FRESH CONCRETE

Concreting
Concreting refers to the practical means of producing fresh concrete and placing it in its final
position where it hardens to form the required structure. The following processes are involved in
concreting:

i. Batching
ii. Mixing
iii. Transporting
iv. Placing
v. Compacting
vi. Curing

i) Batching
This is the measuring of the concrete proportions of the various ingredients of the concrete i.e.
cement, coarse aggregates, fine aggregates, water and admixtures if required. It’s important to
use accurate measuring equipment if good quality concrete is to be produced.

Batching of cement should always be done by weight or by use of whole 50kg bags of cement.
Batching of concrete is done by weight but batching of volume may be used. Batching of sand by
volume should make allowance for bulking which is an increase in volume of sand caused by
presence of moisture in it. Sand swells when moist. Water may be batched by volume or by
weight. Admixtures should be batched by weight if in solid form but liquid admixtures should be
batched by volume.

Bulking of sand: - The presence of moisture in sand results in an increase in the volume of a
given weight of sand. This is caused by a film of water which pushes the sand particles apart
causing it to bulk. In the case of volume batching, it results in smaller weight of sand occupying
the fixed volume of the measuring box. For this reason, batching by volume is not recommended
in concrete works. Bulking may also reduce the compactability of the mix since water film is
retained around the particles which push out the sand grains. Finer and /or angular sands bulk
considerably possibly due to the increased surface area for the water film to form around.
Bulking of sand may be determined by measuring the decrease in volume of given sand

ii) Mixing
Mixing comprises placing the batch materials into the mixer and mixing to produce fresh
concrete. Thorough mixing of concrete is essential and the mixing time required must be
observed. Mixing time varies according to the mix required, the mixer used, and whether or not
the mixer is filled to capacity during mixing. The mixing should be done until the mixture
achieves uniform colour. The mixing time is between 1-2 minutes. Mixing of concrete should
always be done in a concrete mixer but where small volumes are required and the mixing must
be done by hand. It is important to ensure that it’s done on a hard surface which is fairly
impermeable to water but a small quantity of extra water should be added to accommodate lost
water.

Objective of mixing

i. To coat the surface of aggregate with cement paste

ii. To blend all ingredients of concrete into a uniform mass this should not disintegrate
during discharging.

The mixing time depends on: -

 Capacity of mixer
 Speed of revolution of the mixer

Points to consider during mixing:

i. Ingredients, coarse aggregates, sand and cement should be fed into the mixer
simultaneous to achieve uniform mixed concrete.
ii. Water should be added to the mixer at the same time but all water must enter the mixer
within a half a minute.
iii. Mixing should continue until the concrete is of uniform consistence and color.
iv. The mixer should not be loaded beyond its capacity
v. Mixer should be run at the correct speed stated by the manufacturers

Disadvantages of prolonged mixing

 Evaporation occurs and reduces workability

 Grinding of aggregates occur thereby reducing aggregate sizes which lower workability.

iii) Transporting
This includes discharging the concrete mixer contents after mixing into a transporting equipment
e.g.

 Wheelbarrow
 Buckets
 Dumper
 Chute

These are used to deliver the concrete to its final location. On large sites the following
transporting plants are usually involved:

 Belt conveyors
  Pumps
 Railcars
 Skips

The method of transportation depends on:

 the quantity to be transported

 economic considerations
 complexity of the site

Whatever method is used its important that to avoid:

 segregation of concrete
 contamination of either water or other materials

iv) Placing of concrete

Placing of concrete will influence the strength, permeability and the durability of the concrete.
The following precautions should be taken during placing:

 the concrete should not be poured from long heights to avoid segregation while allowing
for full compaction
 avoid hand shoveling and moving concrete using a vibrator
 the concrete should be placed in uniform layers and not large heaps
 the rate of placing should be uniform and should match that of compacting
 when concreting columns the placing should be continuous to avoid formation of layers
which could act as cold joints in the column
 the placing should be done without addition of extra water and should be done fairly
quickly to allow time for compaction

v) Compaction of concrete
Compaction of concrete should be done simultaneously with placing in order to ensure
durability, strength and impermeability of the resulting concrete. The objectives of compaction
are to:

i. Eliminate entrapped air from the concrete.

ii. Bring particles of concrete close together

Compaction may be done by hand only where circumstances dictate since this may result to
inadequate compaction. In all other cases compaction should be done by a porker vibrator. This
comprises of a vibrating tube connected to flexible tube to a drive machine. The vibrator should
be placed vertically into the concrete and held in position until air bubbles cease to come to the
surface, after which it should be slowly withdrawn to allow concrete to flow into the void left by
it.

vi) Curing

It is very important to cure all concrete works. Hydration of cement depends upon the presence
of water and in a concrete mix there will usually more than sufficient water for hydration.

However, there are situations where water can dry out at an excessive rate and hydration may
stop if this loss is not prevented. This can happen on the surface of slabs and every around
columns and beams.

Hydration and strength development depend also on temperature and it may also be necessary to
maintain the temperature of concrete at the desired level. Curing therefore is the term given to
the practical measures which are taken to ensure that the moisture and temperature conditions of
the concrete are such that they will promote proper hydration of the cement.
 RHEOLOGY OF CONCRETE
Fresh concrete (properties)
Workability
Workability is defined as the ease with which the concrete can be compacted. It’s therefore
affected by other characteristics of the concrete such as consistence, mobility and compactabilty.

Consistency
This can be said to be the ability of the concrete material to maintain its uniformity and remain
stable and cohesive during transportation, placing and consolidation.

Mobility
This is the ease with which a mix can flow into and completely fill the formwork or mould on
which is placed.

Compactability
The ease with which a given mix can be fully compacted so that all the trapped air within the
concrete is completely removed

The above 3 are the main characteristics of workability

Factors affecting workability

i. The characteristics and relative proportions of the constituents materials i.e.
 The cement content
 Aggregate content
 The overall grading of the aggregate and the shape of the aggregate particles-
which affect the amount of water required
 Water cement ratio
ii. The methods employed for transporting and compacting of concrete
iii. The size, shape and roughness of the formwork
iv. The quantity and spacing of reinforcement

Measurement of workability
There are 3 methods:

i) The slump test

ii) The compacting factor test
iii) The V-B consistometer test

i) The slump test

This is the most practical means of measuring workability. It’s done to BS 1881 part II. It simple
involves a 300mm high concrete cone being allowed to subside and the slump or reduction in
height being taken as a measure of workability. The test is primarily a measure of consistency of
plastic concrete and is easily used for detecting changes in the proportions of the constituent
materials i.e. in water contents or proportions of the mix of coarse fine aggregate and cement e.g.
increase in water content or decrease in proportions of fine aggregate will result in increase in
slump.

Procedure of slump test

Apparatus

 Standard slump cone with base plate

 The standard steel tamping rod
 Scoop
 Ruler
 Drying duster
Procedure

 Clear and dry the cone and base plate then place the cone on the base plate which should
rest on a smooth hard surface.
 While holding the cone firmly at rest, fill the cone with concrete in 4 layers each layer
being tamped with a rod 25 times
 Smoothen the top using a straight edge
 Clean up
 Lift the cone carefully and vertically and leave the concrete on its own. The concrete will
collapse to some extent and it’s the extent to which it slumps the measure of workability.
 Place the cone next to the slump concrete, and then place the tamping rod on top of the
cone so that it reaches over the slumped concrete.
 Use a ruler to measure the height from the underside of the tamping rod.

Scale rule
Tamping rod

Concrete cone Std slump cone

Base plate

Slump test arrangement level hard surface

Types of slump

There are 3 main types:

i. True slump
ii. Shear slump
iii. Collapse slump

i. True slump

Up to 25mm

The concrete will slump evenly all round. It occurs for cohesive and rich mixes. The slump is
sensitive to variations in mixes.

ii. Shear slump

This occurs in lean mixes. This indicates lack of cohesion, low cement mortar content, harsh
mixes. The test should be repeated.

iii. Collapse slump

Very wet mix, shows poor quality concrete and result from segregation of constituents materials.

Workability, slump and compacting factor of concrete (20 or 40mm aggregate)

Degree of workability Slump (mm) Compacting factor Use of concrete

Very low 0-25 0.78 Roads – machine
compacted
Low 25 - 50 0.85 Mass concrete
foundations with no
vibration. Roads –
hand operated
machines
Medium 50 - 100 0.92 Flat slabs heavy
 reinforced sections
High 100 - 175 0.95 Sections with
congested
reinforcement

ii) The compacting factor test

This test offers a more reliable measure of workability than the slump test. It measures the
degree of compaction for a standard amount of work. The apparatus consists of two conical
hoppers and a cylindrical container mounted vertically above one another.

Test procedure

Top hopper

Door trap

Door trap

Bottom cylinder

Compacting factor apparatus

i. The top hopper is filled with the uncompacted concrete sample.

ii. A hinged door at the bottom is released and the concrete allowed to fall into the
lower hopper.
iii. The concrete is released again to fall into the cylindrical container at the bottom.
iv. The concrete above the level of the rim of the cylinder is struck off using a steel
float.
v. The concrete in the cylinder is weighed and recorded as ‘partially compacted
weight’
vi. The cylinder is then filled in approximately 5cm layers each layer being fully
compacted by hard ramming or vibration and the concrete above the cylinder rim
trimmed off.
vii. The compacted concrete in the cylinder is weighed and recorded as the fully
compacted weight
The compacting factor = partially compacted weight/fully compacted weight

The average of three tests is taken as the result. A high compacting factor value indicates high
workability.

3. The Vebe Consistometer test

This test is for measuring workability of stiff concrete and consists of two parts:

i. A slump test is carried out inside a hollow cylinder on the top of a vibrating table which
at start is not switched on and the slump usually is very small close to zero.
ii. A transparent plate which just fits inside the cylinder, and which can drop vertically
under its own weight is placed gentle on slumped concrete
iii. The vibrating table is then switched on and the concrete remoulds itself into the shape of
the cylinder. Once the cylinder is fully remoulded the power is switched off. The time
taken in seconds for the concrete to fully remoulds itself is then recorded as the vebe
degree and is a measure of the workability of concrete.

The longer the time, the longer the workability

Rod for adjusting glass plate

Glass plate Support

Vebe test cylinder

Concrete cone

Consistometer before vibration

Concrete after remoulding

Vebe consistometer at end of test

Bleeding of concrete
Bleeding is a form of segregation in which some of the water in the mix tends to rise to the
surface of freshly placed concrete as the solid constituents settle downwards. This results in the
top of every layer of concrete placed becoming too wet and forming a weak porous layer of non-
durable concrete. It’s also possible some of the rising water will get trapped under large
aggregate particles or reinforcement thereby creating zones of poor bond and leaving behind
voids which eventually increase the permeability.

Bleeding is usually a problem in slabs and concrete roads. It may be controlled by using an
effective water cement ratio. Where the rate of evaporation from the surface of concrete is higher
than the rate of bleeding then plastic shrinkage cracking may result.

Stability
In addition to the concrete being sufficiently workable, fresh concrete should also have a
composition such that its constituents materials remain uniformly distributed in the concrete
during both the periods between mixing and compacting and stiffening.

The tendency of concrete particles to separate due to their particle size differences is higher with
higher workability mixes. A concrete which is capable of maintaining the required uniformity is
said to be stable. Bleeding is a feature of unstable concrete, the other feature being segregation.

Segregation
This is the tendency of the large and fine particles in a concrete mix to separate. It occurs more in
non –cohesive mixes. Segregation takes place mainly during transportation, placing and
compaction and is more pronounced in both harsh and extremely wet or extremely dry mixes.

The following are the features of segregation which affects the strength of the concrete.

i. Porosity
ii. Honey combing
iii. Sand streaks
Segregation may be prevented by:
i. Proper control of mix proportions
ii. Proper cement content
iii. Proper water cement ration
iv. Proper aggregate grading.

Advantages of ready mix concrete over normal concrete

 Closer quality control
 Cost reduction by sitting near sources of good aggregates
 Site space is saved
 Site labour is saved
 Convenience when small quantity is required and also during peak demand periods.