Concrete Specifications

for Agriculture

Concrete is a mixture of Portland compressive strength is two to five Factors affecting the
cement, water, air, and aggregates. times that of wood. Most structural quality of concrete
Aggregates provide volume at low cost, uses depend on concrete strength in Air-entrainment
comprising 66 percent to 78 percent of compression and steel in tension. An air-entrainment agent to the cement
the concrete. Cement and water form a produces millions of tiny bubbles in the
paste that hardens and glues the Portland cement concrete, giving the concrete greater
aggregates together. The quality of Several kinds of Portland cement have weathering resistance. Air entrainment
cement is directly related to the binding been developed for special purposes, reduces the strength but increases the
qualities of this cement paste. including: workability. Therefore, all concrete
used for agricultural applications
Selection of ▪ TYPE I, normal Portland cement, is should be air entrained.
concrete properties the general purpose type and usually
Concrete is very durable and resists is furnished unless an alternative is Maximum aggregate size
attack by water, animal manures, and specified. The maximum size of coarse aggregate
chemicals such as fertilizers and fire. that can be used depends on the sizes
High quality concrete should be used ▪ TYPE II, is modified to release less and shapes of concrete members, and
around milk, silage, and animal heat during curing and is therefore the amounts and distribution of
manure. Portland cement concrete is a suitable in mass concrete. It is reinforcing steel. Generally, the
common building material with many moderately high in resistance to maximum size should not exceed 1⁄5 the
advantages in agriculture. Concrete is sulfates. minimum dimension of the member, or
versatile, strong, and economical. Most 3
⁄4 the clear space between reinforcing
farm applications require the ability to ▪ TYPE III, is high-early strength. bars or between reinforcement and
withstand weathering, wetting, tem- It is very finely ground and sets very forms. For unreinforced slab on
perature changes, and abrasive uses. rapidly. It is useful for slip-form ground, the maximum size should not
Durability is usually the main reason construction and for cold weather exceed 1⁄3 the slab thickness. Smaller
for selecting concrete as the construc- jobs. sizes may be used when availability or
tion material. considerations of economy require
▪ TYPES I, II and III are available as them. The larger the aggregate, the less
The durability and strength of concrete Types IA, IIA, and IIIA. These are air-entrainment is necessary.
are highly dependent on the water- air-entrained Portland cement
cement ratio. Sometimes fly ash, a formulated with a compound that Workability
waste product of coal-powered power releases many tiny bubbles of air The workability of concrete is another
plants, is used to modify certain during curing. They are recom- quality to consider. The concrete
properties or replace some of the mended for agricultural applications should be placed with the stiffest
cement. even though they are slightly weaker consistency possible but still be
than standard cement. reasonable to finish. A measure of
Concrete is weak in tension. Its concrete workability is slump. Table 1
strength in compression depends on shows suggested slump ranges for
the proportions of the mix. The various types of construction. High
slump, or flowing concrete, usually
contains excess water that dilutes the
water-cement paste and makes it
weaker. Enough water is needed for full

1 Pm-1589 / February 1995

curing, but excess water leaves voids adds to more cracking. If high slump Placing of concrete
when it evaporates. If a mix is too stiff concrete is essential to the success of A concrete slab on grade starts with a
to handle well, do not add water; reject the project, produce it by using one of properly prepared site. Concrete
the batch, or add cement and water. the high range water-reducer admix- requires no special soil as long as the
Adding only 1⁄2 gal/bag of Portland tures, also called super-plasticizer. soil is homogeneous and provides
cement lowers strength more than These admixtures greatly increase the uniform support for the slab. A moist
roughly 10 percent (500 psi). Concrete workability of the concrete for as much subgrade is especially important to
made with excess water also experi- as 30 minutes, after which the concrete prevent too rapid extraction of water
ences greater shrinkage, which typically returns to its original form. from floors and similar slabs that are
placed in hot weather. All hard and soft
spots should be removed and
Table 1. Recommended maximum slump recompacted so they are consistent with
the rest of the soil. Reinforcement rods
Slump (inches)
may help bridge small soft spots below
Type of Construction Hand Mechanical the poured concrete. Care should be
taken to see that debris are removed
Mass concrete 3 2
from the spaces of the concrete.
Pavements, slabs, footings,
reinforced foundation walls 4 3 Concrete should be placed as nearly as
possible in its final position. It should
Beams, columns, reinforced walls 5 4
not be placed in large quantities at a
Hand consolidating includes rodding and spading. Mechanical vibration permits stiffer given point and allowed to run or to be
mixes. Mass concrete has little or no reinforcing and is in a relatively large section (for worked over a long distance in the
example, a block of two steps and a small porch). form. This practice results in segrega-
tion, because the mortar tends to flow
Table 2. Durability and strength for air-entrained concrete out ahead of the coarser material.
Position the truck, and use a movable
Approximate Strength Water-Cement Ratio chute to place concrete as nearly as
Application (psi) (lb. water/lb. cement) possible to its final position to reduce
Feed bunks, slats, the tendency of over working.
above ground bunkers 4,500 0.44
Strike off the concrete with a vibrating
Manure tanks, parking lots 4,000 0.49
screed. Some are effective to a concrete
Feedlot floors, walls, drives, depth of about 12 inches. Additional
reinforced concrete walls, consolidation of concrete along
beams and columns 3,500 0.53
bulkheads often is achieved with
Footings, foundation walls, internal vibrators. Avoid allowing
gravity retainer walls 3,000 0.62 screeds to vibrate after the concrete
has been consolidated because this
Durability (weathering and chemical resistance) and strength depend primarily on water-
cement ratio. Adding extra water rapidly lowers durability and strength. tends to bring excessive fine material
to the surface.

If you don’t have a screed, you can use

a straight 2 3 4 board, working it side-
to-side to work the concrete while
moving it forward. Keep a small
amount of concrete ahead of the screed
to prevent low spots. Avoid starting and
stopping the vibrating screed frequently
because the accompanying movement
removes entrained air. Immediately
after screeding, work a bullfloat over

2
the slab at right angles to the direction than 1 inch to about 7 inches in ▪ continually wetting the concrete with
of screeding. The bullfloat removes diameter and with frequencies of 3,600 a soaker hose.
small ridges left by the screed and to 13,000 vpm. Vibrators consolidate
slightly depresses the larger aggregates. concrete by pushing the coarse aggre- Walls usually are cured by covering
gate down and away from the points them with polyethylene sheets.
Outdoor slabs and those with livestock of vibration. Exposed to typical summer tempera-
traffic should not be troweled smooth. tures, concrete will cure in three to
Outdoor slabs normally should be Form vibrators may be attached to the seven days. Cooler weather may require
finished with a broom. Various finishes exterior of forms. They are especially more time. Little curing occurs when
may be desired for different ages and useful for consolidating concrete in the concrete temperature is below
species of livestock. For breeding thin-walled members and with metal 40 degrees F. Concrete must be
surfaces for swine, a 4- to 6-inch forms. maintained at 70 degrees for three days
diamond pattern made with grooved or 50 degrees for five days to cure
saw cuts may be desirable. Cuts Curing properly. Do not allow it to freeze for
should be 1⁄4- to 3⁄8-inch deep and 1⁄4- to Concrete does not dry. Instead, it cures, the first four days to prevent damage.
1
⁄2-inch wide. or hardens, due to the hydration
reaction between the cement and water. Joints
The choice of floor finishes often is the Curing is the process of keeping water There are three types of joints used in
most difficult challenge for a concrete in the concrete. Begin the curing concrete construction: isolation,
contractor. The desired finish on floors process as soon as the surface is hard construction, and control. Isolation
varies even within the same type of enough to prevent damage. On hot days joints are used to separate structures
described finish. Different types of with low humidity and/or windy that are expected to move separately
brooms will result in different textures conditions, be sure to cover the (figure 1). The movement of a floor
of floor surfaces. concrete to prevent rapid evaporation slab usually differs from that of
of the water. Other conditions can abutting building elements, such as
Concrete placed in forms contribute to rapid evaporation. walls, columns, foundations, and
Place concrete in lifts of up to 24 Covering the concrete usually affords footings. To be effective, an isolation
inches. Place consecutive lifts while the adequate protection. joint must allow horizontal and vertical
previous lift is still plastic. Vibrate, rod, differential movement. In general, an
or otherwise consolidate each lift. Commonly used methods for curing isolation joint uses 1⁄2- or 3⁄4-inch thick
Penetrate the previous lift about one- include: asphalt impregnated fiberboard, which
fourth of the depth. Immersion-type may be termed an expansion joint.
vibrators are commonly used to ▪ covering the concrete with a poly- To isolate columns on separate footings
consolidate concrete in walls, columns, ethylene sheet, from a floor slab, use a round or
beams, and slabs. Immersion spud square blockout.
vibrators are available in sizes of less ▪ spraying a liquid curing membrane on
the concrete, and

Crack ©

Column
Isolation
©
§ Joints
§
¶ ¶

§ Contraction Contraction
Joints Joints ©

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1. Isolation joints around columns can be circular (a) or square (b). If no isolation joints are used around columns or
if the corners of the isolation joint do not meet contraction joints, radial cracking (c) can occur.

3
Construction joints, used as an aid Use of synthetic fibers holds cracks together after they have
during construction, allow concrete to Synthetic fibers are no substitute for formed. From an economic standpoint,
be poured in sections of manageable structural (primary) reinforcement in using fibers eliminates the costs of
size. They also can act as contraction concrete because they add little or no handling and placing wire mesh. Also,
joints, providing stress relief by strength. However, structural reinforce- wire mesh must be placed properly to
allowing horizontal movement of the ment doesn’t provide its benefits until be effective. This is not a concern with
slab. Construction joints are used at the concrete hardens. Unlike structural fibers, which disperse evenly through-
edge of each strip of a large slab. The reinforcement, synthetic fibers provide out the concrete during mixing. And
joint often consists of a tongue and benefits while concrete still is plastic. unlike wire mesh, synthetic fibers are
groove key formed by attaching a half They also enhance some of the proper- noncorrosive and won’t rust.
round or beveled 1 3 2 piece of wood ties of hardened concrete. Synthetic
to the form and then casting the next fibers are most commonly added to Joint sealing
concrete strip to complete the key. concrete for slab-on-grade construction There are several reasons to seal joints
to reduce early plastic shrinkage in floors:
As concrete dries, it usually shrinks cracking and increase impact- and
about 1⁄8 inch in 20 feet. Contraction abrasion-resistance and toughness. The ▪ to keep out debris, making floors
joints (also called control joints) are fibers also can be added to precast easier to clean;
used to control the cracking that can concrete to improve resistance to
result from shrinkage, temperature handling stress; to pumped concrete to ▪ to prevent entry of water, chemicals,
changes, and repeated wetting and improve cohesiveness; and to shotcrete or bacteria; and
drying. Most contraction joints are to reduced rebound and material waste.
induced. Joints are formed by cutting ▪ to improve joint appearance.
through the slab or wall to a depth Both synthetic fibers and wire mesh
equal to 25 percent of the thickness of used as a secondary reinforcement can But sealing can be expensive and time-
the slab. Commercially available plastic help control cracking in cast-in-place consuming, so don’t seal a joint unless
strips also may be used and are placed concrete. The primary difference is necessary. In some floors, joint sealing
during concrete placement. The cut when and how they work. Fibers are is essential. In food-processing plants,
establishes a weakened plane that most beneficial soon after concrete strict hygiene requirements often
dictates the crack location if stress placement by controlling the formation demand sealing of every joint.
exceeds the tensile strength of the of plastic shrinkage cracks. Wire mesh,
concrete. As a rule, a 4-inch slab is on the other hand, does not prevent
jointed at 8-foot intervals, and a 5-inch crack formation. Instead, the mesh
slab is jointed at 10-foot intervals. You
should not exceed a joint spacing of
15 feet.

File: Engineering 1-1

Prepared by Dwaine Bundy, professor and and justice for all Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State
Jay D. Harmon, assistant professor and The Iowa Cooperative Extension Service’s University of Science and Technology and
extension agricultural and biosystems programs and policies are consistent with the United States Department of Agricul-
engineer, Department of Agricultural and pertinent federal and state laws and regu- ture cooperating. Robert M. Anderson, Jr.,
Biosystems Engineering. lations on nondiscrimination regarding director, Ames, Iowa. Distributed in
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, furtherance of the Acts of Congress of
age, and disability. May 8 and June 30, 1914.