“Concrete - Properties of Fresh

Concrete ”

September 2016
 Introduction

When first mixed the water and cement, they

constitute a paste which surrounds all the individual
pieces of aggregate to make a plastic mixture
A chemical reaction called hydration takes place
between the water and cement, and concrete
normally changes from a plastic to a solid state in
about 3-4 hours
Concrete continues to gain strength as it cures
Heat of hydration – is the heat given off during the
chemical reaction as the cement hydrates
 Introduction

The potential strength and durability of

concrete of a given mix proportion is very
dependent on the degree of its compaction
It is vital that the consistency of the mix is
such that the concrete can be transported,
placed, and finished sufficiently early
enough to attain the expected strength and
durability
 Significance

The first 48 hours are very important for the

performance of the concrete structure
It controls the long-term behaviour, influence .
strength, Young’s Modulus, creep and durability
 Concrete Properties
Fresh Concrete
➢ Workability
➢ Cohesiveness
Hardened Concrete
➢ Strength
➢ Durability
Concrete has 3 main states
➢ Plastic
➢ Setting
➢ Hardening
 Concrete States
Plastic State
➢ When the concrete is first mixed,
it is soft and can be worked or
moulded into different shapes
➢ Concrete is plastic during placing
and compaction
➢ Most important properties of
plastic concrete are workability
and cohesiveness
➢ Workers will sink into plastic
concrete
 Concrete States

Setting State
➢ Begins to stiffen when it is
no longer soft
➢ Takes place after
compaction and during
finishing
➢ Workers leave footprints in
setting concrete
 Concrete States

Hardening state
➢ After concrete has set, it
begins to gain strength and
harden
➢ Properties of hardened
concrete are strength and
durability
➢ No footprints on it if walked
on
 Workability

Workability means how easy it is to

➢ Place
➢ Handle
➢ Compact
➢ Finish a concrete mix
Concrete that is dry may be difficult to handle, place,
compact and finish, and, if not constructed properly,
will not be strong or durable when finally hardened
 Workability

Workability is affected by
➢ Amount of cement paste (cement paste is liquid part of the
concrete mix, i.e. the more paste mixed with the coarse and
fine aggregates, the more workable a mix)
➢ Water content (higher water content leads to higher
workability)
➢ Grading (uniform grading leads to better workability)
➢ Admixtures (superplasticisers/air entraining agents)
➢ Fineness of cement (finer cement, faster loss of workability)
➢ Time (cement hydration)
➢ Temperature (higher temperature leads to loss of workability)
 Workability

To make a more
workable mix
➢ Add more cement paste
➢ Use well graded
aggregates
➢ Use an admixture
➢ Never try to make a
mixture more workable by
just adding more water
because this lowers the
strength and durability of
concrete
 Workability - Slump Test

Slump test is the most

commonly used
method to measure
the workability of
concrete
 Workability - Slump Test

Slump Test Tools

➢ Standard slump cone
(100mm top diameter x
200mm bottom diameter
x 300mm high)
➢ Small scoop
➢ Bullet-nosed rod (600mm
long x 16mm diameter)
➢ Rule
➢ Slump plate (500mm x
500mm)
➢ Steel float
 Slump Test Procedures

1) Clean the cone. Dampen with water and place on

the slump plate. The slump plate should be clean,
firm, level and non-absorbent
2) Collect a sample
3) Stand firmly on the footpieces and
fill 1/3 the volume of the cone with
the sample. Compact the concrete
by ‘rodding’ 25 times (rodding
means to push a steel rod in and
out of the concrete to compact it into
the slump cone, working from outside
into the middle)
 Slump Test Procedures

4) Fill to 2/3 and again rod 25

times, just into the top of the first
layer
5) Fill to overflowing, rodding again
this time just into the top of the
second layer
6) Level off the surface with the
steel rod using a rolling action.
Clean any concrete from around
the base and the top of the cone,
push down on the handles and
step off the footpieces
 Slump Test Procedures

7) Carefully lift the cone straight

up making sure not to move
the sample

8) Turn the cone upside down

and place the rod across the
up-turned cone

9) Take several measurements

and report the average
distance to the top of the
sample
 Slump Test Procedures

10) If the sample fails by being outside the tolerance

(i.e. the slump is too high or too low), another must
be taken. If this also fails, the remainder of the
batch should be rejected.
 Slump Test

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOBK6NGfMtE
Slump Test
Workability – Compacting Factor
Test
Best test to measure the
amount of work needed to
achieve full compaction
Higher the value, the more
workable the concrete
Workability – Compacting Factor
Test
Procedures
1) The first hopper is filled with the concrete mix
2) The flap at the bottom of the hopper is opened and the
concrete allowed to drop into the second hopper.
Some compaction takes place
3) The concrete is then allowed to drop into the
compacting cylinder and any excess concrete is
removed from the top of the cylinder
4) The concrete will be only partially compacted and will
contain air voids. The mass of the partially compacted
concrete is found
5) The concrete in the compacting cylinder is then
vibrated until compacted and more concrete is added
until full. The mass of the fully compacted concrete is
found
6) Compacting factor is defined as the weight ratio of the
partially compacted concrete to the fully compacted
concrete
Workability – Compacting Factor
Test
The test is not suitable for field
application
For normal range of concrete, the
compacting factor lies between
0.8 to 0.92 (values less than 0.7
or higher than 0.98 is regarded as
unsuitable)
Workability
 Cohesiveness

Cohesiveness is how well concrete HOLDS

TOGETHER when plastic
Affected by
➢ Aggregate grading – graded aggregate means that there is
a range of size of aggregates, from large rocks to small
sands. Well-graded aggregates gives a more cohesive
mix, too much coarse aggregate gives a boney mix
➢ water content – a mix that has too much water will not be
cohesive and may separate and bleed
 Cohesiveness - Bleeding

Water in the mix tends to rise

to the surface of fresh concrete
Inability of solid constituents
to hold all the water together,
i.e. settlement of solid
particles (cement and
aggregate)
Excessive bleeding increases
the water-cement ratio near
the top surface, i.e. a weak top
layer with poor durability may
result
 Cohesiveness - Bleeding

Causes of bleeding
➢ Too much water (high water-cement ratio)
➢ Less fines in the mix (cement and sand)
➢ Poor grading of aggregates
➢ Overworking of concrete
 Cohesiveness - Segregation

Segregation is when the

aggregate and cement paste
become separated
Happen when the concrete is
mixed, transported, placed or
compacted
Segregation makes the
concrete weaker, less durable,
and will leave a poor surface
finish
 Cohesiveness - Segregation

Avoid segregation
➢ Concrete not too wet or
too dry
➢ Concrete is properly
mixed
➢ Load concrete
carefully
➢ Not over vibration
 Hydration - Curing

Curing is the maintenance of

satisfactory moisture content
and temperature in concrete
for a period of time
immediately following
placing and finishing so as to
develop the desired
properties of concrete
By keeping concrete moist,
the bond between the paste
and the aggregates gets
stronger
Concrete must be properly
cured to develop optimum
properties
 Hydration - Curing

Curing is done just after finishing the concrete

surface
When curing leave the formwork in place to help
reduce water loss
Concrete that is cured is less likely to crack, more
durable and stronger
Concrete is cured by applying extra water to the
surface of the concrete, or stopping water loss
from the concrete
Hydration - Curing
 Plastic Shrinkage

Cracking that occurs when

the concrete is still plastic
Cracks are usually parallel to
each other
Moisture loss from the
surface is the cause
If bleed water replaces the
water lost, no cracking results
Evaporation increased by
➢ High surface temperatures
➢ High wind speed
➢ Low humidity
 Plastic Shrinkage

Avoided by
➢ Moist concrete surface
➢ Cover concrete/ leave
the formwork in place

➢ Erection of
windbreaks
& sunshades
 Compaction
Compaction is done by
vibrating, the concrete which
liquefies it, allowing the
trapped air to rise out
Concrete settles, filling all the
space in the forms
Compaction must be done as
concrete is placed, while it is
still plastic.
Properly compacted concrete is
more dense, strong and durable
 Honeycombing
Honeycombing occurs when
voids are left in concrete due to
failure of the mortar to
effectively fill the spaces
among the coarse aggregate
particles.
Occurs due to poor compaction
or lesser quantity of fine sand
leading to a harsh concrete mix
End