Chapter 2

CONCRETE WORKS AT THE

CONSTRUCTION SITE

Introduction:
i. This topic introduces the students to the
preparation, transportation, casting, placing,
compaction and treatment of concrete at the
construction site.
ii. To understand the standard testing for trial
mixture for ready mix concrete.
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2.1.1 SEGREGATION IN CONCRETE
1. SEGREGATION is when the coarse and fine aggregate, and cement paste,
become separated.
2. Segregation may happen when the concrete is mixed, transported, placed or
compacted.
3. Segregation makes the concrete weaker, less durable and will leave a poor
surface finish.
4. Concrete will segregate for the following reasons:
a) If the mix is very dry, the coarse aggregate tend to separate.
b) If the mix is very wet, the grout i.e. Cement and water tend to separate.
c) If specific gravity of coarse and fine aggregate differs segregation
increases.
d) Over vibration is prone to segregation.

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5. To avoid segregation:
a) Check the concrete is not 'too wet' or 'too dry'.
b) Make sure the concrete is properly mixed.
c) It is important that the concrete is mixed at the correct speed in a transit
mixer for at least two minutes immediately prior to discharge.
d) The concrete should be placed as soon as possible.
e) When transporting the mix, load carefully.
f) If placing concrete straight from a truck, pour vertically and never let the
concrete fall more than one-and-a-half metres.
g) Always pour new concrete into the face of concrete already in place.
h) When compacting with a poker vibrator, make sure to use it carefully.
i) Never spread concrete sideways with a poker vibrator as this may cause
segregation of the mix.
j) Always be sure to vibrate concrete evenly.

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2.1.2 BLEEDING IN CONCRETE
1. BLEEDING is a form of segregation where water rise to surface of
freshly placed concrete.
2. During compacting and until the cement-paste has harden it is
natural tendency for the solid particles to move downward and
displace water.
3. It is expressed as total settlement per unit weight of concrete and
cause plastic shrinkage cracking.
4. Bleeding can be reduced by finer cement, high alkali, high C3A and
addition of calcium chloride.
5. It can also be reduce for high temperature and with the use of
pozzolans, aluminum powder and air entraining agent.

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2.2 WET CONCRETE
2.2.1 DEFINITION OF WET CONCRETE:
 Is a mixture of water, cement, aggregate and admixture.
 The constituents materials should be uniformly distributed after mixing
within the concrete mass during handling and placing.
2.2.2 CONCRETE MIX IN WET CONCRETE:
 A CONCRETE MIX is designed to produce concrete that can be easily
placed at the lowest cost.
 The concrete must be workable and cohesive when plastic, then set and
harden to give strong and durable concrete.
 The mix design must consider the environment that the concrete will be
in; i.e. exposure to sea water, trucks, cars, forklifts, foot traffic or extremes
of hot and cold.

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2.2.3 WORKABILITY IN WET CONCRETE:
1) Workability means how easy it is to:
a) PLACE,
b) HANDLE,
c) COMPACT and
d) FINISH a concrete mix.
2) Concrete that is stiff or dry may be difficult to Handle, Place, Compact, and
Finish and, if not constructed properly, will not be as strong or durable
when finally hardened.
3) A SLUMP AND VEBE Test can be used to measure the workability of
concrete.
4) Workability is affected by:
a) THE AMOUNT OF CEMENT PASTE
 The cement paste is the soft or liquid part of the concrete mix. The
more paste mixed with the coarse and fine aggregates, the more
workable a mix.
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 b) THE AGGREGATE GRADING
 Well-graded, smooth, rounded aggregates improve the workability of a mix.
5) To make a more workable mix:
a) Add more CEMENT PASTE.
b) Use WELL GRADED aggregates.
c) Use an ADMIXTURE.
6) THE WATER TO CEMENT RATIO: Too much water and not enough cement means concrete will be
weaker and less durable. The water to cement ratio (W/C) is the weight of the water divided by the
weight of cement. The lower the ratio, the stronger concrete is.

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2.2.4 TEST ON WORKABILITY OF CONCRETE:
1) There are two main types of workability test:
a) SLUMP TEST.
b) VEBE TEST.

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2.3 HARDENED CONCRETE
2.3.1 CONCRETE STATES:
a) Have three (3) different states in concrete:
 Plastic (knowingly as wet concrete)
 Setting. (knowingly as
 Hardening hardened concrete)
b) Plastic State:
 When the concrete is first mixed it is like 'bread dough'.
 It is soft and can be worked or molded into different shapes.
 In this state concrete is called PLASTIC.
 Concrete is plastic during placing and compaction.
 The most important properties of plastic concrete are workability and
cohesiveness.
 A worker will sink into plastic concrete.

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