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M10, M15, M20 are the commonly used nominal mixes used in construction.
For higher grade of concrete, i.e. M25 and above, it is advised to have
designed mix concrete.
The concrete mix can be designed from M10 to various grades of concrete
such as M50, M80, M100 etc for various workability requirements from no
slump to 150mm slump values. These grades of concrete can be achieved by
variations in the mix proportions and laboratory tests to ascertain it.
Initial set retardation to control the initial setting time of concrete based
on requirements.
3. Quality control at site: The strength and durability of concrete depends on the
degree of quality control during construction operation at site. Nominal
mixes of concrete assumes the worst quality control at site based on past
experiences.
Thus, for design mix concrete, it is essential to understand the quality
control capability of contractor and workmen at construction site in mixing,
transporting, placing, compacting and curing of concrete. Each step in
concrete construction process affects the strength and durability of concrete.
The availability of workmen also affects quality control of concrete. The more
skilled workmen and supervision helps to maintain good quality construction.
6. Batching and mixing methods: There are two types of batching method, i.e.
volumetric batching and batching by weight. These two conditions should be
known for concrete mix design calculations.
Mixing methods include manual mixing, machine mixing, ready mix concrete
etc. The quality control of concrete varies with each type of mixing method.
M10 3.5
M15 3.5
M20 4.0
M25 4.0
M30 5.0
M35 5.0
M40 5.0
M45 5.0
M50 5.0
10mm 5%
20mm 2%
40mm 1%
10mm 208
20mm 186
40mm 165
If the shape of aggregate or slump value is differing from above, then some
adjustments are required as follows.
Condition Adjustment
W = water content
C = cement content
(f) Type of exposure the structure will be subjected to (as defined in IS:
456) Mild
(+3/25) x 25 =
Slump 25-50 mm 50-75 25
+3
Shape of
Angular Angular Nil
Aggregate
Total +3
In the present example against mild exposure and for the case of reinforced
concrete the minimum cement content is 300 kg/m3 which is less than 383.2
kg/m3. Hence cement content adopted = 383.2 kg/m3.
As per clause 8.2.4.2 of IS: 456
pump able
Workability -10% See Note 2
concrete
Total -10%
Note 1: For every 0.05 change in w/c, the coarse aggregate proportion is to
be changed by 0.01. If the w/c is less than 0.5 (standard value), volume of
coarse aggregate is required to be increased to reduce the fine aggregate
content. If the w/c is more than 0.5, volume of coarse aggregate is to be
reduced to increase the fine aggregate content. If coarse aggregate is not
angular, volume of coarse aggregate may be required to be increased
suitably, based on experience.
Note 2: For pump able concrete or congested reinforcement the coarse
aggregate proportion may be reduced up to 10%.
Hence,
For casting trial -1, mass of ingredients required will be calculated for 4 nos
cube assuming 25% wastage.
In this case,
Slump value = 25 mm
Mix is very cohesive, workable and had a true slump of about 60 mm.
It virtually flowed during vibration but did not exhibit any segregation and
bleeding.
An increase of 0.05 in the w/c will entail a reduction in the coarse aggregate
fraction by 0.01.
W/c = 0.55
Slump value = 75 mm
Mix is stable, cohesive, and workable and had a true slump of about 75 mm.
W/c = 0.45
W/c = 0.44