Hardened Concrete

HARDENED CONCRETE
Properties of hardened concrete

• Strength
• Shrinkage
• Creep
• Temperature variation
• Permeability
• Durability
Strength of concrete
• Characteristic strength of concrete is defined as the compressive strength
of 150mm sized cube after 28 days below which not more than 5% of the
test results fail.
• It is measured in N/mm2
• Ordinary concrete: M10, M15, M20
• Standard concrete: M25, M30, M35, M40, M45, M50 & M55
• High strength concrete: M60, M65, M70, M65 & M70
• M10 for mass concrete works like construction of dams.
• M15 for bed concrete for foundation and floor construction
• M20 is used for RCC works.
• High strength concrete is used in pre stressed concrete
• Tensile strength of concrete is small and for design purpose it is taken as zero
• According to IS 456:2000 Ft = 0.7 √ fck N/mm2
• Modulus of elasticity E = 5000 √ fck N/mm2

Factors affecting strength of concrete
• Age: In the initial period gain of strength is faster. In 7 days 60-65% of the 28 days strength
is gained. 28 days strength is assumed as its full strength.
• Cement: Higher the cement content better is the strength. Better the quality of cement more
is the strength.
• Aggregate: The shape, size & grading of aggregates also influence the strength of concrete.
Rounded, spherical-shaped aggregates give better strength than irregular & flaky aggregates.
• Water cement ratio: As water cement ratio increases strength increases.
• Curing: It should be done well, specially at the early stage. If curing is not done properly
surface cracks develop and strength of concrete reduces
Shrinkage
• Shrinkage is the volume change caused due to the inherent properties of concrete.
• It is classified into plastic shrinkage & drying shrinkage.
• Plastic shrinkage occurs during hydration and due to loss of water by evaporation or by
absorption by aggregates. It can be reduced by covering the surface by polythene sheets
and also can be reduced by addition of aluminium powder and expansive cement.
• Drying shrinkage takes place after the concrete has completely set and hardened. This
takes place in the first few months after setting.
Creep
• Creep is the deformation when the concrete is subjected to a sustained load.
• It is time dependent part of strain resulting from stress.
• Rate of creep decreases with time.
• Important factors influence creep are
• Type of cement
• Mix proportion
• Humidity
• Temperature
• Age of concrete
Temperature variation
• Rise in temperature cause expansion of concrete and decrease in temperature

cause contraction.
• Volume change depends on coefficient of thermal expansion of concrete.
• To control this contraction and expansion temperature reinforcement is provided.
Permeability
• Rapid and excess water evaporation from concrete leaves voids inside the
concrete.
• This leads to the porosity in concrete and forms continuous path which makes the
concrete permeable.
• In water retaining structures, permeability makes the structure unfunctional.
• Presence of moisture results in corrosion of steel in case of reinforced concrete
Durability
• Durability of concrete is its satisfactory performance through its entire life span.
• Two main aspects considered in the durability of concrete are
• Water cement ratio
• permeability
TESTS ON HARDENED CONCRETE
Compressive strength test

• Representative samples of concrete shall be taken and used for casting cubes 15 cm x 15 cm
x 15 cm or cylindrical specimens of 15 cm diameter x 30 cm long.
• The concrete shall be filled into the moulds in layers approximately 5 cm deep. It would be
distributed evenly and compacted either by vibration or by hand tamping. After the top layer
has been compacted, the surface of concrete shall be finished level with the top of the mould
using a trowel; and covered with a glass plate to prevent evaporation.
• The specimen shall be stored at site for 24 hrs. After that, the samples shall be stored in clean
water at 270C; until the time of test. The ends of all cylindrical specimens that are not plane
within 0.05 mm shall be capped.
• Just prior to testing, the cylindrical specimen shall be capped with sulphur
mixture comprising 3 parts sulphur to 1 part of inert filler such as fire clay.
• Specimen shall be tested immediately on removal from water and while they
are still in wet condition.
• The bearing surface of the testing specimen shall be wiped clean and any loose
material removed from the surface.
• The load shall be applied slowly without shock and increased continuously at a
rate of approximately 140 kg/sq.cm/min until the resistance of the specimen to
the increased load breaks down and no greater load can be sustained. The
maximum load applied to the specimen shall then be recorded and any unusual
features noted at the time of failure brought out in the report.
Compressive strength
= Load at failure / Area of cross
sections of specimen
Equivalent cube strength
= (5/4) strength of cube
Flexure strength test
• Standard specimen is 150x150mm cross section of beam of 700mm length.
• Prepare the test specimen by filling the concrete into the mould in 3 layers of
approximately equal thickness.
• Tamp each layer 25 times using the tamping bar.
• Tamping should be distributed uniformly over the entire cross section of the beam
mould and throughout the depth of each layer.
• Clean the bearing surfaces of the supporting and loading rollers , and remove any
loose sand or other material from the surfaces of the specimen where they are to
make contact with the rollers.
• The specimen stored in water shall be tested immediately on removal
from water; whilst they are still wet.
• The test specimen shall be placed in the machine correctly centered with
the longitudinal axis of the specimen at right angles to the 38mm rollers.
For moulded specimens, the mould filling direction shall be normal to the
direction of loading.
• The load shall be applied at a rate of loading of 0.7 N/mm2 /min.
• The breaking load P is noted.

• Maximum moment in the middle 1/3
position, M= (P/2) x (L/3) = PL/6
• Modulus of rupture,f = M/Z
= PL/bd2
Split tensile strength test
• Take the wet specimen from water after 28 days of curing

• Wipe out water from the surface of specimen
• Draw diametrical lines on the two ends of the specimen to ensure that they are on
the same axial place.
• Note the weight and dimension of the specimen.
• Set the compression testing machine for the required range.
• Keep are plywood strip on the lower plate and place the specimen.
• Align the specimen so that the lines marked on the ends are vertical and centered over the
bottom plate.
• Place the other plywood strip above the specimen.
• Bring down the upper plate to touch the plywood strip.
• Apply the load continuously without shock at a rate of approximately 14-21kg/cm2/minute
• Note down the breaking load(P)
• As per IS456, split tensile strength of
concrete.= 0.7 √ fck
• The splitting tensile strength is
calculated using the formula
T = 2P/ π󠆪DL

Hardened Concrete

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HARDENED CONCRETE

Properties of hardened concrete

• M15 for bed concrete for foundation and floor construction

• M20 is used for RCC works.

• High strength concrete is used in pre stressed concrete

• According to IS 456:2000 Ft = 0.7 √ fck N/mm2

• Modulus of elasticity E = 5000 √ fck N/mm2

• Rise in temperature cause expansion of concrete and decrease in temperature

Compressive strength test

• The load shall be applied at a rate of loading of 0.7 N/mm2 /min.

• The breaking load P is noted.

• Take the wet specimen from water after 28 days of curing

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