Introduction

The process of selecting suitable ingredients of concrete and determining their relativeamounts
with the objective of producing a concrete of the required, strength, durability,and workability as
economically as possible, is termed the concrete mix design. The proportioning of ingredient of
concrete is governed by the required performance of concrete in 2 states, namely the plastic and
the hardened states. If the plastic concrete is not workable, it cannot be properly placed and
compacted. The property of work ability ,therefore, becomes of vital importance .

The compressive strength of hardened concrete which is generally considered to be an index of

its other properties, depends upon many factors, e.g. quality and quantity of cement, water and
aggregates; batching and mixing; placing, compaction and curing. The cost of concrete is made
up of the cost of materials, plant and labour. The variations in the cost of materials arise from
the fact that the cement is several times costly than the aggregate, thus the aim is to produce as
lean a mix as possible. From technical point of view the rich mixes may lead to high shrinkage
and cracking in the structural concrete ,and to evolution of high heat of hydration in mass
concrete which may cause cracking.

The actual cost of concrete is related to the cost of materials required for producing a minimum
mean strength called characteristic strength that is specified by the designer of the structure. This
depends on the quality control measures, but there is no doubt that the quality control adds to the
cost of concrete. The extent of quality control is often an economic compromise, and depends on
the size and type of job. The cost of labour depends on the workability of mix, e.g., a concrete
mix of inadequate workability may result in a high cost of labour to obtain a degree of
compaction with available equipment
Objective of Concrete Mix Design

Two main objectives for concrete mix design:

To determine the proportions of concrete mix constituents of; Cement, Fine aggregate (ornormally
Sand), Coarse aggregate, and Water.

To produce concrete of the specified properties.

To produce a satisfactory of end product, such as beam, column or slab as economicallyas possible.

Theory of Mix Designs

The Process of Concrete Mix Design

Unsupported concrete, when it is fresh will flow to the sides and sinking in height will take place. This
vertical settlement is known as slump. In this test fresh concrete will be filled into a mould of specified
shape and the settlement or slump is measure when the supporting mould is removed. Slump increases as
water cement ratio increase and for different work different slump value are suitable.There are two
categories of initial information required:

Mix parameters such as target mean strength, water-cement ratio and concrete density.

Unit proportions such as the weight of materials .The design process can be divided into 5 primary
stages. Each stage deals with a particular a spect of the concrete mix design:

Stage 1: Determining the Free Water/ Cement Ratio

i) Specify the required characteristic strength at a specified age, f c

ii) Calculate the margin, M.M = k x s .. [ F1 ]where;k = A value appropriate to the defect percentage
permitted below the characteristic strength.[ k = 1.64 for 5 % defect ]s = The standard deviation (obtained
from Figure 1)
Figure 1:Approximate compressive strength (N/mm2) of concrete mixes made with a free-water/cement
ratio of 0.5

iii) Calculate the target mean strength,

= + .. [ F2 ]where;

= Target mean strength

= The specified characteristic strengthiv) Given the type of cement and aggregate, use the table of
Figure 1 to obtain the compressivestrength, at the specified age that corresponds to a free water/cement
ratio of 0.5
Figure 2:Relationship between compressive strength and free-water/ cement ratio.

v) In Figure 2, follow the starting line to locate the curve which passes through the point
(thecompressive strength for water/cement ratio of 0.5). To obtain the required curve
representingthe strength, it is necessary to interpolate between the two curves in the figure. At
the targetmean strength draw horizontal line crossing the curve. From this point the required
freewater/cement ratio can be determined.
Stage 2: Determining the Free-Water Content

Figure 3:Approximate free-water contents (kg/m3) required to give various levels of workability.

Given the Concrete Slump or Vebe time, determine the free water content from table Figure 3.

Stage 3: Determining the Cement Content

Cement Content = Free Water Content / Free-water or Cement Ratio .. [ F3 ]The resulting
value should be checked against any maximum or minimum value that may bespecified. If the
calculated cement content from F3 is below a specified minimum, this minimumvalue must be
adopted resulting in a reduced water/cement ratio and hence a higher strength thanthe target
mean strength. If the calculated cement content is higher than a specified maximum,then the
specified strength and workability simultaneously be met with the selected materials; tryto
change the type of cement, the type and maximum size of the aggregate.

Stage 4: Determining the Total Aggregate Content

This stage required the estimate of the density of fully compacted concrete which is
obtainedfrom Figure 4. This value depends upon the free-water content and the relative density
of thecombined aggregate in the saturated surface-dry condition. If no information is
availableregarding the relative density of the aggregate.
FIgure 4 : Estimated wet density of fully compacted concrete.

With the estimate of the density of the concrete the total aggregate content is calculated
usingequation F4:

Total Aggregate Content = D C W .. [ F4 ] Where;

D = The wet density of concrete ( in kg/m3)

C = The cement content (in kg/m3)

W = The free-water content (in kg/m3)

Stage 5: Determining of The Fine and Coarse Aggregate Contents

This stage involves deciding how much of the total aggregate should consist of materials
smallerthan 5 mm, i.e. the sand or fine aggregate content. The Figure 5 shows recommended
values forthe proportion of fine aggregate depending on the maximum size of aggregate, the
workabilitylevel, the grading of the fine aggregate (defined by the percentage passing a 600m
sieve) andthe free-water/ cement ratio. The best proportion of fines to use in a given concrete
mix designwill depend on the shape of the particular aggregate, the grading and the usage of the
concrete.
Figure 5 : Recommended proportions of fine aggregate according to percentage passing a 600m
sieve.

The final calculation, equation F5, to determine the fine and coarse aggregate is made using
theproportion of fine aggregate obtained from Figure 5 and the total aggregate content derived
from Stage 4.

Fine Aggregate Content = Total Aggregate Content x Proportion of Fines .. [ F5 ]

Coarse Aggregate Content = Total Aggregate Content Fine Aggregate.

Procedures of Design Mixing

Production of Trial Mix Design

1.The volume of mix, which needs to make three cubes of size 100 mm is calculated. The
volume of mix is sufficient to produce 3 numbers of cube and to carry out the concrete slump
test.

2.The volume of mix is multiplied with the constituent contents obtained from the concrete mix
design process to get the batch weights for the trial mix.

3.The mixing of concrete is according to the procedures given in laboratory guidelines.

4.Firstly, cement, fine and course aggregate are mixed in a mixer for 1 minute.

5.Then, water added and the cement, fine and course aggregate and water mixed approximately
for another 1 minute.

6.When the mix is ready, the tests on mix are proceeding.

Slump Test apparatus for Concrete Workability

Tests on Trial Mix Design

1.The slump tests are conducted to determine the workability of fresh concrete.

2.Concrete is placed and compacted in three layers by a tamping rod with 25 times, in a firmly
held slump cone. On the removal of the cone, the difference in height between the uppermost
part of the slumped concrete and the upturned cone is recorded in mm as the slump.

3.Three cubes are prepared in 100 mm x 100 mm each. The cubes are cured before testing.The
procedures for making and curing are as given in laboratory guidelines. Thinly coat the interior
surfaces of the assembled mould with mould oil to prevent adhesion of concrete. Each mould
filled with two layers of concrete, each layer tamped 25 times with a 25 mm square steel rod.
The top surface finished with a trowel and the date of manufacturing is recorded in the surface of
the concrete. The cubes are stored undisturbed for 24 hours at a temperature of 18 to 220C and a
relative humidity of not less than 90 %. The concrete all are covered with wet gunny sacks. After
24 hours, the mould is striped and the cubes are cured further by immersing them in water at
temperature 19 to 21oC until the testing date.

4.Compressive strength tests are conducted on the cubes at the age of 7 days. Then, the mean
compressive strengths are calculated.
The Results of Mix Design

Slump Test = True Slump of 55 mmAll the 3 concrete cubes produced were then cured for 7
days. After that, the compressive cubetest is carried out. The results are as follows:

Sample 1 2 3
Compressive strength 32.37 33.54 35.70
Average (32.37 + 33.54 + 35.70)/3 = 33.87

For cubes after 7 days of curing, compressive strength should not be less than 2/3 target mean
strength.

= 2/3 43.12 = 28.75 N/mm2< 33.9 N/mm2

After 7 days of curing, the compressive strength of concrete cubes produced by the mix design
method pass the specific strength requirements.

The Conclusion

1.By using the concrete mix design method, we have calculated the quantities of allingredients,
that is water, cement, fine and coarse aggregate according to specifiedproportion.

2.The concrete produced did not fulfill the compressive strength requirements due toseveral
reasons. Furthermore, some steps mentioned above should be taken intoconsideration to
overcome this problem.