Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is graded according to their strength.

The grade indicates the

compression strength (mpa) of the concrete that will attain after 28 days of setting.

Compression Strength:
Cement grade indicates the compression strength of the cement concrete after 28 days of
setting. 43 Grade cement attains compression strength of 43 mpa (mega pascals) in 28 days of
setting compared to 53 mpa attained by 53 Grade cement.

Initial Strength:
53 Grade cement are used for fast paced construction were initial strength is to be achieved
quickly. 53 Grade cement has fast setting compared to 43 grade cement. 53 Grade attains 27
mpa in 7days compared to 23 mpa by 43 grade cement.

Uses & Application:

53 Grade OPC cement is Used in RCC and pre-stressed concrete of higher grades, cement
grouts, instant plugging mortars etc. where initial higher strength is the criteria. 43 Grade OPC
Cement are commonly used for plastering works, Non-RCC structures, pathways etc where initial
setting time is not of importance.

Prices:
53 grade cements are 2-3% costlier compared to 43 grade cement.

Brands:
Birla Cement, Ultratech Cement, ACC Cement, Zuari Cement, Coramandel Cement, Ramco
Cement, Dalmia Cement are some of the well known brands in Southern india

Can someone tell me the true significance of placing "x inches" of gravel or sand below a
foundation? and should it always be used?
Also, is there a reference made to this procedure in ACI? If so, what is the ref. number? (Trying
to find additional literature on this subject; i.e.: engineering manuals, textbooks, etc.)

Thank you in advance.

Tom P.

jdonville (Geotechnical)30 May 07 13:04

TBell,
The granular soil acts as a "bridge" over any local relatively weak spots in a foundation soil,
providing a more uniform reaction force on the underside of the foundation or slab. The
granular layer provides structural support also by reducing the applied pressure at the bottom
of the granular layer due to applied loads.
The 2:1 method is a well-known rule of thumb for estimating the stress decrease with depth of
granular layer below a rectangular foundation, although the method can be cautiously used
with strip loads as well.
You may find articles/texts discussing "modulus of subgrade reaction" and "vertical sress
increase in a soil mass due to foundation load" helpful to your understanding of the action of
the granular layer.
Jef

csd72 (Structural)30 May 07 13:09

Depends on the foundation material:
In clay or silt - helps prevent reinforcement support chairs from sinking into the soft wet
surface clay. Also stops wet clay/silt mixing with the concrete.
For rock foundations - provides a level surface and minimises the chance of restraint from
interlock between the concrete footing and the rock.
There may be other reasons as well.
csd

cvg (Civil/Environmental)30 May 07 15:22

also can help to reduce the chance of frost heave in colder climates

SlideRuleEra (Structural)30 May 07 20:19

During placement of concrete foundations, it gives a route for any excess water in the
concrete to escape without causing problems.
In area with potentially high water table it provides stable support with water table
fluctuations.

www.SlideRuleEra.net

JAE (Structural)31 May 07 02:41

Yes....BUT!!!!!

In areas where you have loess soils or other soils that are collapse susceptible - the LAST
thing you want to do is put any sort of granular material under or nearby your footings. This
is because you create an opportunity for the fines to drain/erode out from under the footing
and into the small voids in the granular matrix....thus causing settlement.
Be careful with this.

BigH (Geotechnical)31 May 07 10:06

I can tell you that I wouldn't want to put sand fill (especially river sand) directly under the
footing. If you are wanting to provide a working platform to prevent disturbance due to steel
placing, leveling course, to minimize precipitation disturbance, I would use a layer of crushed
stone or a blinding mat (mud-mat) or a well graded sand and gravel (like a subbase or base
course). On a job I had in India, they were "instructed" to use 6 inches of sand beneath a mud

mat. Can you imagine how disturbed the sand got when the workers were walking around
and dropping concrete from a chute? It was ridiculous but no one could "change the design"
which, obviously, came out of some old "handbook". It would have been better to place the
mud mad on the clay directly. I bring this up in that the same would happen if you put in sand
below a footing - unless it was well graded with some gravel and perhaps a little binder
material.

oldestguy (Geotechnical)31 May 07 21:50

Of the numerous cases where I have seen this done, there generally is no problem. While
uniform sand has weak shear strength, it does not compress noticeably.
However, one case with saturated sand that replaced a silt undercut, followed by a saturation
of that sand in a "bath tub", the sand flowed out from under due to the weight of the footing,
column and roof steel only, but also due to running of plate compactors nearby, helping the
sand to flow. With no nearby vibration, it did not flow.
The cure was interesting, in this industrial building with the footing measuring 8 x 8 ft. Roof
was not on, but steel was. A crane picked up the column and roof steel a little, leaving the
footing free. A dozer shoved the footing of to one side.
Saturated sand was dug out and replaced with damp sand, compacted.
Footing was shoved back in, at proper grade, wiggled back and forth to "seat it", and column
re set. All worked out fine.
You don't always have to discard compelted work.
Oh yes, on the same site, dry sand did flow out from under the foundation of a large air
compressor. However, that compressor did so much shaking that nearby precision testing of
machines also was afected by the shake. This was a most unusual situation, not common.

Mccoy (Geotechnical)2 Jun 07 09:17

Another case for placing granular material under foundations, is when 2 diferent soils outcrop
below the foundation structure. The horizontal oscillations occur then in the presence of
homogeneous material and friction.
That was a solution I suggested, after consultation in this forum a few years ago, when rock
and OC clay outcropped just below the design structure, 50% each, tracing a perfect
diagonal
.
In that case it's also advisable to replace w/ the same granular material a good slice of the
weaker material.
Using a layer of crushed stone, never sand, below foundations is a very common practice over
here.
Apparently it works out good.

TDAA (Geotechnical)4 Jun 07 15:58

Not a good idea on expansive soils, unless you have provided a drain to remove excess water.

brokenpile (Structural)4 Jun 07 22:55

We just constructed a sheet pile wall in front of a exsiting concrete seawall on piles.There is
six foot open space between under side of sea wall and grade.Engineer had us fill in with sand
the lower three feet which then three feet of concrete will be poured to underside of seawall
to prevent it from falling into the bay.Can the sand be washed through the steel sheet piling
on the joints of the sheets overtime?After reading this topic it sounds like stone should of
been used instaed of sand.