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University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering

CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory


1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

Laboratory Report No. 4

Making and Curing Concrete Test Specimens


PACER, Jihan S.
Group No. 4
Undergraduate Student, B.S. Civil Engineering
University of the Philippines Diliman
pacer_jihan@yahoo.com
Experiment performed on: November 2,2015
Laboratory report submitted on: December 11,2015
ABSTRACT
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. It is used in
many different structures such as dam, pavement, building frame or bridge. Also, it is
the most widely used material in the world, far exceeding other materials. In this
experiment, concrete is made by mixing water, cement, coarse and fine aggregates
with a required target strength of 30 MPa. Prior to mixing operation, the relative
amounts of the constituent materials are calculated using mix proportioning (ACI)
method. After the mixing operation, the mixture was placed in a mold for standard
concrete (6 x 12) and cured for 28 days. The compressive strength of concrete was
tested at 7, 14 and 28 days. The results are 18.837, 27.371 and 32.125 MPa. Based on
the results, the concrete strength exceeded the target compressive strength and this is
due to errors on the parameters that affect the strength of concrete which are mainly
on water-cement ratio and curing conditions.
1. INTRODUCTION
Concrete is a composite material composed of coarse granular material (the aggregate or filler)
embedded in a hard matrix of material (the cement or binder) that fills the space between the
aggregate particles and glues them together. Concrete is made by mixing cement, water, coarse and
fine aggregates and admixtures (if required). The aim is to mix these materials in measured amounts
to make concrete that is easy to transport, place, compact, and finish and which will set and harden to
give a strong and durable product. The amount of each constituent materials affects the properties of
hardened concrete (Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia, 2004).
The four main properties of concrete are: workability, cohesiveness, strength and durability.
Workability means how easy it is to place, handle, compact and finish a concrete mix . A slump test is
used to measure the workability of concrete. Workability is affected by amount of cement paste and
aggregate grading. The more paste mixed with the coarse and fine aggregates, the more workable the
mix. Well graded, smooth, rounded aggregates also improve the workability of mix. Cohesiveness is a
measure of how well the concrete holds together when it is in plastic condition. This condition can be
described as when the concrete is in bread dough state wherein the concrete can be worked or
molded into different shapes. Cohesiveness is affected by gradation of aggregates and water content.
Page 1 of 12

University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

Well- graded aggregates are best to use in order to obtain a cohesive mix while too much water can
cause separation and bleeding of the concrete(Cement and Aggregates Australia, 2004). Strength and
durability are affected by the density of the concrete, curing operation, type of cement and water to
cement (W/C) ratio. Denser concrete is less permeable thus increasing strength. Curing operation is
done by keeping the concrete damp for a certain period. Longer curing results to increase in strength
since curing promotes cement hydration which is the reaction between cement and water, that causes
increase in concrete strength. But it is observed that about 28 days is required for the concrete to reach
its 100% compressive strength. The type of cement also affects concrete strength since different types
of cement has different functions. Cement which contains a large amount of alite (C 3A) causes early
strength development and those with large amount of belite (C 2S) causes late strength development.
But the most important factor that affects the strength of concrete is the water-cement ratio, an
increase in water-cement ratio causes an increase in the porosity of the concrete and thus, resulting to
progressive weakening of the concrete (Diola, 2015).
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
The following materials are needed in mixing the concrete: coarse and fine aggregates, cement and
water. Before mixing the concrete, the relative amounts of the materials mentioned above were
calculated using the concrete mix proportioning (ACI method). In mix proportioning, the following
parameters are determined in order:
1. Slump The slump was set to be equal to 3 in based on the purpose the concrete is used.
2. MAS (Maximum Aggregate Size)- the MAS was set to be equal to 25 mm
3. Water content obtained from Table 1 based on the value of slump and MAS and the
concrete to be made is non-air-entrained.
4. Water Cement Ratio (by mass) obtained from Table 2 based on the average compressive
strength after 28 days which, for our group is set to be equal to 30 MPa.
5. Mass of Cement- calculated by dividing the water content to the water cement ratio (W/C).
6. Mass of Gravel computed by multiplying the dry bulk volume of rodded coarse aggregate
per unit volume of concrete to the dry rodded density of coarse aggregate. The dry bulk
volume of rodded coarse aggregate per unit volume of concrete was determined from Table 3
based on MAS and fineness modulus (FM) of fine aggregate.
7. Mass of Sand calculated by using the absolute volume method; the volume of water,
cement, gravel and air were determined and subtracted from the volume of the concrete to
obtain the volume of sand. The volume of sand was then multiplied to the bulk density of fine
aggregates.

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University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

8. Moisture Adjustment- the absorption capacity of both coarse and fine aggregates was added
to the mass of both coarse and fine aggregates and subtracted from the mass of water.

Table 1. Requirements for Mixing Water

Table 2. W/C Ratio

Table 3. Dry bulk volume of rodded coarse aggregate per unit volume of concrete

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University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

After performing the calculations, the following amounts of water, cement,coarse and fine aggregates
were needed to make a concrete with a target compressive strength of 30 MPa.

Table 4. Required Masses


Coarse and Fine
Water
Cement
Coarse Aggregates
Fine Aggregates

Mass
(kg)
13.0104
42.708
27.395
5.7074

of Water, Cement and


Aggregates

After acquiring the required masses, the trial mix was performed. At first, the group decided to have
two mixing batches by first mixing only half of the required masses of the constituent materials since
the mixing tank can only accommodate 60 kg and the sum of the required masses exceeds this
limiting value but a human error occurred during the mixing since the mass of water that was added
during the mixing was not halved resulting to a large slump value. Due to this error, the group decided
to have one mixing batch, the rest of the cement, coarse and fine aggregates and an estimated small
amount of water were added. It was found that the mixer can still accommodate the whole mass of
cement, water and coarse and fine aggregates. Then, the mixing was performed. The constituent
materials were first mix for 3 minutes, then the mixing was stopped for 2 minutes and then mixed
again for 3 minutes. After this mixing, the mixture was subjected to slump test. The mixture was
placed in the cone filling up to 1/3 of its capacity and then rodded. Then, filled up to 2/3 of the cones
capacity and rodded again. Finally, filled up to overflowing capacity and rodded again until the cones
capacity was filled. The cone was then removed, and the decrease in height of the mixture was
measured. When the measured decrease in height is equal to the value set for slump in the mix
proportioning (3 in), the mixture was accepted and was placed in the mold (6 x 12 in size) coated with
grease to facilitate the removal of the concrete after the mixture hardened. Moreover in placing the
mixture to the mold, the rodding procedure was done and the mold was lightly tamped with tamping
rod in order to remove air voids that may cause an increase in number of pores when the mixture
hardens thus decreasing the strength capacity of the concrete.
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University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

After one day, the mixture hardened and it was removed from the mold. A total of 6 concretes were
made and cured by placing the concretes in water to be tested for compressive strength for 7, 14 and
28 days. During strength testing, 2 samples of concrete were used. The samples were first dried from
its wet condition to saturated surface dry (SSD) condition and then subjected to compressive strength
test. After 28 days, the concrete was expected to have a compressive strength equal to the target
strength of 30 MPa.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Before trial mix, the relative amounts of water, cement, coarse and fine aggregates were calculated
using mix proportioning (ACI method). This method is shown in a detailed manner in the
computations below.
The following properties of aggregates and cement are needed for mix proportioning.
Table 5. Cement and Aggregate Properties
Density of Cement
Bulk density of gravel
Bulk density of sand
Dry rodded density of
gravel
Absorption (gravel)
Absorption (sand)

3139.67
2716
2840

kg/m^3
kg/m^3
kg/m^3

1675
2.18%
2%

kg/m^3

From the values of slump and MAS equal to 3 in and 1 in, the water content was found to be equal to
195 kg/m3 and the entrapped air is 1.5 % of the total volume of concrete based on Table 1. From the
value of target compressive strength which for our group is equal to 30 MPa, the W/C ratio is
determined to be equal to 0.55 from Table 2 and the mass of cement per unit volume of concrete was
obtained by dividing the water content to W/C ratio. The calculation below shows how the mass of the
cement per unit volume of concrete is obtained.

Mass of Cement per unit volume of Concrete=

Mass of water 195


=
=354.545 kg /m3
W
0.55
C

The volume of a concrete is then computed, which is equal to volume of the mold where the cement,
water and coarse and fine aggregate mixture was placed. The mold has 6 in as the diameter and 12 in
as the height of the mold. Computing for the volume results to,
2

Volume of concrete=Volume of Mold=r h=3 12=339.292 =0.00556 m

Page 5 of 12

University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

Since six samples of concrete are needed because 2 samples of concrete will be tested for each
strength test at 7, 14 and 28 days, the total volume of concrete is equal to six times the volume of
concrete obtained above. The computation of the total volume of concrete is shown below.
3

Total Volume of Concrete=60.00556=0.03336 m

To allow for errors that may occur during the experiment, a percent deviation of 10% was added in the
computation for the total volume of concrete so that the total volume of concrete becomes as shown
below,

Total Volume of Concrete=0.03336+ ( 0.033360.10 ) =0.036696 m3


The mass of cement that will be used for the whole mixing operation can now be computed by
multiplying mass of cement per unit volume of concrete to the total volume of concrete.

Mass of Cement =354.5450.036696=13.0104 kg


The mass of water that will be used for the whole mixing operation can also be computed by
multiplying the water content to the total volume of concrete.

Mass of Water =1950.036696=7.1557 kg


The next step is to determine the amount of coarse aggregates or gravel that will be used for the whole
mixing. First, the dry bulk volume of rodded coarse aggregate per unit volume of concrete was
obtained as a function of MAS and FM of fine aggregates. From values of MAS and FM which are
equal to 1 in and 2.70, the dry bulk volume of rodded coarse aggregate is determined to be equal to
0.68. The mass of gravel is calculated by multiplying the dry bulk volume of rodded coarse aggregate
to the dry rodded density of the coarse aggregate and total volume of concrete.

Mass of Gravel=0.6816750.036696=41.797 kg
The mass of sand is then determined using the absolute volume method. First, the volume of sand is
determined by calculating the volumes of water, gravel, cement and air and subtracting the total of
these volumes to the total volume of the concrete. The volumes of water, gravel, and cement is
calculated by dividing the masses of these materials to their densities The volume of air is computed
by multiplying air content obtained from Table 1 which is 1.5 %. to the total volume of concrete.
Then, the volume of sand is multiplied to its bulk density to get the required mass of sand. The
calculations are shown below.

Volume of water =

7.1557
3
=0.0071557 m
1000

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University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

Volume of gravel=

41.797
=0.0154 m3
2716

Volume of cement =

13.0104
=0.004144 m3
3139.67

Volume of air=0.0150.0036696=0.0005504 m

Total Volume=0.0071557+0.0154 +0.004144+ 0.0005504=0.02724 m3


Volume of Sand=0.0366960.02724=0.0094569 m3
Mass of Sand=0.00945692840=26.8575 kg
After computing for the required masses of water, cement, coarse and fine aggregates, these masses
are adjusted to account for the absorption capacity of coarse and fine aggregates. The absorption
capacity is multiplied to the computed masses of coarse and fine aggregates and then added to these
masses. This is shown in the following sample computation,

Mass of Sand ( adjusted )=Mass of SandAbsorption+ Mass of Sand=( 26.85750.10 ) +26.8575=27.394

Mass of Gravel ( adjusted )=Mass of GravelAbsorption+ Mass of Grav el=( 41.7970.10 )+ 41.797=42.708
The masses that were added to sand and gravel to obtain the adjusted masses of sand and gravel are
then subtracted from mass of water so that the mass of water becomes,

Mass of Water =7.15570.91170.5372=5.7074 kg


Summarizing the results of mix proportioning, the following table shows the calculated masses of
water, cement, gravel and sand required to produce 6 concretes with a target strength of 30 MPa.
Table 6. Required Masses of Constituent Materials for Mix Proportioning

Cement
Gravel
Sand
Water
Total

Adjusted Mass
(kg)
13.0104
42.708
27.395
5.707
88.820

After the mixing operation was done, the concrete was cured to promote reaction of cement with
water and was tested for 7, 14 and 28 days compressive strength.

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University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

The first compressive strength test was done after 7 days for two samples of concrete and the results
are tabulated as follows. Note that for every compressive strength test, the concrete was made sure to
be in saturated surface dry (SSD) condition.
Table 7. 7- day Strength Test
Concre

Force

te

(lbs)

Force (N)

Area

Area

(in2)

(mm2)

Compressive
Strength (MPa)

18241.25
1

77000

342496

28.274

18.776

18241.25
2

77500

344720

28.274

18.898

From the table above, the force in pounds represents the amount of force that causes failure of the
concrete but the parameter that is needed to evaluate the quality of concrete in terms of its strength
capacity is its compressive strength which is in MPa. To determine the compressive strength, the force
in pounds is first converted to force in Newtons by the conversion factor 1 lbs= 4.448 N. Then, the
area of the cross section of the cylinder given its diameter equal to 6 in is calculated and converted to
mm2. Then, the compressive strength was computed by dividing the force to area. The sample
calculation of these parameters are shown below.

Force ( N ) =4.448Force ( lbs )


Area ( 2 )= r 2= ( 62 ) =28.274 2
Area ( mm2 ) =2.54210 2Area( 2)
Compressive strength ( MPa )=

Force( N )
Area(mm 2)

For first sample of concrete,

Force ( N ) =4.44877000=342496 N
Area ( mm2 ) =2.54210 228.274=18241.254 mm2
Compressive strength=

342496
=18.776 MPa
18241.254

Page 8 of 12

University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

Averaging the two computed compressive strengths in the first strength test results to 18.837 MPa,
this value is then compared with the theoretical value obtained from the equation,

The equation above assumes moist conditions and normal temperature for Type 1 ordinary Portland
Cement .With t=7 days and fc28= 30 MPa, fcm results to 21.1 MPa, as observed 18.837 < 21.1 which
means that the average compressive strengths in the first strength test is less than the theoretical. This
deviation may be largely due to improper curing because sometimes the water level in the curing tank
does not cover the whole cylinder. Since curing facilitates cement hydration which increases the
strength of the concrete, improper curing of concrete results to decrease in strength.
The second strength test was done after 14 days and the results are tabulated below.
Table 8. 14- Day Strength Test
Concre
te
1
2

Force
(lbs)

Area
Force (N) Area (in )
(mm2)
18241.25
113000
502624
28.274
8
18241.25
111500
495952
28.274
8
2

Compressive Strength
(MPa)
27.554
27.188

Averaging the compressive strengths obtained in the second strength test results to 27.371 then
computing for the theoretical value using the equation given above gives 26.415. Comparing the two
values, the average compressive strengths is now higher than the theoretical one but in this case, the
deviation of the experimental value which is 27.371 from the one computed using the equation which
is 26.415, is much lower compared to the first strength test. From this observation, it may be inferred
that the deviation may be due to the error that occurred during the methodology part. The estimated
small amount of water added during the mixing since some of the water has evaporated may be
smaller in amount than what is needed thereby decreasing the water-cement (W/C)

ratio and

decreasing the porosity of the concrete which increases the strength of the concrete.
The third strength test was done after 28 days and the results are tabulated as follows.
Table 9. 28- Day Strength Test
Concre
te

Force
(lbs)

Force (N)

Area (in2)

Area
(mm2)

Compressive Strength
(MPa)
Page 9 of 12

University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

131000

582688

28.274

132500

589360

28.274

18241.25
8
18241.25
8

31.941
32.309

Averaging the compressive strengths obtained in the third strength test results to 32.125 and
comparing this value with the target compressive strength of 30 MPa after 28 days, the obtained
compressive strength is higher than the target compressive strength. Same with the second strength
test, the deviation of the obtained compressive strength from the target strength may be due to the
error done during the methodology part.
Based on the experiment the following parameters mainly affected the strength of concrete; watercement ratio, gradation of aggregates and curing conditions. The effect of gradation of aggregates is
incorporated on the mix proportioning design wherein a number of parameters like water content and
dry bulk volume of rodded coarse aggregate depend on MAS. In terms of curing conditions, the
concrete was kept in moist conditions by placing it in the curing tank and under normal temperature.
Graphing the results of the compressive strength tests against age or the time the concrete was cured
results to the following figure.

Strength vs Age
40

Strength (MPa)

20

Strength vs Age

0
0 10 20 30
Age (Days)

Figure 1. Effect of Curing on Strength of Concrete

As observed from the results of the test, longer curing period results to increase in concrete strength.
In the first strength test, improper curing results to decrease in concrete strength which displays the
importance of proper curing of concrete in order to maximize the use or potential of the concrete
made. Lastly, W/C ratio largely affects the resulting compressive strength of concrete since an error in
the mass of water results to a relatively large deviation from the target compressive strength that is
why it is important to first compute for the required masses of the constituent particles using mix

Page 10 of 12

University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

proportions so that during mixing operation, the masses of the constituent materials is not guessed or
only estimated.

CONCLUSION
The following table shows the results of the compressive strength tests.
Table 10. Summary of Results
Day
7
14
28

Mean Compressive Strength


(MPa)
18.837
27.371
32.125

From the table above, it can be observed that the target compressive strength of 30 MPa is exceeded
by the concrete that was made. This deviation may be due to errors in the parameters that affect the
strength of concrete.The strength of concrete is dependent on the following parameters; water-cement
ratio, air entrainment, cement type, aggregate, mixing water, admixtures, curing conditions and testing
parameters. From these parameters, the effects of water-cement ratio, curing conditions and types of
aggregates were mainly observed. The effect of distribution of aggregates is incorporated in the mix
proportioning design since some of the parameters is a function of MAS like water content and dry
bulk volume of rodded coarse aggregates. The effect of time of curing can be seen in the increase of
concrete strength with longer time of curing since from 18.837 MPa compressive strength after 7
days, it becomes 32.125 MPa compressive strength after 28 days. Moreover, improper curing results
to decrease in the compressive strength of concrete as observed in first strength test wherein only
18.837 MPa strength was attained by the concrete instead of 21.1 MPa. The effect of water-cement
ratio is observed in the second and third strength test wherein due to human error, the mass of water
was only estimated which may have turned out to be smaller in amount than what is needed thus
decreasing the water-cement ratio and increasing the strength of the concrete than the required
strength. The effect of other parameters like mixing water was not directly seen although the water
used was not drinking water and the effect of loading conditions upon testing cannot be directly
verified since the lab technicians did the testing of the concrete.
Page 11 of 12

University of the Philippines Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering


CE 121 Construction Materials Laboratory
1st semester A.Y. 2015-2016

4. REFERENCES
Cement and Aggregates Australia 2004, Concrete Basics, 6th edn, Australia
Diola, N 2015, Concrete, Powerpoint Slides, University of the Philippines-Diliman Quezon
City

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