Faculty of Engineering, Al-Mataria

Civil Engineering Dept. 2nd Year

Properties & Strength of Materials (2)

CV4213

Course Instructors
Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed
Dr. Ahmad Abdelkhalik
 Lecture # 5

Concrete mix design

Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed

 What is the Meaning of Concrete Mix Design?

It is the process of selecting the primary concrete constituents and

their percentage in the unit weight of the mix. This process results in
obtaining a concrete mix that has a minimum compressive strength,
durability, along with optimum workability and cost.

What is the Necessary Data Required for Mix Design?

1- Concrete design compressive strength (28-day cube strength) fcu
2- Type and maximum aggregate size of coarse aggregate
3- Grading zone of fine aggregate
4- Type of cement
5- Required level of workability
Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed 3
 A Concrete Mix Design Example according to
BS Standard 5328 (DOE)
Design a concrete mix to achieve a 28-day strength of 400
kg/cm2 with a slump not more than 50 mm. The used coarse
aggregate is uncrushed with a max size of 10 mm. The fine
aggregate grading is in Zone 4 and the cement used is
RHPC.
Given
fcu = 400 kg/cm2 Zone 4
Max. Agg. Size = 10 mm Uncrushed Aggregate
Slump = 50 mm RHPC

Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed 4

 Step 1: Determination of Design Mix Strength
fm = fcu + M
fm = Mix design strength
fcu = 28-day compressive strength
M = Margin

Margin = 1.64 s
s = Standard deviation for designer (Fig. 3)

M = 1.64 x 40 = 65.6 kg/cm2

fm = 400 + 65.6 = 465.6 kg/cm2  470 kg/cm2

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 Figure 3: Relationship between Standard Deviation and
Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed Characteristic Strength 6
 Step 2: Determination of Approximate Strength

Compressive Strength (kg/cm2)

Type of Coarse
Type of
Aggregate Age (days)
Cement
3 7 28 91

(OPC) or Uncrushed 180 270 400 480

(SRPC) Crushed 230 330 470 550

Uncrushed 250 340 460 530

(RHPC)
Crushed 300 400 530 600
RHPC - Uncrushed - 28 days
Approx. Compressive Strength @ w/c = 0.5 460 kg/cm2
Table 2: Approximate Compressive Strengths (kg/cm2) of Concrete Mixes
Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed
Made with a Free water/cement Ratio of 0.5 7
 Step 3: Determination of Actual
w/c Ratio

Approx. fcu = 460 kg/cm2 - w/c = 0.5

Actual fcu = 470 kg/cm2 w/c = 0.495

 w/c = 0.5

Figure 4: Relationship between Compressive Strength and Free-

Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed water/cement Ratio 8
 Step 4: Determination of Weight of Water in Mix

Max size of Slump (mm)

Type of
Aggregate
Aggregate 0–10 10–30 30–60 60–180
(mm)
Uncrushed 150 180 205 225
10
Crushed 180 205 230 250
Uncrushed 135 160 180 195
20
Crushed 170 190 210 225
Uncrushed 115 140 160 175
40
Crushed 155 175 190 205
Max. Agg. Size = 10 mm - Uncrushed - Slump = 50 mm
Free Water content = 205 kg/m3 3
Table 3: Approximate free-water Contents (kg/m ) Required to Give
Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed Various Levels of Workability 9
 Step 5: Determination of Weight of Cement in Mix

W ater Content 205

Cement Content =   410 kg/m3
w / c Ratio 0.5

Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed 10

 Step 6: Determination of Concrete Mix Density

Water Content = 205 kg/m3

- Uncrushed Aggregate

Concrete Density = 2350 kg/m3

Figure 5: Estimated Wet Density of Fully Compacted Concrete

Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed 11
 Step 7: Determination of Total Aggregate Weight in Mix

Concrete Density, r = 2350 kg/m3

Concrete Density, r = wc + Cc + Ac

Total Aggregate Content, Ac = r – wc – Cc

Total Aggregate Content, Ac = 2350 – 205 – 410 = 1735 kg/m3

Total Aggregate Content, Ac = FAc + CAc

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 Step 8: Determination of Proportion of Fine Aggregate
to Total Aggregate

1
1
1 1 2
2
2 2 3
3
3 3 4
4
4
4

a) Max Aggregate Size 10 mm

Figure 6: Proportion of Fine Aggregate Content
Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed 13
 1
1
1 1 2
2
2 2 3 3
3 3 4 4
4 4

b) Max Aggregate Size 20 mm

Figure 6: Proportion of Fine Aggregate Content
Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed 14
 1
1
1 1 2
2
2 2 3 3
3 3 4 4
4 4

c) Max Aggregate Size 40 mm

Figure 6: Proportion of Fine Aggregate Content
Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed 15
 Max. Agg. Size = 10 mm - Slump = 50 mm - Zone 4 - w/c = 0.5

Max % fine Agg. = 33 % Min % fine Agg. = 27 %

33  27
% fine Agg. = = 30%
2

Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed 16

 1
1
1 1 2
2
2 2 3
33 3
3 3 4
4
4
4 27

a) Max Aggregate Size 10 mm

Dr. Waleed Fouad Tawhed 17

 Step 9: Determination of Fine Aggregate Content in Mix

Fine Aggregate Content, FAc = 0.30 x 1735 = 520.5 kg/m3

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 Step 10: Determination of Coarse Aggregate Content in
Mix

Coarse aggregate Content, CAc = 1735 – 520.5 = 1214.5 kg/m3

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 Final Design Mix Proportions

Coarse Fine
Material Water Cement
Agg. Agg.

Required weight (kg/ m3) 205 410 1214.5 520.5

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