most important negative effect of using natural aggregates in concrete which
is because of its circular shape is the reduction of concrete compressive strength
FIGURE 4.24 A deposit of natural sand in a ready mixed plant. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 4.25 A sand maker machine. (Photograph by the author.)
because of the weaker stress transition area on the surface of aggregates. On the other
hand, the natural resources in riverbeds for the production of natural aggregates are
limited and using these resources is very dangerous for the environment because it
can cause very bad erosion effects in the environment.
4.4.2 Crushed Aggregates
This is a kind of aggregate that is derived from mountain rocks (Figure 4.26). In
fact, for the production of crushed aggregates, we should use a crushing machine to
crush and separate the rocks derived from the mountain. Then we can wash them to
separate the harmful materials. Most of the times, there is no much harmful material
in these aggregates. So, there is no need to wash them. On the other hand, the produc-
tion of concrete with crushed aggregates needs more fillers. As washing can remove
some of the useful fillers, it is better to use crushed aggregates without washing. You
can see a picture of a crusher in Figure 4.8.
Aggregates 115
FIGURE 4.26 A deposit of crushed gravel in a ready mixed plant. (Photograph by the
author.)
The positive effects of using crushed aggregates in the production of concrete are
as below:
• Improvement of concrete compressive strength because of the crushed

shape of aggregates which can cause better interlocking inside the concrete.
• Better quality control of aggregates because of the control in the whole
production process.
• Lower effect on the environment because of more resources in nature.
• The ability to produce high-strength concrete for special purposes.
The most important negative effect of using crushed aggregates in the production of
concrete is the reduction of the workability and pumpability because of the crushed
shape and interlocking inside concrete.
To decide about the use of natural or crushed aggregates in the production of con-
crete you should consider below points:
• The access to the minerals of crushed or natural aggregates is very impor-

tant for decision-making.
• For lower compressive strength, we can use natural aggregates and for
higher compressive strength it is better to use crushed or mixed aggregates.
• The workability and pumpability of concrete are very important. If you use
crushed aggregates with low amount of fillers (passed by sieve No. 100), the
pumping of concrete will be very difficult.
• Using crushed coarse aggregate is the best decision for most types of con-
crete. We can use crushed fine aggregates if it has enough amount of filler
or we can use some fillers like dune sand or stone powder beside that.
Nevertheless, it is better to use natural fine aggregates.
4.5 AGGREGATES TEST AND QUALITY CONTROL

Like other concrete constituent materials, you should test the aggregates before using
them in the production of concrete. We have special standards for the aggregates to
check before use. Sometimes, it is possible for us to reach only one or two types of
aggregates in some places of the world. In this case, there is no way instead of using
these aggregates in the production of concrete even if they don’t have enough qual-
ity. But we should consider some other modifications in the concrete mix design to
control the deficiency of aggregates.
For example, in some parts of the world, there is only crushed sand with very
low amount of fillers. If we use them in the production of concrete, the workability
and pumpability will decrease drastically. We should consider some modifications in
concrete mix design to use these aggregates. We can use added fillers, like dune sand
or stone powder. This will cause using more amount of water or super-plasticizer. We
can use viscosity modifier admixtures.1 These admixtures can adjust the viscosity
and pumpability of concrete. All of the above mentioned consist of more cost in con-
crete production. So, you should compare the cost and quality using local aggregates
with low quality and the above considerations or using other aggregates from a place
far from the project that it will cost more for transportation.
In this part, we are going to talk about the most important quality control tests for
the aggregates. By doing these tests, you can ensure the quality of aggregates. On the
other hand, for concrete mix design, you will need data from these tests like sieve
analysis and the specific gravity of aggregates. You can see some of the most impor-
tant tests of aggregates according to the ASTM standard in Table 4.6.
4.5.1 Abrasion Resistance

Resistance of aggregates against the abrasion is a very important indicator for the
quality. It can show the strength of the rocks used for the production of aggregates.
The standard test method for the abrasion resistance of aggregates is ASTM C131.
In this test, we will use the Los Angeles test machine to measure the abrasion resis-
tance of aggregates (Figure 4.27).
Los Angeles test machine consists of a rotating cylinder. Inside the cylinder, there
are some steel balls. We should wash the coarse aggregates and let them dry in the
oven. After that, we should measure the exact weight of aggregates, then put them
inside the cylinder and let the cylinder rotate for a defined period of time. Then we
should put the aggregates out of the cylinder and measure the weight again after
washing and drying. Finally, we can calculate the amount of healthy aggregates to
indicate the abrasion resistance.
4.5.2 Sieve Analysis Test

Sieve analysis test is the most important quality control test for aggregates. As you
can see in Table 4.6, the standard test method for this test is ASTM C136. Before the
description of the test method, you can see different sieve sizes in ASTM standard
in Table 4.4.
Aggregates 117
FIGURE 4.27 Los Angeles test machine. (Photograph by the author.)
TABLE 4.6
The Most Important Tests for Aggregates According to the ASTM
Standard
ASTM C131 Abrasion resistance of aggregates by Los Angeles machine
ASTM C136 Sieve analysis test for coarse and fine aggregates
ASTM C127 Specific gravity and absorption of coarse aggregates
ASTM C128 Specific gravity and absorption of fine aggregates
ASTM C117 Minerals finer than 75 μm in aggregates by washing
ASTM C40 Organic impurities in fine aggregates
ASTM C227 Potential alkali reactivity of cement aggregate combination
ASTM C289 Potential alkali silica reactivity of aggregates
ASTM C586 Potential alkali reactivity of carbonate rocks
FIGURE 4.28 Sieves for the coarse aggregates and the amount remained after shaking.
For the sieve analysis of coarse aggregates, you should put the sieves from 25 to
2.36 mm from coarser to the finer one or you can select according to the size of coarse
aggregates (Figure 4.28). Then you should put a container below the last sieve and put
the coarse aggregates on the top of the coarser sieve. Finally, you should put the door
on the top of the sieves collection and put it in a shaker machine (Figure 4.29). After
enough shaking, you should weigh the amount of aggregates remaining on the top of
each sieve and passed by the last sieve and write it in a table like in Tables 4.7 and 4.8.
After calculation of the passed percent from each sieve like in the above tables,
you should draw a figure which you can compare the last column of these tables with
the standard amounts (Figures 4.30 and 4.31). So, you can see if these aggregates
can be according to the standard amounts or not. The standard amounts are special
for different parts of the world. You can see standard amounts for coarse aggregates
according to local concrete regulations in Table 4.9.
The procedure for testing the fine aggregates is the same but you should use sieves
from 4.75 to 0.15 mm (Figure 4.32). You can use sieve No. 200, but the percent passed
by this sieve is not accurate enough that you can trust it. To achieve the exact amount
passed by sieve No. 200, you should use ASTM C117 test.
Like the coarse aggregates, you should compare the percent passed by each sieve
with the standard amounts. You can see the standard amount for fine aggregates
according to the local concrete regulations in Table 4.10.
For a better understanding of sieve analysis test of fine aggregates, you can see an
example in Table 4.11 and you can see the chart in Figure 4.33.
As you can see in Table 4.11, there is an additional column in the table which is
the cumulative percent remaining on sieves. This column is used for the calculation
of the fineness module of the sand. You should divide the total amount of this column
by 100 to achieve the fineness module. For the sand in Table 4.11 fineness module
is 3.47. For the meaning of different ranges of sand fineness modules, you can see
Table 4.12.
Aggregates 119
FIGURE 4.29 Shaker machine. (Photograph by the author.)
As you can see from the descriptions in the above table, you can use any kind
of sand for the production of concrete. But the quality of sand is more important
than the coarse aggregates. In fact, you can compensate for the defects of the coarse
aggregates easier than the sand. Another important factor for the sand quality is the
amount of filler passed by sieve No. 200 that we will talk about it in the future.
4.5.3 Density and Water Absorption of Aggregates

One of the other important properties of aggregates for concrete mix design is the
density and water absorption of them. So, it is very important to test and calculate
these properties for any kind of aggregates that we are going to use for concrete
production.
TABLE 4.7
Sieve Analysis Table for a 12–25 Gravel
Weight of Weigh of Percent of Percent of
Aggregates Aggregates Aggregates Aggregates
Remained on Passed by Sieve Remained on Passed by Sieve
Sieve Size (mm) Sieve (g) (g) Sieve (%) (%)
25 0 1671 0.0 100
19 308 1363 18.4 81.6
12.5 971 392 58.2 23.4
9.5 353 39 21.1 2.3
4.75 39 0 2.3 0
Total 1671 – 100 –
TABLE 4.8
Sieve Analysis Table for a 5–12 Gravel
Weight of Weigh of Percent of Percent of
Aggregates Aggregates Aggregates Aggregates
Remained on Passed by Sieve Remained on Passed by Sieve
Sieve Size (mm) Sieve (g) (g) Sieve (%) (%)
19 0 1524 0.0 100
12.5 27 1497 1.8 98.2
9.5 456 1041 29.9 68.3
4.75 896 145 58.8 9.5
2.36 145 0 9.5 0
Total 1524 - 100 -
100
90
80
70
Percent Passed (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
25 19 12.5 9.5 4.75
Sieve Size (mm)
Up Limit Down Limit Sample
FIGURE 4.30 Sieve analysis chart for 12–25 gravel. (Graph created by the author.)
Aggregates 121
100
90
80
70
Percent Passed (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
19 12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36
Sieve Size (mm)
Up Limit Down Limit Sample
FIGURE 4.31 Sieve analysis chart for 5–12 gravel. (Graph created by the author.)
TABLE 4.9
Standard Amounts of Percent Passed for the Coarse Aggregates According to
the Local Concrete Regulations
Coarse Passed by Passed by Passed by
Aggregate Passed by Passed by 12.5 mm Passed by 4.75 mm 2.36 mm
Type (mm) 25 mm (%) 19 mm (%) (%) 9.5 mm (%) (%) (%)
12-25 90–100 40–85 10–40 0–15 0–5 –
11-19 100 90–100 20–55 0–15 0–5 –
5-12 – 100 90–100 40–70 0–15 0–5
On the other hand, using aggregates with high water absorption is a limit for using
them in the production of concrete because it will cause more water demand and
more water demand means lower quality for concrete. So, the water absorption of
aggregates is one of the quality control factors for aggregates. For normal aggregates,
the water absorption should not exceed 3% by weight of them.
Most of the time, the aggregates with very low density are not good quality aggre-
gates, especially in the case of compressive strength. So, by checking the aggre-
gate density, we can give an idea about their quality and compressive strength. For
Limestone and silica aggregates, the density is between 2.5 and 2.9 kg/L.
Before talking about the test methods for density and water absorption, you should
know about the aggregate moisture conditions. Any aggregate in the project or batch-
ing plant could be in four conditions:
FIGURE 4.32 Sieve analysis test for fine aggregates. (Photograph by the author.)
TABLE 4.10
Standard Amounts of Percent Passed for the Fine Aggregates According to
the Local Concrete Regulations
Passed by Passed by Passed by Passed by
Fine 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm Passed by Passed by 0.15 mm
Aggregate (%) (%) (%) 0.6 mm (%) 0.3 mm (%) (%)
Sand 89–100 60–100 30–90 15–54 5–40 0–15
TABLE 4.11
Sieve Analysis Table for Sand
Weight of Weigh of Percent of Percent of Cumulative
Aggregates Aggregates Aggregates Aggregates Percent
Sieve Size Remained on Passed by Remained on Passed by Remained on
(mm) Sieve (g) Sieve (g) Sieve (%) Sieve (%) Sieve (%)
4.75 144 1418 9.2 90.8 9.2
2.36 392 1026 25.1 65.7 34.3
1.18 356 670 22.8 42.9 57.1
0.6 206 464 13.2 29.7 70.3
0.3 181 283 11.6 18.1 81.9
0.15 188 95 12 6.1 93.9
Total 1562 – 100 – 346.7
• Oven dry: It means that there is no moisture inside the aggregates. The exact
definition for an oven dry aggregate is the aggregates that are dried in the
oven. But many types of crush aggregates especially coarse ones are from
mountain rocks. So, if they store in a dry condition prevented from rain, we
can say they are dry. In fact, we can neglect the amount of little moisture
inside the aggregates. You should calculate the amount of saturation limit of
aggregates. This is the amount of water you should add to the concrete water
in mix design when you use oven-dried aggregates.
Aggregates 123
120
100
80
Percent passed (%)
60
40
20
0
4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15
Sieve size (mm)
Up limit Down limit Sample
FIGURE 4.33 Sieve analysis chart for sand. (Graph created by the author.)
TABLE 4.12
Different Ranges of Sand Fineness Module
Fineness Module Range Description
Less than 3 It means that we have a very fine sand. This type of sand will be good for
concrete production. But we should consider the amount of water demand.
Between 3 and 3.5 It means that we have a normal sand which is very good for the production
of concrete
Between 3.5 and 4 It means that we have a coarse sand that we can use it for the production of
concrete. But we should consider the pumpability of concrete.
More than 4 It means that we have a very coarse sand. It is better to not using of this
sand for the production of concrete. If there is no way we should consider
the pumpability and also segregation and bleeding.
• Dried in the air: It means that the aggregates had some amount of moisture
but they dried in the air. So, there is some amount of moisture in the aggre-
gates but less than the saturation limit. You should calculate the amount
of saturation limit of aggregates. Then you can find the amount of water
shortage in the aggregates and add it to the total water of concrete in the
mix design.
• Saturated surface dry (SSD): It means that the amount of moisture in the
aggregate is exactly the same as the saturation limit. This condition is very
important in concrete technology. We should assume the aggregate moisture
condition for many tests and also for concrete mix design as the SSD. But
we can say that this condition is only a hypothetical definition. The aggre-
gates could not be in this condition in real projects and batching plants.
You should calculate concrete mix design water by assuming that the aggre-
gates are in this condition. Then according to the real conditions, you should
add or subtract the amount of shortage or excess water.
• Wet condition: It means that the aggregates have moisture more than the
saturation limit. Most of the washed sands are in this condition in the proj-
ects and batching plants. You should calculate the amount of total moisture
and the saturation limit. Then you can calculate the amount of excess mois-
ture in the aggregates. After finalizing the concrete mix design, you should
subtract this amount of excess moisture from the water of the concrete.
To calculate the density and water absorption of coarse aggregates you should use
ASTM C127 and for fine aggregates, you should use ASTM C128.
For fine and coarse aggregates first, you should make the aggregates into the SSD
condition. To do that, you should put them in water for more than 24 hours. For
coarse aggregates, you should dry the surface with a suitable napkin. For fine aggre-
gates, you should dry the surface with warm air and check the aggregates condition
by using a special cone (Figure 4.34). You should put the sand inside the cone like
the slump test and pull it up. If the sand stands like the cone shape it is not in the SSD
condition. If the sand falls down, you can say that it is in the SSD condition. But you
should take care that the sand condition should not be drier than the SSD.
After that, you should use a pycnometer for the measurement of the aggregate vol-
ume (Figure 4.35) and use an apparatus for the measurement of the weight (Figure 4.36).
So, you will have the density of aggregates.
FIGURE 4.34 The instrument for checking the sand SSD condition. (Photograph by the
author.)
Aggregates 125
FIGURE 4.35 Pycnometer. (Photograph by the author.)
For the saturation limit of the aggregates, you should weigh the aggregates in SSD
condition. Then dry them for more than 24 hours in the oven and weigh them in dry
condition. Then you can calculate the amount of moisture for the saturation point and
calculate the percent of the moisture for the saturation point.
For the moisture content of aggregates, you should weigh the aggregates. Then
you should dry them in the oven and weigh them again. Now, you can calculate the
amount of moisture and its percent in the aggregates. For a better understanding you
can see Table 4.13 for calculations:
4.5.4 Fillers and Passing by Sieve No. 200

We call passing by sieve No. 100 fillers (Figure 4.37). Fillers are a very important
part of fine aggregates. Fillers, cement, and water make a very important part of
concrete that we name fine mortar. This part of concrete is very important, especially
for fresh concrete properties.
FIGURE 4.36 Special table and apparatus for weighting the aggregates. (Photograph by the
author.)
TABLE 4.13
Calculations for the Density, Water Absorption and Moisture Content for
Aggregates
Weight of aggregates in SSD condition: 268.6 g Volume of aggregates in SSD condition: 100 mL
Weight of dried aggregates: 265.1 g Weight of aggregates in normal condition: 272.2 g
Density = 268.6 / 100 = 2.686 kg/L
Water absorption = ((268.6 – 265.1) / 265.1) × 100 = 1.3%
Moisture content = ((272.2 – 265.1) / 265.1) × 100 = 2.7%
Excess water = 2.7 – 1.3 = 1.4%
Aggregates 127
FIGURE 4.37 Fillers of a natural sand. (Photograph by the author.)
We can name some of the most important specifications of concrete related to the
fillers as below:
• Pumpability of concrete: To produce a pumpable concrete, we need enough

fillers for good viscosity. Good viscosity will achieve by enough amount of
fillers in the sand.
• Malleability of concrete: If the amount of fillers in the sand will be enough,
we can make a good surface for concrete and with lack of it, making a soft
surface will be very hard.
• Prevention of segregation and bleeding: If you have a coarse grading aggre-
gate, the water would like to come on the surface of concrete especially
when you are using a high range water reducer chemical admixture. So,
enough amount of fillers can help the water to remain inside the concrete
and you can prevent segregation and bleeding.
• Possibility for the production of high slump concrete: When you would like
to produce a high slump concrete, the probability of segregation and bleed-
ing will increase. So, you should use a higher amount of cement, other bind-
ers, and filler to prevent that.
You can measure the amount of fillers in fine aggregates by sieve analysis test. It is
possible to have some amount of fillers in the coarse aggregates as the stone powder.
So, you should check the passed by sieve No. 100 for coarse aggregates to calculate
the total amount of fillers in your concrete.
There are different suggestions for the amount of fillers in the text and lectures.
Here you can find some useful suggestions in Table 4.14.
Although fillers are very good for concrete quality, passing by sieve No. 200 can
be dangerous for some specifications of concrete as below:
TABLE 4.14
Suggestions for the Amounts of Fillers
Suggested Amount of Fillers (kg in 1 m3 of
Type of Concrete and Aggregates Concrete)
Normal slump concrete with natural sand 80–100
Normal slump concrete with crushed sand 100–120
High slump concrete with natural sand 100–120
High slump concrete with crushed sand 120–150
Self-compacting concrete with fine grading 140–180
Normal slump concrete: concrete with slump
between 120 and 180 mm
High slump concrete: concrete with slump more
than 180 mm
Self-compacting concrete: No slump concrete with
flow circle
more than 600 mm
• High amount of passing by sieve No. 200 will increase water demand and
more water can decrease the mechanical properties, especially the compres-
sive strength of concrete.
• Water absorption of particles passed by sieve No. 200 is very high. So, they
can decrease the workability of concrete over time and using concrete after
a period of time will be hard.
• Super-plasticizers can adsorb to the particles passed by sieve No. 200. So,
high amount of these very fine particles in concrete can increase the dosage
of super-plasticizer which is non-economical.
• High amount of passing by sieve No. 200 can increase the amount of
entrapped air in concrete. So, it can cause the amount of air in concrete out
of control which is very dangerous for the quality of concrete.
You can use sieve No. 200 in sieve analysis test of aggregates (Figure 4.38). But you
cannot measure the exact amount of passing by sieve No. 200 with this test because
these very fine particles are very adhesive. So, you cannot pass them through the
sieve by shaking. To measure the exact amount, you should use the ASTM C117 test.
In this test first, you should dry the aggregates in the oven and weigh them. By
using two sizes of sieve, 1.18 mm in the up, 75 microns (No. 200) in the bottom, dish-
washing liquid, and water you can wash and pass all of the particles passing by sieve
No. 200. Finally, you should dry the remained aggregates in the oven and weight
them again. By subtracting two weights, you can measure the exact amount of pass-
ing by sieve No. 200 in the aggregates.
Aggregates 129
FIGURE 4.38 Passing of sieve No. 200 for a natural sand. (Photograph by the author.)
4.5.5 Harmful Materials in Aggregates

As the aggregates come from the nature, it is possible to have harmful material for
concrete. So, we should understand the effects of these harmful materials on con-
crete quality and properties. Here you can find each of the harmful materials that
you may find in the aggregates and their effect on the quality and properties of fresh
or hardened concrete:
• Alkali impurities: They can retard the setting time and also, they can
decrease the final compressive strength of concrete.
• Clay: It can increase water demand and decrease the compressive strength.
On the other hand, it can cause rapid slump loss in fresh concrete.
• Chloride ion: It can cause rebar corrosion in the concrete. Also, some salts
which they content chloride can accelerate the setting time of concrete.
• Sulfate ion: It can cause corrosion in the concrete and like the chloride ion
some salts contain the sulfate ion which can retard or accelerate the setting
time.
• Wood or other not related particles: They can decrease the compressive
strength of concrete. On the other hand, they can decrease the quality of the
concrete surface especially when the final surface of the concrete is very
important.
According to the above mentioned, we should test the aggregates for these harmful
materials before using them in concrete production. Most of the time, for each mine
of aggregates, if we check them at the first time of usage, it could be enough. Because
if there was not a source for these harmful materials in a mine, the aggregates should
be safe for future usage.
NOTE
1. VMA.
REFERENCES
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American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Concrete Aggregates,
ASTM C33-01.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Organic Impurities in
Fine Aggregates for Concrete, ASTM C40-99.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Surface Moisture in
Fine Aggregates, ASTM C70-94.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Materials Finer than
75μm in Aggregates by Washing, ASTM C117-95.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Specific Gravity and
Absorption of Coarse Aggregates, ASTM C127-88.
Absorption of Fine Aggregates, ASTM C128-97.
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5 Chemical Admixtures
Using of concrete admixtures in concrete production is inevitable nowadays. We can

say that all types of concrete need the chemical admixtures for the improvement of
quality.
Although the amount of use for chemical admixtures compared with the other
constituent materials is neglectable (most of the times less than 10 kg in 1 m3 of con-
crete) but their effect on concrete quality and performance is huge. So, the selection
of chemical admixtures and the manufacturer is very important for many projects in
the world.
According to the above mentioned, it is very important for engineers to give
enough information about the chemical admixtures for concrete. In many texts on
concrete technology, the chapter on chemical admixtures is very brief. But here we
discuss these admixtures more, because in the 21st century usage of these admix-
tures, especially plasticizers and super-plasticizers, is more important than the other
concrete constituent materials.
5.1 THE REASON FOR USING CONCRETE ADMIXTURES

Using of concrete admixtures goes to many years ago. When the engineers under-
stood that they cannot improve the properties of concrete only with cement, aggre-
gates, and water, they tried to find other materials to use in concrete to achieve better
performance.
The need to change some of the specifications of concrete is very important in
many projects. So, some of the projects in the world could be built only with special
types of concrete. Some of the most important properties of concrete which are not
possible to change without chemical admixtures are as below:
• Change the setting time of concrete: For example, in hot weather conditions,
we need to retard the setting time and in cold weather conditions, we need
to accelerate the setting time of concrete. So, we should use retarder and
accelerator admixtures.
• Accelerate the Hardening process of concrete: For example, in precast con-
crete plants, we need to accelerate the hardening process of concrete to
release the molds and accelerate the production of elements. So, we should
use hardening accelerator admixtures.
• Increase the compressive strength of concrete: To increase the compres-
sive strength, we need to decrease the water-to-cement ratio. Increasing the
cement content is limited. So, we should decrease the amount of water. It
can cause drastically decreasing of the workability. So, we should use plas-
ticizers and super-plasticizers to decrease the water in concrete without any
change in workability.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-5 133

• Improve the workability of concrete: For example, in congested concrete

elements, we need to use a high slump concrete to prevent any defect in the
structure. So, we should use plasticizers and super-plasticizers to produce a
workable high slump concrete without using more water.
• Improve the resistance of concrete elements against the freeze-thaw cycle:
If we can entrain special air bubbles with the same size and shape and with
uniform distribution inside the concrete element, the resistance of this ele-
ment will increase against the freeze thaw. So, we should use air-entraining
admixtures.
• Waterproof concrete: In many cases, such as swimming pools, we need a
waterproof concrete to avoid water penetration. For this concrete, we need
to make a dense structure concrete with low water-to-cement ratio. On the
other hand, we need to block the pores of the concrete to control water pen-
etration. So, we should use super-plasticizers and waterproofing admixtures
to make a waterproof concrete structure.
In the next part of this chapter, we discuss the most important chemical admixtures.
5.2 ACCELERATOR ADMIXTURES

One of the most important factors that is very important in the projects is the control
of setting and hardening time of concrete. Cement manufacturers announce an initial
and final setting time for their cement. As mentioned before, this is the time that we
can achieve that by Vicat needle test according to ASTM C191. We should do this
test in the laboratory standard temperature which is about 20°C. But in real project
and different ambient conditions, the situation could be much different. In winter and
in cold weather conditions the real ambient temperature could be less than 0°C and
in summer hot weather conditions the real ambient temperature could be more than
30°C. So, the setting time of concrete will be much different by the time announced
by the cement factory.
According to the abovementioned, we should make changes to the setting time
of cement in different ambient conditions to achieve the targeted results from con-
crete. We can do it by using accelerators and retarders. In this part, we discuss the
accelerators.
We have two types of accelerators in the market:
• Set accelerators: They can accelerate the seeing time of concrete. So, they
can prevent the concrete from freezing
• Hardening accelerators: They can accelerate the hardening process of con-
crete. But they don’t have any effect on the setting time of cement.
We have some accelerator admixtures which are set and hardened with accel-
erators together. For better information about the type of accelerators, you
should contact the manufacturers and see the material technical data sheet1.
Chemical Admixtures 135
5.2.1 Set Accelerators

As mentioned above, set accelerators can accelerate the setting time of cement
(Figure 5.1). They can cause slump loose in concrete after production. The most
important uses of these admixtures are:
• Anti-freezing admixtures: The anti-freezing admixtures are the set accel-

erators that can protect concrete against freezing in cold weather conditions
(Figure 5.2). In some countries with very cold weather, the anti-freezing
admixtures contain set accelerators and anti-freezing materials which can
FIGURE 5.1 Production of concrete in cold weather. (“Volvo cement mixer truck in Jyvaskyla,
Finland” by Antti Leppanen.)
FIGURE 5.2 Tunnel shotcrete device. (“Putzmeister Wetkret 5.”)

decrease the melting point of water, because in these harsh conditions, there
is a need to control the freezing of water inside concrete and also the freez-
ing of water inside the anti-freezing admixture. But in most parts of the
world, anti-freezing admixtures only contain set accelerators.
As these types of admixtures can cause slump loose in concrete, you should use them
in the project at the time of final pouring of concrete. If you use them in the batch-
ing of the ready mixed plants, the slump of concrete in the project and at the time of
pouring will be very low and it can cause many problems for you.
• Shotcrete admixtures: Sometimes we need to perform the concrete as shot-

crete (Figure 5.3). For example, for the stabilization of excavated walls or some
tunnel walls, we need to use concrete as the shotcrete. When we shot the con-
crete into the walls. It should remain and get enough strength after a short
period of time to stabilize the soil of the wall. To do that, we need to use strong
set accelerators. We should add the admixture at the start of the nozzle because
shotcrete admixtures can cause the setting of concrete within about 1 minute.
You can find shotcrete admixtures in liquid and powder form on the market.
In Figure 5.4 you can see the shotcrete application. For overhead shotcrete, using a
high-quality accelerator is very important because it can reduce the amount of con-
crete rebound.
The effect of these admixtures is on the C3A of cement. They will accelerate the
reaction of C3A and water. So, it will cause rapid setting. The most important chemi-
cal bases of set accelerator admixtures are calcium chloride, calcium nitrate, sodium
nitrate, calcium nitrite, sodium nitrite, and many other mineral salts.
Although the calcium chloride is a very good accelerator, using it is forbidden in
the reinforced concrete because it contains chloride ions that can cause corrosion for
the steel rebars inside the concrete.
FIGURE 5.3 Applying shotcrete. (“Koln shotcrete application” by Raimond Spekking.)

FIGURE 5.4 Performance of a set accelerator in concrete. (Photograph created by the

author.)
FIGURE 5.5 Performance of a hardening accelerator in concrete. (Photograph created by

the author.)
5.2.2 Hardening Accelerators
Hardening accelerators are the second type of the accelerator admixtures. These
types of admixtures will improve the compressive strength of concrete at early ages
without any difference in the setting time (Figure 5.5). We can use hardening accel-
erators for precast concrete plants that we need to release the molds as soon as it is
possible. So, using the hardening accelerators is helpful for the rapid hardening of
concrete. For some other projects, we may need high initial strength for some special
loading purposes. For these cases also, it is recommended to use hardening accelera-
tors. There is no difference for the final compressive strength of concrete if we use a
good formulated hardening admixture.
Most important chemical bases of these admixtures are some of the soluble inor-
ganic salts like bromides, fluorides, silicates, and some soluble organic compounds
like triethanolamine. Sometimes for anti-freezing admixtures, we can mix set and
hardening accelerators to get the best result.
5.3 RETARDER ADMIXTURES

We should use retarders to retard the setting time of concrete. When the setting time
of the concrete will be longer, we can work with the concrete for a longer period of
time. This property is very good for hot weather conditions, because at these weather
conditions, the high temperature will accelerate the hydration reaction. So, we need
to retard and control it to work with concrete. We can name the most important
usages of retarder admixtures as below:
• Control the slump loose of concrete in hot weather conditions: As men-

tioned above, you can use these admixtures to control the rapid hydration
reaction in summer. This rapid reaction can cause a drastic slump loss of
concrete. Most of the time, we should use these retarders mixed with the
good slump retention super-plasticizers to get a good result.
• Ready mixed plants (Figure 5.6): When the transportation time of concrete
will increase, the need for slump retention will increase much. So, in ready
mixed concrete industry, we can use retarder admixtures with a good super-
plasticizer to get the defined slump and transportation time.
• Control the heat of hydration in mass structures (Figure 5.7): In a huge struc-
ture with mass elements, the temperature of concrete will raise too much
because of the hydration heat. This high temperature can cause decrease in
the mechanical properties and also it can cause cracking inside concrete ele-
ments. So, it is very important to control the temperature inside these huge
FIGURE 5.6 Ready mixed plant. (Photograph by the author.)

FIGURE 5.7 A mass structure. (Photograph by the author.)
elements. When we use retarders, they can reduce the speed of the hydration
reaction. So, we can control the temperature inside the concrete elements.
• Pouring concrete in different layers: When we would like to pour a concrete
element with different layers (e.g., a huge foundation that we should pour
in two or more days). We should protect the elements from the cold joints.
When we pour the upper layer of concrete, if the lower layer had set, then
we will have a cold joint in the border between these two layers. To avoid
this, we should use retarders with different dosages in the lower layer. When
we are going to pour the upper layer, the concrete of the lower layer did-not
set. So, by using a good vibrator we can mix the upper and lower layer and
prevent the cold joint.
This kind of work is a very hard and complicated to perform. So, you should make
trials before doing this work to check the effect of different dosages of admixture
with different ambient temperatures on the retarding behavior of concrete.
We can use many different chemicals as the retarders like: sodium gluconate,
sugar, dextrin, and tartaric acid. The admixture manufacturers can formulate retard-
ers with different amounts of the above chemicals mixed with some other materials.
5.3.1 Dosage of Retarder Admixtures

One of the most important facts about the retarder admixtures is the optimum dosage
for each purpose (Figure 5.8). Choosing the best dosage is more complicated than
the other types of admixtures because the retarding effect on concrete depends on
below factors:
• Type of cement: As you know, cements like ASTM type I or III are more
accelerated than the cements such as type II, IV and V. So, if you are using
for example, cement type V you may need less retarder admixture than
cement type I.
• Ambient temperature: As the activity of cement in hot weather will acceler-
ate, you may need more retarder admixture in hot weather conditions. When
FIGURE 5.8 Making trials in a laboratory is very important to estimate the optimum dos-
age of retarders. (Photograph by the author.)
the temperature will raise, you will need more retarders. So, it is possible for
you to need different dosages of a retarder admixture during 1 day in sum-
mer because of different temperatures during the day.
• Type of retarder: As mentioned before, there are too many chemicals with
the retarding effect. So, admixture manufacturers can produce many differ-
ent types of retarders with different retarding power, and most of the time,
they don’t let you know the exact chemical composition of their admixture.
So, you should see their technical data sheet and decide about the starting
dosage for trials.
• Period of time for retarding effect: The purpose of using retarder admixture
is very important for making a good decision about the dosage of retarder.
Sometimes, you may use retarders to improve the slump retention effect of
a super-plasticizer. In this case, you may need less dosage. Sometimes, you
may need a retarder to pour a foundation with different layers without any
cold joints. In this case, you may need more retarder.
• Types of other admixtures: When you would like to use two or more types
of admixtures, it is very important to contact the admixture manufacturer
and make trials before using them in the project. For retarder admixtures
also like any other types of admixtures, you should do the above. For exam-
ple, if you use a type of plasticizer with the chemical base of lignosulfonate
that we will talk about it in the future, as this type of plasticizer has the
retarding effect itself, you may need less retarder.
• Use of supplementary cementitious materials: When you use these materi-
als besides the Portland cement in concrete, you may need less dosage of
retarder than the time you use only Portland cement because the activity of
supplementary cementitious materials is less than the pure Portland cement.
They will start their reaction after the production of enough Ca(OH)2.
As you can see from the abovementioned, decision about the best dosage of retarder
admixture for each purpose is more difficult than the other types of admixtures. So,
the most important suggestion is to make trials in the condition as same as the real
project and then choose the dosage.
If you used a retarder with higher dosage than the need for your purpose, it is
possible that your concrete will not be set at the time you defined. In this case, you
should cure the concrete with the best techniques according to the weather conditions
and continue the curing till the concrete is set. For example, if you expect that your
concrete will set after 24 hours and it didn’t happen. You should cure the concrete
for another 24 hours and check it again. Most of the time, the setting will happen at
the time two or three times of expected setting time. In this case, you should check
the mechanical properties of the concrete at the age of 28 days. It is possible that you
see lower mechanical properties at the lower ages. But most of the time, the 28 days
mechanical properties are the same as the testimonial concrete.
5.4 PLASTICIZERS AND SUPER-PLASTICIZERS

The most important and useful chemical admixtures are plasticizers and super-plas-
ticizers. They are the inseparable constituent materials of modern concrete. We can
use plasticizers and super-plasticizers for below reasons:
• Decrease the amount of water in concrete production

• Increase the workability of concrete without increasing the water
• Decrease the amount of water and at the same time, increase the workability
of concrete
If we use super-plasticizers with the optimum dosage, we can decrease the amount
of water and increase the workability of concrete. For example, we can produce a
concrete with water-to-cement ratio of 0.3 and slump of more than 200 mm. So, you
can see that the production of high-strength concrete (HSC) is only possible by using
super-plasticizers.
When you use a plasticizer, you can reduce the amount of water up to 12% and
when you use a super-plasticizer you can reduce the amount of water more than 12%.
We have very high-quality super-plasticizers with the ability to reduce the amount of
water more than 40%. So, it depends on the type of concrete and defined properties
to choose a plasticizer or super-plasticizer. But it is better to use a high-quality super-

plasticizer to produce a high-quality concrete.
One of the most important properties of plasticizers and super-plasticizers is the
slump retention ability. Especially, when you would like to transport the concrete
from a ready mixed plant (Figure 5.9). This property depends on the chemical base
and polymer type of the super-plasticizers. But you can improve this property by
using retarders across the super-plasticizers. Most of the time, the manufacturers
give you a super-plasticizer with some amount of retarder inside it. You should check
the technical data sheet for the exact properties of all types of admixtures.
As mentioned above, manufacturers dilute some retarders inside the super-plasti-
cizers to get better slump retention. But sometimes for some of the admixture, they
may use accelerators inside the super-plasticizers. So, if you would like to choose a
suitable super-plasticizer for your concrete, first you should contact the technician of
the manufacturer and second, you should make trials before using the admixture in
the real project.
FIGURE 5.9 You may transport concrete for a long distance with truck mixers. (Photograph
by the author.)
5.4.1 Admixtures in ASTM Standard

You can check the specifications of concrete admixtures according to ASTM C494.
In this standard, you can see seven types of chemical admixtures:
• Type A: Water reducer admixtures

• Type B: Retarder admixtures
• Type C: Accelerator admixtures
• Type D: Water reducer and retarder admixtures
• Type E: Water reducer and accelerator admixtures
• Type F: Water reducer, high-range admixtures
• Type G: Water reducer, high range and retarder admixtures
You can see defined specifications for admixtures according to ASTM C494 in
Table 5.1.
The specifications mentioned in Table 5.1 are the minimum rates for each type.
For example, for high-range water reducers the minimum water reduction rate should
be 12%. You can find high-range water reducers with the water reduction rate of more
than 40%.
5.4.2 Chemical Bases of Plasticizers and Super-Plasticizers

As the using of plasticizers and super-plasticizers is very important in concrete, you
should know the chemical bases of these admixtures. In the 21st century, we have
TABLE 5.1
Standard Specifications for Chemical Admixtures According to ASTM C494
Type A Type B Type C Type D Type E Type F Type G
Max amount of water (%) 95 - - 95 95 88 88
Min initial setting time (h:min) - After Before After Before - After
1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00
Max initial setting time (h:min) Before After Before After Before Before After
1:00 3:30 3:30 3:30 3:30 1:00 3:30
Min final setting time (h:min) - - Before - Before - -
1:00 1:00
Max final setting time (h:min) Before After - After - Before After
1:00 3:30 3:30 1:00 3:30
1 day comp strength (%) - - - - - 140 125
3 days comp strength (%) 110 90 125 110 125 125 125
3 days flextural strength (%) 100 90 110 100 110 110 110
7 days flextural strength (%) 100 90 100 100 100 100 100
28 das flextural strength (%) 100 90 90 100 100 100 100
some new chemical bases of super-plasticizers. But the usage of them is not wide in
the world. Now, we discuss the four most important types:
• Plasticizers based on lignosulfonate: This type of admixture is the first gen-

eration developed around the year 1930. The technology of these admixtures
is based on the sulfonation of lignin derived from the paper and wood indus-
try. They are dark brown liquid admixtures with a special odor (Figure 5.10).
You can also find the powder of lignosulfonate on the market. Powdered lig-
nosulfonate can solve in water by about 40%. These admixtures can formu-
late as the sodium salt or calcium salt. You can see different specifications for
the sodium and calcium salt, but it refers to the concrete admixture formula-
tors. There is no need for a concrete technologist to know the differences.
The molecules of lignosulfonate will adsorb by the cement particles
and give the cement particle negative charge. So, the electrostatic repulsion
between the cement particles causes better moving of them during concrete
and it will cause better workability.
FIGURE 5.10 Lignosulfonate plasticizer. (Photograph by the author.)

One of the most important properties of lignosulfonates is the retard-

ing effect. It is because of the sugar that will remain inside their molecules
and we cannot refine it. The higher quality of lignosulfonate means the
higher refining degree of sugar. So, you should check the retarding effect.
Especially, when you would like to use this type of admixture in winter.
Overdosing of this admixture can cause high retardation effect in cold
weather conditions.
You can find lignosulfonate admixture with different solid content from
20% to 40% in the market. It means that the active matter inside the liquid
admixture could be 20% to 40%. It is possible to find a mix of this admix-
ture with other types of chemical admixtures like accelerators, retarders,
and other types of super-plasticizers.
The maximum water reduction rate of a pure lignosulfonate admixture
is 12%. For higher water reduction rate, admixture manufacturers add some
other types of super-plasticizers to it and sell it with the other brand name.
Although the lignosulfonate is a weak plasticizer for concrete, as we are
producing lignin from wood and paper industry, we can produce lignosul-
fonate continuously and we can use it in the concrete industry for several
purposes like the plasticizing and retarding effect.
• Super-plasticizers based on poly naphthalene sulfonate (PNS): Using naph-
thalene as a super-plasticizer for concrete goes about the year of 1930. But
the polynaphthalene sulfonate super-plasticizers we are using nowadays
were used in about the year 1960. The technology of this admixture is based
on the sulfonation of naphthalene and then condensation reaction with the
formaldehyde. These admixtures can formulate as the sodium salt or cal-
cium salt. The quality is more or less the same but the most often used one
is the sodium salt. The use of formaldehyde as a harmful material in the
production process of PNS super-plasticizers is one of the reasons that the
usage of them is going to be limited every day.
Pure PNS super-plasticizer is a dark brown liquid with a special odor (Figure 5.11).
An experienced person can differentiate between a lignosulfonate and PNS liquid
from the odor.
The mechanism of action for PNS super-plasticizers is the electrostatic repulsion
between the cement particles. Molecules of PNS polymers adsorb by the cement
particles and give them a negative charge. So, the electrostatic repulsion between the
cement particles causes better movement inside the concrete and it will increase the
workability.
Pure PNS super-plasticizers don’t have any retarding or accelerating effect in con-
crete. On the other hand, the slump retention effect of them is very low. So, most of
the time, admixture manufacturers add some retarder to improve the slump retention
of this admixture. Sometimes, they mixed lignosulfonate and PNS to formulate a
special product with a higher water reduction rate than the lignosulfonate and better
slump retention than the naphthalene sulfonate.
FIGURE 5.11 Poly naphthalene sulfonate super-plasticizer. (Photograph by the author.)
You can find PNS super-plasticizers with a solid content of 20% to 40% in the
market. But as mentioned before, admixtures based on PNS contain some other addi-
tives like retarders and lignosulfonates for better properties.
The maximum water reduction rate of a pure PNS super-plasticizer with 40% solid
content is about 25%. Although the water reduction rate is very good for concrete pro-
duction, the using of formaldehyde, high energy consumption in the production process,
and low slump retention of this admixture reduced the use of them in the last decades.
• Super-plasticizers based on polymelamine sulfonate (PMS): This type of

admixture came to the market around the year 1990. They are the same
products as the PNS super-plasticizers with using of melamine instead of
naphthalene in the production process. The plasticizing power of this type is
also the same as PNS. In the chemical admixtures market, we can call PNS
and PMS polycondensates.
Pure PMS liquid is a light yellow to colorless liquid with a special odor (Figure 5.12).
Mechanism of action for this type of super-plasticizer is exactly the same as the PNS.
FIGURE 5.12 Poly melamine sulfonate super-plasticizer. (Photograph by the author.)
These admixtures have a little accelerating effect on concrete. So, the slump reten-
tion is weaker than the poly naphthalene sulfonates. On the other hand, the price of
PMS is higher than the PNS super-plasticizers in most parts of the world. So, using
of these admixtures in concrete is less than the lignosulfonate and poly naphthalene
sulfonates in the market.
You can find PMS super-plasticizers with 20% to 35% solid content in the market
because you cannot solve more than 35% of them in the water, it will cause weaker
formulated admixtures than the PNS ones.
The maximum water reduction rate for a PMS super-plasticizer is 22% with a
very low slump retention effect. So, it can be a good choice for some projects without
transportation time.
• Super-plasticizers based on polycarboxylate ether (PCE): They are the new-

est type of super-plasticizers with the best quality and performance. They
came to the market around the year 1995 with the first generation. But from
that date till now, they improved day by day to achieve the best performance
according to the needs of any type of project.
FIGURE 5.13 The shape of polycarboxylate ether polymer. (Photograph created by the
author.)
They are made by different procedures. The most common is the polymerization of
alcohol ethoxylates with acrylic or methacrylic acid in a special condition. They are
comb-shaped polymers with a backbone and side chain (Figure 5.13).
The mechanism of action for this type of super-plasticizers is the electrostatic
repulsion and steric hindrance of polymers. The polymers remain between the
cement particles and it causes a very good water reduction rate for this admixture.
Pure polycarboxylate admixture is a colorless to dark yellow liquid with a very
light special odor (Figure 5.14). The viscosity of PCE admixtures is higher than the
viscosity of PNS or PMS.
You can find PCE super-plasticizers with 20% to 50% solid content. But as this
type of admixture is very strong and overdosing will cause segregation and bleeding
of concrete (Figure 5.15), it is better to use lower solid contents. Also, you can mix
PCE admixtures with sodium type of lignosulfonate admixtures and different types of
retarders. But you cannot mix PCE admixtures with PNS or PMS super-plasticizers.
PCE super-plasticizers can reduce the amount of water by more than 40%. It is
much more than the other types of super-plasticizers. When you use it in concrete it
will be unbelievable for you.
The other important specification of PCE super-plasticizer is the good slump
retention ability. You can design PCE polymers with high water reduction and mod-
erate slump retention and you can design a polymer with moderate water reduction
rate and high slump retention. A good slump retention type PCE can keep concrete
slump for more than 3 hours in harsh conditions.
PCE super-plasticizers are more expensive than the other types, but according to
their quality, performance, and flexibility, they are the most commonly used admix-
tures in the world.
5.4.3 Mini Slump Test

It is very important to check the performance of super-plasticizers for choosing a
suitable product to use in concrete production. Most of the time, we would like to
check two specifications of the super-plasticizers:
FIGURE 5.14 Polycarboxylate ether super-plasticizer. (Photograph by the author.)
• Power of plasticizing
• Slump keeping
The best test is checking them by making trial concrete with the same cement and
aggregates of the final project. Sometimes, we need some simpler tests for the control
of admixtures. One of the simplest tests for the performance check of super-plasticiz-
ers is the mini slump test according to the DIN EN1015. This is a very common and
simple test in many texts and lectures. We can check and compare the plasticizing
and slump keeping of super-plasticizers by this test.
In fact, this is a slump test with a little amount of mortar with a special mini slump
cone as you can see in Figures 5.16 and 5.17. The upper circle diameter of this cone is
19 mm, the lower circle diameter is 38 mm and its height is 57 mm.
To test a super-plasticizer with this test method, first you should make a cement
paste by using cement, water, and a defined dosage of super-plasticizer. After hand
mixing and mixing with the electrical mixer (you can use kitchen mixers for this
purpose), you will have a soft flow paste. You should use enough amount of water and
super-plasticizer to achieve a soft flow cement paste.
FIGURE 5.15 A segregated concrete with very low quality. (Photograph by the author.)
After that, you should fill the mini slump cone with this paste and measure the
paste flow in two perpendicular lines. You can compare different super-plasticizers
by using this test method. On the other hand, you can check the super-plasticizer
slump keeping by repeating the test at different times. This will not be the same as
the performance of the super-plasticizer in concrete. But you can give a good idea
about the behavior of the super-plasticizer during time.
It is strongly recommended that you can only compare super-plasticizers with the
same chemical base with each other. Nevertheless, you will not get a useful result.
Especially, when you are using PCE base super-plasticizer, you should compare it
with the same chemical base only.
Now you can see an example of mini slump test in Table 5.2 and Figure 5.18.
As you can see from the table and figure above, PCE-A is a super-plasticizer
with a lower water reduction rate but better slump retention than the PCE-B. If
you use this super-plasticizer in concrete, you will see the same results as the mini
slump test.
FIGURE 5.16 Mini slump cone. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 5.17 Mini slump test instruments. (Photograph by the author.)

TABLE 5.2
Comparison of Two PCE Base Super-Plasticizers
Cement paste mix design:
Cement: 200 g
Water: 60 g
Super-plasticizer: 0.7% = 1.4 g
Super-Plasticizer Initial Flow (mm) Flow After 30 Flow After 60 Flow After 90
Type Minutes (mm) Minutes (mm) Minutes (mm)
PCE-A 140 140 125 120
PCE-B 160 160 140 110
170
160
150
140
Paste Flow (mm)
130
120
110
100
90
80
Initial After 30 min After 60 min After 90 min
PCE-A PCE-B
FIGURE 5.18 Mini slump test for two PCE-type super-plasticizers. (Graph created by the
author.)
5.4.4 Marsh Funnel Test

This test is a simplified test for the evaluation of the power and slump retention for
super-plasticizers. The accuracy of this test is more than the mini slump test. But as
mentioned before, the best test for the evaluation of plasticizers and super-plasticizers
is making trial concrete.
This test is according to the ASTM D6910 the standard test method for marsh
funnel viscosity of construction slurries. You can see the dimensions and picture of
the marsh funnel that you should use for this test in Figure 5.19.
For this test, you should make a cement paste like the mini slump test. But the
paste should be more flowable. So, you should adjust the amount of super-plasticizer
and water. It is better to make about 1.2 L of cement paste for this test.
FIGURE 5.19 Dimensions in (cm) of the marsh funnel. (Photograph created by the author.)
TABLE 5.3
Comparison of Two PCE Super-Plasticizer With Marsh Funnel Test
Cement paste mix design:
Cement: 1550 g
Water: 470 g
Super-plasticizer: 0.8% = 12.5 g
Super-Plasticizer Initial Flow Time Flow Time After Flow Time After Flow Time After
Type (s) 30 Minutes (s) 60 Minutes (s) 90 Minutes
PCE-A 58 69 78 90
PCE-B 50 65 83 107
After making the cement paste and mixing it enough with an electrical mixer,
you should pour the marsh funnel with the slurry and let it discharge from the funnel
(Figure 5.19). The time of discharging is the critical factor for the evaluation of the
super-plasticizer power. On the other hand, you can compare different super-plasti-
cizers with the same dosage and water for the water reduction rate. For the slump
keeping, you can repeat the test at different times to evaluate the total behavior of the
super-plasticizer. You can see an example of the marsh funnel test in Table 5.3 and
Figure 5.20.
110
100
90
Flow time (seconds)
80
70
60
50
40
Initial After 30 min After 60 min After 90 min
PCE-A PCE-B
FIGURE 5.20 Marsh funnel test for two PCE-type super-plasticizers. (Graph created by
the author.)
Another property of the super-plasticizers that we can evaluate by this test is

the saturation point. This is the maximum amount of admixture that can increase
the flowability of cement paste or concrete. In fact, more super-plasticizer than the
saturation point, don’t have any effect on the flowability of concrete. So, it is a very
important factor for the evaluation of the optimum dosage of super-plasticizers in the
concrete mix design.
To evaluate the saturation point, you should repeat the test with the same water and
different dosages of super-plasticizer. When you increase the dosage, you will see
that from a special dosage, increasing the amount of super-plasticizer will not cause
the decrease of flow time. This is the saturation point for that super-plasticizer. You
can see more or less the same behavior in concrete with the same water and increas-
ing the super-plasticizer dosage.
5.4.5 Evaluation of Water Reduction Rate

According to the abovementioned, you can see Table 5.4 as a guide for using plas-
ticizers and super-plasticizers with different chemical bases. This table could be
useful when we don’t have enough time to evaluate the water reduction rate of
super-plasticizers.
It is better to evaluate the water reduction rate of a super-plasticizer before using
it for concrete mix design because it is possible to have a brand name of super-plasti-
cizer which is a mix of two chemical bases. On the other hand, choosing the optimum
dosage and evaluating the water reduction rate of super-plasticizers is very important
for concrete mix design.
TABLE 5.4
Simple Guide to Use for Pure Super-Plasticizers
Min Water Max Water
Min Amount Reduction Max Amount Reduction
Type of Super-Plasticizer of Use (%) Rate (%) of Use (%) Rate (%)
Weak lignosulfonate 0.6 4 1.1 8
Strong lignosulfonate 0.5 6 0.9 12
Weak poly naphthalene sulfonate 0.5 10 2< 15
Moderate poly naphthalene sulfonate 0.4 12 2< 18
Strong poly naphthalene sulfonate 0.4 14 2< 22
Weak poly melamine sulfonate 0.5 8 2< 12
Moderate poly melamine sulfonate 0.4 10 2< 15
Strong poly melamine sulfonate 0.4 12 2< 20
Moderate poly carboxylate ether 0.3 15 1.5< 30
Strong poly carboxylate ether 0.3 25 1.5< 40
TABLE 5.5
Mortar Test for Water Reduction Rate of PCE-A Super-Plasticizer
Water
Silica Sand Super- Reduction
(g) Cement (g) Plasticizer Water (g) Flow (mm) Rate (%)
400 300 0 210 135 0
400 300 0.5% = 1.5 g 170 140 19.0
400 300 1.0% = 3.0 g 150 150 28.6
400 300 1.5% = 4.5 g 135 150 35.7
• Water reduction rate with mortar: To evaluate the water reduction rate of
a super-plasticizer with mortar, you should use the mini slump test. First,
you should make a special mortar with cement, silica sand, and water. After
enough mixing you should test its flowability with the mini slump cone. It
is better to achieve the flowability of more than 100 mm. Then you should
make a mortar with different dosages of super-plasticizer with the same
flowability and different amounts of water. So, you can evaluate the amount
of water reduction for each dosage of the super-plasticizer. You can see an
example of this test in Table 5.5 and Figure 5.21.
• Water reduction rate with concrete: As mentioned before, making trial con-
crete is the best test for the evaluation of a super-plasticizer in concrete. So,
you can make a testimonial concrete with a special amount of water and a
defined slump. Then you should use different dosages of super-plasticizer
and reduce the amount of water to achieve the same slump. So, you can
evaluate the amount of water reduction for the super-plasticizer. You can see
an example of this test in Table 5.6 and Figure 5.22.
40
35
Water Reduction Rate (%)
30
25
20
15
10
0
0 0.5 1 1.5
Super-plascizer Dosage (%)
FIGURE 5.21 Water reduction rate for PCE-A super-plasticizer with mortar test. (Graph
created by the author.)
TABLE 5.6
Concrete Test for Water Reduction Rate of PCE-A Super-Plasticizer
Water
Cement Gravel SSD Sand Super- Water Slump Reduction
(kg) (kg) (kg) Plasticizer (kg) (mm) Rate (%)
400 650 1150 0 225 150 0
400 650 1150 0.5% = 2.0 kg 185 160 17.8
400 650 1150 1.0% = 4.0 kg 165 160 26.7
400 650 1150 1.5% = 6.0 kg 150 150 33.3
5.5 AIR-ENTRAINING ADMIXTURES

Freeze thaw is a destructive process for concrete. If a concrete element will be in this
condition, it will be destroyed after a little time. So, we should protect the structures
in the cold climate conditions against the freeze-thaw cycles, especially when the
amount of moisture inside the element will be high. The most important example is
the precast tables or new-jerseys in the places with a temperature of less than zero at
night time and more than zero at day time because these elements are exposed to the
water of rain in high ways and also the water of gardens.
It was confirmed about the year of 1930 that concrete elements with little size air
bubbles can resist against the freeze-thaw cycles. After that, chemical admixture
manufacturers started to produce the air-entraining agents to produce uniform small-
size bubbles inside concrete to improve the resistance of concrete elements against
freeze-thaw cycles (Figure 5.23).
These air bubbles reduce the compressive strength of concrete. But they are nec-
essary for the resistance against freeze-thaw cycles. We will have between 1% and
2% of the air inside any kind of concrete without using any air-entraining agents. We
35
30
Water Reduction Rate (%)
25
20
15
10
0
0 0.5 1 1.5
Super-plasticizer Dosage (%)
FIGURE 5.22 Water reduction rate for PCE-A super-plasticizer with the concrete test.
FIGURE 5.23 A section of an entrained air concrete under a microscope. (“Pore structures
in fresh concrete and air entrained concrete” by Fangzhi Zhu, Zhiming Ma, Tiejun Zhao.)
call that the entrapped air. Technically, we cannot eliminate this little amount of air
from concrete. On the other hand, it is very good for the workability and pumpability
of concrete. But each one more percent of air will cause about 5% to 7% of strength
reduction in concrete. So, if we are producing a concrete without any worry about
the freeze-thaw cycles, we should control the entrapped air less than 2% (20 L in 1 m3
of concrete). We should check the cement, aggregates, sand and super-plasticizers to
control the amount of entrapped air because all of the above materials have effect
on the entrap air in concrete. But if we are going to produce a concrete with consid-
erations about the freeze-thaw cycles, we should use air-entraining admixtures to
entrain more air into the concrete. We can produce a concrete with more than 6%
of air to improve the resistance of concrete against freeze-thaw cycles. On the other
hand, you should take care that 4% of more air can reduce the compressive strength
about 20% to 28%.
The moisture can remain inside the capillary pores of concrete. When the temper-
ature falls below zero°C the water inside the pores started to freeze and it will cause
the increase of volume of water. This volume increasing will apply internal stress in
concrete elements. When the temperature goes above the zero°C, the water started
to melt and at night the process will repeat again. This internal stress can drastically
decrease the element mechanical properties and also its durability. So, we can see
some of the elements in this condition with life cycle of a few years.
When we use air-entraining admixtures in concrete production, the air bubbles
acted as the safety valves to control the volume increase of water during the process
of freezing. So, there is no added pressure and we can control the internal stress.
You can use different standards and codes for the evaluation of air needed to
increase the freeze-thaw resistance of concrete. For example, you can see Table 5.7
from the ACI 202.2R. It is better to use local standards in each country of the world
for this purpose.
The most common chemical base of air-entraining admixtures is sodium En-lauryl
ether sulfate. But you can find other different chemical bases in the market. They are
in the liquid form. The amount of use is about 0.5% by weight of cement or less.
As the amount of air in concrete depends on many different factors, you should
make trials before using the air-entraining admixtures in the production of industrial
concrete. Some of the most important factors are as below:
• The quality of air-entraining admixture: Higher quality of admixtures will

cause more air bubbles in concrete. So, before using any admixture you
should test it by making trials.
• Cement: Using a very fine cement (higher blain) can cause less air bubbles
in concrete. On the other hand, more alkalis in the cement will cause more
air bubbles production in concrete element. Using more cement in concrete
mix design will cause less air production in concrete.
TABLE 5.7
ACI Recommendations for the Amount of Air in Concrete for the
Resistance against Freeze-Thaw Cycles
Max Size of Coarse Percent of Entrained Air for Percent of Entrained Air for
Aggregates (mm) Intense Conditions (%) Moderate Conditions (%)
9.5 7 6
12.5 7 5
19 6 5
25 6 4
Intense conditions: When the concrete element is in the free air and with high moisture in
the environment. The deicing salts also is available.
Moderate conditions: When the concrete element is in free air but with a low amount of
moisture and there are no deicing salts in the environment.
• Fine aggregates: Using a sand with high amount of passing by sieve No. 100
will cause less air production. On the other hand, increasing the amount
of passing by sieve No. 6 and remaining on sieve No. 30 will cause more
air production. Clay in sand will cause less air production and also it can
decrease the consolidation of air bubbles inside the concrete element.
• Coarse aggregates: If you have stone powder in the crushed aggregates,
it can decrease the amount of air bubbles. Using crushed aggregates will
cause more air production compared with the natural circular aggregates.
• Water: Using hard water can decrease the air production. On the other
hand, if you have any type of washing liquid or powders in the water, it can
increase the amount of air bubbles inside the concrete.
• GGBS and other Pozzolans: All types of Pozzolans can impress on the
amount of air bubbles inside concrete. But for each case, you should make
trials to check their positive or negative effect on the production of air
bubbles.
• Other types of chemical admixtures: Using any type of chemical admixture
other than the air entraining has an effect on the amount of air in the con-
crete. So, you should call the technicians of the manufacturers and make
trials before mixing two types of chemical admixtures for any purpose.
• Concrete slump: For concrete with the slump less than 100 mm, you need
more admixtures for the same amount of air because forming of air in stiff
concrete is more difficult. On the other hand, for concrete with the slump
more than 180 mm, it is possible to decrease the amount of air during time
because of the unstability of the air bubbles in very soft concrete. For con-
crete with the slump between 100 and 180 mm the dosage of air-entraining
admixture will be optimum.
• Concrete temperature: Higher concrete temperature will cause less air form-
ing in concrete and lower concrete temperature will cause more air forming
in concrete. So, you should check the dosage of air-entraining admixture
and the amount of air in the same temperature situation because the ambient
temperature has an effect on the concrete temperature.
• Type of concrete mixer: The type of concrete mixer is very important for
the formation of air in concrete. So, you should make trials with the same
mixer type before using concrete in the real project. On the other hand, if
you would like to transport the concrete, the spirals of the truck mixer are
very important for the stability of the air bubbles in the concrete.
5.6 WATER PROOFING ADMIXTURES

Making water tight and water proof concrete is one of the most important needs of
many projects. As the other methods of making waterproof structures are more dif-
ficult and expensive and sometimes it is very hard to repair a concrete structure with
a permeable concrete.
Making a watertight structure (Figure 5.24) is not only dependent on the con-
crete quality and water tightness. The good accomplishment and performance of
FIGURE 5.24 A swimming pool as a watertight structure. (“Tuen Mun Swimming Pool in
Tuen Mun, Hong Kong.”)
the project are very important for this purpose. The below considerations are very
important for making a waterproof concrete structure:
• Using a waterproof concrete.

• Good implementation of concrete to avoid any type of voids and defects on
the surface and inside the concrete element.
• Control of cracks with high-quality curing.
• Using PVC water stops in the joints or any type of discontinuous implementation.
In this part, we discuss the production of a waterproof concrete by using different

chemical admixtures. The important role is decreasing the capillary pores inside
concrete. So, water cannot transit from the concrete element.
To make a water proof concrete you should apply below considerations:
• Decrease the water-to-cement ratio: By decreasing the water-to-cement

ratio, you can decrease the capillary pores and make a dense structure con-
crete. It will help you to make a watertight concrete. As mentioned before,
the best way to reduce the water-to-cement ratio is by using high-quality
super-plasticizers.
• Using supplementary cementitious materials: By using these materials,
you can increase the C-H-S products which can reduce the capillary pores
inside the concrete. On the other hand, these materials can act as the fillers
and pore blockers in concrete.
• Using micronized hydrophobia fillers: This type of powder materials can

block the capillary pores inside the concrete structure. So, they help you to
produce a waterproof concrete. Some of the chemical admixture manufac-
turers sell these powders as the waterproofing admixtures. So, this is the
first type of waterproofing admixture in the market. Using these powders is
not enough for the production of a waterproof concrete.
• Adjustment of the aggregates sieve analysis: To make a waterproof concrete,
it is very important to adjust the total grading of aggregates in concrete.
Lack of any size of aggregates can increase the capillary pores in concrete.
It is very important for the passing by sieve No. 16 and less. So, using high-
quality sand is very important for the production of a waterproof concrete.
• Using enough amount of cement: the amount of cement in concrete depends
on the targeted compressive strength and the usage of supplementary
cementitious materials. But for the production of a waterproof concrete, it
is very important to use more cement than normal, because it can increase
the amount of C-H-S especially in the earlier age and on the other hand, it
can act as a good filler.
• Adjust the flowability of concrete: if you use a free-flow concrete, it will
pour the total structure better than a stiff concrete and it can reduce the risk
of the formation of any big void and pore inside concrete. So, it is recom-
mended to use a high-quality super-plasticizer for the production of con-
crete to make a concrete with high flowability.
• Perfect curing of concrete: It is very important to cure the concrete to pre-
vent any crack formation for waterproofing. So, you can use curing com-
pound admixtures or you can cure the concrete with water. Also, you should
control the concrete temperature for crack control and curing should con-
tinue for at least 48 hours and for the best result 1 week.
• Using high-technology pore blocker admixtures: There are some water
proof admixtures that can block the pores inside the concrete. These are the
second type of waterproofing admixtures. But you cannot make a watertight
concrete only by using these admixtures. You should try to accomplish all
of the above considerations to produce a waterproof concrete.
We will talk about the waterproof concrete and structures in the later chapters.
5.7 CURING COMPOUNDS

Curing is very important for any type of concrete to achieve the best result of mechan-
ical properties and durability in concrete structures. The production of a high-quality
concrete is more difficult than the good curing, but unfortunately most of the time,
the contractors forget to protect the high-quality concrete with curing.
If we don’t cure the concrete as well as possible, we will see below problems:
• Decreasing the growth of concrete compressive strength: Production of

C-H-S needs water. So, if we don’t protect the water inside concrete from
the evaporation, we cannot achieve the potential compressive strength.
• Penetration of water into the concrete element: As the production of C-H-S

will decrease, the permeability will increase. So, water and other hazardous
chemicals can penetrate into the concrete element and they can cause severe
destruction.
• Increasing the probability of cracking: As all types of shrinkage in concrete
depend on the curing quality, if we don’t cure concrete as well as it is pos-
sible, concrete will shrink and cracks started to grow on the surface and
inside the concrete element. So, the quality, impermeability, and loading
capacity of the element will decrease.
Although the cost of curing is very low compared with the other costs of the con-
struction industry, for many years, attention to the curing is not enough by the con-
tractors because the most usual process for curing is the curing with water. As this
type of curing should continue for several days and during day and night times,
checking it by the supervisors is difficult. So, chemical admixture producers made
the curing compound admixtures for a simpler curing procedure. Although the cur-
ing compounds will not act as good as the water curing, but for many projects, they
are enough to guarantee the quality of concrete.
The curing compounds are some liquid chemicals that you should spray them on
the surface of concrete element (Figure 5.25). After spraying, their solvent will evapo-
rate and the remained material on the surface of the concrete can protect the water
inside the element. They will not let the water to evaporate and because of the lighter
color of them, they can control the temperature of concrete in the condition of sunlight.
When you apply these chemicals on the surface of the concrete element, it is very
important that all of the surface should cover with the curing compound and also
enough layer should remain on the surface to protect it from sunlight and wind which
can cause the evaporation of water.
FIGURE 5.25 Application of the curing compound. (“Applying Curing Compound

and Stripping the Wall Forms at the Yard Lead Reception Pit” by MTA Construction &
Development Mega Projects.)
One of the most important points for using these admixtures is the cleaning of the
surface before new concrete application. For example, if you covered a concrete roof
with curing compounds and after some days you would like to apply the concrete of
the columns on the roof, it is very important to clean the remained curing compounds
from the base of the columns. The best way for cleaning is washing with plenty of
water because if the curing compounds remained on the surface, they can make
problems for the cohesion between two concrete layers.
Sometimes, at very difficult climate conditions, like very hard wind or direct sun-
light at hot weather conditions, there is a need for the reapplication of curing com-
pounds several times because they will chip in contact with the sunlight and you
should apply them again to protect concrete against this hard climate condition.
5.8 VISCOSITY MODIFIER ADMIXTURES

We should use the viscosity modifier admixtures (VMA) for the protection of concrete
against segregation and bleeding (Figure 5.26). They can help the concrete to remain
homogenous. Most of the time, the need for VMA admixtures is only when you use
PCE-type super-plasticizers and at the time that we have some of the problems below:
• Aggregates without good gradation or high amount of crushed sand.

• Lack of fillers in the aggregates
• Using low amount of cement and other supplementary cementitious materi-
als in the concrete mix design
• Using high dosage of strong water reducer PCE super-plasticizers
• Trying to produce self-compacting concrete.
Sometimes, you can protect the concrete from segregation and bleeding with other
cheaper methods. For example, you can add some stone powders or high-quality
FIGURE 5.26 The result of using a segregated concrete. (“Concrete segregation.”)

dune sand to the concrete. But maybe you don’t have access to these additional fillers
in a project. In this case, the best way is using VMA admixture.
Sometimes, the chemical admixture producers add VMA materials to their for-
mulated polycarboxylate super-plasticizers. But they can give a negative effect on the
water reduction rate of super-plasticizer. So, it is recommended to use the VMA and
PCE super-plasticizer separately.
Recently, some of the producers developed new types of super-plasticizers with
the chemical base of poly aryl ether and phosphate PCE which can control the vis-
cosity of concrete with high slump. But the price of these admixtures is much more
than the normal polycarboxylate super-plasticizers. So, it is recommended to use
a PCE super-plasticizer with good aggregate gradation. Nevertheless, you can use
VMA admixtures to modify the viscosity of concrete, especially when you would
like to produce a self-compacting concrete.
We defined an index for the stability of SCC concrete which we call that visual
stability index (VSI) which shows the grade of segregation and bleeding in SCC
concrete. The best SCC concrete is the VSI0 and the worse is the VSI3. We can
say the VSI3 concrete is a failed SCC. So, you should try to make a better VSI self-
compacting concrete by modifying the aggregates gradation, using more fillers in the
sand, and finally by using VMA.
5.9 PUMPING AID ADMIXTURES

One of the most important specifications of concrete is the pumpability because we
should pump most of the concrete types nowadays. If we use a pumpable concrete,
we will have below advantages:
• More concrete output from the pump and higher speed of concreting.
• Decrease the pump pressure and better maintenance of concrete pump
instruments.
• Decreasing friction in the pump pipes.
• Prevention of blockage of concrete pump pipes is a very bad phenomenon
and can cause very much retardation in concreting time.
• Decreasing the energy consumption
• Lower danger for the laborers especially when they are on the top stories
of buildings.
There are too many factors affecting the pumpability of concrete. One of the most
important factors is the good gradation of aggregates which can cause good viscosity
and stability of concrete.
Sometimes, when we don’t have access to the good quality aggregates, we can
use pumping aid admixtures to modify the stability and viscosity of concrete. These
admixtures are the same as VMA admixtures which they can help better pumpabil-
ity of concrete.
You can use these admixtures in the batching plant and also in the hopper of the
concrete pump (Figure 5.27) because there is a mixer inside the hopper of pump and
it can mix the pumping aid admixtures with concrete.
FIGURE 5.27 Concrete pump hopper and its mixer. (“Aldi, Cosne, concrete pump.”)
Before using the pumping aid admixtures, you should contact the manufac-
turer to ask about its adaptability with the different types of super-plasticizers.
For example, you cannot use most of the pumping aids with naphthalene sulfonate
super-plasticizers.
Sometimes, concrete admixtures manufacturers promote another kind of product
with the name of pumping aid. It is in fact the starting slurry for wetting and lubri-
cating the inside of concrete pump pipes for better pumping turnover. You can use
a mixture of cement and water as the starting slurry, but if you use the pumping aid
slurries for this purpose it will be much better for your concrete pumping instruments
and also it can improve the pumping capacity, especially for the beginning part.
5.10 FOAMING AGENT ADMIXTURES

Foaming agent admixture is a special product for the production of cellular light-
weight concrete (CLC) which we can use for the production of nonstructural concrete
segments like wall blocks (Figure 5.28). Also, you can use CLC as a lightweight
material for filling the roofs before performing the final surface.
CLC is a concrete with the specific gravity of between 300 and 800 kg/m3. So, it
is a very light concrete with very low mechanical properties. So, you cannot use it as
a structural concrete.
The materials that you should use for the production of CLC (Figure 5.29) are the
dune sand, cement, water, and foaming agent admixture. You can use only cement,
water, and foaming agent for the production of super lightweight CLC with a spe-
cific gravity of less than 500 kg/m3. The foaming agent entraps too many air bubbles
inside the concrete and make it like a foam. So, it will be a very light type of concrete
or mortar.
FIGURE 5.28 CLC blocks. (“Concrete blocks from rawpixel.”)
FIGURE 5.29 Cellular lightweight concrete. (Photograph by the author.)
The foaming agent admixtures are a special liquid that you should mix with water
inside the very high-speed mixer. Then a white foaming material like fire-fighting
agents will produce that you can use in the concrete mixer to produce the CLC.
NOTE
1. TDS.w
REFERENCES
Concrete Test Specimens in the Field, ASTM C31-00.
C618-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Fiber Reinforced
Concrete and Shotcrete, ASTM C1116-00.
Cjp24, “Aldi, Cosne, concrete pump.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Aldi, _Cosne, _concrete_pump_(5bis).jpg.
“Concrete blocks from rawpixel.” Retrieved from: https://www.rawpixel.com/image/6034770/
photo-image-public-domain-concrete-free.
Ervanne Heini, Hakanen Martti, Analysis of Cement Super-plasticizer and Grinding Aids: A
EN480 Series.

Exploringlife, “Tuen Mun Swimming Pool in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong.” Retrieved from: https://
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Secondary_pool_of_Tuen_Mun_Swimming_Pool.
JPG.
Gjorv E.Odd, Durability Design of Concrete Structures in Severe Environments, Taylor &
Francis, 2009.
Heinrichs Harald, Martens Pim, Michelsen Gerd, Wiek Arnim, Sustainability Science: An
Iranian Institute for Research on Construction Industry, 9th Topic of National Rules for
Method, 2015.
2015.
Leppanen, Antti, “Volvo cement mixer truck in Jyväskylä, Finland.” Retrieved from:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Volvo_cement_mixer_truck_in_
Jyv%C3%A4skyl%C3%A4.jpg.
Mohammadi, 2007.
MTA Construction & Development Mega Projects photostream, “Applying Curing Compound
and Stripping the Wall Forms at the Yard Lead Reception Pit.” Retrieved from: https://
www.flickr.com/photos/mtacc-esa/7415006130.
2003.
Pmhmarketing, “Putzmeister Wetkret 5.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/
wiki/File:Putzmeister_Wetkret_5.jpg.
1992.
2001.
Spekking, Raimond, “Koln shotcrete application.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikime-
dia.org/wiki/File:Bauarbeiten_%C3%B6stliches_Domumfeld-K%C3%B6lner_Dom-
Spritzbeton–8306.jpg.
Tux-Man, “Concrete segregation.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
S%C3%A9gr%C3%A9gation_b%C3%A9ton.jpg.
Zhu, Fangzhi, Zhiming Ma, Tiejun Zhao, “Pore structures in fresh concrete and air entrained
concrete.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pore-structures-
in-fresh-concrete-and-air-entrained-concrete.jpg.
6 Water for Concrete
Water is a critical material for the hydration reaction of cement. So, it is a very
important material for the mechanical properties of concrete. On the other hand, it is
important for the rheological behavior of concrete. So, we should check the quality
of water before using it in concrete production.
We should use water in two phases in the concrete industry. The first phase is the
production process which we use water for the hydration reaction and for the work-
ability of concrete. The second phase is the curing process of concrete which we use
water to control the hydration reaction and prevention of shrinkage and cracking. On
the other hand, in most parts of the world, we are facing the problem of shortage in
the sources of drinking water because of the global warming (Figure 6.1). So, we
should try to consume less water in the industry.
In this chapter, we are going to talk about the suitable water for concrete and its
specification. Also, we will talk about the impurities in the water sources and their
effect on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. Finally, we will talk about
suitable water for concrete curing and the processes for controlling water consump-
tion for concrete production and curing.
FIGURE 6.1 Sources of drinkable water which is limited in most parts of the world. (“Clear
River water Bled Vintgar Slovenia”.)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-6 171

6.1 WATER FOR CONCRETE PRODUCTION

The best water for concrete production is drinkable water. Sometimes, we cannot
reach high-quality drinkable water. On the other hand, sometimes, there are some
impurities in the drinking water which is not good for the quality of fresh or hardened
concrete. In these cases, we should test the water and control it with the standards.
Sometimes, we may use a purifier for water before using it in concrete. Because some
of the impurities can destroy the concrete during time and their effect on the proper-
ties of concrete will be very dangerous. So, we should pay the price for the purifica-
tion of water to prevent the price of destroying the structure in the near future.
Now, we are going to talk about the different impurities in water and their effect
on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. Also, we will talk about the maxi-
mum amount of each impurity to use water in concrete production.
• Chloride: The most dangerous impurity in water is chloride ion. As you know,
chloride will attack the structure rebars and you will see dangerous corrosion
inside concrete, if you use a water with high amount of chloride ions (Figures
6.2 and 6.3). Chloride ion in water is because of the solution of different types
of salts like sodium chloride or calcium chloride inside water. Some of these
salts like calcium chloride can accelerate the concrete setting and it will cause
drastic decrease in the workability during time. The maximum amount of
chloride ion in water is 500 ppm according to the British standard.
• Sulfate ion: The other important dangerous impurity in water is the sulfate
ion. As mentioned before, it can attack the C3A of cement and will cause
the corrosion of concrete structures during the time. To control this reac-
tion, you can use type II or V cement according to the amount of sulfate ion
in water or soil. But for concrete water, you should not use water with high
amount of sulfate. For fresh concrete, there is no considerable effect of the
sulfate ion on the properties of fresh concrete.
FIGURE 6.2 Corrosion of a concrete bridge. (“The second bridge [picture 46] crosses a
canal inside the City of Amsterdam, Netherlands” by Achim Hering.)
Water for Concrete 173
FIGURE 6.3 Corrosion in concrete structures. (“Photograph taken in grounds of Newton

Park Technical High School, Port Elizabeth, South Africa”.)
• Carbonate and bicarbonate alkalis: These salts have different effects on

the setting time of fresh concrete which depends on the solution density.
So, you should take care of the setting time of concrete when you use
water with carbonate and bicarbonate alkalis. On the other hand, they
can accelerate the alkali aggregate reaction in hardened concrete. So, it is
better to prevent using water with more than 1000 ppm of carbonate and
bicarbonate alkalis.
• Low pH: Low pH itself don’t have any considerable effect on the proper-
ties of fresh or hardened concrete. But you should check the reason for the
low pH of water. For example, some of the organic acids can increase or
decrease the setting time of concrete. On the other hand, as you know the
pH of concrete is high because of the alkali effect of the Portland cement
and it can protect the rebars inside the concrete itself. Using water with low
pH (for example less than 3) can cause decreasing the pH of total concrete
and it can accelerate the corrosion of rebars in severe conditions. So, it is
better not to use water with a pH lower than 3.
FIGURE 6.4 Organic impurities in water. (“Aquatic plants” by Hagerty Ryan, USFWS.)
• High pH: High pH of water means there are some OH ions inside water
from the dilution of NaOH or KOH. These impurities can decrease the final
compressive strength of concrete. On the other hand, they can increase the
probability of alkali aggregate reaction. So, it is recommended not to use
water with high pH for concrete production.
• Organic impurities: Most of the time, organic impurities will retard the set-
ting time of concrete. On the other hand, the pieces of organic impurities in
water can decrease the compressive strength of concrete in a region where
impurities will stand and they can decrease the final quality of the surface in
the structures. Some of the sewage waters contain high amounts of alkalis and
impurities So, you should not use them for concrete production (Figure 6.4).
• Sugar: Sometimes, you may find some amount of sugar or other materials
containing saccharides diluted in water. They can drastically retard the con-
crete setting time and can cause many problems for concrete structures like
the need for a very long time for mold release.
• Oil in water: Sometimes, you may find different types of oils in water. Most
types of oils can decrease the compressive strength of concrete. So, it is bet-
ter not to use these waters for concrete production.
According to the above mentioned, you can understand that using the sources of non-
drinkable water could be acceptable if you check the impurities of water. Some other
sources like sea water with high amount of chloride and sulfate are not acceptable
for use in concrete production.
6.2 WATER FOR CONCRETE CURING

Using water with lower quality could be acceptable for concrete curing depending on
the type of water and the type of concrete structure. For example, using of water with
some organic impurities for the curing of an exposed structure could not be accept-
able because it can cause color changes on the surface of structure.
TABLE 6.1
Sample Analysis Test for Water
Parameter Test Result Parameter Test Result (ppm)
Color Colorless Sulfate 1
Odor Odorless Sodium 88
pH 6.5 Nitrate 1
Taste Tasteless Organic impurities 3
Chloride 140 ppm Dissolved solid 375
Using water with high amount of chloride or sulfate (like sea water) for the curing
of concrete, especially important concrete structures is not acceptable because you
will cure the concrete in the earlier ages with water. At the earlier age, the perme-
ability of concrete is high and water with a high amount of chloride and sulfate can
filtrate in to the structure and remain beside the steel bars and they can cause the
corrosion in the future. So, you should not use sea water for the curing of concrete
structures.
It is better not to use water with a high amount of alkalis for concrete curing
because like the chloride and sulfate, they can filtrate inside the concrete structure
and decrease the final compressive strength.
6.3 TEST OF WATER

You should test the water for the analysis of impurities that should be harmful for
concrete. You should send the sample of water to a chemistry laboratory and they can
analyze the water and give you the final result as you can see in Table 6.1.
As you can see in the table above and compare it with the descriptions of this
chapter, the water mentioned in the table is acceptable to use in concrete production.
6.4 DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF WATER FOR

CONCRETE PRODUCTION AND CURING
As mentioned before, decreasing the amount of water for concrete production and
curing is necessary according to the lack of drinkable water resources in most parts
of the world. So, we should try to use less water for concrete production which can
cause better performance for hardened concrete in the structures also. On the other
hand, we should use less water for concrete curing without any damage to the quality
of concrete structures. According to the abovementioned, we can name below con-
siderations for decreasing the water consumption in the concrete industry:
• Using high-quality super-plasticizers instead of the old ones to decrease

the amount of water we need for the production of a high-quality concrete.
• Using concrete industry sewage water with filtration and purification. This
is the sewage water that we use for washing concrete production and trans-
portation machines and the water we may use for washing the aggregates
(Figure 6.5).
• Control the temperature of concrete in summer to protect it from the evapo-

ration of water. You can use ice instead of water for concrete production in
hot weather conditions. We will talk about concrete implementation in hot
weather conditions later.
• Using curing compounds instead of water for curing concrete structures
when it is possible without any damage to the quality.
• Control the curing with water when it is necessary, by using a suitable water
curing method. For example, the use of cotton textile (Figure 6.6) for the
curing of columns and the use of fogging instead of immersing the concrete
surface with water.
FIGURE 6.5 A concrete recycling system that it can recycle aggregates and water from the
concrete sewage. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 6.6 Special cotton textile for use in water curing for the protection of water.
REFERENCES
amanderson2, “Clear River water Bled Vintgar Slovenia.” Retrieved from: https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clear_River_water_Bled_Vintgar_Slovenia_(8095482709).
jpg.
Ervanne Heini, Hakanen Martti, Analysis of Cement Super-plasticizer and Grinding Aids:
A Literature Survey, Posiva Oy, 2007.
Hering, Achim, “The second bridge (picture 46) crosses a canal inside the City of Amsterdam,
Netherlands.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Qew_bruecke_
nf_beton_kaputt_33_von_46.jpg.
Method, 2015.
Iranian National Management and Programming Organization, National Handbook of Concrete
Structures, 2005.
2015.
JonRichfield, “Photograph taken in grounds of Newton Park Technical High School, Port Elizabeth,
South Africa.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concrete_wall_
cracking_as_its_steel_reinforcing_cracks_and_swells_9061v.jpg.
2003.
1992.
Ramezanianpoor Aliakbar, Arabi Negin, Cement and Concrete Test Methods (Farsi), Negarande
Danesh, 2011.
Ryan, Hagerty, USFWS, “Aquatic plants.” Retrieved from: https://pixnio.com/nature-landscapes/
wetlands-and-swamps/close-view-of-aquatic-plants-on-water-surface-in-prairie-wetland.
7 Testing of Concrete
When you make a concrete with defined properties, it is very important to check
and test the properties to compare them with the defined values. In this chapter, we
discuss these tests.
There are too many methods according to different standards for testing concrete.
We are not going to accept only one standard test method, because in different coun-
tries, you should do the tests according to the acceptable standards for that region of
the world. But you should know that most of the test methods are the same from the
original concept point of view. The difference is for the details and we are not going
to centralize the details.
As mentioned before, we have different phases of concrete. Some of the defined
properties are for the fresh concrete and some others are for the hardened. We cannot
say which one is more important. You should make a concrete with high quality in
both fresh and hardened phases because you should make a workable concrete for
better implementation. If you make a concrete with very high quality in hardened
phase, but without enough workability, it is not an acceptable concrete.
According to the abovementioned, we discuss the tests referring to the fresh con-
crete and then about the hardened.
7.1 TESTS FOR FRESH CONCRETE

When we start the production of concrete by contacting cement particles to the water
molecules, we are starting the fresh phase. Concrete will remain in the fresh phase
till the initial setting time of concrete starts. Then the concrete goes to the jelly phase
which is the border between fresh and hardened concrete. We don’t have any test for
the concrete in the jell phase. But for fresh concrete, we have very important tests.
We can extract many useful information from the fresh concrete test results. We can
reject a concrete with not acceptable fresh phase test results because it will show
us that probably the hardened phase test results should be not compatible with the
defined properties. Although it is very hard to revise a low-quality concrete in the
hardened state, it is better to control some of the properties in the fresh phase. If we
reject a fresh concrete transported to the project by a truck mixer, we should pay only
the price of that rejected concrete. But if there is a need to repair a structure because
of the use of low-quality concrete or sometimes if there is a need to destroy the struc-
tural element, we should pay more. So, you should take care of the production quality
and then we should check the fresh concrete accurately. Then we can trust the quality
of hardened concrete.
In this part, we discuss the slump test, flow table test, and rheometer for concrete
which are the tests for the flowability and workability of concrete. Then we dis-
cuss the temperature of fresh concrete, which is very important for quality control.
Density and air content of concrete will be the next tests that we discuss. They will
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-7 179

show us the amount of entrapped air in concrete which is very important for the
evaluation of the compressive strength in the hardened phase.
7.1.1 Slump Test

We talked about the slump test in the first chapter of this book. As mentioned before,
this is a test to evaluate the workability and flowability of fresh concrete (Figure 7.1).
We should do this test according to ASTM C143.
The testing equipment for the slump test is:
• Slump cone: which is a standard cone with an upper circle diameter of

102 mm and down circle diameter of 203 mm and a height of 305 mm.
• Tamping rod: This is a rebar with a diameter of 16 mm with the top a cir-
cular shape, and we should use it for tamping the concrete inside the slump
cone.
• Plate: This could be a metal or glass plate, to which we should tighten the
slump cone before starting the test.
• Measurement ruler: This is a ruler or any other instrument that you can
measure the diameter with.
FIGURE 7.1 Slump test instruments. (Photograph by the author.)

Testing of Concrete 181
FIGURE 7.2 Measuring concrete slump. (“Conducting a slump test on the concrete” by
MTA Construction & Development Mega Projects.)
To start the test, first you should take a sample of concrete from the truck mixer or
any other type of mixer. Then you should tighten the slump cone on the plate as you
can see in Figure 7.1. (Some other types of instruments should have different types
of tightening methods.) Then you should pour the slump cone in three volume layers.
It means that you should pour first about 67 mm of the height and then to 155 mm of
the height and finally to the top surface of the slump cone. For each layer, you should
tamp the concrete with the rod 25 times uniformly. For upper layers, you should tamp
the layer to the depth of that layer plus a little part of the below layer. For the upper
layer, you should pour the concrete more than needed, because after tamping, you
should make the surface flat by using the tamping rod. The surface of the concrete
should be the same as the upper point of the slump cone. Finally, you should pull up
the cone vertically without any horizontal or torsional moving. The concrete will fall
down according to its flowability. Now, you should measure the amount of falling
by measuring the distance between the upper surface of the slump cone to the upper
surface of the falling concrete as you can see in Figure 7.2.
As the slump of concrete could decrease over time, because of the evaporation
of water from concrete or instrument surface, you should do the test in less than 2.5
minutes from the starting time to the end. On the other hand, as you will take a little
amount of concrete from a truck mixer for the slump test and this little amount of
concrete could lose its slump rapidly, because of the evaporation of water, especially
at high temperature, you should do the slump test as soon as it possible after taking
the sample from the truck mixer.
7.1.2 Flow Table Test

Some of the people believe that the slump test is not accurate enough to show the work-
ability of concrete. We can compare two concretes with the same slump, but with dif-
ferent workability performance, for example, different pumpability or malleability.
FIGURE 7.3 Flow table test of fresh concrete. (“Flow test before”.)
So, we should define another test method for the evaluation of concrete workability.
One of the most famous tests is the flow table test (Figure 7.3).
This test is according to the European standard EN12350-5 which described the
exact procedure for this test. Here we are going to study a brief of it.
First, you should pour the cone shape mold with fresh concrete. After tamping
with the special tamper, which you can see in Figure 7.3, you should pull up the cone
till the concrete will collapse. After final collapsing of concrete, you should manually
raise the plate to the upper place and then drop it to the bottom place for 15 times.
This will cause the special vibration of concrete, so the concrete will spread through
the table. Now you should measure the spread diameter in two perpendicular lines
and report it as the flow table spread.
We cannot say that this test is a better or more accurate test compared with the
slump test. It depends on the type of concrete. For softer concretes and more flowable
ones, we can say that this is a more accurate test. But for stiffer concretes the slump
test will be more accurate. The best results will be reachable if you do the slump and
flow table tests together.
7.1.3 Slump Flow Test

Slump flow test is for concretes with high flowability like self-compacting concrete.
You can use this test for other kinds of concrete with slump higher than 200 mm
despite it is not an SCC concrete. We can call concrete with the slump of higher than
200 mm easy-compacting concrete because we can compact it easier than normal
concrete with less vibration.
The slump flow test is the same as the slump test. But as the concrete is more flowable
than normal, after pulling up the slump cone, the concrete will flow through the plate
(Figure 7.4). So, you should measure the flow circle on the table instead of the falling
distance. For SCC concrete, there is no need for tamping the concrete into three layers.
FIGURE 7.4 Slump flow test. (“Flow test after”.)
You should just pour the cone and pull it up. But for easy-compacting concrete instead
of SCC, it is optional to tamp or not tamp the concrete.
SCC concrete will have a slump flow of more than 600 mm. But it is not enough
to name concrete as self-compacting concrete. We should do some other tests like
L-box test or V-funnel test, which are exactly designed for the quality control of SCC
concrete. We discuss the SCC concrete and its special test procedure in the later
chapters of this book.
7.1.4 Rheometer for Concrete

As mentioned before, most concrete technologists believe that the evaluation of con-
crete workability is very difficult and by using some tests like slump or flow table,
we cannot give a reasonable result for concrete workability. So, they are working on
a new concept of rheology for concrete. In fact, they are trying to make some instru-
ments that can calculate the amount of shear force needed to mix a concrete. They
call this instrument rheometer (Figure 7.5).
Rheometer is a device to measure the concrete flows in response to an applied
force. We have a rheometer for different kinds of viscous liquids in laboratory tech-
nology. But for concrete, it is a new device. So, there is no special standard for it.
Many companies are working to make a special rheometer for concrete with reason-
able results.
Like other types of tests for the workability of concrete, using the rheometer is not
reliable for all types of concrete. Its results are better for more flowable concretes,
especially for SCC. For example, we may get different results for the workability of
two SCC concretes with the same slump flow, L-box, and V-funnel test results and
we can see this difference in real implementation of SCC concrete. But for stiff con-
crete mixes, the results of the rheometer will not be reliable.
FIGURE 7.5 Two different types of rheometers. (“rheometer” by Olivier Cleynen used
under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license), (“Capillary
rheometer” by Cjp24 used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
license.)
The other important factor for the rheometer is that you should use this instrument
for the comparison between two concrete with more or less the same aggregate type
because the results depend on the sieve analysis of aggregates. For example, it is pos-
sible to take different results for two concrete with the same slump test but different
aggregates gradation. So, we should work on this instrument to calibrate it specially,
for concrete to get better and reliable results in the future. If we do it, it could be the
best test for the evaluation of concrete workability in the future.
7.1.5 Temperature of Fresh Concrete

One of the important parameters for the evaluation of concrete quality is its tem-
perature. We discuss the concrete implementation in hot and cold weather conditions
in the future chapters of this book. But for now, you should know that there is no
ambient temperature limitation for concreting. But the limitation is for the concrete
temperature.
Concrete temperature should not exceed 32°C, in hot weather conditions, and
should not fall down less than 5°C, in cold weather conditions. On the other hand,
the behavior of concrete at temperatures more than 25°C and less than 10°C in the
case of slump keeping and growth of compressive strength should be different as
described below:
• The slump keeping behavior of concrete at the temperature less than 10°C
is much better than normal and it is more difficult at temperatures more
than 25°C.
FIGURE 7.6 Special concrete thermometers. (Photograph by the author.)
• The compressive strength growth of concrete at a temperature less than

10°C is much more than concrete at a temperature more than 25°C. It means
that at higher temperatures, concrete will take much of its final strength at
earlier ages like 7 days. But at lower temperatures the growth of strength
after the age of 7–28 days is more.
So, you can find many useful information from the temperature of concrete to make
the decision about the structure.
To measure concrete temperature, you should use special thermometers for con-
crete as you can see in Figure 7.6. This test should be in accordance with the ASTM
C1064 as the standard test method for temperature of freshly mixed Portland cement
concrete.
To control the temperature of concrete between 5°C and 32°C in cold and hot
weather conditions you should read the future chapter of this book about hot and cold
weather concreting.
7.1.6 Density of Fresh Concrete

Density or weight per volume of fresh concrete is important for the control of fresh
concrete quality because it can show us below specifications:
• Amount of air inside concrete which can be entrained air or entrapped air:
We can understand the amount of air is related to the compressive strength
of hardened concrete. For example, if the density of concrete without using
of air-entraining admixture will be very low, it shows that the amount of
entrapped air is very high. Sometimes, it is because of uncontrolled air
entraining of the super-plasticizer. This concrete will give us a compressive
strength much lower than before. So, it is better to reject this concrete.
• Density of aggregates: If we are using the same mix design as before and the
density of concrete will decrease, it can show us the lower density of aggre-
gates. Sometimes, it is because of the difference in the source of aggregates.
If the density of aggregates will be very low, it can affect the strength of
aggregates. So, you should take care of this problem.
• Approximately amount of cement and water used for the production of con-
crete: When you design a mix for a defined concrete by defined constitu-
ent materials, you will have a defined theoretical density for your concrete.
So, if the density of concrete will be lower than the theoretical density, it
shows that because of a problem that you may not control, you are using
less cement or more water in the production process and it is a very bad sign
that you should control. If the density will be very low, you should reject
the concrete.
For some types of concrete like light weight or heavy weight concrete,
you may need the exact density before using them in the structure. So, deter-
mining the density of concrete is very important.
The standard test method for the density of fresh concrete is ASTM C138. This is a
very simple test. You only need a special cylinder container with a defined volume
that you can see in Figure 7.7 and you need the rod that you used for tamping the
concrete in slump test. You should put concrete in three layers in the container and
tamp it with 25 strokes each time. Then you should use a rubber hammer for some
strokes beside the container for better compaction. Finally, you should plain the front
FIGURE 7.7 Container with defined volumes for the test of density. (Photograph by the
author.)
layer and clean the side of the container from concrete. Then you should weight the
container poured with concrete. Before starting the test, you should know the volume
and weight of the container. Now, you can calculate the weight of concrete inside the
container and divide the weight of concrete by the volume of the container to cal-
culate the density of concrete. As mentioned before, the density of normal concrete
using normal aggregates is about 2.4 kg/L.
7.1.7 Air Content of Fresh Concrete

As mentioned in the previous part of this chapter, we may calculate the density of
fresh concrete and see that the concrete has a lower density than we expected. At this
time, one of the dangerous problems could be a high amount of air inside the con-
crete which should cause a drastic decrease in the compressive strength. But several
other problems also could decrease the density of concrete. To be sure, the best way
is to measure the air content of concrete that we discuss it in this part.
On the other hand, we may use concrete with air-entraining admixtures. At this
time, it is very important to measure the exact amount of air inside the concrete,
because the amount of air should not exceed the defined percent because it can cause
decrease in compressive strength and should not be less than the defined percent
because it is necessary for the resistance of concrete against freeze thaw cycles.
We can derive many useful information about the quality of concrete that we are
going to use in the structural elements by measuring the air content.
We have two standard test methods for the air content of fresh concrete:
• ASTM C173: standard test method for the air content of freshly mixed con-
crete by the volumetric method. This method is based on the substitution
of air bubbles inside concrete by a mixture of water and isopropyl alcohol.
This method is more difficult and time consuming than the next method. So,
most of the time, we recommended to use the next method. If you buy the
instrument for this test method, they exactly described the procedure that
you should do for this test in their catalog.
• ASTM C231: standard test method for the air content of freshly mixed con-
crete by the pressure method. This method is based on the substitution of
water into air bubbles inside concrete by using pressure. This is a more
precise and simpler/faster test method for the evaluation of air contents in
concrete. So, we recommended this method for use. We have two types of
instruments for this test method that you can see in Figure 7.8. If you buy
each of them, the manufacturer will exactly explain the procedure that you
should use for the evaluation of air content inside fresh concrete.
Concrete with a higher amount of air will be more workable in all specifications like
the malleability and pumpability. But it will give you less compressive strength. So,
you should adjust the amount of air inside concrete. Most of the time, you can do it
by the adjustment of the super-plasticizer formulation.
According to the above mentioned, for normal concrete, we recommended
to maintain the air content inside concrete at less than 2% and more than 1.5%.
FIGURE 7.8 Instrument for ASTM C231 method. (Photograph by the author.)
But when you are using air-entraining admixtures, it is possible to use between 4%
and 6% of air inside the concrete. For this case, concrete will give you less compres-
sive strength. Each 1% of air will decrease the compressive strength by about 5%.
7.2 TESTS FOR HARDENED CONCRETE

The properties of hardened concrete are very important for using it on the structures.
In fact, we tested and controlled the properties of fresh concrete to make sure about
the properties of hardened concrete. Because, when we use a concrete in a structure,
improvement or any other change in the quality of concrete is not easy. We should
test the properties of hardened concrete to check the achievement of the final proper-
ties that we designed before.
When we design a structure with any method, it is not easily possible for us to
check and control the accuracy of the design because we cannot check the structure
with the final loads like earthquake load to check the design. But for concrete it is
different. We can design a concrete and then we can check all of the properties of
fresh and hardened phases. Then we can make some corrections if there is a need
and finally we will be sure about the use of concrete in the structure if we have good
quality control. So, testing the hardened concrete is very important for the checking
of concrete mix design and then for the quality control of the structure.
In this part, we discuss four important tests of hardened concrete. First is the most
important compressive strength which is important for the checking of structure.
Then we discuss the elastic modules of concrete which are related to the compressive
strength and the microstructure of concrete. Density of hardened concrete is the next
test that we discuss which is a little different from the density of fresh concrete and
the permeability of concrete will be the final test for hardened concrete which is very
important for the evaluation of the concrete and structure durability.
7.2.1 Compressive Strength Test

The compressive strength test is the most important test for hardened concrete. When
we would like to design a mix for concrete, we should focus on the desired compres-
sive strength. On the other hand, for each concrete structure, we designed the struc-
ture with a defined concrete compressive strength. So, it is very important to achieve
this target strength.
The test procedure is more or less the same in different standard test methods.
But the most important difference is the type of mold that you are going to use. The
ASTM C39 is the standard test method for the compressive strength of cylindrical
specimens according to the ASTM standard. We should use the 15 × 30 cylinder
molds for this test method. But in some parts of the world, we may use 15 × 15 × 15
cube molds or 10 × 20 cylinders. On the other hand, in most parts of the world we
should use the compressive strength of 15 × 30 cylinders at the age of 28 days for the
design of concrete structures. So, if we use other types of molds, we should convert
the results to the 15 × 30 cylinders because the cubic compressive strength is more
than the cylinder one and also the 10 × 20 cylinder compressive strength is more than
15 × 30 ones (Figures 7.9 and 7.10).
If you use cubic mold for the compressive strength test, you need to convert the
result to the cylindrical compressive strength, because as mentioned before, we
used cylinder compressive strength in the structural design. We have many different
FIGURE 7.9 Cylindrical mold at left and cubic mold at right. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 7.10 Cube specimens at left and cylinder specimens at right. (Photograph by the
author.)
TABLE 7.1
Conversion Coefficients for the 15 × 15 × 15 Cube to 15 × 30 Cylinder
Compressive Strength
15 × 15 × 15 cm
cube
specimen 25 MPa 30 MPa 35 MPa 40 MPa 45 MPa 50 MPa 55 MPa
Coefficient 0.8 0.833 0.857 0.875 0.889 0.9 0.909
15 × 30 cm 20 MPa 25 MPa 30 MPa 35 MPa 40 MPa 45 MPa 50 MPa
cylinder
specimen
conversion coefficients in different standards and codes. You can use the recom-
mended one in your country. Here you can see our suggestions in Table 7.1.
For compressive strength of more than 50 MPa we recommend the use of cylin-
der molds. You can see from the table above, when the compressive strength will
increase, the coefficient will be larger because the cube and cylinder compressive
strength will be nearer to each other.
For this test, you should pour the mold with concrete in three layers, each layer
with 25 strokes. Then you should plain the surface and let it remain for 24 hours.
After 24 hours you should get the molded concrete out of the mold and put it inside
the water curing tank. You can test the specimens after 3, 7, 11, and 28 days.
For testing the specimens, you should put them under the pressure of the concrete
testing machine (Figure 7.11). It will apply the load to the specimen till it will crush
and fail. Now, you can calculate the compressive strength of concrete according to
the type of specimen.
FIGURE 7.11 Concrete compressive strength testing machine. (Photograph by the author.)
For example, if a cube specimen failed after the loading of 80 tons, the compres-
sive strength will be 35.5 MPa for the cube and with the coefficients of Table 7.1 it
will be 30.5 MPa for the cylinder. But if you used a cylinder specimen and it failed
after the loading of 80 tons the compressive strength will be 45.3 MPa for cylinder.
The accuracy of the compressive strength test is very important. You should use
the calibrated testing machine. For cube specimens you should use stiff molds like
steel or thick plastic because the plain surface for the specimens is very important
for the distribution of load on the surface and it has an effect on the compressive
strength as big as 50%. For cylinder specimens as you should use the upper surface
which is a hand-made surface and it is not a plain surface for testing, you should use
suitable capping for that. The capping will do with a special instrument that you can
see in Figure 7.12 to make a plain surface for cylinder specimens. For lower strength
less than 35 Mpa, you can use dental plaster as the capping material or you can use
high-quality capping pads (Figure 7.13). For the compressive strength more than 35
to 70 MPa you can use a mixture of silica sand and melted sulfur as the capping mate-
rial and for higher strength, it is recommended to make a plain surface with cutting
(Figure 7.14).
FIGURE 7.12 Capping instrument at left and capped cylinder specimens at right.
FIGURE 7.13 Capping pad mold. (Photograph by the author.)
7.2.2 Concrete Elastic Modules and Poisson’s Ratio Test

One of the important mechanical properties of concrete is the elastic modules and
Poisson’s ratio, which is used for structural analysis, especially for the drift of struc-
ture. So, it is important to test a hardened concrete to check its elastic modules.
FIGURE 7.14 Cutter for the cylinder specimen of high-strength concrete. (“Concrete cut-
ting” by Bicanski the photograph is copyright free.)
The definition of elastic or Young module is the slope of stress-strain curve for any
kind of material which shows us the amount of deformation under the special stress
which could be tensile or compression. For concrete, we need the elastic modules in
compression mode.
The definition of Poisson’s ratio in compression is the ratio of transverse strain
to the axial strain which shows us the ratio of deformation between two axles of a
specimen.
The standard test method for elastic modules and Poisson’s ratio of concrete in
compression is the ASTM C469. In this test method, you should apply force with the
concrete testing machine to a standard 15 × 30 cylinder specimen. During applying
the force, you should measure the deformation of concrete specimen with the special
instrument that you can see in Figure 7.15. Then you can calculate the elastic mod-
ules and Poisson’s ratio by the data derived from this test. The data consist of the
stress on the specimen during the time and the strain on two axles of the specimen
during the time. By using this data and according to the above definitions, you can
calculate the elastic modules and Poisson’s ratio of concrete in compression.
If we are not going to do the ASTM C469 for the evaluation of the elastic modules
of concrete, we can use some formulation for the calculation of the elastic modules by
using the date from the compressive strength test. There are too many formulations
in different texts and lectures. But the most useful formula is as below:
= 5000 √f’c
E
In the above formulae, the f’c is the standard 15 × 30 cylinder compressive strength
of concrete at the age of 28 days in MPa and E is the elastic modules of concrete in
MPa. You can use the formulae, for concretes with a compressive strength less than
50 Mpa. For more compressive strength, we have different formulations. But as the
form and type of concrete stress-strain curve will be different, it is recommended to
use the ASTM C469 for the calculation of the elastic modules of concrete because
FIGURE 7.15 Instrument for testing of elastic modules and Poisson’s ratio of concrete.
60
50
40
Stress (Mpa)
30
20
10
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Strain (%)
C30 C40 C50
FIGURE 7.16 Stress-strain curve for different types of concrete. (Graph created by the
author.)
the stress-strain curve for the high-strength concrete is different with the normal con-
crete. For high-strength concrete, the deformation of concrete after the final stress
will be very high because the concrete will be more brittle than the normal concrete.
You can see the behavior of normal and high-strength concrete in Figure 7.16.
7.2.3 Density of Hardened Concrete

Test of density is very important for fresh concrete. We can extract many useful
information from this test. We can evaluate the density of hardened concrete for
checking the mix design and production process of concrete.
Most of the time, there is no much difference between the fresh and hardened con-
crete density instead of some types of special concrete made with the aggregates with
high absorption rate. You can use European standard test method for the density of
hardened concrete EN12390-7 or the ASTM C642. This is a very simple test method.
Just you should measure the dimensions of the specimen with a Collis (Figure 7.17).
Then you should calculate the volume of specimen according to the shape. For cubic
specimens, you should use the formulation of the cube volume by multiplying the
length to the width to the height of the cube. For the cylindrical specimens, you
should multiply the radius of the circle to itself to the π to the height of the cylinder.
After calculating the volume, you should weight the specimens accurately.
Finally, you should calculate the density by dividing the weight to the volume of the
specimen.
Before testing the specimens, you should take them out of the curing water and
dry their surface with a napkin or let them remain in the air till the surface will be
dry. But you should not let the total moisture come out of the specimen.
Most of the time, the density of hardened concrete will calculate when you would
like to test the specimens for the compressive strength. So, you will have values in
different ages. But there is no any difference for the density of concrete in different
ages.
FIGURE 7.17 Collis for the accurate measurement of the length. (Photograph by the author.)
For example, if you have a cube specimen with the dimensions of 14.9 × 15 × 14.9 cm,
we will have the volume of this cube as 3330 cm3. If this specimen weight will be
8050 g, then the density of hardened concrete for this specimen will be 2.417 kg/L.
If you have a cylinder specimen with the circle diameter of 15.1 cm and the height
of 29.9 cm we will have the volume as 5352 cm3. If the weight of this specimen will
be 12930 g, then the density will be 2.416 kg/L.
7.2.4 Permeability of Concrete

As mentioned before, the permeability of concrete is the key point to measure the
durability of structures. Because all of the chemical ions and water should infiltrate
into the concrete, then they can damage the concrete or steel bars. So, if we can make
an impermeable concrete, we can protect the concrete structure from the corrosion.
So, checking the permeability of concrete is very important.
To check the permeability of concrete, we have different tests in different texts
and standards with different accuracy. Here we discuss two simple tests with low
accuracy and then about a more complicated test with very high accuracy.
The first test is not exactly a defined test for the permeability of concrete. This is
a test for the evaluation of water absorption of concrete specimens. It is the ASTM
C642, standard test method for density, absorption, and voids in hardened concrete.
We can call this test immersion permeability test (Figure 7.18).
For this test, first you should oven dry the concrete specimens and weigh them
accurately, then you should let them cool at the room temperature and immerse
them inside the water for 24 hours and again weigh them accurately. The difference
between these two weights is the weight of water infiltrated into the concrete speci-
mens. We can announce it as the percent by weight of the specimen.
For high-quality impermeable concrete, the amount of water that can infiltrate
into the concrete specimen will be much less than a low-quality permeable concrete.
So, the result of this test can be used as criteria for the permeability of concrete.
FIGURE 7.18 Concrete specimens immersed in water. (Photograph by the author.)

For this test, you can use any type of concrete specimen, but the best choice is
the standard 15 × 30 cylinder specimens. If you do the test accurately, the results for
different types of concrete specimens should not be much different from each other.
The other test method for the evaluation of concrete permeability is, ASTM
C1585 which is a test for the measurement of increasing the weight of an oven-dried
concrete specimen in contact with water from one surface. Water can penetrate the
capillary pores of the concrete specimen from one surface. Then you should measure
the weight increased over time till you will achieve a stable weight. This can show
you the behavior of concrete in contact with water and other chemical ions. But as
most of the time, the concrete is not oven dried in real projects, it is not an accurate
test for the evaluation of concrete permeability.
The most useful standard test method for the measurement of concrete perme-
ability is the EN12390-8 which is a very accurate test for this purpose. For this test,
water will apply on the surface of concrete specimen with a defined pressure of 5
bars. The applied surface is a circle with a diameter of 75 mm. After 72 hours, we
should measure the amount of water penetrated into the concrete specimen. To do it,
we should cut the specimens in the direction of the pressure and measure the length
of water penetration accurately.
This test is for high-quality low permeable concrete. For concrete with high per-
meability, we cannot do this test, because the water will penetrate and pass through
the specimen length.
7.3 TEST OF CONCRETE IN THE STRUCTURES

Instead of testing concrete in fresh and hardened phases, sometimes there is a need to
check the concrete in the structure. There are too many reasons for testing hardened
concrete in the structures. Some of them are as below:
• Questionable results for hardened concrete especially in the compressive

strength test.
• A very important structure on which we need more confidence.
• Not giving enough samples from concrete when we were pouring the
structure.
• Objection about the hardened concrete test results from the contractor.
• Defects in the performance of the structures especially in the concrete pro-
duction process.
• Change in concrete structure out of the structure sheets and there is a need
for checking the structure.
• Need more loads than the designed loads of structure.
As you can see in the abovementioned, checking the concrete in the
structure is a very common request from the contractors or supervisors.
So, we discuss the most important methods for checking concrete in the
structure. We have two types of methods overall for the concrete checking
in the structure:
• Non-destructive test methods: In these test methods, we are not going to destruct
any part of the structure. These test methods are very important for the struc-
tures with high sensitivity because we cannot destroy any part of a sensitive
structure. So, most of the time, the supervisors suggest us non-destructive test
methods. On the other hand, the accuracy of non-destructive test methods is not
highly trustable. So, we can only use them for checking the structure. You can-
not trust their result for the design check or design change of structures.
In this book, we discuss two non-destructive test methods which are the
most common ones in the world. The first one is the ultrasonic test of con-
crete structures and the second one is the Schmidt hammer test.
• Destructive test methods: The other test method for checking concrete struc-
tures is the destructive test methods. As you can find from its name, we
should destroy a little part of the structure for testing the concrete. Most of
the time, this little deficiency is not very important for the performance of
concrete structure. But making decision about these tests is only acceptable
for the supervising system of the project. They should check the structure
analysis to inform which part of the structure could be acceptable for destruc-
tion. Most of the time, for very important and sensitive structures there is no
permission to use destructive test methods. For these structures, the quality
control of concrete during the implementation is very important. So, in the
future, there are no needs for the destructive checking of the structure.
In this book, we discuss the most important technique for destructive
testing of concrete structures which is the core test of concrete. This is a
very accurate test method. You can trust the results for any purpose consist-
ing of changing the structure.
One of the most important researches in concrete technology is on the newer non-
destructive test methods with high accuracy. But till now, there is no method with
high accuracy. So, if you need high accuracy for checking the structure, the only way
is the destructive test methods, especially core testing.
7.3.1 Ultrasonic Test
One of the most common non-destructive test methods for checking concrete struc-
tures is the ultrasonic test. This method is based on the difference in the speed of
ultrasonic waves in different structures according to the compaction of that. The
speed of ultrasonic waves will be higher in a denser concrete than a weaker one. So,
we can make a link between the concrete compressive strength and the ultrasonic
wave speed because the more compressive strength will result in a denser micro-
structure in concrete.
Unfortunately, the only parameter for the difference in the speed of ultrasonic
waves is not the compressive strength of concrete, Types of aggregates, especially
the coarse ones, aggregates gradation in concrete, maximum size of coarse aggre-
gates, and amount of air inside the concrete, are the other important factors for the
ultrasonic wave speed in concrete. So, this is not an accurate test for the evaluation
of compressive strength.
The other important parameter that you can check by using the ultrasonic test
method is the crack depth and diameter. So, if you see a crack on the surface of the
structure, you can check the depth and diameter of the cracks and evaluate the prob-
lems of the cracks.
There are too many formulations for the correlation between the ultrasonic wave
speed and the compressive strength. But most of them are not useful enough instead
of giving you an idea about the compressive strength of concrete. The best way is to
calibrate the ultrasonic test instrument with your concrete with the same mix design,
aggregate, and other constituent materials. In this way, you can check the structures
poured with your concrete and compare them with the results that you have in the
laboratory. This is the most accurate way to use the ultrasonic test method. If you
changed any part of your concrete constituent materials, you should calibrate the
instrument again.
You can see a picture of the ultrasonic test instrument in Figure 7.19. You can use
the instrument two poles on two sides of the structural element for example two sides
of a column. The ultrasonic wave will start from each pole and go through the con-
crete to receive to the other pole of the instrument. Then the instrument will calculate
and show you the wave speed. Some of the instruments can contact a computer to
correlate the wave speed and compressive strength. But for other instruments, you
should make the correlation by your manual calculations.
The other problem with using the ultrasonic test method is the effect of steel bars
on the speed of the ultrasonic wave. As the microstructure of the steel is denser than
any type of concrete, the ultrasonic wave will pass it with more speed than concrete.
So, the steel bars between two poles of the ultrasonic test instrument will cause
an error in the evaluation of concrete quality. For example, if you are checking a
concrete column, you will see this problem by checking of different heights of the
FIGURE 7.19 Multipurpose ultrasonic test instrument. (“Ultrasonic Testing Machine show-
ing readings” by Abhijit Nandi used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Unported license.)
column because of different amount of the rebars. So, you should try to check the
pure concrete in the structure, if it is possible. If not, you should check the structural
sheets for the evaluation of the exact amount of rebars in the section and find a suit-
able correction coefficient for the rebars. Ultrasonic instrument manufacturers give
you some tables for the rebar correction coefficient that you can use and you can
make a calibration to your instrument by using different amount of steel in the check-
ing specimens and control the effect of the steel bars.
7.3.2 Schmidt Hammer Test

Another non-destructive test method that you can use for checking concrete struc-
tures is the Schmidt rebound hammer test (Figures 7.20 and 7.21). This test is based
FIGURE 7.20 Schmidt test hammer mechanism. (“Concrete test hammer” by Boughattas
Omar used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
FIGURE 7.21 Testing concrete surface with Schmidt test hammer. (“Schmidt hammer test-
ing” by Arjuncm3 used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
license.)
on the fact that a harder surface will have a higher rebound. For example, if you shoot
a ball on a surface of a mattress, you will have a very low rebound. But if you shoot
the ball on a concrete wall, you will see a very high rebound. Schmidt hammer was
made according to this fact that a harder concrete will have a higher rebound. So, you
can calibrate the hammer to give an idea about the compressive strength of concrete.
Like the ultrasonic test method, for Schmidt hammer test also the accuracy is very
low. You can calibrate the test hammer with your concrete with the same constituent
materials to give more accurate results from testing the structures poured with your
concrete. But generally, you cannot get a trustable result.
One of the problems for this test is the limitation of the rebound value for higher
strengths. So, the accuracy for high-strength concrete is much lower than normal. For
example, it is possible to get the same rebound value for a 55 and 70 MPa concrete
with the Schmidt test hammer.
FIGURE 7.22 Calibration curve for a Schmidt test hammer. (Photograph created by the
author.)
The other problem of this test method is the effect of coarse size aggregates inside
concrete on the rebound value. For example, if you put the Schmidt hammer on the
surface of concrete which you have 25–32 mm aggregates exactly under the surface,
you will get a rebound value more than real. So, for concrete with the maximum
size of coarse aggregates more than 25 mm the Schmidt rebound test will not give
you good results. This problem is also important for the steel bars. If the steel bars
remained exactly under the surface or with very low distance with the surface, you
will see this problem.
The manufacturers of the test hammers will give you a calibration figure that you
can see a sample of it in Figure 7.22. But it is strongly recommended that the calibra-
tion should check with your concrete constituent materials.
7.3.3 Concrete Core Test

As mentioned before, non-destructive tests for concrete are not accurate test meth-
ods. So, you cannot trust their results. Sometimes, you need a trustable test to check
the structure. In this case, you should go for the destructive test methods.
There are different destructive test methods for concrete structures. The most
important one is the core test which is a specimen of concrete you poured into the
structure.
Core test will be use when you have a problem with the test results of the speci-
mens got at the time of concreting. For example, you get the compressive strength
result less than defined. So, you should check the structural elements for the exact
amount of compressive strength and then check the structure design with that. Then
you will find if there is a need for any repair or empowerment. On the other hand, you
should make a design for repairing the defects that happened because of the cores
taken from the structure.
For the core test, first you should take a core specimen with a special core test
machine that can cut the concrete and bring out the cores from the concrete element
(Figures 7.23 and 7.24). Then you should make a good capping for the two surfaces
of the specimens as mentioned for the capping of cylinder specimens. You can use
FIGURE 7.23 Huge core taking machine for asphalt and concrete. (“Truck mounted core
drill with 14” barrel” by User: Toiyabe used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share
Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
FIGURE 7.24 Core taken from the concrete structure. (“Concrete core and slices” by
Yingwu Zhou, Hao Tian, Lili Sui, Feng Xing, Ningxu Han used under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.)
the same procedure and materials mentioned before for this purpose. The only dif-
ference is the size of specimens. You can take cores with a diameter of 50 to 120 mm
from the structure. If you used lower sizes, you should use special equipment for cap-
ping or cutting the surfaces and also use the mortar test machine for the compressive
strength test. So, it is better to use cores with higher diameter like 80 mm and more
if it is possible according to the structural element type and size.
After capping, you can use the cores for the compressive strength test by using a
suitable testing machine according to the size of the core specimen.
If you got the core from pure concrete, you can use the compressive strength result
after converting it to the standard cylinder compressive strength. But if there are any
rebars on each side of the core specimen, you should use correction factors.
Most of the time, you should use core test for the compressive strength of concrete
but you can use the core specimens for the evaluation of other concrete properties
like density or permeability.
REFERENCES
ASTM C33-01.
ASTM C150-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Flow Table for Use in
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Coal Fly Ash and
C618-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Fiber Reinforced
Concrete and Shotcrete, ASTM C1116-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Flexural strength of
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Chemical Analysis of
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Materials Finer than 75
μm in Aggregates by Washing, ASTM C117-95.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Autoclave Expansion
of Portland Cement, ASTM C151-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Time of Setting of
Hydraulic Cement by Vicat Needle, ASTM C191-99.
Elasticity and Poisson’s Ratio of Concrete in Compression, ASTM C469-94.
Arjuncm3, “Schmidt hammer testing” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Schmidt_hammer_testing.jpg.
Bicanski, “Concrete cutting” Retrieved from: https://pixnio.com/media/concrete-cutting-
saw-cutter-industrial#.
Cjp24, “Capillary rheometer” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Capillary_
rheometer.jpg.
Cleynen, Olivier, “rheometer” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Rheometer.jpg,
EN480 Series.
Series.
Method, 2015.
2015.
Knipptang, “Flow test after.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flow_
Test_after.jpg.
Knipptang, “Flow test before.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Flow_Test_before.jpg.
Mohammadi, 2007.
MTA Construction & Development Mega Projects, “Conducting a slump test on the con-
crete to ensure the workability of the freshly poured concrete before using it in the
future LIRR passenger concourse.” Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/
mtacc-esa/50887549448.
Nandi, Abhijit, “Ultrasonic Testing Machine showing readings” Retrieved from: https://com-
mons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ultrasonic_Testing_Machine_showing_readings.jpg.
2003.
Omar, Boughattas, “Concrete test hammer” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/
wiki/File:Dessin_d%27ensemble_d%27un_scl%C3%A9rom%C3%A8tre.jpg.
Publications, 1992.

User: Toiyabe, “Truck mounted core drill with 14” barrel” Retrieved from: https://commons.
wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Core_drill_06_2005.jpg.
Zhou, Yingwu, Hao Tian, Lili Sui, Feng Xing, Ningxu Han, “Concrete core and slices”
Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slice-machine-and-the-
samples.jpg.
8 Durability of Concrete
Structures
Durability is defined as the ability of concrete structures to resist the corrosive envi-
ronment. The important factor for this ability is the quality of concrete because a
high-quality concrete is an impermeable one that can control the infiltration of corro-
sive materials and water into concrete. So, the most important way to make a durable
structure is by making and using an impermeable concrete.
In this chapter, first we discuss the different corrosive environments which destroy
the concrete or steel bars inside that. Then we will talk about the minimum speci-
fications that we should mention for concrete to control corrosion against different
environmental conditions. So, we will have a minimum concrete quality for each
environment that we should consider to ensure the durability of the structure.
For this purpose, we should use a defined standard. We have many different stan-
dards for the durability design of concrete structures in different parts of the world.
Each of these standards is developed according to the local environmental condi-
tions. For example, the environmental conditions in the seaside of the Persian Gulf
and Oman sea are much harsher than the environmental conditions in the center of
Europe. So, you should consider higher specifications for the concrete that you are
going to use on the seaside of the Persian Gulf. So, some of the minimum specifi-
cations in the Persian Gulf countries should be much higher than in the European
countries (Figure 8.1).
In this book, we are going to use EN206-1 standard for the minimum specifi-
cations and divisions of structures against the corrosive environment. But you can
use any different standard or code for this purpose. The important point is that the
specifications defined here are minimum amounts for each kind of structure against
different environmental conditions. If you would like to make a durable structure
with a high safety factor, it is recommended to make your concrete with higher speci-
fications than the minimum ones.
8.1 PARAMETERS AFFECTING CONCRETE DURABILITY

To make a durable concrete structure, you should consider below specifications and
parameters:
• Make an impermeable concrete: As mentioned before, corrosive ions and

water cannot leach inside an impermeable concrete. So, the corrosion will
control.
• Making a concrete with low water-to-binder ratio: To make an impermeable
concrete, you should try to make a concrete with low water-to-binder ratio.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-8 209

FIGURE 8.1 Persian Gulf and sea of Oman, one of the harshest parts of the world for con-
crete structures. (“The Gulf” by European Space Agency.)
• Using supplementary cementitious materials: To decrease the water-to-

cement ratio and according to the barriers for the maximum amount of pure
Portland cement, you should use supplementary cementitious materials.
Using these materials will help to make more C-H-S in concrete and it can
help you to make an impermeable concrete. On the other hand, supplemen-
tary cementitious materials can help us to block the pores inside concrete
because they are fine powders.
• Using super-plasticizers: To decrease the water-to-binder ratio, you should
use a strong super-plasticizer to decrease the amount of water you are
going to use for concrete production. On the other hand, using the super-
plasticizers will help you to make a workable concrete. So, you can pour the
structural elements with maximum compaction.
• Using suitable type of cement: For different conditions, you should choose
suitable type of cement to control the corrosion. For example, for the envi-
ronment with high amount of sulfate ion, you should use type V Portland
cement and for the environment with chloride and sulfate ions together, you
should use type II Portland cement.
Durability of Concrete Structures 211
• Use more concrete cover for the steel bars: When you use more cover for
the steel bars, the corrosive materials, especially the chloride ion and car-
bonation will arrive at the steel bars with delay. So, you can delay the start
of corrosion.
• Make a high-performance concrete: If you would like to consider all of the
above, you should make a high-performance concrete with high compres-
sive strength, minimum permeability, and high workability. The strength
of concrete itself don’t have any effect on the durability of structures, but if
you use a higher compressive strength you will have a lower water-to-binder
ratio and you will have lower permeability. So, the compressive strength
class of concrete will be important for the durability of the structure.
To design a concrete structure according to the durability considerations, first, we

should make a category for the structures according to their importance. For this
purpose, you can use Table 8.1 derived from the European standard.
8.2 DURABILITY AGAINST CARBONATION

One of the corrosive materials for the steel bars inside concrete is carbon dioxide.
In big cities with high amounts of air pollution, carbon dioxide which is the most
important pollutant of the air can react with moisture and make carbonic acid. This
carbonic acid can leach into the concrete element, if the permeability of concrete lets
it go through. The concrete environment itself is alkaline. This alkaline environment
can help to protect the steel bars against corrosion. When the carbonic acid goes
inside the concrete, it will decrease the pH value of the concrete environment. So,
if it can reach the steel bars, the corrosion will start. After spending time, the cor-
roded rebars will swell and will cause some signs of the rebars on the surface of the
concrete. After more time, it can cause scalding on the surface of the rebars. You can
see also Chapter 1 for more information about carbonation.
TABLE 8.1
Categories of Service Life for Structures in European Standard
Category Years of Service Life Examples
1 10 Temporary structures
2 10–25 Replaceable parts of structures
like supports
3 15–30 Structures for agriculture and
similar uses
4 50 Buildings and other common
structures like houses, schools
and hospitals
5 100 Memorial buildings, bridges, and
other civil engineering
structures
As mentioned above, carbonation could be very dangerous for concrete structures

in big cities, especially the ones that are in the fresh air like bridges. So, you should
make the concrete with defined properties to control the effects of carbonation.
For this purpose, first, you should use Table 8.2 for the evaluation of the environ-
ment and the harshness of it for the structures that we would like to build. Then you
should use Tables 8.3 and 8.4 as the suggestions for concrete minimum specification
to protect the structure against carbonation.
It is very important to mention that the specifications that you can see in the tables
above are the minimum quality defined for a concrete to resist against carbonation.
So, it is strongly recommended to use a higher quality concrete to get the best results.
On the other hand, using supplementary cementitious materials can help you to pro-
duce a higher quality concrete.
TABLE 8.2
Exposure Classes for Corrosion Induced by Carbonation
Exposure Class Definitions Examples
XC1 Dry or permanently humid Concrete inside the building with low air humidity,
concrete permanently under water
XC2 Humid, rarely dry Concrete surface with long time of contacting with water
XC3 Moderately humid Concrete inside the buildings with moderate or high
humidity, exterior concrete protected from rain
XC4 Cyclically humid and dry Concrete surfaces contacting with water
TABLE 8.3
Minimum Specification Limits for Concrete to Protect From
Corrosion Against Carbonation for the Service Life of 50 Years
Exposure Class XC1 XC2 XC3 XC4
Minimum rebar cover (mm) 25 35 35 40
Maximum w/c ratio 0.65 0.65 0.55 0.55
Minimum cement content 260 260 300 300
(kg/m3)
Minimum compressive C25 C25 C30 C30
strength class
TABLE 8.4
Corrosion Against Carbonation for the Service Life of 100
Years
Exposure Class XC1 XC2 XC3 XC4
Minimum rebar cover (mm) 35 45 45 50
Maximum w/c ratio 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5
Minimum cement content (kg/m3) 280 280 320 320
Minimum compressive strength class C35 C35 C40 C40
8.3 DURABILITY AGAINST CHLORIDE ION

Chloride ion is very dangerous for reinforced concrete structures because it can leach
to the structure and when it arrived at the steel bars, the corrosion will start rapidly.
The corrosion is because of the electrochemical reaction between the chloride ion
and the steel bars and it will cause a very bad and rapid corrosion of the rebars inside
the concrete structure. For more information about the chloride attack, you can see
Chapter 1.
The chloride ion comes from two important sources. One is from the sea water.
The chloride ion from the sea water could be very dangerous because of the high
concentration, especially for the structures exposed to the sea waves or tide areas.
But this is not the only way that sea water could destroy the structures. Chloride ion
from the sea water can transport by air to places much far from the sea side. The
water contains chloride ion that will evaporate from the sea and transfer by wind
and air turbulence to places far from the sea side. Then it can leach to the concrete
structures and start the corrosion of the steel bars. You can see corrosion of the steel
bars at places more than 100 km far from the sea side.
The other important source of chloride ions is the deicing salts that we may use
in winter to protect the street surface from icing. These salts contain chloride ions. It
can transfer to concrete structures like parking columns or bridge slabs by the tires of
vehicles. So, this source of chloride ion could be very dangerous especially in places
with very hard and cold winters or high amounts of snowing.
To protect the concrete structures from the chloride ion, first you should use
Tables 8.5 and 8.6 for the category of structures exposed to the chloride ion. Table
8.5 is for the structures exposed to the sea water and Table 8.6 is for the structures
exposed to the other sources of the chloride ion specially deicing salts. Then you
should use Tables 8.7 and 8.8 for the minimum concrete properties for the service
life of 50 and 100 years.
As you can see in the tables above, the chloride ion is a very destructive ion that
can be much corrosive than the other chemicals. So, the specifications and quality of
concrete exposed to the chloride ion should be much higher than the other environ-
ments. On the other hand, if you have higher concentrations of the chloride ion and/
or high temperature during most of the year, you should make a higher quality and it
is recommended to use a concrete with the specifications more than the tables above.
The most famous example of a place with a higher concentration of chloride and
sulfate and also high temperature most of the year is the countries on the sea side of
the Persian Gulf and the sea of Oman as mentioned before.
TABLE 8.5
Exposure Classes for Corrosion Induced by the Chloride Ion of
Sea Water
Exposure Class Definition Examples
XS1 Air transported salts but not Structures near the coastal areas
direct contact with sea water
XS2 Permanently under water Parts of marine structures
XS3 Tide and splash areas Parts of marine structures
TABLE 8.6
Exposure Classes for Corrosion Induced by the Chloride Ion Instead of the
Sea Water
Exposure Class Definition Examples
XD1 Moderately humid Concrete surfaces exposed to the chloride transferred by
air
XD2 Humid, rarely dry Swimming pools and concrete exposed to industrial
water contain chloride
XD3 Cyclically humid and dry Parts of bridges or slabs of car parking exposed to splash
of water contain chloride
TABLE 8.7
Corrosion Against Chloride for the Service Life of 50 Years
Exposure Class XS1/XD1 XS2/XD2 XS3/XD3
Minimum rebar cover (mm) 45 50 55
Maximum w/c ratio 0.45 0.45 0.4
Minimum cement content 360 360 380
(kg/m3)
Minimum compressive C40 C40 C50
strength class
TABLE 8.8
Corrosion Against Chloride for the Service Life of 100 Years
Exposure Class XS1/XD1 XS2/XD2 XS3/XD3
Minimum rebar cover (mm) 55 60 65
Minimum cement content (kg/m3) 380 380 400
Minimum compressive strength class C50 C50 C60
8.4 DURABILITY AGAINST SULFATE ION

Sulfate ion is one of the other corrosive chemicals which can destroy the concrete
itself. It will not attack the steel bars inside the concrete. It will attack the C3A of
cement and cause a very bad corrosion from the surface of concrete exposed to the
sulfate ion.
The concrete elements could be exposed to sulfate ion from the soil or water.
Sometimes, the sulfate ion could be in water which is in contact with the concrete
elements, like sea water. The sea water contains a high amount of sulfate. So,
good protection is needed in the case of sulfate ion for the structures near the sea.
Some of the other water resources instead of sea water could contain sulfate ions with
different concentrations. On the other hand, sulfate ion could be one of the chemicals
in the soil. So, it can attack some structural elements like foundations that should be
in contact with the soil. For more information about the sulfate attack, you can see
Chapter 1.
Sulfate ion , the aggressive CO2 dissolved in water, NH4+ and Mg2+ which can
cause high acidity in the environment categorized as the chemical attack. You can
see Table 8.9 for the different categories of the structures exposed to the chemical
attack and then you can see Tables 8.10 and 8.11 for the minimum properties for con-
crete to protect the structure against the chemical attack, especially the sulfate ion.
The important parameter that you can see in Tables 8.10 and 8.11 is the type of
cement according to the ASTM standard. If you have only sulfate ion in the environ-
ment you should use type V cement. But if you have sulfate and chloride ion together
in the environment, the best choice is type II cement. On the other hand, the best
cement for the environment with only chloride ion is type I cement.
TABLE 8.9
Exposure Classes for the Corrosion Induced by the Chemicals Specially
Sulfate Ion
Exposure Class XA1 XA2 XA3
Exposed to water
SO4 (mg/L) >200e<600 >600e<3000 >3000e<6000
pH >5.5e<6.5 >4.5e<5.5 >4e<4.5
Aggressive CO2 (mg/L) >15e<40 >40e<100 >100 and more
NH4 (mg/L) >15e<30 >30e<60 >60e<100
Mg (mg/L) >300e<1000 >1000e<3000 >3000 and more
Exposed to soil
SO4 (mg/kg) >2000e<3000 >3000e<12000 >12000e<24000
Acidity (mL/kg) >200 – –
TABLE 8.10
Minimum Specification Limits for Concrete to Protect From Corrosion
Against Chemical Attack, especially the Sulfate Ion for Service Life of 50
Years
Type of cement Type II Type II Type V
TABLE 8.11
Minimum Specification Limits for Concrete to Protect From Corrosion
Against Chemical Attack, especially the Sulfate Ion for Service Life of 100
Years
Type of cement Type II Type II Type V
8.5 DURABILITY AGAINST FREEZE THAW

The condition that you will have the problem of freeze thaw is the temperature more
than 0°C at day time and temperature below 0°C at night time. At this condition, if
you have enough moisture in the environment, expansion of water during icing pro-
cess will cause stress in the concrete element and as this hard process will cyclically
happen during days and nights, it can destroy the concrete element. So, controlling
this cycle is very important.
If you have cold winter in a region, you will have these cycles of freezing and
thawing. So, you will have this condition at a minimum 50% of the places in the
world. You can see more information about the freeze-thaw cycles in Chapter 1. You
learned that it is very important to use a concrete with entrapped air to control the
freeze-thaw cycles effect on concrete elements.
To protect the concrete structures from the effects of freeze-thaw cycles, first you
should use Table 8.12 for the category of structure exposed to the freeze-thaw cycles.
Then you should use Tables 8.13 and 8.14 for the minimum concrete properties for
the service life of 50 and 100 years.
TABLE 8.12
Exposure Classes for Concrete Structures Exposed to Freeze Thaw
Cycles
Exposure Class Definition Example
XF1 Moderately saturated with water Vertical concrete surfaces
without deicing salts exposed to rain and ice
XF2 Moderately saturated with water Vertical concrete surfaces in road
with deicing salts structures exposed to ice and
deicing salts transported with
air
XF3 Highly saturated with water Horizontal concrete surfaces
without deicing salts exposed to rain and ice
XF4 Highly saturated with deicing Roads and bridges exposed to
salts rain and ice with deicing salts
or splash of deicing salts
TABLE 8.13
Minimum Specification Limits for Concrete to Protect From Freeze
Thaw Cycles for Service Life of 50 Years
Exposure Class XF1 XF2 XF3 XF4
Maximum w/c ratio 0.55 0.55 0.5 0.45
Minimum air content (%) – 4% 4% 4%
TABLE 8.14
Minimum Specification Limits for Concrete to Protect From Freeze Thaw
Cycles for Service Life of 100 Years
Exposure Class XF1 XF2 XF3 XF4
Maximum w/c ratio 0.5 0.5 0.45 0.4
Minimum air content (%) – 4% 4% 4%
As you can see in the tables above, deicing salts in the environment will cause
more destruction of the structure because the synergy between the scalding of con-
crete against the deicing salts and the cracks in the structure of concrete element will
cause faster corrosion of the concrete element.
We have other codes and standards with different recommendations for concrete
against freeze-thaw cycles. But most of the time, they focused on the amount of air
inside the concrete element. For example, the ACI recommended using air-entraining
admixtures to get at least 6% of air inside a concrete element exposed to the condi-
tion of high saturation with deicing salts. So, you should use the codes and standards
in your area to get the best results for each purpose because the local standards are
designed according to the local environment and constituent materials.
8.6 EXAMPLE FOR THE DURABILITY OF A CONCRETE STRUCTURE

In this part, we are going to check the durability characteristics of two projects in two
different parts of the world and use the recommendations of this chapter to design a
suitable concrete.
8.7 FIRST PROJECT: BRIDGE DECK IN NORTH EUROPE

The first project is a concrete bridge in north of the Europe on a highway between
two cities. The project is in one of the Scandinavian countries (Figure 8.2).
FIGURE 8.2 North European countries. (“Map of Northern Europe” by Nathan Hughes
Hamilton.)
For this project, we should check the different possibilities for the corrosion envi-
ronment. On the other hand, as the project is a bridge, we can find from Table 8.1 that
the durability of this structure should be 100 years.
• Carbonation: As this bridge is in northern Europe and outside the big cities,
there is no high amount of carbon dioxide in the air. So, we don’t have cor-
rosion with carbonation.
• Chloride: We don’t have the chloride of sea water here. But we have the
chloride of deicing salts in cold winters of Scandinavian countries with a
high amount of snowing during the year. We should check Table 8.6 and see
that this project is a bridge that will be cyclically humid and dry. So, it is in
the category of XD3.
Now, we should check Table 8.8 for the durability of 100 years against the chloride
ion and we can see below specifications for the XD3 category:
• Minimum rebar cover: 65 mm

• Maximum w/c ratio: 0.35
• Minimum cement content: 400 kg/m3
• Minimum compressive strength class: C60
• Sulfate: As we are talking about the deck of bridge, we know that it will not
be in contact with the soil. On the other hand, we don’t have airborne sulfate
of sea water or other chemicals. So, the structure will not be in the danger of
corrosion by chemicals, especially sulfate ion.
• Freeze thaw: This is another important environmental condition for this
bridge because the weather in northern Europe is very cold at most months
of a year and we have the condition of freeze thaw in this part of the world.
We should check Table 8.12 for the category of structure. As this bridge
deck will be highly saturated with water according to the high amount of
rain and snow in this part of the world and we have the deicing salts in win-
ter, this will be in the category of XF4.
Then we should check Table 8.14 for the minimum specifications of concrete for the
durability of 100 years as below:
• Minimum w/c ratio: 0.4

• Minimum air content: 4%
Now for the final specifications of concrete for this structure, you can see Table 8.15.
8.8 SECOND PROJECT: COMMERCIAL BUILDING IN

A BIG CITY NEAR THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
The second project is a commercial building in an offshore big city near the south
China sea (Figure 8.3).
TABLE 8.15
Concrete Specifications for a Bridge Deck in Northern Europe
Durability Against Durability Against
Concrete Specification Chloride Ion Freeze Thaw Final Suggestions
Minimum rebar cover (mm) 65 – 65
Minimum air content (%) – 4 4
FIGURE 8.3 Countries near the South China sea. (“China Manchukuo Map”.)
In this part of the world, we have a hot and humid weather condition in most
months of the year. From Table 8.1, we understand that for this project as a commer-
cial building we should consider minimum durability of 50 years.
• Carbonation: As the project is in a big city, we will have the air pollution and
carbon dioxide in the air. So, the danger of carbonation could be high. From
Table 8.2 you can find that the project is in the category of XC3 because it is
a building in humid weather condition. Then from Table 8.3, you can see the
concrete specifications for the durability of 50 years as below:
• Chloride: In the cities near the coast of the south china sea we will have a
high amount of airborne sea water chloride ions. So. From Table 8.5 you can
see that the category for this structure is XS1 and from Table 8.7 the concrete
specifications for the durability of 50 years is:
• Sulfate: Like the chloride ion, we will have a high amount of airborne sul-
fate ion from the sea water. But we don’t have enough information about the
TABLE 8.16
Concrete Specifications for a Commercial Building Near the South China
Sea
Durability Durability Durability
Against Against Against Final
Concrete Specification Carbonation Chloride Ion Sulfate Ion Suggestions
Minimum rebar cover (mm) 35 45 – 45
Maximum w/c ratio 0.55 0.45 0.45 0.45
Type of cement – – Type II Type II
amount of ion contacted with the structure. So, we should assume that the
category is XA3 as the hardest condition. From Table 8.10 you can see the
concrete specifications as below:
• Portland cement type: According to Table 8.10, we should use type V. But
as we have chloride and sulfate ions together, we should use type II Portland
cement.
• Freeze thaw: As the project is in hot and humid weather conditions, we don’t
have the effects of freeze thaw on concrete.
Now for the final specifications of concrete, you can see Table 8.16.
REFERENCES
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Specification for Air-Entraining.
C618-00.
Derivative work: Emok, China-Manchukuo-map.png: ErnstA, User:Kingruedi, East Asia area
blank CJK.svg: Eurodollers, “China Manchukuo Map.” Retrieved from: https://com-
mons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:China-Manchukuo-map.svg.
European Space Agency, “The Gulf” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:The_Gulf_ESA412129.jpg.
EN480 Series.
Francis, 2009.
Hamilton, Nathan Hughes, “Map of Northern Europe.” Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.
com/photos/nat507/19135266166.
Method, 2015.
2015.
Lamond F. Joseph, Pielert H. James, Significance of Tests and Properties of Concrete and
Mohammadi, 2007.
2003.
2001.
9 Concrete Mix Design
The first step for designing a good mix for concrete is packing complete informa-
tion about the constituent materials that were mentioned in the chapters before.
Sometimes, we can choose any kind of constituent materials that should be suitable
for our mix, but other times there is no choice. For example, if the project will be
in a region in which you cannot find any good aggregates nearby, you should use
anything that is accessible. Because the transportation cost is very high for the aggre-
gates of concrete. It could be the same for cement and other binders. But for chemical
admixtures, as we should use a little amount of them in concrete mix design, the
transportation cost is not much important.
After packing enough information about the constituent materials, we should
define the exact properties of concrete that we would like to design. The properties
should define for both fresh and hardened concrete as mentioned in the before chap-
ters of this book.
Finally, you should design a concrete with defined properties and defined constituent
materials that we are going to talk about the process in this chapter of the book. After
designing the concrete, you should make trials in the laboratory to check the proper-
ties of fresh and hardened concrete. After that you should implement the concrete mix
design in the batching plant to make industrial concrete and check the mix design again.
The important point about the method that you are going to use for concrete mix
design is that it is not important to mention which method you are using for designing
the concrete. When you design a structure, it is very important to mention the method
that you are using because you cannot test the structure with the worse conditions that is
possible for the structure to collapse. For example, you cannot test the structure with the
earthquake load by mixing different types of live and dead loads. So, you should mention
the method and other engineers should check your structure design to control the codes
and methods that you mentioned for the design of the structure. But for concrete mix
design, it is possible for you to test the mix design accurately. You can test the properties
of concrete in both fresh and hardened phase and see if it is compatible with the defined
properties. So, your method is not too much important. But you should know that we are
going to use the German method for concrete mix design with some modifications.
We will explain the mix design method step by step in this chapter. After that, we
will design three different types of concrete with this method. But, good concrete
mix design needs high experience for the engineer. It is necessary for the designer
to have enough experience in working with concrete in the projects or ready mixed
concrete plants. So, the theory of concrete mix design method is not enough for you
to design a good and trustable concrete mix. Although you can check the mix design
for the properties of fresh and hardened concrete, it will take time if you would like
to check too many mix designs to achieve the best results. So, with enough experi-
ence, you can design the concrete with maximum trust. Most of the time, you can use
the design in the projects with some little adjustments.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-9 225

9.1 THE GOALS OF CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

The goals of concrete mix design are the achievement of three properties for concrete:
• Workability of concrete: Your final mix should pass the tests for the work-
ability of concrete like the slump test or flow table test and be compatible
with the defined workability that is mentioned in the implementation sheets.
For example, if the target slump is defined as 180 mm, the concrete mix
should be compatible with the needs of the supervisor which could be the
slump more than 180 mm or a defined limitation like 160–200 mm.
• Compressive strength: Your final mix should pass the compressive strength
test of concrete as defined in the design of the structure. For example, if
the designed compressive strength of project will be 35 MPa, the concrete
mix should be compatible with the need of the supervisor which could be
38 MPa or more.
• Durability considerations: Your final mix should pass the tests for the dura-
bility of concrete structure which should be the permeability test or some
other tests that the supervising system confirmed.
So, you should design a concrete by using the defined constituent materials to achieve
the above considerations.
9.2 THE STEP-BY-STEP METHOD FOR CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

Now, we are going to talk about the step-by-step method for concrete mix design. In
the next parts, we are going to explain the steps one by one and then after finalizing
the explanation, we will design three examples for different types of concrete with
different constituent materials. So, if the explanations were not clear for you, after
studying the examples, it will be more clear.
9.2.1 Step (1): Specify Standard Deviation

Standard deviation shows the evaluation of your plant for concrete production. If your
plant is a high controlled plant that you can check the quality of constituent materials
and produced concrete accurately, the plant standard deviation will be much lower
than a plant without any quality control. On the other hand, you cannot produce high-
strength concrete in a plant without any quality control or with low control on the
constituent materials and the process of concrete production.
You should add the standard deviation with a special formulation to the proj-
ect compressive strength to achieve the mix design compressive strength. Then you
should design the concrete with the mix design compressive strength. In fact, it has
the role of the safety factor for concrete mix design.
We have two methods for the evaluation of the standard deviation. It depends on
the availability of data from the plant. If we have full data on compressive strength
from the concrete produced in the plant before, we should use the first method.
Concrete Mix Design 227
Nevertheless, we should use the second method which is according to the planning
of the production plant.
• First method for the evaluation of standard deviation:
If you have at least 30 compressive strength data from before, you can use
equation 9.1 for the calculation of the standard deviation.
S=
∑ (X− m) 2
(9.1)
n −1
In the above equation, S is the standard deviation, X is the compressive

strength of a specimen, m is the mean value of all compressive strengths,
and n is the number of specimens.
If the data from before will be less than 30, you should multiply a coef-
ficient by equation 9.1 that you can find in equation 9.2.
2
R = 0.75 + (9.2)
n
In equation 9.2, R is the coefficient and n is the number of specimens.

If you have two series of data that each one is less than 30 specimens,
you can use equation 9.3.
(n1 − 1)s12 + (n 2 − 1)s2 2

S = (9.3)
n1 + n2 − 2
In the equation above, S1 and S2 are the standard deviations of each series
that are calculated from equation 9.1, n1 and n2 are the numbers of each
series and S is the final standard deviation.
If the result of the standard deviation from the above equations will
be less than 2.5 MPa, you should use 2.5 MPa as the standard deviation.
It means that you cannot use the standard deviation less than 2.5 MPa in
the concrete mix design. A project or plant with the standard deviation of
2.5 MPa is a high controlled concrete plant.
• Second method for the evaluation of standard deviation:
As mentioned before, you should use this method when there is no informa-
tion about the before concrete production in the plant.
First, you should find the status of the production plant from Table 9.1.
This table shows you the quality control level of the plant. After that, you
should find the standard deviation from Table 9.2.
TABLE 9.1
Quality Control Level of Production Plant
Quality Control Factor Status A Status B Status C
Measuring of cement in production By weight By weight By volume
Measuring of aggregates in production By weight By weight By volume
Sieve analysis of aggregates Controlled Controlled Not controlled
Moisture of aggregates Controlled Controlled Not controlled
Surveillance of production Very good Good Weak
Lab instruments Full available Available Not available
Experiments Continuous Sometimes Sometimes
Expert product manager Available Available Not available
TABLE 9.2
Standard Deviation According to the Status of Plant and Designed
Compressive Strength
Production f’c Between f’c between f’c between f’c more than
Plant Status 20–25 MPa 25–30 MPa 30–35 MPa 35 MPa
A 3 3.5 4 4.5
B 4 4.5 5 –
C 5 – – –
9.2.2 Step (2): Specify Mix Design Compressive Strength

As mentioned before, we evaluated the standard deviation in the last step to find the
mix design compressive strength which is the strength that we should design the
concrete to ensure the performance of the final concrete with a defined safety factor.
To calculate the mix design compressive strength, you should use equation 9.4.
fcm = fc°+ 1.34 s + 1.5 (9.4)
In this equation, S is the standard deviation from step 1, f’c is the structural design
compressive strength and fcm is the mix design compressive strength.
9.2.3 Step (3): Specify Percentage of Each Aggregate in Concrete

One of the most important steps of concrete mix design is the evaluation of aggre-
gates in the mix design. You should use the best mix of aggregates to ensure the
quality of concrete in the case of compressive strength and workability. The most
important factor which has an effect on the workability of concrete is the mix of
aggregates.
TABLE 9.3
Recommendations for Choosing of Maximum Size of Coarse Aggregates
Structural Compressive Recommended Maximum Size
Strength (MPa) Structural Element of Coarse Aggregates (mm)
Less than 30 Foundations 25
Less than 30 Floors, columns, walls 19
30–45 Foundations, floors 19
30–45 Walls, columns 12
45–70 All kinds of elements 12
More than 70 All kinds of elements 9
The first thing that you should do for this step is specifying the maximum size of
coarse aggregate. There are too many recommendations in different standards and
codes for this purpose. For example, ACI 211.1 recommends as below:
The maximum size of coarse aggregate should not exceed one-fifth of free dis-
tance between molds, one-third of slab diameter, and three-fourths of free distance
between rebars in the structural element.
Here we recommend Table 9.3 for this purpose:
After evaluating of the maximum size of coarse aggregate, you should use equa-
tion 9.5 for the percentage of each aggregate in concrete.
100%  d  n  0.075  n 
P = ×   −    (9.5)
D  
n
 0.075   D
1−  
 D 
In the above equation, P is the percentage passed from sieve d, D is the maximum
size of coarse aggregate, and n is a digit between 0.1 and 0.7 which shows the coarse-
ness or fineness of total aggregates in concrete. If you use smaller values for n, the
concrete will be softer and if you use bigger value, the concrete will be coarser. You
should know, coarser concrete will need less water or less super-plasticizer for the
same flowability and also less cement for the same compressive strength. But on the
other hand, the coarse concrete has low workability considerations like pumpabil-
ity and malleability. So, we should use the appropriate concrete for each case. For
example, for a mass foundation it is better to use coarser concrete. But for a column,
with congested rebars it is better to use finer concrete. For self-compacting concrete
you should use a very fine concrete to avoid segregation and bleeding. To find the best
values for n you can use Table 9.4 as the recommendation.
9.2.4 Step (4): Specify Fineness Module of Total Aggregates

The fineness module of total aggregates defined as the sum of cumulative percentage
remained on sieves 37.5, 19, 9.5, 4.75, 2.36, 1.18, 0.6, 0.3, 0.15 mm divided by 100. We
will need this value in the future steps for the evaluation of free water in concrete.
TABLE 9.4
Recommended Values for n Depends on the Type of Concrete
Value of n Related to Value of n Related to
Type of Concrete Minimum Curve Maximum Curve
Fine SCC concrete 0.2 0.1
Coarse SCC concrete 0.25 0.15
High slump concrete (more than 180 mm) 0.3 0.2
Pumpable concrete with slump between 0.35 0.25
140 and 180 mm
Pumpable concrete with slump less than 0.4 0.3
140 mm
Not pumping concrete with slump 0.45 0.35
between 140 and 170 mm
Not pumping concrete for huge elements 0.5 0.4
9.2.5 Step (5): Specify Water-to-Binder Ratio

This step is very critical in concrete mix design from the compressive strength point
of view. Because as mentioned before, the most important factor that can specify the
compressive strength of concrete is the water-to-binder ratio. So, choosing an accu-
rate w/b means the best result for compressive strength.
Before starting the explanation about the methods that you should use for the eval-
uation of water-to-binder ratio, you should specify the standard compressive strength
of cement according to the ASTM C109. For type I cement, we have three different
types that you can find in the market:
• Type I-525: It means that the compressive strength of cement mortar accord-
ing to the ASTM C109 at the age of 28 days should be more than 525 kg/cm2.
We are going to explain three methods for the evaluation of water-to-binder ratio. So,
you can decide the best value by using these three methods. In two methods we are
using the above types of cement for the evaluation of water-to-binder ratio. Type I-325
is not suitable for the production of concrete because it is a low-strength cement. You
can use both of the others for the production of concrete. But sometimes, you may
use other types of cement like Type II or V cement. In this case, you should know
the minimum value for the compressive strength of cement mortar according to the
ASTM C109 at the age of 28 days for a long period of time (e.g., 1 or 2 months). Then
you should use linear correlation to evaluate the water-to-binder ratio for the special
cement. For example, if you use a Type II cement with a minimum compressive
strength of 450 kg/cm2. You should use a linear correlation between the values of
cement type I-525 and I-425 to evaluate the water-to-binder ratio for this cement.
As mentioned before, we have three methods for the evaluation of water-to-binder
ratio:
• Method 1 for the mix design compressive strength between 25 and 55 MPa.
So, if the concrete mix design compressive strength will be between 25 and 45 MPa, you
should use methods 1 and 2 for the best decision, and if the concrete mix design com-
pressive strength will be more than 45 MPa, you should use methods 2 and 3 together.
• Method 1 or modified German method for concrete mix design:
In this method, for the evaluation of water-to-binder ratio with cement

type I-525 you can use Table 9.5 and with cement type I-425 you can use
Table 9.6. The assumption for this table is using pure Portland cement in
concrete production. We will describe using supplementary cementitious
materials in the future.
TABLE 9.5
w/b Ratio for Concrete Made With Cement Type I-525 (Method 1)
fcm (MPa) w/b for Crushed Aggregates w/b for Natural Aggregates
25 0.69 0.66
30 0.65 0.61
35 0.6 0.57
40 0.55 0.53
45 0.52 0.48
50 0.48 0.44
55 0.44 0.39
TABLE 9.6
w/b Ratio for Concrete Made With Cement Type I-425 (Method 1)
fcm (MPa) w/b For Crushed Aggregates w/b For Natural Aggregates
25 0.65 0.62
30 0.59 0.56
35 0.54 0.51
40 0.5 0.47
45 0.46 0.42
50 0.41 0.36
55 0.36 0.34
The columns of the above tables for crushed and natural aggregates
define using only crushed or natural for both coarse and fine aggregates. If
you are using mix of natural and crushed aggregates, you should use a digit
between two digits of one row.
• Method 2 or modified ACI method for concrete mix design:
This is a very simple method for concrete mix design. You don’t have any
special assumption for the type and compressive strength of cement or natu-
ral and crushed aggregates. So, this is only for concrete with mix design
compressive strength of less than 40 MPa.
In this method, you can use Table 9.7 for the evaluation of the water-to-
binder ratio.
• Method 3 or high-performance concrete method:
In this method, you should use Table 9.8 for concrete made with cement
type I-525 and Table 9.9 for concrete made with cement type I-425.
In this method, we assumed that you are using crushed coarse aggre-
gates and natural sand as fine aggregate. So, if you use other mixed for
TABLE 9.7
w/b Ratio From Method 2
fcm (MPa) Water-to-Binder Ratio
25 0.69
30 0.61
35 0.53
40 0.47
TABLE 9.8
w/b Ratio for Concrete Made With Cement Type I-525
(Method 3)
fcm (MPa) Water-to-Binder Ratio
45 0.42
50 0.4
55 0.39
60 0.37
65 0.36
70 0.34
75 0.33
80 0.32
85 0.3
TABLE 9.9
w/b Ratio for Concrete Made With Cement Type I-425
(Method 3)
Water-to-Binder
fcm (MPa) Ratio
45 0.38
50 0.36
55 0.35
60 0.34
65 0.32
70 0.31
75 0.29
80 0.28
85 0.26
aggregates, you can modify the amount of water-to-binder ratio according

to the mix. You should note that concrete with crushed aggregates will let
you get more compressive strength with the same water-to-binder ratio. But
this is only correct when you are talking about compressive strength. In the
case of workability, using only crushed aggregates means that you will need
more water for the same flowability.
9.2.6 Step (6): Specify Free Water for Concrete

Free water in concrete depends on many properties as below:
• Fineness or coarseness of total aggregates

• Fillers in the aggregates (passing by sieve No. 100)
• Passing by sieve No. 200
• Using crushed or natural aggregates
• Type and fineness of cement
• Amount of cement and other binders in concrete
• Target slump of concrete
The most important factors for the amount of free water in concrete depend on the
aggregates and cement specifications and the target slump.
Free water is the total water in concrete, if the situation of aggregates will be
saturated surface dry. In the future steps, we should add or minus the lack or excess
water from concrete to control the final mix. You can derive the amount of free water
for concrete from Tables 9.10 and 9.11.
You can see from tables above that if the fineness module of total aggregates will
increase, the amount of water will be more, and if the amount of cement in the con-
crete increase, then the amount of free water will also be more.
234
TABLE 9.10
Amount of Free Water for the Slump of 90 mm (F: Fineness Module of Total Aggregates)
Amount of
Cement (kg) F = 4.0 F = 4.1 F = 4.2 F = 4.3 F = 4.4 F = 4.5 F = 4.6 F = 4.7 F = 4.8 F = 4.9 F = 5.0 F = 5.1 F = 5.2 F = 5.3 F = 5.4 F = 5.5
300 214 210 206 203 199 196 193 189 186 183 180 177 175 172 169 167
325 218 214 210 207 203 200 197 193 190 187 184 181 179 176 173 171
350 222 218 214 211 207 204 201 197 194 191 188 185 183 180 177 175
375 226 222 218 215 211 208 205 201 198 195 192 189 187 184 181 179
400 230 226 222 219 215 212 209 205 202 199 196 193 191 188 185 183
425 234 230 226 223 219 216 213 209 206 203 200 197 195 192 189 187
450 238 234 230 227 223 220 217 213 210 207 204 201 199 196 193 191
475 242 238 234 231 227 224 221 217 214 211 208 205 203 200 197 195
500 246 242 238 235 231 228 225 221 218 215 212 209 207 204 201 199
Concrete Materials and Technology
Concrete Mix Design
TABLE 9.11
Amount of Free Water for the Slump of 150 mm (F: Fineness Module of Total Aggregates)
Amount of
cement (kg) F = 4.0 F = 4.1 F = 4.2 F = 4.3 F = 4.4 F = 4.5 F = 4.6 F = 4.7 F = 4.8 F = 4.9 F = 5.0 F = 5.1 F = 5.2 F = 5.3 F = 5.4 F = 5.5
300 232 228 224 220 216 213 209 206 202 199 196 193 190 187 184 181
325 236 232 228 224 220 217 213 210 206 203 200 197 194 191 188 185
350 240 236 232 228 224 221 217 214 210 207 204 201 198 195 192 189
375 244 240 236 232 228 225 221 218 214 211 208 205 202 199 196 193
400 248 244 240 236 232 229 225 222 218 215 212 209 206 203 200 197
425 252 248 244 240 236 233 229 226 222 219 216 213 210 207 204 201
450 256 252 248 244 240 237 233 230 226 223 220 217 214 211 208 205
475 260 256 252 248 244 241 237 234 230 227 224 221 218 215 212 209
500 264 260 256 252 248 245 241 238 234 231 228 225 222 219 216 213
235
If the target slump will be less than 90 mm or between 90 and 150 mm or higher
than 150 mm, you can use linear correlation to find the amount of free water from the
data you can find in these two tables.
• Using plasticizers and super-plasticizers
For concrete production, you should use plasticizers and super-plasticizers. As

mentioned before, by using them we can give one of the below specifications:
• Decrease the amount of water

• Increase the flowability
• Decrease the amount of water and increase the flowability together
In concrete mix design procedure, we assume that we are using the super-plasticizers
only for water reduction in concrete. So, the first thing that you should do is find the
water reduction curve according to the procedure described in Chapter 5.
By using the water reduction curve, you can decide about the dosage of super-plas-
ticizer and you can find the water reduction rate for the defined dosage. So, you can
find the final free water after using the super-plasticizer. For example, if you found
the free water as 230 L from the tables above and use 0.7% of a super-plasticizer with
the water reduction rate of 25% for the dosage of 0.7%, the final free water after using
the super-plasticizer will be 173 L.
To decide about the best dosage of the super-plasticizer, you should consider the
below points:
• Water reduction curve of the super-plasticizer

• Economic considerations of the project and getting a balance between the
price of cement, other binders and super-plasticizer
• Saturation point for the super-plasticizer
• Other project considerations like the target slump, pumpability, and type of
aggregates
• The recommendations of the manufacturer
9.2.7 Step (7): Specify the Amount of Portland

Cement and Other Binders
Now, we have the amount of free water in concrete and water-to-binder ratio. So, we
can calculate the amount of total binder from equation 9.6.
W
b= (9.6)
(W b)
In the equation above, b is the total binder, w is the amount of free water after using
super-plasticizer, and w/b is water-to-binder ratio.
If we would like to use only Portland cement in concrete production, b is the
amount of Portland cement. But if we are going to use supplementary cementitious
TABLE 9.12
Coefficient of Increasing b According to the Type
of the Supplementary Cementitious Material
Type of Binder Percent of Increasing b
Silica fume 0
Fly ash 10
GGBS 15
Natural Pozzolan 10–15
materials, we should go through the below procedure to calculate the amount of

Portland cement and other binders separately:
• Specify b from equation 9.6.

• According to the explanations of Chapter 3 and especially Table 3.6, you
should decide about the type of supplementary cementitious material that
you would like to use and the percentage of use.
• Although using supplementary cementitious materials will increase the
durability and performance of concrete at higher ages, they could decrease
the compressive strength, especially at earlier ages even at the age of 28 days
which is very important for the design of structure compared with the
usage of pure Portland cement. So, if you would like to use supplementary
cementitious materials as a part of the total binder, you should use the coef-
ficients of Table 9.12 to increase the amount of b.
• The amount of supplementary cementitious materials will obtain by multi-
plying the percentage that we decided to use by the increased b.
• The amount of Portland cement will obtain by subtracting the amount of
supplementary cementitious materials by the increased b.
9.2.8 Step (8): Specify the Total Volume of Aggregates

Now, we have the volume of all parts of concrete instead of the aggregates. As we
would like to design the mix of concrete for 1 m3 or 1000 L, we can calculate the total
volume of aggregates from equation 9.7.
C  p  S
V = 1000 −   −   − W − Va −   (9.7)
 dc   d p   ds 
In the equation above, c is the weight of Portland cement, dc is the density of Portland
cement, p is the weight of Pozzolan or supplementary cementitious material, dp is the
density of Pozzolan, w is the weight of final reduced free water which is equal to its
volume, s is the weight of the super-plasticizer, ds is the density of super-plasticizer,
and Va is the volume of air inside the concrete.
TABLE 9.13
Correlation Between the Entrapped Air and Maximum Size of Coarse
Aggregate
Maximum size of coarse aggregate (mm) 12.5 19 25
Percentage of entrapped air (%) 0.8–1.5 0.5–1.2 0.5–1.0
TABLE 9.14
Correlation Between the Entrapped Air and Chemical Base of the
Super-Plasticizer
Chemical Base of Naphthalene Melamine Poly Carboxylate
Super-Plasticizer Ligno-ulfonate Sulfonate Sulfonate Ether
Percentage of 1.1–2.0 0.9–1.6 0.5–1.2 1.0–1.8
entrapped air (%)
For a concrete without using air entraining admixtures, you can find the amount
of air inside the concrete by using Tables 9.13 and 9.14. Table 9.13 is the correlation
between the maximum size of coarse aggregate and the amount of entrapped air
inside the concrete and Table 9.14 is the correlation between the chemical base of
super-plasticizer and entrapped air inside the concrete.
9.2.9 Step (9): Specify the Weight of Aggregates in

Saturated Surface Dry Conditions
In the step before, we calculated the total volume of aggregates in concrete. On the
other hand, in step 3 we specified the percentage of each aggregate to get the best
gradation of aggregates in concrete. Now it is time to calculate the weight of each
aggregate.
You can do it first by multiplying the percentage of step 3 to the total volume of
step 8 to calculate the volume of each aggregate. Second, you should multiply the
volume of each aggregate to its density to calculate the weight.
Attention that the assumption here is: “All of the aggregates are in the saturated
surface dry conditions which is not the real conditions of aggregates in the projects.”
9.2.10 Step (10): Specify the Real Weight of

Aggregates and Water in Concrete
The real weight of aggregates means that you should take into account the moisture
(excess or shortage) of aggregates in the calculations. If an aggregate has excess
moisture inside, you should add the weight of the water inside that aggregate to the
weight of it and subtract it from the weight of the free water of concrete. On the other
hand, if an aggregate has a shortage of water, you should subtract the weight of the
water shortage from the weight of the aggregate and add it to the weight of the free
water of concrete.
The excess water means moisture is more than the water absorption rate of the
aggregate and shortage of water means the moisture is less than the water absorption
rate of the aggregate.
Most of the time, you can find the crushed coarse aggregates with the shortage of
water and the crushed and natural sands with excess water because aggregate pro-
ducers wash the sand to separate the soil from it. But they are not washing the coarse
aggregates. So, the water used for washing the sands will remain on the surface of
sand particles and it will be more than the water absorption rate of the sand. But
this is not the same rule for all parts of the world. So, you should test the aggregates
before use them in concrete to calculate the water absorption rate and excess or short-
age of water
9.3 EXAMPLE 1 FOR CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

In the first example of this chapter, we would like to design a C30 concrete mix to use
in the foundation of a residential building with below constituent materials:
• Natural sand with the density of 2.68 kg/L and the water absorption rate of
1.8% and total moisture of 4.7%. The sieve analysis test of this sand is as
below (Table 9.15):
• Crushed gravel 12–25 mm size with the density of 2.71 kg/L and water
absorption of 0.9% which is dry. The sieve analysis test of this gravel is as
below (Table 9.16):
• Crushed gravel 5–12 mm size with the density of 2.71 kg/L and water
absorption of 0.8% which is dry. The sieve analysis test of this gravel is as
below (Table 9.17):
TABLE 9.15
Sieve Analysis Test for the Natural Sand of Example 1
Weight of Percent of Percent of
Aggregates Weight of Aggregates Aggregates
Sieve Size Remained Aggregates Remained on Passed by
(mm) on Sieve (g) Passed by Sieve (g) Sieve (%) Sieve (%)
4.75 264 1447 15.4 84.6
2.36 329 1118 19.2 65.3
1.18 372 746 21.7 43.6
0.6 231 515 13.5 30.1
0.3 224 291 13.1 17.0
0.15 206 85 12.0 5.0
Total 1711 – 100 –
TABLE 9.16
Sieve Analysis Test for the 12–25 Gravel of Example 1
Sieve Size Remained Aggregates Passed Remained Passed by
(mm) on Sieve (g) by Sieve (g) on Sieve (%) Sieve (%)
25 5 1860 0.3 99.7
19 493 1367 26.4 73.3
12.5 976 391 52.3 21.0
9.5 339 52 18.2 2.8
4.75 52 0 2.8 0
Total 1865 – 100 –
TABLE 9.17
19 0 1802 0.0 100
12.5 42 1760 2.3 97.7
9.5 695 1065 38.6 59.1
4.75 1029 36 57.1 2.0
2.36 36 0 2.0 0.0
Total 1802 – 100 –
• Portland cement type II with the density of 3.15 kg/L and the minimum
compressive strength of 450 kg/cm2 for the last 2 months.
• Polynaphthalene sulfonate super-plasticizer with the density of 1.18 kg/L
that you can see the water reduction rate in Figure 9.1.
• For the plant that we would like to produce concrete, we have the compres-
sive strength data from C25 concrete that was produced in this plant before.
You can see the data in Table 9.18. Note that the production and quality
control conditions of the plant are the same as before.
Now, we should start the step-by-step process for concrete mix design:
• Step 1: specify standard deviation
For this example, as we have data from before concrete production in the
plant, we will use equation 9.1 for the calculation of the standard deviation.
As you can see, we have 20 data from before production in this plant. So, we
should use equation 9.2 as the correction factor.
23
21
Water reduction rate (%) 19
17
15
13
11
9
7
5
0.5 1 1.5
PNS.1 10 16 21
Super -plasticizer dosage (%)
FIGURE 9.1 Water reduction curve for the PNS super-plasticizer of example 1. (Graph cre-
ated by the author.)
TABLE 9.18
Compressive Strength Data for the Plant of Example 1 in kg/cm2
279 303 298 310 285 277 259 300 296 299
266 311 282 290 308 269 295 304 278 308
From equation 9.1 and the date of Table 9.18 we have:

m = 290.8 kg/cm2
S = 15.6 kg/cm2 = 1.56 MPa
And from equation 9.2 we have:
R = 1.066
By multiplying the R by the S, we will have the standard deviation as
1.66 MPa. As we cannot use the standard deviation of less than 2.5 MPa for con-
crete mix design, we should use 2.5 MPa as the standard deviation for this plant.
• Step 2: specify mix design compressive strength
We should use equation 9.3 for the calculation of the mix design com-
pressive strength. So, with the f’c= 30 MPa and S= 2.5 MPa we will have:
fcm= 34.85 MPa = 35 MPa
• Step 3: specify the percentage of each aggregate in concrete

First, we define the target slump as 180 mm. Then we should use Table 9.4
for the evaluation of n in equation 9.5. You can see from the table that for
a pumpable concrete with a slump between 140 and 180 mm we should use
n between 0.25 and 0.35. On the other hand, we will have a 12–25 coarse
TABLE 9.19
Values of Maximum and Minimum for the Aggregates of Example 1
Sieve size (mm) 25 19 12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15
Percent passed for n = 0.25 100 91.3 79.2 71.9 55.6 41.8 30.3 20.8 12.7 5.8
Percent passed for n = 0.35 100 89.5 75.2 66.9 49.3 35.3 24.5 16.1 9.4 4.1
TABLE 9.20
Best Mix of Aggregates for Example 1
Sieve Size 27% of 13% of 60% of Mix of
(mm) Coarse 12–25 Coarse 5–12 Natural Sand Aggregates
25 26.9 13.0 60 99.9
19 19.8 13.0 60 92.8
12.5 5.7 12.7 60 78.4
9.5 0.8 7.7 60 68.4
4.75 0.0 0.3 50.8 51.0
2.36 0.0 0.0 39.2 39.2
1.18 0.0 0.0 26.2 26.2
0.6 0.0 0.0 18.0 18.0
0.3 0.0 0.0 10.2 10.2
0.15 0.0 0.0 3.0 3.0
aggregate in this example. So, the maximum size of coarse aggregate or D

is 25 mm. Now, it is time to use d as 25, 19, 12.5, 9.5, 4.75, 2.36, 1.18, 0.6,
0.3, and 0.15 and calculate the amount of P for each value. These values will
be the maximum and minimum values for total aggregates of concrete that
you can see in Table 9.19.
Now, we should use different percent of each aggregate to achieve a mix
that should be between the above maximum and minimum of Table 9.19.
You should achieve the best mix by trial and error. For this reason, you can
see Table 9.20.
You should compare the last column of Table 9.20 with the maximum
and minimum amounts of Table 9.19 to find that this is the best mixture for
the aggregates to achieve the defined limits. You can see Figure 9.2 for a
better comparison. Note that you should find the best mixture which could
be nearest to the limits. Sometimes, it is not possible to find a mix with all
passed-by sieves between the maximum and minimum limits.
At the end of this step, we will have the below mixture for the concrete
of example 1:
• Gravel 12–25: 27%

• Gravel 5–12: 13%
100
90
80
70
Percent passed (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
25 19 12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15
Max 100 91.3 79.2 71.9 55.6 41.8 30.3 20.8 12.7 5.8
Min 100 89.5 75.2 66.9 49.3 35.3 24.5 16.1 9.4 4.1
Sample 99.9 92.8 78.4 68.4 51 39.2 26.2 18.1 10.2 3
Sieve size (mm)
FIGURE 9.2 The best mixture for aggregates of example 1. (Graph created by the author.)
• Natural sand: 60%

• Step 4: specify the fineness module of total aggregates
According to the definition of the fineness module for total aggregates, you
can see Table 9.21 for the calculation.
So, the fineness module of total aggregates is 4.91.
• Step 5: specify water-to-binder ratio
As the mix design compressive strength for the concrete of example 1 is
35 MPa, we should use methods 1 and 2 for the evaluation of the water-to-
binder ratio. On the other hand, the compressive strength of the cement in
this example is 450 kg/cm2. So, for method 1 we should use Table 9.5 for
the compressive strength of 525 kg/cm2 and Table 9.6 for the compressive
strength of 425 kg/cm2. Then we should find the exact amount for the com-
pressive strength of 450 kg/cm2 by the linear correlation. According to the
abovementioned, we will have the below values:
• From Table 9.5 for I-525 cement and as we use a mixture of natural sand and
crushed gravels, we should use the mean value for two columns correlated
with the mix design compressive strength of 35 MPa which is w/b = 0.585.
• From Table 9.6 for I-425 cement and as we use a mixture of natural sand and
crushed gravels, we should use the mean value for two columns correlated
with the mix design compressive strength of 35 MPa which is w/b = 0.525.
• For method 1 as the compressive strength of the cement is 450 kg/cm2, we
should find the water-to-binder ratio for this cement from the linear correla-
tion between 0.585 and 0.525 which is w/b = 0.54.
TABLE 9.21
Calculation of the Fineness Module of Total Aggregates of Example 1
Sieve Size (mm) Percent Remained (%) Cumulative Percent Remained (%)
37.5 0.0 0.0
19 7.2 7.2
9.5 24.4 31.6
4.75 17.4 49.0
2.36 11.8 60.8
1.18 13.0 73.8
0.6 8.1 81.9
0.3 7.9 89.8
0.15 7.2 97.0
Total – 491.2
• Now, we should use Table 9.7 for method 2. From this table, we can find
that for the compressive strength of 35 MPa the water-to-binder ratio should
be 0.53.
According to the above values, we decided to use the lower value which
is w/b = 0.53.
• Step 6: specify free water in concrete
To find the amount of free water in concrete, we should use Tables 9.10
and 9.11. In these tables, we should consider two parameters. The first one is
the fineness module of total aggregates we have it as 4.91 from step 4. The
other parameter is the amount of cement. In this case, you should assume
the amount of cement and find the water and go ahead to the next step. In
the next step you will find the exact amount of cement. If your assumption
of this step was not true, you should come back and try this step again with
the right amount of cement. Here we assume that the amount of cement will
be 375 kg/m3. So, we will have:
• From Table 9.10 for the target slump of 90 mm and fineness module of 4.9
and cement of 375 kg, we will have 195 L for the amount of free water.
• As the target slump is 180 mm, we should find the amount of free water in
concrete with a linear correlation which is 219 L.
• Now, we should decide about the dosage of the super-plasticizer. According
to the economic considerations, we decide to use 0.7% of the PNS super-
plasticizer that you can find in its water reduction rate in Figure 9.1. The
water reduction rate for the dosage of 0.7% is 12.5%. We will use 12% for
more assurance.
• We should decrease the amount of water by 12%. Twelve percent of 219 L
is 26 L and the amount of final free water after using the super-plasticizer
will be 193 L.
• Step 7: specify the amount of cement and other binders

You should find the amount of cement by using equation 9.6:
= 193/0.53 = 364 kg
C
As we should use only Portland cement in this example, we will have

the amount of cement as 364 kg/m3. We can round it to 370 kg for more
assurance.
You can see that the amount of cement that we assumed in the before step
as 375 kg was a little more than the exact amount of cement which is better
for the assurance of the mix design.
The amount of super-plasticizer is 0.7% of 370 kg which is 2.6 kg.
• Step 8: specify the total volume of aggregates in concrete
For this step, you should use equation 9.7. We have all of the information
for use in this equation instead of the Va which is the amount of air. For
this reason, we should use Tables 9.13 and 9.14. From Table 9.13 with the
maximum size of coarse aggregate of 25 mm, we will have the amount of
air between 0.5% and 1.0%. From Table 9.14 and for PNS super-plasticizer,
we will have the amount of air between 0.9% and 1.6%. So, we can assume
the amount of air for this concrete as 1.3%. Now from equation 9.7, we have:
= 1000 − (370/3.15) − (193) − (13) − (2.6/1.18) = 674 L
V
• Step 9: calculating the weight of aggregates in SSD condition

For this step, you can use Table 9.22 as below:
• Step 10: calculating the real weight of aggregates and water
In this step, we should calculate the real weight of aggregates and water
of concrete according to the water absorption and the moisture conditions
of aggregates as below:
• For coarse 12–25, we have the water absorption of 0.9% and dry conditions.
So, 493 kg of this gravel needs 0.9% water to be in SSD conditions which is
4.4 kg. It will round up to 5 kg. This weight should add to the weight of con-
crete water and subtract from the weight of aggregate. So, the real weight
of coarse 12–25 is 488 kg which can be rounded to 490 kg and the weight of
water is 198 kg.
TABLE 9.22
Calculating the Amounts of Aggregates in SSD Conditions for Example 1
Type of Percent in Total Volume Density Weight of
Aggregate Mixture (%) (L) (kg/L) SSD (kg)
Coarse 12–25 27 182 2.71 493
Coarse 5–12 13 88 2.71 238
Natural sand 60 404 2.68 1083
Total 100 674 – 1814
TABLE 9.23
Final Concrete Mix Design for Example 1
Constituent Material Mix Design for 1 m3 (kg) Mix Design for 30 L (g)
Gravel 12–25 490 14700
Gravel 5–12 235 7050
Natural sand 1115 33450
Cement Type II 370 11100
PNS super-plasticizer 2.6 78
Water 168 5040
Total weight 2381 71418
• For coarse 5–12, we have water absorption of 0.8% and dry conditions. So,
238 kg of this gravel needs 0.8% water to be in SSD conditions which is
1.9 kg. It will round up to 2 kg. This weight also should add to the weight
of concrete water and subtract from the weight of aggregate. So, the real
weight of coarse 5–12 is 236 kg which could be rounded to 235 kg and the
weight of water is 200 kg.
• For natural sand, we have the water absorption of 1.8% and 4.7% total mois-
ture inside. So, this sand has (4.7% − 1.8% = 2.9%) of excess water which is
31.4 kg for 1083 kg of sand. It will round up to 32 kg which should subtract
from the weight of the concrete water and add to the weight of the sand. So,
the real weight of sand is 1115 kg and the weight of water is 168 kg.
Now, you can see the final mix design for the concrete of example 1 in Table 9.23.
You can see that we calculated the mix design for 1 m3 of concrete. In the last column
of the mix design, you can see the calculation of the concrete mix design for 30 L of
concrete which is suitable for a laboratory concrete mixer that we are going to check
the mix design with it. You can also calculate the mix design for the batches of your
batching plant whose capacity could be more or less than 1 m3.

In the second example of this chapter, we would like to design a C40 concrete for the
roofs of a defined structure with below constituent materials:
• Natural sand with a density of 2.66 kg/L and a water absorption of 1.6%
and total moisture of 3.5%. The sieve analysis test of this sand is as below
(Table 9.24):
• Crushed sand with a density of 2.69 kg/L and a water absorption rate of
1.9% and total moisture of 2.6%. The sieve analysis test of this sand is as
below (Table 9.25):
TABLE 9.24
Sieve Size Remained on Sieve Aggregates Remained Passed by
(mm) (g) Passed by Sieve (g) on Sieve (%) Sieve (%)
4.75 168 1561 9.7 90.3
2.36 373 1188 21.6 68.7
1.18 317 871 18.3 50.4
0.6 279 592 16.1 34.2
0.3 257 335 14.9 19.4
0.15 236 99 13.6 5.7
Total 1729 – 100 –
TABLE 9.25
Sieve Analysis Test for the Crushed Sand of Example 2
4.75 88 1643 5.1 94.9
2.36 395 1248 22.8 72.1
1.18 352 896 20.3 51.8
0.6 286 610 16.5 35.2
0.3 260 350 15.0 20.2
0.15 239 111 13.8 6.4
Total 1731 – 100 –
• Crushed gravel 11–19 mm size with a density of 2.73 kg/L and water absorp-
tion of 0.8% which is dry. The sieve analysis test of this gravel is as below
(Table 9.26):
tion of 0.9% which is dry. The sieve analysis test of this gravel is as below:
• Portland cement type II with a density of 3.15 kg/L and a minimum com-
pressive strength of 450 kg/cm2 in the last 2 months.
• Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) with a density of 2.9 kg/L.
• Polycarboxylate super-plasticizer with a density of 1.07 kg/L; you can see
the water reduction rate in Figure 9.3.
TABLE 9.26
Sieve Size Remained on Aggregates Passed Remained Passed by
(mm) Sieve (g) by Sieve (g) on Sieve (%) Sieve (%)
25 0 1855 0.0 100
19 98 1757 5.3 94.7
12.5 1179 578 63.6 31.2
9.5 458 120 24.7 6.5
4.75 120 0 6.5 0.0
Total 1855 – 100 –
45
40
Water reduction rate (%)
35
30
25
20
15
10
0.5 1 1.5
PCE.2 19 32 39
Super -plasticizer dosage (%)
FIGURE 9.3 Water reduction curve for PCE super-plasticizer of example 2. (Graph created
by the author.)

For this example, we will use the same standard deviation as in example 1.
Because we assumed that the plant condition is the same for the two exam-
ples. So, we will use 2.5 MPa for the standard deviation.
pressive strength. So, with the f’c = 40 MPa and S = 2.5 MPa we will have:
fcm = 44.85 MPa = 45 MPa
TABLE 9.27
19 0 1891 0.0 100
12.5 12 1879 0.6 99.4
9.5 339 1540 17.9 81.4
4.75 1345 195 71.1 10.3
2.36 195 0 10.3 0.0
Total 1891 – 100 –
TABLE 9.28
Sieve size (mm) 19 12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15
Percent passed for n = 0.2 100 88.0 80.7 63.8 49.0 36.3 25.5 15.8 7.3
Percent passed for n = 0.3 100 85.4 76.8 58.0 42.6 30.2 20.3 12.1 5.4

As we would like to produce concrete with PCE super-plasticizer, we
define the target slump as 210 mm. Then we should use Table 9.4 for the
evaluation of n in equation 9.5. You can see from the table that for high
slump concrete we should use n between 0.2 and 0.3. On the other hand, we
will have a 11–19 coarse aggregate in this example. So, the maximum size
of coarse aggregate or D is 19 mm. Now, it is time to use d as 19, 12.5, 9.5,
4.75, 2.36, 1.18, 0.6, 0.3, and 0.15 and calculate the amount of P for each
value. These values will be the maximum and minimum values for the total
aggregates of concrete that you can see in Table 9.28.
For this reason, you can see Table 9.29.
better comparison.
of example 2:
• Gravel 11–19: 20%
• Gravel 5–12: 15%
• Crushed sand: 25%
TABLE 9.29
Sieve Size 20% of 15% of 40% of 25% of Mix of
(mm) Coarse 11–19 Coarse 5–12 Natural Sand Crushed Sand Aggregates
19 18.9 15.0 40 25 98.9
12.5 6.2 14.9 40 25 86.1
9.5 1.3 12.2 40 25 78.5
4.75 0.0 1.5 36.1 23.7 61.4
2.36 0.0 0.0 27.5 18.0 45.5
1.18 0.0 0.0 20.2 12.9 33.1
0.6 0.0 0.0 13.7 8.8 22.5
0.3 0.0 0.0 7.8 5.1 12.8
0.15 0.0 0.0 2.3 1.6 3.9
100
90
80
70
Percent passed (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
19 12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15
Max 100 88 80.7 63.8 49 36.3 25.5 15.8 7.3
Min 100 85.4 76.8 58 42.6 30.2 20.3 12.1 5.4
Sample 98.9 86.1 78.5 61.4 45.5 33.1 22.5 12.8 3.9
Sieve size (mm)

According to the definition of the fineness module for total aggregates,
you can see Table 9.30 for the calculation.
As the mix design compressive strength for the concrete of example 2 is
45 MPa, we should use methods 1 and 3 for the evaluation of the water-to-
binder ratio. On the other hand, the compressive strength of cement is 450
kg/cm2. According to the abovementioned, we will have the below values:
• From Table 9.5 for I-525 cement and as we use a mixture of natural and
crushed aggregates, we should use the mean value for two columns corre-
lated with the mix design compressive strength of 45 MPa which is w/b = 0.5.
TABLE 9.30
37.5 0.0 0.0
19 1.1 1.1
9.5 20.4 21.5
4.75 17.1 38.6
2.36 15.9 54.5
1.18 12.4 66.9
0.6 10.6 77.5
0.3 9.7 87.2
0.15 8.9 96.1
Total – 443.4
• From Table 9.6 for I-425 cement and as we use a mixture of natural and
crushed aggregates, we should use the mean value for two columns cor-
related with the mix design compressive strength of 45 MPa which is
w/b = 0.44.
• For method 1 as the compressive strength of cement is 450 kg/cm2, we
• From Table 9.8 for I-525 cement, for the mix design compressive strength of
45 MPa we have w/b = 0.42.
• From Table 9.9 for I-425 cement, for the mix design compressive strength of
45 MPa we have w/b = 0.38.
• For method 3, as the compressive strength of cement is 450 kg/cm2, we
According to the above values, if we use the mean value between method
1 value (0.455) and method 3 value (0.39) we will have the water-to-binder
ratio of 0.422 that we are going to use as 0.42.
To find the amount of free water in concrete, we should use Tables 9.10
and 9.11. In these tables, you can see that, we should check two parameters.
The first one is the fineness module of total aggregates we have it as 4.43
from step 4. The other parameter is the amount of cement. Here we assume
that the amount of cement will be 425 kg/m3. So, we will have:
the concrete with a linear correlation which is 253 L.
• Now, we should decide about the dosage of the super-plasticizer. According to

the economic considerations, we decide to use 0.8% of the PCE super-plasti-
cizer; you can find its water reduction rate in Figure 9.3. The water reduction
rate for the dosage of 0.8% is 26.8%. We will use 26% for more assurance.
• We should decrease the amount of water by 26%. So, 26% of 253 L is 66 L and
the amount of final free water after using the super-plasticizer will be 187 L.
= 187/0.42 = 445 kg
C
In this example, we would like to use GGBS beside the cement. We decided
to use 20% of GGBS for the production of this concrete. So, we should
increase the amount of total binder according to the Table 9.12 which is
15%. So, the amount of total binder will be 511. We should use 20% of it as
the GGBS which is 102. So, after rounding the values, we will have:
• Portland cement: 415 kg
• GGBS: 100 kg
• Total binder: 515 kg
You can see that the amount of cement that we assumed in the before step as
425 is a little more than the exact amount of cement which is better for the
assurance of our mix design.
this reason, we should use Tables 9.13 and 9.14. From Table 9.13 and the
maximum size of coarse aggregate of 19 mm, we will have the amount of
air between 0.5% and 1.2%. From Table 9.14 and for PCE super-plasticizer,
the amount of air for this concrete as 1.6%. Now from equation 9.7, we have:
= 1000 − (415/3.15) − (100/2.9) − (187) − (16) − (4.1/1.07) = 627 L
V

• For coarse 11–19, we have water absorption of 0.8% and dry conditions. So
341 kg of this gravel needs 0.8% water to be in SSD conditions which is 3 kg.
This weight should add to the weight of concrete water and subtract from
the weight of aggregate. So, the real weight of coarse 11–19 is 338 kg which
can be rounded to 340 kg and the weight of water is 190 kg.
TABLE 9.31
Type of Percent in Total Volume Density Weight of SSD
Aggregate Mixture (%) (L) (kg/L) (kg)
Coarse 11–19 20 125 2.73 341
Coarse 5–12 15 94 2.70 254
Natural sand 40 251 2.66 668
Crushed sand 25 157 2.69 422
Total 100 627 - 1685
TABLE 9.32
Gravel 11–19 340 10200
Gravel 5–12 250 7500
Crushed sand 425 12750
GGBS 100 3000
PCE super-plasticizer 4.1 123
Water 176 5280
2 kg. This weight also should add to the weight of concrete water and sub-
tract from the weight of aggregate. So, the real weight of coarse 5–12 is
252 kg which could be rounded to 250 kg and the weight of water is 192 kg.
• For natural sand, we have a water absorption of 1.6% and 3.5% total mois-
13 kg for 668 kg of sand. It should subtract from the weight of concrete water
and add to the weight of the sand. So, the real weight of sand is 681 kg which
will round to 680 kg and the weight of water is 179 kg.
• For crushed sand, we have a water absorption of 1.9% and 2.6% total mois-
3 kg for 422 kg of sand. It should subtract from the weight of concrete water
and add to the weight of the sand. So, the real weight of crushed sand is
425 kg and the weight of water is 176 kg.
Now, you can see the final mix design for the concrete of example 2 in
Table 9.32.

In the third example of this chapter, we would like to design a C60 concrete for the
columns and walls of a defined structure with below constituent materials:
• Natural sand with a density of 2.71 kg/L and a water absorption rate of 1.9%
(Table 9.33):
• Dune sand with a density of 2.68 kg/L and a water absorption rate of 2.5%
(Table 9.34):
tion of 0.8% which is dry. The sieve analysis test of this gravel is as below
(Table 9.35):
TABLE 9.33
Sieve Aggregates Weight of Aggregates Aggregates
Size Remained Aggregates Passed Remained Passed by
4.75 217 1514 12.5 87.5
2.36 352 1162 20.3 67.1
1.18 323 839 18.7 48.5
0.6 278 561 16.1 32.4
0.3 241 320 13.9 18.5
0.15 218 102 12.6 5.9
Total 1731 – 100 –
TABLE 9.34
Sieve Analysis Test for the Dune Sand of Example 3
Sieve Size Remained Aggregates Remained Passed by
(mm) on Sieve (g) Passed by Sieve (g) on Sieve (%) Sieve (%)
4.75 0 1447 0.0 100
2.36 0 1447 0.0 100
1.18 0 1447 0.0 100
0.6 41 1406 2.8 97.2
0.3 315 1091 21.8 75.4
0.15 854 237 59.0 16.4
Total 1447 – 100 –
TABLE 9.35
Sieve Size Remained Aggregates Remained Passed by
(mm) on Sieve (g) Passed by Sieve (g) on Sieve (%) Sieve (%)
19 0 1798 0.0 100
12.5 59 1739 3.3 96.7
9.5 645 1094 35.9 60.8
4.75 959 135 53.3 7.5
2.36 135 0 7.5 0.0
Total 1798 – 100 –
• Portland cement type II with a density of 3.15 kg/L and a minimum com-
pressive strength of 450 kg/cm2 in the last 2 months.
• GGBS with a density of 2.9 kg/L.
• Silica fume with the density of 2.2 kg/L.
• Polycarboxylate super-plasticizer with a density of 1.07 kg/L and the water
reduction curve as Figure 9.3.

For this example, we will use the same standard deviation as examples
1 and 2. Because we assumed that the plant condition is the same for these
examples. So, we will use 2.5 MPa for the standard deviation.
pressive strength. So, with the f’c = 60 MPa and S = 2.5 MPa we will have:
fcm = 64.85 MPa = 65 MPa

As we would like to produce a concrete with PCE super-plasticizer, we
define the target slump as 210 mm. Then we should use Table 9.4 for the
evaluation of n in equation 9.5.
You can see in the table that, for high slump concrete we should use n
between 0.2 and 0.3. On the other hand, we will have a 5–12 coarse aggre-
gate in this example. So, the maximum size of coarse aggregate or D is
12.5 mm. Now, it is time to use d as 12.5, 9.5, 4.75, 2.36, 1.18, 0.6, 0.3, and
0.15 and calculate the amount of P for each value. These values will be the
maximum and minimum values for the total aggregates of concrete that you
can see in Table 9.36.
TABLE 9.36
Sieve size (mm) 12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15
Percent passed for n = 0.2 100 91.7 72.5 55.7 41.3 28.9 17.9 8.3
Percent passed for n = 0.3 100 89.9 67.9 49.8 35.3 23.8 14.2 6.3
TABLE 9.37
Sieve Size 25% of 70% of 5% of Mix of
(mm) Coarse 5–12 Natural Sand Dune Sand Aggregates
12.5 24.2 70 5.0 99.2
9.5 15.2 70 5.0 90.2
4.75 1.9 61.2 5.0 68.1
2.36 0.0 47.0 5.0 52.0
1.18 0.0 33.9 5.0 38.9
0.6 0.0 22.7 4.9 27.5
0.3 0.0 12.9 3.8 16.7
0.15 0.0 4.1 0.8 4.9

For this reason, you can see Table 9.37.
better comparison.
of example 3:
• Gravel 5–12: 25%

• Dune sand: 5%
According to the definition of the fineness module for total aggregates, you
can see Table 9.38 for the calculation.
As the mix design compressive strength for the concrete of exam-
ple 3 is 65 MPa, we should use only method 3 for the evaluation of the
100
90
80
70
Percent passed (%)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15
Max 100 91.7 72.5 55.7 41.3 28.9 17.9 8.3
Min 100 89.9 67.9 49.8 35.3 23.8 14.2 6.3
Sample 99.2 90.2 68.1 52 38.9 27.5 16.7 4.9
Sieve size (mm)
TABLE 9.38
37.5 0.0 0.0
19 0.0 0.0
9.5 9.8 9.8
4.75 22.1 31.9
2.36 16.1 48.0
1.18 13.1 61.1
0.6 11.4 72.5
0.3 10.8 83.3
0.15 11.8 95.1
Total – 401.6
water-to-binder ratio. On the other hand, the compressive strength of

cement is 450 kg/cm2. According to the above mentioned, we will have the
below values:
• From Table 9.8 for I-525 cement and for the mix design compressive strength
of 65 MPa, we will have w/b = 0.36.
• From Table 9.9 for I-425 cement and for the mix design compressive strength
of 65 MPa, we will have w/b = 0.32.
• For method 3, as the compressive strength of cement is 450 kg/cm2, we
So, the water-to-binder ratio for this concrete is 0.33.
To find the amount of free water in concrete, we should use Tables 9.10 and 9.11.
In these tables, you can see that we should check two parameters. The first one is
the fineness module of total aggregates that we have as 4.02 from step 4. The other
parameter is the amount of cement. Here we assume that the amount of cement will
be 475 kg/m3. So, we will have:
concrete with linear correlation which is 278 L.
• Now, we should decide about the dosage of the super-plasticizer. According
to the economic considerations and the production of high-strength concrete
with high slump, we decide to use 1.2% of the PCE super-plasticizer that
you can find its water reduction rate in Figure 9.3. The water reduction rate
for the dosage of 1.2% is 34.8%. We will use 34% for more assurance.
• We should decrease the amount of water by 34%. So, 34% of 278 L is 94 L
and the amount of final free water after using the super-plasticizer will be
184 L.
= 184/0.33 = 557 kg
C
In this example, we would like to use GGBS and silica fume beside the
cement. We decided to use 20% of GGBS and 8% of silica fume for the pro-
duction of this concrete. So, we should increase the amount of total binder
according to Table 9.12 which is 15% for the GGBS and 0% for the silica
fume. So, the amount of the total binder will be 640. We should use 20%
of it as the GGBS which is 130 and 8% of it as the silica fume which is 50.
So, we will have:
• Portland cement: 460 kg

• GGBS: 130 kg
• Silica fume: 50 kg
• Total binder: 640 kg
You can see that the amount of cement that we assumed in the before step as
475 is a little more than the exact amount of cement which is better for the
assurance of the mix design.
TABLE 9.39
Type of Percent in Total Volume Density Weight of SSD

Aggregate Mixture (%) (L) (kg/L) (kg)
Coarse 5–12 25 144 2.76 397
Natural sand 70 405 2.71 1098
Dune sand 5 29 2.68 78
Total 100 578 – 1573
this reason, we should use Tables 9.13 and 9.14. From Table 9.13 with the
maximum size of coarse aggregate of 12.5 mm, we will have the amount of
air between 0.8% and 1.5%. From Table 9.14 and for PCE super-plasticizer
the amount of air for this concrete is 1.7%. Now from equation 9.7, we have:
= 1000 − (460/3.15) − (130/2.9) − (50/2.2) − (184) − (17) − (7.7/1.07) = 578 L
V

3 kg. This weight should add to the weight of concrete water and subtract
from the weight of aggregate. So, the real weight of coarse 5–12 is 394 kg
which could be rounded to 395 kg and the weight of water is 187 kg.
• For natural sand, we have water absorption of 1.9% and 5.1% total moisture
inside. So, this sand has (5.1-1.9 = 3.2%) of excess water which is 35 kg for
1098 kg of sand. It should subtract from the weight of concrete water and
add to the weight of the sand. So, the real weight of sand is 1133 kg which
• For dune sand we have a water absorption of 2.5% and 1.5% total moisture
inside. So, this sand has (1.5% − 2.5 = −1%) lack of water which is 1 kg for
78 kg of sand. It should add to the weight of concrete water and subtract
from the weight of the sand. So, the real weight of dune sand is 77 kg which
Now, you can see the final mix design for the concrete of example 3 in Table 9.40.
TABLE 9.40
Gravel 5–12 395 11850
Dune sand 80 2400
GGBS 130 3900
Silica fume 50 1500
PCE super-plasticizer 7.7 231
Water 153 4590
9.6 IMPLEMENTATION OF MIX DESIGN IN THE PROJECTS

The procedure for concrete mix design is the primary part of it. After that, you
should check the mix design in the laboratory to evaluate it according to the fresh and
hardened concrete specifications. If there is a need, you should make some modifica-
tions as below:
• If the slump of fresh concrete in the laboratory will be higher than the tar-
get slump, you can decrease the amount of the super-plasticizer and check
the compressive strength. If you think that there is a need to increase the
compressive strength for more assurance, you should decrease the amount
of water.
• If the slump of fresh concrete in the laboratory will be lower than the target
slump, you should check the water reduction rate of the super-plasticizer.
You can use more super-plasticizer for the higher slump or you can change
the super-plasticizer and use a stronger one. But you should also care about
the slump retention effect of the super-plasticizer.
• If the amount of air in the laboratory will be higher than defined. You should
check the super-plasticizer. Most of the time, if you contact with the super-
plasticizer manufacturer, they can control the amount of air in concrete by
modifying the formulation of the super-plasticizer without any change in
the water reduction rate.
• You should check the slump keeping effect of the concrete in the laboratory.
For this purpose, you should try to define the conditions as same as real
project from temperature, speed of concrete mixing, time of transportation,
and air and aggregates moisture conditions. If the slump keeping of the
super-plasticizer will not satisfy you, contact with the super-plasticizer pro-
ducer. Note that if there is a need for changing the super-plasticizer because
of the slump keeping effect, you should check the water reduction rate of it
and sometimes, there is a need to design your concrete again with the new
super-plasticizer. So, it is recommended to check the super-plasticizer slump

keeping effect when you are checking its water reduction rate before start-
ing the concrete mix design procedure.
• If the compressive strength of concrete in the laboratory will be less than
you desired, you should check cement and other binder quality and you
should design the mix again with the assumption of lower cement com-
pressive strength. The checking of concrete compressive strength in the
laboratory should be at the age of 7 days. So, if there is a need for any modi-
fication, you can do it on time. Most of the time, if you are using a cement
with steady quality, the compressive strength in the laboratory will be good
or even higher than you desired.
• If the compressive strength of concrete in the laboratory will be much
higher than desired. Because of the economic considerations, you should
check the compressive strength of the cement and if there is a need, you
can check your mix design again for decreasing the amount of cement or
super-plasticizer.
After finalizing the mix design in the laboratory, you can use it in the batching plant
with high assurance. During the quality control of concrete in the project, it is pos-
sible to find needs for some modifications in the concrete mix design that you can do
according to the above mentioned for the laboratory. But most of the time, if you do
the procedure with high accuracy, there is no need for any modification instead of
any change in the constituent materials.
REFERENCES
EN480 Series.
Series.
Method, 2015.
and Compliance of Concrete, ISIRI2284–2, 2009.
2015.
Mohammadi, 2007.
Nawy G. Edward, Concrete Construction Engineering Handbook, CRC Press, 2008.
2003.
Publications, 1992.
2001.
10 Production,
Transportation, and
Implementation
of Concrete
In this chapter, we are going to talk about the process of concrete usage in the struc-
tures. The process consists of three parts as follows:
• Production of concrete: The production of concrete means all of the activi-

ties that we should do to produce a concrete with high quality exactly as we
designed it in the before chapters. This process is very important for the
quality of concrete. But it is not enough for high-quality implementation of
concrete in the structure.
We can produce the concrete with different instruments. But the most
important parameter is good and accurate weighting system in the pro-
duction instruments for all of the constituent materials and good mixing
process.
• Transportation of concrete: When we produce a concrete, the second step is
transporting it to the place that we are going to use. The transportation of
concrete is much different from the other types of construction materials.
So, we need special instruments for this purpose. On the other hand, you
should attention to some special considerations for good transportation of
concrete without any changing the quality.
• Implementation of concrete: When you transported the concrete to the place
that we are going to use, we should implement the concrete in the structural
elements. For this purpose, we should consider different activities. First, we
should pump it to the final place. Then we should place it to the structural
element and compact it as good as it possible. If there is a need for smooth-
ing the surface, it should be done and finally, we should cure the concrete in
the structure to protect quality.
In this chapter, we are going to talk about the above processes separately. We will
discuss the instruments that we need for concrete production, transportation, and
implementation. Also, we will talk about the important considerations to achieve the
targets of the implementation with highest quality in the structure.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-10 263

10.1 PRODUCTION OF CONCRETE IN THE LABORATORY

The first subject that we are going to talk about is the production of concrete in the
laboratory. As mentioned before in the chapter on concrete mix design, after finaliz-
ing the concrete mix design, we should check it in the laboratory. So, you should pro-
duce the designed concrete in the laboratory with the maximum equality to the real
project and batching plant. If the checking process of mix design in the laboratory
will be good, you can implement the mix design in the batching plant with high accu-
racy. Nevertheless, you will give different results from the laboratory and project and
this duplication will need very hard activity to finalize the mix design in the project.
The other usage of concrete production in the laboratory is checking the con-
sistency of quality for some of the constituent materials like Portland cement and
super-plasticizer. You can make an accurate concrete with the same materials and
different parts of the Portland cement and check the compressive strength and either
the workability of concrete to check the quality of cement. You can use the same
materials with different parts of the super-plasticizer to check its performance from
the water reduction rate and air entraining point of view. On the other hand, if you
give a new sample of cement or super-plasticizer that you may like to use in the
production process, you can check them in the laboratory to be sure about the qual-
ity and performance. So, for all of the projects, you need a good laboratory with all
of the necessary instruments for the quality control of concrete that one of the most
important parts of it is the concrete production instruments as below:
• Balance with minimum capacity of 30 kg and the accuracy of 1 g for weight-
ing of aggregates and binders (Figure 10.1).
• Buckets to use for weighting aggregates and binders (Figure 10.2).
• Balance with minimum capacity of 1 kg and the accuracy of 0.1 g for weight-
ing of water and super-plasticizer (Figure 10.1).
• Beaker for weighting of water and super-plasticizer (Figure 10.2).
• Suitable laboratory concrete mixer (Figure 10.3).
FIGURE 10.1 Two types of balance for concrete laboratory (the right one with more accu-
racy). (Photograph by the author.)
Production, Transportation, and Implementation of Concrete 265
FIGURE 10.2 Bucket(left) and beaker(right) as the container for constituent materials in
laboratory. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 10.3 Laboratory concrete mixer. (“Concrete lab mixer”.)

The quality of the laboratory mixer is very important for the accuracy of the test. We
have different laboratory mixers in the market. The best one is pan mixers with good
mixing power and different rotation speed. But if it is not possible for you to buy this
type of mixer, you can use other types. On the other hand, you should use a concrete
mixer with a minimum capacity of 50 L. The capacity of mixer is very important for
good mixing of concrete. You should not use less than 50% of the capacity of mixer for
the production of concrete. For example, if you have a 50 L capacity mixer, the minimum
capacity that you can use is 25 L and it is better to use 30 L to get more accurate results.
To produce a concrete in the laboratory, it is recommended to use below procedure:
• You should weight aggregates, cement, and other binders in the separate
buckets as accurate as possible.
• Weight 50% of total water.
• Put the aggregates in the mixer and add 50% of total water with the aggre-
gates and let them mix and remain for about 5 minutes. This will help you
to get the slump retention result near the real project conditions.
• Weight the remained water and add the super-plasticizer to the water and
hand mix it. You should weigh water and super-plasticizer with a high
accuracy balance. If you checked the aggregates moisture exactly, you may
know the exact amount of water. But if you didn’t check the exact amount of
moisture in the aggregates at the time of test, you should continue the pro-
cedure with slump base method. So, you should weigh the minimum water
that you estimate for the concrete and mix it with the super-plasticizer. Then
you should weigh another amount of water in other beakers to add it to the
final concrete mix till you get the target slump and weight the remained
water to achieve the exact amount of water for concrete. For checking the
mix design, it is recommended to use dry aggregates to calculate the exact
amount of water. So, you can check all of the properties that you may need.
• Add the cement and other binders to the aggregates in the mixer and let
them mix together for a few seconds.
• Add water and super-plasticizer to the mixer and let them mix for minimum
one minute. Then stop the mixer and check the concrete visually. If it is
good, you can continue testing. If not, you should find the problem and
probably do the test again.
• Now it is time to check the concrete slump. You should stop the mixer and
make a slump test on concrete.
• After checking the slump, it is time to check the slump retention. If you
have a mixer with different speed, you can use the lower speed and let the
concrete remain for defined time and again check the slump. Before check-
ing the slump, first you should mix it with high speed for a few seconds and
then do the slump test. If you don’t have a mixer with different speeds, you
should let the mixer stop and mix the concrete each 5 minutes for a few sec-
onds and again let it remain without mixing to the defined amount of time
that you would like to test the slump retention.
• Finally, you should pour the molds for the compressive strength test. You
may use cubic or cylinder specimens for the test.
FIGURE 10.4 Suitable aggregate storage system with good protection. (Photograph by the
author.)
10.2 PRODUCTION OF CONCRETE IN THE BATCHING PLANT

The final part of concrete production is in the batching plant. Batching plant is a spe-
cial instrument made for the production of concrete in huge capacity. This instrument
is made of different parts as below:
• Aggregates storage: You can store the aggregates in a suitable condition

with a roof to protect them from direct sunlight and rain. But for some
types of batching plant, you should store them exactly on the back of the
batching system. You can see a picture of a good aggregate storage system
in Figure 10.4.
• Cement and other binder storage: For the storage of powder materials, you
should use silos that you can see in Figure 10.5. You can full the silos from
a pipe which will go to the top of the silo by high pressure of air from the
cement bunker and you can discharge it from the lowest part by using of
spirals.
• Aggregates transition system: Now it is time to transit the aggregates from
the storage to the weighting system. We have different types of systems in
different batching plants. One using the buckets on the top of the weighting
system that you can full them by using of a loader that you can see this sys-
tem at the left part of Figure 10.6. The other system which is a little older is
using a bucket with a towing wire to pick up the aggregates behind the valve
of weighting system. You can see this system at the right part of Figure 10.6.
• Cement transition system: The transition of cement and other binders is
possible by using of spirals. You can transit all kinds of powder materials
with the spirals. These spirals will transit the powders by rounding in one
direction and it can transit back the powder by rounding in other direction.
FIGURE 10.5 Cement and other binder storage. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 10.6 Two types of aggregate transition systems. (Photograph by the author.)
You can see a picture of two spirals which can transit the cement from the
lower part of silo to the upper part of the cement loading system in Figure 10.7.
• Aggregates weighting system: We have a bucket on a load cell. The aggre-
gates separately will discharge from the valve to the bucket which in on the
load cells till it achieves the defined weight. Then the other valve will open
for the next type of aggregate. So, we can weigh all types of aggregates
separately. For example, if we need 500 kg of 11–19 coarse, the valve for
the 11–19 will open. When the weight is near 500 kg the valve will close
a little for better controlling the discharge amount. When the weight will
be 500 kg the valve will close and the other valve for 5–12 will open. If we
need 300 kg of 5–12, it means that we should get to the weight of 800 kg
FIGURE 10.7 Cement and other powder materials transition system. (Photograph by the
author.)
for the sum of 11–19 and 5–12. So, the valve will be open till the weight of
800 kg. Then it is time for the sand. If we need 1000 kg of sand, it means
that we will have the total weight of aggregates as 1800 kg. So, when we get
to the weight of 1800 kg the sand valve will close. This weighting system is
accurate enough to weigh the aggregates for concrete. We can see a maxi-
mum of 5% of accuracy which is enough for the weighing of aggregates. It
is possible to give more accuracy from this system but more accuracy means
less speed in the weighting system. You can see a picture of aggregates
weighting system in Figure 10.8.
• Sand vibration system: For moisturized soft sand, when the valve of the
weighting system will be open sometimes it cannot fall down to the weight-
ing bucket, because of the stickiness of moisturized fillers inside the sand.
So, you should use a special vibration system to fall it down by the power
of vibration.
• Cement and other binders weighting system: For this purpose, we need a
special and bucket on loadcells that you can see a picture of it in Figure 10.9.
In this system, the cement spiral will work till we get the defined weight and
FIGURE 10.8 Aggregate weighting system with different pneumatic valves. (Photograph
by the author.)
FIGURE 10.9 Cement and other binders weighting system and bucket. (Photograph by the
author.)
then it will stop and if we need other binders the spiral for that binder will
work till we get to the final weight for the mix of binders. The transportation
of cement and other binders from silo to the upper part of the bucket is with
a spiral which we talked about them before.
FIGURE 10.10 Aggregates transition system to the mixer by using of conveyor belt.
(“MOBILE CONCRETE BATCHING PLANT mekaglobal”.)
• Aggregates transition to the mixer: For the transition of aggregates to the

mixer we have two important systems. One is the mobile bucket that we will
pull it up to the place of the mixer by using of towing wire. You can see a
picture of this system in the right part of Figure 10.8. The other more usable
system is using of conveyor belt for transition of the weighted aggregates to
the mixer on the top that you can see a picture of this system in Figure 10.10.
• Cement and other binders transition to the mixer: As you can see in
Figure 10.11, the cement weighting system is on the top of mixer. So, that is
enough to open the valve in the lower place of the bucket to discharge the
cement and other binders to the mixer.
• Cement vibration system: As mentioned before, the cement weighting sys-
tem is on the top of the mixer in the batching plant. So, you can discharge
it by opening the pneumatic valve. But, you know that the powder materials
like cement is sticky itself according to the electrostatic loads. You can use
a vibration system on the cement bucket to accelerate the cement and other
binders discharging to the mixer.
• Admixture dosing system: For liquid admixtures, we have two systems. One
is weighting system on the top of the mixer. The admixture will transit to the
weighting system with a pump until the weight of admixture will be exactly
the defined value. In the second system, we will use a volume system on the
top of the mixer. The transition of admixture is with a pump or vacuum sys-
tem. But the amount will adjust in volume base by signal of an electronic scale.
For the liquid admixtures using of the volume system is much better than the
weighting system because in the batching plant we have much dust and vibra-
tion and these two effects are very bad for the accurate loadcells. For admix-
tures, as we are using little amounts, we should use very accurate loadcells.
FIGURE 10.11 Cement discharging system by using the pneumatic valve. (Photograph by
the author.)
These loadcells and related electronic devices will destroy in the condition
of a batching plant. So, it will be out of calibration soon. You can see a
picture of a volume base admixture dosing system in Figure 10.12. You can
discharge the admixture to the mixer by using a valve if you put it on the top
of the mixer or you can use a pump.
• Mixer: All of the constituent materials should discharge to the mixer for
final mixing. First, we should discharge the aggregates to the mixer. After
discharging half of the aggregates, we can start discharging of the cement
and other binders. After discharging half of the aggregates, you can pump
the water to the mixer and finally after pumping 80% of the water and full
of cement and other binders, you can discharge the super-plasticizer. Then
you should let it mix for minimum 30 seconds and if there is a need you
can discharge remained water and let it mix well. Most of the batching
plants will do the above procedure automatically. Some batching plants can
calculate the amount of moisture in the aggregates and finalize the water
automatically. For the mixer, we have two types. One is the pan mixer that
FIGURE 10.12 Volume base admixture dosing system. (Photograph by the author.)
you can see in Figure 10.13 and the other type is the twin shaft mixer that
you can see in Figure 10.14. There is no much different between the produc-
tion of concrete with these two types of mixers. But, some of the experts
recommended using of twin shafts for better mixing. On the other hand,
if you would like to use a mixer with higher capacity, you should use twin
shaft system.
• Concrete discharging system: After finalizing the mixing process of con-
crete, you should discharge it to the truck mixer from a special cone which
is below the valve of the mixer. You can see a picture of it in Figure 10.15.
• Batching control system: The loading of constituent materials and mixing
and discharging of concrete should control from a control room with a con-
trol system. We have different controlling systems which are going to be
fully automatic nowadays. You can see a picture of a half-automatic control
system in Figure 10.16.
FIGURE 10.13 Pan mixer system. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 10.14 Twin shaft mixer system. (Photograph by the author.)

FIGURE 10.15 Discharging system for concrete. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 10.16 Half-automatic batching control system. (Photograph by the author.)

FIGURE 10.17 Truck mixer under the batching, the special vehicle for concrete transporta-
tion. (Photograph by the author.)
10.3 CONCRETE TRANSPORTATION WITH TRUCK MIXERS

When you produce a high-quality concrete, now it is time to transport it to the place
that you would like to use. So, it is very important to protect the quality of concrete
during the transportation time. Sometimes, you may use ready mixed concrete for
the project. In this case, the transportation time will be more than 30 minutes, but
if you use a batching plant in the project which is the case for bigger projects, you
should transport concrete only from the batching plant to the final place which is less
than 30 minutes and it could be even less than 15 minutes.
For concrete transportation, you should use truck mixers as you can see in
Figure 10.17. It is a special vehicle for concrete transportation. It can mix concrete
during the time to control the setting of concrete. The mixing process should be with
a minimum speed because, if you use higher speed for mixing, it will activate the
cement and it can cause severe slump loose of concrete during the transportation
time.
You can mix concrete with the truck mixer engine power and gearbox with dif-
ferent speeds. At the time of loading truck mixer under the batching, you should use
higher speed. At the time of transportation, you should use minimum speed. Before
discharging you should again mix the concrete with high speed for a few minutes.
On the other hand, the truck mixer tank can rotate in two different directions.
When it rotates in one direction, the spirals inside the tank will only mix the con-
crete. For discharging the tank should rotate in the other direction. So, the spirals can
transport the concrete to the discharging point and discharge it.
In the case of slump loose, you can add a little amount of admixture as the remain-
der into the truck mixer and let it mix at high speed for about 5 minutes and then
discharge the concrete.
FIGURE 10.18 A conveyor belt that is suitable for concrete transportation. (“Mobile con-
veyor belt from TRIDIC”.)
10.4 OTHER INSTRUMENTS FOR CONCRETE TRANSPORTATION

For normal concrete, the only vehicle for transportation is the truck mixer. But for
other cases it is possible to use other vehicles for concrete transportation as below:
• For roller compacted concrete (RCC), as the concrete is with very low slump
like 30 mm, you can use normal trucks for concrete transportation. On the
other hand, these concretes will use for road surface or dam structures. So,
using normal trucks instead of truck mixers will be more suitable for the
case.
• For the transportation of concrete in short distances, you can use conveyor
belt. In this case, you cannot use high slump concrete because it is not pos-
sible to transport a concrete with slump more than 120 mm with a conveyor
belt. You can see a picture of a conveyor belt system which is suitable for
concrete transportation in Figure 10.18.
• Tower crane: This is a very important instrument for big projects. You need
it for many purposes like any type of transportation of heavy weight mate-
rials in the project. But if you use a bucket in the tower crane system, you
can use it for concrete transportation. In this case, you can transport the
concrete for a short distance. For example, from the truck mixer or batching
to the roof of the structure. So, you can use tower crane also instead of the
concrete pump for the projects. You can see a picture of a tower crane in
Figure 10.19.
FIGURE 10.19 Use of tower crane in big projects. (Photograph by the author.)
10.5 CONCRETE PUMPING

One of the most important instruments for concreting is the concrete pump
(Figure 10.20) because for most of the concrete usage in the world, we have pump-
ing process. As mentioned in the before chapters, the quality of concrete is very
important for the pumpability. But the quality of the pumping machine also is very
important for good and high-speed pumping of concrete.
The concrete pump consists of two parallel cylinders. As one cylinder moves for-
ward, the other moves back. The first cylinder which is called a material cylinder
moves concrete out of the hopper. The second cylinder which is called the discharge
cylinder pushes the concrete out of the pump in the location where it is needed. The
two pistons work in tandem, alternately pulling in and pushing out their volumes
of liquid concrete. The hydraulic flow created by the continuous flow of concrete
is what causes the two cylinders to alternate back and forth. Instead of the above
system, there is a mixer inside the pump hopper which mixes the concrete to prevent
setting.
We have two main types of the concrete pump as below:
• Stationary pump (Figure 10.21): This is a kind of pump without any pipe
extended with it. So, you should assemble it before the start of the concret-
ing. In fact, it is only the pumping machine and you can assemble the pipes
FIGURE 10.20 Concrete pumping. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 10.21 Stationary pump machine. (“Construction of the new Malolos City hall
building”.)
according to the needs of the project. You can find different types of station-
ary pumps with different powers. For high raise buildings, you should use a
very powerful stationary pump with the piping system which can go to the
top floor and a boom system which can rotate and move through the roof
with a hydraulic system.
FIGURE 10.22 Boom concrete pump. (Photograph by the author.)
• Boom pump (Figure 10.22): This is another type of concrete pump with
the pumping machine and pipes assembled on a truck. So, you can drive
this type of pump to the project and raise the pipes to the place that you
would like to pump the concrete. You should just attention to the pipe length
that you need for the project to choose the suitable pump. On the other
hand, for some projects, especially in the big cities, you cannot assemble a
boom pump with long pipes and special hydraulic supports. For these cases,
although the usage of boom pumps is much easier for concreting, you should
use stationary pumps.
10.6 COMPACTION OF CONCRETE

After pumping the concrete, you should make sure that the concrete will compact
in the element to ensure the best quality. If you are using the SCC concrete, there
is no need for any compaction because SCC concrete will compact in the best form
and the quality of the final concrete element will be very good. You can see a picture
of concreting with an SCC concrete in which there is no need for compaction in
Figure 10.23. You can see that the concrete will move through the element without
any problem.
For normal concrete, you will need the compaction. The compaction of concrete
in the structural elements is possible by using the vibrators (Figure 10.24). The need
for vibration is different according to the below considerations:
• Concrete slump: For higher slump, you need less vibration and for lower
slump, you need more vibration
• Congestion of the rebars: For congested elements, you may need more
vibration.
FIGURE 10.23 SCC concrete which is moving through the element. (Photograph by the
author.)
FIGURE 10.24 Concrete vibration. (“Using a vibrating rod to compact and to purge the
concrete of any air bubbles”.)
• Aggregates gradation and maximum size of coarse aggregates: For coarser

concrete, you should control the vibration, because if you use much vibra-
tion, the concrete will segregate and it can cause decreasing the quality. For
softer concrete, you can use more vibration if there is a need.
• Dimensions of the element: For bigger elements, you need to use more
vibration and it is recommended to use stronger vibrators. But for smaller
elements, you can use small vibrators.
10.7 SMOOTHING THE SURFACE OF CONCRETE ELEMENTS

The quality of the concrete element’s final surface is very important according to the
considerations of cracking and durability. For some other structures like the floor-
ing, it is more important than normal because of the special loading form in these
structures. So, one of the activities that should be done for all types of structures is
smoothing the concrete surface.
For most of the structures, you can do the smoothing by using handy trowels. It
is very important to protect the surface against the walking before finalizing the set-
ting time of concrete, and curing also is very important to protect the surface from
cracking.
For flooring, you should smooth the surface by using the electric trowels that you
can see a picture of it in Figure 10.25. This is a special instrument for smoothing the
concrete surface very well. You should use it for the parking or industrial floors. You
can get the best quality for the surface, if you use silicate hardener powders on the
surface of concrete before using of the electric trowel. The usage of electric trowel
should be at the time after the setting time happened. You cannot use it on the surface
of fresh concrete because of the heavy weight of it. Sometimes, you can use electric
trowel to protect the surface against plastic shrinkage. After happening the cracks of
plastic shrinkage, you can use the electric trowel for the second time to eliminate the
cracks and then cure the concrete to protect it against cracking.
FIGURE 10.25 Electric trowel. (“Flattening of just poured concrete by vibration” by

Wouter Hagens.)
10.8 COLD JOINT IN CONCRETE

We have different types of joints in concrete structures. Some of them are very
important for the performance of the structure like the expansion joints. The imple-
mentation of these joints is not the subject of this book. You can find the implementa-
tion procedure for different types of structures in the texts and catalogs of the special
products for this purpose. Here, we are going to talk about the cold joint which is not
good for the performance of the structure.
Cold joint is the joint between two concrete implementations in one element
which happens because of the time between two concreting which causes the setting
of concrete of the first step.
You should prevent the happening of the cold joints according to the below
considerations:
• For most of the elements, you can check the time of concreting and use
enough concrete continuously to prevent cold joints. It is very important
especially when you are using ready mixed concrete.
• For huge elements like the foundations, which continuous concreting is
not possible for total element. You can divide the structure into smaller
parts. You can use a special fine expanded metal mesh for this purpose
(Figure 10.26).
• If dividing of the huge element is not possible, you should use special
retarder admixtures with a defined dosage. So, you can retard the setting of
the first step concrete. Then after pouring the second step, you can use the
vibrator to mix two layers with each other.
FIGURE 10.26 Expanded metal mesh for dividing the concrete elements. (Photograph by
the author.)
10.9 CURING OF CONCRETE

As mentioned before, it is very important to cure concrete to save the quality of the
project. If you produce a high-quality concrete but you didn’t cure it in the project
after concreting, the quality will drastically decrease in the elements and you cannot
be sure about the performance of the structure. So, concrete curing is very important,
although in most of the projects, there is no enough attention to that.
If you don’t cure the concrete in the structure, you may see one or all of the below
problems:
• Decrease in the compressive strength and other mechanical properties of

concrete in the project compared with the laboratory test results.
• Huge cracks in the structure which cause a decrease in the performance and
loading capacity of the structure.
• Microcracking in the structure which causes the permeability of aggressive
ions into the concrete elements and decreasing the durability of structure.
You see the importance of concrete curing in structures. Unfortunately,
in the projects, contractors don’t cure the concrete as well as it needs because
the payment in most parts of the world is for pouring the concrete into the
structure. So, there is not enough inspection for the curing of concrete in the
structures instead of some very sensitive projects.
Curing of concrete in all of the ambient conditions should be as below:
• Prevent the loss of moisture inside concrete: You can use water jet, steam
curing or curing compound admixtures for this purpose. In hot weather
conditions, this process is harder than in cold weather conditions because of
the evaporation rate of water. On the other hand, wind also could increase
the rate of evaporation. So, in this case, also you should try harder to control
the loss of moisture inside concrete (Figures 10.27 and 10.28).
• Control the temperature of concrete in the structure: It depends on the
weather conditions. In hot weather conditions, you can control the tem-
perature of concrete by using cold water for curing. In cold weather
conditions, it is much hard to control the temperature of concrete in the
structure. You should use special blankets or using some hot weather
sources to control the temperature. You should also prevent the structure
from ice and snow.
• Doing the actions of curing for enough time: The time of curing is very
important, especially for the prevention of cracking in the structure. The
best time for curing depends on the type of structure, weather conditions,
and type of concrete. But it is recommended to cure concrete for one week
to get the best result. In the projects, most of the times, it is not possible to
cure the structure for one week because of the implementation problems for
the next step. In this case, the minimum time of curing recommendation is
48 hours with the best control.
FIGURE 10.27 Using of curing compound for curing of concrete. (“Applying Curing
Compound and Stripping the Wall Forms at the Yard Lead Reception Pit” by MTA
Construction & Development Mega Projects.)
FIGURE 10.28 Water jet curing. (“Iraqi subcontractors use a water base curing process”
by Jim Gordon.)
10.10 CONCRETE RECYCLING SYSTEM

One of the problems in the process of concrete production, transportation, and imple-
mentation is the waste concrete that remained in the instruments. We have below
concrete wastes in the process:
• Concrete remaining in the batching plant mixer should be washed before

finishing the work.
• Concrete remaining in the truck mixer after discharging should be washed.
• Concrete remaining in the concrete pump equipment should be washed.
• Possibly concrete in a truck mixer with some problems like rejecting or
excess concrete in a project should be discharged out.
For all of these purposes, we need much water. So, it is very important if we can
recycle the waste concrete and water as below:
• We should separate the aggregates from the cement slurry and grade them
again for use in the production process in the future.
• We should separate the water and purify that for using in the production
process in the future.
• The remained waste should be a dense cement slurry with minimum volume
that we cannot recycle it. It is the final waste of concrete that is very little.
There are different special instruments that you can use for concrete recycling (Figure
10.29). In some parts of the world, the use of these instruments is mandatory in proj-
ects and ready mixed plants. But unfortunately, in some other parts of the world,
FIGURE 10.29 Concrete recycling system in a ready mixed plant. (Photograph by the
author.)
the usage of these instruments is not common. So, the concrete waste is going to be
very dangerous for the environment in these areas.
For the disposal of final slurry waste which is a very little amount, there are dif-
ferent laws in different parts of the world. One of the best options is the deactivation
of cement by using some chemicals, then let the slurry dry, and finally, use the deac-
tivated cement particles as the filler for the sand that we are going to use in concrete
production.
REFERENCES
Asurnipal, “Mobile conveyor belt from TRIDIC.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.
org/wiki/File:TRIDIC_Stacker_-_mobile_Conveyor_belt_(mobiles_Foerderband).jpg.
“Concrete lab mixer.” Retrieved from: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/653528.
Fsmazlum, “MOBILE CONCRETE BATCHING PLANT mekaglobal” Retrieved from:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MOBILE_CONCRETE_BATCHING_
PLANT_mekaglobal.jpg.
Gordon, Jim, CIV, “Iraqi subcontractors use a water base curing process on the wall
of a building at the construction site for the Public Order Battalion (POB) com-
plex, located in Baghdad, Iraq.” Retrieved from: https://nara.getarchive.net/media/
iraqi-subcontractors-use-a-water-base-curing-process-on-the-wall-of-a-building-eecf08.
Hagens, Wouter, “Flattening of just poured concrete by vibration.” Retrieved from: https://
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concrete_flattening.jpg.
2015.
Judgefloro, “Construction of the new Malolos City hall building.” Retrieved from: https://
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1097Construction_of_the_new_Malolos_City_hall_
building_34.jpg.
MTA Construction & Development Mega Projects, “Applying Curing Compound and Stripping
the Wall Forms at the Yard Lead Reception Pit.” Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/
photos/mtacc-esa/7415006130.
Nawy G. Edward, Concrete Construction Engineering Handbook, CRC Press, 2008.
2003.
2001.
Shihchuan, Taipei city, Taiwan, “Using a vibrating rod to compact and to purge the concrete
of any air bubbles.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Using_a_
vibrating_rod_to_compact_and_to_purge_the_concrete_of_any_air_bubbles.jpg.
11 Usage of Fibers
in Concrete
One of the newest materials for use in modern concrete is fibers. It is not necessary
to use fibers in concrete. But using them can improve the performance of concrete in
many cases. So, using of fibers is going to increase in the projects.
In this chapter, we discuss the different types of suitable fibers for concrete and
the improvement of properties that will cause because of them (Figure 11.1). We have
different types of fibers that we can use in concrete. The properties of each one are
different. On the other hand, they have different effects on the properties of fresh
and hardened concrete. So, we should use them according to the needs of the project.
11.1 STEEL FIBERS

The most common fibers for use in concrete is the steel fibers. Concrete technologists
are trying to use steel fibers instead of using steel bars in concrete. We have two types
of steel fibers in the market:
• Macro-steel fibers: They are the most common type of steel fibers. Most of
the time, we should use them for the flooring structures. They can improve
the mechanical properties of concrete. But the research on using them
instead of steel bars is in progress. You can see a picture of the macro-steel
fibers in Figure 11.2.
FIGURE 11.1 Crushed fiber-reinforced concrete. (“Ultra-High Performance Fiber

Reinforced Concrete” by Bianca Paola Maffezzoli.)
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-11 289

FIGURE 11.2 Macro-steel fibers. (“Stainless steel fiber.”)
• Micro-steel fibers: This type of steel fiber is much different than the macro-
steel ones. They are much thinner than the macro-steel fibers and the type
of steel that we should use for the production of these types of fibers are
different. They can improve the mechanical properties of concrete. The
most important and common usage of them is the production of ultra-high
strength concrete. In this case, the usage of these fibers instead of steel bars
is possible. But it is not economical to use them instead of steel bars because
of the high price of the micro-steel fibers in the market which is according
to the high technology of the production process and the number of manu-
facturers in the world. You can see a picture of the micro-steel fibers in
Figure 11.3 and the properties of these kind of fibers in Table 11.1.
You can see the positive and negative effects of using steel fibers in fresh and hard-
ened concrete as below:
• Using both types of steel fibers will decrease the workability of concrete.
So, most of the time, you should use more super-plasticizer for the produc-
tion of concrete. The worse effect of them is on the pumpability of concrete
because the fibers will increase the fraction of concrete with the pump pipes
and it will cause drastically high pressure of pumping. So, we should try not
to use steel fiber-reinforced concrete for the projects that we need high raise
building pumping.
• When you would like to use steel fibers in concrete, you should consider the
special concrete mix design according to the amount of steel fibers that you
would like to use.
Usage of Fibers in Concrete 291
FIGURE 11.3 Micro-steel fibers. (Photograph by the author.)
TABLE 11.1
Normal Specifications of the Steel fibers
Type of Fibers Density (kg/m3) Diameter (μm) Tensile Strength (MPa)
Macro-steel fibers 7800 500–1000 More than 500
Micro-steel fibers 7800 50–200 More than 1000
• Micro-steel fibers will increase the compressive strength of concrete. They

can increase the compressive strength of concrete even more than 50%.
Because of this property, we can try to use micro-steel fibers instead of
steel bars in concrete structures.
• The effect of macro-steel fibers on the compressive strength of concrete is
much lower than the micro-steel ones. They can increase the compressive
strength by up to 10%.
• Both types of steel fibers will increase the tensile and flexural strength of
concrete. This will be higher for the micro-steel fibers. They can increase
the tensile strength by more than 50% and flexural strength by more than
150%. Because of this property, we can use the macro-steel fibers in the
flooring structures and the micro-steel fibers instead of the steel bars in the
concrete structures.
• Cracking will control in concrete by using steel fibers. It is because of the
higher tensile strength of concrete.
• Reinforced concrete with steel fibers will be much resistant against the
shock loads.
The most important factor you should mention for using any type of fiber to improve
the properties of concrete is the homogeneous dispersion of them in the concrete ele-
ment. In the case of not homogeneous dispersion, you will see even destroying the
properties of concrete. The homogeneous dispersing of the fibers in concrete mainly
depends on the below parameters:
• Good mix design for concrete according to the usage of the fibers. It means
that using high performance super-plasticizers like polycarboxylate ether
types with higher dosage and the softer concrete by using soft sand and lower
size for the coarse aggregates can help the fibers to disperse homogenously.
• Enough mixing time for concrete in the batching plant. It means the mixing
time is two times more than a concrete without using fibers.
• Good and suitable mixer for concrete. It realized that the pan mixers will be
a little better for the production of fiber-reinforced concrete.
• It is better to decrease the transportation time for the fiber-reinforced con-
crete. Mixing concrete in the truck mixers too much will cause gathering of
the fibers in some parts of the concrete inside the truck mixer. Using a truck
mixer with good spirals can help to prevent agglomeration.
The amount of use for the steel fibers is different according to the type of concrete
that you would like to produce. But you can use the below considerations:
• For both types of steel fibers to control cracking on the surface of concrete,
you can use 2 to 10 kg of the steel fibers in 1 m3 of concrete.
• For the macro-steel fibers in the case of flooring with low loading capacity,
you can use 10 to 20 kg of the steel fibers in 1 m3 of concrete.
• For the macro-steel fibers in the case of any type of high loading capacity
flooring, you can use 20 to 30 kg of the steel fibers in 1 m3 of concrete.
• For the micro-steel fibers and for the production of ultra-high strength con-
crete, you can use steel fibers between 2% and 10% of the total weight of
concrete which is the higher amount of use of any type of fiber in concrete.
11.2 GLASS FIBERS

Glass fibers consist of several fine fibers of glass. Glass fibers is formed when thin
strands of silica-based or other formulation glass are extruded into many fibers with
small diameters (Figure 11.4). There are many different types of glass fibers that you
can use in different industries. You can see Table 11.2 for some of the different types
of glass fibers that you can find in the market.
From the above types of fibers, the research is ongoing for using the best one to
get the best properties for concrete. For example, for two types of them, you can see
Table 11.3 for the specification.
The effect of glass fibers on the properties of concrete is different and it depends
on the type of fiber, concrete mix design, and the element that we are going to make
with the glass fiber-reinforced concrete (GFRC). But normally, we can name below
properties for concrete when we would like to use glass fibers:
FIGURE 11.4 Glass fibers for use in the production of glass fiber reinforced concrete.
TABLE 11.2
Some of the Different Types of Glass Fibers
A glass Alkali lime glass with little or no boron oxide
C glass Alkali lime glass with high boron oxide
content
D glass Borosilicate glass with low dielectric constant
E glass Alumino-borosilicate glass
R glass Alumino silicate without MgO and CaO
TABLE 11.3
Specifications of Two Types of Glass Fibers
Type of Fibers Density (kg/m3) Diameter (μm) Tensile strength (MPa)
E glass fiber 2500 10–15 More than 2000
R glass fiber 2600 10–20 More than 1500
• When you use glass fibers in concrete, the workability will decrease. You
will have a concrete with hard moving speed. So, all of the properties
referred to the workability will decrease.
• You should use a special concrete mix design when you would like to use
glass fibers. It is better to use softer concrete with a soft sand and lower
size of the coarse aggregates and use more super-plasticizer than normal.
The best type of super-plasticizer for GFRC is the polycarboxylate base.
• Glass fibers will decrease the compressive strength of concrete. We cannot
say how much you will see the decrease of compressive strength because it
will be different according to the mix design, type of fibers, and other proper-
ties. So, research is ongoing to control this effect of glass fibers on concrete.
• Glass fibers will increase the tensile and flexural strength of concrete. We
cannot say the exact amount of increase. But if you produce a good con-
crete, you will see a reasonable increase in the tensile and flexural strength.
• Because of the increase in the tensile and flexural strength of concrete, you
can say that the glass fibers can help to prevent cracking on the surface of
concrete elements.
The most important usage of GFRC is the production of exterior build-
ing segments that you can use for the design of beautiful surfaces in the
structures. You can see pictures of using GFRC in the exterior design of
structures in Figure 11.5. On the other hand, you can make some concrete
segments that can transmit the light which is very special for concrete.
These segments also could be very useful as decorative materials. You can
see a picture of these decorative parts in Figure 11.6.
11.3 ARTIFICIAL FIBERS

There are different types of artificial fibers in the market that you can use them
in concrete production. Each type of these fibers can cause different properties in
fresh and hardened concrete. The research is ongoing for the artificial fibers and
the properties that you can achieve by using them in concrete. But in this book,
we discuss the most important and widely used artificial fibers which is the poly
propylene or PP fibers.
FIGURE 11.5 Use of GFRC in exterior design. (Photograph by the author.)

FIGURE 11.6 Light transition by GFRC concrete. (“Light transmitting concrete.”)
11.3.1 Polypropylene Fibers

Polypropylene fibers are made from the by-products of the textile industry (Figure 11.7).
You can find them with different lengths in the market which is most of the time 8, 10,
and 120 mm. You can see the specifications of polypropylene fibers in Table 11.4.
The effect of polypropylene fibers on the properties of concrete is different and
depends on the amount of use, concrete mix design, and the element that we are
going to make with the polypropylene fibers. But normally we can name below prop-
erties for concrete, when we would like to use PP fibers:
• When you use PP fibers in concrete, the workability will decrease. You will
have a concrete with hard moving speed. So, all of the properties referred to
the workability will decrease.
• You should use a special concrete mix design when you would like to use
the PP fibers. It is better to use softer concrete with a soft sand and lower
size of the coarse aggregates and use more super-plasticizer than normal.
The best type of super-plasticizer for this type of concrete is the polycar-
boxylate base.
FIGURE 11.7 Polypropylene fibers. (“PP fiber for concrete” by Henan Botai.)
TABLE 11.4
Specifications of the Polypropylene Fibers
Type of Fibers Density (kg/m3) Diameter (μm) Tensile Strength (MPa)
Polypropylene (PP) 900 20–100 More than 500
• Polypropylene fibers will decrease the compressive strength of concrete.

We cannot say how much you will see the decrease in compressive strength
because it will be different according to the mix design, amount of fibers,
and other properties. So, research is ongoing to control this effect of
PP fibers on concrete.
• Polypropylene fibers will increase the tensile and flexural strength of con-
crete. We cannot say the exact amount of increase. But if you produce a
good concrete, you will see a reasonable increase in the tensile and flexural
strength of concrete.
• Because of the increase in the tensile and flexural strength of concrete, you
can say that the PP fibers can help to prevent cracking on the surface of
concrete elements.
• Use of PP fibers will increase the resistance of concrete against the fire. In fact,
if you would like to make a fire resistance concrete you should use PP fibers.
The amount of use for polypropylene fibers in concrete is about 1 to 2 kg
in 1 m3 of concrete. Like all other types of fibers, you should make sure that
the fibers will separate from each other and spread during the total volume
of concrete to get the best result.
FIGURE 11.8 Using of PP fibers in the production of CLC blocks. (“Concrete architecture.”)
One of the important usages of the PP fibers is the production of cellular lightweight
concrete blocks (Figure 11.8). You can use PP fibers in these blocks to prevent their
shrinkage during time.
11.4 NATURAL FIBERS

There are too many types of natural fibers that you can use in concrete like straw
fibers, hemp fibers, horse hair fibers, and so on (Figure 11.9). According to the recent
researches and better properties of the artificial fibers, using of the natural fibers is
limited these days. But in some parts of the world, you can find some types of con-
crete made with natural fibers.
As the properties of concrete depend on the type of natural fibers, we cannot name
all of the properties you can see by using natural fibers. But the most important ones
are as below:
FIGURE 11.9 Palm tree fibers. (“Palm tree.”)

• The workability of concrete will decrease by using natural fibers. So, you
should use a special concrete mix design and high-performance super-
plasticizers like PCE types.
• The compressive strength of concrete will decrease by using natural fibers.
The percentage of decrease depends on the type of fiber and amount of use.
• Most of the time, the tensile and flexural strength of concrete will increase
by using natural fibers.
• Concrete cracking will control by using natural fibers according to the
improvement of the tensile and flexural strength of concrete.
REFERENCES
Concrete, ASTM C172–99.
for Concrete, ASTM C494–99.
Absorption of Fine Aggregates, ASTM C128–97.
and Coarse Aggregates, ASTM C136–01.
Cement Concrete, ASTM C143–00.
Elasticity and Poisson’s Ratio of Concrete in Compression, ASTM C469–94.
Bertolini L, Elsener B, Pedeferri P, Polder R, Corrosion of Steel in Concrete, Prevention.
“Concrete architecture.” Retrieved from: https://www.rawpixel.com/image/6034770/
photo-image-public-domain-concrete-free.
Ervanne Heini, Hakanen Martti, Analysis of Cement Super-plasticizer and Grinding Aids:
A Literature Survey, Posiva Oy, 2007.
Forgemind ArchiMedia, “Light transmitting concrete.” Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.
com/photos/eager/15578813800.
Henan Botai Chemical Building Materials Co., Ltd, “PP fiber for concrete.” Retrieved from:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PP_fiber_for_concrete.jpg.
Method, 2015.
Iranian Standard Organization, Standard Specification for Ready Mixed Concrete, ISIRI6044, 2015.
Maffezzoli, Bianca Paola, “Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete.” Retrieved
from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UHPFRC_-_Ultra-High_Performance_
Fiber_Reinforced_Concrete.jpg.
Mohammadi, 2007.
Newman John, Choo Ban Seng, Advanced Concrete Technology, Concrete Properties,
Elsevier, 2003.
Ramachandran V.S, Beaudion James, Handbook of Analytical Techniques in Concrete
Science and Technology, Principles, Techniques and Applications, William Andrew
Publishing, 2001.
Ulleo, “Palm tree.” Retrieved from: https://pixnio.com/textures-and-patterns/tree-bark-cortex/
palm-tree-palm-dry-nature-bark-fiber-brown#.
Zs871124, “Stainless steel fiber.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Stainless_steel_fiber.jpg.
12 Hot and Cold Weather
Concreting
Concrete production, transportation and pouring highly depend on the weather con-
ditions. Mild weather condition with an optimum temperature of around 20°C and
high humidity is the best conditions for concrete. But we will have serious problems
in hot and cold weather conditions that can decrease the quality of concrete and final
structure too much.
In some parts of the world, we have hot weather conditions for most of the times
of the year. In some other parts of the world, we may have cold weather conditions
at most of the times of the year. In some other parts of the world, we may have hot
weather conditions in warm seasons and cold weather conditions in cool seasons. So,
you should know how to work with concrete under these conditions and how you can
protect the concrete against harmful hot and cold weather problems.
Before starting the subjects about hot and cold weather concreting, you should
know about the importance of concrete temperature. In concrete technology, the
importance of concrete temperature is more than the weather temperature. In fact, it
is very important to produce concrete with normal temperatures even in hot and cold
weather conditions. If you can control the concrete temperature, you can protect the
concrete against the harmful effects of hot and cold weather. You can check the con-
crete temperature by using the special thermometers as you can see in Figure 12.1.
We will discuss this subject in the latter parts of this chapter.
12.1 CALCULATING CONCRETE TEMPERATURE ACCORDING

TO THE CONSTITUENT MATERIALS TEMPERATURE
Now, it is time to calculate the concrete temperature according to the concrete mix
design and the temperature of constituent materials. For this reason, you can use
equation 12.1.
0.22(Ta Ta + Tc Mc ) + TW MW + TWa MWa

T= (12.1)
0.22(M a + Mc ) + MW + MWa
In the equation above, we will have Ta as the temperature of each aggregate, Ma

is the weight of each aggregate, Tc is the temperature of the cement or any type of
supplementary cementitious material, Mc is the weight of the cement or any type of
supplementary cementitious materials, Tw is the temperature of water that you are
using for concrete production, Mw is the weight of water, Twa is the temperature of
total water in the aggregates, Mwa is the weight of total water in aggregates and T is
the temperature of concrete produces with the above constituent materials.
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-12 301

FIGURE 12.1 Special digital thermometer for concrete. (Photograph by the author.)
By using the above equation, you can calculate concrete temperature when you
know the concrete mix design and the temperature of each material. We will use this
equation in the latter parts of this chapter.
12.2 DEFINITIONS OF HOT WEATHER

CONDITIONS FOR CONCRETE
The first thing that you should know about hot weather concreting is the maximum
defined temperature for concrete or weather that you can continue concreting. In fact,
we don’t have any defined temperature for weather in which you are going to make
concrete or pour a structural element. There is no recommendation about it in any
concrete technology text or document. But we have a maximum defined temperature
for concrete to protect it from any damage caused by hot weather conditions which is
32°C. So, it is very important to produce concrete with a temperature as low as pos-
sible in hot weather conditions.
We can define places with hot weather conditions as below:
• All of the places between the Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn and
the equator. These are the hottest places in the world. Most of the time, the
weather conditions are like summer or spring. If you check a world map,
you can see that many parts of the world are in this weather climate.
• All other parts of the world may have at least 1 month with a weather tem-
perature of more than 30°C. By this definition, it is possible to have hot
weather concreting even in a cold country in summer.
We may have two types of hot weather climates:
• Hot and dry: These are the places with high temperatures but dry weather.
These are the places near deserts in the world (Figure 12.2).
• Hot and humid: These are the places with high temperatures and high
humidity in the air. These are the places near the coastal areas in the world
(Figure 12.3).
We cannot say which type of hot weather should be much harmful to concrete with
confidence because it depends on the property of fresh or hardened concrete that we
Hot and Cold Weather Concreting 303
FIGURE 12.2 A place with hot and dry weather conditions. (“Leaving traces on soft sand
dunes in Tadrart Acacus” by Luca Galuzzi.)
FIGURE 12.3 A place with hot and humid weather conditions. (Photograph by the author.)
would like to talk about. For example, hot and dry weather is much harmful to the
slump keeping of fresh concrete, because although the high temperature itself causes
slump loose in concrete, the rate of evaporation in a hot and dry weather is very
high and it can cause drastic slump loss of concrete. But in hot and humid weather,
because of the high amount of humidity in the air the rate of evaporation is lower.
On the other hand, the humidity in hot and humid weather conditions is the sea water
with high amount of chloride and sulfate, which can attack the hardened concrete
and cause serious corrosion. But in dry weather, we don’t have this high amount of
chloride and sulfate in the air. So, we can say that hot weather with humid or without
humid could be dangerous for concrete and we should control it.
12.3 CEMENT HYDRATION REACTION AT

HOT WEATHER CONDITIONS
As mentioned before, the hydration reaction is an exothermic chemical reaction that
will cause the release of heat in the concrete element. High temperature will activate
the chemical reactions much. For cement hydration reaction also, high temperature
can activate it and cause rapid reaction between cement and water. It can cause rapid
setting time and slump loose. On the other hand, it can cause high temperature inside
fresh and hardened concrete at earlier ages. It will be much dangerous when we
would like to pour concrete in big elements like a mass foundation.
High temperature in fresh and early age hardened concrete will cause loss of
strength and concrete quality because of some unknown chemical reactions inside
concrete. So, if you produce two concretes with the same constituent materials and
mix design, one in high-temperature production place and another in the low tem-
perature production place, you can see that the 28 days compressive strength of the
concrete produced in the cooler place will be higher. It is possible to achieve higher
initial strength for the concrete produced in higher temperatures at 3 or even 7 days.
But if you compare the 28 and more day compressive strength, you will see dif-
ferent results. So, it is very important to control the concrete temperature for hot
weather concreting. The maximum 32°C concrete temperature is defined because of
the above explanations. If you produce a concrete with a temperature of 32°C, you
will see higher temperature at the time of discharging in the project place, especially
if you have high transportation time. So, it is strongly recommended to produce con-
crete with a temperature lower than 25°C in hot weather conditions.
12.4 THE EFFECTS OF HOT WEATHER ON

THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
As mentioned before, hot weather could be harmful to concrete. We can name the
most important harmful effects as below:
• Higher water demand: The need for water in hot weather is higher than
the mild or cold weather. This is because of the higher temperature of the
constituent materials and higher evaporation rate. More water in concrete
production means lower quality and mechanical properties for concrete.
• Rapid slump loosing during time: The slump keeping of concrete during
transportation time is very hard in hot weather conditions because higher
temperature will cause higher activation for the hydration reaction which
will cause rapid setting time and slump loss. On the other hand, high evapo-
ration rate in hot weather, especially in dry conditions, will cause loss of
concrete water and rapid loss of slump. Unfortunately, most of the time,
when the concrete slump at the project will be low, the laborers in the proj-
ect will add water into the concrete before pouring to raise the slump. It
will cause more water in concrete mix and lose the quality and mechanical
properties of concrete. On the other hand, if the temperature of concrete
will be high at the project time and you add cooler water to it, the cement
molecules will shock and it will cause decreasing the quality of concrete
more than expected.
• Rapid setting time: High temperature will cause more activation of the hydra-
tion reaction which will cause rapid setting time. If you continue the mixing
of concrete after the initial setting time, you are destroying the strength and
dense structure of the concrete which will cause lower quality in the final
structure.
• Higher cracking probability: We will talk about concrete cracking in the
latter parts of this chapter. But for now, you should know that higher water
evaporation from the poured concrete will cause cracking on the surface of
the concrete element. These cracks could be deep in the concrete element
and can damage the strength of the structure.
• Higher temperature of fresh concrete: The maximum acceptable tempera-
ture for fresh concrete is 32°C. In hot weather conditions, achieving this
temperature will be very hard and higher temperature will cause lower final
strength of concrete.
• Different strength development patterns for concrete: In hot weather condi-
tions, concrete will give you more early strength. But the latter strength will
be much lower compared with a concrete produced at mild temperatures.
So, we will have two problems. One is the lower final strength and two is the
different strength development pattern which should be important for some
projects. For example, you may need special compressive strength for 7 or
11 days. If you used special admixtures to achieve this strength, at higher
temperature, the dosage and even type of admixtures that you are going to
use should be different.
12.5 CONSIDERATIONS FOR HOT WEATHER CONCRETING

Now, it is time to talk about the considerations for the protection of concrete from the
above damages. The most important activity that we should do is controlling the tem-
perature of fresh concrete. So, we can name the most important considerations as below:
• Using cold water or powdered ice instead of concrete water or as a part

of concrete water to decrease the temperature of fresh concrete: The spe-
cial heat capacity for water is very high compared with the other materials.
FIGURE 12.4 Ice plant instrument besides a batching plant. (Photograph by the author.)
So, water is a very good cooler liquid for any purpose. If you use cold water
for concrete production, it will cause decreasing concrete temperature very
much. If you use powdered ice, the effect will be much higher because the
ice will give high amount of heat to melt into the water and it will cause a
higher decrease in concrete temperature. We will check the effect of water
on concrete temperature by using equation 12.1.
To use powdered ice in concrete production, there are some special plants that pro-
duce powdered ice (Figure 12.4). You can use them beside the batching plant.
• Minimizing the transportation time: In hot weather climate, the truck mixer
drivers should learn to minimize the transportation time. On the other hand,
you should check them to control the best performance. Using GPS and
traffic control systems in the truck mixers could be helpful. Adjustment of
loading and sending time of the truck mixer with the discharging capacity
in the project is very important to avoid wasting time in the project area.
There are computer programs for this purpose.
FIGURE 12.5 Shade on the surface of aggregates to control their temperature. (Photograph
by the author.)
• Using shade on the aggregates (Figure 12.5): Because of the dark color of
aggregates, they absorb much heat from the sunlight. So, their temperature
will be very high if we store them in an open area. This high-temperature
aggregates will cause higher temperature for fresh concrete. Using shade on
the surface of the aggregates can prevent high temperature of the aggregates
and concrete.
• Using of retarding admixtures in concrete production: You can use retarding
admixtures to retard the cement hydration reaction and control setting time
and increasing of concrete temperature during time. You can use retarders
separately or mixed with the super-plasticizers.
• Using strong super-plasticizers with slump-keeping effect: As mentioned
before, in hot weather conditions, the water demand for concrete will raise.
So, you will need stronger super-plasticizers to achieve the same slump
compared with mild weather conditions. On the other hand, slump keeping
of concrete is very important in hot weather conditions. So, you should use
super-plasticizers with high slump-keeping effect. The best one is polycar-
boxylate ether-based super-plasticizers with slump retention polymers. You
can use retarders mixed with the super-plasticizer to achieve better slump
retention. Most of the time, you can find a special formulated retarded
super-plasticizer for hot climate conditions in the market.
• Cooling the aggregates before using them in concrete production: If you
cool the aggregates before using them in the concrete production process, it
can decrease the temperature of concrete as you can calculate from equation
12.1. Most of the time, you can cool the aggregates by splashing water on
their surface. This will cause a high amount of water consumption. So, it is
not recommended to do it in most parts of the world with high worry about
the water resources. On the other hand, if you use excess water for cooling
FIGURE 12.6 Liquid nitrogen tanks. (“Liquid nitrogen tanks and storage containers” by
Matylda Sęk.)
the aggregates, controlling the amount of water for concrete production will
be much hard.
• Using liquid nitrogen for the cooling of concrete (Figure 12.6): If you
couldn’t produce a concrete at low temperature, you can cool the final
concrete by using liquid nitrogen. When the liquid nitrogen would like to
evaporate, it will take a high amount of heat and will cool the concrete very
much. The problem is the danger of using liquid nitrogen for the laborers, if
they don’t take care of themselves and also high price of the instruments for
the usage of liquid nitrogen.
• Working at cooler times of the day: For some parts of the world with very
high temperature, it is strongly recommended to work at cooler times of the
day or it is better to work at night time. It can help us to protect the concrete
from the high temperature of noon times and control the temperature of
the concrete. On the other hand, it can help us to cure the concrete simpler.
• Using cooler cement for concrete production: Sometimes, when you trans-
port the cement from the factory to the batching site and after discharging
it, you will see cement with a high temperature in the siloes. It can highly
increase the concrete temperature. So, it is strongly recommended to use the
cement as cool as it is possible. You can ask the cement manufacturer to give
you cooler cement. On the other hand, you can use high volume siloes and
different siloes in one batching plant. So, you can use older cements with
lower temperature first.
• Cure the concrete as well as possible: As mentioned before, the curing of
concrete in hot weather conditions is much important than in any other case.
So, you should control the temperature and moisture of concrete after pour-
ing and you should do it as long as it is possible.
FIGURE 12.7 Plastic shrinkage and cracks. (Photograph created by the author.)
12.6 CONCRETE CRACKING AT HOT WEATHER CONDITIONS

We have different types of cracks in concrete. In this part of the book, we are going
to talk about four types of cracks that should happen at any type of temperature or
weather conditions. But the probability of this happening in hot weather conditions
is much higher.
First, you should know that decreasing the volume of hardened concrete is called
shrinkage, and if you cannot control the shrinkage, concrete will crack, especially
on the surface of thinner elements. We have four main types of shrinkage that we are
going to talk about:
• Plastic shrinkage (Figure 12.7): This is because of the early drying of the
concrete surface. The rapid evaporating of water from concrete surface
especially at high temperatures will cause rapid drying which is the reason
for the plastic shrinkage. It can make cracks on the surface of concrete till
the compressive strength of the concrete surface will raise to about 1 MPa.
The only way to control plastic shrinkage and prevent cracking is curing of concrete.
In fact, you should prevent the evaporation of water from concrete surface. As the
concrete surface is on plastic stage, you cannot use water curing. So, the best way is
using the curing compounds or steam curing.
• Chemical shrinkage (Figure 12.8): It is also called autogenous shrinkage and

is because of the hydration reaction of cement as the hydrated products vol-
ume is less than the volume of cement and water before starting the hydration
reaction. So, it will cause a high amount of shrinkage and cracking espe-
cially in high-strength concrete. As the amount of cement in high-strength
concrete is more than normal strength concrete, the danger of autogenous
shrinkage will be much higher. If you do not cure the high-strength concrete,
you will see a drastically cracked surface 12–24 hours after concreting. So,
it is very important to cure high-strength concrete as well as it is possible.
FIGURE 12.8 Chemical shrinkage and cracks. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 12.9 Concrete cracks that can cause by drying shrinkage and extension due to
loading. (“Concrete Cracked” by John Harvey.)
The only way to control chemical shrinkage is water curing because you should
substitute the water consumed during the early age hydration reaction to prevent lack
of water inside the capillary pores to control cracking. As in the case of concretes
with lower amount of cement, the autogenous shrinkage is lower, you can use curing
compounds for total curing of concrete. But for concretes with a higher amount of
cement, you should water cure the concrete from 4 to 10 hours after concreting for
the time as long as it is possible to control autogenous shrinkage.
• Drying shrinkage (Figure 12.9): This is because of the evaporating of water

during the hardening time of concrete which causes a lack of water, volume
decrease, and finally shrinkage and crack in the concrete.
FIGURE 12.10 Special impermeable membrane that can use on concrete surface to prevent
drying shrinkage. (“Airmen unfold a membrane tarp that will be used to cover a runway cra-
ter repaired during a quick reaction runway repair test” by TSGT Walter Perkins Jr.)
To prevent drying shrinkage, you should control the evaporating of water from the
concrete element surface by water curing or using impermeable membranes specially
made for this purpose (Figure 12.10).
• Thermal shrinkage: This is because of the thermal gradient between two

parts of a concrete element which will cause cracking inside the concrete
element. This type of shrinkage is especially for the huge concrete elements
(Figure 12.11) and the only way to prevent it is controlling the tempera-
ture of concrete and using concrete with low temperature and low Portland
cement content. We will discuss the considerations for mass concreting in
Chapter 13.
FIGURE 12.11 A huge concrete structure with the risk of thermal shrinkage. (Photograph
by the author.)
12.7 CHEMICAL ADMIXTURES FOR HOT WEATHER CONCRETING

To protect concrete from the hot weather problems, we need different types of chemi-
cal admixtures as below:
• Highly effective super-plasticizers: It means that you should use a strong

super-plasticizer with high water reduction rate and good slump-keeping
effect.
• Retarding admixtures: You should use retarder admixtures to control the
heat release from the hydration reaction of cement.
• Curing compound: As the curing of concrete in hot weather conditions is
very important, you can use curing compounds for this purpose.
• Shrinkage reducer admixtures: You can find some newly formulated admix-
tures for the reduction of shrinkage in the market. As the probability of
shrinkage and cracks in concrete at hot weather conditions is higher than
normal, you can use these admixtures for some types of elements to control
cracking.
12.8 CALCULATIONS FOR CONCRETE TEMPERATURE

AT HOT WEATHER CONDITIONS
In this part, we are going to check the effect of constituent materials on the tem-
perature of concrete with a few examples. First, we should calculate the concrete
temperature in a batching plant at a place with hot weather conditions without any
consideration to control the concrete temperature. You can see the concrete mix
design with the temperature of each constituent material in Table 12.1.
Now, we should use equation 12.1 to calculate the concrete temperature. We will
use the super-plasticizer as part of water in the equation and we will have 35.5 kg
water with a temperature of 29°C in the natural sand. So, the real amount of natural
sand is 674.5 kg.
The numerator:
0.22 ((510 × 45) + (260 × 45) + (674.5 × 29) + (330 × 33) + (350 × 42) + (90 × 38))
+ (164 × 26) + (35.5 × 29) = 23602
Denominator:
0.22 (510 + 260 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 = 686.7
T = 23601/686.7 = 34.4°C
As you can see, the concrete temperature is upper than the defined 32°C. So, it is
not acceptable if you make this concrete without any consideration of hot weather
conditions. Also, you should know that this is the starting temperature of concrete at
the time of production. You need to transport and probably pump it to the project. As
the concrete age will increase, the temperature will raise much and it will be more
dangerous.
TABLE 12.1
Concrete Mix Design and the Temperature of Constituent Materials for the
Calculations of Concrete Temperature at Hot Weather Conditions
Constituent Material Amount for 1 m3 (kg) Temperature (°C)
Portland cement 350 42
GGBS 90 38
Coarse 11–19 510 45
Coarse 5–12 260 45
Natural sand with 5% moisture 710 29
Crushed sand without any moisture 330 33
Water 160 26
Super-plasticizer 4 26
Total 2414 –
In the first step, we try to cool down the aggregates by water splash on them. By
using this simple method, you can decrease the temperature of aggregates by about
5–10 degrees. For the sand it is not common to use water sprinkle. So, we can use it
for the coarse aggregates. Assume that we used sprinkle water for the two types of
coarse aggregates. Then the temperature of them decreased to 35°C. It is the maxi-
mum amount that is possible by using this method. Now, the coarse aggregates have
4% of moisture which is 20.4 kg for the 11–19 and 10.4 kg for the 5–12 aggregates.
So, the real weight of 11–19 will be 489.6 kg and the real weight of 5–12 will be 249.6
kg. Now, you can see the calculations as below:
The numerator:
0.22 ((489.6 × 35) + (249.6 × 35) + (674.5 × 29) + (330 × 33) + (350 × 42)
+ (90 × 38)) + (164 × 26) + (35.5 × 29) + (20.4 × 35) + (10.4 × 35) = 22748.9
Denominator:
0.22 (489.6 + 249.6 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 + 20.4 + 10.4 = 710.7
T = 22748.9/710.7 = 32°C
You can see that, by using this method, you can decrease concrete temperature only
about 2.4°C. The concrete temperature is now on the borderline of acceptable. But,
the hydration reaction will start soon and it will increase concrete temperature more
than 32°C. So, it is not enough.
In the next step, instead of decreasing the temperature of coarse aggregates, we
will use the binders with lower temperature for example cement and slag with a tem-
perature of 35°C. You can see the calculations as below:
The numerator:
0.22 ((489.6 × 35) + (249.6 × 35) + (674.5 × 29) + (330 × 33) + (350 × 35)
+ (90 × 35)) + (164 × 26) + (35.5 × 29) + (20.4 × 35) + (10.4 × 35) = 22150.5
Denominator:
0.22 (489.6 + 249.6 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 + 20.4 + 10.4 = 710.7
T = 22150.5/710.7 = 31.2°C
You can see that this will decrease the concrete temperature to less than 1°C which
is not too much to control the concrete temperature as low as it could be trustable.
Now, we would like to use cool water without cooling the coarse aggregates or
using cooler cement. The only thing that we are going to do is using water with a
temperature of 5°C.
The numerator:
0.22 ((510 × 45) + (260 × 45) + (674.5 × 29) + (330 × 33) + (350 × 42)
+ (90 × 38)) + (164 × 5) + (35.5 × 29) = 20158
Denominator:
0.22 (510 + 260 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 = 686.7
T = 20158/686.7 = 29.4°C
You can see that using cool water lonely can decrease the concrete temperature more
than cooling aggregates which need wasting too much water and using cool cement
which is very hard.
Now, we are going to use powdered ice with a temperature of −5°C instead of the
total water of concrete.
The numerator:
0.22 ((510 × 45) + (260 × 45) + (674.5 × 29) + (330 × 33) + (350 × 42)
+ (90 × 38)) + (−5 × 160) + (4 × 26) + (35.5 × 29) = 18642
Denominator:
0.22 (510 + 260 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 = 686.7
T = 18642/686.7 = 27.1°C
You can see that the most effective way that you can use to control concrete tempera-
ture is using powdered ice instead of total water.
12.9 DEFINITIONS OF COLD WEATHER

CONDITIONS FOR CONCRETE
Like hot weather conditions, the first thing that you should know for cold weather
conditions is the minimum defined temperature for fresh concrete that you can be
sure about the quality which is 5°C. If the temperature of fresh concrete falls down
the 5°C, you should not continue pouring this concrete at the project, because at
lower temperatures, the hydration reaction will stop or it will be very slow. So, the
temperature of concrete will not raise and the concrete water can freeze. It can be
very dangerous for the structure. So, you should take care of concrete in cold weather
conditions to protect it from the damages caused by the cold weather.
You can see cold weather climate at any place in the world with a weather tem-
perature of less than zero in winters (Figure 12.12). In some parts of the world, this
kind of weather could be only for a few months and in some other parts of the world,
it could be for several months. You can see this type of weather in all places with
a latitude of more than 60 degrees at north and south for several months. For the
latitude between 25 and 60 degrees you can see cold weather conditions for a few
months. These are the places of the world that you can see hot and cold weather con-
ditions together in 1 year. For the places with a latitude of less than 25 degrees, you
don’t see cold weather conditions.
FIGURE 12.12 Snowy day which is very hard conditions for concrete. (“A blacktop road in
a forest during snowfall”.)
Like before, you can see humid cold weather conditions or dry cold weather
conditions. In this case, there are no special considerations referring to the weather
humidity instead of the normal considerations for the protection of the structures
against the chloride ion of sea water. When you have dry cold weather, you can con-
tinue concreting with some special considerations that we are going to talk about,
but in humid weather conditions, you may have for example snowing for many days
which is another problem that you should solve for concreting. So, we can say that
control and protection of concrete in dry cold weather conditions could be a little
simpler than the humid cold weather conditions.
12.10 CEMENT HYDRATION REACTION AT

COLD WEATHER CONDITIONS
As mentioned before, the hydration reaction of cement is an exothermic chemical
reaction that is good for cold weather conditions. But, as the reaction will accelerate
in hot weather conditions, it can reduce in cold weather also. So, the speed of the
cement hydration reaction highly depends on the ambient temperature. Although the
hydration reaction can help the concrete to increase the initial temperature. But you
should know that, at very low temperatures, the reaction will be very slow. So, it can-
not help the concrete protect itself from the cold weather’s harshly effects.
For this case, the concrete temperature is the important parameter. You should
not use a concrete with a temperature of less than 5°C in any case because at the
temperature of less than 5°C we can say that the hydration reaction will stop. So,
concrete temperature without the action of the hydration will be lower and lower, the
water inside the concrete will freeze and after passing of several hours, you will not
see any effect of the setting time. In this case, even if the concrete will set after many
hours, you will see drastic loss of the mechanical properties and quality. So, the
effect of using concrete with a temperature of less than 5°C is very dangerous for the
structure. In this case, you cannot repair the concrete element, you should completely
destroy and make it again.
120
100
80
Percent (%)
60
40
20
0
10 20 30
Concrete Production Temperature (°C)
3 days 7 days 28 days 90 days
FIGURE 12.13 Compressive strength growth according to the production temperature.

The production temperature of concrete is very effective in the compressive

strength growth over time. You can see the effect of concrete production temperature
on the compressive strength growth in Figure 12.13.
In the above figure, we assumed that the compressive strength of concrete at the
age of 90 days will be 100%. Then we compared the compressive strength growth at
the other ages for concrete made with different temperatures. Concrete mix design
and constituent materials are the same for all of the concretes. On the other hand,
we produced concrete with a temperature of 10°C in cold weather conditions. So,
the concrete will remain in the cold weather after pouring, but with good curing. We
made concrete at a temperature of 20°C at mild weather conditions and concrete at a
temperature of 30°C in hot weather conditions and good curing.
You can see from Figure 12.13 that in cold weather conditions the compressive
strength growth will be much lower than the hot weather conditions. On the other
hand, you can see that, if you produce the concrete at a temperature of about 20°C,
you will see the normal growth of the compressive strength.
12.11 THE EFFECTS OF COLD WEATHER ON

THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
We can name the most important harmful effects of the cold weather on concrete as
below:
• Freezing of concrete before setting: This is the most harmful effect of cold
weather on concrete, which can cause completely destroying of the struc-
ture. If the concrete temperature will be near 5°C, the hydration reaction
will be very slow. So, the temperature of concrete element will not raise and
if you don’t cure concrete in cold weather, the temperature will decrease
lower than 5°C and even it can go near or lower than zero. So, the water
inside the concrete will freeze and the hydration reaction will completely
stop for more than several hours. After warming up the weather, hydration
reaction can continue. But the compressive strength of concrete will be very
low. We can call this process, freezing of concrete. In this case, it is recom-
mended to destroy the concrete elements and made them again.
• High retarding effect: As mentioned before, in cold weather conditions
the hydration reaction will be slower than normal. So, you will see a high
retarding effect in concrete which could be harmful to some cases and proj-
ects. For example, it is possible to see an unset concrete after 24 hours in
cold weather conditions. So, you should take care of concrete for a longer
period of time.
• Lower early age compressive strength: The compressive strength of con-
crete at early ages like 3 or 7 days will be much lower than the concrete
made in mild or hot weather conditions. This is very important for the age
of mold release and some structures which needs early age strength. In this
case, you may need using of some accelerating admixtures to ensure defined
early age strength.
• Lower strength at the age of 28 days: Depending on the type of cement, you
may achieve the lower strength at the age of 28 days in cold weather condi-
tions. If you use retarded cement like type IV or V or blended cement, you
will see lower strength at the age of 28 days in cold weather conditions. On
the other hand, if you use accelerating admixture for the modification of
early age compressive strength, you will have probably less strength at the
age of 28 days.
• Scalding on the surface of concrete elements: Sometimes, you may see
freezing of concrete on the surface layer of the concrete element but not
in the internal layers. In this case, the compressive strength of the element
could be good, but on the surface of concrete you will see scalding after a
period of time. For example, if you use steel forms in a cold area with high
wind, you may see freezing on the layers contacted with the steel forms.
This phenomenon will cause dirty and ugly surface for concrete elements
which could be important for some projects.
• Different strength development patterns: At cold weather conditions, you
will see different strength development patterns. For early ages, you will see
lower strength but for ages more than 28 days you will have more compres-
sive strength. It could be very important for some projects that we may need
higher compressive strength at early ages.
12.12 CONSIDERATIONS FOR COLD WEATHER CONCRETING

In this part, we are going to talk about the most important considerations for the
protection of concrete elements against the harmful effects of cold weather. The most
important activity that we should do is producing a concrete with higher temperature
FIGURE 12.14 Water warming equipment. (Photograph by the author.)
and curing concrete after pouring. So, you can see below considerations as the most
important ones:
• Using warm water for concrete production: You know that, water tempera-
ture is very important to control the temperature of concrete. So, if you
would like to produce concrete with higher temperature in cold weather
conditions, the most important thing that you can do is warming up the
water. There are special instruments that you can use to warming up the
water in the batching plants (Figure 12.14). They can increase the water
temperature more than 20°C. If you don’t have these instruments, you
should try to protect the water tank from freezing. For example, you can use
under-ground tank for water storage.
• Using of accelerated cements: To protect concrete against freezing, it is
recommended to use accelerated cements in cold weather conditions. For
example, using type I or III cement is much better than using type V or IV.
Some of the cement manufacturers can give you type II accelerated cement
which is suitable for cold weather conditions.
• Using more Portland cement in concrete mix design: It is recommended to
use more Portland cement in cold weather conditions because it can cause
acceleration of the hydration reaction. If you use supplementary cementi-
tious materials in the binder system, it is recommended to use more pure
Portland cement to control the hydration reaction and hydration heat at early
ages. On the other hand, it is recommended to use accelerated cement in the
binder system.
• Using the accelerating and anti-freezing admixtures: You can use accel-
erating admixture to accelerate the hydration reaction and release heat at
early ages. As mentioned before, the anti-freezing admixtures are also some
types of accelerating admixtures. So, you can use them for winter concret-
ing. They can increase early ages compressive strength. But unfortunately,
the final compressive strength of concrete will decrease when you use these
admixtures. So, using of these admixtures should be under high control.
• Deicing the aggregates before use: One of the important considerations for
cold weather concreting is deicing the aggregates before use for concrete
production. Sometimes, you may have snow on the surface of aggregates.
You should not use these aggregates instead of deicing them before use. For
the washed sand, sometimes, it is possible to see freeze sand. You should not
use them instead of warming up until deicing. If you use these aggregates
without deicing, they can decrease the concrete temperature very much
because the ice inside these aggregates acts as a part of concrete water and
you know the effect of water temperature on the temperature of concrete.
You can use shades for the aggregates to protect them against the snowy
weather.
• Using of super-plasticizers without retarding effects: Some of the super-
plasticizer manufacturers use retarding admixtures mixed with the super-
plasticizers to improve the slump retention effect. On the other hand, some
types of plasticizers based on ligno-sulfonate have the retarding effect itself.
You should not use these types of super-plasticizers in cold weather condi-
tions because they will retard the concrete and the danger of freezing will
be higher.
• Using cement with higher temperature: Unlike hot weather, you should use
cement with higher temperature for concrete production because it will
cause increasing the concrete temperature. So, it is better not to store much
cement in winter in the siloes because the temperature of stored cement will
be low at the time of concrete production.
• Working at the warmer times of the day: Unlike hot weather, you should
work at the warmer times of the day in cold weather conditions. It means
that you should complete the work before the warmest times of the day. So,
the poured concrete will set soon and the danger of freezing will decrease.
• Using wooden or plastic base forms (Figure 12.15): For cold weather con-
creting, it is recommended to use wooden or plastic base molds and forms
to control the effect of cold wind and freezing the surface of concrete ele-
ments. If you are forced to use steel forms, you should warm up them before
concreting and also you should try to warm the area around the forms after
concreting to ensure the setting of concrete before freezing.
• Cure concrete as well as possible: Like hot weather, curing concrete as well
as possible is very important in cold weather conditions. You should take
care of the moisture and temperature of concrete for a defined period of
time. You should use special blankets to cover the concrete surface and
make it warm. You can use a heater to warm up the environment near the
concrete elements. You should protect the concrete surfaces against the
snow and ice and you should control concrete elements loosing of moisture
as long as it possible.
FIGURE 12.15 Wooden forms. (“Column formwork” by Bill Bradley.)
12.13 CHEMICAL ADMIXTURES FOR COLD

WEATHER CONCRETING
We can use some types of chemical admixtures for the protection of concrete against
the harmful effects of cold weather. Some of the most important ones are as below:
• Set accelerating admixtures: If you use set accelerating admixtures, the

danger of concrete freezing decreases, because these admixtures increase
the heat of hydration at the earlier hours and can increase the temperature
of concrete. On the other hand, they can speed up the setting of concrete
before freezing.
• Hardening accelerator admixtures: as mentioned before, cold weather will
cause decreasing in the early age compressive strength, which should be
very important for some projects. By using hardening accelerator admix-
tures, we can increase the early strength of concrete.
• Anti-freezing admixtures: These admixtures are the same as accelerators.
They accelerate the setting and hardening of concrete. So, you can protect
concrete against freezing. Sometimes, in very cold areas of the world, there
are some chemicals in the formulation of anti-freezing admixtures that can
control the freezing of concrete water.
• Curing compounds: To avoid water evaporation from concrete surface in

cold weather, the best way is to use curing compounds because the usage
of water for concrete curing in cold weather conditions could be dangerous
according to the freezing. It can decrease concrete temperature which could
be harmful to concrete.
12.14 CALCULATIONS FOR CONCRETE TEMPERATURE

AT COLD WEATHER CONDITIONS
Like the hot weather, in this part, we are going to check the effect of constituent
materials on the temperature of concrete in cold weather conditions by a few exam-
ples. First, we should calculate the concrete temperature in a batching plant at a
place with cold weather conditions without any considerations to control the concrete
temperature. The concrete mix design is the same as before. The only difference is
constituent materials’ temperature which is in winter conditions. You can see the
concrete mix design with the temperature of each constituent material in Table 12.2.
Now, we should use equation 12.1 to calculate the concrete temperature. We will
use the super-plasticizer as part of water in the equation and we will have 35.5 kg
water with a temperature of 5°C in the natural sand. So, the real amount of natural
sand is 674.5 kg.
The numerator:
0.22 ((510 × 15) + (260 × 15) + (674.5 × 5) + (330 × 12) + (350 × 30)
+ (90 × 27)) + (164 × 1) + (35.5 × 5) = 7340.2
Denominator:
0.22 (510 + 260 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 = 686.7
T = 7340.2/686.7 = 10.7°C
TABLE 12.2
Concrete Mix Design and the Temperature of Constituent Materials for the
Calculations of Concrete Temperature at Cold Weather Conditions
Constituent Material Amount for 1 m3 (kg) Temperature (°C)
Portland cement 350 30
GGBS 90 27
Coarse 11–19 510 15
Coarse 5–12 260 15
Natural sand with 5% moisture 710 5
Crushed sand without any moisture 330 12
Water 160 1
Super-plasticizer 4 1
Total 2414 –
As you can see, the concrete temperature is about 11°C. This temperature is acceptable
but as we should pour the concrete in cold weather conditions, it is possible to decrease
the temperature of the concrete during transportation and curing time according to the
low-speed hydration reaction if the weather will be too cold. So, it is better to produce
concrete with higher temperature for example, between 20°C and 25°C.
In the first step, we will use the binders with higher temperature, for example,
cement and slag with a temperature of 42°C. You can see the calculations as below:
The numerator:
0.22 ((510 × 15) + (260 × 15) + (674.5 × 5) + (330 × 12) + (350 × 42) + (90 × 42))
+ (164 × 1) + (35.5 × 5) = 8561.2
Denominator:
0.22 (510 + 260 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 = 686.7
T = 8561.2/686.7 = 12.5°C
You can see that this will increase the temperature by about 2°C which is not enough
for us. Now, we would like to use the same temperature cement and slag, but warmer
natural sand with a temperature of 12°C like the crushed sand. We can do it by deic-
ing the natural sand which contains water. You can see the calculations as below:
The numerator:
0.22 ((510 × 15) + (260 × 15) + (674.5 × 12) + (330 × 12) + (350 × 30)
+ (90 × 27)) + (164 × 1) + (35.5 × 12) = 8627.5
Denominator:
0.22 (510 + 260 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 = 686.7
T = 8627.5/686.7 = 12.5°C
Again, the effect of using warmer sand is about 2°C which is not enough for us. Also,
if we use warmer binders and warmer sand the maximum effect will be increasing
the temperature for about 5°C which should not be enough for us.
Now, we are going to use the same temperature cement, slag and natural sand, and
warm water with a temperature of 40°C:
The numerator:
0.22 ((510 × 15) + (260 × 15) + (674.5 × 5) + (330 × 12) + (350 × 30)
+ (90 × 27)) + (164 × 40) + (35.5 × 5) = 13746.3
Denominator:
0.22 (510 + 260 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 = 686.7
T = 13746.3/686.7 = 20°C
You can see that this is a good temperature for a concrete in winter. For the last cal-
culation, we will use warmer binders and natural sand with warm water.
The numerator:
0.22 ((510 × 15) + (260 × 15) + (674.5 × 12) + (330 × 12) + (350 × 42)
+ (90 × 42)) + (164 × 40) + (35.5 × 12) = 16244.5
Denominator:
0.22 (510 + 260 + 674.5 + 330 + 350 + 90) + 164 + 35.5 = 686.7
T = 16244.5/686.7 = 23.6°C
You can see that the most effective way to increase concrete temperature is by warming
up water. This is the same as the hot weather conditions that we needed cooler concrete
and the best way to produce cooler concrete was using powdered ice instead of water or
a part of the water in the production process. This is because of high heating capacity
of water which is the case that we use water as a cooler liquid in many industries.
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org/wiki/File:Column-formwork.jpg.

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a-runway-crater-repaired-bc839a.
13 Concrete for
Special Purposes
For some types of projects, you may define special properties for concrete. In this
chapter, we discuss this subject. Special concrete could be any type of concrete instead
of normal. For each case, you may need a special mix design and considerations to get
the best result. As the usage of concrete in different structures is going to increase day
by day, the usage of special concretes with special properties will increase also. So,
this chapter could be one of the most important chapters of this book.
To study about the special types of concrete, you need to know about concrete tech-
nology, and this is the reason that we are talking about this important subject in this
chapter. We are not going to talk about all special types of concrete. But we are trying to
talk about the most important and useful ones that you may need in different structures.
For each type of special concrete, after introduction, first, we define why it could
be a special concrete. Then we will talk about the considerations for the production
and implementation of the concrete. After that, we will talk about the tests to check
the properties of the special concrete and finally, we will give you an example of the
mix design and implementation of the special concrete.
13.1 SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE

The compaction process is very important for any type of concrete because the qual-
ity of concrete elements refers to the compaction method and the quality of compac-
tion. For normal concrete, the compaction is possible by using the vibrator machines
that we talked about them in the previous chapters. But the need for better and easier
compaction pushed us to the newly made type of concrete named self-compacting
concrete (SCC). The need for this type of concrete refers to the earliest years of
using concrete in structures. But making such a concrete is possible now only after
the invention of high-performance super-plasticizers based on polycarboxylate ether.
13.1.1 Definitions of SCC
SCC is a type of concrete with the flowability and easy moving through the struc-
tural elements and between the rebars. So, it can flow easily inside the form even in
congested sections. Using this type of concrete means that, there is no need for extra
compaction with the vibrators.
The specification of an SCC concrete is not only the flowability. The aggregates
gradation, amounts of filler and binders, and concrete weight are the other important
specifications of SCC concrete which let it flow through the bars and forms. In fact,
we can make a high-flowable concrete that is not SCC. We can call that easy compact-
ing concrete. But to make a real SCC concrete, you need to consider some special
DOI: 10.1201/9781003384243-13 327

FIGURE 13.1 Self-compacting concrete. (Photograph by the author.)
features that we discuss them in this part of the book. Don’t forget that the important
specification for SCC concrete is flowing through the structural elements without the
need for vibration. You can see a picture of an SCC concrete in Figure 13.1.
We can name the most important specifications of SCC as below:
• High flowability: It means a non-slump concrete with a flowing diameter of

more than 600 mm.
• High moving capability: Instead of high flowing, the concrete should move
easily through the rebars. It means that you can make this type of concrete
only by using polycarboxylate super-plasticizers. You can make a concrete
with high flowability with other types of super-plasticizers. But it doesn’t
have a high moving capacity.
• Controlled segregation and bleeding: To move good through the rebars and
for good surface type, you should control the segregation and bleeding.
Only a little bleeding in concrete will decrease the quality of SCC concrete
very much. You can see a picture of segregated concrete in Figure 13.2.
• Softer aggregate texture: SCC should have a softer texture compared with
the normal concrete because there is a need to move through the congested
elements and a coarse concrete cannot move from the little spaces between
the rebars in a congested element. On the other hand, a coarse concrete has
more potential for segregation and bleeding.
13.1.2 Considerations for SCC Production and Implementation

According to the above specifications, we can name the most important consider-
ations for SCC concrete production and implementation as below:
• For high flowability, you should use a strong polycarboxylate ether super-
plasticizer with high dosage. It is recommended to use a super-plasticizer
with lower solid content for better controlling of the dosage. But as you are
going to use high dosage of the super-plasticizer, you should take care of
Concrete for Special Purposes 329
FIGURE 13.2 The result of segregation and bleeding in concrete. (“Concrete segregation”.)
the retardation effect. It is better to use slump retention type PCE polymers
without any retardation effect.
• For high moving capability, you should use strong PCE super-plasticizers.
It is recommended to use the slump retention type polymers because this
type of polymer will give you better moving ability compared with the
water reducer types.
• To control the segregation and bleeding, it is recommended to use a slump
retention type PCE because this type of polymer will be helpful for the
control of segregation and bleeding. In fact, the segregation and bleeding
probability is higher for the water reducer type of polycarboxylates.
• To control the segregation and bleeding, you should make a concrete with
more than 1.5% of air entrapped. Concrete with lower amount of air bubbles
has high capability for segregation and bleeding. On the other hand, it is better
to make smaller air bubble in concrete and remove the coarser ones. You can
do it only by modifying the formulation of the super-plasticizer. As the super-
plasticizer is very important for SCC concrete, you should be in contact with
the super-plasticizer manufacturer during the trials and production process.
• To prevent segregation and bleeding, you should use more fillers in the aggre-
gates. As mentioned before, fillers are passed by sieve No.100. You can use
the recommendations of Table 13.1 for the amount of fillers in SCC concrete.
• To prevent segregation and bleeding, if you couldn’t use high amount of
filler as mentioned, you should use viscosity modifier admixtures. This
type of admixture will increase the viscosity of concrete. So, it can control
the segregation and bleeding. Some of the PCE super-plasticizers contain
VMA admixture, which can be suitable for the production of SCC con-
crete. Whereas if you use VMA in the formulation of a PCE admixture
that you are going to use for the production of normal concrete, the user
TABLE 13.1
Recommendations for the Amounts of Fillers (Passing of Sieve No. 100)
for the Production of SCC Concrete
Minimum Amount of Filler
Maximum Size of Coarse Aggregate (mm) in 1 m3 of SCC Concrete (kg)
25 80–100
19 100–120
12.5 120–150
found weaker admixture compared with the ones without VMA in their
formulations.
• You can use any size of 25, 19, or 12.5 mm as the maximum size of coarse
aggregate for SCC concrete production. But you should count the distances
between the rebars in the structure. For more congested sections, it is rec-
ommended to use a smaller maximum size for the coarse aggregates.
• For the mix design of SCC concrete, it is recommended to use n of Table 9.4
less than 0.3 because the texture of an SCC concrete should be finer than
normal. You can see Table 13.2 just as a recommendation for the mixture of
the aggregates in SCC concrete.
• For w/b of an SCC concrete, you should use the same methods of Chapter
9. But it is recommended to produce a concrete with maximum w/b = 0.42
as an SCC concrete.
• For the free water, you should use more water than the values of Tables 9.10
and 9.11. For the super-plasticizer as mentioned before, you should use a higher
dosage and you will see a higher water reduction rate. So, the high dosage of
the super-plasticizer will recover the excess amount of water you assumed.
• For the amount of total binder, you should consider Table 13.3.
• It is recommended to use supplementary cementitious materials in the mix
design of SCC concrete. They could be helpful for the prevention of the
segregation and bleeding.
TABLE 13.2
Recommendations for the Mixture of the Aggregates in SCC Concrete
SCC Concrete With the SCC Concrete With the SCC Concrete With
Size Range of Max Aggregates Size of Max Aggregates Size of the Max Aggregates
Aggregates (mm) 25 mm 19 mm Size of 12.5 mm
0–4.75 60% 60% 65%
4.75–12.5 15% 15% 35%
12.5–19 ----- 25% -----
12.5–25 25% ----- -----
TABLE 13.3
Minimum Amount of Total Binder for the Production
of SCC Concrete
Maximum Size of Coarse Minimum Amount of Binder in
Aggregate (mm) 1 m3 of Concrete (kg)
25 400–430
19 430–450
12.5 450–480
13.1.3 Tests for Checking the Properties of SCC

Now, it is time to talk about the special tests that can show us the quality of SCC
concrete. As the self-compacting behavior refers to the specifications of the fresh
concrete, all of the tests that are special for the SCC concrete are the tests for the
fresh concrete. The hardened concrete tests for the SCC are the same as the normal
concrete. Below, you can find brief descriptions about the special tests for SCC con-
crete. For more information, you can see the special texts about the SCC concrete.
• Slump flow test (Figure 13.3): This is the simplest test for the SCC concrete.
There are no many differences between the slump test and slump flow test.
You can use the slump cone on its normal set or you can use it in reverse set
(The bigger circle on the top). In this way you can pour the cone with a high
flow concrete simpler. The other difference is no need for tamping the con-
crete because of high flowability. Instead of measuring the height of collapsed
concrete, you should measure the flowing circle. There are different sugges-
tions for the minimum acceptable flow diameter for the SCC concrete. But the
most acceptable in the world is 600 mm. So, if you produce a concrete with the
flow diameter less than 600 mm, we can say that this is not an SCC concrete
and there is no need for the other tests. This is the reason that we mentioned
FIGURE 13.3 Slump flow test for SCC concrete. (“Flow test after”.)
this test as the first test for the SCC concrete. There is no maximum diameter
for the slump flow. But we can say that most of the time, you cannot make a
stable concrete mix with the flow diameter of more than 850 mm.
This test can only show us the flowing ability of concrete mix. But it
is not showing us the ability of concrete for passing through the rebars or
between the forms.
• T50 test: The second test which will give you data about the viscosity of
SCC concrete is the T50 test. This is in fact the same test as the slump flow.
But you should measure the time that the flow circle will touch the 500 mm
diameter. For this case, as you can see in Figure 13.4, you should sign the
500 mm diameter on the plate of the slump flow test. Then you can easily
measure the time in seconds.
Best SCC concretes will reach the 500 mm diameter in 3–5 seconds. It is
not easy to make a stable SCC concrete with T50 of less than 3 seconds
and an SCC concrete with T50 of more than 5 seconds is a high viscous
concrete. Most of the time, it is because of high amounts of binders or high
amounts of fillers or using a strong VMA admixture. For better moving
capacity of SCC concrete, you should modify the T50 to less than 5 seconds
according to the above reason for the high viscosity of concrete.
• J-ring test: This is a test for measuring the passing ability of SCC concrete
between the rebars. You can see a picture of the J-ring test in Figure 13.4.
You can see that this is the same test as the slump flow with only difference in the
rebars set through the concrete passing. The most common instrument consists of the
16 mm rebars with the height of 100 mm and the mean distance of 40 mm. You should
compare this test with the slump flow and T50 test. It means that you will have a slump
flow diameter without any rebar and a flow with the rebars. Also, you will have a T50
with and without the rebars. Now, you should compare them together. You can find the
ability to pass by this comparison. For this reason, you can use Table 13.4.
• V-funnel test: This test is another test for the evaluation of the concrete
viscosity. You can see a picture of the V-funnel instrument in Figure 13.5.
FIGURE 13.4 J-ring test for SCC concrete. (Photograph by the author.)
TABLE 13.4
Passing Ability of SCC Concrete With J-Ring Test
Difference Between the Slump Flow With and
Without the J-Ring (mm) Passing Index Description
0–25 0 High passing ability
25–50 1 Moderate passing ability
More than 50 2 Low passing ability
FIGURE 13.5 V-funnel instrument. (Photograph by the author.)
For this test, you need at least 12 L of SCC concrete. First, you should pour the funnel
with the SCC concrete. After 10 seconds you should open the valve under the funnel
and let the concrete discharge from the funnel and take the time for complete dis-
charging. You can do this test again without any cleaning of the funnel with 5 min-
utes of concrete remaining inside the funnel before discharging. The best time for the
V-funnel test is between 6 and 12 seconds. In the case of discharging time less than
6 seconds, you will have a concrete with very low viscosity and high risk of segrega-
tion and bleeding. For the discharging time of more than 12 seconds, you will have a
concrete with high viscosity and low capability to pass through the rebars and forms.
FIGURE 13.6 The U-box test. (Photograph by the author.)
• U-box test: This is a special test for the evaluation of the pouring ability of
SCC concrete. In this test, you should pour the instrument that you can see
in Figure 13.6. After 1 minute, you should open the valve and let the con-
crete go through the other side of the U-box. Then you should measure the
difference between the height of the concrete in two columns. You should
know that there are rebars with a distance of 4 cm in the space between the
two columns for better evaluation of the concrete pouring ability.
If the difference between the height of concrete will be near zero, this would be the
best result for SCC concrete. More difference in the height means more viscosity and
lower pouring ability for concrete. The maximum amount of height difference in this
test should be 3 cm.
• L-box test (Figure 13.7): This is another test for the evaluation of concrete
viscosity and passing ability through the rebars and forms. In this test,
you should pour the vertical part of the instrument with the SCC concrete.
FIGURE 13.7 The L-box test. (“Workability test for SCC concrete” by Amit Kenny.)
After 1 minute, you should open the valve and let the concrete flow through
the instrument. After stability of concrete, you should measure the height
difference of two edges of the L-box and calculate the H2/H1. This is the
blockage proportion of the SCC concrete which should be between 0.8 and
1.0. If the blockage proportion will be less than 0.8, it shows that the vis-
cosity of concrete is so high and the passing ability through the rebars and
forms is very low.
• Visual stability (VSI) index: The easiest and simplest test for SCC concrete
is the VSI index evaluation. In fact, the evaluation of the concrete stability
with the eye is the test procedure of the VSI index. You can search the inter-
net to view the VSI index pictures.
As you can see, the best VSI is zero, which is the best stability for SCC concrete. On
the other hand, the VSI of 3 is the worse one which is a concrete with segregation and
bleeding. You cannot use a concrete with the VSI3 as an SCC concrete.
13.1.4 Example for SCC Mix Design and Implementation

Now, we are going to design a C40 SCC concrete mix with below constituent materials:
• The SSD density for the natural sand is 2.73 kg/L and the SSD density for
the 11–19 and 5–12 gravels is 2.79 kg/L.
• Portland cement type II with a density of 3.15 kg/L and minimum compres-
sive strength of 430 kg/cm2 at the age of 28 days.
• GGBS with a density of 2.85 kg/L
• PCE super-plasticizer with a density of 1.08 kg/L and a water reduction rate
as you see in Figure 13.8.
TABLE 13.5
Sieve Analysis Test for the Natural Sand for SCC Production
Sieve Weight of Percent of
Size Weight of Aggregates Aggregates Passed Percent of Aggregates Aggregates Passed
(mm) Remained on Sieve (g) by Sieve (g) Remained on Sieve (%) by Sieve (%)
4.75 122 1595 7.1 92.9
2.36 329 1266 19.2 73.7
1.18 355 911 20.7 53.1
0.6 292 619 17.0 36.1
0.3 265 354 15.4 20.6
0.15 189 165 11.0 9.6
Total 1717 ----- 100 -----
TABLE 13.6
Sieve Analysis Test for the 11–19 Gravel for SCC Production
Size Weight of Aggregates Aggregates Passed by Percent of Aggregates Aggregates Passed
(mm) Remained on Sieve (g) Sieve (g) Remained on Sieve (%) by Sieve (%)
25 0 1770 0.0 100
19 110 1660 6.2 93.8
12.5 1056 604 59.7 34.1
9.5 469 135 26.5 7.6
4.75 135 0 7.6 0.0
Total 1770 ----- 100 -----
TABLE 13.7
Sieve Analysis Test for the 5–12 Gravel for SCC Production
19 0 1648 0.0 100
12.5 78 1570 4.7 95.3
9.5 734 836 44.5 50.7
4.75 647 189 39.3 11.5
2.36 189 0 11.5 0.0
Total 1648 ----- 100 -----
40
35
Water reduction rate (%) 30
25
20
15
10
0.5 1 1.5
PCE 16 31 36
Super-plasticizer dosage (%)
FIGURE 13.8 Water reduction curve for the PCE super-plasticizer for SCC production.
We should start with the step-by-step procedure mentioned in Chapter 9 by attention

to the considerations of this chapter as below:
• Step 1: For this concrete, we use the standard deviation of 2.5 MPa.

• Step 2: Calculation of the mix design compressive strength as below:
Fcm = 40 + (1.34 × 2.5) + 1.5 = 44.85 = 45 MPa
• Step 3: For the percentage of each aggregate in concrete, you can see
Tables 13.8 and 13.9. As mentioned before in this chapter, n should be less
than 0.3 for SCC concrete. So, here we used n between 0.1 and 0.3.
TABLE 13.8
Max and Min Amounts for n = 0.1 to n = 0.3
Sieve size 19 mm 12.5 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm
Min limit 100 85.4 76.8 58 42.6 30.2 20.3 12.1 5.4
Max limit 100 90.4 84.2 69.5 55.7 42.9 31.3 20.1 9.7
TABLE 13.9
Checking the Mix of Aggregates
Aggregate 19 mm 12.5 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm
11–19 18% 16.9 6.1 1.4 0 0 0 0 0 0
5–12 10 9.5 5.1 1.1 0 0 0 0 0
10%
Sand 72 72 72 66.9 53.1 38.2 26.0 14.8 6.9
70%
Total 98.9 87.7 78.4 68.0 53.1 38.2 26.0 14.8 6.9
TABLE 13.10
Calculation of the Fineness Module of Total Aggregates
Sieve Size 37.5 mm 19 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm Total
Percent 0 1.1 20.4 10.4 14.9 14.9 12.2 11.1 7.9 -----
remained
Cumulative 0 1.1 21.6 32 46.9 61.8 74 85.2 93.1 415.6
percent
remained
For the aggregates after trial and error, we will use 18% of gravel 11–19
and 10% of gravel 5–12 and 72% of the natural sand. If you compare them
with Table 13.2, you will see that the concrete is finer than the recommenda-
tions of Table 13.2 which is better for the production of SCC concrete.
• Step 4: The fineness module of total aggregates as you can see in
Table 13.10 is 4.16.
• Step 5: As the cement strength is 430 kg/cm2, we assume that this is 425 kg/
cm2. So, we can use Tables 9.6 and 9.9. For Fcm = 45 MPa, we will have 0.46
and 0.42 from Table 9.6 and 0.38 from Table 9.9. The mean value for these
three numbers is 0.42 which is the maximum amount of w/b recommended
for the SCC concrete. So, we have:
w/b = 0.42
• Step 6: For the Portland cement of 425 kg/m2, FM = 4.2, and slump of 90 mm
we have the free water of 226 kg/m3 and for the slump of 150 mm we have the
free water of 244 kg/m3. So, for the production of a flow concrete which is
the slump of 270 mm the free water will be 280 kg/m3 with linear correlation.
As recommended for the SCC concrete, we should use a high dosage
of a strong PCE super-plasticizer. So, we will use 1% of the PCE for this
example. Its water reduction rate according to Figure 13.10 is 31%. So, the
amount of reduced water will be 193 kg.
• Step 7: The calculations for the Portland cement and GGBS is as below:
b = 193/0.42 =  460 kg
For the GGBS we have a 15% of increasing rate according to Table 9.12. So,
increased b = 460 × 1.15 = 530 kg.
We decided to use 20% of the GGBS. So, we will have:
GGBS = 105 kg
Portland cement = 425 kg
Total binder = 530 kg
Amount of the PCE super-plasticizer = 1% = 5.3 kg
As you can see, the amount of binder recommended is at least 430–450 kg/m3
from Table 13.3 which is 530 kg for this example. If you use a strong cement for
TABLE 13.11
Calculations for the Weight of SSD Aggregates for SCC Production
Type of Aggregate Percent in Total Mixture (%) Volume (L) Density (kg/L) Weight of SSD (kg)
Coarse 11–19 18 111 2.79 309
Coarse 5–12 10 62 2.79 173
Natural sand 71 443 2.73 1209
Total 100 616 ----- 1691
FIGURE 13.9 A watertight structure. (“Water tank” by Abhinav Thakur.)
TABLE 13.12
Final Concrete Mix Design for SCC Concrete
Constituent Material Mix Design for 1 m3 (kg)
Gravel 11–19 310
Gravel 5–12 175
Natural sand 1210
Cement Type II 425
GGBS 105
PCE super-plasticizer 5.3
Water 193
Total weight 2423
example with a compressive strength of more than 525 kg/cm2, the amount of total
binder will be within the recommendations.
• Step 8: Total volume of the aggregates will be:
= 1000 – (425/3.15) – (105/2.85) – 193 – 15 – (5.2/1.08) = 615.5 = 616 L
V 
FIGURE 13.10 Using PVC water stops for watertightness of the joints. (Photograph by
the author.)
As the recommendation for the amount of air in SCC concrete is a maximum of

1.5%, we used 1.5% of entrapped air in concrete which is 15 L.
• Step 9: The calculations for the weight of aggregates are as you can see in
table 13.11
The SCC concrete mix design with SSD aggregates is as as you can see in table 13.12.
13.2 WATERTIGHT CONCRETE

There are too many structures that should be watertight (Figure 13.9). There are
many considerations to build a watertight structure. Some of the considerations are
very expensive. So, building water proof concrete structures is the best and cheaper
choice to make a watertight structure.
Some of the most important structure that should be watertight and can be made
with concrete is as below:
• Swimming and water storage pools

• Sewage settlement pools
• Water storage tanks
• Foundations and walls of structures under water pressure
• Some of the marine structures
If you couldn’t build a watertight structure with concrete, the process of water-
proofing by other methods will be very hard, time consumer, and expensive. In this
chapter, we discuss the production of a water proof concrete and implement it in a
watertight structure.
13.2.1 Definitions of Waterproof Concrete and Watertight Structure

A watertight structure is a structure that is in contact with water but without any infil-
tration or transition of water from concrete elements. For example, a swimming pool
is made of concrete without any transition of water from floor, walls, or the joints
between the walls and floor.
A water proof concrete is a concrete without any transition of water from the
section. For example, the concrete used for the concreting of the above swimming
pool is a waterproof concrete. Using a water proof concrete for a structure does
not guarantee the watertightness of the total structure because the other prob-
lems and defections in the structure could cause the transition of water. But the
first step to build a watertight structure is the production and use of a waterproof
concrete. We can name below specifications for a watertight concrete structure:
• Concrete use for the structure should be a concrete with the ability to stop
the transition of water.
• Implementation of concrete should be of the best quality without any defec-
tion or hole because the water could penetrate from the defections.
• The curing of concrete should be with the best performance to prevent any
cracking because the water could penetrate the cracks.
• The joints of the structure should be watertight. You can do it by using
the special PVC water stops at any place that you have any kind of joint
(Figure 13.10) because water could penetrate from untightened joints.
• If you have any aggressive material in contact with concrete, like some
types of sewage, you should cover the concrete surface for the best protec-
tion against the aggressive material by using special materials like epoxy or
polyurea coatings.
13.2.2 Considerations for Watertight Concrete

Production and Implementation
In this part, we discuss the most important considerations for the production of water
proof concrete and for the implementation of a watertight structure.
• Produce concrete with a low water-to-binder ratio: To produce a water proof

concrete, you should decrease the water-to-binder ratio as low as it pos-
sible because the capillary pores inside a concrete made with the minimum
water-to-binder ratio are minimal and water cannot penetrate the concrete.
We recommend to use a concrete with the maximum w/b = 0.4 as a water-
tight concrete.
• Using a strong super-plasticizer: To decrease the water-to-binder ratio, you
should use strong super-plasticizers with optimum dosage. On the other
hand, it is recommended to use supplementary cementitious materials,
especially the silica fume instead of using only pure Portland cement.
• Using the silica fume: It is recommended to use silica fume for the produc-
tion of water proof concrete. Many researches accomplished and show the
good effect of the silica fume on the water proofing of concrete. Most of the
recommendations asked us to use the silica fume more than 6% by weight
of cement for this purpose. Using supplementary cementitious materials,
especially the silica fume on the one hand, will cause decrease in the w/b,
and on the other hand, decrease in the pores inside concrete.
• Complete aggregates gradation: Using a steady aggregates gradation is nec-

essary for the production of a watertight concrete. It means that you should
have all sizes of aggregates without any defection in the gradation system.
• Good compaction of concrete: To make a watertight concrete structure, it is
very important to compact the concrete as good as it is possible to make a
condensed element. To do that, you can make an easy compacting concrete
by producing a high flow concrete and use good vibrators to get better results.
• Curing of concrete: As mentioned before, it is very important to prevent crack-
ing in a watertight concrete structure because water can penetrate from the
cracks. The best way to crack control is by curing concrete. For the watertight
concrete, it is recommended to continue curing for longer time than normal.
• High-quality joints implementation: The joint implementation in watertight
structures is very important because the joints are the weakest part of the
structure from water penetration point of view. So, you should use PVC
water stop tapes for the joints watertightness. On the other hand, you can
use special chemical products (concrete adhesive) which is helpful for better
bonding between the old and new concrete. For the width of the PVC water
stops you should consider the manufacturers’ brochure. Also, you should
know that there are different types of water stops for different purposes as
you can see in Figure 13.11.
• Repairing of cracks: Although you mentioned crack prevention, it is pos-
sible to see some cracks on the surface of the concrete elements. This could
be very bad for a watertight structure. So, you should repair them by using
special materials like polyurethane and epoxy fillers.
• Using water proofing admixtures: Water proofing admixtures that you may
find in the market are in both liquid and powder forms. Some of them are
special pore blocker chemicals that you can use with the dosage mentioned
by the manufacturer for the production of water proof concrete. Some other
types of them are special hydrophobia powders that can block some of the
pores inside the concrete structure. Using these admixtures for the produc-
tion of water proof concrete is beneficial, but they should be used with the
other considerations that are mentioned in this part of the book. They can-
not make a water proof concrete for you alone.
• Special surface protection: Sometimes, concrete surface will be exposed to
a corrosive material. For example, some of the sewage filtration pools are in
contact with some types of dangerous chemicals. In this case, you should cover
the concrete surface with a protector chemical like epoxy coatings. they can
help you to protect concrete surface and help to make a watertight structure.
But the price of this kind of work is high. So, it is not economical to use these
chemicals for the structures without any contact with the corrosive materials.
13.2.3 Tests for Checking the Properties of Watertight Concrete

In this part, we discuss the tests for checking the water proofing of concrete. We can
test concrete specimens cured under the laboratory test. But sometimes according
to the lack of good curing, the quality and permeability of concrete in the structure
FIGURE 13.11 Section of types of PVC water stop tapes. (Photograph by the author.)
should be different from the laboratory specimens. So, for sensitive structures, you
should try to cure concrete as well as it is possible in the structure to get good results
nearer to the laboratory tests.
There are different test methods for the evaluation of concrete water proofing in
the texts and standards. Here we discuss two methods. One of them is a very simple
method with low accuracy about the watertightness and the other one is the most
accurate and trustworthy test to check the water proofing of concrete.
The first test method is according to the ASTM C642. This test is for the evalua-
tion of density, absorption, and voids of concrete specimens. Here, we would like to
test the water absorption of concrete specimens. It does not exactly show us the water
proofing of concrete. But it can be a point to obtain low-quality concretes with a high
water absorption index.
You should test the concrete after the age of 28 days. First, you should oven dry
the concrete specimen that you measured its dimensions and weight after cooling it
to the room temperature. Then you should put the specimens under water for 24 hours
and after drying with a napkin, you should weight the specimen again. Now, you can
calculate the amount of water absorbed by the concrete specimen which could be a
point for the water proofing of concrete. This test is simple but not accurate for the
evaluation of concrete watertightness.
The second test which is the most accurate one is according to the EN12390-8
European standard that we talked about it before. In this test, you should put one face
of the concrete specimen under the water pressure of 5 bars for 72 hours. Then you
should dry the specimens and cut their section across the face which was under the
pressure of water and measure the depth of water penetrated into the concrete speci-
men. You can see a picture of the test instrument in Figure 13.12. You should test the
specimens after the age of at least 14 days to get meaningful results.
13.2.4 Example for Watertight Concrete Mix Design and Implementation

Now, we would like to produce a water proof concrete for a special water storage with
high rebar congestion which is a very sensitive structure by using the same constitu-
ent materials of this chapter example for the SCC concrete. The only material that we
would like to add is the silica fume with a density of 2.2 kg/L.
As we should produce a concrete with the w/b less than 0.4 and we are not going
to use pore blocker admixture as a help, it is better to produce a C45 concrete. Now,
we start with the step-by-step procedure as below:

• Step 2: calculation of the mix design compressive strength as below:
Fcm = 45 + (1.34 × 2.5) + 1.5 = 49.85 =  50 MPa
FIGURE 13.12 Instrument for EN12390-8 test method for watertightness of concrete.
TABLE 13.13
Sieve Size 12.5 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm
Min limit 100 89.9 67.9 49.8 35.3 23.8 14.2 6.3
Max limit 100 91.7 72.5 55.7 41.3 28.9 17.9 8.3
• Step 3: For this concrete, because of the high congestion of the rebars, it is
better to use only 5–12 and natural sand. So, we will have Table 13.13 for n
between 0.2 and 0.3 for high slump concrete. Because of good compacting,
you should use a high slump concrete for watertightness.
For the aggregates, after trial and error, we will use 27% of gravel 5–12 and 73% of
the natural sand. If you see the gradation curve in Figure 13.16, you will see that this
is a steady curve without any jump.
TABLE 13.14
Aggregate 12.5 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm
5–12 25.7 13.7 3.1 0 0 0 0 0
27%
Sand 73 73 67.9 53.8 38.7 26.3 15.1 7
73%
Total 98.7 86.7 70.9 53.8 38.7 26.3 15.1 7
100
90
80
Percent passed (%)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
12.5 9.5 4.75 2.36 1.18 0.6 0.3 0.15
Sieve size (mm)
Max Min Sample
FIGURE 13.13 Total aggregates gradation curve for watertight concrete. (Graph created by
the author.)
TABLE 13.15
Calculation of the Fineness Module of Total Aggregates for watertight concrete
Percent 0 0 13.3 15.8 17.1 15.1 12.4 11.3 8 -----
remained
Cumulative 0 0 13.3 29.1 46.2 61.3 73.7 84.9 93 401.5
percent
remained

Table 13.15 is 4.1.
• Step 5: As the cement strength is 430 kg/cm2 we assume that this is 425
kg/cm2. So, we can use Tables 9.6 and 9.9. For Fcm = 50 MPa, we will have
0.41 and 0.36 from Table 9.6 and 0.36 from Table 9.9. The mean value for
these three numbers is 0.38 which is less than 0.4 recommendation for water
proof concrete. So, we have:
w/b = 0.38
• Step 6: For the Portland cement of 450 kg/m2, FM = 4.1 and slump of
90 mm, we have the free water of 234 kg/m3 and for the slump of 150 mm,
we have the free water of 252 kg/m3. So, for the production of flow concrete
with slump of 210 mm the free water will be 270 kg/m3.
For the production of high slump concrete, we should use a high dosage
of super-plasticizer. We decided to use 0.8% by weight of the binder. Its
water reduction rate according to Figure 13.10 is 25%. So, the amount of
reduced water will be 202 kg.
• Step 7: The calculations for the Portland cement, GGBS, and silica fume
are as below:
b = 202/0.38 = 530 kg
For the GGBS we have a 15% of increasing rate and for the silica fume it is zero
according to Table 9.12. So, increased b = 530 × 1.15 = 610 kg.
We decided to use 20% of the GGBS and 8% of silica fume which is more than
the minimum recommendation for silica fume usage. This mixture will guarantee
the watertightness of concrete. So, we will have:
GGBS = 120 kg
Silica fume: 50 kg
Portland cement =  440 kg
Amount of the PCE super-plasticizer = 0.8% = 4.9 kg

TABLE 13.16
Calculations for the Weight of SSD Aggregates for Water Proof Concrete
Coarse 5–12 27 155 2.79 432
Natural sand 73 419 2.73 1144
Total 100 574 ----- 1576
V = 1000 – (440/3.15) – (120/2.85) – (50/2.2) – 202 – 15

– (4.8/1.08) = 574.1 = 574 L
table 13.16:
The watertight concrete mix design with SSD aggregates is as you can see in
table 13.17:
13.3 HIGH-STRENGTH CONCRETE

We have many developments in concrete technology in the latest decades. So, the
production of concrete with higher performance is simply possible. One of the most
important mechanical properties of any type of concrete is the compressive strength.
If you use a concrete with higher strength, you will have below advantages:
• More economical structure: It is because of decreasing the amount of rebars

according to the higher strength of concrete and using less concrete in the
structure because of lower dimensions of the elements.
• Higher durability: You will make a high-strength concrete with low w/b. So,
the concrete permeability will be very low and this type of concrete will be
more durable than normal concrete.
TABLE 13.17
Final Concrete Mix Design for Watertight Concrete
Gravel 5–12 440
Natural sand 1150
Cement Type II 440
GGBS 120
Silica fume 50
Water 202
Total weight 2407
• Protection of the environment: It is because of using waste materials as

the supplementary cementitious materials and using less cement for giving
more compressive strength which means less air pollution. On the other
hand, you will need less water for the production of high-strength concrete.
• Sustainable development: This is because of building a durable structure
with using waste materials as the supplementary cementitious materials.
• Building special structures: You can build special structures from shape
point of view by using high-strength concrete.
As you can see, building the structures with high-strength concrete is very common
nowadays. So, in this part of the book, we discuss the high-strength concrete produc-
tion and usage.
13.3.1 Definitions of High-Strength Concrete

There are different definitions of the high-strength concrete in the text and papers. In
fact, the important problem is the compressive strength border between the normal
and high-strength concrete. For this purpose, you can see below considerations:
• Type of concrete failure: For normal concrete, the cracks of failure are in
the paste or the boundary area of the aggregates and paste. But for high-
strength concrete, the cracks will be in the aggregates (Figure 13.14). So, we
can say that the paste in high-strength concrete should be very strong. The
crushing of aggregates will be for the compressive strength of more than
50 MPa depending on the type of aggregates.
• The stress-strain curve: High-strength concrete is more brittle than the nor-
mal concrete. It means that the failure of high-strength concrete will be
suddenly without high amount of strain as you can see it in Figure 13.15.
The difference in the shape of stress-strain curve is for compressive strength
of more than 60 MPa.
• Elastic modules and other calculations: As the stress-strain curve of high-
strength concrete and normal concrete is different, the calculations for the
elastic modules and other structural calculations will be different also. It
means that, for the structural design, when you would like to use high-
strength concrete, you should consider the equations and calculations of
high-strength concrete. You cannot use the normal concrete techniques.
• Regional normal concrete definition: It is very important that which compres-
sive strength is common in your region of the world. It can be a concept for the
definition of high-strength concrete. For example, in some parts of the world,
the most common concrete is C30, for these regions, if you produce a C40
concrete, it can be with special considerations and it can be a high-strength
concrete. But for some other parts of the world with common compressive
strength of 50 MPa, if you produce a C80 concrete, it can be a high-strength.
According to the above mentioned in this book, we define high-strength concrete as

a concrete with compressive strength of more than 50 MPa.
FIGURE 13.14 Aggregates crushing in high-strength concrete. (Photograph by the author.)
60
50
40
Stress (Mpa)
30
20
10
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Strain (%)
C30 C40 C50
FIGURE 13.15 Stress-strain curve for different types of concrete. (Graph created by the author.)
13.3.2 Considerations for High-Strength Concrete

Below considerations are the most important ones for the production and implemen-
tation of high-strength concrete:
• Using minimum water for the production of concrete: As you know, the
most important parameter for the production of high-strength concrete is
minimizing the w/b ratio. In this case, using minimum water is more impor-
tant because you have limitations for the usage of binders, especially the
Portland cement. For this purpose, you should use strong super-plasticizers
with optimum dosage. The best choice is polycarboxylate type.
• Usage of high amount of binder: To minimize the w/b ratio, instead of mini-
mizing water, you should use higher amounts of binders than normal. It is
very important to use cement mixed with the supplementary cementitious
materials. It will cause a higher powder amount which can control the high
effect of super-plasticizers that can cause segregation and bleeding.
• Using supplementary cementitious materials: This is very important
to use the supplementary cementitious materials for the production of
high-strength concrete because you have limitations to use the Portland
cement. So, if you would like to produce a concrete with lower w/b ratio,
you should substitute some amount of Portland cement with the supple-
mentary cementitious materials. On the other hand, because of higher
amounts of binders in concrete, you need to control the hydration heat in
concrete elements. You can do it, by substitution of the Portland cement
with the supplementary cementitious materials. If you need more earlier
strength, you should use the silica fume and for other purposes you can
use GGBS, fly ash or the natural pozzolans. It is recommended to use
mixture of Portland cement with the silica fume and GGBS or fly ash or
natural pozzolan as a total binder because the silica fume can increase the
compressive strength very much compared with the other supplementary
cementitious materials. So, it is recommended to use it for all types of
high-strength concrete.
• Adjustment of concrete flowability and viscosity: As you should use strong
super-plasticizers for the production of high-strength concrete, you will
have a high flowable concrete. On the other hand, as you use a high amount
of binder in high-strength concrete, it is possible to have a high viscosity
which will cause hard pumpability and concrete moving. So, you should
adjust the flowability and viscosity by adjusting the amount of binder and
check it with the amount of aggregates filler.
• Using stronger aggregates: As the failure of high-strength concrete will be
in the aggregates, So, it is recommended to use stronger aggregates. If you
use stronger aggregates with the same concrete mix design, you will give
more compressive strength.
• Curing of concrete as well as it possible: Curing of concrete is more impor-
tant for high-strength concrete. So, it is recommended to cure concrete as
FIGURE 13.16 Air bubbles inside concrete. (“Pore structures in fresh concrete and air
entrained concrete. Fresh concrete” by Fangzhi Zhu, Zhiming Ma, Tiejun Zhao.)
well as it possible and for longer time than normal. Plastic and chemical
shrinkage are the most dangerous ones for high-strength concrete.
• Control the amount of air in concrete (Figure 13.16): It is recommended to
produce a concrete with the amount of air between 1.8% and 2% as a high-
strength concrete because more air will cause decreasing in the concrete
strength and less air means higher viscosity and harder moving of concrete.
You can do it by the adjustment of the super-plasticizer formulation.
13.3.3 Tests for Checking the Properties of High-Strength Concrete

As you can find from the name of high-strength concrete, the most important property
for this type of concrete is the compressive strength. But you should know that mak-
ing a concrete with low workability and high strength is not acceptable. So, testing the
workability of fresh concrete should be very important. Most of the time, as you pro-
duce high-strength concrete with an optimum dosage of PCE super-plasticizers, the
concrete will be a non-slump or high slump concrete. The best test is the slump test,
but if the concrete was a high slump concrete you should report the slump of concrete
and if the concrete was flowing concrete, you should report the flowing diameter of it.
The other important property that you should check in fresh concrete, is the seg-
regation and bleeding. The concrete with segregation and bleeding is not an approved
one as a high-strength concrete. So, you should check the stability of concrete visu-
ally as mentioned for the SCC concrete.
The most important test for high-strength concrete is the compressive strength
test. This is the same test as the normal concrete. But the below considerations should
be useful for the compressive strength test of high-strength concrete:
• It is recommended to use standard 15 × 30 cylinder or at least 10 × 20 cyl-

inder specimens. Using cube specimens will not give you the exact result at
higher strengths because the correlation between the compressive strength
of cube and cylinder at higher strength could hardly interpret.
FIGURE 13.17 A capped cylinder specimens with melted sulfur and silica sand. (Photograph
by the author.)
• The capping of the cylinders is very important for trustable results

(Figure 13.17). You can use dental gypsum for a strength less than 40 MPa,
melted sulfur with silica sand for a strength of less than 80 MPa, and for
higher strength, it is recommended to cut the specimen accurately with spe-
cial instruments. Sometimes, there is a need for capping the lower surface of
the specimen, if the flatness of that wasn’t acceptable.
• It is recommended to use testing machine with a nominal capacity of at least
300 tons because you should not use more than 80% of the nominal capac-
ity. So lower capacity should not be useful for the high-strength concrete.
13.3.4 Example for High-Strength Concrete Mix

Design and Implementation
In this part, we would like to design a C70 concrete mix with the constituent materi-
als of this chapter. We should use the step-by-step procedures of Chapter 9 with the
considerations of this chapter.
• Step 1: For this concrete, like the other ones in this chapter, we use the stan-
dard deviation of 2.5 MPa.
Fcm = 70 + (1.34 × 2.5) + 1.5 = 74.85 = 75 MPa
• Step 3: According to the recommendations of Table 9.3, for C70 concrete,

we should use the maximum size of coarse aggregate as 12.5 mm. So, we
should use the mixture of the natural sand and 5–12 coarse aggregate and
like the example of the water proof concrete, we will have Table 13.13 for
the maximum and minimum values. Then we will have Table 13.18 for n
between 0.2 and 0.3 for high slump concrete.
Also, for the aggregates mixture, we will use 27% of gravel 5–12 and 73% of the
natural sand like Table 13.14 and Figure 13.16.

Table 13.15 is 4.1.
• Step 5: As the cement strength is 430 kg/cm2 we assume that this is 425 kg/
cm2. So, we can use Table 9.9. For Fcm = 75 MPa, we will have 0.29 from
Table 9.9 which is the w/b for this example.
• Step 6: For the Portland cement of 500 kg/m2, FM = 4.1, and slump of
90 mm, we have the free water of 242 kg/m3 and for the slump of 150 mm,
we have the free water of 260 kg/m3. So, for the production of flow concrete
with a slump of 210 mm the free water will be 278 kg/m3.
For the production of high slump concrete with high strength, according
to the recommendations of this chapter, we should use the highest dosage of
super-plasticizer which is 1.5% by weight of the binder. Its water reduction
rate according to Figure 13.10 is 36%. So, the amount of reduced water will
be 178 kg.
• Step 7: As recommended in this chapter, we decided to use GGBS and silica
fume for the production of high-strength concrete. So, the calculations for
the Portland cement, GGBS, and silica fume are as below:
b = 178/0.29 = 610 kg
For the GGBS we have 15% of increasing rate and for the silica fume, it is zero
according to Table 9.12. So, increased b = 610 × 1.15 =  700 kg.
We decided to use 20% of the GGBS and 10% of silica fume which is necessary
for the production of high-strength concrete. So, we will have:
GGBS = 140 kg
TABLE 13.18
Calculations for the Weight of SSD Aggregates for High-Strength Concrete
Percent in Total
Type of Aggregate Mixture (%) Volume (L) Density (kg/L) Weight of SSD (kg)
Coarse 5–12 27 152 2.79 425
Natural sand 73 409 2.73 1116
Total 100 561 ----- 1541
TABLE 13.19
Final Concrete Mix Design for C70 High Strength Concrete
Gravel 5–12 425
Natural sand 1120
Cement Type II 490
GGBS 140
Silica fume 70
Water 178
Total weight 2433
Silica fume: 70 kg

Total binder =  700 kg

V = 1000 – (490/3.15) – (140/2.85) – (70/2.2) − 178 – 15
– (10.5/1.08) = 560.9 = 561 L
table 13.18:
The C70 high-strength concrete mix design with SSD aggregates is as you can see
in table 13.19.
13.4 ULTRA-HIGH-STRENGTH CONCRETE

We cannot produce a high-strength concrete with unlimited strength by the normal
aggregates and techniques. The maximum compressive strength that you can achieve
with the normal size aggregates and normal mix design method mentioned in Chapter 9
is between 80 and 100 MPa. It depends on the Portland cement’s compressive strength.
If you use cement with higher strength, you can achieve a higher strength for concrete.
You can see Table 13.20 which is the compressive strength classes for normal density
concrete derived from the European standard EN206. You can see in the table, the
maximum strength defined for normal density concrete is 100 MPa.
It doesn’t mean that you cannot produce a concrete with higher compres-
sive strength. But you cannot achieve these strengths with normal aggregates and
techniques. So, we should define concrete with compressive strength of more than
100 MPa as the ultra-high-strength concrete. You can produce concrete with the
compressive strength of more than 400 MPa. But you should make this concrete with
special techniques and methods that we discuss in this part of the book.
TABLE 13.20
Compressive Strength Classes of Normal Weight Concrete According to EN206
Minimum Characteristic Strength Minimum Characteristic
Compressive Strength Class in Cylinder (MPa) Strength in Cylinder (MPa)
C8/10 8 10
C12/15 12 15
C16/20 16 20
C20/25 20 25
C25/30 25 30
C30/37 30 37
C35/45 35 45
C40/50 40 50
C45/55 45 55
C50/60 50 60
C55/67 55 67
C60/75 60 75
C70/85 70 85
C80/95 80 95
C90/105 90 105
C100/115 100 115
13.4.1 Definitions of Ultra-High-Strength Concrete

Ultra-high-strength concrete is a concrete with a compressive strength of more than
100 MPa. This is a special concrete that should produce with a special method.
There are different methods for the production of ultra-high-strength concrete.
In this book, we discuss the most common one with the name of reactive powder
concrete. You can produce concrete with the compressive strength of more than
400 MPa by this method.
We can divide ultra-high-strength concrete into two types:
• Ultra-high-strength concrete without micro-steel fibers: You can produce

a concrete with compressive strength of less than 250 MPa without using
the micro-steel fibers. On the other hand, the tensile and flexural strength
of this type of ultra-high strength concrete is lower than the other type
because the steel fibers cause highly increase of the tensile and flexural
strength in concrete.
• Ultra-high-strength concrete with the micro-steel fibers: You can pro-
duce concrete with a compressive strength of more than 250 MPa by
using the micro-steel fibers. On the other hand, the tensile and flexural
strength of this type of ultra-high-strength concrete is higher than the
other type.
13.4.2 Considerations for Ultra-High-Strength

Concrete Production and Implementation
The production and mix design method of ultra-high-strength concrete is different
from the other types of concrete. As we discuss the reactive powder concrete as the
most common type of ultra-high-strength concrete, we can name below specifica-
tions and considerations for that:
• Very fine aggregates (Figure 13.18): This is a very fine structure concrete.
The aggregates are quartz sand with the particle size of less than 0.5 mm
and silica powder as the finer aggregates. So, the maximum size of coarse
aggregate in this concrete is about 0.5 mm. The best choice for the aggre-
gates of reactive powder concrete is the quartz sand and silica powder
because the compressive strength of each particle in the reactive powder
concrete is very important.
• Very low water-to-binder ratio: For the production of reactive pow-
der concrete, we need very low water-to-binder ratio. It is recommended
to produce a concrete with w/b less than 0.22 as the ultra-high-strength
concrete. On the other hand, it is very hard to produce a concrete with w/b
less than 0.1. So, minimum amount for the w/b could be 0.1.
• High amount of Portland cement: For the production of reactive powder
concrete, you should use Portland cement about 30% to 40% by weight
of the concrete. To decrease the w/b ratio less than 0.22 you need higher
amount of Portland cement than normal.
• High amount of the silica fume: For the production of the reactive powder
concrete, you should use silica fume of about 10% by weight of concrete.
To decrease w/b ratio less than 0.22 you need high amount of binder. So, you
should use high amount of silica fume. On the other hand, silica fume is a
very active powder for increasing the compressive strength of concrete and
the particles’ compressive strength is very high.
FIGURE 13.18 Silica powder left and stone powder right. (Photograph created by the author.)
• Using other supplementary cementitious materials: As mentioned before,

the best type of supplementary cementitious material for RPC concrete is
the silica fume. Using other types of supplementary cementitious materials,
especially fly ash is under research. So, you can use them but with care.
• Very high dosage of strong PCE super-plasticizers: For the production of
RPC concrete, you should use very high dosage of PCE super-plasticizer.
You should use PCE between 3% and 10% by weight of binder. As you
use this high amount of PCE, the product that you are using should be a
pure PCE product without any retardation effect. Most of the times, super-
plasticizer manufacturers mix retarders with the super-plasticizers specially
polycarboxylates to improve the slump retention effect. In the case of using
the PCE product for the production of RPC, you should mention this case
to the manufacturer because high dosage of a retarded PCE will destroy the
setting time and strength of concrete.
• Portland cement with minimum C3A content and high compressive strength:
In RPC concrete, the most important problem is flowing the concrete with
low amount of water and minimum dosage of the super-plasticize. If you use
a cement with minimum C3A content, you will get better flowability with
lower dosage of PCE. The Portland cement with minimum C3A is ASTM
type V. On the other hand, to get better compressive strength, you should
use a cement with higher compressive strength. Most of the time, compres-
sive strength of type V cement is lower than the other types. So, you should
use –I cement. So, the best that you can do is consulting your needs with the
cement manufacturer.
• Using stone powder (Figure 13.18): Instead of the silica powder, you can use
other types of the stone powders. It can decrease the compressive strength
of your concrete because the water absorption of the stone powders is much
higher than the silica powder. So, it will need more super-plasticizer or more
water. For the lower compressive strength near 100 Mpa, you can use stone
powder instead of the silica powder according to the economic considerations.
• Using the micro-steel fibers (Figure 13.20): As mentioned before, you can
use the micro-steel fibers for increasing the compressive strength of RPC
concrete. You can increase the compressive strength of RPC about two times,
if you use micro-steel fibers. It is very important to disperse the micro-steel
fibers into the concrete volume uniformly. You can do it, by designing a soft
texture concrete with optimum dosage of the super-plasticizer and by using
a suitable mixer. The most suitable mixers for the production of RPC are
pan mixers type as you can see in Figure 13.19.
13.4.3 Tests for Checking the Properties of Ultra-

High-Strength Concrete
Like the high-strength concrete, the most important tests for RPC are testing the
flowability of fresh concrete and testing the compressive strength of hardened con-
crete. As the texture of RPC is very soft, the slump test is not a suitable test for the
flowability of RPC. It is better to use a special test method designed for testing the
FIGURE 13.19 Pan mixer, suitable for the production of RPC. (Photograph by the author.)
FIGURE 13.20 Micro-steel fibers. (Photograph by the author.)
flowability of cement paste or mortar like the test defined in ASTM C1437. The flow
table that you would like to use, should be in accordance with ASTM C230 as you
can see in Figure 13.21.
In the flow table test, you should pore the mold with the RPC concrete and take
the mold up and let the concrete flow through the table. Then you should measure
the flowing circle in two perpendicular lines. Good RPC concrete should flow at
FIGURE 13.21 Flow table test instruments. (Photograph by the author.)
least 260 mm in flow table test. Lower flowability means very high viscosity and
very hard working with concrete. Higher flowability should be good if the segrega-
tion and bleeding controlled.
For the compressive strength test of RPC concrete, according to the higher
strength of this concrete compare with the other types, you should use smaller speci-
mens. It is recommended to use 10 × 20 cylinder specimens. As mentioned before,
about the compressive strength test, it is very important to have a very soft and steady
surface on both sides of the specimens. It will be more important for higher strength
concrete. So, for RPC it is recommended to cut the surface of the specimens with a
very accurate instrument (Figure 13.22) because trustable results are only possible by
this method. Using any type of capping is not acceptable. It is more important when
you would like to test RPC concrete produced with micro-steel fibers because the
compressive strength of this concrete could be more than 250 MPa and any type of
capping never be acceptable for this high amount of compressive strength.
FIGURE 13.22 Cutting instrument for the surface of cylinder specimens (“Concrete cutter”)
The crush of the cylinder specimen is acceptable only when the specimen divides
into two equal cones. From the crushing pattern of the specimens, you can find the
accuracy of compressive strength test.
13.4.4 Example for Ultra-High-Strength Concrete

Mix Design and Implementation
The mix design technique mentioned in Chapter 9 cannot use for the RPC concrete
because this is accepted and tested only for concrete with normal sized aggregates.
For RPC concrete, there are too many methods for mix design that you can find in
text and lectures. We are not going to talk about these methods here and we cannot
say which method is better and more accurate for the design of RPC concrete. So,
here we only give you examples of RPC mix design with the compressive strength
achieved that you can see in Tables 13.21 and 13.22.
TABLE 13.21
RPC Mix Design Without Using the Micro-Steel Fibers
Material Amount
Portland cement 850 kg
Silica fume 230 kg
Quartz sand 1020 kg
Silica powder 120 kg
PCE super-plasticizer 3.5% =  38 kg
Water 160 kg
Total 2418
w/b for this concrete is 0.15 and the 28 days compressive strength
achieved is 226 MPa
TABLE 13.22
RPC Mix Design by Using the Micro-Steel Fibers
Material Amount
Portland cement 750 kg
Silica fume 210 kg
Quartz sand 990 kg
Silica powder 130 kg
PCE super-plasticizer 4% =  38 kg
Micro-steel fibers 150 kg
Water 160 kg
Total 2428
w/b for this concrete is 0.17 and the 28 days compressive strength achieved is 340 MPa
13.5 MASS CONCRETE

There are different types of structural elements that you should pour with concrete.
Some of them are thin elements with low amount of concrete like columns or thin
beams. Some other types are mid-size concrete elements like roofs, walls, or large
beams. The last type is huge elements that need high amount of concrete. As the
concrete hydration reaction is an exothermic reaction, you should take care of huge
concrete elements about the temperature increasing. In this part of the book, we
discuss the huge elements concreting.
13.5.1 Definitions for Mass Concrete

Mass concrete refers to the concrete that you should use in huge structural elements
(Figure 13.23). The most important huge elements are:
• Big foundations
• Huge walls
• Concrete dams
The most important parameter that you should control in mass concrete is the con-
crete temperature. As the hydration reaction grows, the temperature will increase.
If you do not control the heating release, the temperature inside the element will raise
and can cause many problems as below:
• Problems in the setting time of concrete
• Problems in strength grow of concrete
• Decreasing the final compressive strength and loading capacity of the
structure
• Temperature gradient between inside and outside of the element which can
cause undefined stress on the structure
FIGURE 13.23 A huge structure which is the case of mass concreting. (Photograph by the
author.)
• High shrinkage and cracking

• Damaging the other structural parts near the huge element according to the
high temperature
13.5.2 Considerations for Mass Concrete

Now, we discuss the most important considerations that you should mention for the
production of mass concrete as below:
• Minimum Portland cement usage: For the production of mass concrete, you
should use a minimum amount of Portland cement to control the hydration
heat and temperature. Most of the time, the compressive strength of huge
structure is not too high. So, you can design a concrete with low amount of
Portland cement without any problem.
• Using low heating release cement: For huge structures, it is recommended
to use Portland cement with lower hydration heat like type IV, V, or at least
II. By using these cements, you can control temperature increases inside the
huge element.
• Using supplementary cementitious materials: Another way for controlling
concrete temperature is the usage of supplementary cementitious materials.
As you should substitute these materials with pure Portland cement, you can
decrease the hydration heat by using these materials. On the other hand, you
can increase the durability and compressive strength of concrete.
• Design coarser concrete: Mass concrete should be coarser than the other
types of concrete. It means that you should use more coarse aggregates that
normal and it is recommended to use bigger size as the maximum size of
coarse aggregate. It can be helpful for controlling the shrinkage and cracks
in huge structures. On the other hand, it will be more economical for huge
structures to use coarser concrete because coarser concrete will need less
cement for the same compressive strength.
• Controlling the temperature of fresh concrete: As you would like to control
the temperature of huge elements, you should control the temperature of
fresh concrete that you are going to use. It is recommended to use a concrete
with temperature of less than 20° in huge structures.
• Good curing of concrete: Curing is very important for the huge structures.
The best type of curing in this case is water curing because you can control
the temperature of elements by using cold water. On the other hand, curing
is the best way to control shrinkage and cracking.
• Using retarder admixtures or retarded super-plasticizers: It is recommended
to use a retarded super-plasticizer or a retarder admixture separately to control
the hydration reaction and increase the temperature in the structure. In this
case, you should give the support of admixture manufacturers because opti-
mizing the dosage of retarders is very difficult and depends to several factors
like ambient and concrete temperature, cement type and amount and others.
13.5.3 Tests for Checking the Properties of Mass Concrete

The most important tests for checking the properties of mass concrete are checking the
temperature of fresh concrete and checking the compressive strength for the compat-
ibility with designed strength. Sometimes, for very sensitive structures, you can put a
thermometer inside the concrete element to control the temperature growth during the
hydration reaction. For the compressive strength, you can take a core from the element to
ensure the compressive strength of the element in the structure because in huge elements,
uncontrolled temperature can cause decreasing the compressive strength. So, you should
design a special testing procedure for the huge elements according to the project needs.
13.5.4 Example for Mass Concrete Mix Design and Implementation

In this part, we would like to design a C30 concrete mix for a mass foundation with all
of the constituent materials in this chapter. The only difference is using a 12–25 coarse
gravel instead of the 11–19 one. You can see the sieve analysis test in Table 13.23.
The SSD density of this gravel is 2.75 kg/L.
Now, we should start the step-by-step procedure mentioned in Chapter 9 with the
considerations of mass concrete design. The first thing that we should mention here
is the low design compressive strength of this foundation which is normal for mass
foundations. It can help us to control the amount of cement and heat of hydration.

Fcm = 30 + (1.34 × 2.5) + 1.5 = 34.85 = 35 MPa
• Step 3: For the percentage of each aggregate in concrete, you can see
Tables 13.24 and 13.25. For a pumpable low slump mass concrete which is suit-
able for a foundation according to Table 9.4, n should be between 0.3 and 0.4.
For the aggregates, after trial and error, we will use 32% of gravel 12–25 and 18% of
gravel 5–12 and 50% of the natural sand.
TABLE 13.23
Sieve Analysis Test for the 12–25 Gravel for Mass Concrete Production
25 12 1620 0.7 99.3
19 465 1155 28.5 70.8
12.5 832 323 51.0 19.8
9.5 221 102 13.5 6.3
4.75 102 0 6.3 0.0
Total 1632 ----- 100 -----
TABLE 13.24
Sieve size 25 mm 19 mm 12.5 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm
Min limit 100 88.5 73.2 64.4 46.2 32.3 21.8 14.1 8.0 3.5
Max limit 100 90.4 77.2 69.5 52.4 38.5 27.3 18.4 10.9 4.9
TABLE 13.25
Aggregate 25 mm 19 mm 12.5 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm
12–25 31.8 22.6 6.3 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
32%
5–12 18 18 17.1 9.1 2.1 0 0 0 0 0
18%
Sand 50 50 50 50 46.4 36.9 26.5 18 10.3 4.8
50%
Total 99.8 90.6 73.5 61.1 48.5 36.9 26.5 18 10.3 4.8
• Step 4: The fineness module of total aggregates as you can see in Table 13.26 is 5.
• Step 5: As the cement is a type II cement with strength of 430 kg/cm2 it
could be suitable for the production of mass concrete. We can use Tables 9.6
and 9.7. For Fcm = 35 MPa, we will have 0.54 and 0.51 from Table 9.6 and
0.53 from Table 9.7. The mean value for these three numbers is 0.52 that we
should use it as the w/b for mass concrete.
• Step 6: For the Portland cement of 300 kg/m2 which is the minimum in
Table 9.11, FM = 5 and slump of 150 mm which is suitable for a foundation
concrete, we have the free water of 196 kg/m3.
To decrease the amount of Portland cement and as we assume that the PCE is a
retarded one, we decided to use high dosage of this super-plasticizer like 0.8%. So,
we will use 0.8% of the PCE for this example. Its water reduction rate according to
Figure 13.10 is 25%. So, the amount of reduced water will be 147 kg.
TABLE 13.26
Percent 0 9.4 29.5 12.6 11.6 10.3 8.5 7.7 5.5 -----
remained
Cumulative 0 9.4 38.9 51.5 63.1 73.5 82 89.7 95.2 503.2
percent
remained
• Step 7: According to the economic considerations and low strength of con-

crete, we decide to use only GGBS. So, the calculations for the Portland
cement and GGBS is as below:
b = 147/0.52 =  285 kg
For the GGBS we have a 15% of increasing rate according to Table 9.12. So,
increased b = 285 × 1.15 = 330 kg.
We decided to use 20% of the GGBS. So, we will have:
GGBS =  65 kg
Amount of the PCE super-plasticizer = 0.8% =  2.6 kg
V = 1000 – (265/3.15) – (65/2.85) – 147 – 18 – (2.6/1.08) = 725.6 =  726 L
table 13.27:
The mass concrete mix design with SSD aggregates is as you can see in table 13.28:
TABLE 13.27
Calculations for the Weight of SSD Aggregates for Mass Concrete
Production
Percent in Total
Type of Aggregate Mixture (%) Volume (L) Density (kg/L) Weight of SSD (kg)
Coarse 12–25 32 232 2.75 638
Coarse 5–12 18 131 2.79 365
Natural sand 50 363 2.73 990
Total 100 726 ----- 1993
TABLE 13.28
Final Concrete Mix Design for Mass Concrete
Gravel 12–25 640
Gravel 5–12 365
Natural sand 990
Cement Type II 265
GGBS 65
Water 147
Total weight 2474
13.6 PRECAST CONCRETE

Precast concrete segments are the concrete elements produced and cured in a fac-
tory with high-quality control system. They are made to use in prefabricated struc-
tures like:
• Some parts of bridges

• Tunnel segments (Figure 13.24)
• Precast walls for prefabricated structures
• Precast roofs for prefabricated structures
• Cement base artificial stones
13.6.1 Definitions of Precast Concrete

Precast concrete is a type of concrete that we should use for the production of precast
segments. This type of concrete should be designed for this purpose to have below
considerations:
• Rapid setting time
• High initial strength
• High-quality finished surface
• High durability
In this part of the book, we discuss the consideration for making a high-quality con-
crete to use in precast products.
13.6.2 Considerations for Precast Concrete

You can see below the considerations for the production and implementation of pre-
cast concrete:
• Use more Portland cement: As we need higher initial strength, it is recom-

mended to use Portland cement more than normal.
FIGURE 13.24 Tunnel precast segments. (Photograph by the author.)

• Using cement with higher strength: For precast concrete, it is recommended

to use ASTM type I or III Portland cement. If you don’t reach these types
or according to the durability considerations, you can use type II cement.
The importance is high initial and final strength for the cement for higher
initial strength of concrete. For example, it is better to use a I-525 cement
instead of I-425.
• Using new and high-quality forms: As we need high-quality final surface
for the precast segments, it is recommended to use new and high-quality
forms.
• Using high-quality mold releasing agent: For the best finishing surface
quality, you should use a high-quality mold releasing agent. Using used car
oil or some other types of low-quality and cheap releasing agents will cause
very low quality of final surface.
• Consider high durability for the segments: Like any other type of
concrete, durability considerations are very important for the precast
segments. So, you should use supplementary cementitious materials,
high-quality super-plasticizers, and good aggregate to produce a durable
concrete.
• Concrete curing: Like any other type of concrete, curing is very important.
The difference is rapid mold releasing which is helpful for the speed of seg-
ment production. So, you can steam cure the segments for the best result. In
this process, you can produce high-quality segments and you can release the
molds as soon as it is possible.
• Using air-entraining admixtures: For some of the segments like New
Jersey, you may need air-entraining admixture in the production process
of the concrete to increase freeze-thaw resistance of the New Jersey. But
for all types of the precast segments, there is no need to use air-entraining
admixtures. Controlling the amount of air in precast factories is simpler
than any other project because quality control of the production process in
a precast factory is simpler.
13.6.3 Tests for Checking the Properties of Precast Concrete

There is no special test for precast concrete. For this type of concrete, tests are simi-
lar to normal concrete. We can name the most important tests as below:
• Fresh concrete temperature and slump: This test should be done the same
as normal concrete.
• Air content of fresh concrete: It is very important when you would like
to produce a segment like New Jersey which needs entrained air. So, you
should check the amount of air before pouring the forms.
• Compressive strength test: The test is the same as normal concrete. If
you need a special compressive strength at any age for mold release, you
should test the concrete specimens at that age. You can put the specimens
at the same place that you cure the segments to get more trustable results
for this purpose.
13.6.4 Example for Precast Concrete Mix Design and Implementation

In this part, we would like to design a concrete mix with the constituent materials of
this chapter for a C40 concrete that we would like to use it for the production of pre-
cast segments. You need to release the molds at the age of 24 hours when the concrete
achieved the compressive strength of 20 MPa. On the other hand, as the segments
are exposed to freezing and thawing, you need to use a concrete with 6% of total air.
Like before, we should start with the step-by-step procedure mentioned in chapter
9 by attention to the considerations of this chapter as below:

• Step 2: We need 40 MPa concrete with 6% of air. It means that if we assume
that the entrapped air in a concrete without using air-entraining admixture
will be 1.5%, the excess air is 4.5%. Each 1% of excess air will decrease the
compressive strength by about 5%. So, you should increase the compressive
strength (4.5 × 5 = 22.5) percent. It means that the compressive strength that
we should use for concrete mix design should be 49 MPa that we use 50 MPa.
Now, the calculation of the mix design compressive strength is as below:
Fcm = 50 + (1.34 × 2.5) + 1.5 = 54.85 = 55 MPa
• Step 3: For the percentage of each aggregate in concrete, as we don’t

need pumping for a precast segment and we have high-quality vibrating
tables, we should use a concrete with the slump of 150 mm. So, you can see
Table 13.29 and 13.30 for n between 0.35 and 0.45.
For the aggregates after trial and error, we will use 22% of gravel 11–19 and 28% of
gravel 5–12 and 50% of natural sand.

Table 13.31 is 4.9.
• Step 5: As the cement strength is 430 kg/cm2, we assume that this is 425 kg/
cm2. So, we can use Tables 9.6 and 9.9. For Fcm = 55 MPa, we will have 0.36
and 0.34 from Table 9.6 and 0.35 from Table 9.9. The mean value for these
three numbers is 0.35.
• Step 6: For the Portland cement of 475 kg/m3, FM = 4.9, and slump of
150 mm, we have the free water of 227 kg/m3.
TABLE 13.29
Sieve size 19 mm 12.5 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm
Min limit 100 81.3 70.8 49.4 33.6 22.2 14 7.8 3.3
Max limit 100 84.1 74.8 55.1 39.5 27.3 18 10.5 4.6
TABLE 13.30
Aggregate 19 mm 12.5 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm
11–19 22% 20.6 7.5 1.7 0 0 0 0 0 0
5–12 28 26.7 14.2 3.2 0 0 0 0 0
28%
Sand 50 50 50 46.4 36.9 26.5 18 10.3 4.8
50%
Total 98.6 84.2 65.9 49.7 36.9 26.5 18 10.3 4.8
For this concrete, as we need a 150 mm slump we decided to use 0.6% of the PCE
super-plasticizer. Its water reduction rate according to Figure 13.10 is 19%. So, the
amount of reduced water will be 184 kg.
• Step 7: For this concrete, as we need high initial strength, we decided to use
only Portland cement and 8% of silica fume for increasing the durability.
So, the calculations for the Portland cement and silica fume are as below:
b = 184/0.35 = 525 kg
For the silica fume, we have 0% of increasing rate according to Table 9.12. So,
we will have:
Silica fume = 8% = 45 kg
According to the manufacturer’s recommendations, we will use 0.2% of an air-
entraining admixture for 6% of the air. You should make trials to ensure the amount
of air. The density of this admixture is 1 kg/L.
Amount of air-entraining admixture = 0.2% =  1 kg
TABLE 13.31
Sieve size 37.5 mm 19 mm 9.5 mm 4.75 mm 2.36 mm 1.18 mm 0.6 mm 0.3 mm 0.15 mm Total
Percent 0 1.4 32.8 16.2 12.8 10.3 8.5 7.7 5.5 –
remained
Cumulative 0 1.4 34.1 50.3 63.1 73.5 82 89.7 95.2 489.3
percent
remained
TABLE 13.32
Calculations for the Weight of SSD Aggregates for Precast Concrete
Coarse 11–19 22 127 2.79 354
Coarse 5–12 28 162 2.79 452
Natural sand 50 290 2.73 792
Total 100 579 ----- 1598
TABLE 13.33
Final Concrete Mix Design for Precast Concrete
Gravel 11–19 360
Gravel 5–12 450
Natural sand 790
Cement Type II 480
Silica fume 45
Air-entraining admixture 1
Water 184
Total weight 2313
= 1000 – (480/3.15) – (45/2.2) – 184 – 60 – (3.2/1.08) – (1) = 579.2 = 579 L

V 
figure 13.32:
The precast concrete mix design with SSD aggregates is as you can see in figure 13.33:
REFERENCES
ASTM C33-01.
ASTM C150-00.
American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard Test Method for Materials Finer than 75
μm in Aggregates by Washing, ASTM C117-95.
Bicanski, “Concrete cutter.” Retrieved from: https://pixnio.com/media/concrete-cutting-saw-
cutter-industrial#.
Ervanne Heini, Hakanen Martti, Analysis of Cement Super-plasticizer and Grinding Aids: A
EN480 Series.
European Standard Organization, Tests for Geometrical Properties of Aggregates, EN933 Series.
Francis, 2009.
Method, 2015.
2015.
Kenny, Amit, “workability test for SCC concrete. the end of a L test.” Retrieved from: https://
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SCC_test_L_end.jpg.
Knipptang, “Flow test after” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flow_
Test_after.jpg.
Mohammadi, 2007.
2003.
Publications, 1992.
2001.
Thakur, Abhinav, “Water tank.” Retrieved from: https://pixahive.com/photo/water-tank–2/.
Tux-Man, “Concrete segregation.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
S%C3%A9gr%C3%A9gation_b%C3%A9ton.jpg.
Zhu, Fangzhi, Zhiming Ma, Tiejun Zhao, “Pore structures in fresh concrete and air entrained
concrete. Fresh concrete.” Retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Pore-structures-in-fresh-concrete-and-air-entrained-concrete.jpg.
Index
Note: Bold page numbers refer to tables and italic page numbers refer to figures.
abrasion resistance 116, 117 calcium chloride 136, 172

absorption 97, 117, 119, 121, 124, 126, 128, 195, calcium silicate hydrate 42, 50, 75
196, 239, 245, 246, 247, 252–254, 259, capillary pores 158, 160, 161, 197, 310, 341
343, 357 carbonation 24–26, 211, 212, 218, 220, 221
accelerating admixtures 318, 319, 321 C3A 43, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50, 65, 66, 67, 69, 357
accelerator 9, 12, 46, 133–138, 142, 143, 145, 321 C4AF 44, 46, 47, 49, 50, 65, 66, 67, 69
admixtures 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 20, 21, 27, 30, cement 1–9, 12, 16, 17, 20–23, 28, 29, 35–71,
46, 48, 97, 116, 133–149, 156–166, 187, 76–81, 83–90, 94, 117, 125, 127,
188, 217, 225, 238, 271, 283, 284, 305, 133–136, 139, 141, 144, 145, 148–150,
307, 312, 318–321, 329, 342, 362, 367 152–155, 158, 160, 161, 165, 171–173,
aggregates 2, 5, 21, 22, 23, 97, 101–130, 133, 149, 179, 185, 186, 210, 212, 214, 215, 216,
157, 158, 159, 161, 163, 164, 175, 176, 217, 219–221, 225, 228, 229–233, 234,
184, 185, 187, 195, 198, 202, 225, 228, 235, 236, 237, 240, 243–245, 250–252,
229, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236–239, 257, 258, 260, 261, 264, 266–272, 286,
240, 242–245, 247, 248, 249–252, 287, 301, 304, 307–312, 313, 314–316,
253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258–260, 264, 318–320, 323, 330, 335, 338, 339, 341,
266–269, 271, 272, 282, 286, 292, 294, 346, 347, 348, 350, 353, 354, 356, 357,
295, 301, 307, 308, 314, 315, 320, 327, 360, 362–369, 370
329, 330, 336, 337, 338–340, 342, 345, cement paste 59, 60, 80, 149, 150, 152, 153
346–348, 349, 350–354, 356, 360, cement type 5, 44, 45–48, 51, 52, 61, 62, 139,
362–365, 368–370 215, 216, 221, 231, 232, 233, 240, 246,
air entraining admixtures 30, 48, 134, 156–158, 247, 253, 255, 260, 335, 339, 347, 354,
187, 188, 217, 238, 367 362, 365, 370
alkali aggregate reaction 22, 23, 44, 68, 81, 85, chemical attack 49, 215, 216
88, 91, 93, 97, 98, 173, 174 chemical shrinkage 309, 310, 351
alkali carbonate reaction 22 C-H-S 7, 8, 20, 42, 43, 49, 50, 56, 75, 77, 80, 85,
alkali silica reaction 22, 23 88, 91, 160, 161, 162, 210
analysis of cement 64, 67 chloride attack 25–27, 81, 92, 213
ASTM 6, 12–14, 23, 29, 35, 44, 47, 51, 54, 56, clay 37, 38, 88, 104, 105, 114, 129, 159
57, 59, 61, 63, 67, 108, 109, 116, 117, CLC 165, 166, 297
118, 124, 128, 134, 139, 143, 152, 180, clinker 39, 40, 41, 43, 51, 52, 54, 63, 68, 85, 86
185–189, 193, 195–197, 215, 230, 343, coarse aggregates 2, 109, 111, 116, 117, 118, 119,
357, 358, 367 121, 124, 127, 159, 198, 202, 229, 232,
autoclave 44, 45, 46, 47, 57, 58, 59, 65 239, 282, 292, 294, 295, 314, 330, 362
cold weather concreting 185, 301, 318, 320, 321
batching plant 71, 94, 121, 123, 124, 164, 225, compaction 4, 13, 20, 186, 198, 210, 280, 327, 342
246, 261, 264, 267, 271, 272, 276, 286, compositions 7, 41, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 69
292, 306, 313, 319, 322 compressive strength 1, 4, 6, 8, 11–19, 44, 54,
binder 1–4, 8, 16, 17, 20, 28, 29, 35–38, 77, 59–62, 66, 77, 78, 80, 85, 88, 91, 93,
79, 81, 84, 85, 87, 88, 90, 91, 127, 97, 102, 104, 110, 111, 114, 115, 121,
209–211, 225, 230, 231–233, 236, 237, 128, 129, 133, 137, 138, 156, 158, 161,
243–245, 250–252, 256–258, 261, 264, 174, 175, 180, 184, 185, 187, 188–191,
266–272, 314, 319, 323, 324, 330, 332, 193, 195, 198, 199, 201, 202, 204,
338, 339, 341, 346, 350, 353, 354, 356, 211, 212, 214, 215, 216, 217, 219–221,
357, 365, 369 226–232, 237, 240, 241, 243, 244, 248,
bleeding 80, 84, 87, 91, 93, 114, 123, 127, 148, 250, 251, 255, 256, 257, 260, 261, 264,
163, 164, 229, 328, 329, 330, 333, 335, 266, 298, 304, 305, 309, 317–319, 321,
350, 351, 359 335, 337, 339, 344, 347, 348, 350, 351,
blended cement 23, 51, 52, 63, 318 352, 354–357, 359–363, 367, 368
373
374 Index
concrete admixtures 133, 143, 165 durability 2, 19, 21, 22, 25, 29, 48, 49, 158, 161,
concrete mix design 37, 60, 61, 63, 81, 97, 109, 189, 196, 209, 211, 213, 214, 216–220,
116, 119, 123, 124, 154, 158, 163, 188, 221, 226, 237, 282, 284, 347, 362, 366,
225–228, 230–232, 236, 239–241, 367, 369
246, 247, 253, 254, 255, 260, 261, 264,
290, 292, 294, 295, 298, 301, 302, 313, elastic modules 189, 192, 193, 194, 348
317, 319, 322, 339, 340, 344, 347, 350, EN 206, 209, 354, 355
352, 354, 360, 363, 365, 368, 370 entrained air 157, 158, 185, 367
concrete production 4, 8, 16, 17, 22, 23, 28, 30, entrapped air 80, 84, 88, 91, 93, 128, 157, 180,
52, 55, 61, 67, 75, 83, 86, 93, 199, 116, 185, 216, 238, 340, 368
119, 123, 130, 133, 141, 146, 148, 158, ettringite 28, 43, 50
171, 172, 174–176, 197, 210, 226, 227, environment 21, 29, 35–37, 43, 49, 52, 75, 77, 86,
231, 236, 240, 263, 264, 267, 286, 287, 114, 115, 158, 209, 210–213, 215–219,
294, 301, 304, 306–308, 317, 319, 320, 287, 320, 348
328, 330, 341, 348, 350, 356, 362, 363, exposure classes 212, 213, 214, 215, 216
365, 366
concrete pump 114, 164, 165, 277, 278, 279, fibers 1, 18, 19, 289–292, 293, 294–298, 355, 357,
280, 286 358, 359, 360
concrete temperature 6, 8, 159, 161, 184, 185, fiber reinforced concrete 289, 290, 292, 293
301, 302, 304, 306–308, 313–317, 320, fillers 5, 37, 105, 114–116, 125, 127, 128, 160,
322–324, 361, 362, 367 161, 163, 164, 233, 269, 329, 330,
conveyor belt 271, 277 332, 342
core test 198, 202, 204 fine aggregates 2, 5, 97, 109, 111, 115, 117, 118,
corrosion 24–29, 129, 136, 172, 173, 175, 196, 122, 124, 125, 127, 159, 232, 356
209–211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, fineness modules 118
217–219, 304 fire resistance 296
cracking 4, 10, 16, 20, 22, 24, 58, 80, 85, 88, flexural strength 1, 11, 17, 291, 294, 296, 298, 355
93, 138, 162, 171, 282, 284, 291, 292, flowability 5–7, 154, 155, 161, 179–182, 229, 233,
294, 296, 298, 305, 309–312, 341, 236, 327, 328, 331, 350, 357–359
342, 362 flow table spread 182
crushed aggregates 5, 101, 113–115, 159, 231, flow table test 179, 182, 226, 358, 359
232, 233, 250, 251 fly ash 8, 16, 49–51, 76, 82, 83–86, 88, 89, 91, 92,
C3S 42, 47, 49, 50, 65, 66, 67, 69 93, 237, 350, 357
C2S 42, 47, 49, 50, 65, 66, 67, 69 foaming agent admixtures 165, 166
cube molds 189 formwork 321
curing 9–11, 20, 26, 30, 61, 80, 141, 160–163, 171, freeze thaw 29, 30, 80, 85, 88, 91, 93, 134,
174, 175, 176, 190, 195, 282, 284, 285, 156–158, 187, 216, 217, 219, 221, 367
308–312, 317, 319, 320, 322, 323, 340, fresh concrete 1, 4, 58, 80, 84, 87, 90, 92, 93,
342, 350, 362, 367 97, 114, 125, 129, 157, 172, 173, 179,
curve 17, 18, 19, 49, 56, 57, 193, 194, 202, 230, 180, 182, 184–189, 195, 260, 282,
236, 241, 248, 255, 337, 345, 348, 349 304, 305, 307, 315, 331, 351, 357, 362,
cylinder 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 41, 116, 186, 189–191, 363, 367
192, 193, 195–197, 202, 204, 266, 278,
351, 352, 355, 359, 360 GFRC 292, 294, 295
GGBS 16, 29, 50, 51, 76–78, 85–89, 92, 93, 159,
density of fresh concrete 186, 187, 189 237, 247, 252, 253, 255, 258, 260, 313,
density of hardened concrete 189, 195, 196 322, 335, 338, 339, 346, 347, 350, 353,
destructive tests 198, 200, 202 354, 365
dicalcium silicate 42, 50 glass fibers 292, 293, 294
dosage 6, 17, 26, 48, 54, 81, 94, 128, 139–141, grading 127, 128, 161
149, 153–155, 156, 157, 159, 163, 236, gravel 101, 109, 115, 120, 121, 156, 239, 240, 242,
241, 244, 248, 252, 258, 283, 292, 305, 243, 245–247, 248, 249, 252–254, 255,
328, 330, 337, 338, 341, 342, 346, 350, 256, 259, 260, 335, 336, 338, 339, 345,
351, 353, 357, 362, 364 347, 353, 354, 363, 365, 368, 370
drying shrinkage 310, 311 ground granulated blast furnace slag 16, 50, 76,
ductility 18 85, 247
Index 375
hardened concrete 1, 4, 13, 59, 75, 80, 85, 88, mix design 37, 60, 61, 63, 81, 97, 109, 112, 116,
91, 92, 93, 97, 129, 171–173, 175, 179, 119, 123, 124, 152, 153, 154, 158, 163,
185, 188, 189, 192, 195–197, 225, 185, 188, 195, 199, 225–228, 230–232,
260, 289, 290, 294, 302, 304, 309, 236, 239–241, 243, 245–248, 250–261,
331, 357 264, 266, 290, 292, 294–296, 298,
hardening accelerator 133, 134, 137, 138, 321 301, 302, 304, 313, 317, 319, 322, 327,
harmful materials 114, 129, 130 330, 335, 337, 339, 340, 344, 347, 350,
heat of hydration 8, 46, 54, 63, 69, 80, 84, 88, 91, 352, 354, 356, 360, 363, 365, 368, 370
138, 321, 363 mixing time 260, 292
heavy weight aggregates 105, 107, 108 moisture 8, 10, 11, 22, 24, 28–30, 61, 69–71, 80,
heavy weight concrete 105, 107, 186 81, 85, 88, 91, 121, 123–125, 126, 156,
high strength concrete 15, 16, 18, 61, 97, 115, 141, 158, 195, 211, 228, 238, 239, 245, 246,
193, 194, 201, 258, 290, 292, 309, 347, 252–254, 259, 260, 266, 272, 284,
348, 349, 350–357, 360 308, 313, 314, 320, 322
hot weather concrete 6, 11, 133, 134, 138, 139, molds 12–14, 58, 59, 61, 133, 137, 174, 182,
163, 176, 184, 185, 284, 301, 302, 189–191, 192, 229, 266, 320, 358,
304–309, 312, 313, 315–318, 320, 367, 368
329, 324 mortar 36–38, 44, 45, 48, 57, 58, 61, 62, 69, 70, 111,
hydration heat 7, 8, 16, 42, 56, 93, 138, 319, 125, 149, 155, 156, 165, 203, 230, 358
350, 362
hydration reaction 2, 4, 6, 7–11, 36, 42, 43, 49, natural aggregates 5, 113–115, 231, 232, 233
50, 54, 58, 63, 75, 138, 139, 171, 304, natural pozzolans 16, 51, 76, 88, 89–91, 92, 93, 350
305, 307, 309, 310, 312, 314–319, 323, non-destructive tests 202
361–363
organic impurities 117, 174, 175
igneous rocks 98
impermeability 42, 162 particle size distribution 41, 49, 55, 56, 57, 63
impurities 102, 117, 129, 171, 172, 174, 175 passing by sieve 125, 127, 128, 159, 161, 233
initial setting 45, 46, 47, 58–60, 143, 179, 305 PCE 147, 148, 150, 152, 153, 154, 156, 157, 163,
164, 248, 249, 252, 253, 255, 258, 259,
joints 20, 36, 139, 140, 160, 283, 340–342 260, 298, 329, 335, 337, 338, 339, 347,
351, 354, 357, 360, 364, 365, 369, 370
laboratory 52, 54, 61, 134, 140, 175, 183, 199, perlite 104, 106
225, 246, 260, 261, 264, 265, 266, 284, permeability 4, 19, 20, 24–26, 29, 30, 42, 80, 81,
342, 343 85, 88, 91, 93, 97, 162, 175, 189, 196,
L-box 183, 334, 335 197, 204, 211, 226, 284, 342, 347
Le Chatelier flask 63, 64 plasticizers 4–6, 8, 17, 20, 21, 77, 133, 134, 141,
light weight aggregates 104 142, 144, 154, 236
light weight concrete 103–105, 106 plastic shrinkage 282, 309
lignosulfonate 141, 144–148, 155 poly carboxylate ether 155, 238
Los Angeles test 116, 117 poly melamine sulfonate 147, 155
low alkali cement 23, 44, 68 polymers 145, 148, 307, 329
poly naphthalene sulfonate 145, 146, 147, 155
manufacture 44, 48, 49, 133, 134, 139, 140, 142, polypropylene fibers 295, 296
145, 156, 159, 161, 165, 187, 200, 202, portland cement 1–4, 7, 8, 16, 17, 21, 23, 28,
236, 260, 290, 308, 319, 320, 329, 342, 29, 35–55, 57, 61, 63, 64, 75, 78, 79,
357, 362, 369 82–91, 94, 141, 173, 185, 210, 221, 231,
mass concrete 8, 361–365 236, 237, 240, 245, 247, 252, 255, 258,
maximum size of coarse aggregates 109, 111, 198, 264, 311, 313, 319, 322, 335, 338, 341,
202, 229, 282 346, 350, 353, 354, 356, 357, 360, 362,
metakaolin 49, 76, 88, 89, 90 364–369
metamorphic rocks 99, 100 pozzolan 16, 50, 51, 52, 75, 76, 78, 80, 82, 83, 85,
mineral additives 12, 16, 20, 21, 23, 26, 29, 35, 88–91, 92, 93, 159, 237, 350
49–51, 75, 77, 93, 94 precast 30, 59, 133, 137, 156, 366–368, 370
mini slump test 149, 150, 151, 152, 155 pumping concrete 230
376 Index
quality control 35, 52, 54, 60, 67, 97, 115, 116, slump test 6, 7, 124, 179–182, 184, 186, 226, 266,
121, 179, 183, 188, 198, 226, 227, 228, 331, 351, 357
240, 261, 264, 366, 367 specific gravity 62, 63, 64, 79, 83, 87, 89, 92, 97,
116, 117, 165
raw materials 23, 35, 38–41, 43, 44, 48, 75 specimens 13, 52, 61, 189–191, 192, 195–197,
reactive powder concrete 355, 356 200, 202–204, 227, 266, 342–344, 351,
ready mixed concrete 61, 138, 225, 276, 283 352, 359, 360, 367
rebound 136, 200–202 SSD conditions 245, 246, 252, 253, 259
rebound hammer 200 standard 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 29, 35, 44, 47, 51, 52,
recycling 176, 286 53, 56–61, 63, 65, 66, 97, 108, 116,
retarder 8, 12, 133, 134, 138–143, 145, 146, 148 117, 118, 121, 122, 134, 143, 152, 158,
retarding 3, 46, 139–141, 145, 307, 312, 318, 320 172, 179, 180, 182, 183, 185–187, 189,
retarding admixtures 307, 312, 320 190, 193, 195–197, 204, 209, 211, 215,
rheometer 179, 183, 184 217, 227–230, 240, 241, 248, 255, 337,
rocks 98–100, 102, 103, 113, 114, 116, 117, 123 343, 344, 351, 352, 354, 363, 368
roller compacted concrete 277 standard deviation 60, 61, 226–228, 240, 241,
248, 255, 337, 344, 352, 363, 368
sample 12, 17, 44, 45, 46, 47, 54, 56, 65, 66, 120, steam curing 284, 309
121, 122, 175, 181, 197, 202, 243, 250, steel fibers 1, 18, 19, 289–292, 355, 357, 358,
257, 264, 345 359, 360
sand 25, 37, 58, 61, 101, 102, 111–116, 118, 119, storage 19, 35, 63, 70, 71, 103, 267, 268, 308, 319,
122, 123, 124, 127, 128, 129, 155, 157, 340, 344
159, 161, 163–165, 191, 232, 239, 242, strength development 305, 318
243, 245, 246, 247, 249, 250, 253, 254, sulfate attack 27–29, 43, 45, 46, 88, 91, 215
256, 259, 260, 269, 287, 292, 294, 295, super-plasticizer 4–6, 8, 17, 20, 21, 54, 77, 81,
303, 313, 314, 320, 322–324, 335, 336, 94, 97, 110, 116, 128, 133, 134, 138,
337, 338, 339, 345, 346, 352, 353, 354, 140–150, 152–155, 156, 157, 160,
356, 360, 363, 364, 365, 368, 369, 370 161, 163–165, 175, 185, 187, 210, 229,
SCC concrete 164, 182, 183, 230, 280, 281, 236–238, 240, 241, 244, 245, 246,
327–335, 337, 338, 339, 340, 344, 351 247, 248, 249, 252, 253, 255, 258,
Schmidt hammer 198–202 259–261, 264, 266, 272, 290, 292, 294,
sea water 26, 28, 174, 175, 213–215, 218–220, 295, 307, 312, 313, 320, 322, 327–330,
304, 316 335, 337, 338, 339, 341, 346, 350, 351,
sedimentary rocks 99 353, 354, 357, 360, 362, 364, 365, 367,
segregation 80, 84, 87, 91, 93, 114, 123, 127, 148, 369, 370
163, 164, 229, 328–330, 333, 335, 350, supplementary cementitious materials 50, 75–78,
351, 359 82, 92, 93, 141, 160, 161, 163, 210, 212,
self-compacting concrete 7, 128, 163, 164, 182, 231, 237, 301, 319, 330, 341, 348, 350,
183, 229, 327, 328 357, 362, 367
set accelerator 134–136 sustainable development 21, 37, 348
setting time 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 56, 58–60, 80,
85, 88, 91, 93, 129, 133–135, 137, 138, temperature 6, 8–11, 12, 29, 30, 41, 49, 58, 59, 61,
141, 143, 173, 174, 179, 282, 304, 305, 97, 134, 138, 139, 140, 156, 158, 159,
307, 316, 357, 361, 366 161, 162, 176, 179, 181, 184, 185, 196,
shotcrete 36, 136 213, 216, 260, 284, 301, 302, 304–309,
shrinkage 4, 48, 80, 85, 88, 91, 162, 171, 282, 297, 311, 313–324, 344, 361–363, 367
309–312, 351, 362 tensile strength 17, 291, 293, 296
sieve size 108, 109, 116, 120, 121, 122, 239, 240, test machine 14, 15, 61, 62, 116, 117, 202, 203
242, 243, 244, 247, 248, 249, 250, tetracalcium alumino ferrite 44
251, 254, 255, 256, 257, 337, 338, 345, thermal shrinkage 311, 312
346, 364, 368, 369 transportation 6, 35, 54, 69, 116, 138, 147, 175,
silica fume 3, 16, 20, 26, 50, 51, 76–82, 86, 88, 225, 260, 263, 270, 276, 277, 286, 287,
92, 93, 94, 237, 255, 258, 260, 341, 292, 301, 304–306, 323
344, 346, 347, 350, 353, 354, 356, 357, tricalcium aluminate 43, 50
360, 369, 370 tricalcium silicate 42, 50
slag 8, 16, 50, 51, 52, 76, 85, 86, 87, 247, 314, 323 truck mixer 12, 58, 142, 159, 179, 181, 273, 276,
slump flow test 182, 183, 331, 332 277, 286, 292, 306
Index 377
ultra-high strength concrete 15, 290, 292, water reduction rate 143, 145–148, 150, 153,
354–357, 360 154, 155, 156, 157, 164, 236, 240,
ultrasonic 198–201 241, 244, 247, 248, 252, 258, 260,
under water 212, 213, 340, 344 264, 312, 330, 335, 337, 338, 346, 353,
364, 369
V-funnel test 183, 332, 333 water-tightness 340, 341–346
vibration 20, 182, 269, 271, 280, 281, 282, 328 water tight structure 19, 159, 160, 339, 340–342
VMA 130, 163, 164, 329, 330, 332 water to binder ratio 77, 209–211, 230, 231, 232,
voids 62, 160, 196, 343 233, 236, 243, 244, 250, 251, 256, 257,
volume 1–5, 57, 97, 124, 126, 158, 181, 185–187, 341, 356
195, 196, 228, 237, 238, 245, 252, 253, water to cement ratio 16, 17, 20, 133, 134, 141,
258, 271, 272, 273, 278, 286, 296, 160
308–310, 339, 347, 353, 354, 357, 365, workability 3–6, 48, 54, 80, 84, 87, 90, 93, 97,
369, 370 114–116, 128, 133, 134, 141, 144, 145,
157, 171, 172, 179–184, 211, 226, 228,
washed sand 124, 320 229, 233, 264, 290, 294, 295, 298,
water penetration 134, 197, 342 335, 351
water proofing 159, 341–344
water reducer admixtures 143 x-ray 67, 68, 105, 107
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Concrete Materials and

• Explains the basics of different components and applications for different

Kambiz Janamian and José B. Aguiar

First edition published 2024

and by CRC Press

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2024 Kambiz Janamian and José B. Aguiar

Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data

ISBN: 978-1-032-47018-4 (hbk)

Chapter 1 Introduction to Concrete Technology....................................................1

Chapter 2 Portland Cement.................................................................................. 35

2.11.6 Specific Gravity of Cement......................................... 62

Chapter 3 Mineral Additives (Supplementary Cementitious Materials).............. 75

4.3 Aggregate Size........................................................................ 108

Chapter 5 Chemical Admixtures....................................................................... 133

Chapter 6 Water for Concrete............................................................................ 171

Chapter 7 Testing of Concrete........................................................................... 179

Chapter 8 Durability of Concrete Structures.....................................................209

Chapter 9 Concrete Mix Design........................................................................ 225

9.2.5 Step (5): Specify Water-to-Binder Ratio................... 230

Chapter 10 Production, Transportation, and Implementation of Concrete.......... 263

Chapter 11 Usage of Fibers in Concrete.............................................................. 289

Chapter 12 Hot and Cold Weather Concreting.................................................... 301

12.6 Concrete Cracking at Hot Weather Conditions......................309

Chapter 13 Concrete for Special Purposes.......................................................... 327

13.5 Mass Concrete........................................................................ 361

In Chapter 10, the production, transportation and implementation of concrete are

José B. Aguiar is an Associate Professor with habilitation at the Department of

• It is very simple to find its constituent materials everywhere.

1.1 CONCRETE CONSTITUENT MATERIALS

• Portland cement (Figure 1.1): It is a kind of powder, which contains c­ alcium

FIGURE 1.1 Portland cement. (Photograph by the author.)

• Chemical admixtures (Figure 1.4): These are special chemicals that we

FIGURE 1.4 Different chemical admixtures. (Photograph by the author.)

1.2 WATER REDUCTION IN CONCRETE PRODUCTION

• Increase the compressive strength of concrete: As mentioned before, using

1.3 CONCRETE WORKABILITY

Several factors have effects on the workability of concrete:

• Concrete flowability: One of the most important factors affecting workabil-

1.4 SLUMP TEST

FIGURE 1.7 Picture of slump test tools. (Photograph by the author.)

1.5 HYDRATION REACTION

(C3S, C2S) + H2O → C-H-S + Ca(OH)2

FIGURE 1.8 A mass foundation. (Photograph by the author.)

1.6 CONCRETE CURING

• Use of curing compound admixtures (Figure 1.10): We should spray these

1.7 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

• Prepare enough amount of concrete as sample. For example, we can give a

Area = 7.5 × 7.5 × 3.14 = 176.6 cm2

Area = 15 × 15 = 225 cm2

FIGURE 1.16 Hydraulic concrete test machine. (Photograph by the author.)

According to Table 1.1 we have:

Standard cylinder compressive strength = 452 – 50 = 402 kg/cm2 = 40.2 MPa

• Low-strength concrete: Compressive strength less than 30 MPa

1.8 WATER-TO-BINDER AND WATER-TO-CEMENT RATIO

On the other hand, if we make concrete with 300–400 kg of pure Portland

1.9 TENSILE AND FLEXURAL STRENGTH OF CONCRETE

1.10 ELASTIC MODULE OF CONCRETE

• The ductility of concrete with a compressive strength of less than 70 MPa is

12.6 Concrete Cracking at Hot Weather Conditions......................309

• Portland cement (Figure 1.1): It is a kind of powder, which contains c alcium

1.12 DURABILITY AND EFFECT OF

(C3S, C2S) + H2O → C-H-S + Ca(OH)2

2.9 MINERAL ADDITIVES (SUPPLEMENTARY

Ca(OH)2 + Mineral additives(SiO2) → more C-H-S

L.S.F. (MgO < 2) = 100 (C + 0.75M)/(2.85S + 1.18A + 0.65F)

L.S.F. (MgO > 2) = 100 (C + 1.5)/(2.85S + 1.18A + 0.65F)

C3S = 4.071C - 6.6 S - 6.718 A - 1.43 F - 2.852 SO3

C2S = 2.867 S -0.754 C3S