Suez University

faculty of Technology and

Education
Civil and Architectural Construction
Department
Third Division

Material properties

Sheet No. 2

Preparation:

Abanoub Hanna Habeb

Submitted to :

Prof. OMAR MOHAMED OMAR

Eng. Mrawan ashraf Eng. Ramdan kaml

2021

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 Frist Question:

a) Can you describe the terms of workability, consistency,

cohesiveness, segregation, and bleeding of freshly concrete :
• workability of concrete :

Concrete workability basically refers to how easily freshly mixed concrete can be
placed, consolidated and finished with minimal loss of homogeneity.
Generally the workability of concrete is determined by how fluid the mix is (i.e.
the cement to water ratio). This is commonly referred to as "slump"
Essentially - the more fluid the concrete, the higher the slump and whilst the
slump is seen as a measure of water content, it is typically also used as a measure
of concrete consistency.

• consistency of concrete :

The consistency of concrete is the degree of wetness of concrete. The value of

consistency of concrete shows that how much wet the concrete is.

• Cohesiveness of Concrete :

The other aspect of workability is Cohesiveness. It tells whether a concrete

mixture is plastic, harsh or sticky. Concrete is required to be plastic which allows it
to be molded and hold a shape when formed.
Harsh mix:
has low plasticity
components tend to segregate
may have very high or very low water content
may have low cement content

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 • segregation of concrete

the separation of cement paste and aggregates of concrete from each other
during handling and placement. Segregation also occurs due to over-vibration or
compaction of concrete, in which cement paste comes to the top and aggregates
settles at the bottom.

• bleeding of freshly concrete

is a phenomenon in which free water in the mix rises up to the surface and forms
a paste of cement on the surface known as “laitance” .

b) What are the methods to evaluate the workability of fresh

concrete? What are their suitability and limitations :

1. Slump Test
2. Compacting Factor Test
3. Flow Test
4. Vee-Bee Consistometer Test
5. Kelly Ball Test

1. Slump Test :
The slump test is the simplest test to determine workability of concrete that
involves low cost and provides immediate results.
Recommended Result of Concrete Slump Test
If the slump of the concrete is in between 0 to 25 mm than it is considered as very
low workability of concrete,
If the slump of the concrete is in between 25 to 50 mm than it is considered as
low workability of concrete,
If the slump of the concrete is in between 50 to 100 mm than it is considered as
medium workability of concrete,
If the slump of the concrete is in between 100 to 150 mm than it is considered as
high workability of concrete.

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 2. Compacting Factor Test :

Compaction factor test works on the principle of determining the degree of

compaction achieved by a standard amount of work done by allowing the
concrete to fall through a standard height.

Recommended Result of Compaction Factor Test

If the compacting factor is 0.78 than it is considered as very low

workability of concrete,
If the compacting factor is 0.85 than it is considered as low workability of
concrete,
If the compacting factor is 0.92 than it is considered as medium
workability of concrete,
If the compacting factor is 0.95 than it is considered as high workability of
concrete.

3. Flow Test:

The flow test is a laboratory test, which gives an indication of the quality of
concrete with respect to consistency or workability and cohesiveness. In
the flow test, a standard mass of concrete is subjected to jolting.

Recommended Result of Flow Test

the value of flow test may range anything from 0 to 150 %.

4. Vee-Bee Consistometer Test

Vee bee consistometer test is a good laboratory test on fresh concrete to

measure the workability in an indirect way by using a Vee-Bee consistometer.
Vee bee consistometer test determines the mobility and to some extent
compatibility of concrete. In the vee bee consistometer test vibrator is used
instead of jolting. Vee bee test determines the time required for the
transformation of concrete by the vibration.

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 Recommended Result of Vee Bee Consistometer Test

• If vee bee time is up to 20 to 15-10 seconds than concrete is

considered as in a very dry consistency.
• If vee bee time is up to 10 to 7-5 seconds than concrete is
considered as in a dry consistency.
• If vee bee time is up to 5 to 4-3 seconds than concrete is
considered as in a plastic consistency.
• If vee bee time is up to 3 to 2-1 seconds than concrete is
considered as in a semi-fluid consistency.

5. Kelly Ball Test

Kelly ball test is a simple and inexpensive field test which measures workability of
fresh concrete with the similar to the concrete slump test, but it is more accurate
and faster than a slump test. This test uses a device that consist of metal
hemisphere (ball) thereby indicating the consistency of fresh concrete by its level
of penetration when the metal hemisphere drops. Thus, in this test, depth is
determined through metal hemisphere, which sinks under its own weight into
fresh concrete.

c) Discuss the factors affecting consistency of concrete :

1. Water Content of the Concrete Mix:

Water content will have important influences on the workability in given volume
of concrete. The higher the water content per cubic meter of concrete, the higher
will be the fluidity of concrete, which affect the workability.
2. The Size of Aggregates:

Workability is mainly governed by the maximum size of aggregates.Water

and paste require, will be not less if a chosen size of aggregates for
concrete is bigger. Consequently, for a given quantity of water content &
paste, bigger size aggregate will give higher workability.

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 3. The shape of Aggregates:

The Shape of Aggregates Seriously Influences the Workability of Concrete:

Angular, flaky & elongated aggregate reduces the workability of concrete.

Rounded or subrounded aggregates increase the workability due to the

reduction of surface area for a given volume or weight.Therefore, an
excess paste is available to give better lubricating effect.

Rounded shape aggregate has less frictional resistance and gives a high
workability as compared to angular, flaky or elongated aggregates.

4. Surface Texture of Aggregates:

The roughly textured aggregates have more surface area than Smoothly
rounded aggregates of the same volume. Smooth rounded or glassy
aggregates will give better workability than roughly textured aggregates. A
reduction of interparticle frictional resistance offered by smooth
aggregates also contributes to higher workability.

5. Uses of Concrete Admixtures:

This is one of the commonly used methods to enhance the workability of

concrete. Concrete admixtures such as plasticizer and superplasticizers
greatly improve the workability.

Air entraining agents are also used to increase the workability. Air
entraining agents creates a large number of very tiny air bubbles. These
bubbles get distributed throughout the mass of concrete and act as rollers
and increase the workability.

6.Ambient Temperature:

In hot weather, if temperature increases, the evaporation rate of mixing

water also increases and hence fluid viscosity increases, too. This
phenomenon affects the flowability of concrete and due to fast hydration
of concrete, it will gain strength earlier which decreases the workability of
fresh concrete.

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d) Discuss the factors affecting cohesion of concrete :
Plastic consistency of concrete indicates a condition where applied stress will
result in continuous deformation without rupture. A plastic mixture possesses
cohesion and does not crumble. It flows sluggishly and without segregation.

e) Why does workability decrease with time :

With the passage of time after mixing ingredients of concrete with water,
workability of concrete starts shrinking. This happens because of fluidity loss
from the concrete. Fluidity is the amount of available water in concrete that is
being utilized in hydration of cement compounds for the sake of bonding.

f) Discuss the role of water in fresh concrete :

1. It acts as a lubricant for the fine and coarse aggregate & makes the mixture
workable.
2. It acts chemically with cement to form the binding paste.
3. It is employed to damp the aggregate surface in order to prevent them from
absorbing water vitally necessary for chemical action.
4. It facilitates the spreading of aggregate.
5. It helps to flux the cementing material over the surface of the aggregate.

g) What is the purpose of consolidation in concrete

construction :
Its purpose is to increase the density and to make sure that all the spaces are
filled to increase the strength of the concrete
When concrete comes DOWN the chute and flows into forms it carries entrapped
air (not to be confused with entrained air). If the entrapped air isn’t removed, it
leaves holes in the concrete (HONEYCOMBS), especially next to form surfaces.
Poorly consolidated concrete is more porous and REBAR is poorly bonded.

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h) List some methods of curing :

1. Water Curing 8. Electrical curing

2. Wet Covering 9. Infra-Red Curing
3. Formwork Curing 10.Cover with Sand or Sawdust, Soil,
4. Membrane Curing etc
5. Sheet Curing 11.Natural Curing (Exposed
6. Curing by Absorbing Heat concrete)
7. Hot mixing method

j) Discuss the measures that can improve the cohesiveness of

concrete :

• By mixing well, taking into account the concrete design

• By reducing the water content by adding Admixtures
• By processing after casting
• By compacting well to remove spaces

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 Second Question:

a) Discuss the measures that can reduce the bleeding of

concrete :
Ways to reduce bleeding in concrete include:
Reduce water content. Use lower slump mix
Use finer cements
Increase amount of fines in the sand
Use supplementary cementitious materials
Use air entraining admixtures
Generally, water reducers will decrease bleeding but they may actually end up
increasing this rate based on their chemical composition. Air entraining
admixtures can also reduce bleeding by increasing cohesion in the fresh concrete
and slowing segregation.

b) What is the significance of bleeding in forming

microstructure :
hich results in weak and porous concrete.
It affects the bond between hardened cement paste and aggregates for
reinforcement on account of higher water cement ratio.
Such concrete is easily prone to the micro cracking due to shrinkage stresses
caused by dissipation of heat of hydration and drying shrinkage.
If the bleeding water carries with it more amount of the cement particles, a layer
of laitance will be formed.
Due to bleeding the ability of pumping is very much reduced, which makes it
difficult where concrete is to be pumped for higher elevations.

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 c) Generally, how many common methods are used in a
mix design of concrete?

• Absolute size design

• American Method of Mix Design: ...
• Graphic Method of Mix Design: ...
• Mix Design by Indian Standard Method: ...
• American Concrete Institute Method of Mix Design: ...
• Rapid Method of Mix Design

d) What type of moisture condition in aggregate is

assumed in a mix design of concrete?

when designing concrete mixtures, we really talk of only two moisture

conditions. The first, oven dry, means exactly what it sounds like. The aggregates,
which contain pore spaces of their own, have those pore space filled only with air.
The second, saturated surface dry condition, is defined as the condition in which
all of the pore space within the aggregate is full of water, but no water is present
on the surface. Both of these are laboratory definitions. In practice, aggregates in
stockpiles, plants, and in the mixture are rarely, if ever, at these moisture
conditions.
• When designing concrete, it is preferable that the moisture condition of the
aggregate be saturated to not absorb the water of the cement used in the
hydration process.

e) What is difference between w/c and w/b?

W/c is the ratio of water to cement only. W/b is the ratio of water to the binder.
Usually, some material such as fly ash, silica fume, and GGBS added to improve
concrete properties. These materials with cement known as binder. Figure 1
showing how this material will reduce concrete permeability and produce dense
concrete. The binder includes cement and any other binding material such as fly

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ash or silica fume. In concrete mix design if binder materials are added to the mix,
then water content should be calculated using w/b.

f) How is the durability issue considered in a mix design

of concrete?
Increasing durability by reducing the percentage of water by adding Admixtures
to reduce the percentage of water
And increase the proportion of cement in the mixture

g) Do you need to justify the moisture content of

aggregates? How?

It represents the "equilibrium moisture" state of the aggregate in concrete; that

is, the aggregate will neither absorb water nor give up water to the paste.
The moisture content can be calculated directly from measurements of (BSG)
using the displacement method.
Absorption Capacity:
Absorption capacity (AC or absorption) represents the maximum amount of water
the aggregate can absorb. It is calculated from the difference in weight between
the SSD and OD states, expressed as a percentage of the OD weight:
AC = (WSSD - WOD) / (WOD) x 100%

h) What is the purpose of trial mixes in a mix design of

concrete?

is to enable you to check the strength, workability, density and other properties
of concrete mixes. Trial mixes are often undertaken when new materials or
admixtures are to be used. Trials are also undertaken when setting up batch data.
Trial mixes can help you maximize all the materials in the mix and is important for
mix optimization.

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 i) What are the main difference in early age properties
between HSC and NSC?
Early-age Properties of Concrete

Figure 1 showing the stress-strain curve for NSC concrete, the curve
consisting of ascending and descending part, it is noticed that the curve
ascending part steeply go up after 7 days for NSC and after 2 days for
HSC, the same for dropping element, with the increase of time both
parts of curve become steeper. This means that the concrete is becoming
more brittle. Brittle means concrete will not undergo high strain for a
given high stress, at early age concrete was ductile.
We can notice this from the curve shape, for low stress the strain is high,
modulus of elasticity is the slope of the curve, secant modulus of
elasticity is the slope of the line drawn from the origin of the curve to the
point of 40% of ultimate strength of concrete. The secant modulus of
elasticity of concrete increased with increasing of time. This means
concrete become more stiff and brittle. It can be noticed that the concrete
behave more ductile at an early stage, this will decrease with increasing
of time and the curves below showing the decrease of strain for higher
stress as the time increased.

Figure 1(Stress-strain curve for NSC) Figure 2(stress-strain curve HSC)

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