CONCRETE MIX DESIGN-REVIEW

Objective : To determine the proportion of ingredients that

would produce a workable concrete mix that is durable,
and of required strength, and at a minimum cost

Principles of Mix Design

- Workable mix
- Use as little cement as possible
- Use as little water as possible
- Gravel and sand to be proportioned to achieve a dense mix
- Maximum size of aggregates should be as large as possible( for NSC),
to minimize surface area of aggregates, as small as possible for ( HSC)
INTRODUCTION

• Concrete is obtained by mixing cement, fine aggregate,

coarse aggregate, water and admixtures in required
proportions. The mixture when placed in forms and allowed
to cure becomes hard like stone.

• The hardening is caused by chemical action between

water and the cement due to which concrete grows stronger
with age.

• It is the most widely-used man-made construction

material in the world.
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CONCRETE MAKING MATERIALS
1. Cement
2. Aggregates
3. Water
4. Admixtures

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CEMENT
• Cement and water forms the ‘active’ component of concrete, while the
inactive group comprises the fine and coarse aggregates.
• The cement and water form a paste that hardens and bonds the aggregates
together.

Types of Cement
• Although around 18 types of cements are known more commonly used
ones are:
1. Ordinary Portland Cement 33(32.5), 43(42.5), & 53(52.5) grade OPC,
2. Blended Cements (PPC and PSC).
3. Sulphate Resisting Cement (SRC),
4. Low Heat Portland Cement (LHPC),
5. Colored Cement (White Cement).

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TYPES OF CONCRETE MIXES

1. NOMINAL MIX

Mixes of fixed proportions, permits nominal mixes for concretes of

strength M20 or lower

2. DESIGN MIX

Designed on the basis of requirements of the concrete in fresh and

hardened states.

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TRIAL MIXES

Prepared to verify whether the Design Mix would perform as per the
assumptions. If appreciable variation exists, the available alternatives are:

1. directly employ the trial mix proportions at the site

2. modify the trial mix proportions on the basis of intuition and employ the
revised proportions at the site

3. prepare further trial mixes incorporating changes in the proportions

based on the feedback generated from the previous mix.

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CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

DEFINITION

“ Mix Design is the science of determining the relative proportions of the

ingredients of concrete to achieve the desired properties in the most
economical way.”

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 definition
 Proportioning of a concrete mix consists of
determining the relative amounts of materials
which will produce a concrete of desired
workability of the fresh concrete, and the
desired strength, consistency of volume,
durability, and economy in the hardened
concrete.

 These proportions may be determined either by

calculations making use of data related to
materials properties.
PRINCIPLES OF MIX DESIGN
1 The environment exposure condition for the structure

2 The grade of concrete, their characteristic strength’s and standard deviations

3 The type of cement

4 The types and sizes of aggregates and their sources of supply

5 The nominal maximum sizes of aggregates

6 Maximum and minimum cement content in kg/m3

7 Water cement ratio

8 The degree of workability of concrete based on placing conditions

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9 Air content inclusive of entrained air

10 The maximum/minimum density of concrete

11 The maximum/minimum temperature of fresh concrete

12 Type of water available for mixing and curing

13 The source of water and the impurities present in it.

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 Concrete Mixing and Proportioning

• 1. Proportioning: Goal is to achieve mix with

• Adequate strength
• Proper workability for placement
• Low cost
– Low Cost:
• Minimize amount of cement
• Good gradation of aggregates (decreases voids
and cement paste required)
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Concrete Mixing and Proportioning

– Water-Cement Ratio (W/C)

• Increased W/C: Improves plasticity and fluidity
of the mix.
• Increased W/C: Results in decreased strength
due to larger volume of voids in cement paste
due to free water.

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Concrete Mixing and Proportioning

– Water-Cement Ratio (W/C) (cont..)

• Complete hydration of cement requires W/C ~
0.25.
• Need water to wet aggregate surfaces, provide
mobility of water during hydration and to
provide workability.
• Typical W/C = 0.40-0.60

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 REQUIREMENTS
In the design of concrete mixes, three
principal requirements for concrete are of
importance:

 Quality
 Workability
 Economy
 Concrete Mixing and Proportioning
• Quality of concrete is measured by its strength and
durability. The principal factors affecting the
strength of concrete , assuming a sound aggregates,
W/C ratio, and the extent to which hydration has
progressed.
• Durability of concrete is the ability of the concrete
to resist disintegration due to freezing and thawing
and chemical attack.

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 Concrete Mixing and Proportioning

• Workability of concrete may be defined as a

composite characteristic indicative of the ease
with which the mass of plastic material may
deposited in its final place without segregation
during placement, and its ability to conform to
fine forming detail.

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 Concrete Mixing and Proportioning
• Economy takes into account effective use of
materials, effective operation, and ease of handling.
The cost of producing good quality concrete is an
important consideration in the overall cost of the
construction project.

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 •
Concrete Mixing and Proportioning

The influence of ingredients on properties of

concrete.

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REASONS FOR DESIGN

 For high strength concrete, it is necessary to design

 To get confidence for the strength
 To save the cement, so that cost can be reduced, shrinkage
cracks can be reduced

 For Special concretes

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TYPES OF CONCRETE
• Ordinary Concrete • Gap Graded Concrete
• High Strength Concrete • High Density Concrete
• Architectural Concrete
• Polymer Concrete
• Light Weight Concrete
• High Flexural Strength Concrete
• Mass Concrete
• Pumped Concrete • High Creep Strength Concrete
• Vacuum Concrete • High Fatigue Strength Concrete
• Plum Concrete • High Abrasive Strength Concrete
• No-Fines Concrete • Fire Resistant Concrete
• Grouted Concrete
• Fly Ash Concrete

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 FACTORS AFFECTING MIX DESIGN

• Cost • Types of Aggregate

• Strength • Grading of Aggregate
• Quality Control • Shape of Aggregate
• Durability • Type of Cement
• Workability • Quality of Cement
• Max Size of Aggregate • Aggregate/cement ratio

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PROCESS OF MIX DESIGN
C O N C R T E M IX

M IN IM U M S T R E N G T H R E Q U IR E D

TA R G E T M E A N S TR E N G TH
(Q u a lity C o n tro l)

W /C

MSA G R A D IN G

W A TE R W /C

A g g /C e m e n t

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M IX P R O P O R T IO N S
VARIABLES IN PROPORTIONING

• Water/Cement Ratio

• Cement –Aggregate Ratio

• Gradation of Aggregate

• Consistency

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VARIABLES IN PROPORTIONING
• The effort in proportioning is “to use a minimum
amount of paste( and therefore cement) that will
lubricate the mass while fresh and after hardening will
bind the aggregate particles together and fill the space
between them”.
• Any excess of paste involves greater cost, greater
drying shrinkage, permeability, less durability.
• This is minimized by minimizing the voids by good
gradation

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Concept of Mix design
• Strength= f(W/C ratio)

• Workability= f(Agg/Water)

• Cost= f(Agg/Cement)

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Durability Criteria: Mild Exposure Conditions

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The minimum frequency of sampling of concrete of each grade shall be in
accordance with the following:

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