CE-320:

Reinforced
Concrete
Design I
Dr. Fawwad Masood
FACTORS AFFECTING
STRENGTH OF CONCRETE

• Concrete consists of coarse and fine aggregate,

cement, water
• In many cases—different types of admixture.
• Materials are mixed to get a cement paste
producing a uniform dense concrete.
• The plastic concrete is then placed in a mold and
left to set, harden, and develop adequate strength
• The strength of concrete depends upon many
factors and may vary within a wide range despite
using the same production method
 Water–Cement Ratio
• For complete hydration of cement, a water–
cement ratio (by weight) equal to 0.25 is
needed.
• A water–cement ratio of about 0.35 or
higher is required to produce reasonably
workable concrete without additives.
• This ratio corresponds to 4 gal of water per
bag of cement (94 lb) (8.07 kg per 50 kg of
cement).
• Based on this cement ratio, a concrete
strength of about 6000 psi may be achieved.
• A water–cement ratio of 0.5 and 0.7 may
produce a concrete strength of about 5000
and 3000 psi, respectively.
Properties and Proportions • An increase in the
cement content in the mix
of Concrete Constituents and
• The use of well-graded
aggregate increase the
Proportion Cement Sand (m3) Aggregate strength of concrete.
(kg) (m3) • Special admixtures are
1:5:10 136 0.47 0.95 usually added to the mix
to produce the desired
1:4:8 168 0.46 0.93 quality and strength of
concrete.
1:3:6 218 0.45 0.91
• Early strength gains, high
1:2:4 312 0.43 0.86 workability with low
1:1.5:3 397 0.41 0.82 water-cement ratio etc.

1:1:2 547.2 0.38 0.76

 Method of Mixing
and Curing
• The use of mechanical concrete mixers
and the proper time of mixing both have
favorable effects on strength of concrete.
• A void ratio of 5% may reduce the
concrete strength by about 30%.
• The use of vibrators produces dense
concrete with a minimum percentage of
voids.
• The curing conditions have an important
influence on the strength of concrete.
• The longer the period of moist storage
(curing), the greater the strength.
• If the curing temperature is higher than
the initial temperature of casting, the
resulting 28-day strength of concrete is
reached earlier than 28 days.
 Age of Concrete

Age 7 14 28 3 6 months 1 2 5
days days days months year years years
Strength 0.67 0.86 1.0 1.17 1.23 1.27 1.31 1.35
Ratio
 Loading Conditions
The compressive strength of concrete is estimated by testing a cylinder or
cube to failure

Under sustained loads for years, the compressive strength of concrete

is reduced by about 30%.

Under 1 day sustained loading, concrete may lose about 10% of its
compressive strength.

Sustained loads and creep effect as well as dynamic and impact effect, if
they occur on the structure, should be considered in the design of
reinforced concrete members.
Shape and Dimensions of
Tested Specimen
• The common sizes of concrete specimens - 6 × 12-in. or 4 ×
8-in. cylinders or 6-in. cubes.
• When a given concrete is tested in compression through
cylinders - the larger specimens give lower strength
indexes.
• The heights of all cylinders are twice the diameters.
• Sometimes concrete cylinders of nonstandard shape are
tested (Cores etc). The greater the ratio of specimen
height to diameter, the lower the strength
• To compute the equivalent strength of the standard
shape, the results must be multiplied by a correction
factor.
• Approximate values of the correction factor are given in
ASTM C 42/C 42 M.
• Cylinder strength is lesser than that of cube
• Check Table 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 of Nadeem Hassoun
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
• In designing structural members, it is assumed that the
concrete resists compressive stresses and not tensile
stresses
• Therefore, compressive strength is the criterion of
quality concrete. The other concrete stresses can be
taken as a percentage of the compressive strength.
• Specimens used to determine compressive strength
may be cylindrical, cubical, or prismatic
• Test specimens in the form of a 6-in. or 8-in. cube are
used in Great Britain, Germany, and other parts of
Europe.
• Prism specimens are used in France, Russia, and other
countries and are usually 70 × 70 × 350 mm or 100 ×
100 × 500 mm.
• Tested under gradually applied static load until
rupture occurs, after 28 days curing of specimen.
 COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
• Rupture of the concrete - tensile stress (failure in
cohesion),
• The applied shearing stress (sliding failure),
• Compressive stress (crushing failure), or combinations of
these stresses.
• Axial compression, the specimen may fail in shear, as in
Fig. a. Resistance to failure is due to both cohesion and
internal friction.
• The second type of failure (Fig. b) results in the
separation of the specimen into columnar pieces by
what is known as splitting, or columnar, fracture.
• This failure occurs when the strength of concrete is high,
and lateral expansion at the end bearing surfaces is
relatively unrestrained.
• (Fig. c) is seen when a combination of shear and
splitting failure occurs.
 STRESS–STRAIN CURVES
OF CONCRETE
• Stress–strain curves for concrete are obtained by testing
a concrete cylinder to Failure at the age of 28 days and
recording the strains at different load increments
• All curves consist of an initial relatively straight elastic
portion
• Reaching maximum stress at a strain of about 0.002
• Failure occurs at a strain of about 0.003.
• Concrete having a compressive strength between 3000
and 6000 psi (21 and 42 N/mm2) may be adopted.
• High-strength concrete with a compressive strength
greater than 6000 psi (6000 to 15,000 psi) is becoming a
popular choice for the design of concrete structures.