EFFECT OF COARSE AGGREGATE OF SIZE ON THE

STRENGTH CHARACTERSTICS OF THE CONCRETE

Major Project Report

Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering

By
Debendra Banara- 1801106206
Prayash Sethi- 1901106118
Priyanka Soren -1901106122

Under the supervision of

Dr. Prof. P.K. Parhi
(Prof. Civil Engineering Department)

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Odisha University of Technology and Research, Bhubaneswar,

Odisha
 Odisha University of Technology and Research,
Bhubaneswar, Odisha

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the minor project entitled “EFFECT OF COARSE

AGGREGATE OF SIZE ON THE STRENGTH CHARACTERSTICS OF THE
CONCRETE” submitted by Debenda Banera (1801106206), Prayash Sethi
(1901106118), Priyanka Soren (1901106122) of the Department of Civil
Engineering fulfils the requirement of the regulation relating to the nature
and standard of the work for the award of degree of Bachelor of
Technology, in Civil Engineering for the academic year 2022-2023.

Head of the Department Project Guide

(Dr. Deba Prakash Satapathy) (Prof. P.K. Parhi)

 DECLARATION

We do hereby declare that, the minor project entitled, “EFFECT OF COARSE

AGGREGATE OF SIZE ON THE STRENGTH CHARACTERSTICS OF THE
CONCRETE” is a bona-fide work of study carried out by us under the
guidance of, Prof.P.K. Parhi of Department of Civil Engineering, Odisha
University of Technology and Research, Bhubaneswar. It has been prepared
for the fulfilment of requirements of the degree of ‘Bachelor of Technology in
Civil Engineering.’ The work has not been submitted for any other purpose.

Place: Bhubaneswar Debendra Banera (1901106206)

Date: Prayash Sethi (1901106118)
Priyanka Soren (1901106122)
 ACKNOWLEGEMENT
We would like to convey our sincere appreciation for the inspiration,
support, and guidance of all those people who have been instrumental
in making this project success.

First, we would like to express a sense of gratitude towards our guide

Prof. P.K. Parhi for giving us this opportunity to enrich our knowledge.
Without her guidance, efforts, continuous encouragement, useful
suggestion, and assistance this project work would not have come into
being.

We are thankful to our classmates for their kind cooperation and

encouragement from time to time during our entire project work. We
would like to extend our gratitude to all members of department without
whose support at various stages, this report would not have materialized.

Last but not the least many thanks go to our friends and our teachers who
helped us directly or indirectly in the successful completion of this work.

Place: Bhubaneswar Debendra Banera (1901106206)

Date: Prayash Sethi (1901106118)
Priyanka Soren (1901106122)
 LIST OF CONTENTS

1. ABSTACT
2. INTRODUCTION
3. LITERATURE REVIEW
4. MATERIALS
5. PREPARATION
6. METHODOLOGY
I. DETERMINATION OF COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF
CONCRETE
II. DETERMINATION OF TENSILE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE
7. RESULTS
8. CONCLUSION
9. REFERENCE
 1. ABSTRACT
This study investigates the effect of aggregate size on the
compressive strength and split tensile strength of concrete. Two
nominal mixes that is 1:1.62:2.88 and 1:1.36:2.42 were used in the
study. Concrete cubes were produced with 10 and 20 mm aggregates
as well as cylinder moulds were also produced with 10 and 20 mm
aggregates for the two nominal mixes and they were subjected to
compressive strength test after curing for 7 and 21 days. It was found
in the study that the strength development follows the same trend
for both nominal mixes. Also, the results show that the compressive
strength increases with decreasing aggregate sizes while the
concrete produced using 10 mm had greater compressive strength
than those produced using 20 mm aggregate. This established the
importance of ensuring that the right aggregate size is used in the
production of concrete. Therefore, it is recommended that careful
attention must be paid to the sizes of aggregates used in the
production of concrete for structural purposes.
 2. INTRODUCTION
With the rapid growth in infrastructure of the country, construction
industry is booming and thus the demand for building materials has
increased manifolds. The demand for high rise buildings has
increased due to space constraints, rapid urbanization and growth in
population. The increase in demand of high rise buildings has led to
increase in demand for better performing materials like high
performance/strength concrete and its composites. Thus, this new
interest has encouraged many researchers to study the efficiency of
concrete’s constituent materials. The performance of the structural
concrete is dependent on its strength and durability which in turn is
dependent on the characteristics of the mortar, aggregate and
mortar-aggregate bond. For same quality of mortar mix, the type,
texture and mineralogy of coarse aggregate affects the various
parameters of concrete in its hardened and fresh state. The effect of
coarse aggregate type is more prominent in high strength concrete
due to limitation on water/cement ratio. In case of water/cement
ratio of 0.4 and less, the strength of bond between mortar and
aggregate is equivalent to the strength of aggregate itself. Hence, the
full potential of the coarse aggregate should be explored prior to its
use as a raw material as it will not only affect the strength but also
the modulus of elasticity of concrete. Thus, a proper investigation
should be conducted for coarse aggregate to enhance the
mechanical properties of concrete. Generally, as the coarse
aggregate occupies around 70% of the volume of concrete mix, its
role in affecting the strength and durability parameters of the
concrete is paramount.
Concrete is simply a blend of aggregates normally natural sand and
gravel or crushed rock. The blend of aggregates is bound by a
hydraulic binder like Portland cement and activated by water to form
a dense semi homogeneous mass. Concrete is sometimes referred to
as artificial rock, because of its general characteristics. Concrete is
very strong in resisting compression and weak in tension. Therefore,
reinforcement is introduced into concrete to absorb tension, where
required. Aggregates, which are generally considered inert filler,
account for 60 to 80 percent of the volume and 70 to 80 percent of
the weight of concrete. Although, aggregate is considered inert filler,
it is an important constituent that determines the concrete thermal
and elastic properties and dimensional stability. There are two types
of aggregates: coarse and fine aggregates. Coarse aggregates are
characteristically greater than 4.75 mm (retained on a No. 4 sieve),
while fine aggregate is less than 4.75 mm (passing through the No. 4
sieve). The aggregate compressive strength is considered an
important factor in the selection of aggregate. Therefore, it is
important to evaluate the effect of aggregate size on the strength of
concrete.
The compressive strength of concrete is primarily controlled by the
quality of mortar and the bond properties of aggregate. However,
the influence of aggregate type is relevant in high strength concrete
as the quality of mortar improves in them. Apart from the properties
discussed above, modulus of elasticity of concrete is also a matter of
concern from the design and strength perspective. The scientist has
significantly improved on the strength of concrete but much less
emphasis has been laid on the modulus of elasticity. The use high
strength concrete has helped in reducing the dead load of the
structure due to use of thinner sections to carry load so therefore
the requirement of higher modulus of elasticity has increased. The
modulus of elasticity of concrete is directly related to the type of
aggregate.
2.1 . Effect of Aggregate Size on Compressive Strength

In general, compressive strength of normal weight aggregates

depends on the strength of the parent rock that ranges from 35 MPa
to 350 MPa. Aggregate strength influences the production of high-
strength concrete (HSC). Such mixes have high strength of the paste
and the bond between aggregate and cement is improved.
Accordingly, cracks may extend through the aggregate under loading,
which makes use of the full strength of the aggregate and hence
affects the concrete strength. However, for normal strength
concrete, bond strength between the aggregate and the cement
paste is affected by the physical properties of the aggregate, which in
turn influences the concrete compressive strength. Therefore, failure
tends to occur in the cement paste and in the interfacial zone
between aggregate particles and the paste, before happening in the
aggregate. Lightweight and recycled aggregates usually have lower
strength and higher absorption than that of natural aggregate.
Compressive strength of concrete prepared with lightweight
aggregate is affected by aggregate strength, w/c ratio, surface
texture, mechanical interlock, and bond with the cement paste.
2.2. Effect of aggregate size on Splitting Tensile Strength
It is observed that the tensile strength measured using splitting tests
showed that the tensile strength was higher for the aggregate size of
10mm rather than the aggregate size of 20mm. However with the
reduction in target mean strength of concrete, the difference in
tensile strength with the different type of coarse aggregate became
significant. The tensile strength of the concrete was mainly
dependent on the strength of mortar and interfacial bond strength
between mortar and aggregate. It is concluded that the split tensile
strength of concrete is significantly influenced by the splitting tensile
strength of aggregates. The tensile strength is also dependent on the
size of aggregate and the reduction in tensile strength with the
increase in aggregate size becomes higher in high strength concrete.
2.3. Failure
Failure of concrete depends mainly on three factors: bond strength
between the aggregate and the cement paste, strength of the
cement paste, and strength of the aggregate.
A lot of study has been done on the bond strength due to the shape
and surface texture of the aggregate however the type of aggregate
also attributes to the bond that aggregate makes with mortar. The
mineral constituents of the aggregate can lead to chemical reaction
between cement and aggregate thereby strengthening or weakening
the bond. The primary cause of micro cracks development is the
difference in modulus of elasticity of the aggregate and cement mix.
 3. LITERATURE REVIEW
SL. AUTHOR JOURNAL KEY FINDINGS
NO NAME

1. Mohammed Effect of content Up to 12% of a compressive strength

Seddik and particle size increase was observed within the
Meddah et.al distribution of four combinations investigated.
(2010) coarse aggregate Increasing the coarse aggregate
on the content of the NSC enhances the
compressive compressive strength. At a given age,
strength of and for a given combination of
concrete granular fraction, the compressive
strength of normal strength concrete
increases as the MSA increases.
Compressive strength is strongly
linked to the coarse aggregate
parameters (content, proportion of
fine to coarse aggregate and grain
size distribution) of concrete mixture.

2. S.O. Ajamu Effect of Coarse Compressive strength of a concrete

and J.A. Ige Aggregate Size on increases with increase in coarse
(2015) the Compressive aggregate size. Coarse aggregate size
Strength and the 13.2 mm, 19 mm, 25 mm, and 37.5
Flexural Strength mm gave average compressive
of Concrete Beam strength of 21.26 N/mm2,
23.41N/mm2 , 23.66 N/mm2 and
24.31N/mm2 respectively. Flexural
strength of concrete beam is
inversely affected by the increase in
coarse aggregate size.

3. SU Jie et.al Size effect on cubic There is a size effect phenomenon in

(2015) and prismatic the cement paste’s cubic
compressive compressive strength manifested as
strength of cement the compressive strength, which
paste. gradually decreases with increasing
the geometric dimensions of the
specimen. The prismatic compressive
 strength of the cement paste
specimen decreases as the geometric
dimension of the specimen increases
4. Aikaterini S. Finite element It was observed that the cracking
Genikomsou analysis of propagation together with the load–
et.al (2015) punching shear of displacement response should be
concrete slabs taken into consideration for adoption
using damaged of proper mesh size. Taking into
plasticity model in consideration the parametric
ABAQUS investigation for the material
modelling, the analysis results give
accurate punching shear prediction
5. Doo-Yeol Yoo Size effect in The strain capacity noticeably
et.al (2016 normal- and high- improved due to the fibres, and the
strength use of amorphous metallic fibres was
amorphous more effective in improving the strain
metallic and steel capacity compared to hooked-end
fibre reinforced steel fibres .The flexural performance
concrete beams. including flexural strength,
normalized deflection capacity,
normalized toughness, and post-peak
ductility was improved by including
the fibres.

6. Junfeng In-depth analysis The fracture transition from ft.-

Guan et.al of notched 3-p-b controlled failure to quasi-brittle
(2016 concrete fracture. fracture, and then to KIC-controlled
linear-elastic fracture can be clearly
determined for a given concrete
material/structure. The
comprehensive quasi-brittle fracture
results of 3-p-b concrete specimens
from Caglar and Sener can be used to
determine the tensile strength ft. and
fracture toughness KIC of the
concrete.

7. Liu Jin et.al In-depth analysis The fracture transition from ft.-
(2017) of notched 3-p-b controlled failure to quasi-brittle
concrete fracture. fracture, and then to KIC-controlled
 linear-elastic fracture can be clearly
determined for a given concrete
material/structure. The
comprehensive quasi-brittle fracture
results of 3-p-b concrete specimens
from Caglar and Sener can be used to
determine the tensile strength ft. and
fracture toughness KIC of the
concrete.

8. Mohammed Effects of The splitting tensile strength of

Tarek Uddin maximum size of concrete decreases with an increase
et.al (2017) brick aggregate on in MAS, irrespective of the variation
properties of of s/a ratio and cement content. The
concrete. compressive strength of concrete
increases with an increase in s/a ratio
from 0.40 to 0.45. The effect of
cement content on compressive
strength is more significant for
smaller MAS of coarse aggregate.

9. Olumide Effects of Coarse Strength development takes place

Moses Aggregate Size on beyond the 28-day used for
Ogundipe the Compressive specifications. The size of aggregate
et.al (2018) Strength of used in concrete increases, the
Concrete compressive strength also increases.
The concrete produced with the 20
mm aggregate size has the highest
compressive strength.

10. H. Zhanga A discrete- It has developed an easy-to-

et.al (2018) continuum implement but effective discrete-
coupled finite continuum coupled modelling
element modelling approach to simulate complicated
approach for fibre nonlinear damage and fracture
reinforced behaviour of fibre reinforced
concrete. concrete at the meso-scale.This
capability allows for parametric
studies of key material and geometric
factors such as the interfacial
 bonding strength, matrix tensile
strength, fibre volume fraction, and
fibre embedment length, so that
“optimal” FRC materials can be
designed at meso-scale for desired
mechanical properties with minimum
material cost by optimising these
factors.

11. Petr Miarkaa Notch tip The effects of the fracture energy
et.al (2019) displacements of and the shape of the post peak
the concrete tensile softening curves were
Brazilian disc test considered in the concrete damaged
with central notch plasticity (CDP) model. The element
analysed by the type has a minor influence on the
concrete damaged numerical results with a reasonable
plasticity model. error limited to 5%. The
transformation of the nodal
displacements showed that the MTS
criterion does provide non-
representative results of the PCMOS
and PCMOD diagram
12. Mei Li, Hong Specimen shape The shape effect is trivial in static
Hao et.al and size effects on compressive tests. However, under
(2019) the concrete dynamic compression associated
compressive with stress wave propagation, the
strength under shape effect becomes prominent and
static and dynamic increases slightly with strain
tests. rate.Based on the test data, empirical
relations have been derived to
convert the static and dynamic
compressive strength of concrete
materials obtained with specimens of
different shapes and sizes
13. JIN Liu et.al Meso-scale Due to the discrepancy of failure
(2019) modelling of the patterns and the effect of lateral
size effect on inertial confinement, the size effect
dynamic in compressive strength of concrete
compressive under dynamic compression is
failure of concrete significantly different with that under
 under different static compression. The contribution
strain rates. of strain rate can be divided into two
parts, i.e. the strength enhancement,
and the weakening and reverse
enhancement of size effect.

14. Liu Jin et.al Meso-scale Under low strain-rates, the tendency
(2020 simulations of size of splitting tensile strengths of
effect on concrete concrete materials reducing with the
dynamic splitting addition of structural size slows down
tensile strength: as the strain-rate improves and the
Influence of size effect on splitting tensile
aggregate content strengths could be weakened
and maximum gradually. The concrete samples with
aggregate size. higher aggregate contents are more
sensitive to the structural size under
low strain rates while aggregate.

15. Wenxuan Yu Size Effect on The influence of MAS and CSG on

et.al (2020) Static Splitting macro splitting tensile behaviour of
Tensile Strength of concrete materials and the
Concrete: corresponding size effect from both
Experimental and experimental and numerical
Numerical Studies. perspectives. The results indicate
that splitting tensile strength
decreases with increasing side length
and the downtrend of strength
decreases as side length increases.

16. Z. Rosenberg The scaling issue in It presented a numerical scheme with

et.al (2020) the penetration of equivalent aluminium targets, in
concrete targets order to obtain useful information
by rigid projectiles about penetrations in concrete
– Revisited. targets, such as inclined and yawed
impacts, by avoiding the difficulties
with their constitutive relations. The
analysis presented here, the
penetration depths of such non-
normal impacts in concrete targets
can be predicted through the
 equivalent aluminium simulations,
with no previous shots at the
concrete, as was done here for the
data of O'Neil et al.

17. Hongbing Parametric The strain rate effect will be relatively

Chen et.al analysis on lower while ignoring the DIF in the
(2020) compressive strain definition of CDP models by assuming
rate effect of that the DIF is mainly provided by the
concrete using inertial effect. The varying tendency
mesoscale of DIF is related to mesoscopic
modeling parameters including the random
approach. distribution and geometry of
aggregates, the ITZ, element meshing
technique and loading approach.

18. Syed Yasir A new way to A new size effect model is presented
Alam et.al analyse the size where the heterogeneity size is taken
(2020) effect in quasi- into account while scaling the
brittle materials by structural size. The new model
scaling the investigates the size effect by using
heterogeneity size. the ratio of the structural size to the
heterogeneity size (D /d max) as the
cause of the size effect but not the
structural size D alone. The proposed
size effect model introduces a new
parameter, which is the ratio D/d
max at the transition from plasticity
and LEFM.

19. Liu Jin et.al Numerical and The nominal compressive strength
(2021) theoretical decreased basically with the
investigation on increasing MAS (within the range of
the size effect of MAS in this study) in concrete. The
concrete MAS affected the crack propagation
compressive form in the internal components of
strength concrete.Concrete with higher
considering the concrete strength grade (C50) was
maximum more brittle and had more obvious
aggregate size. size effect compared to that with
 lower concrete strength grade (C30).

4. MATERIALS
In order to investigate the effect of size of aggregate on the
compressive strength of aggregate an experimental program was
carried out in the laboratory of Odisha University of Technology and
Research. Two different sizes of aggregates were used in project
work, the sizes of coarse aggregates were 20mm and 10mm. The
main source of aggregate was Civil Laboratory. Portland Pozzolana
Cement (PPC) was used as binding material. Different trails of mixing
of coarse aggregate were made. Two mix proportions of 1:1.6:2.8
and 1:1.36:2.42 with combination of different aggregate sizes (10mm
& 20mm) were used in the research. Two cylinders & three cubes of
each mix proportions were cast. The water cement ratio 0.36 was
constant through out the experiment. Cylinders of size 150mm dia &
 300mm height and Cube of size 150mm X 150mm X 150mm were
cast in laboratory and tested in the Universal Testing Machine. Two
cylinders and three cubes of each mix proportion were tested after 7,
days and 28 days.

Fig 1:20mm aggregate Fig 2:10mm aggregate

5. PREPARATION
A. Mix proportioning for a concrete of M30 grade with 20mm
Coarse Aggregate (According to IS 10262 : 2019)
1. Test data for material
 Cement used : PPC conforming to IS 1489 (Part 1)
 Specific gravity of cement : 3.08
 Chemical admixture : Superplasticizer conforming to IS 9103
 Specific gravity of
i. Coarse aggregate [at saturated surface : 2.77
dry(SSD) condition]:
ii. Fine aggregate [at saturated surface : 2.65
dry (SSD) condition]
iii. Chemical admixture : 1.145
 Water absorption
i. Coarse aggregate : 0.5
percent
ii. Fine aggregate : 1.0
percent
 Moisture content of aggregate [As per IS 2386 (Part 3)]
i. Coarse aggregate : Nil
ii. Fine aggregate : Nil
 Sieve analysis
i. Coarse aggregate

i. Fine aggregate : Conforming to grading Zone II of Table 9 of IS 383

2. Target strength for mix proportion

f’ck = fck+1.65 S
or
f’ck = fck + X
whichever is higher.
where
f’ck = target average compressive strength at 28 days,
fck = characteristic compressive strength at 28 days,
S = standard deviation, and
X = factor based on grade of concrete.
From Table 2, standard deviation, S = 5 N/mm2

(Fig 4:Assumed standard deviation)

 From Table 1, X = 6.5.
 Therefore, target strength using both equations, that is,
a) f’ck = fck+1.65 S
= 30+1.65 × 5 = 38.25 N/mm2
b) f’ck = fck + 6.5
= 30 + 6.5 = 36.5 N/mm2
 The higher value is to be adopted.
 Therefore, target strength will be 38.25 N/mm2 as 38.25 N/mm2 >
36.5 N/mm2.

3. Approximate air content

From Table 3, the approximate amount of entrapped air to be
expected in normal (non-air-entrained) concrete is 1.0 percent for 20
mm nominal maximum size of aggregate
4. Selection of water cement ratio
Exposure condition – Severe (IS 456:2000, Table 3)
Maximum water cement ratio – 0.45 (IS 456:2000, Table 5)
Adopted water cement ratio – 0.36
5. Selection of water content
From Table 4, water content = 186 kg (for 50 mm slump) for 20
mm aggregate.
Estimated water content for 100 mm slump (increasing at the rate of
3% for every 25mm slump)
= 186 + (6% of 186)
6
= 186 + ( 100 x 186 ¿=¿ 197.16 kg ≈ 197 kg
 As superplasticizer is used, the water content may be reduced.
Based on trial data, the water content reduction of 23 percent is
considered while using superplasticizer at the rate 1.0 percent by
weight of cement.
 Hence the water content = 197 - (23% of 197)
23
= 197 – ( 100 x 197) = 151.85kg ≈ 152 kg

6. Calculation of cement content

Water-cement ratio = 0.36
water content 152
Cement content = water −cement ratio = 0.36
 = 422.22 kg/m3 ≈ 422 kg/m3
From Table 5 of IS 456, minimum cement content for ‘severe’
exposure condition = 320 kg/m3
422 kg/m3 > 320 kg/m3 , hence, O.K.

7. Proportion of volume of coarse aggregate and fine aggregate

From Table 5, the proportionate volume of coarse aggregate
corresponding to 20 mm size aggregate and fine aggregate (Zone III)
for water-cement ratio of 0.50 = 0.64.

In the present case water-cement ratio is 0.36. Therefore, volume of

coarse aggregate is required to be increased to decrease the fine
aggregate content. As the water-cement ratio is lower by 0.14, the
proportion of volume of coarse, aggregate is increased by 0.028 (at
the rate of 0.01 for every ± 0.05 change in water-cement ratio).
Therefore, corrected proportion of volume of coarse aggregate for
the water-cement ratio of 0.36 = 0.64 + 0.028 = 0.668.
Volume of fine aggregate content = 1 – 0.668 = 0.332
To avoid under sanded take Coarse Aggregate = 0.63 and Fine
Aggregate = 0.37

8. Mix calculation
The mix calculation per unit volume of concrete shall be as follows:
a) Total volume = 1 m3
b) Volume of entrapped air in wet concrete = 0.01 m3
Mass of cement 1 422 1
c) Volume of cement = Specific gravity of cement x 1000 = 3.08 x 1000

= 0.137 m3
Mass of water 1 152 1
d) Volume of water = Specific gravity of water x 1000 = 1.0 x 1000
= 0.152 m3
e) ) Volume of chemical admixture (superplasticizer) (@ 1.0
percent by mass of cementitious material)
Mass of chemical admixture 1 4.22 1
= Specific gravity of admixture x 1000 = 1.145 x 1000
=0.003 m3
f) Volume of all in aggregate = [(a - b) - (c + d + e)] = [(1-0.01) –
(0.137 + 0.152 + 0.003)] = 0.698 m3
g) Mass of coarse aggregate = (f x Volume of coarse aggregate x
Specific gravity of coarse aggregate x 1000 )= 0.698 x 0.63 x 2.77 x
1000 = 1218.079 kg ≈ 1219 kg
h) Mass of fine aggregate = (f x volume of fine aggregate x Specific
gravity of fine aggregate x 1000) = 0.698 x 0.37 x 2.65 x 1000 =
684.38 kg ≈ 685 kg

9. Mix proportion for trial

 Cement = 422 kg/m3
 Water = 152 kg/m3
 Fine aggregate (SSD) = 685 kg/m3
  Coarse aggregate (SSD) = 1219 kg/m3
 Chemical admixture = 4.22 kg/m3
 Free water-cement ratio = 0.36

Mix Ratio = Cement : Fine Aggregate : Coarse Aggregate

= 1 : 1.62 : 2.88

B. Mix proportioning for a concrete of M30 grade with 10mm

Coarse Aggregate (According to IS 10262 : 2019)
1. Test data for material
 Cement used : PPC conforming to IS 1489 (Part 1)
 Specific gravity of cement : 3.08
 Chemical admixture : Superplasticizer conforming to IS 9103
 Specific gravity of
i. Coarse aggregate [at saturated surface : 2.77
dry(SSD) condition]:
ii. Fine aggregate [at saturated surface : 2.65
dry (SSD) condition]
iii. Chemical admixture : 1.145
 Water absorption
i. Coarse aggregate : 0.5
percent
ii. Fine aggregate : 1.0
percent
 Moisture content of aggregate [As per IS 2386 (Part 3)]
i. Coarse aggregate : Nil
ii. Fine aggregate : Nil
 Sieve analysis
i. Coarse aggregate

ii. Fine aggregate : Conforming to grading Zone II of Table 9 of IS 383

2. Target strength for mix proportion

f’ck = fck+1.65 S
or
f’ck = fck + X
whichever is higher.
where
f’ck = target average compressive strength at 28 days,
fck = characteristic compressive strength at 28 days,
S = standard deviation, and
X = factor based on grade of concrete.
From Table 2, standard deviation, S = 5 N/mm2
 From Table 1, X = 6.5.

 Therefore, target strength using both equations, that is,

b) f’ck = fck+1.65 S
= 30+1.65 × 5 = 38.25 N/mm2
b) f’ck = fck + 6.5
= 30 + 6.5 = 36.5 N/mm2
 The higher value is to be adopted.
 Therefore, target strength will be 38.25 N/mm2 as 38.25 N/mm2 >
36.5 N/mm2.

3. Approximate air content

From Table 3, the approximate amount of entrapped air to be
expected in normal (non-air-entrained) concrete is 1.5 percent for
10mm nominal maximum size of aggregate

4. Selection of water cement ratio

Exposure condition – Severe (IS 456:2000, Table 3)
Maximum water cement ratio – 0.45 (IS 456:2000, Table 5)
Adopted water cement ratio – 0.36
5. Selection of water content
From Table 4, water content = 208 kg (for 50 mm slump) for 10 mm
aggregate.

Estimated water content for 100 mm slump (increasing at the rate of

3% for every 25mm slump)
= 208 + (6% of 208)
6
= 208 + ( 100 x 208 ¿=¿ 220.48 kg ≈ 221 kg

As superplasticizer is used, the water content may be reduced. Based

on trial data, the water content reduction of 23 percent is considered
while using superplasticizer at the rate 1.0 percent by weight of
cement.
Hence the water content = 221 - (23% of 221)
23
= 221 – ( 100 x 221) = 170.17kg ≈ 171 kg

6. Calculation of cement content

Water-cement ratio = 0.36
 water content 171
Cement content = water −cement ratio = 0.36

= 475 kg/m3
From Table 5 of IS 456, minimum cement content for ‘severe’
exposure condition = 320 kg/m3
475 kg/m3 > 320 kg/m3 , hence, O.K.

7. Proportion of volume of coarse aggregate and fine aggregate

From Table 5, the proportionate volume of coarse aggregate
corresponding to 10 mm size aggregate and fine aggregate (Zone III)
for water-cement ratio of 0.50 = 0.52.

In the present case water-cement ratio is 0.36. Therefore, volume of

coarse aggregate is required to be increased to decrease the fine
aggregate content. As the water-cement ratio is lower by 0.14, the
proportion of volume of coarse, aggregate is increased by 0.028 (at
the rate of 0.01 for every ± 0.05 change in water-cement ratio).
Therefore, corrected proportion of volume of coarse aggregate for
the water-cement ratio of 0.36 = 0.52 + 0.028 = 0.548.
Volume of fine aggregate content = 1 – 0.548 = 0.452
To avoid under sanded take Coarse Aggregate = 0.63 and Fine
Aggregate = 0.37

8. Mix calculation
The mix calculation per unit volume of concrete shall be as follows:
a) Total volume = 1 m3
b) Volume of entrapped air in wet concrete = 0.01 m3
Mass of cement 1 475 1
c) Volume of cement = Specific gravity of cement x 1000 = 3.08 x 1000

= 0.154 m3
Mass of water 1 171 1
d) Volume of water = Specific gravity of water x 1000 = 1.0 x 1000
= 0.171 m3
e) Volume of chemical admixture (superplasticizer) (@ 1.0 percent
by mass of cementitious material)
Mass of chemical admixture 1 4 .75 1
= Specific gravity of admixture x 1000 = 1.145 x 1000
=0.004 m3

f) Volume of all in aggregate = [(a - b) - (c + d + e)]

= [(1-0.01) – (0.154 + 0.171 + 0.004)] = 0.661 m3
g) Mass of coarse aggregate = (f x Volume of coarse aggregate x
Specific gravity of coarse aggregate x 1000)
= 0.661 x 0.63 x 2.77 x 1000 = 1153.511 kg ≈ 1154 kg
h) Mass of fine aggregate = (f x volume of fine aggregate x Specific
gravity of fine aggregate x 1000)
= 0.661 x 0.37 x 2.65 x 1000 = 648.110 kg ≈ 649 kg

9. Mix proportion for trial

Cement = 475 kg/m3
Water = 171 kg/m3
Fine aggregate (SSD) = 649 kg/m3
Coarse aggregate (SSD) = 1154 kg/m3
Chemical admixture = 4.75 kg/m3
Free water-cement ratio = 0.36

Mix Ratio = Cement : Fine Aggregate : Coarse Aggregate

= 1 : 1.36 : 2.42

6. METHODOLGY
1. Test for determination of compressive strength of the
concrete
Test procedure
i. The material required for preparing the concrete of given
proportions was calculated.
ii. Then the material was mixed thoroughly by hand until
uniform color of concrete is obtained.
iii. The concrete was poured in the lightly greased cube
moulds.
iv. The concrete was filled in two layers each of
approximately 75 mm and rammed each layer with 35
blows evenly distributed over the surface of layer.
v. The concrete at the top was leveled of the mould by
means of trowel and specimen were marked with proper
identification.
vi. Specimens were removed from the moulds after 24hrs
and cured in water for 7 days and 28 days.
 vii. The cube was taken out of water at the end of 7 days and
28 days with dry cloth. The dimensions of the surface
measured in which the load was applied.
viii. The cube was placed in compressive testing machine and
the load was applied uniformly at the surface.
ix. The load at which the cube failed was noted.
x. The compressive strength of the cube was calculated by
the formula:-
Compressive strength = Max load carried / Surface area of
specimen {P/A}.

2. Test for determination of flexural strength of concrete

Test procedure
i. The material required for preparing the concrete of given
proportions was calculated.
ii. Then the material was mixed thoroughly by hand until
uniform color of concrete is obtained.
iii. The concrete was poured in the lightly greased cylinder
moulds.
iv. The concrete was filled in three layers each of
approximately 100 mm and rammed each layer with 25
blows evenly distributed over the surface of layer.
v. The concrete at the top was leveled of the mould by
means of trowel and specimen were marked with proper
identification.
vi. Specimens were removed from the moulds after 24hrs
and cured in water for 7 days and 28 days.
vii. The cube was taken out of water at the end of 7 days and
28 days with dry cloth. The dimensions of the surface was
 measured in which the load was applied as length ‘L’ and
diameter ‘D’
viii. The cylinder was placed in compressive testing machine
and the load was applied uniformly along the length of
the specimen.
ix. The load at which the cylinder failed was noted as ‘P’.
x. The tensile strength of the cube was calculated by the
formula:-
Tensile strength = 2P/πLD

7. RESULT
A. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
This test was carried out in order to determine the effect of the
variation of coarse aggregate size with constant water-cement ratio
on the compressive strength of concrete. The results are obtained
after 7 days and 28 days and plotted in figure 3. The table 1 and table
2 shows cube compressive strength of 20mm aggregate and table 3
and 4 shows cube compressive strength of 10mm aggregate
After 7 days curing
1. 20mm Aggregate Cube Compressive Strength (N/mm 2)
Table 1

18.66+19.11+21.33
Average Compressive Strength = 3 = 19.73 N/mm 2

After 7 days of curing of cube of aggregate size 20mm the average

compressive strength was found to be 19.73 N/mm 2.

2. 10mm Aggregate Compressive Strength (N/mm 2)

Table 2
31.55+35.55+24.88
Average Compressive Strength = 3 = 30.66 N/mm 2
After 7 days of curing cube of aggregate size 10mm the average
compressive strength was found to be 30.66 N/mm 2 .

After 28 days curing

1. 20mm Aggregate Compressive Strength (N/mm 2)

Table 3

31.55+35.55+24.88
Average Compressive Strength = 3 = 30.66 N/mm 2

After 7 days of curing cube of aggregate size 10mm the average

compressive strength was found to be 30.66 N/mm 2 .

2. 10mm Aggregate Compressive Strength (N/mm 2)

Table 4

40.44+ 42.22+ 40.88

Average Compressive Strength = 3 = 41.88 N/mm 2

After 28 days of curing of cube of aggregate size 10mm the average

compressive strength was found to be 41.88 N/mm 2.

Cube Compressive strength of concrete analysis

It shows the comparison of compressive strength of concrete
between 10mm and 20mm aggregate.
The result showed that the compressive strength of 10mm increased
by 55% and 46% compared to 20mm aggregate after 7 days and 28
days respectively.

B. SPLITTING TENSILE STRENGTH

This test was carried out in order to determine the effect of the
variation of coarse aggregate size with constant water-cement ratio
on the compressive strength of concrete. The results are obtained
after 7 days and 28 days and plotted in figure 4. The table 5 and table
6 shows splitting tensile strength of 20mm aggregate and table 7 and
8 shows splitting tensile strength of 10mm aggregate.
After 7 days curing
1. 20mm Aggregate Splitting Tensile Strength (N/mm 2)
Table 5

1.414+0.84
Average Splitting Tensile Strength = 2
=1.127 N/mm 2

After 7 days curing of aggregate size 20mm the average splitting

tensile strength was found to be 1.127 N/mm 2

2. 10mm Aggregate Splitting Tensile Strength (N/mm 2)

Table 6
2.26+1.41
Average Splitting Tensile Strength = 2
=1.83 N/mm 2
After 7 days curing of aggregate size 10mm the average splitting
tensile strength was found to be 1.83 N/mm 2

After 28 days curing

1. 20mm Aggregate Splitting Tensile Strength (N/mm 2)

Table 7
2.26+2.40
Average Splitting Tensile Strength = 2
=2.33 N/mm 2

After 28 days curing of aggregate size 20mm the average splitting

tensile strength was found to be 2.33 N/mm 2.
2. 10mm Aggregate Splitting Tensile Strength (N/mm 2)

Table 8
3.39+3.11
Average Splitting Tensile Strength = 2
=3.25 N/mm 2

After 28 days curing of aggregate size 10mm the average splitting

tensile strength was found to be 3.25 N/mm 2
Splitting Tensile strength of concrete analysis

Fig 4
This graph shows the comparison of splitting tensile strength of
concrete between 10mm and 20mm aggregate.
The result showed that the split tensile strength of 10mm
increased by 44% and 39% compared to 20mm aggregate after 7
days and 28 days of curing respectively.
 8. CONCLUSION
 As the coarse aggregate occupies around 70% of the volume of
concrete mix, its role in affecting the strength and durability
parameters of the concrete is paramount.
 The result showed that the compressive strength of 10mm
increased by 55% and 46% compared to 20mm aggregate after
7 days and 28 days curing respectively.
 Similarly, the splitting tensile strength of 10mm increased by
44% and 39% compared to 20mm aggregate after 7 days and
28 days curing respectively.
 The concrete aggregate size of 10mm has more strength than
concrete aggregate size 20mm. It because the aggregate size
10mm easier to fill small spaces and easy to compact.
 Decreasing the size of coarse aggregate and increasing the
quantity of the aggregate enhances the strength of the
concrete.
 It is recommended that careful attention must be paid to the
sizes of aggregates used in the production of concrete for
structural purposes.
 The larger percentage of coarse aggregate in concrete mix
makes it to contribute a lot to the strength of concrete.
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