MIX DESIGN PROCEDURES

In concrete proportioning by the method of trial mixtures, certain design objectives must be
established beforehand. These are as follows:
1. Required 28-day compressive strength, f ′c or some other strength parameter such as the modulus
of rupture.
2. Portland cement content based upon water/cement (w/c) ratio and under certain conditions the
minimum specified cement content.
3. Maximum allowable water/cement ratio.
4. Maximum size of the large aggregates.
5. Acceptable range of slumps and the percent of air for an air-entrained concrete.

Certain physical properties of the materials need to be determined in the laboratory before
designing the mixtures. These are as follows:
1. Apparent specific gravity of the portland cement.
2. Bulk specific gravities and percent of moisture present in the saturated surface dry (SSD)
condition for both the coarse and fine aggregates.
3. Rodded unit weight of the coarse aggregates.
4. Fineness modulus of the fine aggregates.
5. Free moisture present in both the coarse and the fine aggregates

With regards to Table 5 (Volume of Coarse Aggregate per Unit Volume of Concrete), a
modification is sometimes used. In structures, where there is less demand for workability, such as
in concrete flatwork (pavements being a prime example), the quantity of coarse aggregates may be
increased by about 10%. Conversely, when more workability is required such as in a pumpcrete,
the quantity of coarse aggregates is generally decreased by a similar amount. This factor will be
used in the illustrative example for concrete mix design.

The approximate corresponding compressive strength for a given flexural strength can be
derived from the following equations:

MR stands for modulus of rupture, which is the flexural strength based upon ASTM
Designation: C 78. The higher K-values are applicable for the stronger the concretes. These
equations will be used in the illustrative examples, with K = 0.8 and 10.
 The water estimates in the above table are for angular crushed stone. The quantities may be
reduced by about 10 kg for subangular coarse aggregates, 20 kg for gravel with some crushed
particles, and 25 kg for rounded gravel to produce the slumps shown. A change in water content by
2 kg/m3 will affect the slump by about 10 mm. Of course, an increase in water will raise the slump
and conversely a decrease in air content by 1% will increase water demand for the same slump by
about 3 kg/m3.

THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF MEASUREMENTS

Illustrative Problem for Concrete Mix Design by the Absolute Volume Method
Design Parameters — Design the concrete for an unreinforced, air entrained pavement in a very
cold climate; there is no statistical data available for the proposed mix design; 25 cm thick;
specified 28-day concrete flexural strength of 4.7 MPa; the coarse aggregates have a bulk specific
gravity of 2.70; a rodded density of 1650 kg/m3 at the saturated surface dry (SSD) condition, and a
moisture content of 1.5% above the SSD condition; the fine aggregates have a bulk specific gravity
of 2.65 with a fineness modulus of 2.75 and a moisture of 5% above the (SSD) condition. The
apparent specific gravity of the portland cement = 3.15.