Part 2: a) Requirements & Properties

of Concrete

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Requirements of Fresh Concrete
The ability to flow.
• It must be uniform throughout a given batch (and consistent between
Consistency batches)
• It should have flow properties such that it is capable of completely filling the
forms for which it was designed.
The resistance to segregation.
Stability
• It must not segregate during transportation, placing and consolidation
Homogenous mixture, with evenly dispersed constituents.
Uniformity
• It must be easily mixed and transported
Ease of placing, consolidating and finishing.
Workability • It must have the ability to be compacted without requiring excessive amount
of energy.
Ease of performing finishing operations to achieve specified surface characteristics.
Finishability • It must be capable of being finished properly (either against the forms by
means of troweling or surface treatment)

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Requirements for Hardened Concrete

Strength Resists strain or rupture induced by external forces

(compressive, flexural, tensile, torsion and shear).

Durability Resists weathering, chemical attack, abrasion and other severe

conditions.

Appearance Meets the desired aesthetics characteristics.

Economy Performs as intended within a given budget.

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Workability
The degree of workability required for proper placement of concrete is controlled by:
– The placement method
– Type of consolidation
– Type of concrete

Factors that influence the workability of concrete are:

➢ The method and duration of transportation
➢ Quantity and characteristics of cementitious materials
➢ Concrete consistency (slump)
➢ Grading, shape, and surface texture of fine and coarse aggregates
➢ Entrained air
➢ Water content
➢ Concrete and ambient temperature
➢ Admixtures

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Consistency
• Consistency is considered a close
indication of workability.
Slump test(ASTM C 143) is the
most generally accepted method
used to measure the consistency of
concrete.
• Low slump has stiff consistency
• Too dry and harsh consistency – difficult to
place and compact and larger aggregate
particles may separate from mixture
• Too wet mixture – segregation,
honeycombing, and reduced hardened
properties can occur.
• Excessive water used to produce high slump
is a primary cause of poor concrete
performance, as it leads to
– Bleeding
– Segregation
– And increased drying shrinkage
– Low Compressive Strength
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Bleeding
• The development of a layer of water at the top or surface of freshly
mixed concrete.
• Causes:
– Sedimentation(settlement) of solid particles (cement and
aggregate)
– Simultaneous upward migration of water
• Reduced bleeding maybe required for a variety of reasons
– Facilitating finishing operations
– Minimizing the formation of weak concrete at top of the lifts
– Reducing sand streaking in wall forms
– Stabilize the hardened volume with respect to the plastic volume of
concrete

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Bleeding
Most effective means of reducing bleed:
– Reduce the water content, water-cementitious materials ratio, and slump
– Increase the amount of cement resulting in a reduced water-cement ratio
– Use finer cementitious materials
– Increase the amount of fines in the sand
– Use or increase the amount of supplementary cementing materials such as
fly ash, slag cement, or silica fume.
– Use blended hydraulic cement
– Use chemical admixtures that permit reduced water-to-cementitious
materials ratios or provide other means capable of reducing the bleeding of
concrete.
– Use of air entraining Admixture in the concrete mix

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Pros & Cons of Concrete Materials

Cement Workability increases as the amount and fineness of cement increases

• Not uniformly graded aggregates results to poor workability

• Natural sands with rounded grains produce more workable concrete

• crushed sands (angular, flat, or elongated pieces) creates high
Aggregates percentage of voids and cause excessive bleeding of concrete

• Properly graded crushed coarse aggregates (cubical in shape)

produce workable concrete.

Are helpful in lean, harsh concrete mixtures of poor workability and

Admixture where difficult placement conditions are involved.
Mixing temperature shall be kept between 13 and 27 oC to protect
Temperature early life of concrete.

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Segregation
Prevention:
• Proper proportioning
• Accurate batching and thorough mixing
• should be placed as near to its final location as possible to avoid
excess lateral motion

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Strength
Factors Affecting Strength

• Water/Cement Ratio
o Low as possible

• Cement Content and Type

o Finely ground cements increase strength, especially at early ages, and also
increase workability.

• Aggregate Types and Characteristics

o particle shape
o Texture
o Maximum size
o Soundness
o Grading
o Freedom from deleterious materials.

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Effects of Admixtures
• Accelerators
– provides increased early strength during cold weather

• Water reducers
– It improves compressive strength and impermeability of hardened
concrete.

• Air entrainers
– Air is introduced to increase workability and durability at 3 and 6 %.
Inclusion of air normally result in some loss of strength.

• Finely divided materials (fly-ash, Silica fumes, GGBFS)

– Strength contributions are relatively slow.

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Curing Method
• Moist Curing
– When moist curing is discontinued the compressive strength increases for a short
period but remains constant or decrease there after. When moist curing is resumed
after a period in air, strength increases are also resumed.

• Temperature
– Higher strengths are obtained at early ages with higher curing temperatures and that
o
the strengths at 28 days for temperatures above 13 C are inversely related to the
curing temperature.

• Age at Test
– The compressive strength of concrete increases with age if moisture is present.

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Causes of Strength Variation - Materials
Cement:
• Use of cement with presumed unsatisfactory properties

Aggregates:
• Variations in the aggregate from batch to batch may cause significant strength changes.
• variations in grading may require changes in the amount of mixing water and result in strength changes.
• Undesirable materials such as clay lumps, soft particles organic matter, silt mica, lignite, and easily
friable pieces should be kept at a minimum to decrease harmful effect in strength.

Water:
• Water for concrete mixtures should not contain any material that can have an appreciable harmful effect
on strength, durability, or time of set. This substances include silt, oils, acids, alkalies and their salts,
organic material and sewage.

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Causes of Strength Variation - Production

Mixing:
• The period of mixing must be long enough to obtain a homogenous concrete, but
it should not normally be longer than necessary because of changes due to loss
of water by evaporation and to grinding action resulting in an increase of fine
materials.

Handling and Placing:

• Every precaution must be taken to avoid segregation while handling and placing
concrete to avoid variations in strength from one portion of concrete structure to
another.

Curing:
• Lack of moisture or excessively low or high temperatures will stop strength gain.

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Causes of Strength Variation – Sampling & Testing Procedures
Bearing Conditions
• In all compression tests the specimen axis should be vertical, the specimen should be
accurately centered into the compression machine, the bearing surfaces should be prone
and should be perpendicular to the axis, a spherically seated bearing block should be
used.
• High strength concrete cylinders, above 5,000 psi are more affected by the capping
material.

Form and Size of Specimen

• Concrete strengths are dependent on the type of specimen, cube or cylinder, and on the
specimen dimension.
• Decreasing values of L/D below 2.0 result in large strength changes.

Moisture Content at Test

• Compression specimen tested in an air-dry condition usually have strengths about 20 to
40% higher than similar specimens tested in a saturated condition. Saturated condition
eliminates partial drying.

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Concrete Delayed Setting - Prevention
• Aggregates and mixing water must be clean and free from detrimental
amounts of silt, oil, acids, organic matter, alkalies, sewage, and alkali salts.
• Very small amounts of some impurities such as sugar may greatly delay the
rate of setting and the rate of strength gain.
• The correct amount of admixture needed to obtain the desired result should be
ascertained and used in all batches. Suitable and accurately adjusted
dispensing equipment is necessary for this purpose.
• The correct design proportions in each batch must be used.
• The air content of each batch should be determined to avoid low strength due
to very high air contents.
• The concrete must be properly cured. This requires proper temperature and
moisture conditions for the required length of curing time to obtain the desired
properties.

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Accelerated Strength Gain

High early strength maybe obtained by using:

• richer concrete mixtures made with Type 1 or 1A Portland cement;

• high-early strength cement Type III;
• accelerating admixtures;
• water-reducing admixtures;
• high alumina cement; high steam-curing temperatures at normal
pressures or high curing temperatures at elevated pressures.

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Part 2: b) Common Concrete
Imperfections

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DURABILITY
Ability of concrete to resist weathering action, chemical attack, and abrasion while
maintaining its desired engineering properties.

Some causes of deterioration:

• Freeze thaw and deicer salts - a result of the expansive forces that are generated
when the water in concrete freezes.
• Corrosion - exposure to chloride ions.
• Carbonation - occurs when carbon dioxide from the atmosphere penetrates
concrete and reacts with the products of cement hydration and reduces the alkalinity
of concrete.

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Chemical Attack
Effect of Leaching
Leakage of water through cracks or joints or porous concrete may carry the calcium hydroxide
in solution through the concrete structure.
At the surface, reaction between the calcium hydroxide and carbon dioxide will cause
precipitation of a white deposit of calcium carbonate.

How to minimize problem:

• Use of properly proportioned dense concrete mixtures
• Careful attention to the proper design and placement of contraction and construction joints
• Provision for satisfactory drainage
• Provision of effective and durable coatings, where necessary
• Use of high-alumina cements, Portland blast furnace slag cements, and pozzolan cement

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Chemical Attack

Effect of Sulfates
• In regions where alkali is present in soils and ground waters, deterioration of concrete
structures may take place. The harmful effects are primarily due to the sulfates of magnesium
and sodium.
• Continuous saturation in strongly sulfate-bearing water will produce rapid and severe effects.

Several Ways to improve resistance of concrete to action of sulfate attacks:

• Use of Type V or Type II Cement depending on sulfate concentrations in water or soils.
• w/c ratio not to exceed 0.50 and 0.45, for Type II and Type V cement, respectively . Concrete
should have an ample cement content.
• Substitution of 15 to 30% of the cement, by weight, of an active pozzolanic material
• Autoclaving concrete products at 176 oC or higher .

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Chemical Attack
Effect of Seawater
Wetting and drying, leaching, temperature variations, corrosion of
reinforcing steel, battering of waves and tides, sulfate attack, and freezing
and thawing action maybe involved.

Many of the potentially harmful effects can be largely controlled by:

• Use of normal cement along with sound nonreactive aggregates that are
poorly proportioned to provide impermeable concrete.
• Reinforcing steel should be properly protected from corrosion by a
minimum of 1 ½ in of concrete.
• Maximum W/C = 0.40
• Use of Types V and II cements.
• Use of Portland blast furnace cements or high alumina cements or
additions of active pozzolans

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Chemical Attack

Effect of Carbonation
When fresh concrete is placed in cold weather in rooms heated by improperly vented
space heaters a concentration of carbon dioxide results. The carbon dioxide reacts
with the fresh concrete near the surface and produces a soft crumbly surface layer
between 0.10 and 0.30 in thick.

Protection:
• Use of membrane curing compound or surface seal maybe applied as promptly
as possible to protect the concrete during the first 24 hr.
• A carbonated surface will not respond to the action of chemical hardeners, and
the only way to remove the poor surface is by surface grinding.

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Corrosion
• Common sources:
– Deicing salt
– Seawater or chloride contaminated ground water

• Corrosion can load to spalling and delamination of the concrete cover.

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PERMEABILITY AND ABSORPTION

Permeability refers to the amount of water migration through concrete

when the water is under pressure or the ability of concrete to resist
penetration by water or other substances.

Water-tightness is the ability of concrete to hold back water without

visible leakage.

Absorption refers to the process by which concrete draws water into

its pores and capillaries.

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Creep
• A time-dependent deformation that begins immediately but
continues at a decreasing rate as long as the concrete is
loaded

• Creep is affected by other factors related to the quality of

concrete and conditions of exposure such as:
• Type, Amount and maximum size of aggregate
• Type of cementing materials
• Amount of cement paste
• Size and shape of the concrete element
• Volume to surface ratio of the concrete element
• Amount of steel reinforcement
• Prior curing conditions
• Ambient temperature and humidity
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 THANK YOU

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