E-Compendium

on

Concrete Technology
B. Tech. (Civil Engineering)
CE 238

Dr. Ravi K. Sharma

Retired Professor
Department of Civil Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

College of Technology and Engineering
Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology
Udaipur – 313001
 Declaration
This E-compendium on Concrete Technology has been prepared
for the student of M. Tech. (Civil Engineering) First Year 2020-21
using contents freely available online. Different text books were
also referred. This E-Compendium is compiled and edited by Dr.
Ravi K. Sharma for the academic purpose that can be used by the
students of MPUAT, Udaipur as reference for their course.

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 CONTENTS

Chapter Title Page No.

1. Ingredients of Concrete 1-32

2. Mix Proportioning of Cement Concrete 33-48

4. Various Types Concrete 49-60

5. Advanced Testing Methods 61-71

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 INGREDIENTS OF CEMENT CONCRETE
Cement concrete is the most widely used as a construction material. It isdifficult to point out
another material of construction which is so versatile as compared to the cement
concrete.It is the material of choice where strength, permanence, durability,impermeability,
fire resistance and abrasion resistance are desired.Cement concrete is one of the seemingly
simple but actually complex material. The behaviour of concrete with respect to long-term
drying shrinkage,creep, fatigue, morphology of gel structure, bond, fracture mechanism and
polymermodified concrete, fibrous concrete are some of the areas of active research in
order tohave a deeper understanding of the complex behaviour of this material.

Cement concrete is a site-made material unlike other materials of construction and as such
canvary to a very great extent in its quality, properties and performance owing to the use
ofingredient materials except cement. To make concreteof stipulated quality, an intimate
knowledge of the interaction of various ingredientswhich controlthe production of concrete
is required to be known, both in the plastic conditionand in the hardened condition.

The main ingredients of cement concrete are Cement, Aggregates (Fine aggregate and
Coarse aggregate) and Water.The suitable ingredients of concrete and their relative
amounts depend upon the objective of the production of concrete ofdesired strength,
durability and workability as economically as possible.

The history of cement is as old as thehistory of engineering construction. Some kind

ofcementing materials were used by Egyptians,Romans and Indians in their ancient
constructions.The raw materials required for production of cement are calcareous
materials,such as limestone or chalk, and argillaceous material such as shale or clay.The
process of production of cement consists of grinding the raw materials, mixingthem
intimately in certain proportions depending upon their purity and composition andburning
them in a kiln at a temperature of about 1300 to 1500°C.At this temperature, thematerial
sinters and partially fuses to form nodular shaped clinker. The clinker is cooled andground
to fine powder with addition of about 3 to 5% of gypsum. The product formed byusing this
procedure is known as Portland Cement.

There are two processes known as “wet” and “dry” processes depending upon whetherthe
mixing and grinding of raw materials is done in wet or dry conditions. With a little changein
the above process, the semi-dry process is also available where the raw materials are
grounddry and then mixed with about 10-14 per cent of water and further burnt to
clinkeringtemperature.

The dry process requires much less fuel as the materials are already in a drystate, whereas
in the wet process the slurry contains about 35 to 50 per cent water which require more
fuelto drythis slurry. In modern plants dry process is therefore used and this process has
been shown in following figure.

Portland cement reacts with water and starts hydration process during which binding and
other properties are developed. The production of cement, formation of compounds after
burning and hydration is schematic represented in the figure.
The detailed description of cement has been mentioned in the attached sheets.
Cement is the factory-made standard component in cement concrete. Other important
ingredient, namely, aggregates are natural materials and can vary to any extent in many of
their properties. Hence, aggregates are consideredvery important constituent of cement
concrete. The aggregates give body to the concrete, reduce shrinkage and affect economy.
Earlier, aggregateswere considered as chemically inert materials but nowit has been
recognized that some of the aggregatesare chemically active and also that certain
aggregatesexhibit chemical bond at the interface of aggregateand cement paste. The mere
fact that the aggregates occupy70–80 per cent of the volume of concrete, theirimpact on
various characteristics and properties ofconcrete is undoubtedly considerable. To know
moreabout the cement concrete, it is very essential that one shouldknow more about the
aggregates which constitutemajor volume in the concrete. The study of theconcrete is
incomplete without the detailed study of the aggregates.
Water is also an important ingredient of concrete as itactively participates in the chemical
reactionwith cement. Since water helps to form the strength giving cement gel, the quantity
and quality of water isrequired to be looked into very carefully. It has beendiscussed enough
in in literature that the quantity ofmixing water controls the properties of cement concrete
but the role of quality of water is notconsidered generally. In practice, very often great
controlon properties of cement and aggregate is exercised,but the control on the quality of
water is oftenneglected. Since quality of water affects the strength and durability,it is
necessary to study the purity and qualityof water.

A popular yard-stick to the suitability of water formixing concrete is that, if water is fit for
drinking it isfit for making concrete. This does not appear to be atrue statement for all
conditions. Some waterscontaining a small amount of sugar would be suitablefor drinking
but not for mixing concrete andconversely water suitable for making concrete maynot
necessarily be fit for drinking. Hence, testing of water before the use is very important.
The detailed description of aggregates (fine and coarse) and water has been also
mentioned in the attached sheets.
Admixture is known as an additional construction material other than cement, water and
aggregates. This material is used as additional ingredient of concrete and is added to the
cement concrete to improve the properties of cement concrete.
These days concrete is being used for wide varieties of purposes to make it suitable in
different conditions. In these conditions ordinary concrete may fail to exhibit the desired
quality performance or durability. In such cases, admixture is used to modify the properties
of ordinary concrete so as to make it more suitable for any situation.
The history of admixtures is as old as the history of concrete. Few type of admixtures called
Water Reducers or High Range Water Reducers, generally referred as plasticizers and
superplasticizers, are of recent interest.Unfortunately, the use of plasticizers and
superplasticizers have not become popular in India till recently (1985). There are many
reasons for non-acceptance for wider use of plasticizers in India: Ninety per cent of
concreting activities are in the hands of common builders or Government departments who
do not generally accept something new. Plasticizers were not manufactured in India and
were to be imported, and hence costly. Lack of education and awareness of the benefits
accrued by the use of plasticizers, and production of generally low strength concrete (type
M15 to M30), which do not really need the use of plasticizers. Now, since early 1980’s, some
internationally renowned companies collaborated with Indian companies and have started
manufacturing chemical admixtures in India. As a part of marketing they started educating
consultants, architects, structural engineers and builders about the benefits of using
admixtures. In India, use of higher strength concrete for high rise buildings and
bridgesWehave also started. Use of Ready-mix concrete has really promoted the use of
admixtures in India, in recent times. It will be slightly difficult to predict the effect and the
results of using admixtures because, many a time, the change in the brand of cement,
aggregate grading, mix proportions and richness of mix alter the properties of concrete.
Sometimes many admixtures affect more than one property of concrete. At times, they
affect the desirable properties adversely. Sometimes, more than one admixture is used in
the same mix. The effect of more than one admixture is difficult to predict. Therefore, one
must be cautious in the selection of admixtures and in predicting the effect of the same in
concrete.
The detailed description of admixtures has been also mentioned in the attached sheets.