CE-106 ENGINEERING MATERIALS & CONCRETE

TECHNOLOGY

Dr Sajjad Wali Khan

Assistant Professor,
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering & Technology,
Peshawar, Pakistan

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Fresh concrete:
It is the name given to concrete from time of mixing to
end of time so that the surface of concrete is finished
(in its final location in the structure etc.)
Operations:
Batching, mixing, transporting, placing, compacting,
surface finishing
Fresh state properties significantly affect hardened
state properties
 The potential strength and durability of concrete of a
given mix proportion is very dependent on the degree
of its compaction
 The first 48 hours are very important for the
performance of the concrete structure
 The fresh properties of concrete control the long-term
behavior, influence fc’ (ultimate strength), (elastic
modulus), creep, and durability
Properties of fresh concrete:
1) Workability
The ease with which concrete can be mixed, transported,
placed and compacted without segregation
or
The amount of mechanical work or energy required to
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produce full compaction of the concrete without
segregation or bleeding
Factors affecting workability
 Water contents in the mix
 Mix proportions
 Amount of aggregate in the mix
 Aggregate properties (gradation, shape, size,
surface texture etc.)
 Temperature (Environmental)
 Cement amount and other characteristics (e.g
fineness etc.)
 Admixtures
A. Water content of the mix
Directly related to workability and increasing amount of
water in the mix:
- Increase the ease of flows and compaction
- Reduce strength, and
- May lead to segregation and bleeding

B. Mix Proportions
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 Workability of concrete is greatly affected by the mix
proportion. For a fix w/c ratio the workability of:
- 1:1.5:3 mix > 1:2:4 similarly, 1:2:4 will have more
workability as compared to 1:3:6 (Because the
amount of fine particles (i.e. cement) is more in the
first mix)
C. Amount of Aggregate in the mix
- For a constant w/c ratio, increase of
aggregate/cement ratio decreases workability and
vice versa but
- Keeping water content constant, increase in
aggregate/cement ratio will result in increase in
workability due to lower total surface area of
solids (aggregate & cement)
- More cement is needed when finer aggregate
grading are used
D. Properties of Aggregate
I. Gradation
- Well-graded aggregate has high workability and
vice versa

II. Size
For a given mix proportion and w/c ratio:
- Workability is directly related to size of aggregate
(i.e. lager the size of Aggregate higher will be the
workability and vice versa)
- For small size aggregate a large quantity of the
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 water in the mix is utilized for wetting the surface
of aggregate (as surface area increases for small
aggregates)

III. Shape
- Smooth and round aggregate have high
workability, whereas rough and irregular
aggregate have low workability
- Nearly spherical particles give more workable

concrete. Spherical particles give lower surface –

to –volume ratio, less mortar to coat the particles,
leaving more water to enhance workability

IV. Surface Texture

The workability of concrete is also affected by the surface
texture of aggregate;
- Porous aggregates have low workability as
compared to non-porous (The porosity of the
aggregates can absorb a great deal of water and less
water will be available to provide workability)
E. Temperature
Increase in temperature decreases workability as
higher temperatures increase both the evaporation
and hydration rate. Very warm weather will require
more water to maintain the same workability
F. Cement amount and other characteristics
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For a fix w/c ratio and mix proportion; the amount of
cement in the mix is directly proportional to
workability. Similarly the workability of concrete also
increases with the fineness of cement and vice versa
However increased amount of Type-III (rapid hardening
cement) cement will decrease workability due to the higher
rate of hydration
G. Admixtures
If the water contents and other mix proportions are
fixed; certain types of admixtures can increase
workability of concrete e.g.
- Air entraining admixtures (small bubbles in the
concrete produce ball bearing effect)
- Plasticizers and super plasticizers (charged
concrete produce repulsive forces and slide
easily)
- Very fine mineral admixtures like silica fume, blast
furnace slag etc. also increase the workability of
concrete
Advantages of low water/cement ratio:
 Increased strength
 Lower permeability/more dense concrete
 Increased resistance to weathering actions
 Better bond between concrete and reinforcement.
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  Reduced dry-shrinkage cracking
 Less volume change from wetting and drying
 Control segregation and bleeding in fresh state
Workability measurement methods
1. Slump test
2. Compacting factor test
3. Vebe test
4. Flow table test
1. Slump test - simplest way to find workability
1. Fill concrete into frustum of a steel cone in three layers
2. Hand tap concrete, in each layer (26 blows uniformly)
3. Immediately after filling, lift the cone slowly and the
unsupported concrete will slump.
4. Measure downward movement of the concrete from the top
of the cone (slump)

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 2) Segregation
Separation of the constituents of a heterogeneous
mixture (concrete) so that their distribution is no
longer uniform
Causes
Primary causes of segregation are the differences in the
size particles and in the specific gravity of the constituents
(fine & coarse aggregates, water and cement).
Segregation in concrete may be caused by;
 Excessive water in the mix
 Improper or excessive vibrations (during
compaction or transportation)
 Dropping concrete from heights
 Poorly mixed ingredients and poor graded
aggregates
Remedies:
 Low water contents
 Careful transportation (agitating trucks) and
compaction
 Avoiding to drop it from heights
 Use of air entrained admixtures
 Use of well graded aggregates, proper mixing etc.
3) Bleeding (ASTM C 232-09)
Form of segregation in which some of the water in the
mix tends to rise to the surface of freshly placed
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concrete (during transportation or compactions)
Bleeding is measured as the percentage of the mixing
water comes out to the surface (in extreme cases reach
upto 20%)
Bleeding can be decreased by:
 Increasing the amount and fineness of cement
(because finer particles hydrate earlier)
 Decreasing amount of water in the mix
 Addition of very fine pozzolanic materials (silica
fume etc.)
 Using well graded aggregate
 Using air entraining admixtures
4) Curing
Curing is the process of keeping concrete surface wet
for a certain period of time to make enough water
available for the hydration of cement
or alternately;
Curing is the name given to procedures used for
promoting the hydration of cement
Curing methods
It consists of a control of temperature and of the moisture
movement from and into the concrete. Different methods
of curing are;

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  Spraying or ponding surface of concrete with
water
 Protecting exposed surfaces from wind and sun
by wind breaks and sunshades
 Covering surfaces with wet hessian and/or
polythene sheets
 Applying a curing membrane, a spray-applied
resin seal, to the exposed surface to prevent
moisture loss
 Steam curing
Effect of curing conditions
 For hydration reaction to continue, the relative
humidity inside concrete has to be maintained at
80 percent
 Hydration reactions between cement and water are
temperature dependent and rate of reaction
increases with curing temperature
 At early ages, rate of strength gain increases with
curing temperature (higher temperatures increases
rate of reaction, thus more C-S-H and gel is
produced at earlier times, achieving a higher
gel/space ratio and thus higher strength)
 At later ages, higher strength are obtained from
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 concrete cured at lower temperatures
 (C-S-H gel is more rapidly produced at higher
temperature and is less uniform and hence weaker
than produced at lower temperatures)
 Standard curing temperature is 22 ± 1 o C
 Hydration proceeds below 0oC, stops completely
at -10oC
5) Consistency
Consistency can be defined as “capability of being
handled and flowing into formwork and around any
reinforcement”. It is therefore the amount of water
content required to produce a paste of the desired
consistency.
Consistency can be measured by Vicat’s apparatus
using a 10 mm diameter plunger, acting under a
prescribed weight to penetrate a trial paste of cement
placed in the mould.
According to ASTM the penetration of the Vicat’s
plunger for a paste of standard consistency should be
10±1 mm.
6) Initial setting time
It is the time from moment when water is added until
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the paste loses it fluidity or plasticity.
It can be determined by Vicat’s apparatus by a
standard needle (1.13mm diameter), acting under a
prescribed weight to penetrate a paste of standard
consistency placed in the mould.
a. False set and flash set
Sometime early stiffening of concrete occurs;
When the cement paste loses its plasticity due to the
reaction (hydration) of dehydrated gypsum that
usually forms rigid crystals is called False set of
cement.
Workability in this case can be restored by the
addition of water beause there are few of these
crystals and they are weak.
Flash set of cement is due the rapid reaction
(hydration) of aluminates (C3A) at high temperature
due to the absence of sufficient sulphate.
Workability cannot be restored after flash setting.
7) Final setting time
It is defined as the time from moment when water is added
into cement until the paste acquires certain degree of
strength.
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It is measured by the same Vicat’s apparatus fitted
with needle surrounded by a circular cutting edge
5mm in diameter and set 0.5mm behind the tip of the
needle. The final set is said to have taken place when
the needle gently lowered to the surface of the paste,
released but the circular cutting edge fails to make an
impression on the surface of the paste.
The final setting time of cement can also be
approximately determined by the following formulae;
Final setting time(min) = 90 + 1.2 x initial setting time (min)
8) Compactability
The property of fresh concrete so that the air
entrapped during mixing and handling can be easily
removed (minimized) by compaction (either by
tamping rod or vibrators etc.)

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