CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

INTRODUCTION

■ Concrete is obtained by mixing cement, fine aggregate, coarse

aggregate, water and admixtures in required proportions. The mixture
when placed in forms and allowed to cure becomes hard like stone.

■ The hardening is caused by chemical action between water and the

cement due to which concrete grows stronger with age.

■ It is the most widely-used man-made construction material in the

world.

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CONCRETE MAKING MATERIALS

■ Cement
■ Aggregates
■ Water
■ Admixtures

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CEMENT

Cement and water forms the ‘active’ component of concrete, while the inactive
group comprises the fine and coarse aggregates.
The cement and water form a paste that hardens and bonds the aggregates
together.

Types of Cement
Although around 18 types of cements are recognized by BIS, more commonly
used ones are:
■ Ordinary Portland Cement 33, 43, & 53 grade OPC,
■ Blended Cements (PPC and PSC).
■ Sulphate Resisting Cement (SRC),
■ Low Heat Portland Cement (LHPC),
■ Hydrophobic Portland Cement,
■ Colored Cement (White Cement).

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 AGGREGATES
■ They are cheaper than cement and impart greater volume stability and
durability to concrete.
■ The main purpose is to provide bulk to the concrete.
■ Some of the aggregates may be chemically active.

CLASSIFICATION
■ Geological origin – natural and artificial
■ Size – fine, coarse and all-in
■ Shape – rounded, irregular, angular, flaky and elongated
■ Unit weight – normal-weight, heavyweight and lightweight

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WATER

■ The most important and least expensive ingredient of concrete.

■ One part of the water is used in the hydration of cement to form the
binding matrix.
■ The remaining water affords lubrication and workability to the
concrete.
■ Water-cement ratio depends on the grade of concrete, its workability,
durability, nature and type of aggregates etc.
■ Potable water is ideal for concreting.
■ Seawater may be used in PCC.

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ADMIXTURES

Added to the concrete immediately or during mixing to modify its

properties in the fresh or hardened state.

Types:
■ Accelerators - speed up the initial set of concrete.
■ Retarders – delay the setting time of concrete mix.
■ Plasticizers and Super-plasticizers - water reducers.
■ Air entraining admixtures
■ Water proofers
■ Pigments
■ Corrosion-inhibiting chemicals
■ Antifungal admixtures

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TYPES OF CONCRETE MIXES

1. NOMINAL MIX
Mixes of fixed proportions, IS:456-2000 permits nominal mixes for
concretes of strength M20 or lower

2. DESIGN MIX
Designed on the basis of requirements of the concrete in fresh and
hardened states.

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TRIAL MIXES
Prepared to verify whether the Design Mix would perform as per the
assumptions.
If appreciable variation exists, the available alternatives are:

1. directly employ the trial mix proportions at the site

2. modify the trial mix proportions on the basis of intuition and employ
the revised proportions at the site
3. prepare further trial mixes incorporating changes in the proportions
based on the feedback generated from the previous mix.

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 CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

DEFINITION

“ Mix Design is the science of determining the relative proportions of

the ingredients of concrete to achieve the desired properties in the
most economical way.”

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 PRINCIPLES OF MIX DESIGN

1 The environment exposure condition for the structure

2 The grade of concrete, their characteristic strength’s and standard

deviations

3 The type of cement

4 The types and sizes of aggregates and their sources of supply

5 The nominal maximum sizes of aggregates

6 Maximum and minimum cement content in kg/m3

7 Water cement ratio

8 The degree of workability of concrete based on placing conditions

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9 Air content inclusive of entrained air

10 The maximum/minimum density of concrete

11 The maximum/minimum temperature of fresh concrete

12 Type of water available for mixing and curing

13 The source of water and the impurities present in it.

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IS 456:2000

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IS 456:2000
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IS 456:2000

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FACTORS DEFINING THE CHOICE OF MIX
PROPORTIONS

1. Compressive Strength
2. Workability
3. Durability
4. Type, size and grading of aggregates
5. Aggregate-cement ratio

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WORKABILITY

“that property of freshly mixed concrete which determines the ease

and homogeneity with which it can be mixed, placed, consolidated and
finished.”

DURABILITY

“the resistance to weathering action due to environmental conditions

such as changes in temperature and humidity, chemical attack,
abrasion, frost and fire.”

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 METHODS OF CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

1. American Concrete Institute Committee 211 method

2. Bureau of Indian Standards Recommended method IS 10262-82
3. Road note No. 4 (Grading Curve) method
4. Department Of Environment (DOE - British) method
5. Trial and Adjustment Method
6. Fineness modulus method
7. Maximum density method
8. Indian Road Congress, IRC 44 method

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BIS RECOMMENDED MIX DESIGN METHOD

The BIS recommended mix design procedure is covered in IS 10262-82.

In line with IS 456-2000, the first revision IS 10262-2009 was published,

to accommodate some of the following changes:

■ Increase in strength of cement

■ Express workability in terms of slump, rather than the compacting

factor

■ Extend the W/C ratio v/s compressive strength graph

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Modifications in IS 10262-2009

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 MIX DESIGN BASED ON IS
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on IS 10262:1982

Procedure:

1. Target mean strength for mix design:

fck* = fck + tS

where fck = characteristic compressive strength at 28 days

S = standard deviation
t = a statistical value depending on the risk factor.

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2. Selection of Water/Cement ratio

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3. Estimation of Entrapped Air

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4. Selection of Water Content and Fine to Total Aggregate ratio

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5. Calculation of Cement Content:

cement by mass = Water content/Water cement ratio

To be checked against the minimum cement content for the requirement of

durability and the greater of the two values to be adopted.

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6. Calculation of aggregate content:

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7. Actual quantities required for mix

Adjust the mix for deviations from assumed conditions

8. Check the calculated mix proportions

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DESIGN EXAMPLE: BIS RECOMMENDED METHOD

Grade M20
(a ) Design stipulations
(i ) Characteristic compressive strength required in the field at 28
days - 20 MPa
(ii ) Maximum size of aggregate - 20 mm (angular)
(iii ) Degree of workability - 0.90 compacting factor
(iv ) Degree of quality control - Good
(v ) Type of Exposure - Mild

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(b) Test data for Materials
(i ) Specific gravity of cement - 3.15
(ii ) Compressive strength of cement at 7 days - Satisfies the
requirement of IS: 269–1989

(iii ) 1. Specific gravity of coarse aggregates - 2.60

2. Specific gravity of fine aggregates - 2.60

(iv ) Water absorption:

1. Coarse aggregate - 0.50%
2. Fine aggregate - 1.0%

(v ) Free (surface) moisture:

1. Coarse aggregate - Nil
2. Fine aggregate - 2.0%

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Design Procedure

1. Target mean strength of concrete

fck* = fck + tS

fck = 20 N/mm2, t = 1.65 , S = 4

fck* = ______MPa

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2. Selection of Water/Cement Ratio

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Durability Criteria: Mild Exposure Conditions

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W/C ratio from strength considerations = 0.50

W/C ratio from durability considerations = 0.55

Adopt the lower value

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3. Selection of water and sand content

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Adjustments in Water and Sand Contents

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4. Determination of cement content

Water-cement ratio = 0.50

water = 191.6 kg/m3

Cement = 191.6/0.50 = 383 kg/m3

Is this satisfactory for ‘mild’ exposure condition?

For mild exposure condition, minimum cement content = 300 kg/m3

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5. Determination of coarse and fine aggregate contents

Specified max. size of aggregate = 20 mm

Corresponding entrapped air = 2%
Volume of concrete, V = 1 - 0.02 = 0.98 m3

fa = 546 kg/m3,
Ca = 1188 kg/m3

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Final Mix Proportions

Water Cement FA CA
191.6 383 546 1188
0.50 1 1.425 3.10

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Adjustments required for water
absorption

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Mix proportions for the trial
mix
■ W:C:FA:CA

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