Proportioning Concrete

Mixtures
 The basic process of mix proportioning (MP)

• “Mix design” or “mixture proportioning” is

used to calculate the quantities of the
different constituents required to achieve
the properties that are specified for a
batch of concrete.
• The design properties are, normally, the
workability and the compressive strength.
• The slump test that measures workability,
and the compressive test for strength.
 The basic …
• Two methods of mix design are
commonly considered:-
1. the United States (Standard Practice
for Selecting Proportions for Normal,
Heavyweight, and Mass Concrete,
American Concrete Institute
Standard 211.1).
2. United Kingdom (Design of Normal
Concrete Mixes, Building Research
Establishment report BR331).
 The basic …
• MP is the process of arriving at the right
combination of cement, aggregates, water,
and admixtures for making concrete
according to given specifications.
– The process is considered an art rather than a
science
• Although many engineers do not feel
comfortable, with an understanding of the
underlying principles and, with some
practice, the art of MP mixtures can be
mastered.
 The basic …
• Given an opportunity, the
exercise of this art is very
rewarding.
• Because the effect of MP on
the cost of concrete and
several important properties of
both fresh and hardened
concrete can be clearly seen.
 Basic steps
• The basic steps of MP are as follows:
1. Establish the w/c ratio for the required strength.
2. The approximate relationship between strength and
w/c ratio is:
Water 1
µ
Cement Strength

3. Establish the total water content for the required

workability.
4. Divide the water content by the w/c ratio to
calculate the cement content.
5. The only remaining component is the aggregate. This
must fill the remaining volume.
 Specified concrete Constituent material properties,
Properties such as strength, e.g., Aggregate size and grading,
workability, durability cement type, admixtures

Initial estimate of mix

proportion
Mix design process

Laboratory trial mix

Compare measured & Adjust mix

specified properties proportion

Satisfactory Not Satisfactory

Adjust mix
Full-scale trial mix proportion

Satisfactory
Not Satisfactory
End
 Mix proportioning
• Concrete is a composite material that
consists essentially of a binding medium
within which are embedded particles or
fragments of aggregate.
• To obtain concrete with certain desired
performance characteristics the
following steps are essential:-
1. The selection of component materials
2. A process called MP, which means achieving
the right combination of components.
 Purpose of MP

• Conventionally, the 2 most essential requirements of

MP are the workability of fresh concrete and the
strength of hardened concrete at a specified age.
• Durability is another important property, but it is
generally assumed that under normal exposure
conditions durability will be satisfactory if the
concrete mixture develops the necessary strength.
• Another purpose of mix proportioning is to obtain a
concrete mixture satisfying the performance
requirements at the lowest possible cost.
 Purpose …
• The overall objective of MP can therefore be
summarized as selecting the suitable ingredients
among the available materials and determining the
most economical combination that will produce
concrete with certain minimum performance
characteristics.
• The tools available to the engineer to achieve this
objective are limited.
• An obvious constraint in concrete mixture
proportioning is that within a fixed volume you cannot
alter one component independent of others.
– For example, in a m3 of concrete, if the aggregate
component is increased, the cement paste component
decreases.
 Purpose …
• With concrete-making materials of given characteristics
and with given job conditions (i.e., structural design, and
equipment for handling concrete), the variables
generally under the control of a mix designer are as
follows:
– The cement paste-aggregate ratio in the mixture, the w/c
ratio in the cement paste, the sand-coarse aggregate (CA)
ratio in the aggregates, and the use of admixtures.
– The task of mixture proportioning is complicated by the fact
that certain desired properties of concrete may be oppositely
affected by changing a specific variable.
→ The process of mixture proportioning boils down to
the art of balancing various conflicting
requirements.
 Specifying for durability

• Basic MP works with a performance specification.

• Performance (i.e., the strength and workability)
is specified, and it is up to the concrete supplier
to design a mix to achieve it.
• The main problem with this is that, while
stronger concretes are often more durable,
simply depending on strength specifications to
achieve durability has resulted in numerous
structures failing to perform adequately during
their design life.
 Specifying ...

• This problem is addressed by bringing in an element of

method specification, by requiring a maximum w/c ratio,
or minimum cement content for a given type of exposure.
• These values would be substituted for the calculated
values during the MP process.
• Some clients also specify performance in tests for
durability, such as the “rapid chloride”.
• However, these requirements are met by testing trial
mixes, rather than any specific method of calculating a
mix design.
 Using water reducers and cement
replacements
• The key problem that the concrete mix design must
address is that adding water will increase the
workability, but decrease the strength.
• The only simple way to increase both the workability
and strength is to add more cement, and this increases
the cost.
• The solution to these conflicting requirements is to use
a plasticising admixture.
• Most concrete also contains cement replacements which
bring benefits of reduced cost, reduced environmental
impact, and often improved durability.
 Mix design in industry

• In practical applications, mix designs are almost

always developed by modifying existing designs to
overcome specific problems.
• It is, however, important to understand the
principles of the design process, in order to see the
effect of any adjustments to the material
proportions.
• For industrial use, it may be seen that the detailed
methods are well suited to calculation on
spreadsheets or similar programs.
 Traditional mixes
• Historically, many concrete structures
were built with 1:2:4 mixes (1 part
cement to 2 parts sand to 4 parts coarse
aggregate), and many of them survive
today in good condition.
• If the data is not available for a full mix
design, a 1:2:4 mix may work well for
minor works.
 Measurement of strength
• The strength results of concrete obtained by
testing will form a statistical distribution.
• To obtain the design strength, it is necessary
to calculate the margin, which is then added
to the characteristic strength (that comes
from the structural design) to form the
target mean strength (that is used in the
mix design).
 Approaches for concrete mix design

• The weight method and the absolute volume

method.
• In the weight method, the unit weight of fresh
concrete is known from previous experience for
the commonly used raw materials and is used to
calculate the weight of the last unknown
component of concrete, usually the sand.
• If the unit weight of fresh concrete (wet
concrete) is known, we have:

Wwet concrete  Wcement  Wwater  Waggregate  Wsand  Wadmixture

 Absolute volume method
• In the absolute volume method, the
total volume (1 m3) is equal to the sum
of volume of each ingredient given by:-

Wcement Wwater Waggregate Wsand Wadmixture

     volume(air )  1
 cement  water  aggregate  sand  admixture
Rough estimate Density of fresh concrete

   Ga 
U m  10Ga 100  A  Cm 1  
  Wm  Ga  1 kg m 3 
 Gc 
where Um is the weight of fresh concrete, kg/m3; Ga
is the weighted average bulk specific gravity (SSD) of
combined fine aggregate and coarse aggregate,
assuming reasonable weight proportions; Gc is the
specific gravity of cement; A is the air content, %;
Wm is the mixing water content, kg/m3; Cm is the
cement content, kg/m3.
 Mass of fine aggregate
• The volume method is an exact procedure for
calculating the required amount of fine
aggregate. Here, the mass of fine aggregate, Af is
given by:
  
C Ac
A f   f 1000  W  
 c

 10 A  kg / m 3 
  
where
Ac = CA content, kg/m3
f = bulk specific gravity (SSD) of fine aggregate
c = bulk specific gravity (SSD) of coarse aggregate
 Specific Principles
• When reviewing the following specific
principles for selecting concrete MP, it is
helpful to remember that the underlying
goal is to strike a reasonable balance
between the workability, strength,
durability, and cost of concrete.
• A key consideration governing many of the
principles behind the procedures for
proportioning concrete mixtures is the
recognition that; cement costs much more
than aggregates.
 Specific …
• Among all the constituents of the
concrete, the admixture has the
highest unit cost, followed by cement.
• When a material is available from two or
more sources and a significant price
differential exists, the least expensive
source of supply is usually selected
unless there are demonstrable technical
reasons that the material will not be
suitable for the job at hand.
 Example
• A concrete mixing plant has to supply C15 grade
mass concrete in large quantity to a dam project.
The mix proportions have been estimated as
1:1.91:4.46 (by mass). This concrete requires sand
and gravel (C.A) mixture of 30% and 70% by mass
respectively. The natural deposits at 5 pits near
the dam site are found to have different
compositions and their cost including
transportation to the site also varies as listed in
the table. The constituents found to satisfy the
specifications. Determine the quantities of deposit
to be obtained from each source in order to
minimize the cost per m3 of concrete.
Table:- Sand and Gravel mixture proportions

Mixture Composition, % Pit No.

Aggregate type
1 2 3 4 5
Sand 45 40 50 55 20
Gravel 55 60 50 45 80
Relative cost per 2.0 3.0 1.5 1.0 2.5
m3 of mix
 Solutions

Let xi be the fraction taken from pit i, the cost per

m3 of concrete can be expressed as:

Z  2.0 x1  3.0 x2  1.5 x3  1.0 x4  2.5 x5

The fractions xi should be of magnitudes such that ratio of
sand gravel in concrete should be 30 and 70% respectively:

0.45 x1  0.40 x2  0.50 x3  0.55 x4  0.20 x5  0.3

0.55 x1  0.60 x2  0.50 x3  0.45 x4  0.80 x5  0.7
 Solutions

The Mathematical optimization problem of the

system can be stated as:
Minimize
Z  2.0 x1  3.0 x2  1.5 x3  1.0 x4  2.5 x5

Subject to:

0.45 x1  0.40 x2  0.50 x3  0.55 x4  0.20 x5  0.3

0.55 x1  0.60 x2  0.50 x3  0.45 x4  0.80 x5  0.7
 Solutions
This linear programming problem can be solved
easily by SIMPLEX Method.

The value of fractions obtained by this method are:

X1 = 0.0, x2 = 0.0, x3 = 0.0, x4 = 2/7, x5 = 5/7

Thus the deposits from Pits 4 and 5 when

mixed in the ratio 2:5 will result in a most
economical concrete satisfying all the
stipulations. Any deviation from these value
will result in an increase in the cost of the
material.
 Strength
• From the standpoint of structural safety, the
strength of concrete specified by the designer
is treated as the minimum required strength.
• Therefore, to account for variations in
materials; methods of mixing, transportation,
and placement of concrete; and curing and
testing of concrete specimens, ACI Building
Code 318 requires a certain degree of strength
overdesign, which is based on statistical
considerations.
 Strength
• Depending on the variability of test
results, the MPs selected must yield a
mean or average strength higher than the
minimum or the specified strength.
• It should be noted that the average
strength, not the specified strength, is
used in mixture design calculations.
• Although other factors also influence
strength, it is assumed that strength is
solely dependent on the w/c and the
content of entrained air in concrete.
 Selection of design strength
• The MPs process will deal with a target
average strength. The average
strength selected must take into
account:
1. The degree of variability anticipated.
2. The degree of certainty of avoiding
rejection required.
3. Any early age strength requirement.
4. The required durability.
 Target mean strength
• Characteristic strength (fck) is a
lower limit of strength to be used in
structural design.
• As with all materials, concrete has
an inherent variability of strength,
and an average cube compressive
strength (or target mean strength)
somewhat above the fck is therefore
required.
X = fck + kS
where
X =required average strength
fck =Specified strength
S =s tan dard deviation
 Variability
• Knowledge of the S is required to
determine the target strength.
– which is a measure of the spread of results
assuming concrete strength to be a normally
distributed variable.
• For an existing concrete production facility
S is known from previous tests.
• Where limited or no data are available,
the upper values given in the Figure which
has been derived from analysis of the data
from many production facilities can be used.
 Variability

• Values of S can range from less

than 2.0 MPa to more than 6.0
MPa so that the required target
average strength can vary by 6
MPa or more according to the
degree of control achieved.
The normal distribution
 k value
• k = a constant depending on the proportion of
results permitted to be below fck.
– It is also called Himsworth constant.
• X-fck is called the margin; a 5% failure rate is
normally chosen for concrete.
• In the USA the ‘permissible percentage
defective’ is usually 10% giving a k value of 1.28.
• In most of the rest of the world the %age is 5%
giving a k value of 1.645 (which in the UK is
rounded to 1.64 and in Australia to 1.65).
 Durability
• when concrete is subject to normal
conditions of exposure, the MP
procedures ignore durability because
strength is considered to be an index of
general durability.
• However, under conditions that may
tend to shorten the service life of
concrete, its durability may be
enhanced by special considerations in
MP.
 Durability
• For example, entrained air is required with
all exposed concrete in climates where
freezing and thawing cycles occur.
• Concrete exposed to chemical attack by
deicing salts or acidic or sulfate waters may
require the use of water-reducing and mineral
admixtures.
• In such a situation, although a higher w/c
ratio would have satisfied the strength
requirement, a lower w/c ratio is usually
specified considering the exposure conditions.
 Procedures
• Mathematical approaches to determine
the correct proportion of component
materials of a concrete mixture meeting
a given set of specifications generally
do not work because the materials vary
widely in their characteristics  large
number of empirical methods based on
extensive test data developed from
local materials.
 Procedures
• The method recommended by ACI
Committee 211, is popular in the USA and
many other countries in the world.
• To the extent possible, the following
background data should be gathered
before starting the calculations:-
1. Sieve analysis of fine and coarse aggregate;
fineness modulus.
2. Dry-rodded unit weight of coarse aggregate.
3. Bulk specific gravity of materials.
 Procedures
4. Absorption capacity or free moisture in the
aggregate
5. Variations in the approximate mixing water
requirement with slump, air content, and
grading of the available aggregates
6. Relationship between strength and w/c for
available combinations of cement and aggregate
7. Job specifications if any [e.g., maximum w/c
ratio, minimum air content, minimum slump,
MAS, and strength at early ages (normally, 28-
day strength is specified)].
 Steps in ACI 211 method
• Step 1: Choice of slump
• Step 2: Choice of Nominal MAS
• Step 3: Estimation of the mixing water content
and air content
• Step 4: Selection of w/c ratio
• Step 5: Calculation of the cement content
• Step 6: Estimation of coarse aggregate content
• Step 7: Estimation of the fine aggregate content
• Step 8: Adjustments for the aggregate moisture
• Step 9: Trial batch adjustments
Flow chart for
selection and
documentation
of concrete
proportions
 STEP 1. CHOICE OF SLUMP
• The workability is selected to suit the
application.
• Table 21.3 gives guidance for suitable values.
 STEP 2. CHOICE OF NOMINAL MAS
• The MAS will also depend on the
application.
• Most ready-mixed concrete has a
maximum aggregate size of 20 mm, and
sizes above 40 mm are rarely used,
except in large pours for very
specialized applications.
STEP 3. ESTIMATION OF WATER CONTENT
• Table 21.4 gives the water contents in
kg/m3 required to achieve the necessary
slump.
• It also gives the amount of entrapped
air expected in the mix.
• This is not entrained air for freeze–
thaw resistance, it is air that has not
been removed by the normal amount of
compaction (vibration) used on site.
 STEP 4. SELECTION OF W/C RATIO
• The w/c ratio is selected using the
target mean strength in Table 21.5.
• STEP 5. CALCULATION OF CEMENT CONTENT
• This is calculated as the water content divided by
the w/c ratio.
• STEP 6. ESTIMATION OF CA CONTENT
• Table 21.6 gives the volume of dry-rodded
coarse aggregate per unit volume of
concrete.
• The mass of CA per m3 is obtained by
multiplying this by the dry-rodded bulk
density of the CA, in kg/m3.
– This would be obtained by compacting (dry
rodding) a sample of CA into a container of
known volume, and measuring its mass.
 STEP 7. ESTIMATION OF FINE AGGREGATE CONTENT

• There are two options for this.

• Estimation by mass or volume
– Mass basis: Table 21.7 is used to estimate the
density of the concrete.
– The density is the total mass of 1 m3. The mass of the
cement, water, and CA is subtracted from it to give
the mass of fine aggregate.
– Absolute volume basis: Since the quantities of all the
other mix components are known, the fine aggregate
volume is obtained by subtraction.
– For each material, the volume is the mass divided by
the absolute density.
• The mass of cement from step 5, in
kg/m3, is divided by the absolute
density, also in kg/m3 (normally taken as
3150 kg/m3 = 3.15 kg/L) to give the
volume in m3 per m3 of concrete.
• The CA quantity from step 6 is similarly
divided by the absolute density.
• The water mass from step 3 is divided
by the density of water which is 1000
kg/m3.
• The volume of entrapped air from
Table 21.4 is expressed as a %age,
so it must be divided by 100 to give
a fraction of the 1 m3 total volume.
• The total volume is 1 m3, so all of
these volumes are subtracted from
1 to give the volume of fine
aggregate.
• This is then multiplied by the
absolute density to give the mass.
Mix proportions and material properties for the range
of RCC concretes used at the Willow Creek Dam are
shown in the Table