Workability: It is defined as the ease with which it can be mixed, transported, and placed in position in a homogeneous state.

It depends upon the quantity of water, grading of aggregates and % of fine materials in the mix. It is also defined as the that property of freshly mixed concrete or mortar which determines the ease and homogeneity with which it can be mixed, placed, compacted and finished. The concrete mix is said to be workable, if it has mix ability, stability, flow ability or movability, compatibility and finish ability. The property of concrete which determines the amount of water of useful internal work necessary to produce full compaction. Workability can be defined as the ease with which concrete can be compacted 100 %having regard to mode of compaction and place of deposition. In the Mix design of concrete, it is reqd. to specify the a) Mix design process with full understanding of the type of work b) Distance of transport c) Loss of slump d) Method of placing e) Other parameters Factors effecting workability: a) Type of Supervision b) Dosage c) Mix composition d) Variability in cement composition and properties e) Mixing procedure f) Equipments) g) others. Sometimes, the terms consistency and plasticity are used to denote the workability of concrete mix. The optimum workability of fresh concrete varies from situation to situation. Following are the factors which affect the workability. 1. Water content: It increases with increase in water content on account of greater lubrication. 2. Size of Aggregates: The concrete having large size aggregates is more workable than that of small size aggregates because the small size aggregates require more quantity of water for lubrication. 3. Shape of aggregates: The round shape aggregates increase the workability where as the angular, flaky and elongated aggregates reduce the workability considerably. 4. Surface texture of aggregates: The smooth surface of aggregates increase the workability because less quantity of water is required for lubrication. On the other hand, rough surface aggregates reduce the workability because more quantity of water is required for lubrication. 5. Grading of aggregates: The grading of aggregates affect the workability and should be continuous lean concrete mix. 6. Air entraining agents: The air bubbles produced due to adding air entraining agents in the concrete mix, act as rollers and thus increase the workability 7. Temperature: The workability of concrete mix reduces at higher temperature.

Measurement of Workability: Following are the empirical tests widely used:

The slump test is essentially a measure of consistency or the wetness of the concrete mix. This test is carried out with a steel mould in the form of a frustum of a cone whose top diameter is 100 mm, bottom diameter is 200 mm and the height is 300 mm. According to Indian standard specification, the maximum size of aggregate should not exceed 38 mm in the slump test. This method is suitable only for the concretes of medium to high workability. The slump value for high degree of workability should vary between 80 to 100 mm. It may be noted that as the slump value increases, the workability of concrete also increases. Compaction factor test: It is carried out to measure the compact ability of concrete which is an important aspect of workability. This test works on the compaction of measuring the amount of compaction achieved by standard amount of work done by allowing the concrete to fall through a standard height. This test is more accurate than slump test, especially for concrete mixes of medium and low workability i.e. compacting factor of 0.8 to 0.9. The compaction factor test is more popular to determine the workability of concrete mix in laboratories. The compaction factor is the ratio of weight of partially compacted concrete to the weight of fully compacted concrete.

Vee Bee Test: This test is suitable for stiff concrete mixes having low and very low workability. In this test, the time required for complete remoulding in seconds is the required measure of the workability and is expressed as the number of Vee-Bee seconds. There is no rigid correlation between workability of concrete as measured by different methods. The workability measure by different test methods are given below Degree of Workability Slump in mm Compacting factor Vee-Bee Times Very Low 00- 25 0.75 0.80 20 10 Low 25 - 50 0.80 0.85 10 - 05 Medium 50 - 75 0.85 0.92 05 - 02 High 75 150 0.92 02 - 00 Slump: Concrete is traditionally made out of a mixture of cement, water, sand and gravel. Modern concrete mixes also add other ingredients such as fibers, plastics and various chemical admixtures. The ingredients and the mixture proportion determine the properties of concrete, including slump. It is a measurement of the workability or consistency of concrete. In other words, it measures how easy the concrete is to push, mold and smooth out. Accordingly, its slump rating indicates what construction application the concrete is good for. The higher the slump, the more workable the concrete. If the slump of concrete is too low, it won't shape very easily. If it is too high, you run the risk of having the gravel, sand and cement settle out of the mixture, making it unusable. Slump and Quality: The lower the amount of water in a traditional concrete mix, the lower its slump. Low slump values in traditional mixes generally mean higher quality concrete. The additional ingredients in modern concrete mixes make it impossible to determine concrete quality from slump, however. Concrete with plasticizers and a high slump may actually have less water than a traditional concrete mix with a low slump. Because of these additional ingredients, you can set the slump of a batch of concrete to practically any value while still retaining a high quality mixture. Slump Loss: Slump at mixing point is not of much importance. The slum at placing point is of primary importance. Often there is delay between mixing and placing. Achieving high slump at the mixer, only to be lost with time, before placing is a bad economy. Loss of slump is natural even with unplasticized concrete. But rate of loss slump is little more in case of super plasticized concrete. User should demand only specify the slump value at placing point after a delay of 1 or 2 or 3 hours . It should be left to the super plasticizer manufacturer or concrete supplier to supply concrete of slump value as desired by the user at the time of placing of concrete. Steps to reduce slump loss: a) Initial high slump b) Use retarders c) Use retarding plasticizers or super plasticizers d) By repetitive doses e) By dosing at final point f) By keeping low temperature g) By using compatible super plasticizers with cement. Cement: The major raw materials of cement consist of Lime, Silica, Alumina & iron oxide. These oxides are burnt at high temp. (1300 1500 Deg. C). The materials sinters and partially fuses to form nodular shape clinker. The clinker is cooled and ground to fine powder with addition of gypsum of about 3 to 5 %. The product formed by using this process is Portland cement. There are two processes known as Wet & Dry process depending upon whether the mixing and grinding of raw materials is done in wet or dry conditions. With the little change in the above process we have the semi dry process also where the raw materials are ground dry and then mixed with 10 14 % of water and further burnt to clinkering temperature. As mentioned above the oxides present in the raw materials when subjected to high clinkering temperature combine with each other to form complex compounds. The identification of the major compounds is largely based on R H Bouges work and hence it is called Bouges Compounds The 4 compounds usually regarded as major compounds are:

% of compound Using Bouges equation 1. Tricalcium Silicate (3CaO.SiO2) C3S 54.10 2. Dicalcium Silicate (2CaO.SiO2) C2S 16.60 3. Tricalcium Aluminate (3CaO.Al2O3) C3A 10.80 4. Tetra calcium Aluminoferrite (4CaO.Al2O3.Fe2O3) C4 AF 09.10 In addition to above, there are many minor compounds formed in the kiln. The influence of these minor compounds on the properties of cement or hydrated compounds is not significant. Two of the minor oxides namely K2O and Na2O referred to as alkalis in cement are of some importance. Composition of cement: Oxide % % a) Calcium Oxide (CaO): 60 - 67 63 b) Silica Oxide 17 - 25 20 c) Alumina (Al2O3) 03 08 06 d) Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) 0.5 06 03 e) Magnesium Oxide 0.1 04 1.5 f) Alkalies (K2O & Na2O) 0.4 1.3 01 g) SO3 1.3 - 03 02 h) Gypsum 03 05 2.5 C3S and C2S are the most important compounds. Together they constitute 70 to 80 % of cement. The average C3S contents in modern cement is about 45 % and that of C2S is about 25 %.To manufacture a cement of stipulated compound composition, it becomes absolutely necessary to closely control the oxide composition of the raw materials.

Name of Compounds

Abbreviated Formula

Function of Ingredients of Cement:

a) Lime: It makes the cement sound and strong. The excess quantity of lime makes the cement unsound and causes the cement to expand and disintegrate. b) Silica: It provides strength to the cement due to formation of Dicalcium and Tricalcium silicates. Excess quantity of silica causes the cement to set slowly. c) Alumina: It provides quick setting property to the cement and lowers the clinkering temperature. d) Iron Oxide: It provides colour, strength and hardness to the cement. It also helps the fusion of raw materials during the manufacturing of cement. e) Magnesium Oxide: It provides hardness and colour to the cement when present in small quantity. The excess quantity of magnesium oxide makes the cement unsound. f) Sulphur Trioxide: It makes the cement sound when present in very small quantity. Excess quantity of sulphur oxide makes the cement unsound. g) Alkalies: These should be present in small quantities. Excess quantity of this causes efflorescence.

Composition of Cement Clinkers: The cement clinkers (Which are formed when calcareous and
agrillaceous raw materials are mixed and burnt in rotary kiln) consists of the following major compounds: a) Tricalcium Silicate (40 %): The presence of Tricalcium silicate in cement hydrates more rapidly. It generates more heat of hydration. It develops high early strength and possesses less resistance to sulphate attack. b) Dicalcium Silicate (32 %): The presence of Dicalcium silicate in the cement hydrates slowly. It generates less heat of hydration. It hardens more slowly and offers more resistance to sulphate attack. It provides good ultimate strength to cement.

c) Tricalcium Aluminate (10.50 %): The presence of Tricalcium aluminate causes initial setting of cement. It reacts fast with water and generates large amount of heat hydration. It is the first compound which reacts with water when mixed with cement. d) Tetra Calcium Alumino Ferrite: (9 %): Presence of this in cement has poor cementing value. It reacts slowly with water and generates small amount of heat hydration. NOTE: a) The high % of Tricalcium silicate and low % of Dicalcium silicate in cement results in rapid hardening, high early strength, high heat of generation and less resistance to chemical attack. b) The low % of Tricalcium silicate and high % of Dicalcium silicate in cement results in slow hardening, much more ultimate strength, less heat of generation and greater resistance to chemical strength.

Effect of Raw materials:

a) An increase in lime content beyond a certain value makes it difficult to combine with other compounds and free lime will exist in the clinker which causes unsoundness in cement. b) An increase in silica at the expense of the content of Alumina & Ferric oxide will make the cement difficult to fuse and form clinker. c) Cements with high total Alumina and high ferric oxide content is favorable to the production of high early strength in cement.

Hydration of Cement: The chemical reactions that take place between cement and water are referred
as hydration of cement. Anhydrous cement does not bind fine and coarse aggregate. It acquires adhesive property only when mixed with water. The chemistry of concrete is essentially the chemistry of the reaction between cement and water. On account of hydration certain products are formed. These products are important because they have cementing or adhesive values. The quality, quantity, continuity, stability and the rate of formation of the hydration products are important. Anhydrous cement compounds when mixed with water react with each other to form hydrated compounds of very low solubility. The hydration of cement can be visualized in two ways. The first is through solution mechanism. In this the cement compounds dissolve to produce a super saturated solution from which different products get precipitated. The second possibility is that water attacks cement compounds in the solid state converting the compounds into hydrated products starting from the surface and proceeding to the interior of the compounds with time. It is probable that both through solution and solid state types of mechanism may occur during the course of reactions between cement and water. The former mechanism may predominate in the early stage and the latter mechanism may operate during the latter stages of hydration.

Heat of Hydration: The reaction of cement with water is exothermic. The reaction liberates a
considerable quantity of heat. This liberation of heat is called heat of hydration. This is early seen if freshly mixed cement is put in a vacuum flask and the temperature of mass is read at intervals. The study and control of the heat of hydration becomes important in the construction of concrete dams and other mass concrete constructions. It has been observed that the temperature in the interior of large mass concrete is 50 deg. C above the original temperature of concrete mass at the time of placing and this high temperature is found to persist for a prolonged period. On mixing cement with water, a rapid heat evolution, lasting a few minutes, occurs. This heat evolution is probably due to the reaction of solution of aluminates and sulphates. This initial heat evolution ceases

quickly when the solubility of Aluminate is depressed by gypsum. Next heat evolution is on account of formation of ettringite and also may be due to the reaction of C3S. Since retarders are added to control the flash setting properties of C3A. Actually, the early heat of hydration is mainly contributed but not the total heat. The total quantity of heat generated in the complete hydration will depend upon the relative quantities of the major compounds present in cement. The hydration process is not an instantaneous one. The reaction is faster in early period and continues indefinitely at the decreasing rate. Complete hydration cannot be obtained under a period of one year or more unless the cement is very finely ground and reground with excess of water to expose fresh surfaces at internals.

Normal cement generally produces 89 90 Calories / Gram in 7 days and 90 100 Calories / Gram in 28 days.

Water Requirements for hydration:

C3S requires 24 % of water of cement by weight and C2S requires 21 %. On an average 23 % of cement is required for chemical reaction with Portland cement compound. This 23 % of water chemically combines with cement and, therefore, it is called bound water. A certain quantity of water is imbibed within the gel pores. This water is called gel water. It can be said that bound water and gel water are complementary tor each other. If the quantity of water is inadequate to fill up the gel pores, the formation of gel itself will stop and if the formation of gel stops there is no question of gel pores being present. It has been further estimated that about 15 % by weight of cement is required to fill up the gel pores. Therefore a total of 38 % of water by weight of cement is required for the complete chemical reactions and to occupy the space within gel pores. If water equal to 38 % by weight of cement is only used it can be noticed that the resultant paste will undergo full hydration and no extra water will be available for the formation of undesirable capillary cavities. On the other hand, if >38 % of water is used, then the excess water will cause undesirable capillary cavities. Hence, we may assume that hydration is taking place in a sealed container, where moisture to and from the paste does not take place. Types of Cement: a) Ordinary Portland cement i) Grade 33 ii) Grade 43 iii) Grade 53 I S Code: IS 269: 1989 IS 8112: 1989 IS 12269: 1987

Setting and Hardening of Cement:

The chemical reaction between water and cement is called hydration of cement or simply cement hydration. The phenomenon by virtue of which the plastic cement changes into a solid mass is known as setting of cement. The phenomenon by virtue of which the cement paste sets and develops strength is known as hardening of cement. The proportion of different cement compound affects: a) The rate of setting and hardening of cement b) The rate of evolution of heat and resistance to sulpher attack. The sum of % of Tricalcium silicate and Dicalcium silicate for Portland cement varies from 70 to 80 %. The Tricalcium silicate hydrates more rapidly than Dicalcium silicate and develops strength in cement for the first 7 days. The Tricalcium Aluminate and Tricalcium Alumino Ferrite compounds are responsible for the initial setting time.

Types of Cement:
1) Ordinary Portland cement: It has adequate resistance to dry shrinkage and cracking, but has less resistance to chemical attacks. Not suitable for construction work exposed to sulphates in soil. 2) Rapid hardening Portland cement: It is also known as high early strength cement. It is lighter than ordinary Portland cement. Since the curing for this cement is short, therefore it is economical. It is used where early strength is desired, for construction of road pavements, for cold weather concreting and where form work is to be removed as early as possible. Not suitable for massive concrete structures. 3) Low Heat Portland cement: It contains a low % of Tricalcium silicate which hydrates quickly and a higher % of Dicalcium silicate which hydrates slowly.. It contains less lime than ordinary Portland cement. It possesses less compressive strength. This cement is widely used in retaining walls. It should not be used for thin concrete structures. 4) Sulphate resisting Portland cement: The % of Tricalcium aluminate is kept below 5 % and it results in the increase in resisting power against sulphates. It is used for structures which are likely to be damaged by severe alkaline conditions such as canal lining, culverts etc. 5) High Alumina Cement: It contains about 35 % of Alumina. It sets quickly and attains higher ultimate strength in a short period. It is used for structures subjected to the action of sea water, chemical plants and furnaces. 6) Blast Furnace slag Cement: It is made by inter grinding of Ordinary Portland Cement clinker and granulated blast furnace slag. It is cheaper than Ordinary Portland Cement. It develops low heat of hydration and has less early strength. This cement is frequently used in dams, bridge abutments and retaining walls. 7) Coloured Cement: It is prepared by adding 5 to 15 % of suitable colouring pigments before the cement is finally ground. The commercial term used for coloured cement is Colocrete. It is widely used for finishing of floors, external surface etc. 8. Pozzolana Cement: It is made by inter grinding of Ordinary Portland Cement clinker and Pozzolana. The Pozzolana is essentially a silicious materials containing clay up to 80 %. In the manufacture of Pozzolana cement, about 30 % of Pozzolana material is added to the Ordinary Portland Cement clinkers. It is widely used for hydraulic structures like Dams, Weirs etc.

Testing of Portland cement: (IS 269 1967 and 1975)

1. Fineness Test: This test is carried out to check the proper grinding of cement. The fineness of cement is tested either by Sieve Analysis method or Air Permeability method. a. In the sieve analysis method, the fineness of cement is measured in terms of % of weight retained in I S sieve number 9 (90 Micron sieve). According to Indian Standard (IS 269 1967 and 1975), the % of residue left after sieving a good Portland cement through IS sieve number 9 should not exceed 10 %. b. In Air permeability method, the fineness of cement is measured in terms of Surface Area in Cm square per Gram of cement. A good Portland cement should not have specific surface less than 2250 Cm square per gram of cement. 2. Consistency Test: This test is conducted to determine the % of water required for preparing cement pastes of standard consistency for other tests (Such as Setting Time, Soundness and Compressive strength tests). This test is performed with the help of Vicats Apparatus which consists of a plunger having 10 mm diameter and 40 to 50 mm length. The Vicats apparatus determines the initial and final setting and normal consistency of cement.

NOTES:
a) In order to make a cement paste of normal consistency, the % of water varies from 25 to 35 %. b) In order to perform the Initial setting time test, the water is added to the cement @ 0.85 P by weight of cement, where P is the % of water required for normal consistency paste. c) In order to perform the soundness test, the water is added to the cement @ 0.72 P by weight of cement, where P is the % of water required for normal consistency paste. d) In order to perform the compressive test, the cement paste is prepared by adding water @ (P + 3 % of water), where P is the % of water required for normal consistency paste. e) The initial setting time of ordinary & rapid hardening cement should not be < 30 minutes. f) The final setting time of ordinary and rapid hardening cement should not be < 10 Hours. 3. Soundness Test: This test is carried out to detect the presence of uncombined lime and magnesia which causes the expansion of cement. The soundness of cement is tested with Le Chatelier Apparatus. According to Indian Standard Specification, the expansion should not e xceed 10 mm for any type of Portland cement. 4. Tensile strength Test: This test is carried out on standard briquettes made of good Portland cement and standard sand mortar in the ratio of 1 : 3 to determine the tensile strength of cement. The average tensile strength after 3 and 7 days of curing should not be < 2 N/ Sq. mm and 2.5 N/ Sq. mm respectively. 5. Compressive strength Test: This test is carried out on a standard cubes made of good Portland cement and standard sand mortar in the ratio of 1 : 3 to determine the compressive strength of cement. The size of cube mould should be 70.60 mm. This cubes should be kept at a temperature of 27 Deg. C + - 2 Deg. C in an atmosphere of at least 90 % relative humidity for 24 Hours. According to Indian Standard Specification, the average compressive strength for three cubes should not be < 11.50 N/Sq. mm and 17.5. N/ Sq. mm after 3 and 7 days of curing respectively.

NOTE: During field test, the cement is said to be pure and good quality when:
a) The colour of cement is uniformly greenish grey, b) A handful cement thrown into a bucket of water should float, c) If hand is thrusted into a bag of cement it should feel cool and

d) If rubbed between fingers it should feel smooth. Aggregates: (IS 383 1970)
a) Grading of aggregates: Aggregate comprises about 55 % of the volume of mortar and 85 % volume of mass concrete. Mortars contain aggregate of size 4.75 mm and concrete contains aggregate of 150 mm. i) Fine aggregates: The aggregate which passes through 4.75 mm IS sieve and entirely retains on 75 Micron IS sieve is called fine aggregate. It may be natural sand, crushed gravel or stone, uncrushed gravel or stone. The minimum particle size of fine aggregate is 0.075 mm and the maximum particle size is 4.75 mm. The materials having particle size varying from 0.002 to 0.06 mm is termed as silt and still smaller particles are called clay.

ii)

iii) iv) v)

vi) vii)

Coarse aggregates: The aggregate which passes through 75 mm IS sieve and entirely retains on 4.75 mm IS sieve is known as coarse aggregate. It may be crushed gravel or stone, uncrushed gravel or stone, or partially crushed gravel or stone. The minimum particle size of coarse aggregate is 4.75 mm and the maximum particle size is 75 mm. If the size is > 75 mm then it is called Cyclopean aggregate. The all - in - aggregate consists of different fractions of fine and coarse aggregates. These aggregates are not generally used for making high quality concrete. The aggregates, according to their size, shape are classified as rounded aggregate, irregular aggregate, angular aggregate, flaky and elongated aggregate. The aggregates of rounded shape (River or Sea shore gravel) have minimum voids ranging from 32 to 33 %. It gives minimum ratio of surface area to the volume thus requiring minimum cement paste to make good concrete. The aggregate of irregular shape (Pit sand and gravel) have higher % of voids ranging from 35 to 38 %. It requires more cement paste for a given workability. The aggregate of sharp, angular and rough shape (Crushed rock) have maximum% of voids ranging from 38 to 40 %. This type of aggregate requires more cement paste to make workable concrete of high strength than that required by rounded shape of aggregate.

Classification of aggregate according to their UNIT WEIGHT.

viii) Normal weight aggregate: The commonly used aggregate i.e. sands and gravel, crushed rock such as granite, basalt, quartz, sand stone and lime stone which have specific gravities between 2.50 to 2.70 produce concrete with unit weight ranging from 23 to 26 kN/Cu. m. Heavy weight concrete: Such as magnetite, barites and scrap iron having specific gravity ranging from 2.80 to 2.90 and unit weights from 28 to 29 kN/Cu. m. It is used in manufacturing of heavy weight concrete which is more effective as a radiation shield. Light weight concrete: Having unit weight up to 12 kN/Cu. Mare used to manufacture the structural concrete and masonry bricks for reduction of the self weight of the structure.

ix)

x)

Classification of aggregate wrt its moisture (water content):

Dry aggregate: The aggregate which may contain some moisture in the pores but having dry surface is known as Dry aggregate. xii) Very Dry aggregate: The aggregate which do not contain any moisture either in the pores or on the surface is known as very dry aggregate. xiii) Saturated surface dry aggregate: The aggregate having all the pores filled completely with water but having its surfaces just dry. xiv) Moist aggregate: The aggregate whose all the pores are filled with water and also having its surface wet. b) Thus the way particles of aggregate fit together in the mix, as influenced by the gradation, shape and surface texture has an important effect on the workability and finishing characteristic of fresh concrete, consequently on the properties of hardened concrete. c) We know that strength of concrete is dependent on water / cement ratio provided the concrete is workable. The word provided the concrete is workable assumes full importance. One of the most important factors for producing workable concrete is good gradation of aggregates. Good grading implies that a sample of aggregates contain all standard fraction of aggregate in required proportion such that the sample contains minimum voids. A sample of the well graded aggregate containing minimum voids will require minimum paste to fill up the voids in the aggregates. Minimum paste will mean less quantity of xi)

cement and less quantity of water, which will further mean increased economy, higher strength. Lower shrinkage and greater durability. Specific Gravity and Bulk Density of Aggregate: Since the aggregate generally contains pores, therefore there are two types of specific gravities i.e. Apparent and Bulk specific gravity a) Apparent Sp. Gravity: It is defined as the weight of oven dry aggregate divided by its absolute volume, excluding the natural pores in the aggregate particle. b) Bulk Sp. Gravity: It is defined as the weight of oven dry aggregate divided by its absolute volume including the natural pores in the aggregate particles. The Sp. Gravity is required for the calculation of the yield of the concrete or the quantity of the aggregate required for a given volume of concrete. The Sp. Gravity of an aggregate gives valuable information on its quality and properties. The higher the Sp. Gravity of an aggregate, the harder and stronger it will be. The Sp. Gravity of majority of natural aggregate lie between 2.60 to 2.70. Bulk Density: It is defined as the mass required to fill a container of unit volume. It is expressed in Kilogram per Litre. The bulk density of an aggregate depends upon the shape, size, Sp. Gravity and grading of the aggregate and moisture content.

Properties of Aggregate:
1. Crushing Value: It is the resistance of an aggregate to crushing under a gradually applied compressive forces. 2. Impact Value: It is the resistance of an aggregate to sudden shock or impact. It is, sometimes, used as an alternatives to its crushing value to know the quality of the aggregate. 3. Abrasion Value: It is the resistance of an aggregate to wear when it is rotated in a cylinder along with some abrasive charge, by using the Los Angeles Machine. 4. Soundness: It is the resistance of an aggregate to the effect of hydration of cement and weather. Bulking of Sand: The increase in the volume of sand due to the presence of moisture up to certain extent, is called Bulk density of sand. The ratio of the volume of moist sand to the volume of dry sand is known as bulking factor. It may be noted that fine sand bulks > coarse sand, Deleterious materials in Aggregate: The deleterious materials are those whose presence in the aggregate prevent normal hydration of cement, reduce the strength and durability of concrete, modify the setting action and cause efflorescence. The sum of % of all the deleterious materials in the aggregate should not exceed 5 %.

Fineness Modulus: It is an empirical factor obtained by adding the cumulative percentage of

aggregates retained on each of the standard sieves ranging from 80 mm to 150 micron and dividing the sum by an arbitrary number 100. The fineness modulus is a numerical index of fineness, giving some idea of the average size of the particles in the aggregate. The value of fineness modulus is higher for coarse aggregate. For fine aggregate, its value varies from 2.20 to 2.60. For coarse aggregate from 2.90 to 3.20. It may be noted that fineness of sand should not be less than 2.50 and not more than 3.oo. The % of fine aggregate to be combined with coarse aggregate (X) is determined by: X = F 2 F/F F 1 X 100 Where, F = Fineness modulus according to the specified grading F 1 = Fineness modulus of fine aggregate F 2 = Fineness modulus of coarse aggregate.

Water: It is most important and least expensive ingredient of concrete. A part of the mixing water is
utilised in the hydration of cement to form the binding matrix in which the inert aggregate are held in suspension until the matrix has hardened. The remaining water serves as a lubricant between the fine and coarse aggregate and makes the concrete workable. The water used for the mixing and curing of concrete should be free from deleterious materials. The potable water is generally considered satisfactory for mixing concrete. The quantity of water used should be just sufficient for hydration and suitable workability of concrete. The insufficient quantity of water makes the concrete mix harsh and unworkable. The excess quantity of water causes bleeding and segregation in concrete. The strength and durability of concrete is reduced due to the presence of impurities in the mixing water. The presence of sodium carbonate and bicarbonates in water has an adverse effect on the setting time of concrete. The presence of calcium chloride in water accelerates setting time and hardening of cement. The quantity of chloride is restricted to 1.50 % by weight of cement. Admixtures: The admixtures are materials other than the basic ingredients of concrete (i.e. Cement, water and aggregates) and are added to the concrete mix immediately before or during mixing. These are used to improve or give special properties to the concrete in the fresh or hardened state. The use of admixtures should accelerate the rate of setting and hardening. It should also make the concrete water proof, acid proof etc. and should reduce the bleeding and segregation of concrete mix. The admixtures may be broadly classified as follows: a) Air entraining admixtures b) Retarding and water reducing admixtures c) Accelerating admixtures d) Water proofing admixtures e) Pozzolanic admixtures and f) Colouring admixtures or Pigments Water cement Ratio: It is the ratio of water and cement (By weight or volume) in a concrete mix. It is usually expressed in litres of water per bag of cement (50 Kg.) Strength of concrete wholly depends upon the amount of water used in the preparation of concrete mix and is quite independent of the proportion of cement and aggregate. The strength of concrete is inversely proportion to the water cement ratio. In other words, the strength of concrete decreases as the water cement ratio increases. It may be noted that when the water cement ratio becomes < 0.45, the concrete is not workable and causes honey combed structure containing a large numbers of voids. If the water cement ratio is more, then the capillary voids will be more in the physical structure of hydrated cement. The strength and durability of concrete will also be less.

Concrete Grades:
According to Indian Standard specification (IS 456 1978 and IS 1343 1980), the concrete mixes are designated into the following seven grades: M10, M15, M20, M25, M30, M35 and M40 In the designation of concrete mix, the letter M refers to the Mix and the number to the specific characteristic compressive strength of a 150 mm cube at 28 days expressed in MPa (N/Sq. mm). For example, a concrete mix of grade M25 means that the compressive strength of 150 mm cube at 28 days after mixing is 25 MPa (N/Sq. mm). The concretes are mainly divided into two categories i.e. Ordinary concrete and Controlled concrete. The concrete in which no preliminary tests are performed for designing the mix is called ORDINARY concrete. The Ordinary concrete is used for M10, M15, M20 and M25 grades of concrete mixes. The controlled concrete is used for all the seven grades of concrete mixes.

The proportion of different ingredients (Cement, Sand and aggregate) in the concrete mix are as follows: Sl. Grade Concrete Mix Uses No. 1 M10 1: 3: 6 Mass concrete in piers, Abutments, massive reinforced concrete members 2 M15 1: 2: 4 Normal R C C works i.e. Slabs, Columns, Beams, Walls & Small span arches 3 M20 1: 1.5: 3 Water retaining structures i.e. Reservoirs, Columns and Piles 4 M25 1: 1: 2 & 1: 4: 8 Long span arches and highly loaded columns 5 M30 1: 5: 10 & 1: 6: 12 Mass concrete foundations 6 M35 ---------Post tensioned Prestressed concrete 7 M40 ---------Pre tensioned Prestressed concrete

Method of Proportioning Concrete:

a) Arbitrary Method: In this method, one part of cement to M parts of fine aggregate and 2M parts of coarse aggregate are taken as the basis. The quantity of water required for mixing is determined according to the desired workability. In order to obtain the required workability, the minimum quantity of water to be added to fine and coarse aggregates is determined by the following relations: W/C X p = 0.30 p + 0.10 y + 0.01 z Where, W/C = Water cement Ratio P = Quantity of cement by weight Y = Quantity of fine aggregate by weight and Z = Quantity of coarse aggregate by weight b) Minimum voids method: This method is based on the principle that the concrete which has the minimum voids is the densest and strongest. In this method, it is assumed that the voids in the coarse aggregate are filled by the fine aggregate and the voids in the fine aggregate are filled by the cement paste. In order to allow for additional voids created by wedging action, the volume of fine aggregates required for 1 Cu. m of coarse aggregate is equal to the total voids in coarse aggregate plus 10 % aggregate extra and the volume of cement paste required for 1 Cu. M of coarse aggregate is equal to the total volume of voids in the fine aggregate plus 15 % aggregate extra. c) Fineness Modulus Method: This method is based on a factor known as fineness modulus of aggregates. The fineness modulus is used to indicate an index number which is roughly proportional to the average size of the particle in the entire quantity of aggregates. The % of fine aggregate to the combined aggregate (P) is obtained by the following formula: P = X Z /Z Y X 100 Where, X, Y and Z = Fineness moudulii for coarse, fine and combined aggregates respectively. Manufactured Sand/Crushed sand: All along in India, we have been using natural sand. The volume of concrete manufactured in India has not been much, when compared to some advance countries. The infrastructure development such as Express highway project, Power projects and industrial developments have started now. Availability of natural sand is getting depleted and also it is becoming costly. Concrete industry now will have to go for crushed/manufactured sand

Production of concrete:
1. Batching or measurement of materials: The process of proper and accurate measurement of all concrete materials for uniformity of proportions and aggregate grading is called batching. The importance of batching is to obtain strength, workability, durability and economy. For most of the large and important jobs, the batching materials are done by weighing. The weight batching is done by spring dial scale, platform weighing machine or portable weigh batchers. The weighing machine should be leveled before placing the materials and the bucket in which the material is to be weighed should be cleaned thoroughly. The chart should be prepared indicating the weight of each material used for different strength s of concrete. For most of the small jobs, volume batching is adopted. The volume of one bag of cement is taken as 35 Litres. The wooden gauge boxes (Known as Formas) are used for measuring the fine and coarse aggregates. For measuring 50 Litres of aggregate, the inner dimension of the Forma should be 31 Cm X 31 Cm X 52 Cm. The batch volume for some of the commonly used mixes are given below: Grade Concrete Mix Cement (Kg.) Fine aggregate Coarse aggregate (Litres) (Litres) M 10 1: 3: 6 50 105.00 210 M 15 1: 2 : 4 50 70.00 140 M 20 1: 1.5: 3 50 52.50 105 M 25 1: 1: 2 50 35.00 70 2. Mixing: The thorough mixing of the materials is essential for the production of uniform concrete. The concrete mixing is generally done by mechanical means called Mixer, but sometimes, the mixing of concrete is done by hand. The Mixers are classified as: a) Tilting type mixer b) Non Tilting type mixer and Reversing Mixer According to Indian Standards (IS: 1791 1968) concrete mixers are designated by a number representing its nominal mixed batch capacity in Litres. The following are the standard sizes of the three types: Tilting (T): 85 T, 100 T, 140 T and 200 T Non Tilting (N T): 200 T, 280 T, 340 T, 400 T and 800 T Reversing (R): 200 T, 280 T, 340 T and 400 T The concrete mixers are generally designed to run at a speed of 15 to 20 revolutions per minute. For proper mixing about 25 to 30 revolutions are required in a well designed mixer. 3. Transporting: The concrete can be transported a variety of methods and equipments. For small jobs: Iron Pans, wheel barrows and two wheels carts For large and massive works: By bucket, by pumping which are operated mechanically. The concrete can be lifted by pumps through a maximum vertical distance of 50 M. In transportation of concrete by pump the water cement ratio should remain be between 0.50 to 0.65. The slump should not be < 50 mm and > 80 mm. The number of bends in a pipe line should be as small as possible. For large concrete work, particularly for concrete to be placed at ground level, trucks and dumpers or ordinary steel body tipping lorries can be used. The skip and hoist is one of the widely adopted methods for transporting concrete vertically up for multistoried building construction. 4. Placing: It is very important that concrete must be placed in position in a proper manner as early as possible within the initial setting time of concrete. The following precautions are recommended to be adopted during placing of concrete:

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a) The concrete should not be thrown from a height of 1 M to prevent segregation b) The placing of concrete should start width wise in reinforced concrete slabs from one end c) The concrete should be laid continuously in order to prevent the formation of irregular and unsightly lines Compaction: It is the process of consolidating concrete mix after placing it in position. The main aim of consolidation of concrete is to eliminate air bubbles and thus to give maximum density to concrete. The proper consolidation ensures intimate contact between the concrete and the surface of reinforcement. The concrete is compacted by using hand tools such as rammers, templates for tamping and spading rod. The concrete is compacted mechanically by jets of compressed air or by vibrators. Various type of vibrators used are: i): Internal/Immersion/Needle vibrator, ii) Surface or Screed vibrator c) Form or Shutter or external vibrator and d) Table vibrator When vibrators are used for compaction, the slump should not exceed 50 mm. When the slump of the concrete mix is < 50 mm, the segregation will not take place while compacting it with vibrators. The vibrator should not touch the form surface. Finishing: The finishing of concrete surfaces is an important process from the engineering point of view. The result of finishing are good if slump is about 50 mm. The finishing may be achieved by the following operations: a) Screeding: It is the leveling operation that removes humps and hollows and give a true and uniform concrete surface. b) Floating: It is the process of removing the irregularities from the surface of concrete left after screeding c) Trowelling: It is the final operation of finishing the concrete surfaces. It is performed where smooth and dense surface are required. Curing: It is the process of hardening the concrete mixes by keeping its surface moist for a certain period, in order to enable the concrete to gain more strength. The object of curing is to prevent the loss of water by evaporation, to reduce the shrinkage of concrete and to preserve the properties of concrete. The concrete gains strength up to 100 % after the curing of 28 days. The proper curing of cement concrete is good for its volume stability, strength and wear resistance. Stripping of Forms: The removal of forms after the concrete has set is termed as stripping of forms. The period up to which the forms must be left in place before they are stripped is called stripping time. Under normal circumstances, the vertical sides of column may be stripped after 1 or 2 days and the beam soffits may be removed after 2 days. Mix Design: It can be defined as the process of selecting suitable ingredients of concrete and determining their relative proportions with the object of producing concrete of certain minimum strength and durability as economically as possible. Te purpose of designing as can be seen from the above definitions is TWO FOLD. Te first object is to achieve the stipulated minimum strength and durability. The second object is to make the concrete in the most economical manner. Cost wise all concretes depend primarily on two factors; namely cost of materials and cost of labour. Labour cost, by way of formworks, batching, mixing, transporting and curing is nearly same for good or bad concrete. Therefore, attention is mainly directed to the cost of materials. Since the cost of cement is many times more than the cost of other ingredients, attention is mainly directed to the use of as little cement as possible consistent with strength and durability. Variables in proportioning: a) Water Cement Ratio b) Cement Aggregate Ratio c) Gradation of aggregates and d) Consistency.