Concrete Man made stone

constituents
mixture of aggregate and paste paste 30 to 40%

portland water

cement

7% to 15% by Vol. 14% to 21% by Vol.

Aggregates 60% to 70%

coarse

aggregates Fine aggregates

Admixtures

Portland Cement
Dry

powder of very fine particles forms a paste when mixed with water chemical reaction-Hydration glue paste coats all the aggregates together hardens and forms a solid mass

Water

needed for two purposes:

chemical reaction with cement workability

only 1/3 of the water is needed for chemical reaction extra water remains in pores and holes results in porosity Good for preventing plastic shrinkage cracking and workability Bad for permeability, strength, durability.

Aggregates
cheap

fillers hard material provide for volume stability reduce volume changes provide abrasion resistance

Admixtures
chemical
set

retarders set accelerators water reducing air entraining

mineral
fly

ash silica fume slags

Properties of fresh concrete

Workability
ease

of placement resistance to segregation homogeneous mass

Consistency
ability

to flow

Slump Test
Inverted cone fill it up with three layers of equal volume rod each layer 25 times scrape off the surface

12

Slump Test
slump cone
rod

concrete

Slump test
Ruler Slump

Slump test results

stiff

0-2

massive

sections, little reinforcement use vibration

medium
columns,

2-5
beams, retaining walls

Fluid
heavily

5-7
reinforced section, flowable concrete

Factors affecting slump

water
w/c

cement ratio
= weight of water / weight of cement
292 lbs. 685 lbs./cu. yard

example: weight of water mixed at the plant weight of cement w/c = 292/685 = 0.43

water cement ratio

if you add 10 gallons of water per cubic yard at job site, then: extra water 10 gallons/cubic yard * (3.8 liters/gallon) * (2.2 lbs./kg) *( 1kg/liter) = 83.77 lbs. total water 282 + 83.77 = 365.77 new w/c = 365.77 / 685 = 0.534 >> 0.43

Factors affecting slumppaste content

constant

water cement ratio

paste content

increase

increase

slump NO GOOD constant

cement content

increase water content

increase

slump NO GOOD

Factors Affecting SlumpWater Content

Add

water at the constant cement content, w/c increases, slump increases. Add water at a constant water cement ratio, have to increase cement as well, slump increases.

Factors affecting slump-paste content

Low paste content Harsh mix

High paste content Rich mix

ball bearing effect-start

starting height

ball bearing effect-end

slump

Admixtures
set

retarding admixtures set accelerating admixtures water reducing admixtures superplasticizers air entraining admixtures

Factors affecting slump

Aggregates
grading

the larger the particle size, the higher the slump for a given paste content

effect of aggregate size

1
1 Consider a single aggregate the size of 1x1x1

Compute the surface area as you break up the particles

block surface area = 1*1*6= 6

block surface area = 0.5*0.5*6=1.5

volume = 1 cubic in surface area = 6 square inches volume = 1 cubic in surface area = 1.5*8= 12 square inches

Break it up further

Compute the surface area

surface area = 0.25*0.25*6*8*8=24

0.5 in

0.25 in

Larger particles, less surface area, thicker coating, easy sliding of particles

Smaller particles, more surface area, thinner coating, interlocking of particles

Effect of aggregate size

size 1" .5" 0.25 0.125 # of particles 1 8 64 512 volume 1 cubic inch 1 cubic inch 1 cubic inch 1 cubic inch surface area 6 square inches 12 square inches 24 square inches 48 square inches

Angularity and surface texture of aggregates

angular and rough aggregate

smooth aggregate river gravel

Temperature
fresh concrete

aggregates

paste

Bleeding

Water accumulation on surface

Examine the concrete surface

Interaction between bleeding and evaporation

Evaporation

surface water
Bleed water

Bleed water = evaporation

Too much evaporation leads to surface cracking

Evaporation

no surface water
drying

Bleed water < Evaporation

Side diagram of surface contraction

Wants to shrink

Does not want to shrink

Free Shrinkage, causes volume change, but no stresses

before shrinkage

After Shrinkage

Restrained Shrinkage- creates stresses, which may cause cracking

Restrained shrinkage cracking

Parallel cracking perpendicular to the direction of shrinkage

Bleeding and its control

Creates
poor

problems:

causes
lack

pumpability delays in finishing high w/c at the top poor bond between two layers

of fines too much water content

Remedies
more

fines adjust grading entrained air reduce water content

Causes of Plastic Shrinkage Cracking

water

evaporates faster than it can reach the top surface drying while plastic cracking

Plastic Shrinkage CrackingRemedies

Control

the wind velocity reduce the concretes temperature

use

ice as mixing water

increase
cover

the humidity at the surface

fogging

w/polyethylene curing compound

Fiber

reinforcement

Curing
The

time needed for the chemical reaction of portland cement with water. Glue is being made. concrete after 14 days of curing has completed only 40% of its potential. 70 % at 28 days.

Curing tips
ample water do not let it dry dry concrete = dead concrete, all reactions stop can not revitalize concrete after it dries keep temperature at a moderate level concrete with flyash requires longer curing

Temperature effects on curing

The higher the temperature the faster the curing best temperature is room temperature strongest concrete is made at temperature around 40 F.(not practical) If concrete freezes during the first 24 hrs., it may never be able to attain its original properties.

Temperature effects on curing

real high temperatures above 120 F can cause serious damage since cement may set too fast. accelerated curing procedures produce strong concrete, but durability might suffer. autoclave curing.