Unit-5

CONCRETE IN PLASTIC STAGE:

Workability:- Workability is a physical property of concrete in its
plastic stage. It is the property of the concrete which determines the
ease and homogeneity with which it can be easily mixed, placed,
compacted and finished.
Workability can be measured with the help of two experiments:-
a)Slump test
b)Compaction factor test
a)SLUMP TEST:- Slump test is the most commonly used method of
measuring workability of concrete in a laboratory or at site work. It is
used conveniently as a control test.
APPARATUS USED:- Slump cone, apparatus setup, trowel, tray
weighing balance, standard tamping rod, measuring cylinder.
MATERIALS USED:- Cement , fine aggregate, coarse aggregate , water
etc.
PROCEDURE:-
>Take mix proportion 1:1 ½ :3 by weight use W/C ratio 0.6.
>Clean all the apparatus and prepare the mixture.
>Place the mould with set-up on the floor.
>Fill the mould with prepared sample.
>Compact it using tamping rod slowly-slowly.
>Now measure the vertical height of the mould.
>Then, slowly and gently remove the mould.
>Again measure the height of concrete sample.
>Determine the level difference of initial and final height.
OBSERVATIONS:-
Initial height =30 cm
Final height =25.5 cm
Slump = Initial height – final height
= (30 – 25.5) cm = 4.5 cm
RESULT:- The slump of the fresh concrete is 4.5 cm
CONCLUSION:- (3 – 7) GOOD QUALITY WORKABILITY

b)COMPACTION FACTOR TEST:- This test is only suitable for lab test
as the apparatus set-up is bulky and heavy and can not be transported
easily.
APPARATUS USED:- Compaction factor apparatus, tray , trowel,
measuring cylinder, weighing balance, steel rod , etc.
MATERIALS USED:- Cement, aggregates , water etc.
PROCEDURE:-
>Prepare the mix of suitable proportion (1:1 ½ :3).
>Clean the apparatus with dry cloth.
>Put the concrete mix sample in bucket ‘1’ .
>Now, open the closet of the bucket 1 so that it may fall to bucket ‘2’.
>Similarly allow the mix to fall back to bucket 3 wholly .
>Now ,take out bucket 3 /cylinder and weight it (W 1).
>Again put the concrete mix into the cylinder but this time fully
compact it very well.
>Again determine the weight (W2) .
>Now remove the concrete from the cylinder and weight the cylinder
alone (W).
OBSERVATION AND CALCULATIONS:-
Weight of partially compacted concrete =Wp = 22379 gm.
Weight of fully compacted concrete =Wf = 23760 gm .
Weight of cylinder = 12100 gm .
Since, Compaction factor = (22379 – 12100) / (23760 – 12100)
= 0.8824
RESULT:- The compaction factor of our concrete mix is 0.88.
CONCLUSION:-
Value of 0.88 compaction factor shows a good workability.
PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE:-
• 1) In plastic stage
• 2) In hardened stage
1)In plastic stage:- In plastic or green stage the prepared concrete mix
should satisfy the required suitable properties so that the ease of
working with it can be made easy to handle and can be made easy to
work with it.
It should /must have the following properties:-
1)Workability
2)Free from segregation
3)Free from bleeding
4)Prevention from harshness.
ii)Free from segregation:-
Segregation is defined as the separation of a concrete mix. Only a
suitable homogeneous mix can be fully compacted. After segregation,
a concrete mix is no longer in a homogeneous state. Segregation
reduces the strength & durability of concrete.
iii)Free from bleeding:-
Bleeding is defined as the process of leaking out of any liquid which
should not, so bleeding in case of concrete mix is due to high
compaction of concrete mix or , due to inadequate w/c ratio, the
cement paste moves away and leak out . It should be prevented
otherwise it would greatly affect the strength and durability of
concrete mix to a great extent.
iv)Prevention from harshness:-
Harshness refers to the slow solidification of the aggregates mix in the
concrete mix. Due to harshness the workability is affected to a great
extent and finishing problems maybe created.
2)In hardened stage:-
i)Strength:- The ability of concrete in hardened stage to resist load is
called strength of concrete. It mainly depends upon water- cement
ratio, quality and quantity of cement , degree of compaction and other
concrete operation stronger concrete and durable and impermeable.
a)Compressive strength
b)Tensile strength
c)Bond strength
d)Shear strength

ii)Durability:-
It is the property of the hardened concrete by virtue of which, it is
capable of resisting the disintegration and decay. The concrete should
be durable with proper regard to the various weathering condition
such as action of atmospheric gases, moisture changes and
temperature variation.
iii)Impermeability:-
Impermeability is the property which resist the passage of moisture
through concrete.
The hardened concrete should be impermeable . It depends upon
different factors:-
• Proper curing
• Low W/C ratio
• Proper and uniform compaction
• Proper finishing
• Well grade aggregate
iv)Soundness:-
Soundness refers to the change in dimension of concrete structure. It
May be elongation or contraction due to moisture , temperature
variation. The concrete structures should be constructed with proper
W/C ratio and on correct timing of the day like in summer season,
concreting work should be done in morning or in evening.

ADMIXTURE:-
The concreting materials added in concrete at the time of its mixing
to modify its properties are known as “admixture”.
An admixture as approved by the “Engineer- In- charge” also
acts as an important gradient since it modifies the properties of
concrete. There are various types of admixtures available in the
market nowadays. Some common admixtures are Acco-proof, Accocit
cema-plast, cema - rapid ,wet seal of cement etc. They maybe added
amount ranging from 0.005 to 2% by weight of cement.
Use of admixtures:-
Admixtures are added to produce 1 or more of the following effects in
Concrete:-
i)To accelerate the rate of setting and hardening of cement and to
develop more strength.
ii)To retard setting and hardening of concrete.
iii)To make the concrete weather-proof, water-proof, and acid-proof
i.e resist to frost action and to chemical attack etc.
iv)To reduce bleeding and segregation of concrete mix.
v)To increase the workability of concrete without increasing water
content.
vi)To make reduction in the rate at which heat of hydration is evolved.

CLASSIFICATION OF ADMIXTURES:-
Admixtures are:-
1) Air- entraining agents
2) Retarders
3) Accelerators
4) Water-proofers
5) Pozzolanas
6) Pigments
7) Workability agents
Retarders:-
Retarders as this name implies delay the setting time of cement. The
delayed setting time is advantageous in tropical countries and in oil-
well construction etc. The rate of chemical reaction gets decreased
and setting time increases.
Calcium sulphate in the form of Gypsum is generally
Added during the manufacturing of cement to retard the setting. But
the amount of Gypsum if added beyond a limited quantity produces
unsoundness and other undesirable effects. Calcium sulphate (CaSO4)
in the form of plaster of paris can also be used. At normal temperature
0.2% addition of sugar can extend the final setting time to about 72
hrs or more. Skimmed milk powder has a retarding effect due to its
sugar content. By the use of 0.1% of sodium Hexa-meta phosphate,
the initial and final setting time of 12 hrs and 13 hrs can be obtained.
Ammonium chloride, ferrous and ferric chlorides, Calcium
Borates, Alkali Bicarbonates and Sulfonic acids in sodium hydroxide
solutions, Salts of Carboxy Methyl cellulose or sodium salt and
sulphuric acid etc. Are some other principle materials which are
effectively used to retard the rate of hydration.

Accelerators:-
The agents which are added to the cement to make it set and acquire
strength more rapidly are called accelerators. Use of accelerators is
desirable as they:-
• Reduce form time
• Shorten curing time
• Hasten the structure into service
• Offset low temperature retardation effects
The most commonly used accelerator is Calcium chloride when it is
used under normal conditions 2% by weight of cement , it reduces the
initial setting time from approximately 3-1 hrs, the final setting time
from approximately 6 hrs to 2 hrs and at 21°C, it approximately
doubles the 1 day strength. The gain in strength during the first seven
days is significant and decreases with longer curing period. The other
benefits offered by Calcium Chloride are improved workability,
reduction in bleeding and a more durable concrete surface.
There are some drawback with Calcium chloride:-
If over 3% of calcium chloride is added, there is an instantaneous
setting of cement; It impairs volume of stability. Drying shrinkage
maybe increased by as much as 50% calcium chloride has no effect
on air-entrainment. It has no corrosive effects on reinforcing steel.
Calcium chloride are available in 2 forms:-
i) Regular flake containing 77% of CaCl 2.
ii) Concentrated flake having 94% of CaCl2 .
Calcium chloride can be added in dry form but the preferred method
is to prepare a solution in water . The use of Na 2SO4 or K2SO4 can also
be made to accelerate the hydration of cement at early ages.
A very rapid rate of hydration can be obtained in the first two hours
by the addition of NaOH and a similar but no rapid effect can be
obtained with KOH. CaCl2 provides a greater accelerating or the early
strength than equal amount of NaCl .
The heat of hydration increased by CaCl2 up to 3 days after mixing.
Calcium chloride gives high early strength but has little effect on the
28 days strength.
Aluminium chloride has a similar effect in accelerating the setting
of cement and CaCl2 . This is used when concrete is required to set in
a few minutes in order to stop water seepage under pressure . The
excessive use of these agents may increase the shrinkage of concrete.

VERY HIGH STRENGTH CONCRETE:-

Conventional concrete can be made to have strength of up to 100 MPa
at 28 days using good quality and well graded aggregates . The
fundamental parameter is low porosity which is achieved by cement
contents in excess of 500 kg/m3 of concrete, low w/c ratio < 0.35 and
by adequate compaction and curing. To achieve a normal workable
mix a super plasticizing admixture is necessary.
Very high strength concrete may be defined as between 60 and
100 MPa (N/mm2) ,Since the modulus of elasticity does not increase
as the same rate as strength, utilization of higher working stresses in
higher strength concrete leads to higher strains or deformations than
in normal strength concrete. Also the higher strength the more brittle
the concrete.
The advantages of very high strength concrete are that column section
can be reduced in size or for the same cross- section, the amount of
steel reinforcement can be reduced. In tall building , there is an
economic advantage because of an increased floor area for rental, In
bridges, the use of high strengths can reduce the no of beams for a
given level of pre-stress, lost of pre-stress due to creep is smaller than
in a lower member. However , these advantage appear to be a lower
shear strength and increased creep and shrinkage due to a lower
aggregate content. A recently developed special high strength
cements such material is known as a macro-defect -free (MDF)
cement which is made from Aluminous cement mixed with an organic
plasticizer and water to form products having properties to a strong
plastic, Another product is known as DSP (Densified System containing
homogeneously arranged Ultra-fine particles) in which silica fume is a
component , Silica fume is a waste product from the ferro-silicon
manufacturing process and gets with the lime liberated during the
hydration of portland cement.

HOT WEATHERING CONCRETE:-

The temperature of the concrete made on site or delivered should be
kept low , preferably not above 16°C with an upper limit of 32°C. The
actual temperature of the concrete will be somewhat higher than
indicated by the mechanical work done in mixing and to early
development of the heat of hydration of the cement.
Since we have a certain degree of control over the
temperature of at least some of the ingredient of the concrete, it is
useful to consider the relative influence of changing their temperature
for an instance – for a w/c ratio of 0.5 and an aggregate/cement ratio
of 5.6 a decrease of 1°C in the temperature of fresh concrete can be
obtained by lowering the temperature of either the cement by 9°C or
of the water by 3.6 °C of the aggregate by 1.6 °C . A greater
temperature drop is required for cement than for the other
ingredients, moreover it is much easier to cool the water than the
cement or aggregate.
It is possible to choose ice as a part of mixing water, this is more
effective because more heat is extracted from the other ingredients
to provide latent heat of fusion of ice. Care is required when ice is used
because it is essential that all the ice has melted completely before
the completion of mixing .
To reduce the loss of workability and also to increase the setting time
a set retarding admixture is used. It has the advantage of preventing
the formation of cold joints in successive lifts. High dosage level of the
admixture maybe required and advice from an admixture specialist
should be required for the particular application.
After placing evaporation of water from the mix has to be prevented.
Evaporation rates greater than 0.5 kg/m2 of the exposed concrete
surface per hour have to be avoided in order to ensure satisfactory
curing and to prevent plastic cracking. The rate of evaporation
depends upon the air temperature, The concrete temperature, The
relative humidity of the air and the wind speed etc. The concrete
should be protected from the sun as otherwise, if a cold night follows,
thermal cracking can occur due to the restraint to the contraction
from cooling from the original unnecessarily high temperature. The
extent of cracking is directly related to the difference in temperature
between the concrete and the surrounding air.
In dry weather wetting the concrete and allowing evaporation to take
place results in effective cooling as well as effective curing. If plastic
sheeting or membranes are used , they should be white so as to reflect
the rays of the sun. Large exposed areas of concrete such as highway
and runway are particularly vulnerable to this type of temperature
problem and the placing and curing of concrete in such cases should
be carefully planned and executed.

COLD WEATHER CONCRETING:-

The concreting of surface which is carried out in cold weather is
termed as cold weather concreting. While concreting precaution
should be observed very carefully in order to obtain quality of work.

EFFECT OF LOW TEMPERATURE ON THE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE:-

Temperature effects the rate at which the hydration in cement takes
place. Low temperatures delay the hardening of concrete and effect
the rate of strength development. The hydration process is slow at
temperatures just above 0°C .It takes place in one day at 20°C and 7
days at 4°C. Under such circumstances, the progress of the work is
delayed because formworks can not be removed.

PRECAUTION BEFORE AND DURING THE PLACING OF CONCRETE:-

The following precaution should be observed before placing concrete
in order to give strength and durability of concrete:-
i)The necessary equipment and materials should be prepared well in
advance of cold weather.
ii)The formwork should be free from snow or ice .
iii)The temperature of the concrete at the time of placement should
not be less than 15°C.
iv)The concrete should not contain any frozen aggregates .
v)The aggregate and water should be mixed firstly in the drum of the
mixer before adding cement and sand.
vi)The concrete mix should not be placed on frozen ground.
vii)Cement should not be mixed with hot water.

PRECAUTIONS AFTER PLACING OF CONCRETE:-

The following precautions should be observed after placing concrete:-
i)Suitable temperature should be provided for curing purposes.
ii)CaCl2 (equal to 1.5 % of the weight of cement ) should be used for
accelerating the rate of hardening.
iii)The records should be noted twice daily, regarding weather
conditions.
iv)Damaged concrete should be removed.
v) The formwork and exposed surface of concrete should be insulated.
vi)The concrete surface should be covered by tarpaulins.
vii)Curing should be continued for 1 month or even more under special
circumstances.