1

Comments

Concrete mix designs is best defined as a process in selecting suitable ingredients, which is
cement, aggregate, sand and water, and determining their relative proportions to give the
required strength, workability and durability. A design mix, which is a performance
specification stating required strength and minimum cement content but leaving the grading and
details of the mix design to be work out.

Objective of Mix Design

Concrete Mixer – Drum type 140L

Two main objectives for concrete mix design:

• To determine the proportions of concrete mix constituents of; Cement, Fine aggregate (or
normally Sand), Coarse aggregate, and Water.
• To produce concrete of the specified properties.
• To produce a satisfactory of end product, such as beam, column or slab as economically
as possible.

Theory of Mix Design

The Process of Mix Design
The method of mix design applied here is in accordance to the method published by the
Department of Environment, United Kingdom (in year 1988).

There are two categories of initial information required:

1. Specified variables; the values that are usually found in specifications.

2. Additional information, the values normally available from the material supplier.

Reference data consists of published figures and tables is required to determine the design values
including;

• Mix parameters such as target mean strength, water-cement ratio and concrete density.
• Unit proportions such as the weight of materials.

The design process can be divided into 5 primary stages. Each stage deals with a particular
aspect of the mix design:

Stage 1: Determining the Free Water/ Cement Ratio

i) Specify the required characteristic strength at a specified age, fc
ii) Calculate the margin, M.

M=kxs ….. [ F1 ]

where;
k = A value appropriate to the defect percentage permitted below the characteristic strength. [ k
= 1.64 for 5 % defect ]
s = The standard deviation (obtained from CCS 1).
CCS 1: Approximate compressive strength (N/mm2) of concrete mixes made with a free-
water/cement ratio of 0.5

iii) Calculate the target mean strength, fm

fm = fc + M ….. [ F2 ]

where;
fm = Target mean strength
fc = The specified characteristic strength

iv) Given the type of cement and aggregate, use the table of CCS 1 to obtain the compressive
strength, at the specified age that corresponds to a free water/cement ratio of 0.5.
CCS 4: Relationship between compressive strength and free-water/ cement ratio.

v) In figure CCS 4, follow the ‘starting line’ to locate the curve which passes through the point
(the compressive strength for water/cement ratio of 0.5). To obtain the required curve
representing the strength, it is necessary to interpolate between the two curves in the figure. At
the target mean strength draw horizontal line crossing the curve. From this point the required free
water/cement ratio can be determined.

Stage 2: Determining the Free-water Content

CCS 2: Approximate free-water contents (kg/m3) required to give various levels of workability.

Given the slump or vebe time, determine the free water content from table CCS 2.

Stage 3: Determining the Cement Content

Cement Content = Free Water Content / Free-water or Cement Ratio ….. [ F3 ]

The resulting value should be checked against any maximum or minimum value that may be
specified. If the calculated cement content from F3 is below a specified minimum, this minimum
value must be adopted resulting in a reduced water/cement ratio and hence a higher strength than
the target mean strength. If the calculated cement content is higher than a specified maximum,
then the specified strength and workability simultaneously be met with the selected materials; try
to change the type of cement, the type and maximum size of the aggregate.

Stage 4: Determining the Total Aggregate Content

This stage required the estimate of the density of fully compacted concrete which is obtained
from figure CCS 5. This value depends upon the free-water content and the relative density of
the combined aggregate in the saturated surface-dry condition. If no information is available
regarding the relative density of the aggregate, an approximation can be made by assuming a
value of 2.6 for un-crushed aggregate and 2.7 for crushed aggregate.
CCS 5: Estimated wet density of fully compacted concrete.

With the estimate of the density of the concrete the total aggregate content is calculated using
equation F4:

Total Aggregate Content = D – C – W ….. [ F4 ]

where;
D = The wet density of concrete ( in kg/m3)
C = The cement content (in kg/m3)
W = The free-water content (in kg/m3)

Stage 5: Determining of The Fine and Coarse Aggregate Contents

This stage involves deciding how much of the total aggregate should consist of materials smaller
than 5 mm, i.e. the sand or fine aggregate content. The figure CCS 6 shows recommended values
for the proportion of fine aggregate depending on the maximum size of aggregate, the
workability level, the grading of the fine aggregate (defined by the percentage passing a 600 μm
sieve) and the free-water/ cement ratio. The best proportion of fines to use in a given mix will
depend on the shape of the particular aggregate, the grading and the usage of the concrete.
CCS 6: Recommended proportions of fine aggregate according to percentage passing a 600 μm
sieve.

The final calculation, equation F5, to determine the fine and coarse aggregate is made using the
proportion of fine aggregate obtained from figure CCS 6 and the total aggregate content derived
from Stage 4.

Fine Aggregate Content = Total Aggregate Content x Proportion of Fines ….. [ F5 ]

Coarse Aggregate Content = Total Aggregate Content – Fine Aggregate

Procedures of Mixing
Production of Trial Mix

1. The volume of mix, which needs to make three cubes of size 100 mm is calculated. The
volume of mix is sufficient to produce 3 numbers of cube and to carry out the slump test.
2. The volume of mix is multiplied with the constituent contents obtained from the mix
design process to get the batch weights for the trial mix.
3. The mixing of concrete is according to the procedures given in laboratory guidelines.
4. Firstly, cement, fine and course aggregate are mixed in a mixer for 1 minute.
5. Then, water added and the cement, fine and course aggregate and water mixed
approximately for another 1 minute.
6. When the mix is ready, the tests on mix are proceeding.

Slump Test apparatus for Concrete Workability

Tests on Trial Mix

1. The slump tests are conducted to determine the workability of concrete.

2. Concrete is placed and compacted in three layers by a tamping rod with 25 times, in a
firmly held slump cone. On the removal of the cone, the difference in height between the
uppermost part of the slumped concrete and the upturned cone is recorded in mm as the
slump.
 3. Three cubes are prepared in 100 mm x 100 mm each. The cubes are cured before testing.
The procedures for making and curing are as given in laboratory guidelines. Thinly coat
the interior surfaces of the assembled mould with mould oil to prevent adhesion of
concrete. Each mould filled with two layers of concrete, each layer tamped 25 times with
a 25 mm square steel rod. The top surface finished with a trowel and the date of
manufacturing is recorded in the surface of the concrete. The cubes are stored
undisturbed for 24 hours at a temperature of 18 to 220C and a relative humidity of not less
than 90 %. The concrete all are covered with wet gunny sacks. After 24 hours, the mould
is striped and the cubes are cured further by immersing them in water at temperature 19
to 21oC until the testing date.
4. Compressive strength tests are conducted on the cubes at the age of 7 days. Then, the
mean compressive strengths are calculated.

The Calculations
Here is one example of calculation from one of the mix design obtained from the laboratory. We
have to fill in all particulars in the concrete mix design form with some calculations…
CCS 3: Relationship between standard deviation and characteristic strength.

Firstly, we specified 30 N/mm2 at 7 days for the characteristic strength. Then, we obtained the
standard deviation, s from the figure CCS 3. So, s = 8 N/mm2.

From the formula F1, k = 1.64 for 5 % defect. The margin, M is calculated as below:
M = k x s = 1.64 x 8 = 13.12 N/mm2

With the formula F2, target mean strength, fm is calculated as below:

Target mean strength, fm = fc + M
= 30 + 13.12 = 43.12 N/mm2

The type of cement is Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). For the fine and course aggregate, the
laboratory’s fine aggregate is un-crushed and for coarse aggregate is crushed before producing
concrete.
Then, we obtain the free-water/ cement ratio from table CCS 1. For OPC ( 7 days ) using crushed
aggregate, water/cement ratio = 36 N/mm2.

After that, from the figure CCS 4, the curve for 42 N/mm2 at 0.5 free-water ratio is plotted and
obtained the free-water ratio is 0.45 at the target mean strength 43.12 N/mm2.

Next, we specified the slump test for slump about 20 mm and the maximum aggregate size we
used in laboratory is 10 mm. For the specified above, we can obtained the free-water content
from table CCS 2 at slump 10 – 30 mm and maximum size aggregate 10 mm, the approximate
free-water content for the un-crushed aggregates is 180 kg/m3 and for the crushed aggregates is
205 kg/m3. Because of the coarse and fine aggregates of different types are used, the free-water
content is estimated by the expression:

Free-water Content, W
= 2/3 Wf + 1/3 Wc
= (2/3 x 180) + (1/3 x 205)
= 188.33 kg/m3

where,
Wf = Free-water content appropriate to type of fine aggregate
Wc = Free-water content appropriate to type of coarse aggregate

Cement content also can obtained from the calculation with the expression at F3:
Cement Content, C = Free Water Content / Free-water or Cement Ratio
= 188.33 / 0.45 = 418.52 kg/m3

We assumed that the relative density of aggregate (SDD) is 2.7. Then, from the figure CCS 5
with the free-water content 188.33 kg/m3, obtained that concrete density is 2450 kg/m3. The total
aggregate content can be calculated by:

Total Aggregate Content = D – C – W

= 2450 – 418.52 – 188.33 = 1843.15 kg/m3

The percentage passing 600 μm sieve for the grading of fine aggregate is about 60 %. The
proportion of the fine aggregate can be obtained from the figure CCS 6, which is 38 %. Then, the
fine and course aggregate content can be obtained by calculation:

Fine Aggregate Content

= Total Aggregate Content x Proportion of Fines
= 1868.74 x 0.38 = 700.40 kg/m3

Coarse Aggregate Content = Total Aggregate Content – Fine Aggregate

= 1843.15 – 700.40 = 1142.75 kg/m3

The quantity per m3 can be obtained, which is;

Cement = 418.52 kg
Water = 188.33 kg
Fine aggregate = 700.40 kg
Coarse aggregate (10 mm) = 1142.75 kg

The volume of trial mix for 3 cubes

= [(0.1 x 0.1 x 0.1) x 3] + [25% contingencies of trial mix volume]
= 0.006 + 0.00075
= 0.00375 m3

The quantities of trial mix = 0.00375 m3, in which is;

Cement = 1.57 kg
Water = 0.71 kg
Fine aggregate = 2.61 kg
Coarse aggregate (10 mm) = 4.29 kg

The Results of Mix Design

Slump Test = True Slump of 55 mm…

All the 3 concrete cubes produced were then cured for 7 days. After that, the compressive cube
test is carried out. The results are as follows:

Sample 1 2 3
Compressive Strength 32.37 33.54 35.70
Average (32.37 + 33.54 + 35.70) / 3 = 33.87

For cubes after 7 days of curing, compressive strength should not be less than 2/3 target mean
strength.
= 2/3 × 43.12 = 28.75 N/mm2 < 33.9 N/mm2

After 7 days of curing, the compressive strength of concrete cubes produced by the mix design
method pass the specific strength requirements.

Discussions Upon Mix Design

Although our compressive strength passes the specific requirements, we still identified several
factors which contribute to the lacking of compressive strength of concrete mixes produced in
the experiment. However, the main factor is the condition of aggregates whether it is exposed to
sunlight or rainfall.

When the free water/cement ration is high, workability of concrete is improved. However,
excessive water causes “honey-comb” effect in the concrete produced. The concrete cubes
become porous, and hence its compressive strength is well below the design value. Other
possible reasons include over compaction, improper mixing methods and some calculation
errors.
Few suggestion upon several steps to avoid the problems previously faced:

• All the raw materials, which is cement, aggregates, and sand should be protected from
precipitation or other elements which may affect its physical properties.
• The quantity of ingredients may be adjusted if necessary, theoretical values are not
always suitable. For example, if the aggregates are wet or saturated, less amount of water
should be added, vice versa.
• Compaction should be done carefully, as either under or over-compaction will bring
significant negative effect on the concrete produced.

The Conclusion
1. By using the concrete mix design method, we have calculated the quantities of all
ingredients, that is water, cement, fine and coarse aggregate according to specified
proportion.
2. The concrete produced did not fulfill the compressive strength requirements due to
several reasons. Furthermore, some steps mentioned above should be taken into
consideration to overcome this problem.

Standard reference for the mix design is as accordance to British Standard;

BS 5328: 1981 : Methods of Specifying Concrete including Ready-Mixed Concrete

WHAT IS CONCRETE

Concrete is the product of mixing, aggregate, cement and water.

The setting of concrete is a chemical reaction between the cement and the water, not a drying
process.
This reaction is called hydration, it evolves heat as does any chemical reaction, and the process is
irreversible.
There is an initial set when the concrete will cease to be liquid but have little strength (e.g. 6 to
24hrs. old), thereafter the concrete will gradually gain strength over time until it achieves the
strength required.
Differing mix proportions and cement types will achieve required strengths in differing time
spans.

CONSTITUENTS OF CONCRETE

Cement, Aggregate and Water, (and sometimes additives).

Aggregate
Aggregates are usually distinguished between fine and coarse aggregate.
Aggregates are classed as inert materials, such as washed natural sand (fine); and natural gravel,
which can be crushed to produce the appropriate size and grading of aggregate, and similarly
crushed, quarried stone (coarse).
The aggregate must have a minimum inherent strength requirement for structural concrete, the
coarse aggregate must not be weaker than the concrete paste.
All aggregate must be "clean", i.e. not contaminated with organic matter or clay/silty soils and
overburden during extraction and storage.

Cement
Basically a material made by heating limestone and a suitable clay to produce a clinker rich in
calcium silicates.
This clinker is ground to produce a fine powder, this is cement.
By using different clinkers, grinding them to differing degrees of fineness and the use of additives
many different types of cement are produced with varied properties in their use, e.g. rapid
hardening cement, sulphate resisting cement, etc..
Generally speaking the more cement in a mix the stronger more durable the concrete produced
will be, but this does have to be related to other factors, primarily the amount of water used in the
mix, i.e. water/cement ratio.

Water
Water is an extremely important part of concrete, and drinking quality water is usually required, or
water from an approved source free from impurities.

Additives
The most commonly used additive is a "foaming" agent to produce air entrained concrete, mainly
for carriageway concrete, but also other exposed situations.
Another common use of an additive is to increase the workability of concrete without adding extra
water and thus increasing the water/cement ratio and decreasing the strength of the concrete.

TIME TAKEN TO PLACE CONCRETE AFTER BATCHING

From the time of adding water to the cement the chemical reaction has begun and you only have a
limited amount of time to place and compact the concrete, this is usually specified as 90 minutes.
The delivery ticket of the load of concrete will be stamped with the time of batching.

ADDITION OF WATER

Given a set amount of cement and aggregate there is an optimum amount of water to be added to
produce a chemical reaction to give the maximum obtainable strength, too little or too much water
will produce a weaker concrete.
Unfortunately as in all things, life is not that simple, and the workability of the concrete has to be
considered when placing concrete, especially in difficult situations.
These situations can be areas of high density of reinforcing bars, complicated formwork design,
or where the concrete needs to be suitable for pumping.
In these situations water content is increased to make the concrete more workable, BUT this
increase in water content is calculated at the design stage and the cement content is increased
accordingly to retain the strength of the mix.

For every designed concrete mix with a specified strength there is a set WATER:CEMENT RATIO
which must be retained in order to achieve the designed strength.

WATER SHOULD NEVER BE ADDED TO CONCRETE, ESPECIALLY ON SITE, WITHOUT THE

CONSIDERATION OF ALL THE ABOVE POINTS,
AND THE APPROVAL OF THE ENGINEER

CONCRETE WORKABILITY

An on site simple test for determining workability is the SLUMP TEST.

This consists of a conical mould 300mm. high, with an opening at the top of 100mm. diam., and at
the bottom of 200mm. diam..
The mould is filled with concrete in 4 layers and rodded to remove air voids, with the smaller
orifice uppermost.
The "slump" is the difference in height between the height of the mould and the height of the
concrete column with the mould removed.
The workability of the concrete will depend upon the situation into which the concrete is being
placed.
Low workability, i.e. stiff concrete, is needed for carriageway concrete which is laid by a "paving
train".
High workability concrete is needed in situations of high density of reinforcing steel to enable the
concrete to flow around all the reinforcing without leaving any voids.

SPECIFYING CONCRETE STRENGTH

The strength/grade of concrete is specified and measured in newtons/sq. mm., meganewtons/sq.

metre or even megapascals, in fact the numerical figure will be the same in each case.
E.g. a strength of 20 newtons/sq.mm. is the same as 20 meganewtons/sq.metre.

The strength/grade of concrete is normally specified by stating the strength you wish the concrete
to achieve after a period of 28 days.

The specifications governing the design, use and testing of concrete have undergone tremendous
changes in the lat few years, I will not go into this topic on this page other than to say you may
like to be aware of the introduction of,

BS 8500-1:2002:Concrete - Complementary British Standard to BS EN 206-1

Part 1 : Method of specifying and guidance for the specifier
BS 8500-2:2002:Concrete - Complementary British Standard to BS EN 206-1
Part 2 : Specification for constituent materials and concrete

These are British Standards that have been published to help you understand, the current
standard for concrete, which is,
BS EN 206 - 1 : Concrete : Part 1 : Specification, performance, production and conformity
and it is likely that you will need the help of BS 8500, even then it may prove difficult to
understand BS EN 206. It is not a "user friendly" document.

MEASURING CONCRETE STRENGTH

The strength is measured by crushing concrete cubes to failure and recording this strength.

Concrete cubes are made from fresh concrete sampled at the time of pouring by placing correctly
sampled concrete into a steel mould and compacting to remove air voids.
The concrete is allowed an initial "set" period of 24 hours, the mould is then stripped and the cube
is cured in water at a temperature of 20 deg.c for 28 days prior to crushing.

If you wish to strike shuttering before 28 days, extra cubes will be required to determine that the
in-situ concrete has achieved the appropriate strength at the time you wish to strike the
shuttering.
This is usually an arrangement agreed by the contractor, the concrete supplier and the engineer.

SAMPLE CONCRETE MIXES, FOR GUIDANCE ONLY (but you will be able to understand them)

Below are a number of different types of concrete mixes showing batch weights
and cement contents when a particular source of clean crushed river gravel and
sand where used, so they are only an indication of concrete composition and will
not be suitable for all aggregates / sand / cement.
I have included this item because of what I believe is the lack of basic concrete information that is
readily available to young engineers and engineering technicians wishing to improve their
working knowledge of concrete.
These mixes are in fact concrete mixes produced to comply with the Specification for Road and
Bridge works of 1963, i.e. still current in 1969 to 1972 while I was working on the M6 Link for Owen
Williams and Partners.
Back in this period, when I was beginning my career in highways materials, specifications and
British Standards were written in such a way that basic information regarding concrete could be
obtained from them, and they were my original learning tool.
It is my opinion that this is no longer the situation with current specifications and standards
hence the publication of BS 8500, Parts 1 & 2, and I would not regard these as particular user
friendly for a "beginner".

Basic concrete mixes are basic concrete mixes, and these are examples of basic concrete mixes.
I know things have moved on, and there are now many types of cement, admixtures and fibres
that produce enhanced concrete for particular uses, and that you do need to take into account the
density of the aggregates, and the workability of the produced concrete, the source/chemical
composition of the aggregate, etc., etc..
But remember this is "The Idiot's Guide to Highways Maintenance", and this is some basic
information to assist those who want to know a little bit more about concrete for basic on site
uses, and possibly minor structures.
For most uses you will be buying your ready mixed concrete from an established supplier to an
appropriate, modern, specification, but it does not hurt to have some knowledge of what you are
buying and how it was produced.

I have used the original broad descriptions (e.g. A¾) used in this specification to describe the
types of concrete, each type having a particular use with regard to required strength, workability
and cost to produce.
These mixes were used in the Longford Viaduct and the Bedworth Viaduct, and the many other
large structures on Contract 11, and the last time I looked they were all still standing, so I have
confidence to reproduce them here.

NOTE : I have quoted the quantities in LBS. and GALLONS (the original measures) as well as
converting them to metric quantities, and S.I. units for strength, although I remain with
meganewtons not megapascals, they are the same figures.

If you do wish to use these quantities as a basis for determining your own batching weights, you
MUST note that these figures will only give you a cubic yard of mixed concrete NOT a cubic metre,
and if the density of your aggregates are different to the aggregates used in these mixes you may
get slightly less or slightly more than a cubic yard.
To save you looking it up, 1 cubic yard of concrete = 0.7646 cubic metres.

As with any new concrete mix you must take cubes and crush them at appropriate dates to
determine the real strength of the concrete you have designed / produced, only then can you
consider using it in the works /structure, and you should expect to attain the Preliminary
strengths in your trials to ensure the Works strength for normal production.

The cement used in these "standard" mixes was OPC (Ordinary Portland Cement), and the
strengths quoted are for 150mm. (6 inch) cubes crushed at 28 days.

And do not forget to weigh your cubes and determine the density, as density is a good indication
of a well designed concrete, and if you have crushed as many concrete cubes as I have, you will
have noted that for each "mix", cube making and curing being constant, the cubes with the
highest density will give the highest strengths.
Surface Dry Batch Weights for a number of Classes of Concrete

Strength (Mn -
Aggregate Agg.
Concrete lbs/in²) Cement Sand Water/Cement
/Cement
Class (kgs/lbs) (kgs/lbs) 20mm.- 40mm.- Ratio
PreliminaryWorks Ratio
5mm. 20mm.
29.0 / 327 / 408 / 975 /
A¾ 38.5 / 5600 - 4.25 0.52
4200 720 900 2150
26.0 / 281 / 458 / 975 /
B¾ 34.5 / 5000 - 5.1 0.49
3750 620 1010 2150
20.5 / 218 / 517 / 975 /
C¾ 27.5 / 4000 - 6.85 0.62
3000 480 1140 2150
168 / 472 / 454 / 630 /
E1½ N/A N/A 9.3 0.78
370 1040 1000 1390
41.5 / 340 / 395 / 975 /
Y¾ 52.0 / 7500 - 4.1 0.51
6000 750 870 2150

10mm.-
5mm.
41.5 / 371 / 1279 / 840 /
Y⅜ 52.0 / 7500 - 5.7 0.45
6000 820 2820 1850

The amount of "free" water added to the above aggregate is based on the water cement ration and
the moisture contents of the aggregates, especially the sand.
That is why batching weights are initially given as "surface dry", you then determine the total
amount of "free" water by applying the water cement ration to the quantity of cement.

E.g. the water cement ratio for the concrete mix below is 0.45,

water = 0.45
cement

Therefore:- weight of water = weight of cement x 0.45 = 371 x 0.45 kgs. = 167kgs./litres
(near enough for the purposes of demonstration)

To better indicate this I include below a reproduction of a batching chart for Y⅜ concrete used at
a concrete batching plant, i.e. as the moisture content of the aggregate, usually the sand,
increases the added water decreases.
However at times of heavy rainfall and with smaller aggregate the coarse aggregate can retain
sufficient water that it needs to be taken into account, especially with high strength concrete.
This indicates the importance of knowing the moisture content of the sand in the stockpiles, and
often in the different levels of the stockpile.

Sand Moisture 10mm. Crushed Added "free"

Sand Cement
Content % Gravel Water
 840kgs. / 1271kgs. / 168litres /
0 371kgs. / 820lbs.
1850lbs. 2801lbs. 36.5galls
1284kgs. / 155litres /
1 " "
2830lbs. 34.0galls.
1297kgs. / 141litres /
2 " "
2860lbs. 31.0galls.
1309kgs. / 130litres /
3 " "
2885lbs. 28.5galls.
1320kgs. / 118litres /
4 " "
2910lbs 26.0galls.
1334kgs. / 105litres /
5 " "
2940lbs. 23.0galls.
1347kgs. / 91litres /
6 " "
2970lbs. 20.0galls.
1359kgs. / 77litres /
7 " "
2995lbs. 17.0galls.
1372kgs. / 66litres /
8 " "
3025lbs. 14.5galls.
1383kgs. / 52litres /
9 " "
3050lbs. 11.5galls.
1397kgs. /
10 " 40litres / 9.0galls. "
3080lbs.