UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

CM 425
CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY

Winter Quarter 2007

Professor Kamran M. Nemati

PROPORTIONING
CONCRETE MIXES
CM 425 – Concrete Technology Proportioning Concrete Mixes Page 1 of 6

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Department Of Construction Management
CM 425 − CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY
Professor: Kamran M. Nemati
Winter Quarter, 2007

PROPORTIONING CONCRETE MIXES

I. INTRODUCTION
• In designing concrete one attempts to optimize the cost for a given level of
strength and durability.
• This translates into trying to achieve the lowest possible water and cement
contents with the largest fraction of coarse aggregate (CA) which in turn
has the maximum quantity of fine aggregate (FA) filling the interstitial
spaces.
• This leads the designer into specifying:
1) as stiff mixes as practical under the proposed concrete mixing and
casting conditions;
2) maximum permissible size of coarse aggregate; and
3) adequately sized and properly proportioned FA and CA.

II. TRIAL METHOD OF PROPORTIONING

• This is the simplest approach to mix design. It is as follows:
1) Select an appropriate w/c ratio. [Strength & Durability ≈ 1/(w/c)]
2) Make a small trial mix with the selected w/c ratio & obtain the desired
wet consistency (i.e., slump & workability).
3) It often proves useful to make several trial batches to achieve the most
economical mix with the desired properties.

III. ACI METHOD OF PROPORTIONING CONCRETE MIXES

• The ACI Standard 211.1 is a “Recommended Practice for Selecting Proportions
for Concrete”. The procedure is as follows:

Step 1. Choice of slump.

If slump is not specified, a value appropriate for the work can be selected
from Table 9-1 which is reproduced from the text book below*, (note that
the table numbers are given from the text book rather than the ACI
standard).

*
P.K. Mehta and P.J.M. Monteiro, Concrete – Microstructure, Properties, and Materials, McGraw Hill, 3rd
Edition, 2006.

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III. ACI METHOD OF PROPORTIONING CONCRETE MIXES (Continued...)

TABLE 9-1 - RECOMMENDED SLUMPS FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF

CONSTRUCTION

Slump (in.)
Types of Construction Maximum* Minimum
Reinforced foundation walls and footings 3 1
Plain footings, caissons, and 3 1
substructure walls
Beams and reinforced walls 4 1
Building columns 4 1
Pavements and slabs 3 1
Mass concrete 2 1
* May be increased 1-in. for methods of consolidation other than vibration.

Step 2. Choice of maximum size of aggregate.

Large maximum sizes of aggregates produce less voids than smaller sizes.
Hence, concretes with the larger-sized aggregates require less mortar per
unit volume of concrete, and of coarse it is the mortar which contains the
most expensive ingredient, cement.
Thus the ACI method is based on the principle that the MAXIMUM SIZE
OF AGGREGATE SHOULD BE THE LARGEST AVAILABLE SO
LONG IT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE DIMENSIONS OF THE
STRUCTURE.
• In practice the dimensions of the forms or the spacing of the rebars
controls the maximum CA size.
• ACI 211.1 states that the maximum CA size should not exceed:
1) one-fifth of the narrowest dimension between sides of forms,
2) one-third the depth of slabs,
3) 3/4-ths of the minimum clear spacing between individual reinforcing
bars, bundles of bars, or pre-tensioning strands.

• Special Note: When high strength concrete is desired, best results may be
obtained with reduced maximum sizes of aggregate since these produce
higher strengths at a given w/c ratio.

Step 3. Estimation of mixing water and air content.

The ACI Method uses past experience to give a first estimate for the
quantity of water per unit volume of concrete required to produce a given
slump.

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III. ACI METHOD OF PROPORTIONING CONCRETE MIXES

(Continued...)

• In general the quantity of water per unit volume of concrete required to

produce a given slump is dependent on the maximum CA size, the shape
and grading of both CA and FA, as well as the amount of entrained air.

• It is interesting to note that the water content is not greatly affected by the
amount of cement in the concrete mix proportions. The approximate
amount of water required for average aggregates is given in Table 9-2.

TABLE 9-2 - APPROXIMATE MIXING WATER AND AIR CONTENT

REQUIREMENTS FOR DIFFERENT SLUMPS AND MAXIMUM SIZES OF
AGGREGATES

Water, lb./yd3 of concrete for indicated maximum sizes of aggregate

Slump, in. 3/8 in.* ½ in.* ¾ in* 1 in.* 1½ 2 in.*† 3 in.*† 6 in.*†
in.*

Non-air-entrained concrete
1 to 2 350 335 315 300 275 260 220 190
3 to 4 385 365 340 325 300 285 245 210
6 to 7 410 385 360 340 315 300 270 --
More than 7* -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Approximate amount of 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0.3 0.2
entrapped air in non-air-
entrained concrete, percent

Air-entrained concrete
1 to 2 305 295 280 270 250 240 205 180
3 to 4 340 325 305 295 275 265 225 200
6 to 7 365 345 325 310 290 280 260 --
More than 7* -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Recommended average
total air content, percent
for level of exposure:
Mild exposure 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5**†† 1.0**††
Moderate exposure 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.5 4.0 3.5**†† 3.0**††
Severe exposure 7.5 7.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5**†† 4.0**††

* These quantities of mixing water are for use in computing cement factors for
trial batches. They are maxima for reasonably well-shaped angular coarse
aggregates graded within limits of accepted specifications.
† The slump values for concrete containing aggregate larger than 1½" are
based on slump tests made after removal of particles > 1½" by wet-screening.
(Note that the two footnotes were not reproduced in the textbook.)

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III. ACI METHOD OF PROPORTIONING CONCRETE MIXES

(Continued...)

Step 4. Selection of water/cement ratio.

• The required water/cement ratio is determined by strength, durability and
finishability. The appropriate value is chosen from prior testing of a given
system of cement and aggregate or a value is chosen from Table 9-3
and/or Table 9-4.

TABLE 9-3 - RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WATER/CEMENT RATIO AND

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE

Water/cement ratio, by weight

Compressive strength at Non-air-entrained Air-entrained
28 days, psi concrete concrete
6000 0.41 ----
5000 0.48 0.40
4000 0.57 0.48
3000 0.68 0.59
2000 0.82 0.74

TABLE 9-4 - MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE WATER/CEMENT RATIOS FOR

CONCRETE IN SEVERE EXPOSURES

Structure wet
continuously or Structure
Type of exposed to
fequently exposed to
Structure freezing & thawing* seawater

Thin sections
(railings, curbs,
sills, ledges,
ornamental work) 0.45 0.40
& sections with
less than 1-inch
cover over steel

All other structures 0.50 0.45

* Concrete should also be air-entrained.

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III. ACI METHOD OF PROPORTIONING CONCRETE MIXES

(Continued...)
Step 5. Calculation of cement content.

• The amount of cement is fixed by the determinations made in Steps 3 and

4 above.

Step 6. Estimation of coarse aggregate content.

• The ACI Method uses the principle that “The same maximum size and
grading will produce concrete of satisfactory workability when a given
volume of coarse aggregate, on a dry-rodded basis, is used per unit
volume of concrete.”
• This has been incorporated in the ACI standard in Table 9-5.
• The most economical concrete will have as much as possible space
occupied by CA since it will require no cement in the space filled by CA.

TABLE 9-5 - VOLUME OF COARSE AGGREGATE PER UNIT OF

VOLUME OF CONCRETE
Volume of dry-rodded coarse aggregate*
per unit volume of concrete for
Maximum size
of aggregate
different fineness moduli of sand
(in.) 2.40 2.60 2.80 3.00
3/8 0.50 0.48 0.46 0.44
1/2 0.59 0.57 0.55 0.53
3/4 0.66 0.64 0.62 0.60
1 0.71 0.69 0.67 0.65
1½ 0.75 0.73 0.71 0.69
2 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.72
3 0.82 0.80 0.78 0.76
6 0.87 0.85 0.83 0.81
* Volumes are based on aggregates in dry-rodded condition as described in
ASTM C29 Unit Weight of Aggregate. These volumes are selected from
empirical relationships to produce concrete with a degree of workability
suitable for usual reinforced construction. For less workable concrete such as
required for concrete pavement construction they may be increased about 10
percent. For more workable concrete, such as may sometimes be required
when placement is to be by pumping, they may be reduced up to 10 percent.

• The ACI method is based on large numbers of experiments which have

shown that for properly graded materials, the finer the sand and the larger
the size of the particles in the CA, the more volume of CA can be used to
produce a concrete of satisfactory workability.

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III. ACI METHOD OF PROPORTIONING CONCRETE MIXES

(Continued...)
• In practice Table 9-5 can be used to estimate the volume of CA, on a “dry-
rodded” unit volume basis, which can be used in a mix. Thus for a one
cubic yard mix one multiplies the number in Table 9-5 by 27 to obtain the
volume fraction, on a dry-rodded unit weight basis, in the mix.
• This volume must then be converted into a weight fraction by using the
dry-rodded unit weight of the CA being used in the design. DO NOT
USE THE REGULAR BULK SPECIFIC GRAVITY.
• This dry weight is then used in the next step.

Step 7. Estimation of Fine Aggregate Content.

• At the completion of Step 6, all ingredients of the concrete have been
estimated except the fine aggregate. Its quantity can be determined by
difference if the “absolute volume” displaced by the known ingredients-,
(i.e., water, air, cement, and coarse aggregate), is subtracted from the unit
volume of concrete to obtain the required volume of fine aggregate.
• Then once the volumes are know the weights of each ingredient can be
calculated from the specific gravities.
• A second, less exact method of estimating the fine aggregate content is
discussed in the text book under the “weight” method.
• In this course we will only use the more exact “absolute volume” method.
• At this stage of the process there is a complete description of the mix
proportions, but the moisture content is assumed to be SSD (saturated-
surface dry) for the FA and “air-dry” for the CA.

Step 8. Adjustments for Aggregate Moisture.

• Aggregate quantities actually to be weighed out for the concrete must
allow for moisture in the aggregates. Usually the air-dry condition for the
CA is close enough for use in laboratory, but the FA is often 2% or 3%
above or below SSD.
• This means that a correction must be made before a laboratory batch of
concrete is made.

Step 9. Trial Batch Adjustments.

• The ACI method is written on the basis that a trial batch of concrete will be
prepared in the laboratory, and adjusted to give the desired slump,
freedom from segregation, finishability, unit weight, air content and
strength.

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