Basics of Concrete

&
Concrete Technology

Construction Chemicals, Thermax Limited

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 CONCRETE
• Concrete is a versatile construction material, adaptable to a wide
variety of agricultural and residential uses.

• Concrete has strength, durability, versatility, and economy.

• It can be placed or molded into virtually any shape and reproduce any
surface texture.
• Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world.
• In the United States almost twice as much concrete is used as all other
construction materials combined

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Grand Coulee Dam, USA, used 10 million cubic yards of concrete,
making it one of the largest portland cement concrete projects in history.

The Erie Canal

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• Demand for concrete with higher strength

and better quality, coupled with larger and

faster mixer trucks, led to the emergence of

the ready-mix concrete industry in the post-

World War II period.

• The ready-mix concrete producer has made

concrete an appropriate construction

material for many agricultural applications.

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Components of Concrete

Portland Cement
Aggregate - sand, gravel, crushed rock
Water
Admixtures - when necessary

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Portland Cement
• Portland cement was named for the Isle of Portland, a peninsula in the
English Channel where it was first produced in the 1800's.

• Since that time, a number of developments and improvements have been

made in the production process and cement properties.

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Raw materials of Portland Cement

5/8 CaO Limestone or calcareous rock

1/5 SiO2 Clay or argillaceous rock
1/10 Al2O3 Clay or Ore
1/20 Fe2O3 Clay or Ore
1/20 CaSO4*2H2O Gypsum

C3S Tricalcium silicate

C2S Dicalcium silicate
C3A Tricalcium aluminate
C4AF Tetracalcium aluminoferrite

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Portland Cement Properties

Hydraulic

Fineness

 90% finer than 45 um

Setting Time

 Controlled

 False Set

 Flash Set

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Portland Cement Properties

Soundness

 MgO or Hard-Burned Lime

Specific Gravity: 3.15

Heat of Hydration - Exothermic Reaction

 C3S & C3A

LOI

SO3

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Supplementary Cementing Materials

DEFINITION: Powdered or pulverized materials added before or during

mixing to improve or change some of the plastic or hardened properties of
concrete.

• Cementitious

• Pozzolans
• Nominally Inert

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Types of Cement (IS 269 : 2015)

• ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT 33

• ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT 43
• ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT 43S
• ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT 53
• ORDINARY PORTLAND CEMENT 53S
• PORTLAND POZZOLANA CEMENT (FLYASH BASED)
• PORTLAND CEMENT CLINKER
• COMPOSITE CEMENT

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Water

• Good water is essential for quality concrete.

• It should be good enough to drink--free of trash, organic matter and

excessive chemicals and/or minerals.

• The strength and other properties of concrete are highly dependent on the
amount of water and the water-cement ratio.

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Water Source

 Municipal
 Well
 Heated
 Steam
 Chilled
 Ice
 Recycled

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Questionable Water
Water < 2000 ppm of total dissolved solids is satisfactory for making
concrete.

Water > 2000 ppm of dissolved solids should be tested for its effects
on strength and time of set.

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w/cm Ratio Parameters

Aggregate size:

Grading of Aggregate:

Surface texture of aggregate

Shape of aggregate

Cement type and source

Pozzolans

Air Entraining & Chemical Admixtures

Setting Time

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w/cm ratio
55
350
WWater 50
kg
W 
CM W
45 300
40

Fc', MPa
CementitiousMaterial kg
35 250
30 kg
25
20
15
10
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
5 5 5 5 5
w/cm ratio

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Water in Concrete

Increased water:

 reduced strength

 increased shrinkage and creep

 increases permeability

 reduced abrasion resistance

 reduced Freeze-Thaw resistance

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Influence of Aggregates

STRENGTH
Aggregate shape
Aggregate size
Aggregate texture

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Aggregates in Concrete

Aggregate is the second most influential ingredient in concrete.

Aggregate

 Occupies 60-75 % of volume

 Fine Aggregate is typically 35-45 % of total aggregate

 Mortar (Air, water, cement, fly ash, sand) is typically 50 - 65 % of

total volume of a mixture

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Types of Aggregates

Fine: Sand or Crushed Stone (< 5mm)

Coarse: Gravel or Crushed Stone (5-50 mm)

Aggregate must be washed in many areas

 Granite & other crushed stone

 Recycled concrete

All must satisfy ASTM C33

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EFFECT OF CHANGING FINENESS MODULUS ON CONCRETE
PROPERTIES

Concrete Decreasing Fm Increasing Fm

Property (Fine Sand) (Coarse Sand)

Water requirements More Less

Water-cement ratio Higher Lower

Strength Lower Higher

Finishability Easy Difficult

Note: Fineness Modulus: Sum of Cumulative % Retained/100. The FM should range between 2.3
and 3.1, and not vary more than 0.2 from the typical value of the aggregate source.
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Significance of aggregate grading

 smooth grading curve

(sieve size vs. % passing)
 more voids will lead to more cement.
 Under sanded mixes tend to be harsh
 large sizes have less surface area

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Desired Properties of Fresh Concrete

Consistency

Workability

Uniformity

Finishability

Low Bleeding

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Concrete - Workability

cement: too fine of material fly ash: increases flow

 stickiness  ball bearing effect

 increased water demand  ionic effect

water: too much water  reduced water demand

 segregation aggregate
 bleeding  rounded particles flow more

water: too little water easily

 harshness  Too much sand “stickiness”

 compaction problems  Poor gradation - harsh

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(IS 1199 -1959) Standard Test Method for Slump of Hydraulic
Cement Concrete

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Concrete - Fresh Properties

Pumpability: Ease with which a given mix can be pumped without

segregation or loss of properties. It depends on following components:

 aggregate: rounded particles pump more easily

 water: too much - segregation, too little - friction

 cement: too little - blow through,

 fly ash: helps prevent segregation, better flow

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Concrete - Fresh Properties
Compactability: Ease with which a given mix can be fully compacted
to eliminate the trapped air.
 harshness

 Gradation

Finishability: Ease with which a given mix can be fully finished with
the desired texture
 stickiness

 harshness

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Concrete - Fresh Properties

Setting Time – Effect of Different components

 Cement: different cements have different setting times

 alkalis, sugars, salts, organics can accelerate or retard set

 Water: Impurities

 Sodium carbonate (Na+) rapid set

 -bicarbonate can accelerate or retard set

 Aggregate: None

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Concrete - Fresh Properties

Bleeding: rate of surface water exceeds the evaporation rate.

 Water: too much water (severe bleeding), too little water

(surface drying)

Air Content

 Water: -too much increases entrapped air voids

 -too little doesn't disperse Air Entraining Agent properly.

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Concrete - Hardened Properties

Compressive Strength: Measure of maximum resistance of a concrete

specimen to a compressive axial load.

 minimum 28 days, fc'

 actual any time, fc

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Compressive Strength

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Concrete - Hardened Properties

Strength Gain

 Normal strength concrete 7-day fc is 60-70% of the 28-day for

Type I

 3-day fc is about 50% of the 7 day.

 Type III may have 3-day fc of 60-70% of the 28-day

 Moist cured concrete gains faster than air dried

 Steam curing is fastest, but......

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Concrete - Hardened Properties

Flexural Strength: Measure of cracking strength.

 (pavement and slabs on grade applications)

 Flexural Strength is generally 7.5 - 10  fc'

Shear Strength 20% of compressive strength

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Concrete - Durability

Shrinkage: decrease in volume of concrete due to loss of water from

pore and capillary structure

 the major cause of cracking in concrete

 high water content increases shrinkage

 high aggregate content decreases shrinkage

 moist curing decreases shrinkage

Creep is the time dependent deformation of concrete under load.

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Concrete - Durability

Freeze-Thaw Resistance is the property of concrete to sustain its

strength and surface properties under repeated F-T cycles.

 Air void structure is crucial in obtaining f-t resistant concrete.

 Air entraining agents are the only means of getting a good air void
structure (4-7% disconnected micro bubbles at uniform spacing)

 Low W/C ratio also increases f-t resistance

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Concrete - Durability

Sulfate Resistance is the concrete’s susceptibility to chemical attack

from external sulfate ions.

 ground water or soil are SO4 sources

 concrete with low C3A cement and pozzolans, low permeability, or

protecting it from intrusion.

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Concrete - Durability

Scaling Resistance is the concrete’s susceptibility to deterioration from

surface chemicals or environments.

 chloride salts, bleeding, acids

Permeability: watertightness or ionic resistance of concrete

 Aggregate: poor gradation increases porosity

 Pozzolans: reduce permeability

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Concrete - Durability

Abrasion Resistance

 essential in floors, pavements and hydraulic structures.

 compressive strength is an important consideration,

 choice of aggregate. (limestone is not good, gravel is very good)

 steel trowelling and moist curing surface is best

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Curing

• Concrete that has been specified, batched, mixed, placed, and finished
"letter-perfect" can still be a failure if improperly or inadequately cured.

• Curing is usually the last step in a concrete project and, unfortunately, is

often neglected even by professionals.

• Curing has a major influence on the properties of hardened concrete such

as durability, strength, water-tightness, wear resistance, volume stability,
and resistance to freezing and thawing.

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General methods of curing
• Keep water on the concrete during the curing period.

• These include

• ponding or immersion,

• spraying or fogging, and

• saturated wet coverings.

• Such methods provide some cooling through evaporation, which is

beneficial in hot weather.

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• Prevent the loss of the mixing water from concrete by sealing the surface.
• Can be done by:
• covering the concrete with impervious paper or plastic sheets,
• applying membrane-forming curing compounds.

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• The best curing method depends on:
• cost,
• application equipment required,
• materials available,
• Size and shape of the concrete
surface.

• Begin the curing as soon as the

concrete has hardened sufficiently to
avoid erosion or other damage to the
freshly finished surface.
• This is usually within one to two
hours after placement and finishing.

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Admixtures

• DEFINITION:

Admixtures are any ingredients in concrete other than:

• Water

Aggregates

Cementitious Materials

Fiber Reinforcement

• Added to the batch

before or during mixing

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Why Use Admixtures?
To Modify fresh concrete properties

• decrease water content

• increase workability
• retard or accelerate setting time
• reduce segregation
• reduce the rate of slump loss
• improve pumpability, placeability, finishability
• modify the rate and/or capacity for bleeding

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Why Use Admixtures?

• improve impact and abrasion resistance

• inhibit corrosion of embedded metals
• reduce plastic shrinkage cracking
• reduce long term drying shrinkage
• produce colored concrete
• produce cellular concrete

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Chemical Admixtures

Dispersing Agents

 Water Reducers,

 Superplasticizers

Accelerators

Retarders

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Water Reducers

DEFINITION: Water Reducers are used for the purpose of reducing the
quantity of mixing water required to produce a concrete of given
consistency.

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Superplasticizer

Sr. Products Description Application Dosage

No
TECNOS 98- Water reducing Increases workability and cohesion 0.6-1.5% of
RS (T) superplasticizer. Complies in concrete & mortar . Smooth total
with IS : 9103:1999 And BS pumping by reducing line friction Cementitious
1 5075 Part 3. it also conforms and dry Packing. Low porosity
to ASTM C-494 Rype F and results in improved water
Type G , IS 2645: 2003 penetration Resistance

TECNOS Water reducing and Slump Used for structural concrete where 1.6-1.5 % of
96KV -S retaining admixture ,Complies improved density and quality are total
2 with BS 5075 part 1 and required. Additionally significant Cementitious
ASTM C 494 as Type A & D & cement saving can be made without
IS : 9103-99 reduction in strength & workability.
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Accelerators

DEFINITION: Accelerating
admixtures are added to concrete
for the purpose of shortening set
time and accelerating early
strength development.

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Retarders

DEFINITION: Retarding, and Water-reducing and retarding admixtures

are used to offset acceleration and unwanted effects of high temperature

and keep concrete workable during placement and consolidation.

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Corrosion Inhibitors

DEFINITION:

Corrosion Inhibitors are used to

mitigate corrosion of reinforcing steel
in concrete.

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Thank You

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