Concrete Mix Design (Presentation to be used with lecture notes)

Mix design can be defined as the process of selecting suitable ingredients of concrete and determining
their relative quantities with the object of producing, as economically as possible, concrete of certain
minimum properties - notably consistence, strength and durability.

Factors in the choice of mix proportions:

• 28 day compressive strength – will determine the nominal water:cement ratio.

• Durability – will determine water:cement ratio and cement content.

• Consistence – will determine water:cement ratio and proportion of fine aggregate.

• Maximum aggregate size - will be determined by the width of the section and the spacing of rebar.

• Aggregate grading, surface texture and shape – will influence the water requirement.
The actual 28 day compressive strength of concrete produced is a variable quantity.

We must therefore aim to produce concrete with a mean strength which is higher than the minimum
specified strength. The modern approach is to specify the characteristic strength of concrete, which is
defined as the strength exceeded by 95% of test specimens.

Target mean strength (fm) = Characteristic strength (fc) + k . s

where (k) is a factor which takes account of the percentage of failures permitted below the stated
characteristic strength. The product k.s is referred to as the margin.
The variability of concrete strength is represented by its standard deviation (s) which is determined from
analysis of cube test results. If, due to say poor quality control, the concrete strength is more variable, an extra
margin will need to be built into the design to compensate.

Where concrete production is being started for the first time, or a new mix is to be used, s will not be known
since no cube results will be available. Here an s value must be assumed and this will be taken to be relatively
high.
Determine the free water/cement ratio
Determine the water content and the cement content.
Example 1
Determine the batch quantities for 1m3 of concrete which is to have a slump of 10 to 30mm and characteristic
28 day compressive cube strength of 30N/mm2. 5% failures are permitted. No previous results are available.
 
For durability, the maximum free w/c ratio allowed is 0.55 and minimum cement content is 290kg/m 3.
 
Cement: Portland cement CEM II 42.5N
Sand /Fine agg.: Crushed; relative density 2.7; 70% passes the 600m sieve;
Coarse agg.: Crushed; relative density 2.7; max size 20mm;
 
Use the standard BRE design charts provided.

Solution
Specified 28 day characteristic cube strength = 30N/mm2

Target mean strength = 30 + k . s

5% defectives are permitted so k =1.64. No previous cube results are available so s = 8 N/mm2

Target mean strength = 30 + 1.64 x 8 = 43 N/mm2

From Table 2, for cement class 42.5N and crushed
aggregate, the expected 28 day strength if we use a w:c
ratio of 0.5 is 49N/mm2.

Starting on Fig 4 on the vertical line which represents

a w:c of 0.5 draw a new curve for a value of
49N/mm2.

Our target mean strength is only 43 N/mm2 so we can

use a larger w:c ratio.

Draw a line in from the left axis for 43 until you

intersect your curve and drop vertically down to get a
w:c ratio of 0.55 (which in this case is max allowed).
From Table 3, for a slump of 10 to 30mm, using
20mm max size of crushed aggregate, a free water
content of 190 kg/m3 is required.

Water to cement ratio = Water content / Cement content

Therefore: Cement content = Water content / w:c ratio = 190 / 0.55 = 345 kg/m3

Check that this is greater than the minimum required for durability.