[Document subtitle]

CONCRETE MIX, SLUMP AND CONCRETE

COMPRESSION TEST

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS CIVE

311
BACKGROUND
i. Concrete mixing
Concrete is a mixture of five components: coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, water, and cement.
Concrete mix design is the process of selecting suitable ingredients of concrete (cement, sand and
aggregates) and determining their relative proportions with the object of producing concrete of
certain minimum strength and durability as economically as possible (Mishra, 2016). In most
concrete is designed to achieve a specific strength at a certain age which is usually 28 days. For
e.g., a concrete mix of proportions 1:2:4 means that cement, fine and coarse aggregate are in the
ratio 1:2:4 or the mix contains one part of cement, two parts of fine aggregate and four parts of
coarse aggregate. The proportions resulting from concrete mix design are tested for their strength
with the help of compressive strength test on concrete cubes and cylinders (Peterson, 1999)
Two types of Concrete mix design:
1. Nominal concrete mix
2. Designed concrete mix

Nominal concrete mixes are those specified by standard codes for common construction works.
These mix takes into consideration the margin for quality control, material quality and
workmanship in concrete construction.M10, M15, M20 are the commonly used nominal mixes
used in construction. the nominal concrete mix may have higher amount of cement, when it is
designed mix, the cement requirement may be low for the same grade of concrete for a given site.
For higher grade of concrete, i.e. M25 and above, it should have designed mix concrete (The
Constructor Civil Engineering Home, 2016).
Designed mix concrete suggests proportions of cement, sand, aggregates and water (and
sometimes admixtures) based on actual material quality, degree of quality control, quality of
materials and their moisture content for given concrete compressive strength required for the
project. Designed mix concrete are carried out in laboratory and based on various tests and
revisions in mix designs, the final mix proportions are suggested (Steven, 2017)

aggregates

Figure -a (lab concrete mixer, 2017)

Concrete mix design should be understood; that concrete mix design and concrete production must
achieve the specified requirement, and also that the physical properties of materials obtainable
might vary from one location to another. Some major factors affecting the Concrete mix design
are; choice of Cement, choice of aggregate size and choice of water to cement ratio (Yunusa, 2011)

ii. Concrete Slump Test

The concrete slump test measures the consistency of fresh concrete before it sets. It is performed
to check the workability of freshly made concrete, and therefore the ease with which concrete
flows. It can also be used as an indicator of an improperly mixed batch. The consistency, or
stiffness, indicates how much water has been used in the mix. The stiffness of the concrete mix
should be matched to the requirements for the finished product quality. The slump test is used to
ensure uniformity for different loads of concrete under field conditions. The slump test is perhaps
the most widely used because of the simplicity of the apparatus required and the test procedure.
The slump test indicates the behavior of a compacted concrete cone under the action of
gravitational forces. The slump test is a practical means of measuring the workability. Changes in
the value of slump obtained during a job may indicate changes in materials, in the water content
or in the proportions of the mix, so it is useful in controlling the quality of the concrete produced
(Gambhir, 2004)
When slump test is carried out, Figure-b. represents the shapes in of different types of the concrete
slumps that can be observed:

Figure-b. (Mishra,
2016)
 True Slump – True slump is the only slump that can be measured in the test. The
measurement is taken between the top of the cone and the top of the concrete after the cone
has been removed as shown in figure-b.
 Shear Slump – The shear slump indicates that the result is incomplete, and concrete to be
retested (Mishra, 2016)
 Collapsed Slump – This is an indication that the water-cement ratio is too high, i.e.
concrete mix is too wet or it is a high workability mix, for which a slump test is not
appropriate.
 Zero Slump- A concrete of extremely dry consistency showing no measurable slump after
removal of the slump cone.
 iii. Concrete Compression Test

The compressive strength of any material is defined as the resistance to failure under the action of
compressive forces. For concrete, compressive strength is an important parameter to determine the
performance of the material during service conditions. Concrete mix can be designed or
proportioned to obtain the required engineering and durability properties as required by the design
engineer. Out of many tests applied to the concrete, compressive strength is more important and it
gives an idea about all the characteristics of concrete. By this single test one can judge whether the
concrete has been done properly or not.
Compressive strength of concrete is determined in batching plant laboratories for every batch in
order to maintain the desired quality of concrete during casting. The strength of concrete is required
to calculate the strength of the members. Concrete specimens are a cast and tested under the action
of compressive loads to determine the strength of concrete. Compressive strength is calculated by
dividing the failure load with the area of application of load after the recommended age; 7 days or
after 28 days of curing. The strength of concrete is controlled by the proportioning of cement,
coarse and fine aggregates, water, and various admixtures. The ratio of the water to cement is the
chief factor for determining concrete strength. The lower the water-cement ratio, the higher is the
compressive strength.
Test for compressive strength is carried out either on cube or cylinder. Various standard codes
recommend concrete cylinder or concrete cube as the standard specimen for the test. American
Society for Testing Materials provides standard test method for compressive strength of
cylindrical and cubical concrete specimens. For cube test two types of specimens either cubes of
150mm*150mm*150mm or 100mm*100mm *100mm depending upon the size of aggregate are
used. For most of the works cubical moulds of size 150 mm *150mm*150mm are commonly used.
(concrete test, 2017)
Different types of concrete moulds

figure-c. (concrete test, 2017)

The concrete will then be poured in the mould and tempered properly so as not to have any voids.
After 24 hours, these moulds are removed and test specimens are put in water for curing. The top
surface of these specimen should be made even and smooth. This is done by putting cement paste
and spreading smoothly on whole area of specimen. The specimen was tested by compression
testing machine after the recommended age; 7 days curing or 28 days curing. Load should be
applied gradually at the rate of kN/min until the Specimens fails. Example; 180 kN/min for 100mm
cubes 405 kN/min for 150mm cubes and 318 kN/min for 150mm cylinder. Load at the failure
divided by area of specimen gives the compressive strength of concrete.

Image of a lintel

figure-d. shows a 150mm lintel ready to be put in compression testing machine.

(Mishra, 2016)
 OBJECTIVES
 To make concrete according to the mix design to achieve a certain concrete strength
 To determine an empirical measurement of the workability of fresh concrete
 To determine the compressive strength of concrete (or its ability to resist a crushing force).

APPARATUS

concrete mixing slump test compressive strength

 Wheel barrow  Standard slump cone (100 mm top  Concrete cubes or

 Buckets diameter x 200 mm bottom diameter cylinders
 Shovels x 300 mm high)
 Compressive testing
 Sand
 Small scoop; Bullet-nosed rod (600 machine
 Cement mm long x 16 mm diameter)
 Aggregates
 Water  Rule; Slump plate (500 mm x 500
 Concrete cube mm)
 Curing bath  Scale for measurement
 Concrete mixer
 Temping rod (steel)
PROCEDURE
Concrete mixing
For strength requirement, a ratio of 1:2:3 of BotCem 32.5N cement, sand and coarse aggregates
were respectively selected. Water to cement ratio was selected by their volume/ weight. Before
mixing, the mixer was buttered with a mixture of cement, sand and water. Water was then divided
into two buckets, one with about three quarter (¾) of the water. About half (½) of the coarse
aggregate and three quarter (¾) of bucket of water were put into a mixer. The mixture was started,
about half of fine aggregate was then added. All the BotCem cement was carefully added into a
running mixture. The mixture was mixed until the cement blend in. The rest of the coarse, fine
aggregates and enough water from the final quarter of the water to produce a workable mix. The
mixing was done for three minutes followed by a three minute- rest, followed by a two-minute
final fixing. With a workable concrete mix, slump test and making concrete cubes was also done.
Slump test
When making the slump test, the base of the slump cone was put on a flat surface. The cone was
then filled with wet concrete in three layers. Each layer was tempered 25 times with a standard
16mm (diameter steel rod, rounded at the end). When the cone was completely filled with concrete,
the top surface was struck off (levelled with mould top opening) by means of screening and rolling
motion of the temping rod. The cone was firmly held against its base during the entire operation
so that it could not move due to the pouring of concrete and this can be done by means of handles
or foot-rest brazed to the mould. After filling the mould with wet concrete, it was levelled and the
cone was slowly and carefully lifted vertically, an unsupported concrete will then slump. The
slump was measured by placing the cone just besides the slump concrete and tempering rod was
placed over the cone so that it should also come over the area of slumped concrete. The decrease
in height of the concrete to that of the mould was noted with scale (usually measured to the nearest
5mm).

Figure-e. slump test procedure (Gambhir, 2004)

Compressive strength test

Finally, the concrete compression test was carried out. The testing machine was prepared by
cleaning the bearing plates. Cleaning and lubricating the machine can be done if necessary. The
concrete cubes and cylinder were separately put between the bearing plates and a load of 180
kN/min, 405 kN/min and 318 kN/min was respectively applied to the 100*100*100mm,
150*150*150mm 7 days old moulded concrete cubes and concrete cylinder of diameter 150mm.
Once the concrete cubes and cylinder specimen get crushed, the results of crushing load and time
taken were recorded.

Figure-f. Automatic concrete compression testing Figure-g. shows failed concrete cube and
machine (google, 2017) cylinder due to compression force. (google,
2017)

RESULTS
Slump test

Slump of the concrete was 0.00 mm, i.e. there is no slump. When the slump test is carried out,
following are the shape of the concrete slump that can be observed:

(c)
(a) (b) (d)
.

figure-h. Shape (b) Zero slump was observed.

compressive strength

𝑷
𝒇′ 𝒄 =
𝑨
𝒇′ 𝒄= compressive strength
P= maximum load
A= cross-sectional Area

Sample calculation: Size of the cube (a) =100mm x100mm x 100mm

Cross-sectional Area of the specimen = 100*100mm= 10 000mm2 = 0.01 m2

68600𝑁
compressive strength (f’c) at 7 days = = 6 860 000 N/mm2 = 6.86 MPa
0.01m²

compressive strength of the concrete cubes

100mm cube 150mm cylinder 150mm Lintel

Area 0.1 *0.1=0.01m2 3.14*(0.075)2=0.01767m2 0.15*0.15=0.0225m2
Maximum load 68 600N 102 100N 27 800N
Compressive strength 6.86MPa 5.78MPa 1.24MPa
DISCUSSION
The zero slump was attained as a result of slump test; these was achieved due to low water-cement
ratio. The slump test and can be performed with great accuracy if the ASTM guidelines are followed.
The two things that contribute most to an invalid test are improper rodding and carelessness in
removing the mold. Lack of rodding may cause poor compaction and over rodding could bring
about segregation. Both lead to invalid results. Removing the cone is also very critical and a sudden
twist or jerk can greatly reduce the accuracy of the results. It is also very important that the base
on which the slump test is being taken is level and free from even the slightest vibration. A piece
of rebar or any steel rod with a square end must not be used to tamp the sample. This may force
the large aggregate to the bottom of the cone and cause the test to be invalid. As with any type of
quality assurance testing, the people who perform the tests should be well aware of the proper
procedures to be followed and that if specific standards are not met the test results may prove to
be invalid. This will consequently result in a loss of valuable time and may result in the need for
more expensive testing.
In this experiment, we have learned about the compressive strength of concrete. The purpose we
put the cube, cylinder and lintel in the curing tank is to know the workability of the concrete and
to ensure its strength in the good condition for assurance.
For our concrete design, we have known its strength was increasing when we investigated
compressive strength of 7 days old concrete cubes. The expected strength of concrete of 1 day and
3 days after casting is 16% and increases to 40% while the expected strength for a 7 days old
concrete is expected to be 65% stronger. To find compressive strength of each cube, this formula
is applied:
Compressive Strength = Maximum load applied (kN) / Cross sectional area (mm²)
The maximum aggregate size should always be checked. Second, cubes should be placed in testing
machine centrally on platens, before load is applied. To achieve beneficial result for compressive
strength, cubes and cylinders should be casted in reasonable numbers so that the results can be
compared in order to come out with an appetising conclusion.
CONCLUSION
The observed Zero slump (shape-b.) is the indication of very low water-cement ratio and it is
occurring because of dry mix.
The compressive strength of concrete test cube, cylinder and lintel has been determined in the 7th
day after making the test. For the average compressive strength of 7th day concrete test cube is
4.63 MPa. The compressive strength of our concrete design is expected to have increased if there
were more specimens similar to the tested ones but of more casted days (14 days and 28 days).
From both test, we can conclude that the longer the age of curing, the higher the compressive
strength. There is huge different between the mean compressive strength and actual compressive
strength due to lower workability of the concrete. The lower of workability of the concrete can we
proof by the slump test which the difference between the height of cone and the concrete after the
cone released is Zero cm which mean it have lower workability due to low water cement ratio.
These two tests are important to determine the strength and the workability of concrete before pour
to mould to make structure of building.
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