Concrete Man made stone

constituents
 mixture of  paste
 water

aggregate and paste 30 to 40%

7% to 15% by Vol. 14% to 21% by Vol.

 portland cement

 Aggregates 60%
 Fine

to 70%

 coarse aggregates

aggregates

 Admixtures

Portland Cement
powder of very fine particles  forms a paste when mixed with water  chemical reaction-Hydration  glue  paste coats all the aggregates together  hardens and forms a solid mass
 Dry

Water


needed for two purposes:

 

chemical reaction with cement workability

   

only 1/3 of the water is needed for chemical reaction extra water remains in pores and holes results in porosity Good for preventing plastic shrinkage cracking and workability Bad for permeability, strength, durability.

Aggregates
 cheap

fillers  hard material  provide for volume stability  reduce volume changes  provide abrasion resistance

Admixtures
 chemical
 set

retarders  set accelerators  water reducing  air entraining

 mineral
 fly

ash  silica fume  slags

Properties of fresh concrete

 Workability
 ease of

placement  resistance to segregation  homogeneous mass

 Consistency
 ability to

flow

Slump Test
 Inverted cone  fill

it up with three layers of equal volume  rod each layer 25 times  scrape off the surface
8

12

Slump Test
slump cone rod

concrete

Slump test
Ruler Slump

Slump test results

 stiff
 use

0-2
reinforcement vibration

 massive sections, little

 medium  Fluid

2-5 5-7

 columns, beams, retaining walls

 heavily reinforced section, flowable concrete

Factors affecting slump

 water
 w/c

cement ratio
= weight of water / weight of cement
292 lbs. 685 lbs./cu. yard

example: weight of water mixed at the plant weight of cement w/c = 292/685 = 0.43

water cement ratio

if you add 10 gallons of water per cubic yard at job site, then: extra water 10 gallons/cubic yard * (3.8 liters/gallon) * (2.2 lbs./kg) *( 1kg/liter) = 83.77 lbs. total water 282 + 83.77 = 365.77 new w/c = 365.77 / 685 = 0.534 >> 0.43

Factors affecting slumpslumppaste content

 constant

water cement ratio

content

 increase paste
 increase

slump  NO GOOD
 constant


cement content

increase water content

 increase

slump  NO GOOD

Factors Affecting SlumpSlumpWater Content

 Add

water at the constant cement content, w/c increases, slump increases.  Add water at a constant water cement ratio, have to increase cement as well, slump increases.

Factors affecting slump-paste slumpcontent

Low paste content Harsh mix

High paste content Rich mix

ball bearing effect-start effectstarting height

ball bearing effect-end effectslump

Admixtures
 set

retarding admixtures  set accelerating admixtures  water reducing admixtures  superplasticizers  air entraining admixtures

Factors affecting slump

 Aggregates
 grading the

larger the particle size, the higher the slump for a given paste content

effect of aggregate size

1 1 Consider a single aggregate the size of 1x1x1

Compute the surface area as you break up the particles

block surface area = 1*1*6= 6

block surface area = 0.5*0.5*6=1.5

volume = 1 cubic in surface area = 6 square inches volume = 1 cubic in surface area = 1.5*8= 12 square inches

Break it up further

Compute the surface area

surface area = 0.25*0.25*6*8*8=24

0.5 in

0.25 in

Larger particles, less surface area, thicker coating, easy sliding of particles

Smaller particles, more surface area, thinner coating, interlocking of particles

Effect of aggregate size

size 1" .5" 0.25 0.125 # of particles 1 8 64 512 volume 1 cubic inch 1 cubic inch 1 cubic inch 1 cubic inch surface area 6 square inches 12 square inches 24 square inches 48 square inches

Angularity and surface texture of aggregates

angular and rough aggregate

smooth aggregate river gravel

Temperature

fresh concrete aggregates paste

Bleeding

Water accumulation on surface

Examine the concrete surface

Interaction between bleeding and evaporation

Evaporation surface water Bleed water

Bleed water = evaporation

Too much evaporation leads to surface cracking

Evaporation no surface water drying

Bleed water < Evaporation

Side diagram of surface contraction

Wants to shrink

Does not want to shrink

Free Shrinkage, causes volume change, but no stresses

before shrinkage

After Shrinkage

Restrained Shrinkage- creates Shrinkagestresses, which may cause cracking

Restrained shrinkage cracking

Parallel cracking perpendicular to the direction of shrinkage

Bleeding and its control

 Creates

problems:

 causes
 lack of

 poor pumpability  delays in

finishing  high w/c at the top  poor bond between two layers

fines  too much water content

 Remedies
 more

fines  adjust grading  entrained air  reduce water content

Causes of Plastic Shrinkage Cracking

 water

evaporates faster than it can reach the top surface  drying while plastic  cracking

Plastic Shrinkage CrackingCrackingRemedies

 Control

the wind velocity  reduce the concretes temperature

 use

ice as mixing water

 increase

the humidity at the surface

 fogging  cover w/polyethylene  curing compound

 Fiber

reinforcement

Curing
time needed for the chemical reaction of portland cement with water.  Glue is being made.  concrete after 14 days of curing has completed only 40% of its potential.  70 % at 28 days.
 The

Curing tips
 ample water  do

not let it dry  dry concrete = dead concrete, all reactions stop  can not revitalize concrete after it dries  keep temperature at a moderate level  concrete with flyash requires longer curing

Temperature effects on curing

temperature the faster the curing  best temperature is room temperature  strongest concrete is made at temperature around 40 F.(not practical)  If concrete freezes during the first 24 hrs., it may never be able to attain its original properties.
 The higher the

Temperature effects on curing

 real

high temperatures above 120 F can cause serious damage since cement may set too fast.  accelerated curing procedures produce strong concrete, but durability might suffer.  autoclave curing.