Concrete:

A building material made from a mixture of broken stone or gravel, sand, cement,
and water glued togather, which can be spread or poured into moulds and forms a stone-like mass
on hardening.

Ingredients of Concrete
Concrete is made up of three basic components:
water, aggregate (rock, sand, or gravel) and Portland cement. Cement, usually in powder form,
acts as a binding agent when mixed with water and aggregates.

Properties of Concrete
Properties of concrete are divide into two major groups

Properties of Fresh Concrete

Properties of Hardened Concrete

Fresh Concrete
Fresh concrete is that stage of concrete in which concrete can
be moulded and it is in plastic state. This is also called
"Green Concrete". Another term used to describe the state of
fresh concrete isconsistence, which is the ease with which
concrete will flow.
Properties of Fresh Concrete

Following are the important

properties of fresh concrete
1. Setting 2. Workability
3. Bleeding and Segregation
a. Bleeding b.
4. Hydration
5. Air Entrainment

1. Setting of Concrete
The hardening of concrete before its hydration is known as setting of concrete. OR
The hardening of concrete before it gains strength. OR

Segregation

The transition process of changing of concrete from plastic state to hardened state. Setting of
concrete is based or related to the setting of cement paste. Thus cement properties greatly affect the
setting time.

Factors affecting setting:

Following are the factors that affect the setting of concrete.
1. Water Cement ratio
2. Suitable Temperature
3. Cement content
4. Type of Cement
5. Fineness of Cement
6. Relative Humidity
7. Admixtures
8. Type and amount of Aggregate

2. Workability of Concrete
Workability is often referred to as the ease with which a concrete can be transported, placed and
consolidated without excessive bleeding or segregation.
OR
The internal work done required to overcome the frictional forces between concrete ingredients for
full compaction. It is obvious that no single test can evaluate all these factors. In fact, most of these
cannot be easily assessed even though some standard tests have been established to evaluate
them under specific conditions.
In the case of concrete, consistence is sometimes taken to mean the degree of wetness; within
limits, wet concretes are more workable than dry concrete, but concrete of same consistence may
vary in workability.
Because the strength of concrete is adversely and significantly affected by the presence of voids in
the compacted mass, it is vital to achieve a maximum possible density. This requires sufficient
workability for virtually full compaction to be possible using a reasonable amount of work under the
given conditions. Presence of voids in concrete reduces the density and greatly reduces the
strength: 5% of voids can lower the strength by as much as 30%.
Slump Test can be used to find out the workability of concrete. View Procedure of Slump Test

Factors affecting concrete workability:

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
1.
2.
v.

Water-Cement ratio
Amount and type of Aggregate
Amount and type of Cement
Weather conditions
Temperature
Wind
Chemical Admixtures

vi.

Sand to Aggregate ratio

i. Water content or Water Cement Ratio

More the water cement ratio more will be workability of concrete. Since by simply adding water the
inter particle lubrication is increased. High water content results in a higher fluidity and greater
workability but reduces the strength of concrete. Because with increasing w/c ratio the strength
decreases as more water will result in higher concrete porosity. So, the lower the w/c, the lower is
the void volume/solid volume, and the stronger the hardened cement paste. Increased water content
also results in bleeding, hence, increased water content can also mean that cement slurry will
escape through the joints of the formwork (Shuttering).

ii. Amount and type of Aggregate

Since larger Aggregate sizes have relatively smaller surface areas (for the cement paste to coat) and
since less water means less cement, it is often said that one should use the largest practicable
Aggregate size and the stiffest practical mix. Most building elements are constructed with a
maximum Aggregate size of 3/4" to 1", larger sizes being prohibited by the closeness of the
reinforcing bars.
Because concrete is continuously shrinking for years after it is initially placed, it is generally
accepted that under thermal loading it will never expand to it's originally-placed volume. More the
amount of aggregate less will be workability.

Using smooth and round aggregate increases the workability. Workability reduces if angular and
rough aggregate is used.
Greater size of Aggregate- less water is required to lubricate it, the extra water is available for
workability
Angular aggregates increases flakiness or elongation thus reduces workability. Round smooth
aggregates require less water and less lubricationand gretaer workability in a given w/c ratio
Porous aggregates require more water compared to non absorbent aggregates for achieving sam
degree of workability.

iii. Aggregate Cement ratio

More ratio, less workability. Since less cement mean less water, so the paste is stiff.

iv. Weather Conditions

1. Temperature
If temperature is high, evaporation increases, thus workability decreases.

2. Wind:
If wind is moving with greater velocity, the rate of evaporation also increase reduces the
amount of water and ultimately reducing workability.

v. Admixtures
Chemical admixtures can be used to increase workability.

Use of air entraining agent produces air bubbles which acts as a sort of ball bearing between
particles and increases mobility, workability and decreases bleeding, segregation. The use of fine
pozzolanic materials also have better lubricating effect and more workability.

vi. Sand to Aggregate ratio

If the amount of sand is more the workability will reduce because sand has more surface area and
more contact area causing more resistance. The ingredients of concrete can be proportioned by
weight or volume. the goal is to provide the desired strength and workability at minimum expense. A
low water-cement ratio is used to achieve a stronger concrete. It would seem therefore that by
keeping the cement content high one could use enough for god workability and still have a low w/c
ratio. the problem is that cement is the most costly of the basic ingredients. the dilema is easily seen
in the graphs below.

3(a). Concrete Bleeding

Bleeding in concrete is sometimes referred as water gain. It is a particular form of segregation, in
which some of 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. Bleeding is predominantly observed in
a highly wet mix, badly proportioned and insufficiently mixed concrete. In thin members like roof slab
or road slabs and when concrete is placed in sunny weather show excessive bleeding.
Due to bleeding, water comes up and accumulates at the surface. Sometimes, along with this water,
certain quantity of cement also comes to the surface. When the surface is worked up with the trowel,
the aggregate goes down and the cement and water come up to the top surface. This formation of
cement paste at the surface is known as Laitance. In such a case, the top surface of slabs and
pavements will not have good wearing quality. This laitance formed on roads produces dust in
summer and mud in rainy season.
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. While the mixing water is in the process of coming up, it may be intercepted by
aggregates. The bleeding water is likely to accumulate below the aggregate. This accumulation of
water creates water voids and reduces the bond between the aggregates and the paste.
The above aspect is more pronounced in the case of flaky aggregate. Similarly, the water that
accumulates below the reinforcing bars reduces the bond between the reinforcement and the
concrete. The poor bond between the aggregate and the paste or the reinforcement and the paste
due to bleeding can be remedied by re vibration of concrete. The formation of laitance and the
consequent bad effect can be reduced by delayed finishing operations.
Bleeding rate increases with time up to about one hour or so and thereafter the rate decreases but
continues more or less till the final setting time of cement.

Prevention of Bleeding in concrete

Bleeding can be reduced by proper proportioning and uniform and complete mixing.
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 the use of finer cement or cement with low alkali content. Rich mixes
are less susceptible to bleeding than lean mixes.
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, from the
body of concrete by way of bleeding will do good to the concrete.
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.

3(b). Segregation in concrete

Segregation can be defined as the separation of the constituent materials of concrete. A good
concrete is one in which all the ingredients are properly distributed to make a homogeneous mixture.
There are considerable differences in the sizes and specific gravities of the constituent ingredients of
concrete. Therefore, it is natural that the materials show a tendency to fall apart.

Segregation may be of three 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.
A well made concrete, taking into consideration various parameters such as grading, size, shape
and surface texture of aggregate with optimum quantity of waters makes a cohesive mix. Such
concrete will not exhibit any tendency for segregation. The cohesive and fatty characteristics of
matrix do not allow the aggregate to fall apart, at the same time; the matrix itself is sufficiently
contained by the aggregate. Similarly, water also does not find it easy to move out freely from the
rest of the ingredients.

The conditions favorable for segregation are:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Badly proportioned mix where sufficient matrix is not there to bind and contain the aggregates
Insufficiently mixed concrete with excess water content
Dropping of concrete from heights as in the case of placing concrete in column concreting
When concrete is discharged from a badly designed mixer, or from a mixer with worn out blades
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
Vibration of concrete is one of the important methods of compaction. It should be remembered that
only comparatively dry mix should be vibrated. It too wet a mix is excessively vibrated; it is likely that
the concrete gets segregated. It should also be remembered that vibration is continued just for
required time for optimum results. If the vibration is continued for a long time, particularly, in too wet
a mix, it is likely to result in segregation of concrete due to settlement of coarse aggregate in matrix.

4. Hydration in concrete
Concrete derives its strength by the hydration of cement particles. The hydration of cement is not a
momentary action but a process continuing for long time. Of course, the rate of hydration is fast to
start with, but continues over a very long time at a decreasing rate In the field and in actual work,
even a higher water/cement ratio is used, since the concrete is open to atmosphere, the water used
in the concrete evaporates and the water available in the concrete will not be sufficient for effective
hydration to take place particularly in the top layer.
If the hydration is to continue, extra water must be added to refill the loss of water on account of
absorption and evaporation. Therefore, the curing can be considered as creation of a favorable
environment during the early period for uninterrupted hydration. The desirable conditions are, a
suitable temperature and ample moisture.
Concrete, while hydrating, releases high heat of hydration. This heat is harmful from the point of
view of volume stability. Jeat of hydration of concrete may also shrinkage in concrete, thus
producing cracks. If the heat generated is removed by some means, the adverse effect due to the
generation of heat can be reduced. This can be done by a thorough water curing.

5. Air Entrainment
Air entrainment reduces the density of concrete and consequently reduces the strength. Air
entrainment is used to produce a number of effects in both the plastic and the hardened concrete.
These include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Resistance to freezethaw action in the hardened concrete.

Increased cohesion, reducing the tendency to bleed and segregation in the plastic concrete.
Compaction of low workability mixes including semi-dry concrete.
Stability of extruded concrete.
Cohesion and handling properties in bedding mortars

DEFINITIONS OF WORKABILITY OF CONCRETE

According to Granville it is that property of the concrete which determines the amount of useful
internal work necessary to produce full compaction.
Powers defined it as that property of plastic concrete mixture which determines the ease with which
it can be placed and the degree to which it resists segregation
ACI (American Concrete Institute) defines it as that property of freshly mixed concrete or mortar
which determines the ease and homogeneity with which it can be mixed, placed, consolidated and
finished.
ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) defines it as that property determining the effort
required to manipulate a freshly mixed quantity of concrete with minimum loss of homogeneity.

IMPORTANCE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF WORKABILITY

From these above definition it is very clear that there exist no straightforward definition for the term
Workability. In very simple words we can say that workability of concrete means the ability to work
with concrete. A concrete is said to be workable if

It can be handled without segregation

It can be placed without loss of homogeneity

It can be compacted with specified effort

It can be finished easily

In every construction work we use different quantitative or qualitative terms to express workability.
Before specifying workability for any work a concrete technologist must keep the following things in
mind.

Type of construction work

Method of mixing

Thickness of section

Extent of reinforcement

Mode of compaction

Distance of transporting

Method of placing

Environmental condition

Concrete that can be placed readily without segregation or separation in a mass dam could be
entirely unworkable in a thin structural member.
Workable concrete compacted by means of high frequency vibrators would be unworkable if
vibrators could not be used and hand tamping and spading were required.
Concrete having suitable workability for a pavement might be unsuitable for use in a heavily
reinforced section.

Concrete Durability
Definition
The ability of concrete to withstand the conditions for which it is designed without deterioration for a
long period of years is known as durability.
OR
Durability is defined as the capability of concrete to resist weathering action, chemical attack and
abrasion while maintaining its desired engineering properties. It normally refers to the duration or life
span of trouble-free performance. Different concretes require different degrees of durability
depending on the exposure environment and properties desired. For example, concrete exposed to
tidal seawater will have different requirements than indoor concrete.
Concrete will remain durable if:

The cement paste structure is dense and of low permeability

Under extreme condition, it has entrained air to resist freeze-thaw cycle.

It is made with graded aggregate that are strong and inert

The ingredients in the mix contain minimum impurities such as alkalis, Chlorides, sulphates
and silt

Factors Affecting Durability of Concrete

Durability of Concrete depends upon the following factors:

Cement content
Mix must be designed to ensure cohesion and prevent segregation and bleeding. If
cement is reduced, then at fixed w/c ratio the workability will be reduced leading to inadequate
compaction. However, if water is added to improve workability, water / cement ratio increases and
resulting in highly permeable material.

Compaction
The concrete as a whole contain voids can be caused by inadequate compaction.
Usually it is being governed by the compaction equipments used, type of formworks, and density of
the steelwork

Curing
It is very important to permit proper strength development aid moisture retention and to

ensure hydration process occur completely

Cover
Thickness of concrete cover must follow the limits set in codes

Permeability
It is considered the most important factor for durability. It can be noticed that higher
permeability is usually caused by higher porosity .Therefore, a proper curing, sufficient cement,
proper compaction and suitable concrete cover could provide a low permeability concrete