Discussions

Design and testing (concrete mix) concrete experiment is about process of

finding the proportions of concrete mix design in terms of ratio of cement,
sand, and coarse aggregates. For example, a concrete mix proportions is
1:2:4 means that cement, sand and coarse aggregates are in the ratio 1:2:4.
In this experiment, our calculated the mass of ingredients of concrete based
a large group.

Next, the requirement of concrete mix design should be known before

calculations for concrete mix. There is the requirement for concrete mix
design:

Characteristic strength of concrete- the strength of concrete below which not

more than 5% of test result samples are expected to fall. This is also can be
called as the grade of concrete required.

Figure 1.1 Characteristic strength of concrete

Workability requirement of concrete- it is commonly measured by slump test.

I. Quality control at site- The strength and durability of concrete depends

on the degree of quality control during construction operation at site.
The availability of workmen can affect the quality control at site.
II. Exposure conditions of concrete: Exposure conditions play an
important role in the mix design of concrete. The exposure conditions
such as chemical actions, coastal areas etc. needs to be considered for
the given site. Generally exposure conditions as per code of practices
are mild, moderate, severe, very severe and extreme exposure
conditions for concrete constructions.
III. Batching and mixing methods: There are two types of batching
method. For example, volumetric batching and batching by weight.
IV. Quality of materials: Each construction material should have been
tested in laboratory before it is considered for mix design calculations.
V. Special Requirements of concrete: Special requirement of concrete
such as setting times, early strength, flexural strength.
Before doing the concrete, we had to calculate the weight of water, cements,
fine aggregates and coarse aggregates to design the concrete based on the
required. In our experiment, we had to combine in a large group, which it
makes the weight of water, fine aggregates and all become higher.

Slump test

After mix all the proportion based on the ratio in mass or volume, we had to
do the slump test for our concrete. Concrete slump test is to determine the
workability or consistency of our concrete mix for laboratory or site.

Figure 1.2 Types of slumps

There are many types of slump that we can refer:

I. The true slump is the only slump that can be measured in the test. The
measurement is taken between the top of cone and top of the concrete
after the cone had been removed.
II. The zero slumps are the indication of very low water-cement ratio,
which results in dry mix. These types concrete is usually uses for road
construction.
III. The collapsed slump is indication of high water-cement ratio. In this
experiment, we can see that it more water and the mix of concrete be
too wet. This makes which a slump test is not appropriate and be had
less bonding.
IV. The shear slump is indicate that the result is incomplete and the result
be retested. The slump that we call as shear slumps if the different
 height of top more than 180mm. the diagram of types of slumps we
can refer based on the figure 1.2.

The result of slump test that we got from the experiment is 54mm. Based on
this result, the consistency of our slump is plastic based on the figure 1.3.

SLUMP TEST

Figure 1.2

From our experiment, the value target of slump is 80mm, but we got the
value of slump is 54mm, less than our target. The factor that can be affected
the value of our slump were properties of concrete ingredients. For example
aggregates and cement, temperature also has its effected on slump test
value. Based on the figure above, our slumps is identify as true slump, but
the value of our slumps less than target because of the factors. To overcome
or to make the value of slump increase, we had to add the chemical
admixtures like mid- range water reducing agent (superplastic) without
changing the water-cement ratio.

COMPACTING FACTOR TEST

The workability of concrete is important because if the concrete too more

water, coarse aggregates will be at the bottom of concrete mass and as a
result concrete becomes non-uniform composition. Meanwhile, if the
concrete less water, it will be difficult to handle and place it in position. As
we know, the test for workability of concrete is slump test. Compaction factor
test and Vee- bee consistometer test.

The compacting ratio is to determine the workability of concrete and it is

defined as the ratio of the weight of partially compacted concrete to the
weight of fully compacted concrete. It also more sensitive and accurate
compare to the slump test. The test is suitable for concrete mixes of very low
workability.

The formula of compacting factor test is defined as:

Compacting factor= (W2-W1/W3-W1)

Where,
W2= the weight of partially compacted concrete
W2= the weight of fully compacted concrete
W1 = the weight of empty cylinder

Figure 1.4 apparatus of compacting test

Figure 1.5 Degree of Workability

During this experiment, our concrete mixes only fall a little bit because the
condition of our concrete is not too wet and a little dry. The value of
compacting factor is 0.92.
Based on the figure 1.5, the degree of workability concrete is medium.
Where, our slump is 54mm and the compacting factor is 0.92. This is show
that, the applications of concrete is suitable for normal reinforced work
without vibration and heavily reinforced sections with vibration.

Factors which affect workability of concrete are Cement content of concrete,

Water content of concrete, Mix proportions of concrete, Size of aggregates,
Shape of aggregates, Grading of aggregates, Surface texture of aggregates,
Use of admixtures in concrete, Use of supplementary cementitious materials

After all the test was finish, we put the concrete in the moulds and tamp
each layer to ensure that there is no air bubbles were trapped in the
concrete mix. This step is also to prevent voids or pores in our concrete as
well as honeycomb structure at the concrete surface.