Fresh Concrete

Prof Vineet Kothari

Civil engineering department
Nirma univeristy
Difference between consistency and
workability
 Consistency is a general term to indicate the degree of
fluidity or the degree of mobility.
 concrete which has high consistency and which is more
mobile, need not be of right workability for a particular job.
 A concrete which is considered workable for mass concrete
foundation is not workable for concrete to be used in roof
construction, or even in roof construction, concrete
considered workable when vibrator is used, is not workable
when concrete is to be compacted by hand.
workability

 “the property of concrete which determines the amount

of useful internal work necessary to produce full
compaction.”

 “ease with which concrete can be compacted

hundred per cent having regard to mode of
compaction and place of deposition.”
Factors Affecting Workability

 Water Content
 Mix Proportions
 Size of Aggregates
 Shape of Aggregates
 Surface Texture of Aggregate
 Grading of Aggregate
 Use of Admixtures
Measurement of workability

 Slump Test
 Compacting Factor Test
 Flow Test
 Kelly Ball Test
 Vee Bee Consistometer Test.
 Slump Test
 Slump test is the most commonly used method of measuring consistency of concrete
 It is not a suitable method for very wet or very dry concrete.
 A control test that gives an indication of the uniformity of concrete from batch to
batch.
 The apparatus for conducting the slump test essentially consists of a metallic mould in
the form of a frustum of a cone having the internal dimensions as under:
 Bottom diameter : 20 cm
 Top diameter : 10 cm
 Height : 30 cm
 Slump Test
 The mould is then filled in four layers, each approximately 1/ 4 of the height of the
mould.
 Each layer is tamped 25 times by the tamping rod taking care to distribute the
strokes evenly over the cross section.
 The mould is removed from the concrete immediately by raising it slowly and
carefully in a vertical direction.
 This allows the concrete to subside. This subsidence is referred as SLUMP of concrete.
The difference in level between the height of the mould and that of the highest point
of the subsided concrete is measured.
 This difference in height in mm. is taken as Slump of Concrete.
Types of Slump

The slumped concrete takes various shapes, and according to the

profile of slumped concrete, the slump is termed as;
 Collapse Slump
 Shear Slump
 True Slump
Types of Slump
 Types Of Slump
 Collapse Slump
In a collapse slump the concrete collapses completely.
 A collapse slump will generally mean that the mix is too wet or that it is a
high workability mix, for which slump test is not appropriate.

 Shear Slump
In a shear slump the top portion of the concrete shears off and slips sideways.
OR
If one-half of the cone slides down an inclined plane, the slump is said to be a
shear slump.
 If a shear or collapse slump is achieved, a fresh sample should be taken
and the test is repeated.
 If the shear slump persists, as may the case with harsh mixes, this is an
indication of lack of cohesion of the mix
 Types of Slump
 True Slump
In a true slump the concrete simply subsides, keeping more or less to
shape
 This is the only slump which is used in various tests.
 Mixes of stiff consistence have a Zero slump, so that in the rather dry
range no variation can be detected between mixes of different
workability.
However , in a lean mix with a tendency to harshness, a true slump can
easily change to the shear slump type or even to collapse, and widely
different values of slump can be obtained in different samples from the
same mix; thus, the slump test is unreliable for lean mixes.
 Uses
 The slump test is used to ensure uniformity for different batches of
similar concrete under field conditions and to ascertain the
effects of plasticizers on their introduction.
 This test is very useful on site as a check on the day-to-day or
hour- to-hour variation in the materials being fed into the mixer.
An increase in slump may mean, for instance, that the moisture
content of aggregate has unexpectedly increases.
 Other cause would be a change in the grading of the
aggregate, such as a deficiency of sand.
 Too high or too low a slump gives immediate warning and
enables the mixer operator to remedy the situation.
 This application of slump test as well as its simplicity, is responsible
for its widespread use.
Slump Test
 Flow Test
 Definition
The flow table test or flow test is a method to determine the consistence of
fresh concrete.
 Application When fresh concrete is delivered to a site by a truck mixer it
is sometimes necessary to check its consistence before pouring it into
formwork.
 If the consistence is not correct, the concrete will not have the desired
qualities once it has set, particularly the desired strength.
 If the concrete is too pasty, it may result in cavities within the concrete
which leads to corrosion of the rebar, eventually leading to the
formation of cracks (as the rebar expands as it corrodes) which will
accelerate the whole process, rather like insufficient concrete cover.
Cavities will also lower the stress the concrete is able to support.