Alex Jensen

BRAE 433
11-18-2009
Lab 3/7
Concrete Mixing and Testing Labs

Objective:
The class was divided into three separate groups; each assigned to a separate water to
cement ration. The goal was to become familiar with the procedure of mixing concrete,
performing a slump test, and the process of testing the strength of concrete cylinders and
beams.

Mixing
Team BAMF was assigned with the water to cement ration of .4. The team began with
adding the recommended amount of water, cement, and aggregate by weight. A 2%
moisture content in the sand was assumed and incorporated to the total weight of water
added to the mix. After the recommended
Table 1 Initial mixture by weight
amounts of ingredients were added,
additional water and cement needed to be
added to increase the workability of the Lab Three 0.40 Recommended Weights
Water 28 lb
concrete. Table 1 shows the initial amount Cement 70 lb
of material added to the mix. The final Sand 88.9 lb
mixture by weight is summarized in Table 2 Coarse Aggregate 138.4 lb
% Moisture 2 %
Actual Sand 90.7 lb
Table 2 Final Concrete Mixture Actual Water 26.2 lb
Total Weight 325.3 lb
Final 0.40 Weights Total Volume 2.2 ft^3
Water 28 lb
Cement 120 lb
Sand 88.9 lb
Coarse Aggregate 138.4 lb
% Moisture 2 %
Actual Sand 90.8 lb
Actual Water 46.7 lb
Total Weight 395.9 lb
Total Volume 3.1 ft^3
Water:Cement 0.4

and meets the requirement for the water to cement ration of .4.
After the concrete was mixed, a slump test was performed to ensure that the concrete
mixture was of adequate consistency. Team
Figure 1 Example of 2 inch slump on .4
BAMF was able to achieve an acceptable 2 water to cement concrete
inch slump.

Forms
To create the concrete beams, wooden forms were used. WD-40 was used to lubricate
the forms. The team took extreme care not to get any lubricant on the reinforcing steel
which was set into three of the six rectangular Table 3 Steel diameter in Rectangular
Beams
beams. The six inch concrete cylinders were cast
in plastic forms. Table 3 summarizes the
effective diameter of the steel used reinforcing the Beam Diameter Steel (in)
1 0.249
three rectangular beams.
2 0.25
3 0.251
Testing:
The beams and cylinders were allowed to cure for 28 days to allow them to reach their
effective 28-day strength. For the reinforced and non reinforced beams, testing was
conducted on the Baldwin testing machine in lab 4. The mode of
failure for the non-reinforced beams was cracking and then sudden
failure. Figure 2
Nonreinforced Beam shows how the beam
2000 failed suddenly at a
given load. For the
Force (lbs

1500

steel reinforced beams,

1000

500

0 the ultimate strength of

the beam was much
0 0.02 0.04 0. 06 0.08 0.1
-500
Figure 2 Baldwin
Time (sec)
higher. Figure 3 shows Testing Machine
the strength curve of a
reinforced concrete beam. The concrete
yielded first within the elastic region of the
Figure 3 Baldwin Test results for NR Beam
.25 in Diameter Steel R einfo rc ed B eam

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5

T ime (sec)

strength curve, at time .75, the steel begins to yield. At time .25, the maximum load
held by the beam is witnessed. When the strength curve drops off, the steel has failed.
For the Cylinder testing, the Forney testing machine was used to determine the
compressive strength of the six inch concrete cylinders.. For the higher water to cement
ratio mixes, a shear failure was the main
mode of failure. With Team BAMF's .4 mix, Figure 4 Testing Results for .250 in diameter
columnar failure was reinforced beam
observed due to a higher
compressive strength in the concrete.
Conclusion:
With a smaller water to cement ratio, there is a
larger achievable compressive strength in the
Figure 5 Forney concrete. This is due to the fact that there are
testing machine
less voids filled by water during the set/curing

Figure 6 Column Failure

in .4 water to cement ratio
process. After the curing process is complete this water will evaporate and leave behind
a void. The more voids in the mix, the weaker the concrete will be. Appendix A shows
all tabulated calculations including the theoretical and actual strength for each test
scenario.