Step 1:

Fix the mix-design parameters such as characteristic strength (fck), max. size &
shape of aggregates,
degree of quality control (QC) & workability, max. water cement (w/c) ratio, m
in. cement content base
the severity of environmental exposure. Get the material data such as grade & s
pecific gravity of cement,
characteristics of fine & coarse aggregate (FA & CA) such as zone of sand, sp. g
ravity & water absorption of both,
actual size of CA. Often a combination of two sizes of CA (say, 20mm & 10mm) are
used for denser and stronger concrete.
Step 2:
Find out the target mean strength based on fck & degree of QC.
Step 3:
Based on the zone of sand & max size of CA find the water content for the mix a
nd % of sand of total aggregates from code (SP 23).
Step 4:
Find the max. permissible w/c ratio from code (IS 456) and adopt a w/c ratio le
sser than the suggested one.
Step 5:
Subject water content & % sand content to the necessary corrections for the dev
iations of actual w/c ratio,
workability & the zone of sand from the standard conditions. Calculate the new %
of sand & CA as well as the w/c ratio after the above corrections.
Step 6:
If the mix is to be placed by pumping, reduce the quantity of CA by 10% (ACI 22
1) and increase sand % accordingly for better pumpability.
Step 7:
Decide a % of admixture to be introduced to the mix and reduce the water conten
t accordingly as suggested in code (IS 9103).
For example, by using 1% admixture (by weight of cement) water content can be re
duced by about 20%.
Step 8:
Since, w/c ratio has already been arrived at in Step 5, the cement content will
have to be recalculated using the new water
content as found in Step 7. Check whether the new cement content is more than th
e minimum suggested content from environmental
exposure point of view. If not, adopt a cement content higher than the min. sugg
ested quantity.
Step 9:
Decide the proportion of the CA of the two sizes. Say, the ratio of 20mm & 10mm
CA is 60:40. This is a commonly adopted proportion.
Step 10:
The volume of entrapped air in a concrete mix depends on the max. size of CA an
d can be found from relevant IS code.
Upon finding that, calculate the quantities of CA & FA using the formulae menti
oned in IS code.
Step 11:
Thus, arrive at the various quantities of ingredients for the mix. Subject the q
uantities of CA,

sand & water content to batch correction and arrive at the final figures for th
e first trial mix.
Step 12:
Prepare several trial mixes by varying the w/c ratio & cement content suitably
from those of the first trial mix.
Find out the 7 & 28-day cube strength for each trial mix.
Based on the strength results adopt the most suitable trial mix as the final mi
x for actual concrete work.