Civil Engineering Materials 267

Concrete Technology

Dr. Shaikh Ahmed

Constituents:

◦ Aggregate – coarse and fine

◦ Cement/ cementitious materials
◦ Water
◦ Admixtures

Forms a matrix. Strength is dependent on

strength of individual elements and their
interaction.

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Versatility of concrete:
Due to two states:
 Plastic state (fluid, wet)
 Hardened state (dry)

 Properties of the concrete in its plastic state are

dependent on: workability, etc.
 Properties of the concrete in its hardened state are
dependent on: compressive strength, tensile/flexural
strength, durability, etc.

Topics to be covered:

Properties of individual constituents of concrete.

 Aggregates (including mechanics of granular materials)
 Cements
 Water
 Admixtures
 Proportions of constituents in concrete (Mix design)
 Handling and placing
 Compacting
 Curing
 Testing

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 Aggregates
 Form up to 80% of volume of concrete
 Can effect
◦ Properties of hardened concrete
◦ Workability in fluid state

Two types:
Coarse aggregate (size > 5 mm)
Fine aggregate (Size < 5mm)

 Mechanics of granular materials

VV e

VS 1-e

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 General definitions:
Volume of voids Vv
 Voids ratio = ------------------------=-------
Volume of solids Vs
Vv
 Percentage Voids = ------- x 100%
Vs
Vv Vv
 Porosity = e = ------- =--------------
V Vs+Vv

Density:
 Particle Density (also often referred to as relative density)
 Defined as the mass of a quantity of oven-dried particles divided by
their saturated surface dried volume.
 Measured in kg/m3 or kg/l

 Bulk density (unit mass)

 Defined as the mass of a unit volume of oven-dried aggregate.
 i,.e.: Mass of material in container
Volume of container
 Depends on how closely packed the solid material is (compaction).
 Can determine loose, insitu or compacted bulk density.
 Measured in kg/m3 or kg/l

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 Compaction:
 Compaction is the process of excluding voids from the
material by means of inducing closer packing of the
particles.
 The highest attainable state of compaction in a given
volume of material occurs when the centre of gravity of
each particle occupies the lowest available position.

 Compaction increases the number of contact points between particles and therefore
reduces inter-particle contact forces for a given load applied to the mass and so
increases the load-bearing capacity of the mass.

Classification of particles by shape:

 One of the factors affecting how well a material can be
compacted (and subsequently its bulk density, and voids
ratio) is the particle shape.

 Rounded, regularly shaped aggregates tend to “pack”

better than flaky and elongated material. Angular, flaky and
elongated aggregates often display selective orientation
and bridging (resulting in pockets or honeycombs).

 Therefore, it is preferable to have more rounded, regularly

shaped aggregate.

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 Particle shape:

Classification of shape characteristics:

Three methods are outlined here.
 Angularity number
The percentage voids ratio of the least angular (most rounded)
aggregate is about 33%. The angularity number is defined as the
amount by which the percentage of voids exceeds 33. The more
angular the aggregate, the higher the angularity number (range 0-12).
 Angularity number
 Mean mass of aggregate in container 
 67    x100
 Volume of container x P.D. of aggregate 
 P.D. = particle density
 The number 67 represents the percentage solid volume of the most
rounded gravel (ie: percentage voids is 33)

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 Flakiness Index
 It is the percentage, by volume or by weight, of flaky particles,
whose least dimension (thickness) is less than 0.6 of its mean
dimension. The mean dimension is defined as the mean of the
smallest sieve size through which the particle passes and the largest
sieve on which it is retained.

wt. of flaky particles

Flakiness index  100%
wt. of sample

 The presence of flaky particles in excess of 10-15% of wt. of coarse

aggregates is considered undesirable.

Aschenbrenner and Zingg Classification

1.0
Can be used to describe the shape of Disks
(D)
Equi-
dimensionals
a particle. Provides an indication (Flaky) (E)

of the proportion of particles with 0.66

an undesirable shape. q Blades Rods

(B) (R)
a = longest dimension of a particle (Flaky & (Elongated)
Elongated)
b = intermediate dimension
c = shortest dimension 0
0 0.66 1.0
p
p = c/b = flatness ratio
q = b/a= elongation ratio

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Aggregate properties

 Tests in AS1141
◦ Grading ◦ Abrasion Resistance
◦ Particle shape and ◦ Soundness
surface texture ◦ Strength and rigidity
◦ Density ◦ Reactivity
◦ Water absorption ◦ Thermal expansion
◦ Dimensional stability ◦ colour

All affect Hardened concrete affect Plastic concrete

Requirements of Aggregates
 Grading
◦ Size & distribution of sizes
◦ Aggregate grading significantly influences the water demand and
workability of the concrete.
◦ Ultimately, it may affect the strength and other properties of
hardened concrete

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  Particle shape and surface texture
◦ Smooth, rounded best workability
◦ Rough, cubical best strength

 Density
◦ May be important in some applications.
◦ Particle density: Mass of a quantity of oven-dried particles divide by
their saturated surface dried volumes.
◦ Bulk density: Mass of a unit volume of oven-dried aggregates. It can
be determined with aggregate in either its compacted or loos
state.

 Water absorption
◦ Water retained in aggregate affects the water required for the mix
◦ Affects workability and strength
◦ In the mix design, the moisture content of the aggregates in saturated
surface dry condition is first determined.
◦ If the the moisture content of the aggregates is less than above, additional
water need to be added to avoid the loss of workability.

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 Requirements of Aggregates
 Dimensional stability
◦ Swelling or shrinkage in aggregates is bad
◦ Aggregates that swell or shrink as they take up or loose water contributed
to concrete shrinkage.

 Abrasion resistance
◦ Resistance to breaking down to fines during handling or mixing
◦ The Los Angeles test according to AS1141.23 is the most common method
of testing the abrasion resistance of coarse aggregates.
◦ The higher the Los Angeles value, the more prone the aggregate to
degradation and the less suitable it is to produce highly durable concrete.

 Soundness
◦ It is the ability of aggregates to withstand the aggressive actions
(freeze and thaw, chemicals, weather, etc.)
◦ Durability in hardened concrete

 Strength and Rigidity

◦ Strength of aggregates influence strength of completed concrete
◦ Aggregates influence the drying shrinkage of the concrete by
restraining the shrinkage of the cement paste.
◦ The rigidity of the aggregates will influence its restraining effect.
◦ The higher the modulus of elasticity of aggregates the more effective
it will be in reducing the shrinkage of concrete.

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 Requirements of aggregates
 Reactivity
◦ Reactions between aggregate and alkalies from cement or other sources.
◦ Expansion leads to cracking, loss of strength
◦ Alkali carbonate reaction is between certain dolomitic limestone and alkalies in the
pore solution in the concrete.
◦ Alkali silica reaction is between alkalies in the pore solution in the concrete and
aggregates containing certain form of reactive silica such as strained quartz,
amorphous silica, etc..
◦ Organic matters, e.g.
 Decaying vegetables: capable of delaying
Setting and hardening of concrete.
 Aggregates dredged from sea may
contain high proportions of chloride ions.

 Thermal Expansion
◦ Expansion causes differential stresses on curing
 Colour
◦ Architectural requirement
◦ Important for fines

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 Common Aggregate sources
 Natural sands and gravels
 Crushed rock
 Manufactured aggregates

Natural sands and gravels

 Stream beds
◦ Best aggregates – rounded clean
◦ Strong – weak material removed by erosion
 Dunes
◦ Sorted by wind – single sized
 Alluvial deposits
◦ Flood plains and river beds
◦ May contain different sized rocks
 Marine deposits
◦ Sea and lake beds - chlorides

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 Crushed rock
 Can produce in any required size and grading
 Igneous rocks – from molten minerals (eg: granite,
basalt, diorite)
◦ Some minerals may be reactive

Crushed rock

 Sedimentary rocks – from cemented

soils (eg. limestone or sandstones)
◦ Check hardness of each rock type
 Metamorphic rocks – pre-existing
rocks under heat and pressure
◦ Flaky particle shapes

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 Manufactured aggregates
 Can be specially manufactured

 Expanded clays and shales

◦ Light, but hard and strong – lightweight concretes
 Metallic ores, punching and shots
◦ Heavyweight strong aggregates – corrosion?

Sieve analysis
 It provide different grading of aggregates and their fineness modulus.
 Dividing a sample of aggregate into same size portions
◦ Different sieve sizes nested
◦ Smallest sieve at bottom
◦ Mass retained on each sieve represents fraction
◦ Air dry to avoid lumps of fine particles
 Coarse aggregates > 5mm
 Fine aggregates < 5mm and > 75m
◦ Silt < 75m and > 2m
◦ Clay < 2m

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 AS2758.1 standard sieve sizes
 Coarse aggregates  Fine aggregates
◦ 75 mm
◦ 53 mm
◦ 37.6 mm
◦ 26.5 mm ◦ 9.5 mm
◦ 19 mm ◦ 4.75 mm
◦ 13.2 mm ◦ 2.36 mm
◦ 9.5 mm ◦ 1.18 mm
◦ 6.7 mm ◦ 600 m
◦ 4.75 mm ◦ 300 m
◦ 2.36 mm ◦ 150 m
◦ 75 m ◦ 75 m

AS 2758.1 grading requirements

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 AS 2758.1 grading
requirements

Example of Sieve Analysis

Sieve Mass Percentage Cumulative Cumulative
size Retained Retained percentage percentage
(g) passing retained
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
9.50 mm 0 0 100 0
4.75 mm 6 2 98 2
2.36 mm 31 10.1 88 12
1.18 mm 30 9.8 78 22
600 m 59 19.2 59 41
300 m 107 34.9 24 76
150 m 53 17.3 7 93
<150 21 6.8 - -
m
Used for
Total = Total = 246 Grading curves
307g Fineness
modulus =
2.46

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 Fineness Modulus
 Measure of the fineness or coarseness of the aggregates.

 Sum of cumulative percentages retained on standard sieves divide

by 100
◦ 19mm
◦ 9.5mm
◦ 4.75 mm
◦ 2.36 mm
◦ 1.18 mm High value
◦ 600 m From coarser aggregates
◦ 300 m
◦ 150 m

Example of Fineness Modulus

◦ Not unique Example
Course Fine aggregate
◦ Measures Sieve Size % Retained aggregate
38.0 mm P1% 4 0
variations 19.0 mm P2% 33 0
9.50 mm P3% 80 0
◦ Differentiates 4.75 mm P4% 96 0
2.36 mm P5% 100 14
coarse & fine 1.18 mm P6% 100 30
600 m P7% 100 52
300 m P8% 100 90
150 m P9% 100 98
Retained -
(or >150 m) not included
p
F .M .  F.M. = 7.13 F.M. = 2.84
100

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 Maximum size and nominal size
 Maximum size
◦ Smallest sieve opening through which all material will
pass
 Nominal size
◦ Whole number above smallest sieve opening through
which nearly all material will pass

Sieve Size Passing (%) Maximum size may be as high as

(mm) 37mm (just below the sieve size
37.50 100 through which all the aggregate
26.50 95-100 passed.
◦ .13.20 25-60 Nominal Size is 27 mm (the
4.75 0-10 whole number just above the 26.5
2.36 0-5 mm sieve through which nearly
all the aggregate passes).

Grading Curves
 Graphical presentation of sieve analysis
◦ Logarithm of size gives even progression
◦ Can readily see whether grading is satisfactory
120

100
Cumulative % passing

80

60

40

20

0
0.1 1 10 100
Sieve size

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 Types of grading curves
 Gap grading: One or more intermediate size fractions are omitted.
 On grading curve the gap grading is represented by a horizontal line over the range of
sizes omitted.These mixes can be prone to segregation during placement.
 Continuously graded is used to describe the conventional grading used in concrete.

Grading Curves 2
 Uniform grading:
 Refers to a gradation that contains most of the particles in a very narrow size
range. The curve is steep and only occupies the narrow size range specified. A
particle-size distribution of aggregate in which all fractions are present
without a preponderance of any one size or group of sizes.

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 Aggregate Grading

 Influences water demand

◦ Important for workability
◦ Affects water/cement ratio
– hence strength
◦ Affects tendency to bleed or segregate
 Continuous, smooth grading curve
◦ Fewer voids
◦ Good workability with lower cement content
◦ Economical mixes

Ideal Grading Curves

 Coarser grading
◦ Lower cement content required
◦ Harsher mix – difficult to place and finish
◦ Will bleed excessively
 Finer grading
◦ Larger particle surface area needs extra cement –
uneconomical
◦ Easy to finish but may need too much water to give good
strength
 No ideal grading curve
◦ Many different combinations of grading curves will give
excellent concrete

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