UNIT –II

CEMENT CONCRETE AND

ITS MANUFACTURE
Definition:
Cement Concrete is a mixture of
• Cement
• Sand
• Pebbles
• Water
CONCRETE:
• In its simplest form, concrete is a mixture of
paste and aggregates.

• The paste, composed of cement and water, coats

the surface of the fine and coarse aggregates.

• Through a chemical reaction called hydration,

the paste hardens and gains strength to form the
rock-like mass known as concrete.
Images of Concrete:
Properties of Concrete:

• High compressive strength

• Free from corrosion
• Free from atmosphere agents
• Hardens like stone
• More economical than steel
• Week in tension
• Initial shrinkage ( loss of water through forms)
• This tendency of cement concrete can be
maximized by proper curing of concrete
• It is porous
• Grading and consolidation of the aggregates
required
• Minimum water cement ratio should be adopted
• It forms hard surface
Specification of Concrete:
Concrete when used on construction work is specified in
one of the following ways
Prescribed Mix
• (In terms of Volumes & max size of aggregate)
1:2:4 (20 mm) thus , for non-structural work.
• 1 - cement , 2- fine aggregate , 4 - coarse aggregate of 20
mm.
Designed Mix
• (In terms of grade) (Structural work)
• Grade denotes 28th day cube strength in N/mm2
• Strength of concrete is determined by casting in 6 inch
moulds curing in prescribed conditions and then testing
it after 28 days.
Difference between prescribed and
Designed Mix:
• Prescribed mix is where you tell them the
exact composition (ingredients wise) you
want. 

Designated mix, you simply tell them the

minimum strength requirements, or the type
of duty (such as garage floor) that the
concrete will be subjected to and they meet
the specification for you.
Proportioning of Concrete:
• The process of relative proportions of cement, sand,
coarse aggregate and water, so as to obtain a concrete of
desired quality is known as the proportioning of
concrete.
• The proportions of coarse aggregate, cement and water
should be such that the resulting concrete has the
following properties:
• When concrete is fresh, it should have enough
workability so that it can be placed in the formwork
economically.
• The concrete must possess maximum density.
• The cost of materials and labour required to form
concrete should be minimum.
• It is observed that if a vessel is taken and filled with stones , of
equal size the voids about 45% are formed. This is independent
of size of stone .
• The result can be verified by pouring water in a vessel till it is
full. The volume of water added in the vessel represents the
amount of voids.
• The theory of formation of concrete is based upon this
phenomena of formation of voids.
• When coarse aggregate is placed such voids are formed ,when
sand is added it occupies these voids. When powdered cement
added it occupies the voids of sand ,Finally when water is
added it occupies very fine voids between cement particles.
• During this process a chemical reaction takes place between
water and cement and this is termed as CONCRETE.
Types of Proportioning Concrete:

• Arbitrary Method
• Fineness Modulus Method
• Minimum Void Method
• Maximum Density Method
• Water – Cement Ratio Method
Arbitrary Method:

• Arbitrary – Based on random choice.

• The proportions of cement , sand , and coarse aggregate
are fixed arbitrary such as 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 depending
upon on the nature of work.
• In general the expressions of cement , sand , coarse
aggregate is 1:n:2n.
• There is no rigid control over the strength of concrete
mix.
• Widely used in all works of small magnitude because of
its simplicity.
Fineness Modulus Method:
• In fineness modulus method , the fineness modulus of
sand and aggregate is determined by the standard test.
• FINENESS MODULUS is used to indicate an index number
which is roughly proportional to the average size of the
entire quantity of the aggregate.
• The standard test are carried out with help of ten BIS
sieves and dividing the sum by 100.
• Various experiments have determined that the certain
values of fineness modulus give better workability with
less quantity of cement.
Minimum voids Method:

• In this method , the voids of coarse and fine aggregates

are determined separately to get dense concrete.
• Quantity of fine aggregates fills the voids in coarse
aggregates.
• Quantity of cement fills the voids in fine aggregates.
• Sufficient water is added to the mix to make it workable.
• In practice the quantity of fine aggregate is kept upto
10% and cement is about 15%.
Maximum Density Method:

• This is based on the principle that the densest concrete is

achieved by proportioning its aggregates in a such a
manner the heaviest weight of concrete for same volume
is obtained.
• A box is filled with fine and coarse aggregates, The
proportion which gives the heaviest weight is then
adopted.
It is not popular due to following reasons
• Grading cannot be accurately achieved.
• There is no control over the strength of concrete.
Water Cement ratio Method:
• Strength and the workability of concrete is dependent only on
the water cement ratio.

• The lower water content with certain limits produces stiff

paste and increased in strength.

• Whereas, higher water content increases the workability. The

excess water evaporates leaving pores in concrete.

• Thus increased water cement ratio lowers the strength of

concrete.
WATER CEMENT RATIO:
The water in concrete has to perform the following 2
functions

• The water enters into chemical reaction with cement and

this causes hardening and setting of cement.
• The water lubricates the aggregates and it facilitates the
passage of cement through voids of aggregates . This
makes the concrete workable.
• It is found that water required for above 2 functions is
about 0.5 – 0.6 times the weight of cement.
• The ratio of amount of water to the amount of cement by
weight is termed as WATER CEMENT RATIO.
• The quantity of water is usually expressed in terms of liters
per bag of cement.

• The lower water content with certain limits produces stiff

paste and increased in strength.

• Whereas, higher water content increases the workability.

The excess water evaporates leaving pores in concrete.

• The strength of concrete is inversely proportional to

water – cement ratio.
Workability:
• The term workability is used to describe the ease or
difficulty with which the concrete is handled ,
transported , and placed in forms with mini loss.
• Workability which is suitable for mass structures is not
suitable for thin structures.
• The compaction is either ramming or vibrating
depending upon the work.
• Workability of concrete is dependent upon the type of
construction.
• If concrete is too wet the coarse aggregate settle at the
bottom resulting non uniform composition.
• If too dry difficult to handle.
• Both these conflicts can be solved by proper
proportioning of concrete.
The important facts are as follows:
• More water added result into low strength and poor
durability.
The degree of workability can be obtained from
• By changing the proportions of fine and coarse aggregate
incase concrete mixture is too wet.
• Adding small quantity of water cement paste if the
concrete mixture is too dry.
• Concrete mixture may vary for one work to another.
• The workability of concrete is affected by water cement
ratio.
• Also affected by grading, shape, texture and maximum
size of coarse aggregate used in the mixture.
• In order to measure the workability various test are
developed.
• Flow test
• Compacting test
• Slump test
• None of these test gives satisfactory results but may
provide information within a range of variation in
workability.
• Slump test does not measure the workability of concrete.
• It is useful in detecting variations in uniformity of mix of
given proportions.
Slump Test:
• The operator holds the cone ,standing on the foot pieces.
• The cone is filled 1/4th and rammed with a rod which is of
16mm dia and 20mm long.
• Strokes to be given vary from 20 – 30.
• The remaining portion is filled with similar layers.
• The cone is gradually raised vertically and removed.
• The concrete is allowed to subside and height is
measured.
• The slump of concrete is obtained.
Advantages of Slump Test:
• Can easily detect the difference in water content.
• Apparatus is cheap, portable and convenient.

Limitations of Slump Test:

• No direct relationship between workability and value of
slump.
• It is not suitable for aggregate greater than 40mm.
• It occurs in many shapes so it is difficult to decide the correct
value.
• Slump occurs only in plastic mix not in dry mixes.
Concrete slump test
Recommended Slums:
• Road construction 20-40mm
• Concrete for curbs, parapets, piers, slabs and
walls 40 to 50mm
• Normal rcc works-80-150mm
• Mass concrete 25-50mm
Curing of concrete:
Meaning:
• Concrete surfaces are kept wet for a certain period to promote
hardening to the cement.
• It controls the temperature and moisture movement from and
into the concrete.
Purpose of Curing:
• Protects the concrete surfaces from sun and wind.
• It is necessary to retain water until the concrete is fully hardened.
• Strength gradually increases if curing is efficient.
• Shrinkage is reduced, Durability is increased.
Period of curing:
• It depends upon the type of cement and nature of work.
• For portland cement the period is of 7 – 14 days.
• If rapid hardening cement is used curing period is considerably
reduced.
Effects of Improper Curing:
• Compressive and Flexural strengths are reduced.
• Cracks are formed.
• Durability decreases.
• Weathering resistance are decreased.
Factors affecting evaporation of water from concrete:
1. Air temperature
2. Fresh concrete temperature
3. Relative Humidity.
4. Wind Velocity.
1,3 & 4 depends upon the environmental influences , but 2 can
be monitored and supervised.
Methods of Curing:
• Ponding with Water
• Covering with wet jute bags
• Covering with wet sand , saw dust etc
• Covering with water proof paper
• Continuous sprinkling
• Applying curing compounds.
• The above ponding is best method and used in practice,
Squares of depth 50mm are formed and flooded.
• Covering with sand and with water proof paper have limited
use and used in certain circumstances.
• Spraying is most common method.
PONDING WITH
WATER
• Covering with wet jute bags
Covering with water proof paper

Continuous sprinkling
Guniting :
• It is the most effective process of repairing concrete work
which has been damaged .
• It is also used to provide an impervious layer.
• Gunite is a mixture of cement and sand in ratio of 1:3
• Cement gun is used to deposit this mixture under a pressure
of 20 – 30 N/cm2
• The cement is mixed with slightly moist sand and necessary
water is added .
• A regulating valve is provided to regulate the quantity of
water.
• The surface to be treated is cleaned and washed.
• The nozzle of the gun is kept at a distance of 750 – 850mm.
• Velocity of nozzle varies from 120 – 160 m/sec
Advantages of Guniting:
• High compressive strength is obtained.
• Strength of about 56 – 70 N/mm2 is obtained at 28 days.
• High impermeability.
• Repairs are carried out in any situation within a short time.
Guniting
WATER PROOFING:
• Dense concrete is essential
• Free from cracks , it is water tight
• Storage tanks, Reservoirs, basements,
swimming pools.
Dense concrete can be obtained by,
• Adopt correct grading and proportioning of
cement and aggregates.
• Clean and non porous aggregates.
• Correct Water cement ratio
• Proper curing
• Water proofing compound
All roofs are constructed in modern age are of
RCC therefore necessary to give some
treatment of waterproofing.
IMPROPER
WATER PROOFING
4 methods of waterproofing:
1. Finishing

2. Bedding concrete and Flooring

3. Mastic asphalt

4. Use of waterproofing Compounds

Bedding Concrete:
Mastic asphalt
FORMWORK CONSTRUCTION:
• Concrete is contained in timber or steel
casing for a certain period after its placing

• Also known as SHUTTERING, CENTERING,

FORMWORK or MOULDS…

• Formwork is removed when concrete has

hardened sufficiently and to support its self
weight.
Precautions:
• Formwork Can be easily removed and used again.

• Least hammering is required for its removal.

• Inside of the surface should be treated with crude

oil, or soap solution.

• Strong to bear the dead load of wet concrete as

well vibrating the concrete.

• Arranged in such a way there is minimum leakage.

Consolidation :
• In some types of construction, the concrete is
placed in forms, and then consolidated.
Consolidation compacts fresh concrete to
mold it within the forms and around
embedded items and reinforcement and to
eliminate stone pockets, honeycomb, and
entrapped air.
Manufacturing of concrete:
• Batching
• Volume Batching
• Weight Batching
• Mixing
• Hand Mixing
• Machine Mixing
• Transporting
• Belt Conveyors
• Transit Mix
• Placing (Formwork)
• Compacting (Hand or Vibrators)
Incorporation of steel
• Concrete is strong in compression but
weak in tension so reinforcement rods are
adopted.

• As concrete is weak in tension to provide

stability over buildings to avoid
unacceptable structural failure or cracks.
Special Concrete:
• Concrete is most vital material in modern
construction.
• In addition to normal concrete, other varieties in
use are, high strength and high performance
concrete, self compacting, light weight, high
density, fibre reinforced, polymer, coloured
concrete etc.
• The making of concrete is an art as well as a
science.
• Special types of concrete are those with out-of-
the-ordinary properties or those produced by
unusual techniques. Concrete is by definition a
composite material consisting essentially of a
binding medium and aggregate particles, and it
can take many forms.
• These concretes do have advantages as well as
disadvantages.