Introduction

The concrete is widely used construction material. The main ingredient of the concrete is cement,
aggregates, water and admixtures. Due to the varying properties of the materials used in
concrete, the design of concrete is not an easy task. The various methods of mix design are
applied for determining the qualities & quantity of concrete. The objective of designing a mix is
to produce a concrete of required strength, durability and workability as economically as
possible. In our country, generally Indian Standard Institution (ISI) concrete design method is
preferred and hence has been discussed. The use of Indian standard institution (ISI) concrete
design method is illustrated with the aid of an example.
The selection of suitable ingredients of concrete and determining their relative amounts with the
objective of producing a concrete of the required, strength, durability, and workability as
economically as possible, is termed the concrete mix design. The proportioning of constituents of
concrete is governed by the performance of concrete in the plastic and the hardened states. The
concrete cannot be properly placed and compacted if the plastic concrete is not workable.

The compressive strength of hardened concrete depends upon many factors, e.g. quality and
quantity of cement, water and aggregates; batching and mixing; placing, compaction and curing.
The actual cost of concrete is related to the cost of materials required for producing a minimum
mean strength called characteristic strength which is specified by the structure engineer. This
depends on the quality control measures, but it is a fact that the quality control adds to the
concrete cost. The extent of quality control is often an economic compromise, and depends on
the size and type of job. The cost of labor depends on the workability of mix, e.g., a concrete mix
of inadequate workability may result in a high cost of labour to obtain a degree of compaction
with available equipment. So it is obligatory to resort to mix design for high rise/ strength
structures.

Requirements of Concrete Mix Design
The requirements which form the basis of selection and proportioning of mix ingredients are:
a)The minimum compressive strength required from structural point of view.
b) The adequate workability necessary for full compaction
c) Maximum water-cement ratio and/or maximum cement content to give adequate durability for
site conditions
d) Maximum cement content to avoid shrinkage cracking due to temperature in mass concrete.


Factors Affecting the Choice of Mix Proportions

The various factors affecting the mix design are:

Compressive Strength

It is one of the most important properties of concrete and influences many other
describable properties of the hardened concrete. The mean compressive strength required
after 28 days, determines the nominal water-cement ratio of the mix. The other factor
affecting the strength of concrete are age, cured and degree of compaction.

Workability

The degree of workability required depends on three factors i.e. size of the section, the
amount of reinforcement, and the method of compaction to be used. For the narrow and
complicated section with numerous corners or inaccessible parts, the concrete must have
a high workability so that full compaction can be achieved.

Durability

The durability of concrete is its resistance to the aggressive environmental conditions.
High strength concrete is generally more durable as compared to low strength concrete.
When the high strength is not required but the conditions of exposure are severe in such
situations, high durability is vital. To meet the durability requirement, the mix design is
the necessity.

Maximum nominal size of aggregate

The compressive strength tends to increase with the decrease in size of aggregate whereas
the workability of concrete increases with increase in maximum size of the aggregate


Grading and type of aggregate

The grading of aggregate influences the mix proportions for a specified workability and
water-cement ratio. Coarser the grading, leaner will be mixed which can be used. An
important feature of a satisfactory aggregate is the uniformity of the grading which can be
achieved by mixing different size fractions.




Quality Control

The degree of control can be judged statistically by the variations in test results. The
variation in strength results is due to lack of control of accuracy in batching, mixing,
placing, curing and testing. The lower the difference between the mean and minimum
strengths of the mix lower will be the cement-content required. The factor controlling this
difference is called as quality control.

Mix Proportion designations

The common method of expressing the proportions of ingredients of a concrete mix is in
the terms of parts or ratios of cement, fine and coarse aggregates e.g. a concrete mix of
proportions 1:2:4 means that the mix contains one part of cement, two parts of fine
aggregate and four parts of coarse aggregate. The proportions are either by volume or by
mass. The water-cement ratio is usually expressed in mass.

Information Required For Mix Design

For the design of concrete mix, the following information is required:

Grade of concrete
Degree of workability
Maximum temperature of fresh concrete
Type of cement
Minimum cement content
Maximum water cement ratio
Type of aggregates
Maximum nominal size of aggregate
Type of admixtures, if required
Level of quality assurance
Exposure condition
Method of placing
Degree of supervision


Target mean strength of concrete:-
In order that not more than the specified proportion of test result are likely to fall below the
characteristic strength, the concrete mix has to be proportioned for higher target mean
compressive strength f
ck
. The margin over characteristic strength is given by the following
relation
f
ck =
f
ck +
1.65 s
Where

f
ck=
target mean compressive strength at 28 days in N/mm
2
f
ck
= characteristic compressive strength at 28 days in N/mm
2

s= standard deviation (whose value is obtained from table 1 as per IS 10262:2009)

Selection of water cement ratio:-
From Figure 1 of IS: 10262-1982, the free water cement ratio required for the target mean strength can be
obtained.











Input Parameters
C1. Design Stipulation:
i.
Characteristics Compressive
Strength = 30 N/mm2
ii. Maximum Size of Aggregate = 20 mm
iii. Type of Aggregate = Angular


















iv. Degree of quality = Good
v. Type of exposure = Extreme
vi. Slump = 100mm

C2. Test data for Materials
(i) Specific gravity of cement = 3.00
(ii) Specific gravity
Fine aggregate = 2.80
Coarse aggregate = 2.61
(iii) Cement used = OPC 43

(iv) Superplasticizer added = 0.40%
(iv)
Water Content Reduction due to
Superplasticizer = 17%

(v)
Fine aggregate confirming the table
4, IS 383 zone = 2

C3. Target mean strength
= 26.6N/mm2

C4. Water Cement ratio
= 0.29146465
From fig 1.IS
10262-1982
















RESULT

Quantity of Concrete = 1 cubic meter

GRADE OFCONCRETE M20



GRADE OF CONCRETE M25


GRADE OF CONCRETE M30


Sr.
No
Material Name Without Superplasticizer With Superplasticizer
1 Cement (kg) 368 368
2 Fine Aggregate(kg) 687 687
3 Coarse Aggregate(kg) 1087 1087
4 Water(l) 197 163
5 Slump (mm) 100 100
6 W/C Ratio .53 .53
Sr.
No
Material Name Without Superplasticizer With Superplasticizer
1 Cement (kg) 411 411
2 Fine Aggregate(kg) 653 653
3 Coarse Aggregate(kg) 1084 1084
4 Water(l) 197 163
5 Slump (mm) 100 100
6 W/C Ratio 0.47 0.47
Sr.
No
Material Name Without Superplasticizer With Superplasticizer
1 Cement (kg) 487 487
2 Fine Aggregate(kg) 602 602
3 Coarse Aggregate(kg) 1068 1068
4 Water(l) 197 163
5 Slump (mm) 100 100
6 W/C Ratio 0.4 0.4
GRADE OF CONCRETE M35

Effect of superplastizer:-
These are the organic substance or mixture of organic and inorganic substance that allow the
reduction in water for the formation of concrete having same workability.
As superplasticizer is used the water content can be reduced up 20% and above but we can
change the percentage of superplastizer based on the trial which give us efficient mix
proportions.



CONCLUSION

Design mix for a site/construction results in economy.
By designing a mix, we can achieve the required compressive strength and workability by
consuming minimum quantity of concrete materials.
It is suggested that all the contractors/builders should get the design mix done for bringing quality
control in construction.


Sr.
No
Material Name Without Superplasticizer With Superplasticizer
1 Cement (kg) 566 566
2 Fine Aggregate(kg) 560 560
3 Coarse Aggregate(kg) 1042 1042
4 Water(l) 197 163
5 Slump (mm) 100 100
6 W/C Ratio 0.34 0.34