C1 .

CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

Introduction
Concrete mix design is a process which is to select a suitable ingredient of aggregates,
Portland cement, water, and contain many other cementitious materials and/or chemical
admixtures. It will contain some amount of entrapped air and may also contain purposely
entrained air obtained by use of admixture or air-entraining cement. Chemical admixtures are
frequently used to accelerate, retard, improve workability, reduce mixing water requirements,
increase strength, or alter other properties of the concrete. The selection of concrete proportions
involves a balance between economy and requirements of placeability, strength, durability,
density, and appearance.
Objectives:

The objectives of this experiment are:

1. To determine the proportions of concrete mix constituents:-
a) Cement
b) Fine aggregate
c) Coarse aggregate
d) Water
2. To produce concrete of the specified properties.

Procedures :
I) Production of trial mix
Case 1: For general construction
1. The proportions of concrete mix constituents must be designed according to the
laboratory manual book and student pack.
2. The constituent is weighted by following the proportions of concrete mix that had
been designed.
3. After cement, water and aggregates have been weighted.
4. Firstly, cement, fine and course aggregate are mixed in a mixer for 1 minute.
5. Then, water added and the cement, fine and course aggregate and water mixed
approximately for another 1 minute.
6. When the mix is ready, the tests on mix are proceeding.
Case 2: Concrete mix design with high rise building
1. in this case, the important thing need to consider is the uses of cement and the suitable
admixtures used to achieve the specified properties.
2. 10% of Ordinary Portland cement is replaced by pozzolanic admixtures which is silica
fume
3. Superplasticizer is added 0.2 % by mass of the cement to the concrete for trial 1 to
improve the workability and compressive strength of the concrete mix design.
4. Slump test and compressive strength tests are ran as in case 1 step 5 to step 9 for concrete
trial 1.
5. The step 1 to step 4 of case 2 are repeated for another trial mix concrete, 0.2% of super
plasticizer is needed and increase the percentage of silica fume which is 20% of
Ordinary Portland cement.
II) Tests on trial mix
1. The slump tests are conducted to determine the workability of concrete.
2. Concrete is placed and compacted in three layers by a tamping rod with 25 times, in a
firmly held slump cone. On the removal of the cone, the difference in height between the
uppermost part of the slumped concrete and the upturned cone is recorded in mm as the
slump.
3. Three cubes are prepared in 100mm x 100mm each. The cubes are cured before testing.
The procedures for making and curing are as given in laboratory guidelines. Thinly coat
the interior surfaces of the assembled mould with mould oil to prevent adhesion of
concrete. Each mould filled with two layers of concrete, each layer tamped 25 times with
a 25mm square steel rod. The top surface finished with a trowel and the date of
manufacturing is recorded in the surface of the concrete. The cubes are stored
undisturbed for 24 hrs at a temperature of 18 to 220C and a relative humidity of not less
than 90%. The concrete all are covered with wet gunny sacks. After 24 hrs, the mould is
striped and the cubes are cured further by immersing them in water at temperature 19 to
21oC until the testing date.
4. Compressive strength tests are conducted on the cubes at the age of 7 days. Then, the
mean compressive strengths are calculated.
Calculation Of Concrete Mix Design, C1

Firstly, our group must complete all the concrete mix design form with some calculation.

Stage 1:
i) The required characteristic strength at 28 days, fc = 30N/mm²
ii) From Figure C 1-2, for less than 20 results, s = 8 N/mm2.
iii) From the formula C1, k = 1.64 for 5% defect. Margin, M is calculated as below:

M=k× s

= 1.64 × 8

= 13.12 N/mm2

iv) With the formula C2, target mean strength, fm is calculated as below:
Target mean strength, fm = fc + M

= 30 + 13.12

= 43.12 N/mm2

v) The type of cement is Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). For the fine and course
aggregate, the laboratory’s fine aggregate is crushed and for course aggregate is crushed
before producing concrete. Then, we obtain the compressive strengths to from Table C1-2.
For OPC ( 7 days ) using crushed aggregate, Compressive Strengths = 49/mm2

vi) After that, from Figure C1-3, the curve for 49N/mm2 is plotted and obtained the free-
water ratio is 0.54 at the target mean strength, fm 43.12 N/mm2 .
Stage 2 and 3

i) We specified the slump test for slump 30-60 mm and the maximum aggregate size we
used in laboratory is 10mm. For the specified above, we can obtained the free-water
content from table c1-3, the approximate free-water content for the crushed aggregates is
230kg/m3. Because of the coarse and fine aggregates of same types are used, so,

Free-water content = 230 kg/m3

Cement content also can obtained from the calculation with the expression at C3:

Free water content__

Cement content = Free-water/ cement ratio

= 230 / 0.55

= 418.18 kg/m3

Stage 4:

i) We assumed that the relative density of aggregate (SDD) is 2.7. Then, from the Figure
C1-4 with the free-water content 230 kg/m3, obtained that concrete density is
2370kg/m3. The total aggregate content can be calculated by:

Total aggregate content = D-C-W

= 2370– 418.18 – 230

= 1721.82 kg/m3
Stage 5:

i) The percentage passing 600µ m sieve for the grading of fine aggregate is
assuming40%. The proportion of the fine aggregate can be obtained from Figure C1-
5, which is 50%. Then, the fine and course aggregate content can be obtained by
calculation:

Fine aggregate content = total aggregate content × proportion of fines

= 1721.82x 0.5

= 860.91 kg/m3

Coarse aggregate content = total aggregate content – fine aggregate

= 1721.82 – 860.91

= 860.91 kg/m3

The quantity per m3 can be obtained, which

cement = 420 kg

water = 230 l

fine aggregate = 860.91 kg

coarse aggregate(10mm) = 860.91 kg

∴ The quantities of trial mix = 0.006 m3, in which

cement = 2.5 2 kg

water = 1.38 l

fine aggregate = 5.17 kg

coarse aggregate(10mm) = 5.17 kg

RESULTS C1

Slump Test = True Slump 55 mm

3 concrete cubes produced were cured for 7 days. After that, the compressive test is carried out.
The results are as follows:

Sample 1 2 3

Compressive
20.41 21.05 19.09
Strength (MPa)

Average (MPa) 20.18

For cubes after 7 days of curing, compressive strength should not be less than 2/3 target mean
strength.

2/3 × 43.12 = 28.75 N/mm2 >20.18 N/mm2

After 7 days of curing, the compressive strength of concrete cubes produced by the mix design
method did not pass the specific strength requirements

Calculation Of Concrete Mix Design, C2

Firstly, our group must complete all the concrete mix design form with some calculation.

Stage 1:
i) The required characteristic strength at 28 days, fc = 60N/mm²
ii) From Figure C 1-2, for less than 20 results, s = 8 N/mm2.
iii) From the formula C1, k = 1.64 for 5% defect. Margin, M is calculated as below:

M=k× s

= 1.64 × 8

= 13.12 N/mm2

iv) With the formula C2, target mean strength, fm is calculated as below:
Target mean strength, fm = fc + M

= 60 + 13.12
 = 73.12 N/mm2

v) The type of cement is Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). For the fine and course
aggregate, the laboratory’s fine aggregate is crushed and for course aggregate is
crushed before producing concrete. Then, we obtain the compressive strengths to
from Table C1-2. For OPC ( 7 days ) using crushed aggregate, Compressive
Strengths = 49/mm2

vi) After that, from Figure C1-3, the curve for 49N/mm2 is plotted and obtained the free-
water ratio is 0.34 at the characteristic strength 60 N/mm2 .

Stage 2 and 3

i) We specified the slump test for slump 30-60 mm and the maximum aggregate size we
used in laboratory is 10mm. For the specified above, we can obtained the free-water
content from table c1-3, the approximate free-water content for the crushed
aggregates is 230kg/m3. Because of the coarse and fine aggregates of same types are
used, so,

Free-water content = 230 kg/m3

Cement content also can obtained from the calculation with the expression at C3:

Free water content__

Cement content = Free-water/ cement ratio

= 230 / 0.34

= 676.47 kg/m3

Stage 4:

i) We assumed that the relative density of aggregate (SDD) is 2.7. Then, from the Figure
C1-4 with the free-water content 230 kg/m3, obtained that concrete density is
2370kg/m3. The total aggregate content can be calculated by:

Total aggregate content = D-C-W

= 2370 – 676.47 – 230
 = 1463.53 kg/m3

Stage 5:

i) The percentage passing 600µ m sieve for the grading of fine aggregate is
assuming40%. The proportion of the fine aggregate can be obtained from Figure C1-
5, which is 45%. Then, the fine and course aggregate content can be obtained by
calculation:

Fine aggregate content = total aggregate content × proportion of fines

= 1463.53 x 0.45

= 658.59 kg/m3

Coarse aggregate content = total aggregate content – fine aggregate

= 1463.53 – 658.59

= 804.94 kg/m3

The quantity per m3 can be obtained, which

cement = 676.47 kg

water = 230 l

fine aggregate = 658.59 kg

coarse aggregate(10mm) = 804.94 kg

∴ The quantities of trial mix = 0.007 m3, in which

cement = 4.74 kg

water = 1.61 l

fine aggregate = 4.61 kg

coarse aggregate(10mm) = 5.63 kg

Superplasticizer = 0.03 L
RESULTS C2

Slump Test = True Slump 71 mm

3 concrete cubes produced were cured for 7 days. After that, the compressive test is carried out.
The results are as follows:

Sample 1 2 3

Compressive
41.19 28.51 36.09
Strength (MPa)

Average (MPa) 35.26

For cubes after 7 days of curing, compressive strength should not be less than 2/3 target mean
strength.

2/3 ×73.12 = 48.75 N/mm2 > 35.26 N/mm2

After 7 days of curing, the compressive strength of concrete cubes produced by the mix design
method the did not pass specific strength requirements.
Discussion:

Week 1
1) The value of slump that obtained from experiment is 55 mm, which is in the range of 30-
60 mm of required slump. Therefore, the slump is accepted and can be classified as
normal slump. Slump of our designed concrete is met the target and in the range of 30-60
mm which means we had met target of workability that we want to design before.
Consistency is a measure of concrete’s wetness or fluidity, and depends on the mix
proportions and properties of ingredients. It is an important component of workability.
Wet mix is normally more workable than dry blend, but mixtures of the same consistency
may vary in workability. Consistency is generally measured with a slump test, an indirect
measure of the characteristic of workability of a fresh concrete mix.

2) The 3 samples unsatisfied the target mean strength. The factors that we fail to fulfill the
target mean strength are:-

i) The mixing process of our cement is done by our self (by hand) not machine.
Therefore, the quality of the mixing process is not good. As a result, there are
some void existing in the concrete mix and this lower the strength of the concrete
cube.

Week 2
1) The result of slump test is 71 mm which had not met the designed slump between 30-60
mm. The slump is exceeding 60 mm. The type of slump is normal slump. It is because we
add super-plasticizer in our concrete mix and this increase the workability of the concrete. It
means that the fluidity of the concrete mix is higher. Therefore the slump value will be
higher.

2) The 3 samples unsatisfied the target mean strength. The factors that we fail to fulfill the
target mean strength are same as mentioned above and we will discuss in detail in the
comments below.
Comments:
(a) Factors that might affect the accuracy of the slump test can be categorized as below:
i) While compacting the fresh concrete by tamping using stroke, tamping is not distributed
uniformly over the cross section area of each layer of concrete.
ii) Some water from the fresh concrete mix may flow out through the bottom of the cone as
it is not sealed.
iii) When remove the cone for slump test, if the cone is not lifting vertical upward,
vibration may occur and causes the concrete slump more than the actual slump.

(b) To improve the slump test, we suggest that:

i) Tamping should be cover all the cross section area of the concrete layer for obtain a
well compaction.
ii) The cone should be released immediately after the compaction to avoid more water
flow out from the bottom.
iii) The cone should be removed straightly vertical to avoid vibration.

(c) From the discussion, the factors that due to failure in our compressive strength test might
cause by:

i) The aggregate that we use is not saturated dry that may content extra moisture in it
surface. This will affect the total water content when mixing the concrete. Higher water
content will cause the compressive strength become lower.
ii) Due to the higher water content, segregation might occur during placing and
compacting the concrete mix. This will cause pores and honeycomb inside the concrete
mix. Segregation will results a non-homogenous mix that will affect the compressive
strength.
iii) Unwell compaction will also cause air voids inside the concrete mix that will reduce the
strength.

(d) To improve the compressive strength test result:

i) The aggregate should be in saturated dry condition. But in laboratory, it is hard to find
such condition aggregate as the weather not consistence and the air moisture content
also not consistence every time. So, we should reduce the water content in our
calculation to meet the standard water content when mixing the concrete.
ii) Make sure that compaction is conducted properly for each layer to avoid segregation
and air voids.
 (e) The factors that gave the concrete its higher strength are:

• The lower the water-cement ratio, the higher the strength created.
• A more consistent compaction.
• Consist high workability
• Good mix design with appropriate proportions of concrete constituents.
• Sufficient amount of cement content.
• Suitable curing

Conclusion:
The compressive strength for 7 days curing for part 1 is 20.18MPa, for part 2 is
35.26MPa. For part 1 and part 2, the compressive strength is less than the target strength which
means the strength is unsatisfied. We need to do some improvement or redesign again the
concrete mix for both parts to achieve the required compressive strength. As the conclusion the
proportion of cement, water and aggregates must be used in optimum to get the higher strength
concrete.