VOLUME BATCHING OF CONCRETE

THEORY & EXAMPLE CALCULATION

Suryakanta | June 17, 2016 | Building Construction, Concrete, Concrete Technology,
Construction, How To, Materials, Road Construction | 4 Comments

What Is Volume Batching of Concrete?

Batching of concrete means measuring different ingredients of concrete (i.e. cement, sand,
coarse aggregate and water) before mixing it. When this measurement is done on the basis of
volume, we call it Volume Batching. Below are mentioned some of important points to
remember before adopting volume batching method in field.

Volume batching is not a good method for measuring concrete materials.

It is not applicable in case of reinforced concrete structure.

This method of concrete batching may not be economical.

It can be only used for unimportant concrete or for small concrete works.

How Volume Batching Is Done In Field?

Before batching concrete ingredients in terms of volume, we need to know two things.
1. What is the relative proportion of concrete ingredients in terms of volume?
2. What is the water-cement ratio?
After knowing these two things you can proceed to batch concrete ingredients in field.
The table shown below can be used as a reference to find out relative proportion of different
ingredients, for different grades of concrete.
Grade of
Concrete
M 10
M 15
M 20
M 25

Relative Proportion of Ingredients by

Volume
Fine
Coarse
Cement
Aggregate Aggregate
1
3
6
1
2
4
1
1.5
3
1
1
2

In General
We Specify It
As
1:3:6
1:2:4
1:1.5:3
1:1:2

The water-cement ratio to be used must be as per the contract.

Step-1-Batching of cement
Cement is always measured by weight. Mostly it is used in terms of bags. One bag of cement
weighs 50 kg and has a volume of 35 litres (or, 0.035m3). Cement should not be batched by
volume because its weight per unit volume varies according to the way the container is filled.

Step-2-Batching of aggregate (by volume)

Gauge Box
A gauge box is used (as shown in the picture) for batching of fine and coarse aggregate by
volume. The box should not be too shallow. It should be completely filled with aggregates.
The top of the materials should be struck off level with a straight edge. The ratio of materials
of concrete decides the capacity of the box. Generally capacity of a gauge box is equal to the
volume of one bag of cement (i.e. 35 litres). Convenient sizes of gauge boxes to suit different
proportions are given in the table below.
Inside Dimensions of gauge
Capacity In
box in cm
Litres
Length Breadth Depth
25
25
25
40
30
25
25
48
35
27
27
48
40
29
29
48
45
30
30
50
50
31
31
52
Note: The moisture present in aggregates and bulking of sand must be accounted for while
volume batching is adopted.
The following table gives the approximate surface moisture carried by aggregates as per IS456-2000.

Condition of Aggregates

Approximate Quantity of
Surface Mositure
Percent by
Litre per m3
Mass

Very wet sand

Moderately wet sand
Moist sand
Moist gravel or crushed rock

7.5
5.0
2.5
1.25-2.5

120
80
40
20-40

Step-3-Batching of water
Water is measured either in kg or litres as may be convenient. In this case, the two units are
same, as the density of water is one kg per litre. The quantity of water required is calculated
by multiplying water-cement ratio with weight of cement.

Example Calculation
Now let us solve an example, so that you become more confident in the field. In this example
I have also tried o show you, how correction for bulking is applied and how correction of any
surface moisture is applied.

Data Given

Relative proportion of cement : sand : coarse aggregate is 1:2:4

Water-cement ratio is 0.6

Moisture content in fine aggregate (i.e. sand) is 6% by volume

Moisture content in coarse aggregate is 1.5% by volume

Bulking of fine aggregate is 20%

Solution
Step-1-Calculating Volume of Dry material Required
Ratio of materials by volume
=1:2:4
Volume of one bag of cement
=35 litres
Volume of dry fine aggregate required
=35*2=70 litres
Volume of dry coarse aggregate required
=35*4=140 litres
Water-cement ratio
=0.60
Total water required
=0.60*50=30 litres
Step-2-Applying Correction for Moisture Present in Aggregate
Moisture percent in fine aggregate (F.A.)
=6%
Amount of moisture present in F.A.
=70*(6/100)=4.2 litres
Moisture percent in coarse aggregate (C.A.)
=1.5%
Amount of moisture present in C.A.
=140*(1.5/100)=2.1 litres
So extra amount of moisture present in C.A &
=4.2+2.1=6.3 litres
F.A.

=Total water-extra amount of water present as

moisture content=30-6.3
Net water to be added
=23.7 litres
Step-3-Applying Correction for Bulking of fine aggregate
=20% of total volume of F.A.=70*(20/100)
Bulking of fine aggregate
Moist fine aggregate required

=14 litres
=70+14=84 litres