CC203 CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY CHAPTER 2

CONCRETE WORKS AT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE

Do you remember our previous lesson???

CONCRETE PROPORTION

1:2:4
cement fine aggregate coarse aggregate

2.1 SEGREGATION AND BLEEDING

SEGREGATION
Separation of the constituent materials of concrete

BLEEDING
water from the concrete comes out to the surface of the concrete

SEGREGATION
What is segregation?

Defined as the separation of the constituent materials of concrete. A good concrete = all the ingredients are properly distributed to make a homogeneous mixture. Segregation occurs because concrete contains aggregates of different particle sizes and specific gravities. When placed in a bucket, the denser particles tend to settle to the bottom and the water rises to the top.

Segregation may formed in 3 types; 1. Coarse aggregate separating out or settling down from the rest of the matrix. 2. Paste separating away from coarse aggregate. 3. Water separating out from the rest of the material being a material of lowest specific gravity.

Segregation will causes honeycomb concrete or rock pockets. It also produced concrete with bad surface and lower in strength.

Denser particle

Heavy particle

Badly proportioned mix where sufficient matrix is not there to bind and contain the aggregates

Conveyance of concrete by conveyor belts, wheel barrow, long distance haul by dumper, long lift by skip and hoist are the other situations promoting segregation of concrete

Insufficiently mixed concrete with excessive water content

The conditions caused the segregation are

When concrete is discharged from a badly designed mixer, or from a mixer with worn out blades

Dropping of concrete from heights as in the case of placing concrete in column concreting (>1.5m height)

CONCRETE BLEEDING
What is concrete bleeding?

The water from the concrete comes out to the surface of the concrete, being of the lowest specific gravity among all the ingredients of concrete.
Sometimes, along with this water, certain quantity of cement also comes to the surface known as Laitance.

This laitance formed on roads produces dust in summer and mud in rainy season, while on slabs will cause scaling.
Bleeding is predominantly observed in a highly wet mix, badly proportioned and insufficiently mixed concrete. It tends to occur on thin members like roof slab or road slabs. The top surface of slabs and pavements will not have good wearing quality.

How it happened?

Water while traversing from bottom to top, makes continuous channels. If the water cement ratio used is more than 0.7, the bleeding channels will remain continuous and un segmented. These continuous bleeding channels are often responsible for causing permeability of the concrete structures. This accumulation of water creates water voids and reduces the bond between the aggregates and the paste.

Defects due to concrete bleeding

Water occurs on top of concrete surface

Defect of segregation and bleeding to road slab.

Laitance caused scaling on top of concrete surface. Need to be brushed out before the final setting of the slabs.

Use of finely divided pozzolanic materials reduces bleeding by creating a longer path for the water to traverse.

Air-entraining agent is very effective in reducing the bleeding.

Bleeding can be reduced by proper proportioning and uniform mixing.

Prevention of Bleeding in concrete

Use of finer cement or cement with low alkali content. Rich mixes are less susceptible to bleeding than lean mixes.

Additional info;

The bleeding is not completely harmful if the rate of evaporation of water from the surface is equal to the rate of bleeding. Removal of water, after it had played its role in providing workability. Early bleeding when the concrete mass is fully plastic, may not cause much harm, because concrete being in a fully plastic condition at that stage, will get subsided and compacted. It is the delayed bleeding, when the concrete has lost its plasticity, which causes undue harm to the concrete. Controlled re vibration may be adopted to overcome the bad effect of bleeding.

2.2 WET/FRESH CONCRETE

Workability is often referred to as the ease which a concrete can be transported, placed and consolidated without excessive bleeding or segregation.

WATER-CEMENT RATIO
Definition; The ratio of weight of water to the weight of cement used in a concrete mixture It has an important influence on the quality of concrete produced. A lower water-cement ratio leads to higher strength and durability, but may make the mix more difficult to place. Suitable value of Water-cement Ratio is within 0.33 0.49.

RELATION BETWEEN WATER-CEMENT RATIO

AND WORKABILITY

Water-cement Ratio

= Concrete Strength

= Workability

Water-cement Ratio

= Concrete Strength

= Workability

HOW TO CALCULATE WATER-CEMENT RATIO?

Example; If 27 liters of water used to mix a bag of cement, determine the quantity of water-cement ratio of the mixture

Solution; 1 bag of cement = 50 kg Water-cement ratio = Quantity of Water Quantity of Cement = 27 liter 50 kg = 0.54

TRY THIS OUT

If the water-cement ratio of concrete mixture using 150kg of quantity of cement is 0.40, what is the quantity of water needed?

Solution; Quantity of Cement = 150 kg

Water-cement ratio = 0.40

Water-cement ratio = Quantity of Water Quantity of Cement

Quantity of Water = Water-Cement ratio x Quantity of cement

= 0.40 = 60 kg = 60 liters x 150kg

TEST FOR WET CONCRETE

3 tests that commonly used to determine the workability of wet concrete are;

1. Slump Test

2. Compacting Factor Test

3. Vebe Consistometer Test

1. SLUMP TEST
Objectives;

This test is performed to determine the workability of fresh concrete.

Apparatus
Standard Slump Cone (100mm top diameter x 200mm diameter x 300mm high) Weighing Machine

Small scoop

Ruler

Method;
1.

2.

3.

The internal surface of the mould is thoroughly cleaned and applied with a light coat of oil. The mould is placed on a smooth, horizontal, rigid and nonabsorbent surface. The mould is then filled in three layers with freshly mixed concrete, each approximately to one-third of the height of the mould.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Each layer is tamped 25 times by the rounded end of the tamping rod (strokes are distributed evenly over the cross section). After the top layer is filled, the concrete is struck off to level with a trowel. The mould is removed from the concrete immediately by raising it slowly in the vertical direction. The difference in level between the height of the mould and of the highest point of the subsided concrete is measured. This difference of height in mm is the slump of the concrete.

HOW TO MEASURE THE SLUMP?

TYPES OF SLUMP
True Slump
concrete simply subsides, keeping more or less to shape

Shear Slump
top portion of the concrete shears off and slips sideways

Collapse Slump
concrete collapses completely

RESULT
Slump class S1 S2 S3 S4 S5

Slump in mm 10 - 40 50 - 90 100-150 160-210 210 European Standard EN 206-1:2000

LEVEL OF WORKABILITY
Level Very Low Low Normal High Too High Slump in mm 0 -10 10 - 30 30 - 60 60 - 180 180

VALUE OF SLUMP
The slump test is suitable for slumps of medium to high workability or slump in the range of 25 - 125 mm. Take several measurements and report the average distance to the top of the sample. If the sample fails by being outside the tolerance (ie the slump is too high or too low), another must be taken. If this also fails the remainder of the batch should be rejected.

2. COMPACTING FACTOR TEST

Objective;

To determine the consistency or workability of concrete and is conducted in the lab or on site. Nowadays, this test is commonly replaced by the Slump Test to determine the workability of the concrete.

Apparatus;

Weighing Machine
Hopper set

Method;
1.

Ensure the apparatus and associated equipment are clean before test and free from hardened concrete and superfluous water. Weigh the empty bottom cylinder, put it back on the stand. Gently fill the upper hopper with the sample of concrete to the level of the rim using scoop. Immediately open the trap door of the upper hopper and allow the sample to fall freely into the middle hopper.

2. 3.

4.

5.

Open the trap door of the middle hopper allowing the sampled concrete to fall into the bottom cylinder.
Remove the surplus concrete by struck it off to level with a trowel. Wipe clean the outside of cylinder of concrete and weigh. Weight of partially compacted concrete = weight of cylinder plus concrete weight of empty cylinder

6. 7. 8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Remove the concrete from the cylinder and refill with sampled concrete in layers. Compact each layer thoroughly with the standard compacting rod to achieve full compaction. Struck off the surplus concrete to top of cylinder and wipe it clean. Weigh the cylinder and subtract the weight of empty cylinder from the weight of cylinder plus concrete to obtain the weight of fully compacted concrete.

RESULT

Weight of partially compacted concrete = weight of cylinder plus freely fall concrete weight of empty cylinder Weight of fully compacted concrete = weight of cylinder plus tamped concrete weight of empty cylinder Compacting Factor Ratio = Weight of partially compacted concrete Weight of fully compacted concrete The standard ratio for normal concrete mixture is within 0.75 0.95.

3. VEBE CONSISTOMETER TEST

Objective;

To determine the consistency or workability of concrete and is conducted in the lab or on site. Nowadays, this test is commonly replaced by the Slump Test to determine the workability of the concrete.

Apparatus;

Vebe set

stopwatch

Concrete sample Stamping rod

Method;

The freshly mixed concrete is packed into a similar cone to that used for the slump test. The cone stands within a special container on a platform, which is vibrated at a standard rate, after the cone has been lifted off the concrete. The time taken for the concrete to be compacted is measured. Vebe times range from 1 second for runny concrete to more than 12 seconds for stiff concrete. Unlike the slump test, the Vebe time test gives useful results for stiff concretes.

LEVEL OF WORKABILITY
Level Vebe time range (seconds) >12

Very Low

Low
Normal High

6 - 12
3-6 0-3

The longer the time = the lower the workability.