CONCRETE

What is Concrete?
 Composite material which is made
up of binder and filler materials.

Coarse Aggregate
Cement + + Fine Aggregate
Water
What do we expect out of Concrete?

Desired Strength (Design strength)

Workable (Easily spread able)

Durable (Withstand for long life)

Grade of Concrete
M 15, M 20, ...

Average compressive
strength after 28 days
Mix in N/mm2
Grades of Concrete
1. Ordinary Concrete  M10 to M20

2. Standard Concrete  M25 to M55

3. High Strength Concrete  >M55

 CEMENT
 Cement is a mixture of
compounds, consisting mainly of
silicates and aluminates of
calcium, formed out of calcium
oxide, silica, aluminium oxide
and iron oxide.
Joseph Aspdin - 1824
Composition of Cement
Lime CaO 62%
Silica SiO2 22%
AluminaAl2O3 5%
Calcium Sulphate CaSO4 4%
Iron Oxide Fe2O3 3%
Magnesia MgO 2%
Sulphur S 1%
Alkalies 1%
Total 100%
Grades of Cement
- Classified based on its 28
days comp. strength
28 days Compressive Strength
Grade of Cement

(1) 33 Grade Cement • 33 N/mm2

(2) 43 Grade Cement

• 43 N/mm2

(3) 53 Grade Cement

• 53 N/mm2
 Colour of cement
• The colour of cement should be greenish-gray for OPC and
dark gray for FA based PPC.
• The colour of OPC depends on its raw materials used.
• If the raw materials contain more iron, the resultant cement
will be darker in colour.
• As regards PPC, it is related to the type of pozzolona
admixted.
• It should be noted that colour has no effect on any of the
properties of cement.
• The strength is dependent on the correct proportion of raw
materials mixed.
SPECIFICATION LIMITS OF
CEMENT
Grade of Cement
33 43 53
Initial Setting Time Not less than 30 minutes
Final Setting Time Not more than 600 min.
Soundness Not more than 10mm.
Fineness Not less than 225 m2/kg
Comp. Strength (MPa)
3 days >16 >23 >27
7 days >22 >33 >37
28 days >33 >43 >53
MPa – Mega Pascal

1 Pa = 1 N/m2
1 MPa = 1 x 106 N/m2
= 1 x 106 / 10 -6
N/mm2
= 1 N/mm2
 Manufacturing of Cement
1) Limestone is crushed.

2) The crushed limestone is mixed in clay.

3) The mixture is further pulverized, either

wet, or dry.

4) The resultant is burned in a kiln for 4

hours at 3000º Fahrenheit.

5) Gypsum is added, and the clinker

(unfinished cement product) pulverized.
 TYPES OF CEMENT

OPC – Ordinary Portland Cement
 33 Grade (IS:269-1989)
 43 Grade (IS:8112-1989)
 53 Grade (IS:12269-1987)
 PPC - Portland Pozzolona Cement (IS:1489)
 Rapid Hardening Portland Cement (IS:8041)
 Sulphate Resistant Portland Cement (IS:12330)
 Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (IS:455)
 Low Heat Portland Cement (IS:12600)
Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)
 Cement in which pozzolana is added with
the cement clinker.

 Pozzolana is a siliceous or aluminous

material such as flyash, volcanic ash.

 The % of flyash permitted by BIS is 10 to

25%.
OPC Vs PPC
Characteristics PPC
1. % of pozzolana More than OPC
2. Heat of hydration Less than OPC, which
causes smaller shrinkage
and free from cracks

3. Workability Better than OPC

4. Strength Rate of strength gain is

lesser than OPC
 Age of Cement Vs Strength
 Cement loses its strength as it ages.
S.No Age in months Loss of strength in %
.
1. 3 0 to 10
2. 6 20 – 30
3. 12 30 – 40
4. >12 >40
BIS prescribes that cement should be used
within 90 days of its production. Incase it is
used at a later date then it should be tested
before use.
 Storage of cement
 It should not come in contact with water or
moisture till it is put to use.
 If it comes in contact, it will react and form lumps.
 Form of lumps decreases its freshness and this in
turn will result in less strength.
 The atm. moisture is sufficient for deterioration of
cement
 It should be stored in such a manner that no
moisture or dampness is allowed to reach cement
either from the ground or from the environment.
 Field Tests on Cement
 Check a random that the packing bags are
fresh and that the bags are machine
stitched.
 Check that the bag displays IS mark and
number to which it confirms to.
 Check the manufacturing week on the bag.
 Open the bag and take a good look at
cement, there should be no lumps
 Check the colour of cement, it should be
uniform.
 Check that an handful of cement when
thrown in a bucket of water floats for some
time and then settles down.
CEMENT TESTS
• Consistency - Vicat Apparatus
• Initial Setting Time - With 1mm needle
• Final Setting Time - With Annular ring
• Soundness - LeChatlier/Autoclave
• Fineness - Air Permeability
• Compressive Strength - 50 Sq.cm. cubes
 Aggregates In concrete, size
from 75 micron
Coarse Aggregate to 50mm.

4.75mm Sieve

Its purpose is to fill the voids in the

Fine Aggregate coarse aggregate and to act as a
workability  agent.
Fine Aggregate (IS:383-1970)
 Passing 4.75mm IS sieve.
 Natural sand and Crushed stone fines can be
used.
 Zones I to IV.
 Zone I to III are preferable.
 Zone I is too coarse and Zone IV is too fine.
 Zone IV is not recommended for RCC works.
 Grading of Fine Aggregates

IS Percentage of Passing For

Sieve Zone I Zone II Zone Zone IV
Size III

10mm 100 100 100 100

4.75m 90-100 90-100 90-100 95-100
m 60-95 75-100 85-100 95-100
2.36m 30-70 55-90 75-100 90-100
m 15-34 35-59 60-79 80-100
1.18m
5-20 8-30 12-40 15-50
 Required Properties of Coarse aggregate
 Specific Gravity  It should have good crushing
strength and density.
 Surface Texture  It should be smooth to
slightly rough but not honeycombed.
 Particle Shape  It should not be flaky or
elongated.
 Porosity  It should have very low water
absorption.
 Stability  It should be chemically inert.
 Impurities  It should be free from mineral
impurities like mica, clay and silt.
 Compactness  It should be well graded, as
then only the voids can be less.
Limits for 40mm & 20mm graded aggregate

% of Passing
Size of Sieve
40mm agg. 20mm agg.
63mm 100
40mm 95 – 100 100
20mm 30 – 70 95 – 100
10mm 10 – 35 25 – 55
4.75mm 0–5 0 - 10
Tests on Coarse Aggregate

1.Crushing Value
2.Impact Value
3.Abrasion Value
4.Flakiness Index
 Water

 Potable water is generally suitable

for mixing of concrete.
 Shall be free from impurities, oils,
acids, alkalies and salts.
 pH shall be between 6 to 8.

 Sulphate < 400 mg/lit.

 Chlorides < 2000 mg/lit. for PCC

works
< 500 mg/lit. for RCC works
 Sea water is not permitted for
mixing and curing.
 Admixtures
 To accelerate initial setting cement
 To retard initial setting of cement
 To increase the strength of concrete
 To improve the workability
 To increase bond between old and new concrete
 To increase bond between steel and concrete
 To produce colour concrete
 To inhibit corrosion of concrete
 To produce non-skid surfaces
 To increase resistance to chemical attack.
 Accelerators & Retarders
Accelerators Retarders
 Accelerate setting of  Delay the setting of
concrete concrete
 Generally used in cold  Generally used in hot
environment environment & long haul
 Assist in early removal  Results in reduction in
of form work micro cracks
 Calcium Chloride,  Lignin, Sugars,
Calcium formate, Tartaric acid and its
Calcium nitrate, Sodium salts, etc.
Pottasium hydroxide, etc
 Superplasticizers (SP)
 One of a class of admixtures called water
reducers that are used to lower the mix water
requirement of concrete.
 Also called as Superfludizers, superfludifiers,
super water-reducers and high range water
reducers.
Water reducer % of reduction of
water requirement
Normal water reducers 10 to 15%

Superplasticisers About 30%

 Classification of SP
(1) Sulphonated melamine formaldehyde
(SMF)
(2) Sulphonated napthalene formaldehyde
(SNF)
(3) Modified lignosulphonates (MLS)
(4) Sulphonic acid esters
(5) Carbohydrate ester, etc.
----------------------------------------------
Mostly available are SMF and SNF.
 Advantages of Reducing Water
Cement ratio
 Increased compressive / flexural strength
 Increased denseness
 Reduced porosity
 Increased water tightness
 Increased resistance to weathering
 Better bond between successive layers
 Better bond between concrete and
reinforcement
 Less volume change from wetting and
drying
 Flowing Concrete
• High workability permits easy and quick
placement.
• High workability can be achieved by
(i) Same cement with more W/C
(ii) More cement with same W/C
• But, both methods, lead to segregation,
excessive shrinkage, undesirable heat
development, and long-term detrimental
effects.
• SP (0.3 – 0.6% by wt.)About 200mm slump.
Without SP
With 0.30% SP

With 0.60% SP
 Production of Concrete
 The quantities of cement, fine aggregate and
various sizes of coarse aggregates shall be
measured by weight.
 Different types of cement shall not be mixed.
 Quantity of water shall be measured.
 Any admixture to be added shall me measured /
weighed.
 Graded coarse aggregate shall be used to get
more homogenous concrete.
 Zone IV sand shall not be used for RCC works.
 Necessary correction shall be made for
moisture content present in aggregates.
 The concrete should have a workability
such that it can be placed in the form work
and compacted with minimum effort
without causing segregation or bleeding.
 Compressive Strength of concrete is
almost inversely proportional to the W/C
ratio.
 Excess water leads to reduction in
strength of concrete.
 Curing of Concrete
 Curing has a strong influence on the properties of
hardened concrete such as durability, strength,
watertightness, abrasion resistance, and resistance
to freezing and thawing and deicer salts.
 Adding water with cement starts the reaction, called
as hydration.
 Hydration produces a stone like substance – the
hardened cement paste.
 It is necessary that water be present in the concrete
untill the reaction reaches equilibrium.
 Both the rate and degree of hydration, and the
resulting strength of the final concrete, depends on
the curing process.
 Once the water is removed, hydration ceases and
cannot be restarted.
 Methods of Curing
(Sea water should not be used for curing)

 Spraying with water.

 Covering with wet mat.
 Covering with wet sand.
 Covering with waterproof paper to
prevent evaporation.
 Flooding with water by building
small dams.
 Steam curing
Tests for Concrete
 Slump / Compacting factor
 Cube strength

 Beam / Flexural strength

 Core test

 Non-Destructive test
Slump Test
 Slump Value
Type of Structure Slump in mm
a. PCC 25
b. RCC – widely spaced RF 40 – 50
(Solid Colns., Piers, Abuts.,
Footing, Well steining)
c. RCC – medium spaced RF 50 – 75
(Pier, abut. Caps, box culverts,
well curb, well cap, walls with
tk.>300mm)
d. RCC & PSC – highly congested RF 75 – 125
(Deck slab girders, box girder,
walls with tk.<300mm)
e. Under water concreting 100 - 200
 Frequency of Sampling
Qty. of Concrete(m3) No. of Samples
1- 5 1
6 – 15 2
16 – 30 3
31 – 50 4
51 and above 4 plus one
additional sample
for each additional
50m3.
Factors affecting Performance of Good
Concrete
Cement
Quantity Cement
Curing
Composition

Aggregate
Compacting
Size
Hardened
Concrete Aggregate
Placing
Shape

Aggregate
Transportation
Quantity
Water
Mixing
Quantity