CONCRETE!MIX!DESIGN!LABORATORY!REPORT!

Timothy!Chan,!Viral!Gandhi,!Peter!Neyra,!Mathumai!Nagarajah,!Will!Roper!and!Hamed!Shariff!
Tutor&Group&11,&Department&of&Civil&Environmental&and&Geomatic&Engineering,&UCL,&London,&UK&
Received:!25!March!2016!

1.! ABSTRACT!
Different!mixes!of!concrete!yield!different!material!properties,!thus!it!is!important!to!understand!how!mixes!behave!
and!how!to!alter!them.!A!mix!of!concrete!was!designed!to!specified!conditions!and!tested!using!a!slump!test,!degree!of!
compactability! and! cube! compression! test.! The! results! were! then! compared! to! the! specifications,! and! the! mix! was!
revised!to!better!suit!the!conditions.!The!embodied!energy!and!carbon!were!also!calculated!for!the!revised!mix.!It!was!
understood!through!this!experiment!that!it!is!difficult!to!meet!the!specifications!of!concrete!do!to!the!varying!nature!of!
aggregates!and!cement,!thus!multiple!mixes!and!tests!are!needed!to!fully!understand!types!of!cement!and!aggregates.!

2.! INTRODUCTION!
Although!concrete!is!used!in!most!construction!projects,!its!mix!may!differ!depending!on!the!structural!requirements.!
The!strength!of!concrete!depends!on!the!amount!of!aggregates,!water!and!cement,!and!changing!these!amounts!can!
drastically!alter!characteristics!of!the!material.!For!projects,!a!mix!of!concrete!must!be!designed!to!certain!strength!and!
volume!requirements.!The!mix!is!then!tested!to!make!sure!that!it!is!of!a!good!standard.!These!tests!include!a!visual!
inspection,!a!slump!test,!a!compaction!test!and!a!7Zday!compressive!strength!test.!

This!report!will!describe!the!design!and!testing!of!a!mix!of!52.5!strength!class!concrete!with!a!strength!of!C30/37!after!
7!days!and!a!slump!class!of!S3!(maximum!125mm!slump).!The!concrete!will!be!design!and!mixed,!and!then!tested!as!
stated!above.!The!mix!will!then!be!revised!in!order!to!better!meet!the!above!criteria.!

3.! CONCRETE!MIX!DESIGN!
3.1.! AGGREGATE!GRADING!CURVES!
The!table!and!graph!shown!in!this!section!denote!the!results!of!a!sieve!analysis!performed!on!the!uncrushed!aggregates!
that!were!used!to!create!this!concrete!mix.!

Fine!Aggregate! Coarse!Aggregate!
Diameter!
Sample!Weight!=!1330.5!g! Sample!Weight!=!1129.0!g!
(mm)!
Weight!Retained!(g)! %!Retained! %!Passing! Weight!Retained!(g)! %!Retained! %!Passing!
40! 0! 0.00! 100.00! 0! 0.00! 100.00!
20! 0! 0.00! 100.00! 49.5! 4.38! 95.62!
10! 0! 0.00! 100.00! 713! 63.15! 32.46!
4! 351! 26.38! 73.62! 347! 30.74! 1.73!
2! 68.5! 5.15! 68.47! 15! 1.33! 0.40!
1! 70! 5.26! 63.21! 0! 0.00! 0.40!
0.5! 170! 12.78! 50.43! 0! 0.00! 0.40!
0.25! 407! 30.59! 19.84! 0! 0.00! 0.40!
0.125! 251! 18.87! 0.98! 0! 0.00! 0.40!
Pan! 13! 0.98! 0.00! 4.5! 0.40! 0.00!
Total! 1330.5! 100! Z! 1129.0! 100! Z!
Table&1&=&Results&of&a&sieve&analysis&performed&on&the&concrete&aggregates&

! 1!
 Fine Coarse Combined
100.00

80.00
Percentage!Passing!(%)

60.00

40.00

20.00

0.00
0.1 1 10 100
Diameter!(mm)
Figure&1&=&Aggregate&grading&curves&for&the&concrete&mix&

3.2.! MIX!PROPORTION!CALCULATIONS!
The!filled!in!concrete!mix!design!sheet!is!shown!on!the!next!page.!All!assisting!graphs!can!be!found!in!Appendix!1.!A!
proportion!defect!of!5%!was!chosen,!meaning!that!the!required!k!value!from!a!Gaussian!distribution!will!be!1.64.!

The!mix!design!is!summarised!in!the!table!below.!

10mm!Course! 20mm!Course!
Cement!(kg)! Water!(kg)! Fine!Aggregate!(kg)!
Aggregate!(kg)! Aggregate!(kg)!

10! 3.4! 12! 7.1! 14.2!

3
Table&2&=&Weights&of&concrete&mix&components&needed&for&0.02m &of&concrete&

! !

! 2!
!

Table&3&=&Mix&design&calculations&for&the&laboratory&session& &

! 3!
3.3.! BATCH!WEIGHTS!
This!section!shows!the!calculation!of!free!water!needed!for!the!mix!above.!The!water!contained!in!moist!aggregates!is!
taken!into!account!so!that!excess!water!is!avoided.!

Mixed!Proportions! Measured!Total!Moisture!
Material! Absorption!(%!by!Weight)!
(kg!in!a!batch!of!0.02m3)! Content!(%!by!Weight)!
10mm!Aggregate! 7.1! 1.0! 4.7!
20mm!Aggregate! 14.2! 1.0! 1.5!
Sand!(Fine!Aggregate)! 12.0! 1.5! 3.1!
Cement! 10.0! Z! Z!
Free!Water! 3.9! Z! Z!
Table&4&=&Percentage&of&water&absorbed&by&the&mix&components&

7.1 14.2 12
!"#$%&'$#()&'(*+ℎ#&-((.(.& /+ = 3.9 + ∗ 0.01 + ∗ 0.01 + ∗ 0.01 = 4.3/+!
1 + 0.01 1 + 0.01 1 + 0.01
7.1 14.2 12
'$#()&;)(<(=#&*=&>++)(+$#(< /+ = && ∗ 0.047 + ∗ 0.015 + ∗ 0.031 & = 0.9/+!
1 + 0.01 1 + 0.01 1 + 0.01

∴ ABCDE&FGHIEC&JK&FBCGL&MGGNGN = 4.3 − 0.9 = P. QRI&!

4.! CONCRETE!TESTING!
4.1.! TEST!RESULTS!

4.1.1.! SLUMP&TEST&
The!result!of!the!slump!test!was!a!slump!of!105!mm.!This!is!within!the!required!range!for!slump!class!S3.!

4.1.2.! DEGREE&OF&COMPACTABILITY&TEST&
The!measurements!of!all!four!sides!of!the!test!container,!as!well!as!their!average,!are!shown!in!Table!5.!The!average!
was!then!used!to!find!the!degree!of!compactability!(equation!for!this!shown!in!Section![Link].).!

Degree!of!
Left!(mm)! Bottom!(mm)! Right!(mm)! Top!(mm)! Average!(mm)!
Compactability!

44! 42! 39! 48! 43.25! 1.12!

Table&5&=&Results&of&the&degree&of&compactability&test&

4.1.3.! CUBE&COMPRESSION&TEST&
The!concrete!mix!was!cast!in!cubes!and!tested!for!compression!strength!after!7!days.!The!results!of!the!tests!are!shown!
in!Table!6.!

! Cube!1! Cube!2! Cube!3! Average!

Weight!Air!(g)! 2380! 2416! 2394! 2397!
Weight!Water!(g)! 1377! 1401! 1390! 1389!
Relative!Density! 2.373! 2.380! 2.384! 2.379!
Failure!Load!(kN)! 470.3! 481.1! 497.4! 483!
Failure!Stress!(N/mm2)! 47.03! 48.11! 49.74! 48.30!
Table&6&=&Average&density&and&failure&stress&for&the&concrete&mix&

! !
! 4!
4.2.! BRIEF!COMMENTS!ON!THE!TESTING!METHODS!

4.2.1.! FRESH&CONCRETE&TESTING&
[Link].! Concrete!mixing!
The!BRE!(British!Research!Establishment)!method!used!in!preparing!the!trial!mix!involves!a!procedure!that!uses!the!
material! properties! and! empirical! data! obtained! from! previous! mixtures.! Variability! in! concrete! contents! properties!
increases!the!uncertainty!in!the!strength!of!the!concrete!obtained!from!a!certain!mix.!By!using!the!main!fundamental!
relationship!between!strength!and!water/cement!ratio!for!a!cement!with!same!cement,!coarse!aggregate!type!and!age!
an!initial!estimate!of!the!quantity!of!concrete!contents!can!be!calculated.!!

It!is!important!to!add!the!contents!in!order!the!of!coarse!aggregates,!fine!aggregates!and!finally!cement!to!allow!dry!
component!to!mix!uniformly.!Water!was!poured!at!a!constant!rate!to!allow!even!distibution.!Mix!design!proportions!
are!allowed!to!mix!for!3!minutes.!The!mix!was!allowed!to!rest!for!1!minute,!followed!by!30!seconds!of!further!mixing.!
The!loss!of!dry!cement!in!air!due!to!its!light!weight!is!not!taken!into!account!in!the!experiment!causing!an!error.!!

[Link].! Visual!appearance!
Observation!of!fresh!concrete!in!static!or!moving!condition!provides!an!indication!whether!the!mix!has!an!adequate!
workability.!Initially!the!sample!size!is!assessed!to!check!if!it!is!large!enough!to!hold!the!aggregates!particles!of!maximum!
size!in!its!content.!By!trowelling!to!bring!to!the!surface!the!cement!paste!in!the!mix,!the!richness!of!fines!in!the!mix!can!
be!estimated.!It!also!indicates!the!mix!is!cohesive!and!stable.![1]!

[Link].! Slump!test!
Slump!test!is!one!of!the!single!point!tests!that!measures!consistence.!According!to!BS#EN#206 the!required!slump!value!
for!the!class!S3!should!be!in!the!range!of!100Z150mm![2].!To!measure!this!value,!the!true!slump!should!retain!the!overall!
shape!of!the!cone!(without!any!collapse).!The!observed!shape!of!the!slump!test!did!not!slump!evenly!all!around!as!
expected! for! a! true! slump.! Instead! it! had! a! slightly! sloping! surface! with! a! highest! point! on! one! side.! The! slump!
measurement!to!this!highest!point!is!105mm,!which!produced!an!expected!result.!!

Other!factors!that!affected!the!results!are:!
I.! number!and!vigour!of!stokes!for!compaction!:3!layers,!25!strokes!per!layer!
II.! the! time! to! lift! the! cone! (5+Z/2! s):! During! lifting! the! cone! the! it! was! lifted! vertically,! avoiding! any! lateral!
movement.!!
III.! the!time!to!perform!the!test!(less!than!2.5!min)!
IV.! Surface!friction:!To!reduce!the!surface!friction!moisten!the!surface!of!the!base!of!the!mould!and!inside!of!the!
mould.!!
!
The! test! was! performed! accordingly! to! reduce! the! inaccuracy! caused! by! the! above! mentioned! factors.! And! also!
throughout!the!whole!process!the!mould!was!firmly!held!against!its!base!and!the!concrete!that!dropped!when!the!top!
surface!of!cone!is!levelled!with!the!tapping!rod.!!

!
Figure&2&=&Slump&test&apparatus&and&procedure&

!
! 5!
[Link].! Degree!of!Compactability!Test!
Degree!of!compactability!is!the!ratio!of!initial!height!to!the!final!height!of!the!compacted!concrete.!Since!the!difference!
between!the!initial!and!final!heights!is!a!measure!of!the!amount!of!compaction!the!concrete!undergoes!when!loaded!
into!the!container,!the!higher!consistence!concrete!will!produce!lower!values![3].!

During! the! specimen! preparation! process! container! should! be! filled! without! tamping! to! avoid! any! compaction! of!
concrete.!Therefore,!the!filling!is!done!by!tilting!the!trowel!sideways!from!each!of!all!four!upper!edges!of!the!container!
in!turn.!This!allows!the!concrete!to!fall!under!only!its!own!weight.!Concrete!is!only!partially!compacted!at!this!stage.!!

The!compaction!done!by!vibrating!table!is!stopped!when!the!formation!of!air!bubbles!at!the!surface!reduced!to!a!very!
low!rate.!It!is!important!to!understand!that!this!process!does!not!completely!remove!the!trapped!air.!At!least!1%!is!
expected!to!be!still!in!the!concrete!mix.!!

The!measurement!of!height!change!is!taken!in!all!four!sides!of!the!container.!And!the!average!of!these!value!is!used!as!
change!in!height.!!

S(+)((&"T&U"VW$U#$X*%*#Y = ℎ (ℎ − <)!

!
Figure&3&=&Degree&of&compactability&test&apparatus&and&procedure&

4.2.2.! HARDENED&CEMENT&TESTING:&CUBE&TESTING&
[Link].! Density!
Even!though!the!concrete!is!cast!into!cube!shapes!the!difficulty!in!determining!the!volume!with!precision!is!high!due!to!
the!irregularities!caused!in!the!surface!of!the!hardened!cement.!Therefore,!Archimedes!principle!is!used!to!measure!
volume!in!order!to!increase!the!accuracy!in!determining!the!density!of!concrete.!The!buoyancy!force!that!causes!the!
difference!in!object!measured!in!water!and!air!directly!includes!the!volume!to!be!determined.!!The!density!determined!
from! this! method! produces! accurate! results.! It! also! indicates! the! compaction! quality! of! concrete! from! the! value! of!
density!obtained,!hence!the!strength!variation!can!also!be!explained!using!this!result.!!

[Link].! Compressive!strength!
The!failure!load!measures!by!applying!compression!force!on!the!concrete!cube!placed!in!a!lubricated!steel!moulds!gives!
a!measure!of!the!compressive!strength!of!the!concrete.!The!relationship!between!time!and!the!allowable!compressive!
strength!of!the!concrete!can!be!observed!using!the!results!from!this!test.!Expected!failure!pattern!is!!fracture!in!the!
cube!due!to!the!applied!compression!stress!!at!an!angle!of!45°!starting!from!the!corners!of!the!cube.!If!any!other!failure!
pattern!observed!in!concrete!it!possibly!indicates!a!large!distribution!of!coarse!aggregates!at!the!point!where!the!crack!
initiated!which!causes!non!uniformity!in!concrete.!Thus!the!strength!result!can!vary!widely.!!

! 6!
4.3.! DISCUSSION!OF!TEST!RESULTS!
! Test!Value! Specification!Value!
Weight!in!Air!(g)! 2397! 2360!
Weight!in!Water!(g)! 1389! 1397!
Failure!Stress!(N/\\] )! 48.293! 50!
Relative!density! 2.38! 2.36!
Slump!(mm)! 105! 125!
Table&7&–&Table&comparing&the&specification&values&of&the&concrete&mix&with&the&actual&values&obtained&from&the&experiment&

According!to!Table!7,!the!weight!in!air!is!higher!than!the!actual!value.!The!density!of!the!concrete!has!a!minor!difference!
between!the!test!value!and!the!specification!value.!This!can!be!caused!by!several!reasons!such!as!a!higher!water!content!
than!the!design!value,!more!aggregate!added!than!expected!and!the!decrease!in!the!margin!of!the!concrete.!The!weight!
in!water!is!less!than!the!specification!value!and!this!suggests!that!the!water!content!inside!the!concrete!is!higher!than!
our! expectation.! This! also! explains! the! higher! relative! density! of! the! test! value.! In! terms! of! failure! stress,! the! test!
concrete! did! not! reach! the! level! of! specification.! The! failure! stress! is! higher! than! the! characteristic! strength! of! 37!
N/VV ^ .!One!of!the!explanation!of!not!reaching!the!target!mean!strength!is!the!lower!margin!of!the!concrete.!Although!
the!slump!of!both!values!are!not!equal!to!each!other,!the!slump!is!still!in!between!the!boundary!of!S3,!which!the!slump!
is!from!100mm!to!150mm.!

It!is!very!common!that!the!properties!of!trial!mix!are!not!same!as!the!specification.!Therefore,!various!of!adjustments!
are!required!for!the!second!mix!in!order!to!match!the!specification!values.!There!are!two!kind!of!adjustments!are!often!
used,!which!are!change!in!water/cement!ratio!and!change!in!water!content.!For!the!former,!it!will!be!chosen!when!the!
the!cube!strength!is!different!from!the!specification.!On!the!other!hand,!the!latter!is!used!when!the!slump!does!not!
achieve!the!boundary!of!the!chosen!class.!

In!this!case,!the!adjustment!is!to!change!the!water!content!from!initially!0.39!to!0.382,!and!this!is!shown!in!the!revised!
concrete!mix!(Section!4.4).!

4.4.! MIX!REVISION!
The!revised!mix!is!shown!on!the!next!page.!Assisting!graphs!are!in!Appendix!1.!A!summary!of!this!mix!is!shown!below.!

10mm!Course! 20mm!Course!
Cement!(kg)! Water!(kg)! Fine!Aggregate!(kg)!
Aggregate!(kg)! Aggregate!(kg)!

10.2! 3.9! 10.9! 7.4! 14.8!

Table&8&=&Weights&of&materials&making&up&the&revised&concrete&mix&

! !

! 7!
! Revised!Mix!Design!

&

Table&9&=&Revised&mix&design&calculations& &
! 8!
5.! COST,!ENERGY!AND!CARBON!
5.1.! COST!OF!THE!MIX!
The!table!below!shows!the!cost!of!the!mix!per!cubic!metre.!

Material! Cost!per!Tonne!(£/t)! Cost!per!kg!(£/kg)! Mass!per!m3!(kg)! Cost!(£/m3)!

Cement! 85.00! 0.085! 510! £43.35!
Coarse!aggregate! 21.00! 0.021! 1110! £23.31!
Fine!aggregate! 25.00! 0.025! 545! £13.63!
Total! 131.00! 0.131! 2165! £80.29!
Table&10&=&Cost&of&the&concrete&mix&per&cubic&metre&

5.2.! EMBODIED!ENERGY!OF!THE!MIX!
The!embodied!energy!was!calculated!using!the!individual!component!embodied!energies.!The!embodied!energy!for!the!
cement,!fine!aggregates!and!course!aggregates!were!found!separately!using!energy!coefficients.!The!calculations!are!
shown!in!the!table!below.!

Embodied!energy! Embodied!energy!of!
Material! Mass!per!cubic!metre!(kg)!
coefficient!(MJ/kg)! material!(MJ)!
Cement! 510! 5.50! 2805!
Sand!(fine!aggregate)! 545! 0.083! 45.2!
Glass! 0! 15! 0.0!
Stone!(coarse!aggregate)! 1110! 0.083! 92.13!
Total! 2165! Z! 2942.3!
Table&11&=&Embodied&energy&values&for&the&components&of&the&revised&concrete&mix&[4]&

The!embodied!energy!per!kilogram!can!be!found!by!dividing!the!above!value!by!the!total!mass!of!one!cubic!meter!of!
the!concrete!mix!(including!the!mass!of!water):!2360!kg.!This!gives!a!value!of!1.25!MJ/kg.!

5.3.! EMBODIED!CARBON!OF!THE!MIX!
The!embodied!carbon!of!the!mix!was!calculated!in!a!similar!way!to!the!embodied!energy.!The!embodied!carbon!of!each!
of!the!components!of!the!revised!mix!is!shown!below.!

Embodied!Carbon! Embodied!Carbon!of!
Material! Mass!per!Cubic!Metre!(kg)!
Coefficient!(kgCO2/kg)! Material!(kgCO2)!
Cement! 510! 0.93! 474.3!
Sand!(fine!aggregate)! 545! 0.0048! 2.616!
Glass! 0! 15! 0!
Stone!(coarse!aggregate)! 1110! 0.0048! 5.328!
Total! 2165! Z! 482.244!
Table&12&=&Embodied&carbon&values&for&the&components&of&the&revised&concrete&mix&[4]&

The!embodied!energy!per!kilogram!of!the!revised!concrete!mix!is!therefore!0.204!kgCO2/kg.!

! 9!
6.! CONCLUSION!
To!conclude,!performing!trial!mixes!of!concrete!batches!is!important!because!it!allows!the!any!imperfections!caused!by!
the!components!of!the!mix!to!become!known.!Not!all!cement!is!the!same,!and!aggregates!vary!drastically!in!shape!and!
surface!area,!thus!the!same!mix!of!concrete!made!from!differently!sourced!aggregates!and!cement!will!have!different!
properties.! By! performing! a! trial! mix! using! designed! concrete! and! testing! the! batch! for! slump,! compactability! and!
strength,! it! was! possible! to! revise! the! mix! so! that! it! better! meets! the! required! specifications.! Calculating! the! cost,!
embodied!energy!and!carbon!of!the!concrete!also!showed!how!varying!mixes!of!concrete!can!have!different!prices!and!
different!impacts!on!the!environment.!

7.! REFERENCES!
[1]!Bartos,!Peter.!Fresh&Concrete:&Properties&And&Tests.!Scotland!Uk:!Elsevier.!Print.!

[2]!Domone,!Peter,!and!J.!M!Illston.!Their&Nature&And&Behaviour.!London:!Taylor!&!Francis!Ltd,!2010.!Print.!

[3]!Neville,!Adam!M.!Properties&Of&Concrete.!London:!Pitman!Pub.,!1981.!Print.!

[4]!Sustainable!Energy!Research!Team.!Inventory!of!Carbon!&!Energy.!Bath:!University!of!Bath;!2011.!

8.! APPENDIX!1!–!KEY!GRAPHS!FROM!MIX!CALCULATIONS!

! 10!
 !

! 11!