CONCRETE MATERIALS

 PROPERTIES AND TESTING

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Concrete ingredients

• Cement
• Fine aggregate
• Coarse aggregate
• Water
• Admixtures

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Properties of cement

Physical properties of cement

 Fineness
 Standard consistency
 Initial and final setting times
 Compressive strength
 Soundness

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Properties of Aggregates

properties of fine aggregate

 Specific gravity
 Bulk density
 Water absorption
 Surface moisture
 Grading zones of sand by sieve analysis
 Fineness modulus
 Bulking of sand
 Silt content

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Properties of Aggregates
Physical properties of coarse aggregate
 Specific gravity
 Bulk density
 Water absorption
 Surface moisture
 Grading by sieve analysis
 Fineness modulus
 Shape tests-
 Flakiness index
 Elongation index
 Angularity number

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Properties of Aggregates

Mechanical properties of coarse aggregate

 Aggregate crushing strength
 Aggregate crushing value-
 Ten percent fine test
 Aggregate impact value
 Aggregate abrasion value-
 Los-angles abrasion test
 Dorry's attrition test

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characteristics that are considered when selecting
aggregate include:

•grading
•particle shape and surface texture
•unit weights and voids
•water absorption
•surface moisture
•abrasion and skid resistance
•durability

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ADMIXTURES:
ADMIXTURES:

 Pozzolanic Admixture – used as substitute for cement

(35%) for structures in high temperatures and seawater
installation or as additives to decrease the weight of a
concrete per cubic foot

 Water Reducing Admixture – an agent or super

plasticizers that improves workability and maintain
consistency of concrete

 Waterproofing – integrated type in powder form added

during mixing . Render surface in decks, basements
and pools water impervious.
ADMIXTURES:
 Coloring Agent – are pigments or dyes mixed into
topping to render/alter color evenly to concrete surface

 Surface Sealing Agents – liquid waxes sprayed over

the surface that is easily removed after curing. Prevents
evaporation of water into a new concrete allowing
hydration and seal the pores of concrete surface after it
has hardened

 Set Inhibiting Agent – in liquid form (applied

immediately before pouring of concrete) or powder form
(applied directly after pouring). Inhibits the setting of
cement paste avoiding bonding to surface aggregates
and left exposed for architectural effect.
ADMIXTURES:

 Dispersal Agents- prevents bleeding of concrete from

concrete.
 Bonding Agent – either metallic aggregate (bonding
thru oxidation and expansion) or synthetic latex
emulsion (sprayed or painted to coalesce and bond) to
improve the bond between old and new concrete.

 Air – Entraining Agent – can be inter-ground during

manufacturing of Type I,II and III cement. Enables the
concrete to be highly resistant against corrosion.

 Gas Forming Agent – develops the potential strength

of a concrete
ADMIXTURES:

 Non-Skid Surfaces - use abrasive material in topping to

produced unslippery surface for pavement construction

 Hardener – chemical/fine metallic aggregate improve the

density of concrete surface subject to impact and wear.

 Accelerator – Speeds up the setting of concrete to

reduce the whole curing period or for early removal of
forms.

 Retarder – delays or extend the setting time of concrete

especially during hot weather condition (hydration
accelerates curing) allowing more time to place,
consolidate and finish the concrete.
Properties of fresh Concrete

The properties of freshly mixed concrete are

 Workability
 Segregation & bleeding
Workability measurements

Following tests are commonly used for

measuring workability of concrete:

1. Slump test
2. Compacting factor test
3. Vebe test
4. Flow table test

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1. Slump test
most universally used test, which measures only the
consistency of mixtures of concrete with high consistency
 The equipment for the slump test is very simple and consists
of a tamping rod and a truncated cone, 300 mm height and
100 mm diameter at the top and 200 mm diameter at the
bottom
 the cone is filled with concrete in four layers, each layer
given 25 number of blows with tamping rod, then cone is
slowly lifted
 The unsupported concrete cone slumps down by its own
weight
 The decrease in the height of the slumped cone is called the
slump of concrete
SLUMP TEST

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2. Compacting factor test
attempts to evaluate the compactability characteristic of a
concrete mixture
 This test developed in Great Britain, measures the degree of
compaction achieved when a concrete mixture is subjected
to a standard amount of work
 The degree of compaction, called compacting factor, is
measured by the density ratio (i.e., the ratio of the density
actually achieved in the test to the density of the same
concrete when in fully compacted condition
 The apparatus consists essentially of two conical hoppers
fitted with doors at the base and placed one above the other,
and a 150 x 300 mm cylinder placed below the hoppers, as
shown in the following figure
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3. Vebe test
•Vebe test – like slump test measures only the consistency
but more meaningful for mixtures of concrete with low
consistency
•The equipment for the test, as shown in the following figure,
was developed by Swedish engineer V. Bahrner
•The Vebe test equipment consists of a vibrating table, a
cylindrical pan, a slump cone, and a glass or plastic disk
attached to a free-moving rod, which serves as a reference
end point
•The cone is placed in the pan, filled with concrete, and
removed like slump test
•The disk is brought into position on top of the concrete cone,
and the vibrating table is set in motion
•The time required to remold the concrete, from the conical to
the cylindrical shape until the disk is completely covered with
concrete, is reported as the Vebe time in seconds

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4.Flow table test
 Flow table test- specifies the use of flow table to determine
the fluidity of concrete, where nominal size the aggregate
does not exceed 38mm.
 Apparatus consists of mould of base of 25cm dia top dia of
17cm and height of 12cm. Flow table of 70.6cm dia with a
provision measuring spread of concrete subjected to jolting
of 12.5mm 15 times in 15 sec by rotating the handle.
 Determines the flow of concrete in terms of percentage
increase in diameter of spread concrete over base diameter.
 The flow of the concrete shall be recorded as the percentage
increase in diameter of the spread concrete over the base
diameter of the moulded concrete, calculated from the
following formula:
Flow percent = spread diameter in cm – 25 x 100
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Segregation and Bleeding
 Definition: It is defined as separation of the components of fresh
concrete so that they are no longer uniformly distributed
Types:
There are two kinds of segregation
 Separation of the mortar (paste + fine aggregate) from the body of
concrete (for example, due to over vibration or mishandling of
concrete)
 Bleeding
 It is defined as phenomenon by virtue of which water appears on the
surface after a concrete has been placed and compacted but before
it has set
 Bleeding takes place due to sedimentation of the solids in voids of
concrete
 Laitance is a form of bleeding in which water rising in the internal
channels within concrete, carry with it very fine particles of cement,
sand, and clay and deposit them in the form of a scum at the
concrete surface
Causes and Control:

The following are the general causes segregation and

bleeding problems in concrete:
 Improper consistency
 Excessive amount of large particles of coarse aggregate with
either too high or too low density
 Presence of less fines (due to low cement and sand contents
or the use of a poorly graded sand)
 Inappropriate placing and compacting methods
 The problems of segregation and bleeding can be reduced
or eliminated by paying attention to mix proportioning and to
handling and placement methods
Properties of hardened concrete
 Strength of concrete-
 Compressive strength
 Tensile strength-
○ Direct tensile strength
○ Splitting tensile strength
○ Flexural tensile strength
 Shear strength
 Elasticity of concrete - static and dynamic modulus
 Dimensional stability – creep, shrinkage and thermal
expansion
 Durability and impermeability
 Thermal properties

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1. Strength:
The strength of concrete is basically referred to compressive strength and
it depends upon three factors.
1- Paste Strength
2- Interfacial Bonding
3- Aggregate Strength

1. Paste strength:
It is mainly due to the binding properties of cement that the ingredients
are compacted together. If the paste has higher binding strength, higher
will be strength of concrete.

2. Interfacial bonding:
Interfacial bonding is very necessary regarding the strength. Clay
hampers the bonding between paste and aggregate. The aggregate
should be washed for a better bonding between paste and aggregate.

3. Aggregate strength:
It is mainly the aggregate that provide strength to concrete especially
coarse aggregates which act just like bones in the body. Rough and
angular aggregate provides better bonding and high strength.

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Factors affecting Strength of
concrete:

1. Water-Cement ratio
2. Type of cementing material
3. Amount of cementing material
4. Type of aggregate
5. Air content
6. Admixtures

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Factors Influencing Strength
• Cement Type (composition)
• Cement fineness
• Use of chemical admixtures
• Use of SCMs
• Aggregate strength
• Aggregate MSA
• Aggregate/paste bond strength

Test Parameters
• Specimen size
• Specimen shape
• Load rate

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Tests on concrete Strength

1. Compressive Strength Test

• Cube test
• Cylinder test
2. Tensile Strength Test
3. Split cylinder test
4. Flexural Strength Test
• Two point loading test
• Three point loading test

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COMPRESION STREMGTH
S = So(1- p)3
ß Experimentally Power’s found the
value of a to be
34,000 psi or 234 MPa

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Water to cement ratio
ß Abram’s water to cement ratio
ß F = K1/(K2w/c)
Note: it does not consider the size, type,
texture, of aggregate

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S = So(1- p)3
ß Experimentally Power’s found the value
of a to be
34,000 psi or 234 MPa
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S = So(1- p)3
ß Experimentally Power’s found the value
of a to be
34,000 psi or 234 MPa

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SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH

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SPLIT TENSILE STRENGTH

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Flexure test

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Points to note:
•Aggregate and cement
paste linear up to failure
•Concrete stress-strain
response (elastic) in
between aggregate and
cement paste
•Concrete does not have a
linear behavior up to failure

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Modulus of elasticity

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Drying Shrinkage of concrete

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Creep of concrete

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Nondestructive Test- (NDT)
This test are useful to:

(1) quality control;

(2) determination of the time for form removal;
(3) help assess the soundness of existing concrete structures.

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TYPES OF NDT TESTS

1. Surface Hardness Methods

2. Rebound Hardness
3. Penetration Resistance
4. Pull-Out Test
5. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity

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Rebound Hardness
•The most common nondestructive test is the rebound test.
• The test measures the rebound of a hardened steel
hammer impacted on the concrete by a spring.
•This method has the same limitations as the surface
hardness tests.
•The results are affected by:
(1) surface finish;
(2) moisture content;
(3) temperature;
(4) rigidity of the member being tested;
(5) carbonation of the surface; and
(6) direction of impact (upward, downward, horizontal).

Most useful in checking the uniformity of concrete.

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Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity
•This test is based o the fact that the velocity of sound
is related to the elastic modulus.
•The device is accurate to about + 1%.
• The position of the testing equipment can affect the
measurement, method A given the best results.
• There are several factors which affect this test:
(1) surface smoothness;
(2) travel path of the pulse;
(3) temperature effects on the pulse velocity;
(4) moisture content;
(5) presence of steel reinforcing bars; and
(6) age of concrete.

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Pull-Out Test

• Pull-out test determine the force required to

pull a steel insert out of concrete which it was
embedded during casting.
•This test is a measure of the shear strength
of the concrete which can be correlated with
compressive strength.
•This test is better than those previously
discussed.
•the test may be planned in advance and the
assembly embedded in the concrete during
casting.

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PULL-OUT TEST

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•Surface Hardness Methods -- One of the oldest
nondestructive tests, developed in Germany in the
1930's. Basically, the surface is impacted with a mass
and the size of the resulting indention is measured.
The accuracy of these type of tests is only 20 to 30%.

•Penetration Resistance -- Resistance of concrete to

penetration by a steel probe driven by a given amount
of energy is measured. This test is not affected by
surface hardness or carbonation as the above tests,
however, the mix proportions and material properties
are still important.

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Relevant I.S Codes

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