An Introduction to Concrete

Technology

Topics Covered
Constituents of concrete

Properties of good concrete

Strength

Workability
Durability

Grading of Concrete, Acceptance Criteria

Mix Design
Stress Strain response of concrete

What is Concrete?
Concrete is a mixture of cement, water, aggregate (fine
and coarse) and admixtures.
When reinforcing steel is placed in the forms and fresh
concrete is placed around it, the solidified mass is called
reinforced concrete.
Since concrete is a composite, the properties of concrete
depend on the properties and relative proportions of its
constituents.
The properties of concrete also depend on the
temperature and humidity at which it is placed and
cured

Constituents
Each constitutent of concrete has an important
contribution to the overall properties of the composite.
None of the constituents can be wholly replaced by the
other.
For instance, could we use a combination of cement and
water alone as a building material and not use any
aggregate? The answer is most surely NO.
The reason why this is not desirable is not just because
of economics (cement is much more expensive than
aggregate)

Constituents
It is because hydrated cement paste undergoes large
volume changes due to shrinkage and creep
Thus a building material made of cement paste will
contain a large number of cracks and pores due to
shrinkage and creep, which would make it practically
useless.
Each constituent of concrete plays an irreplaceable role
in the admixture.

Next we will examine briefly each constituent and its

individual properties.

Cement
Cement is a material which acquires cohesive and
adhesive properties in the presence of water.
In the presence of water, bonds form between individual
cement particles, as well as between cement particles
and other constituents of concrete such as fine and
coarse aggregates.

Since water is essential for cement to acquire its

cohesive and adhesive properties, such cements are
called hydraulic cements.
They consist chiefly of silicates and aluminates of lime
obtained from limestone (largely CaCO3) and clay(largely
oxides of silica).

Chemical constituents of Cement

The mixture of limestone and clay is grounded, blended
and fused together in a kiln at about 1400oC to form a
produce called clinker.
The clinker is then cooled and ground with gypsum
(Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate, CaS04.2H20) to get
cement.
The main chemical constituents of cement are:
Tricalcium Silicate

3CaO.SiO2

Dicalcium Silicate

2CaO.SiO2

Tricalcium Aluminate

3CaO.Al2O3

Hydration of Cement
As mentioned, for cement to acquire its adhesive and
cohesive properties water is essential. Why is it so?
This is because in the presence of water, the silicates
and aluminates in cement form products of hydration or
hydrates.
These hydrates, with time, produce a firm and hard mass
which is the hardened cement paste.
The hydration reactions for tricalcium silicate and
dicalcium silicate are as follows:
2C3S + 6H C3S2H3 +3CA(OH)2 + heat
2C2S + 6H C3S2H3 + CA(OH)2 + heat

Hydration of Cement
The hydration reaction of tricalcium aluminate is:
C3A + 6H C3AH6 + heat
The amount of tricalcium aluminate in most cements is
comparatively small.
However the hydration reaction of tricalcium aluminate
with water is very rapid it may lead to what is known
as flash set, or very rapid setting of cement. Gypsum is
added to cement clinker to prevent this.

Heat of Hydration of Cement

Heat released during hydration causes
temperature during concrete hardening

rise

in

If temperature rise is sufficiently high and concrete

undergoes nonuniform heating or cooling thermal
stresses may arise due to internal as well as external
(support) restraints to thermal movement.

Tensile stresses thus generated may result in significant

cracking in concrete
However high heat of hydration is useful if concrete is
being cast in near freezing temperatures. Prevents ice
formation in the pores and enables the hydration
reactions to occur and concrete to gain desired strength

Portland Cement
The cement that we have talked about till now is usually
known as Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), because of
its resemblance upon hardening to Portland stone
This cement was the most commonly used type of
cement in the past and it is still used.
Comprises about 59-64% lime (CaO), 19-24% silica
(SiO2), 3-6% alumina (Al2O3), 1-4% iron oxide (Fe2O3)
However there are various other types of cement which
are also used many for specialized purposes.
One of the other commonly used cements is Portland
Pozzolona Cement

Portland Pozzolona Cement

Pozzolana, a silica based material, (major constituent
SiO2) is used to replace a portion of cement in a
concrete mix. This can result in significant economy.
Pozollona by itself possesses no cementitious properties.
However in finely divided form, in the presence of water,
it can react with calcium hydroxide to form compounds
that possess cementitious properties.
Recall calcium hydroxide is formed during the hydration
of dicalcium silicate and tricalcium silicate.

Portland pozollona cement is prepared by grinding

cement clinker with pozollona. IS:1489 requires that the
% age of pozollana vary between 10%-25% by weight of
cement.

Portland Pozzolona Cement

The Pozzolona used mostly comprises fly ash
Fly ash is one of the residues generated in combustion
and comprises fine particles that rise with flue gasses. It
is generally produced by the combustion of coal
Depending upon the type of coal burnt, the components
may vary considerably but usually contains substantial
amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2) and calcium oxide
(CaO)
In the past fly ash was generally released to the
atmosphere: pollution control requires that this be
captured prior to release. About 43% is recycled and
used for Portland cement production

Rapid Hardening Cement

Other types of specialized cements include:
Rapid hardening cement: more finely ground than OPC,
but same chemical constituents.
Since more finely ground more surface area available for
formation of hydration products.

Thus it acquires cohesive and adhesive properties faster:

24 hour strength is nearly equal to 3 day strength of OPC
Allows quicker removal of shuttering suitable for road
work or bridge construction

Early strength vs normal strength

concrete
c
c28

1.2

Early strength

1.0

Normal strength

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

time
7 days

28 days

5 years

Portland Slag Cement

Portland slag cement: Blast furnace slag contains oxides
of lime, alumina and silica and is used to replace clay
used in the manufacture of OPC.
Economical, since it allows reuse of blast furnace by
product while replacing some of the ingredients of OPC.

The properties are similar to OPC. However it has lower

heat of hydration (the heat generated during the
hydration reactions) and is more durable.
It is often used in mass concreting structures such as
retaining walls since the lower heat of hydration allows
maintenance of proper placing and curing temperatures.

Hydrophobic cement

Hydrophobic cement formed by adding water repellant

chemicals during the grinding process to clinker.

These chemicals form a coating over cement particles

and prevents moisture and air from being absorbed by
the cement during storage for long periods in wet
climatic conditions.

However coating is broken during the mixing of

concrete and normal hydration processes occur to the
same extent as in OPC

High Alumina Cement

Clinker for high alumina cement consists mostly of

alumina (Al2O3) and lime (CaO) with smaller quantitites
of iron oxides, silica (SiO2)

High early strength

High durability against chemical attack useful in

concreting in hostile environments.

High heat of hydration useful for concreting in

freezing weather.

Super Sulphated cement

Cement formed by grinding a mixture of 80-85%

granulated slag, with 10-15% calcium sulphate and
about 5% Portland cement clinker

Used for aggressive conditions such as marine works,

mass concrete jobs to resist aggressive waters,
concrete construction in sulphate bearing soils,
underside of rail bridges and sewer pipes

Prevents attack due to formation of sulphuric acid

which dissolves and removes a part of the hydrated
cement paste

This leaves behind a soft and very weak mass and is

hence detrimental to strength

Aggregate

Aggregates occupy about 80% of the total volume of

concrete. Thus their properties greatly influence the
behavior of concrete

Aggregates are classified as fine aggregates (materials

passing through an IS sieve that is less than 4.75 mm
gauge) and coarse aggregates (material that do not
pass the 4.75 mm IS sieve)

For maximum strength and durability of concrete, the

aggregates must be packed and cemented as
compactly as possible.

Thus the gradation of particle sizes is important.

Grading of Aggregates

Grading of Aggregates
Fullers Curve (Fuller & Thompson, 1907)

Aggregate

Aggregates should span a range of sizes thus

smaller aggregate particles can occupy the interstitial
spaces between larger aggregate particles and reduce
the volume of void.

Good gradation may reduce the cement requirement

for the concrete since it reduces the available void
space that must be filled with cement.

Aggregates must also have good strength, durability

and resistance to harsh weather.

Their surface must be free of impurities e.g. organic

matter which may weaken the bond with cement paste.

Aggregate classification by Weight

Aggregates are often classified into lightweight

aggregates, normal weight aggregates and heavy
weight aggregates

Light weight aggregates e.g. slag and sintered fly ash

are primarily used for insulating purposes or masonry
units

Normal weight aggregates include natural material

such as sand, gravel and crushed rock such as granite,
basalt and sand stone. Artificial material such as
broken brick and air cooled slag are also used.

Normal aggregates are classified based on particle

shape and surface texture e.g. smooth, granular,
honeycombed and porous

Aggregate classification by Weight

Heavy aggregates are used for making heavy weight

concrete manufactured for specialized purposes such
as nuclear reactors where there is a need to screen out
harmful radiation.

They typically consist of heavy iron ores or hard rocks

such as barite, crushed to suitable sizes.

Influence of aggregate type on

concrete stress-strain behaviour

( psi)
12

( psi)

Light wt
Normal wt

4
.001

.002

.003

.004

.001

.002

.003

.004

Water

Water is an essential requirement in concrete: it is

essential during both the mixing and curing of concrete

About 25% of the weight of cement is required for the

hydration reactions

Additional water is required

workability of concrete

The water used must be free from injurious chemicals

and substances that may be harmful to concrete or
reinforcing steel.

Potable water is considered satisfactory for mixing

concrete.

to

ensure

proper

Admixtures

Materials known as admixtures are sometimes added

to the concrete mix, just before or during mixing, to
modify the properties of the concrete.

Some commonly used admixtures include:

Accelerators such as calcium chloride to increase the

rate of strength development in concrete at early ages
(recall Rapid Hardening Concretes)

Retardants to retard the initial setting time. This is

useful when mixes have to be transported or pumped
over large distances. Retardants can be organic (e.g.
hydrocarboxalic acid, carbohydrates) or inorganic (e.g.
oxides of lead or zinc) substances.

Admixtures

To increase workability without increasing the water

content pozzolanic materials such as fly ash are
used.

To decrease heat of hydration again fly ash can be

used for this purpose.

Superplasticizers to reduce the water requirement.

These are chemicals which can produce concrete of a
given workability at a lower water cement ratio than
ordinary concrete. Most superplasticizers in current use
are polycarboxylate-ether based (PCEs) chemicals.

Superplasticizers result in concretes with desired

workability but higher compressive strength.

Properties of Concrete
A good concrete must have three basic properties:

Strength

Workability

Durability

The purpose of any concrete mix design is to achieve

all three goals to the extent desired by the usage of the
concrete.

Strength

The concrete must be able to bear stresses arising

from the design loads

It is uneconomical to design a concrete mix stronger

than required however it must have the minimum
strength required.

Factors influencing the strength of concrete are:

cement quality, water cement ratio, grading of
aggregate, degree of compaction, efficiency of curing,
temperature during curing etc.

Water cement ratio is by far the most important factor

determining the strength of concrete.

Strength vs water cement ratio

Strength vs water cement ratio

Compressive strength decreases with water cement

ratio

The reason is that the amount of water required for

hydration of cement is limited and is small compared
to the water required for workability.

The water in excess of that required for hydration of

cement improves workability.

However over time the excess water may evaporate

leading to increased porosity in the paste.

Thus higher water cement ratios lead to lower strength.

Strength vs cement content

The strength of concrete will not increase merely by

increasing the quantity of cement unless the watercement ratio is decreased.

However as will be seen later, the amount of water

influences the workability of concrete. Reduction of water
cement ratio thus adversely affects the workability of
concrete

Thus an optimum water cement ratio is required that will

give maximum workability as well as strength

Other factors influencing strength:

void ratio

The total volume of voids in concrete affects its

strength gel pores, capillary pores and entrapped air
all adversely affect the strength of concrete. Each
percentage of air void by volume decreases strength
by as much as 5%.

The total volume of voids depends on the water

cement ratio as evaporation of excess water leads to
void creation.

To reduce the presence of voids, it is vital to achieve

the maximum possible density.

Capillary and Gel pores

Capillary pores: represent that part of the gross volume
which has not been filled by the products of hydration.
Gel pores: These are interconnected interstitial spaces
between the gel particles. The gel pores occupy about
28% of the total volume of gel.
Gel pores are much smaller in size than capillary pores
with size normally between 0.5 and 2.5 nm. Size of
capillary pores is of the order of 10 to 50 nm
The volume of capillary pores decreases with hydration
whereas the volume of gel pores increases along with
the volume of gel as hydration proceeds.
Capillary pores affect strength and when interconnected
influence permeability of concrete, whereas gel pores
influence the amount of shrinkage and creep.

Capillary and Gel Pores

Dependence of strength on density

Compaction of concrete

It is well known that increase in density in concrete

leads to an increase in compressive strength.

Compaction in concrete aims to minimize bubbles of

entrapped air in the concrete.

Immediately upon placing concrete in the form work,

the concrete is compacted by hand tools or vibrators.

Hand compaction by tamping rods requires the

concrete to flow readily around the reinforcement bars
thus it usually requires the concrete to be sufficiently
wet i.e. possess a higher water cement ratio.

Compaction of concrete: use of

vibrators
Compaction by high frequency power driven vibrators
allows compaction to occur without having to increase
the water cement ratios thus they allow the use of
stiffer mixes.

Compaction using power driven vibrators ensures more

impenetrable and dense concrete, as well as a higher
bond between concrete and reinforcement

Internal needle vibrators need to be immersed in the

concrete, while external vibrators act on the form work.

Other factors influencing strength:

age

The age of concrete also influences the strength. With

increase in age, the degree of hydration generally
increases so strength also increases.

However the rate of increase in strength decreases

with age.

Workability of Concrete

Workability refers to the amount of energy necessary

for compaction of concrete.

In compacting concrete, energy is spent in two ways: to

overcome the internal friction between the particles of
the mix and in overcoming friction between concrete
and form surface or the surface of the reinforcements.

In more general terms, workability of freshly mixed

concrete is that property which determines the ease
and homogeneity with which it can be mixed, placed,
compacted and finished.

Workability of concrete is different from consistence

of a concrete mix. Consistence refers to the ease with
which a concrete flows.

Workability of Concrete

A concrete that can easily flow, is not necessarily more

workable. Concretes of the same consistence can
vary in workability.

Usually however, wet concretes are not only more

consistent i.e. can flow easily but also, within limits
possess more workability.

Workability increases with the maximum size of the

aggregate, because as the aggregates increase in
size, the total surface area of the aggregates reduces.

Thus less water is necessary to wet the surface of the

aggregate to ensure hydration reactions and bond
formation at the aggregate surface.

Workability of Concrete

More of the water content is then available to act as a

lubricant which reduces the friction between the
particles as well as between the aggregates and the
formwork

This improves workability since it ensures more easy

compaction of the concrete.

Workability also improves if the aggregates have

smooth texture since this reduces frictional forces
and ensures easier compaction.

Workable concretes should not show segregation: i.e.

separation and local accumulation of coarse
aggregates from the cement paste

Test for workability: slump test

A mould, which is a frustum of a cone, is placed with its

base on a smooth surface.

The frustum has a height of 305 mm and a base

diameter of 203 mm.

It is then filled with concrete in three layers.

Each layer is hand tamped 25 times with a standard

diameter steel rod to ensure proper compaction.

Immediately after filling the mould is slowly lifted.

The unsupported concrete now slumps hence the

name of the test.

Slump Test

The decrease in the height of the center of the slumped

concrete is called the slump and is measured to the
nearest 5 mm.

The slump is sensitive to variations in workability, the

extent of the slump determining the degree of
workability

Following ranges are commonly adapted:

Degree of Workability

Slump (mm)

Very Low

0-25

Low

25-50

Medium

25-100

High

100-175

Slump Test

Durability of Concrete

Concrete must be durable with respect to weather

conditions e.g. temperature and humidity variations,
chemical attacks and action of atmospheric gases

Factors influencing durability of concrete are: quality of

cement, water and aggregate as well as the water
cement ratio and temperature.

Poor quality cement and high water cement ratio both

lead to porous concrete. High water cement ratio may
result in bleeding when excess water comes up to the
surface of concrete resulting in several small pores in
the concrete surface.

Porous concrete is more susceptible to harmful gases

in the atmosphere and salts that can cause its
disintegration.

Durability of concrete

Thus durability depends essentially on the porosity of

concrete

Water cement ratio should be as low as possible to

reduce pores and increase durability.

Durability also depends on the cement content. Thus

IS 456 recommends minimum cement content for
different surrounding conditions including the possibility
of sulphate attack.

The prescribed minimum cement content ensures

sufficient alkalinity (pH value) to provide some
resistance to corrosion of reinforcement

Cement content should also be sufficient to fill the

voids in compacted concrete.

Need for curing

Fresh concrete gains strength most rapidly during the

first few days: 70% of 28 days strength is attained at
the end of first week after placing

Final strength attained strongly depends on the

conditions of moisture and temperature during this
initial period.

The maintenance of proper moisture and temperature

conditions during this period is known as curing

Loss of water content in concrete due to premature

drying out of the concrete can prevent sufficient
hydration of the cement 30% of strength can be lost
due to premature drying.

Ways of curing

Moist curing which consists of application of water

directly to the surface of the concrete or by means of
continuously covering the concrete with sand, straw or
hessian saturated with water

Surface application of calcium chloride which prevents

evaporation of water from concrete and also absorbs
moisture from the atmosphere

Membrane curing where certain chemicals (usually

resins) are sprayed on the surface of the concrete to
form an impervious film which prevents evaporation of
moisture

Moist curing is the most widely adopted curing method

for ordinary constructions.

Grading concrete

Concrete is graded according to its compressive

strength.

The grades of concrete are stipulated in IS 456 in

terms of their characteristic strength e.g. M20 concrete
refers to a concrete mix with characteristic strength of
20 N/mm2

The characteristic strength is obtained by finding the

compressive strength of 15 cm cubes, 28 days after
casting

It is defined as the compressive strength value below

which not more than 5% of the test results are
expected to fall.

Acceptance criteria: quality control

To ensure proper quality control IS 456 has evolved an

acceptance criteria for concrete mixes

Random samples from fresh concrete mixes should be

taken as specified in IS:1199 and cubes should be
made, and cured as specified in IS: 516

The average field strength of all the samples should

not be less than:

where ck

1.65
]
ck [1.65 n
is the characteristic strength of the mix

is the standard deviation

n is the number of samples

Acceptance criteria: quality control

In the laboratory, under controlled conditions, the

acceptance criteria is 15% higher than the acceptance
criteria for samples tested in field conditions.

To ensure that concrete mixes satisfy the acceptance

criteria, they have to be properly designed.

To design a concrete mix, the following information

must be known:

1.

Grade of concrete desired e.g. M15, M20 etc

2.

The standard deviation from the mean strength of the

samples

Designing a concrete mix

3.

Type of cement to be used i.e. ordinary portland

cement, portland pozzolona cement etc.

4.

Type of aggregate to be used

5.

Maximum nominal size of the aggregate i.e. 10 mm

or 20 mm or 40 mm

6.

Minimum cement content i.e. the minimum mass of

cement that must be present in 1 m3 of concrete

7.

Maximum water cement ratio from durability and

strength conditions

8.

Degree of workability

Designing a concrete mix

9.

Entrained permissible air content

10. Type of admixture

11. Density of concrete
12. Temperature of fresh concrete
The standard deviation in strength, the minimum cement
content, maximum water cement ratio etc. are to be allowed
for a particular mix with desired characteristic strength are
usually specified in the various codes of practice e.g.
IS 456 in India.
These code prescribed values are typically used as input
for the mix design

Methods of designing a concrete

mix
Some methods for mix design include:

Minimum void method

Maximum density method

Fineness modulus method

RRL (Road Research Laboratory method)

ACI (American Concrete Institute method)

Here we will briefly discuss the guidelines for cement

concrete mix design for pavements issued by the Indian
Roads Congress (IRC:44 -2008)

IRC Mix Design: standard deviation

The standard deviation is assumed based on the grade of
desired as per the following table:
Grade of Concrete

Assumed Standard
Deviation

M25

4.0

M30

5.0

M35
M40
M45
M50
M55
M60

IRC Mix Design: selection of water

cement ratio
The following table is used to select the water cement
ratio (by weight) for desired grade of concrete :
Grade

Water/cement ratio

M25

.50

M30

.45

M35

.42

M40

.38

M50

.34

M60

.28

IRC Mix Design: selection of water

content
The following table is used to select the approximate water
content for 1 m3 of concrete for specified nominal
maximum size of aggregate:
Nominal maximum size of
aggregate (mm)

Suggested Water Content

(kg)

10

208

20

186

40

165

IRC Mix Design: estimate of coarse

aggregate in total aggregate
The volume of coarse aggregate as a fraction of the total
volume of aggregate that should be used to obtain
concrete of satisfactory workability are given in tabular
form. The tabular data is for a water cement ratio of .5. For
other water cement ratios the volumes are appropriately
adjusted. The data is given for different zones (gradings) of
fine aggregate (IS 383-1970)
Nominal Maximum size of
aggregate (mm)

(Vol. of C.A.)/(Vol. of F.A.)

( Zone I fine aggregate)

10

.44

20

.66

40

.69

IRC Mix Design: estimate of coarse

and fine aggregate content
Mass of fine aggregate M fa and mass of coarse aggregate
M ca is calculated based on the absolute volume principle:

Mc

Vw Vv

M fa

fa

M ca

ca

1.0

Vv is the volume of void (usually~ 2%)

IRC Mix Design: testing on trial

mixes

Once the quantities of the various components are

known, the concrete can be cast.

Workability of the trial mix (Trial Mix 1) is measured.

It is checked if the mix is free from segregation and

bleeding.

If the workability of the trial mix is different from the

assumed value, then the water content is suitably
adjusted.

While the water content is changed, the water cement

ratio is kept fixed at its previous selected value and a
trial mix created (Trial Mix 2)

IRC Mix Design: testing on trial

mixes

Two additional mixes (Trial Mix 3 and 4) are also made

with water content the same as in Trial Mix 2 but with
the water cement ratio 10% more and 10% less than
the previously selected value of water cement ratio.

By comparing the workabilities and strengths of Trial

Mixes 2, 3 and 4 an optimum value of water cement
ratio is arrived at.

This mix is then used to produce concrete for field

trials.

Stress strain response of

Concrete: compressive strength
Under confinement compressive strength of concrete
increases.
Confining pressure acts to prevent crack propagation
and leads to more ductile response.

Uniaxial Compression
Biaxial Compression
Triaxial Compression

Concrete: main damage

mechanisms
In a concrete system, weaker planes occur at the
interface of the concrete and the aggregate: as a result
of bleeding, shrinkage etc.
The micro cracks that appear at the interface tend to
propagate along the aggregate surfaces. These micro
cracks can combine to form macro cracks.
In addition there can be mortar cracks which run
through the matrix material, as well as aggegrate
cracks which tend split apart the aggregates.

Concrete: anisotropy
Casting Direction

Accumulation of weak planes or

voids under large aggregate
particles

Concrete: softening behavior

The propagation of internal micro-cracks and micro-voids
is reflected in the macroscopic stress-strain behavior of
concrete
For instance, under uniaxial compression, growth of micro
cracks aligned to the direction of loading leads to stress
softening

Direction of external loading

tensile
crack

Concrete: tensile behavior

Under uniaxial tension, propagation of micro cracks
along a plane normal to the loading direction leads to
strain softening behavior.
The presence of steel reinforcement reduces crack
widths and has a stiffening effect on the post peak
behavior.

Concrete: material model

A constitutive law for concrete must satisfy the following
requirements:
It must account for material nonlinearity: the stress
strain relationship for concrete must not only be
nonlinear it must also be dissipative.
.

e
Elastic strain
recovered on
unloading

c
Irrecoverable
plastic strain

Summary
Concrete is an extremely complex material
Designing a good concrete mix still involves some art
Analysis of concrete is also extremely complicated:
the stress strain response is nonlinear and inelastic
However whether for design or analysis, a good
understanding of concrete technology is essential.