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Lecture # 03
Strength of Concrete
Aggregate
At lower water-cement ratios the reduced porosity of the interfacial
transition zone begins to play an important role in the concrete
strength
Furthermore, since the interfacial transition zone characteristics have
more effect on the tensile strength of concrete compared to the
compressive strength, it is to be expected that with a given concrete
mixture any changes in the coarse aggregate properties would
influence the tensile-compressive strength ratio of the material
For instance, a decrease in the size of coarse aggregate, at a given
water-cement ratio, will increase the tensile-compressive strength
ratio
A change in the aggregate grading without any change in the maximum
size of coarse aggregate, and with water-cement ratio held constant,
can influence the concrete strength when this change causes a
corresponding change in the consistency and bleeding characteristics
of the concrete mixture
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Aggregate
It has been observed that a concrete mixture containing a rough-
textured or crushed aggregate would show somewhat higher
strength (especially tensile strength) at early ages
Stronger physical bond between the aggregate and the hydrated
cement paste is assumed to be responsible for this
At later ages, when chemical interaction between the aggregate
and the cement paste begins to take effect, the influence of the
surface texture of aggregate on strength may be reduced
Also, with a given cement content, somewhat more mixing water
is usually needed to obtain the desired workability in a concrete
mixture containing rough-textured aggregates
Thus the small advantage due to a better physical bonding may
be lost as far as the overall strength is concerned
Aggregate
Differences in the mineralogical composition of aggregates are
also known to affect the concrete strength. This may be due to
the higher interfacial bond strength with limestone aggregate at
late ages
Mixing water
Impurities in water used for mixing concrete, when excessive,
may affect not only the concrete strength but also setting time,
efflorescence (deposits of white salts on the surface of concrete),
and the corrosion of reinforcing and pre-stressing steel
In general, mixing water is rarely a factor in concrete strength
Many specifications for making concrete mixtures require that the
quality of water used should be fit for drinking, and municipal
drinking waters seldom contain dissolved solids in excess of 1000
ppm
As a rule, a water that is unsuitable for drinking may not
necessarily be unfit for mixing concrete
Mixing water
Slightly acidic, alkaline, salty, brackish, colored, or foulsmelling
water should not be rejected outright
This is important because of the water shortage in many areas of
the world
Also, recycled waters from cities, mining, and many industrial
operations can be safely used as mixing waters for concrete
The best way to determine the suitability of a water of unknown
performance for making concrete is to compare the setting time
of cement and the strength of mortar cubes made with the
unknown water with reference water that is clean
Seawater, which contains about 35,000 ppm dissolved salts, is not
harmful to the strength of plain concrete
Admixtures
By their ability to reduce the water content of a concrete
mixture, at a given consistency, the water-reducing
admixtures can enhance both the early and the ultimate
strength of concrete
At a given water-cement ratio, the presence of water-
reducing admixtures in concrete generally has a positive
influence on the rates of cement hydration and early
strength development
Admixtures capable of accelerating or retarding cement
hydration obviously would have a great influence on the
rate of strength gain; however, the ultimate strengths may
not be significantly affected
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Admixtures
However, the ability of a mineral admixture to react at normal
temperatures with calcium hydroxide (present in the hydrated
portland cement paste) and to form additional calcium silicate
hydrate can lead to significant reduction in porosity of both the
matrix and the interfacial transition zone
Consequently, considerable improvements in the ultimate
strength and watertightness of concrete are achievable by
incorporation of mineral admixtures
It should be noted that mineral admixtures are especially
effective in increasing the tensile strength of concrete
Admixtures
Time
It should be noted that the time-strength relations in
concrete technology generally assume moist-curing
conditions and normal temperatures
At a given water-cement ratio, the longer the moist
curing period the higher the strength assuming that the
hydration of anhydrous cement particles is still going on
In thin concrete elements, if water is lost by evaporation
from the capillaries, air-curing conditions prevail, and
strength will not increase with time
The evaluation of compressive strength with time is of
great concern to structural engineers
ACI Committee 209 recommends the following
relationship for moist cured concrete made with normal
portland cement (ASTM Type I)
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t
f cm ( t ) = f c 28
4 + 0.85t
Humidity
The influence of the curing humidity on concrete strength is
obvious from the data, which show that after 180 days at a
given water-cement ratio, the strength of the continuously
moist-cured concrete was three times greater than the
strength of the continuously air-cured concrete
Furthermore, probably as a result of microcracking in the
interfacial transition zone caused by drying shrinkage, a slight
retrogression of strength occurs in thin members of moist-cured
concrete when they are subjected to air drying
The rate of water loss from concrete soon after the placement
depends not only on the surface/volume ratio of the concrete
element but also on temperature, relative humidity, and
velocity of the surrounding air
Humidity
Water is held in larger capillary pores by surface tension forces below
100% RH
The cement can draw on these water reservoirs for further hydration
But the rate will become slower as the RH within the paste is lowered
Water is used first within its localized area of the paste, and those
areas that hydrate more rapidly will become starved for water
Additional water will move to those area rapidly in a fully saturated
system, but more slowly in a partially saturated system
Therefore, concrete that is sealed against moisture loss hydrates and
gains strength more slowly than concrete that is continuously moist
cured under water
Water cannot enter the sealed concrete, and the consumption of water
during hydration lower the internal RH
Humidity
A minimum period of 7 days of moist-curing is generally
recommended with concrete containing normal portland cement
With concrete mixtures containing either a blended portland cement
or a mineral admixture, longer curing period is desirable to ensure
strength contribution from the pozzolanic reaction
Moist curing is provided by spraying or ponding or by covering the
concrete surface with wet sand, sawdust, or cotton mats
Since the amount of mixing water used in a concrete mixture is
usually more than needed for portland cement hydration (estimated
to be about 30 percent by weight of cement), proper application of
an impermeable membrane soon after the concrete placement
provides an acceptable way to maintain the strength development at
a satisfactory rate
However, moist-curing should be the preferred method when control
of cracking due to autogenous shrinkage or thermal shrinkage is
important
Temperature
With moist-cured concrete the influence of temperature on
strength depends on the time-temperature history of casting
and curing
In the temperature range 5 to 46°C, when concrete is cast and
cured at a specific constant temperature, it is generally
observed that up to 28 days, the higher the temperature the
more rapid the cement hydration and the strength gain
On the other hand, it has been observed that the higher the
casting and curing temperature, the lower will be the ultimate
strength
From microscopic studies many researchers have concluded
that, with low temperature casting, a relatively more uniform
microstructure of the hydrated cement paste (especially the
pore size distribution) accounts for the higher strength
Temperature
It should be noted that curing at low temperatures can result in a
higher ultimate strength, even though the initial rate of strength is low
Thus, as a rule, the higher the initial temperature of the concrete, the
lower its later strength
For 28-day strengths, the optimum initial temperature is 4C for a Type
I cement
In general, the tensile strength is similarly affected by the curing
temperature
Temperature
Since the hydration reactions of portland cement compounds are
slow, it appears that adequate temperature levels must be
maintained for a sufficient time to provide the needed activation
energy for the reactions to begin
This enables the strength development process that is associated with
progressive filling of voids with hydration products, to proceed
unhindered
The influence of time-temperature history on concrete strength has
several important applications in the concrete construction practice
The curing temperature is far more important to the strength than
the placement temperature
Specimen parameter
Moisture State
Because of the effect of moisture state on the concrete
strength, the standard procedure requires that the specimens
continue to be in a moist condition at the time of testing
In compression tests it has been observed that oven-dried
specimens show 10 to 15 percent higher strength than
corresponding specimens tested in a saturated condition
The reason for this are not completely understood
It may be due to change in the structure of C-S-H on dying
It may simply represent a change in the internal friction and cohesion
on a macroscopic level; that is moisture may have a “lubricating”
effect, allowing particles to slip by each other in shear more easily
The lower strength of the saturated concrete is attributed to
the development of internal pore pressure as a load is applied
Moisture State
The effect of moisture content on strength becomes an
important consideration when testing drilled cores
ASTM C 42 recommends that concrete core be conditioned
to a moisture state most representative of the state of
the in-place concrete
Drying of the cores as specified will most commonly lead
to specimens with a moisture gradient from the outside to
the center
This will lead to lower measured strengths than those
obtained on specimens with a uniform moisture content
Temperature
For reasons that are also not fully understood, the
temperature of the specimen at the time of testing will
affect the strength
Higher test temperature will result in lower strengths,
even for concretes that were identically cured in standard
conditions