BSR 552

CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY I

CONCRETE PRODUCTION
DATE: 17/11/2021
 OUTLINE
1. What is Concrete
2. Composition of Concrete
3. Concrete Production
4. Properties of Concrete
5. Types of Concrete
6. Concrete Testing
7. Concrete Recycling
WHAT IS CONCRETE
• Concrete is one of the most commonly
used building materials

• Concrete is COMPOSITE MATERIAL made

from several readily available constituents
(aggregates, sand, cement, & water)

• Concrete is a versatile material that can be

easily mixed to meet a variety of special
needs and formed to virtually any shape
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
• Ability to be casted- can be shaped
• Durable- long lasting
• Fire resistant- non combustible
• Energy Efficient- high thermal mass
• Economic- Readily available, inexpensive
• On site fabrication
• Low tensile strength- weak in tension
• Low ductility- deflection error
• Volume instability- shrinkage and creep
(temperature / relative humidity)
• Low strength to weight ratio- improper
ratio
COMPOSITION OF CONCRETE

• Water
• Cement
• Chemical Admixtures
• Aggregates (fine , coarse)
• Sand
AGGREGATE

• Aggregate occupy 60-80

percent of the volume concrete
• Sand, gravel and crushed stone
are the primary aggregates
used
• All aggregate must be
essentially free of silt and
organic matter
AGGREGATE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
• Toughness and abrasion resistance.
Aggregates should be hard and tough enough to resist
crushing, degradation and disintegration from activities
such as manufacturing, placing and compaction.
• Durability and soundness.
Aggregates must be resistant to breakdown and
disintegration from weathering (wetting/drying) or else
they may break apart and cause premature pavement
distress.
AGGREGATE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
• Particle shape and surface texture.
Generally, cubic angular-shaped particles with a rough
surface texture are best.
• Specific gravity.
Aggregate specific gravity is useful in making weight-
volume conversions and in calculating the void content
in compacted Hot Mixed Asphalt
• Cleanliness and deleterious materials.
Vegetation, soft particles, clay lumps, excess dust and
vegetable matter may affect performance by quickly
degrading, which causes a loss of structural support
and/or prevents binder-aggregate bonding
CHEMICAL ADMIXTURES
• Materials in the form of powder or fluids
that are added to the concrete to give it
certain characteristics not obtainable with
plain concrete mixes.

• In normal use, admixture dosages

are less than 5% by mass of cement,
and are added to the concrete at the
time of batching/mixing.
CHEMICAL ADMIXTURES
• Accelerators
- Speed up the hydration (hardening) of the concrete.
- Typical materials used are (Calcium Chloride) CaCl2 and (Sodium Chloride)
NaCl.
• Acrylic retarders
- Slow the hydration of concrete, and are used in large area
-Typical retarder is table sugar, or sucrose (C12H22O11).
• Air Entraining Agents
-Produce microscopic air bubbles throughout the concrete which can improves
the durability of concrete exposed to moisture. Increase resistance towards
freezing & thawing.
-Mostly used for agriculture purposes
• Water –reducing admixtures
-Increase the workability of plastic or fresh concrete, allowing it be placed more
easily . The purpose of this admixture also are to increase the workability,
reduce water content and improves strength
REINFORCEMENT
• Strong in compression, as the aggregate
efficiently carries the compression load.
• Weak in tension as the cement
holding the aggregate in place can
crack, allowing the structure to fail.
• Reinforced concrete solves these
problems by adding either metal
reinforcing bars, steel fibers, glass fiber, or
plastic fiber to carry tensile loads.
CEMENT
• The common material to produce cement is
lime stone, silica, alumina
• Crystalline compound of calcium silicates and
other calcium compounds having hydraulic
properties.
• Considered hydraulic because of their ability
to set and harden under or with excess water
through the hydration of the cement’s
chemical compounds or minerals
CEMENT
HYDRAULIC CEMENTS:

• Hydraulic lime: Only used in specialized mortars. Made from calcination of clay-rich limestones.
• Natural cements: It is made from argillaceous limestones or interbedded limestone and clay or
shale, with few raw materials. Because they were found to be inferior to Portland.
• Portland cement: Artificial cement. Made by the mixing clinker with gypsum in a 95:5 ratio.
• Portland-limestone cements: Large amounts (6% to 35%) of ground limestone have been
added as a filler to a portland cement base.
• Blended cements: Mix of portland cement with one or more SCM (supplementary cemetitious
materials) like pozzolanic additives.
• Pozzolan-lime cements: Only a small quantity is manufactured in the U.S. Mix of pozzolans
with lime.
TYPE OF CEMENT
• Masonry cements: Portland cement where other materials have been added primarily to
impart plasticity.
• Aluminous cements: Limestones and bauxite are the main raw materials. Used for
refractory applications (such as cementing furnace bricks) and certain applications where
rapid hardening is required. It is more expensive than Portland cement. There is only one
producing facility in the U.S.
PORTLAND CEMENT
• Most active component of concrete
• Its selection and proper use are important in obtaining most economically the
balance of properties desired for any particular concrete mixture.
• The production process for portland cement first involves grinding limestone
or chalk and alumina and silica from shale or clay.
• Type I/II portland cements are the most popular cements used by concrete
producers
Type I cement is the general purpose cement and most common type. Unless
an alternative is specified, Type I is usually used.
Type II cement releases less heat during hardening. It is more suitable for
projects involving large masses of concrete--heavy retaining walls
PORTLAND CEMENT

Physical Properties
1) Fineness,
2) Soundness
3) Consistency
4) Setting time
5) Compressive strength
6) Heat of hydration
7) Loss of ignition
MIXING, PLACING, FINISHING AND CURING OF CONCRETE
Mixing: Involves weighing out all the ingredients for a batch of concrete and
mixing them together - A six-bag batch contains six bags of cement per batch
- Hand-mixing (tools used) - Mixing with stationary or paving mixer - Mixing
with truck mixers - Rated capacities of mixers vary from 2cu.ft. to 7cu.yd.
Pumping and placing: Concrete is conveyed to the construction site in wheel
barrows, carts, belt conveyors, cranes or chutes or pumped (high-rise
building) - Pumps have capacities to pump concrete up to 1400 feet and at
170 cu.yds. per hour - Concrete should be placed as near as possible to its
final position - Placed in horizontal layers of uniform thickness (6” to 20”) and
consolidated before placing the next layer
Finishing: The concrete must be leveled and surface made smooth/flat -
Smooth finish; Float/trowel finish; Broom finish; Exposed aggregate finish
CONCRETE PRODUCTION
• A properly proportioned concrete mix will provide

Mixing concrete
Workability
Curing
GOOD CONCRETE PRODUCTION
• Essential for

1) The production of uniform

concrete
2) High quality of concrete

• Thus equipment and methods

should be capable of
effectively mixing
WORKABILITY
• Is the ease with which fresh concrete can be mixed,
transported, placed and compacted in the moulds or forms.
A concrete mix satisfying these conditions is said to
be workable
Factors Affecting Workability
• Method and duration of transportation
• Quantity and characteristics of cementing materials
• Aggregate grading, shape and surface texture
• Quantity and characteristics of chemical admixtures
• Amount of water
• Amount of entrained air
• Concrete & ambient air temperature
CONSISTENCY
• Is the fluidity or degree of wetness of concrete that generally
dependent on the shear resistance of mass. It is a major factor
in indicating the workability of freshly mixed concrete

Test Methods Measuring Consistency

• Flow test- measures the amount of flow
• Kelly Ball test- measures the amount penetration
• Slump test- measure consistency
The slump cone is filled in 3 layers. Every
layer is evenly rodded 25 times.

Measure the slump by determining

the vertical difference between the
top of the mold and the displaced
original center of the top surface of
the specimen.
CURING OF CONCRETE
• Curing of concrete is providing
adequate moisture, temperature, and
time to allow the concrete to achieve
the desired properties for its
intended use
• The primary objective of curing is to
keep concrete saturated or as nearly
saturated as possible
• Hydration reactions can take place in
only saturated water filled capillaries.
CURING OF CONCRETE
• Concrete that has been specified, batched, mixed, placed, and finished
"letter-perfect" can still be a failure if improperly or inadequately cured.
• Usually the last step in a concrete project and, unfortunately, is often
neglected even by professionals.
• Curing has a major influence on the properties of hardened concrete
such as durability, strength, water-tightness, wear resistance, volume
stability, and resistance to freezing and thawing.
• Proper concrete curing for agricultural and residential applications
involves keeping newly placed concrete moist and avoiding
temperature extremes (above 90°F or below 50°F) for at least three
days. A seven-day (or longer) curing time is recommended.
CURING OF CONCRETE
• The best curing method depends on:
• Cost,
• Application equipment required,
• Materials available,
• Size and shape of the concrete surface.
• Prevent the loss of the mixing water from concrete by sealing the
surface which can be done by:
• Covering the concrete with impervious paper or plastic sheets,
• Applying membrane-forming curing compounds.
CURING OF CONCRETE
CURING OF CONCRETE
1. Methods which supply additional water to the
surface of concrete during early hardening stages.
– Using wet covers, sprinkling, ponding
2. Methods that prevent loss of moisture from concrete by
sealing the surface.
– Water proof plastics, use liquid membrane-forming
compounds, forms left in place
3. Methods that accelerate strength gain by supplying heat
& moisture to the concrete.
– By using live steam (steam curing), Heating coils.
PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
•Strength
•Elasticity
•Cracking
•Shrinkage Cracking
•Tension Cracking
STRENGTH
• High compressive strength but low in tensile strength
• Fair to assume that a concrete sample's tensile strength is about 10%-15%
of its compressive strength
• The ultimate strength of concrete is influenced by
- Water-cementitious ratio
- The design constituents
- The mixing
- Placement
- Curing methods
ELASTICITY
• The elasticity of concrete is relatively constant at low stress levels but starts
decreasing at higher stress levels as matrix cracking develops

Concrete Defects

Shrinkage Scalling Popouts Dusting

CRACKING
• All concrete structures will crack to some extent
• Crack due to tensile stress induced by shrinkage or stresses occur during
setting or use

Shrinkage Cracking
-Occur when concrete members undergo restrained volumetric changes
(shrinkage) as a result of either drying autogenous shrinkage or thermal effects
Tension Cracking
-Most common in concrete beams where a transversely applied load will put
one surface into compression and the opposite surface into tension due to
induced bending
SEGREGRATION
• Segregation refers to a separation of the
components of fresh concrete, resulting in non
uniform mix. The primary causes is improper mixing,
placing and consolidation that lead to segregation.

BLEEDING
• Bleeding is the tendency of water to rise to the
surface of freshly placed concrete. This situation
happens is due to much water in the concrete
mixture.
PROPERTIES OF FRESH & HARDENED CONCRETE
• Fresh Concrete
Concrete should be such that it can be transported, placed, compacted and
finished without harmful segregation - The mix should maintain its uniformity
and not bleed excessively; these two are collectively called as workability -
Bleeding is movement and appearance of water at the surface of freshly-placed
concrete, due to settlement of heavier particles
• Hardened Concrete
The principal properties of hardened concrete which can be taken into account
1. Strength
2. Permeability & durability
3. Shrinkage & creep deformations
4. Response to temperature variations
5. Compressive strength
STRENGTH OF CONCRETE
The strength of a concrete specimen prepared, cured and tested under specified
conditions at a given age depends on:
1. w/c ratio
2. Degree of compaction
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
• Compressive Strength is determined by loading properly
prepared and cured cubic, cylindrical or prismatic
specimens under compression.
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
TENSILE STRENGTH
• Tensile Strength can be obtained either by direct methods or indirect methods

Direct Methods
Direct methods suffer from a number of difficulties related to holding the specimen
properly in the testing machine without introducing stress concentration and to the
application of load without eccentricity.

Indirect Methods
Due to applied compression load a fairly uniform tensile stress is induced over nearly
2/3 of the diameter of the cylinder perpendicular to the direction of load application.
TENSILE STRENGTH
FLEXURAL STRENGTH
• The flexural tensile strength at failure or the modulus of rupture is determined
by loading a prismatic concrete beam specimen.
• The results obtained are useful because concrete is subjected to flexural loads
more often than it is subjected to tensile loads.
PERMEABILITY OF CONCRETE
• The permeability of concrete is controlled by capillary pores. The permeability
depends mostly on w/c, age, degree of hydration.
• In general the higher the strength of cement paste, the higher is the durability
& the lower is the permeability.

WHY IMPORTANT?
-In R/C ingress of moisture of air into concrete causes corrosion of reinforcement
and results in the volume expansion of steel bars, consequently causing cracks &
spalling of concrete cover. It also affect the durability of concrete
-In some structural members permeability itself is of importance, such as, dams,
water retaining tanks.
DURABILITY OF CONCRETE
• A durable concrete is the one which will withstand in a satisfactory degree, the
effects of service conditions to which it will be subjected.
Factors Affecting Durability:
External → Environmental
Internal → Permeability, Characteristics of ingredients, etc
MIXING OF CONCRETE
• Ready Mix concrete: In this type ingredients are introduced into mixer truck
and mixed during transportation to the site
Wet- Water added before transportation
Dry- Water added at site

• Mixing at the site

Hand Mixed or Mixer mixed

Mixing time should be sufficient:

Undermixing- non homogeneity
Overmixing- danger of water loss, breakage of aggregate particles
VIBRATION OF CONCRETE
• The process of compacting concrete consists essentially of
the elimination of entrapped air. This can be achieved by:
– Tamping or rodding the concrete
– Use of vibrators

• Internal vibrator: The poker is immersed into concrete to

compact it. The poker is easily removed from point to
point.
• External vibrators: External vibrators clamp direct to the
formwork requiring strong, rigid forms
INTERNAL VIBRATOR
Vibrator

1½ R
INTERNAL VIBRATOR
CORRECT
Vertical penetration a few inches
into previous lift (which should not
yet be rigid) of systematic regular
intervals will give adequate
consolidation
INCORRECT
Haphazard random penetration of
the vibrator at all angles and
spacings without sufficient depth
will not assure intimate combination
of the two layers
EXTERNAL VIBRATOR
• External vibrators are rigidly clamped to the formwork so that both the form &
concrete are subjected to vibration.
• A considerable amount of work is needed to vibrate forms.
• Forms must be strong and tied enough to prevent distortion and leakage of the
grout.
• Form vibrators
• Vibrating tables (Lab)
• Surface vibrators
– Vibratory screeds
– Plate vibrators
– Vibratory roller screeds
– Vibratory hand floats or trowels
CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

Concrete mix design is the process of finding

right proportions of cement, sand and
aggregates for concrete to achieve target
strength in structures.
The benefit including find the right
proportion and achieving the right standard
makes the concrete more economical.
CONCRETE REINFORCING
• Reinforcing steel in concrete can increase tensile strength
◼ Sizes
Eleven Standard Diameters
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18
Number refers to 1/8ths of an inch

◼ Grades
40, 50, 60
Steel Yield Strength
(in thousands of psi)
CONCRETE REINFORCING
WELDED WIRE FABRIC
◼ Type of Reinforcing
◼ Grid of “wires” spaced 2-12 inches apart
◼ Specified by wire gauge and spacing
◼ Typical Use - Horizontal Surfaces
◼ Comes in Mats or Rolls
◼ Advantage - Labor Savings
PRESTRESSING POST-TENSIONING
CASTING A CONCRETE WALL
◼ Install Form Ties
– “Small diameter metal rods which hold the
forms together (generally remain in the wall)
ELEVATED FRAMING SYSTEM
◼ One-Way System
– Spans across parallel lines
of support furnished by
walls and/or beams

◼ Two-Way System
– Spans supports running in
both directions
TWO WAY WAFFLE SLAB
CONCRETE RECYCLING

• Increasingly common method of disposing of concrete structures

• Recycling is increasing due to
-improved environmental awareness
- governmental laws
-economic benefits
• Recycling concrete provides
-environmental benefits
-conserving landfill space