CHAPTER 5:

CONCRETES STRENGTH

Prepared by: Engr. NMSTabucal

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CHAPTER OUTLINE
5.1 Definition
5.2 Strength Porosity Relationship
5.3 Failure Modes in Concrete
5.4 Compressive Strength
5.5 Behavior of Concrete Under Various Stress
States
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5.1 DEFINITION
STRENGTH

Property most valued by designers and QA

engineers

The ability of a material to resist stress without

failure

Failure is sometimes identified as the

appearance of cracks
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5.1 DEFINITION OF STRENGTH

Property most valued by designers and QA
engineers

The ability of a material to resist stress without

failure

Failure is sometimes identified as the

appearance of cracks

Therefore, strength is the amount of stress

required to cause failure
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5.1 DEFINITION OF STRENGTH

Tension testing : fracture signifies failure

Compression testing : sometimes shows no

signs of external fracture

SIGNIFICANCE
Specified for concrete design and quality control

Properties of concrete are dependent on

strength: elastic modulus, impermeability, and
reistance to weathering
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5.2 STRENGTH-POROSITY RELATIONSHIP

Strength is inversely related to porosity

Natural Aggregates are naturally dense and

strong

Cement paste matrix and ITZ usually determines

strength characteristic of normal-weight
concrete
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5.2 STRENGTH-POROSITY RELATIONSHIP

Strength can be
described as:
kp
S = S0e
Where:
S Strength of the material
So intrinsic strengthat zero
porosity
k constant
p porosity
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5.2 STRENGTH-POROSITY RELATIONSHIP

However, strength-porosity relationship for
concrete is not simple

This is due to the presence of microcracks in the

ITZ

Low-porosity high-strength aggregates in

concrete, strength will still be governed by the
strength of matrix an the strength of ITZ
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5.3 FAILURE MODES IN CONCRETE

Failure modes are very complex and vary with
type of stress

Useful for controlling factors that influence

concretes strength

Brittle failure : Rapid propagation and

interlinkage of the crack system

Compression failure is less brittle as compared

to tension failure
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5.3 FAILURE MODES IN CONCRETE

Shear-bond cracks :
stable system of cracks
existing in the vicinity if
coarse aggregates

Higher stress levels :

cracks are inititated in the
matrix and increases
progressively with
increasing stress levels

Failure surface develops at

about 20deg to 30 deg
from the direction of loads
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

Depends also on various factors affecting
porosity

Factors includes: concrete mixture, degree of

compaction, water-cement ratio, and curing
conditions

Actual response of concrete is a result of

complex interactions between various factors:
1) Characteristics and Proportions of materials
2) Curing conditions
3) Testing parameters
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials
Mix design is the first step in making concrete
a.) Water-to-cement ratio : Abrams water-to-
cement ratio rule

w/c-strength relationship : natural consequence

of a progressive weakening of the matrix
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials

b.) Air Entrainment

Either result of inadequate compaction or air-
entraining admixture

Depends on w/c and on cement content

High strength concrete: strength loss with

increasing amount of entrained air

Adverse effect on strength due to improved

strength of ITZ
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials

b.) Air Entrainment

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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials

c.) Cement Type

Affects degree of hydration which has direct effect
on porosity and strength

Type III has higher fineness and hydrates more

rapidly; therefore, has lower porosity and higher
strength

Type IV and Type V hydrates slower up to 28 days

only

Effect of cement composition is limited to early ages

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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials

d.) Aggregates
MSA
Grading
Testure
Mineralogical Composition
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials

d.) Aggregates (MSA)

Larger particles require

less mixing water but form
weaker ITZ

Net effect of aggregate

varies with w/c ratio and
type of applies stress
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials

d.) Aggregates (Grading)

Affects bleeding and consistency characteristics
of concrete mix

(Texture)
rough-textured or crushed aggregates produces
higher strength due to strong physical bond

Physical bond is reduced when chemical

interaction begins
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials

d.) Aggregates (Mineralocigal

Composition)
Different mineral composition produces
different strength

May include substitution of limestones and

calcareous aggregates
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials

e.) Mixing Water

Impurities may affect strength, setting time, salt
deposits, and corrosion of reinforcing bars

Quality of water must not be acidic, alkaline,

salty, brackish, colored, or foul-smelling
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

1.) Characteristics and Proportions of Materials

f.) Admixture
Can enhance early strength and ultimate
strength of concrete at a given consistency

Can have positive response on rate of hydration

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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

2.) Curing Conditions
Combination of conditions that promote cement
hydration: time, temperature, and humidity
immediately after placement of concrete

Hydration proceeds under saturated conditions

Time, temperature, and humidity are important

in hydration
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

2.) Curing Conditions

a) Time
At a given w/c, longer moist curing period
produces higher strength
ACI recommends the following relationship for
moist-cured OPC (ASTM Type I):

t
f cm (t ) = f c 28
4 + 0.85t
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

2.) Curing Conditions

a) Time
For specimens cured at 20degC:
Where:
fcm(t) = mean compressive
strength at age t days
28 fcm = mean 28-day compressive

f cm (t ) = exp s1 f cm strength
t / t1 s = cement type coefficient
= 0.2 (high early strength)
= 0.25 (normal hardening)
= 0.38 (slow hardening)
t1 = 1 day
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

2.) Curing Conditions

b) Humidity
Moist-cured concrete performs better than air-
cured concrete

Slight strength loss in moist-cured concrete

happens as a result of microcracking in the ITZ
caused by drying shrinkage
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

2.) Curing Conditions

b) Humidity (Cont)
Minimum of 7-days moist curing is
recommended for OPC

Moist curing can be done by spraying, water

ponding, or by covering the surface with wet
sand, sawdust, or cotton mats
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

2.) Curing Conditions

c) Temperature
Depends on time-temperature history of casting
and curing
Three cases:
i. cast and cured at same temperature
ii. cast at different temperatures and but cured
at normal temperature
iii. cast at normal temperature and cured at
different temperatures
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

2.) Curing Conditions

c) Temperature (Cont)
i) CASE I (same casting and curing temperature)
Up to 28 days, the higher casting and curing
temperature, the more rapid the hydration
and strength gain

But under constant experiments, it is noticed

that higher temperature results to a lower
ultimate strength
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

2.) Curing Conditions

c) Temperature (Cont)
ii) CASE II (different casting temperature)
Low casting temperature produces a
relatively more uniform microstructure of the
hydrated cement which accounts for higher
strength
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

2.) Curing Conditions

c) Temperature (Cont)
ii) CASE III (different curing temperature)
Lower curing temperature produces lower
strength

Hydration reactions are slow

Curing temperature is more important than casting

temperature
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

3.) Testing Parameters
Involves test specimen and loading conditions

Test Specimens:
i. Size;
ii. Geometry; and
iii. Moisture state of concrete

Loading Conditions:
i. Stress level and duration; and
ii. Rate of stress application
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

3.) Testing Parameters

1) Specimen Parameters
Specimen Size:

Standard compressive test specimen is

6x12 (h/D = 2)

greater ratio of h/D produces lower strength

Variation is strength is due to increasing

degree of statistical homogeneity in large
specimens
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

3.) Testing Parameters

1) Specimen Parameters
Specimen Moisture State:

Specimen must be in moist condition at the time

of testing

Air-dried specimen shows 20%~25% higher

strength

Lower strength of saturated specimen is

attributed to the disjoining pressure within the
cement paste
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5.4 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

3.) Testing Parameters

2) Loading Condition

Compressive strength is measured using

uniaxial compression test (ASTM C469)

Progressive increase of load for the specimen

to fail

Generally, the more rapid the rate of loading,

the higher the observed strength
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5.5 BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE UNDER

VARIOUS STRESSES

I. Under Uniaxial Compression

II. Under Uniaxial Tension

III. Under Shearing Stress

IV. Under Biaxial nad Multiaxial stresses

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5.5 BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE UNDER

VARIOUS STRESSES
I. Under Uniaxial Compression
Under short-term loading (up to 30%),
microcracks in ITZ remain undisturbed and
therefore, there is a linear-elastic behavior
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5.5 BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE UNDER

VARIOUS STRESSES
I. Under Uniaxial Compression
Gradual increase in curvature then it bends
sharply and, finally, descends until specimen
is fractured
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5.5 BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE UNDER

VARIOUS STRESSES
I. Under Uniaxial Compression
At stress level between 30%~50% of fc, no
cracking occurs in the mortar matrix
Crack propagation is stable and microcracks
in ITZ show some extension due to stress
concentrations

At stress level between 50%~75%, crack

propagation increases and system becomes
unstable
Fracture of specimens occur by bridging the
cracks between matrix and ITZ
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5.5 BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE UNDER

VARIOUS STRESSES
II. Under Uniaxial Tension
Shape of stress-strain curve, elastic modulus,
and Poissons ratio is similar with that of
compression

Tends to arrest cracks less frequently than

compression stress and interval of stable
crack propagation is short

Testing method: ASTM C496 (Splitting

tensile test) and ASTM C78 (Third-point
flexural loading test)
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5.5 BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE UNDER

VARIOUS STRESSES
II. Under Uniaxial Tension
Splitting Tension Test
15cm x 30cm concrete cylinder
Compressive stress produces a transverse
tensile stress which is uniform along the
vertical diameter
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5.5 BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE UNDER

VARIOUS STRESSES
II. Under Uniaxial Tension
Third-Point Flexural Loading Test
150mm x 150cmm x 500mm concrete beam
Expressed in terms of modulus of rupture
computed from the flexure formula
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