Fundamentals of Concrete

There is No such Animal as a

Cement @$&!*^#%
 Composition of Concrete
 PC + Water + Aggregates (FA & CA) + Voids
 Properties of Fresh Concrete and Hardened
Concrete
Fresh Properties - ASTM
 Slump

 Temperature

 Density & Yield

 Air Content

 Time of Setting
Hardened Properties - ASTM
 Strength

 AirContent
 Density, Absorption and Voids

 Volume Change

 Durability

 Permeability
Strength
Durability

 Freeze – Thaw
 Chloride-Ion

 Alkali-Aggregate

 Sulfate
How does Concrete Get Its
Strength
 PC + water = hydration reaction > GLUE +
Heat
 Cementitious material literally glues all of the
inert (non-reactive) aggregates together to
produce a solid load bearing mass that we call
PCC
 Strength is inversely proportional to the water-
to-cement ratio
Strength vs. w/c Ratio for PCC
Strength, psi

w/c ratio
What’s Important
 Good quality materials
 PC, water, coarse aggregate, and fine aggregate
 Proper Proportioning of the Materials
 Proper Mixing

 Placing and Finishing

 Proper Curing

 QC Testing
Other Types of Concrete
 Lightweight Concrete
 Structural and Non-structural (120 – 50 pcf)
 High Density Concrete (400 pcf)
 Mass Concrete
 Pre-placed Concrete
 No Slump Concrete
 Roller-Compacted Concrete
 Shotcrete (Wet and Dry)
PC does NOT come from
Portland Oregon
 History

 Portland Cement
 Limestone + Sand + Clay + Iron ore + heat(1500 C) =
PC Clinker + Grinding = PC powder
 Dry process and wet process (p. 22 and 23)
 Hydraulic Cement – hardens in air and under water
 Types I, II, III, IV and V
 What does 1 bag of PC weigh?
Cement kilns are HUGE ...
A cement kiln is the word's largest moving
manufacturing machine. Typically, they are
a huge cylindrical furnace 12 to 25 feet in
diameter and 450 to 1,000 feet in length.
They are set on a slight incline and rotate
from 1 to 4 RPM. Cement kilns can
process up 200 tons of raw material such
as limestone, clay, and sand each hour.
Cement kilns are HOT ...
Internal temperatures exceed 3,000ºF,
nearly one third the temperature of the
sun's surface.
Cement kilns are HUNGRY ...
The cement industry is the world's third
largest consumer of energy and typically
uses 12 tons of fuel each hour..
General Types of Cement
 Type I – General Purpose
 Type II – Moderate Heat, Moderate Sulfate
Resistance
 Type III – High Early Strength

 Type IV – Very Low Heat

 Type V – High Sulfate Resistance

Blended Cements

 Type IP or P – Portland Pozzolan Cement

 Moderate heat and moderate sulfate resistance
 Class F Fly Ash – 15 to 25% (FDOT – 18-22%)
 High Early Strength
 Class C Fly Ash – 15 to 40%
Blended Cements
 Type IS or S - Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement
 Low Heat (FDOT)
 25 – 70%
Other Types of Cement

 High Early Strength Cements – RR

 Magnesium Phosphate – SET-45
 Calcium Aluminate Cements- Cement Fondu
 Calcium Sulfoaluminate – Rapid Set
RR Mixing Equipment
Mixing Water
 Potable
 ie. Water suitable for drinking
 Chloride < 0.05%

 Sulfate < 0.08%

 Organic salts < 0.05%

 sugar
Strength vs. w/c Ratio for PCC
Strength, psi

w/c ratio
Aggregates
 Coarse Aggregate
 Retained on #4 Sieve
 0.187 in (3/16”) or 4.76 mm
 Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic rock
 Granite
 Limestone
 River gravel
CA continued
 Maximum size from 6-in to 3/8-in
 Max size governed by ACI code
 Graded down to #4 sieve according to ASTM C136
 Standard Specification for Concrete Aggregates ASTM C33
(Table 5.5, p. 84-5).
 Common gradations, #467, #57, #67 and #8 (#89-FL)
 1-1/2 in max, 1-in max, ¾-in max, and 3/8-in max respectively
 Aggregate Testing according ASTM Standards
TABLE 5.2 (Page 81), Table 5.6 and 5.7, (page.
92).
 Dry-Rodded Unit Weight test of coarse aggregate ASTM C29
Dry-Rodded Unit Weight of CA
Test
Aggregates
 Fine Aggregate
 Passing #4 Sieve <3/16 - in.
 Natural Siliceous and Crushed Limestone Fines
 Aggregate Testing according to ASTM
 TABLE 5.2 (Page 81)
 Graded according to ASTM C33 OR FDOT 902
 Table 5.3
 See next slide
 Fineness modulus
 Indication of the average particle size (2.0 to 3.0)
Fine Aggregate Grading Limits
(ASTM and FDOT)
Sieve size % Passing
ASTM C33 FDOT 902
No. 4 95-100 95 - 100
No. 8 80-100 85 - 100
No. 16 50-85 65 - 97
No. 30 25-60 25 - 70
No. 50 5-30 5 - 35
No. 100 0-10 0-7
 #100 #4

ASTM C33 Grading Limits

Sieve Analysis Test
Aggregate Testing
AASHTO Standards
 T11, Materials Finer Than 75 μm (No. 200) Sieve in Mineral Aggregates by
Washing
 T19/ T 19M-00, Bulk Density (“Unit Weight”) and voids in Aggregate
 T21, Organic Impurities in Fine Aggregates for Concrete
 T27, Sieve analysis of Fine and Coarse Aggregates
 T84, Specific Gravity and Absorption of Fine Aggregate
 T85, Specific Gravity and Absorption of Coarse Aggregate
 T96, Resistance to Degradation of Small-Size Coarse Aggregate by
Abrasion and Impact in the Los Angeles Machine

ASTM Standards
 ASTM D4791, Standard Test Method for Flat Particles, Elongated
Particles, or Flat and Elongated Particles in Coarse Aggregate
 ASTM D5821, Standard Test Method for Determining the
Percentage of Fractured Particles in Coarse Aggregate
500 g
sample
Fineness Modulus Calculation
Sieve Size % Retained Cum. Cum.
%Retained %Passing
No. 4 0 0 100
No. 8 10 10 90
No. 16 25 35 65
No. 30 24 59 41
No. 50 26 85 15
No. 100 11 96 4
Pan 4 100 0
Total 285
FM 2.85
Lab1 Information
 Handouts

 UnitWeight of CA
 Gradation and FM of Fine Aggregate

 NO OPEN TOE SHOES

 Unit Weight of CA – ASTM C29
 Volume of Measure
 Unit Weight – loose condition

 Unit Weight – compacted condition

Calculation
1) Calculate the unit weight in both the loose and compact (dense)
conditions for the coarse aggregate.
γ bulk = (G - T) / V
where:
γ bulk = unit weight of the aggregate, lb/ft3
G = mass of the aggregate plus the measure, lb
T = mass of the measure, lb
V = volume of the measure, ft3
Gradation and FM of
Fine Aggregate –
ASTM C136
500 g
sample
Fineness Modulus Calculation
Sieve Size % Retained Cum. Cum.
%Retained %Passing
No. 4 0 0 100
No. 8 10 10 90
No. 16 25 35 65
No. 30 24 59 41
No. 50 26 85 15
No. 100 11 96 4
Pan 4 100 0
Total 285
FM 2.85
Fine Aggregate Grading Limits
(ASTM and FDOT)
Sieve size % Passing
ASTM C33 FDOT 902
No. 4 95-100 95 - 100
No. 8 80-100 85 - 100
No. 16 50-85 65 - 97
No. 30 25-60 25 - 70
No. 50 5-30 5 - 35
No. 100 0-10 0-7
Recycled Concrete Aggregate
 Oldconcrete that has been removed and
crushed to produce aggregate.
 Coarse aggregate in new concrete
 Fine aggregate in new concrete
 Best combination is CA with natural fine aggregate
 Good strength
 Drying shrinkage problem
 Base-coarse replacement for natural limestone
 Pervious concrete pavement using recycled
concrete as coarse aggregate.
Pervious Concrete
Mineral Admixtures
 Pozzolanic (cement replacement)
 Class F Fly ash – 15 to 25% bwc
 Class C Fly ash –15 to 40% bwc
 Blast Furnace Slag (cement replacement)
 25 to 70% bwc

 Silica Fume (cement addition)

 6 to 12% bwc
Chemical Admixtures –
ASTM C-494 (Ch. 6)
 Table 6-1
 Water Reducing – Type A
 Set Retarding – Type B
 Set Accelerating – Type C
 Water Reducer-Set Retarding – Type D
 Water Reducer-Accelerating – Type E
 High Range Water Reducers – Type F
 HR Water Reducer-Set Retarding -Type G
Air-Entraining Agents –
ASTM C260 (Ch. 8)

 Admix that produces stable bubble system

 Liquid and solid

 Low dosage rates relative to other chemical

admixtures (0.005 to 0.05% bwc).
 Increase in durability – @freeze/thaw

 Reduces compressive strength

 3-5% per percent of entrained air
Fibers (see Table 7-1)
 Natural – “Egyptian pyramids”
 Straw, bamboo, and wood
 Glass – “alkali attack”
 Steel
 Fibers
 Synthetic – 1 to 1.5 lb per cu. yd.
 polypropylene
 nylon
Ethics and Safety
 PC – The most expensive component of the
mix
 Don’t get shorted on this material
 Life Cycle Costs vs. Material Costs
 PCC inherently a safe material considering:
 Highly alkaline
 Eye protection
 Skin irritations
How about the Costs?
Item % of Total Cost
Concrete Materials 24%

Labor & 8%
Equipment
Reinforcing Steel 12%
Labor & 7%
Equipment
Formwork 10%
Materials
Labor & 39%
Equipment
ASTM C143
 Sizeof slump cone
 Time to complete test
 Sampling – 5 min
 Start of test – 2.5 min
 Read to nearest ¼ in
 Rodding – 25 times per layer = 75 times
ASTM C138
 Bucket size
 Unit wt calc.

 Yield calc

 Rodding procedure
ASTM C231
 Aircontent by pressure method
 Rodding procedure

 Procedure

 Aggregate correction factor

 results
ASTM C173
 Aircontent – volumetric
 Rodding technique

 Method

 results