1Department of Building, Modibbo Adama University of Technology,

Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria.

2Department of Building, University of Jos, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics exhibited by three different grades of concrete using
mix design
approach. From the result of the sieve analysis, it shows that the sands used for the experiment is a well graded sand of
zone 1 of BS882
parts 2 (1973). The average specific gravity of 2.63 was obtained, this result falls within the lower limits for natural
aggregate which
have specific gravities between 2.6 and 2.7 Neville (2000). The average bulk densities of uncompacted and compacted
sand were found to
be 1422 kg/m³ and 1538kg/m³ respectively. The crushed stones used have specific gravity of 2.63, and a compacted and
un compacted
bulk densities of 1415kg/m3 and 1326kg/m³ respectively, which clarified it as normal weight aggregates. The values of
density recorded
in this work ranged between 2441kg/m 3 and 2558kg/m³. The values of compressive strength ranged between 28.66N/m² to
39.55N/m² up
to 28 days of curing, the strength was also observed to increase with hydration period which inform non-deterioration of
concrete. The
results for the values of flexural strength range between 3.5N/mm² and 6.0N/mm² at 28days of curing.
Keywords: Mix design, Grades, Concrete and Aggregates
1. Introduction
According to Nataraja (2014) the process of selecting suitable
ingredients of concrete and determining their relative amounts
with the objective of producing a concrete of the required,
strength, durability, and workability as economically as
possible, is termed the concrete mix design. The proportioning
of ingredient of concrete is governed by the required
performance of concrete in two states, namely the plastic and
the hardened states. If the plastic concrete is not workable, it
cannot be properly placed and compacted. The property of
workability, therefore, becomes of vital importance.
The actual cost of concrete is related to the cost of materials
required for producing a minimum mean strength called
characteristic strength that is specified by the designer of the
structure. This depends on the quality control measures, but
there is no doubt that the quality control adds to the cost of
concrete. The extent of quality control according to
www.engineeringcivil.com is often an economic compromise,
and depends on the size and type of job. The cost of labour
depends on the workability of mix, e.g., a concrete mix of
inadequate workability may result in a high cost of labour to
obtain a degree of compaction with available equipment.
For the design requirement of any concrete structured project
to be achieved, close supervision of the project and adequate
concrete mix design should be by the civil Engineer involved.
In recent year we have witness allot of concrete structural
failure either during construction, after the completion or few
year of the project age of completion, without satisfying design
age of the project life (Yunusa, 2011).
2. Literature Review
2.1 Types of Mixes
CORBON (2014) classifies mixes into three types of
namely:
(i) Nominal Mixes
(ii) Standard/Prescribed Mixes
(iii) Designed Mixes
2.1.1 Nominal Mixes
In the past the specifications for concrete prescribed the
proportions of cement, fine and coarse aggregates. These mixes
of fixed cement-aggregate ratio which ensures adequate
strength are termed nominal mixes. These offer simplicity and
under normal circumstances, have a margin of strength above
that specified. The proportion of cement and aggregate is fixed,
only the water cement ratio is varied. However, due to the
variability of mix ingredients the nominal concrete for a given
workability varies widely in strength.
2.1.2 Standard/Prescribed mixes
The nominal mixes of fixed cement-aggregate ratio (by
volume) vary widely in strength and may result in under- or
over-rich mixes. For this reason, the minimum compressive
strength has been included in many specifications. These mixes
are termed standard mixes. Here the structural Engineer
prescribes a standard concrete mix ratio that he thinks will
produce the required concrete. He may also indicate the type
and size of aggregate to be used. The Builder/site engineer
prepares the mixes based on the ratio that has been prescribed.
2.1.3 Designed Mixes
In these mixes the performance of the concrete is specified by
the designer but the mix proportions are determined by the
producer of concrete, except that the minimum cement content
can be laid down. This is most rational approach to the
selection of mix proportions with specific materials in mind
possessing more or less unique characteristics. However, the
designed mix does not serve as a guide since this does not
WOAR Journals Page 7
guarantee the correct mix proportions for the prescribed
performance.
Proportioning concrete based on the specified design mixes
involves; more steps, and the use of tabulated data and charts.
The approach results in the production of concrete with the
appropriate properties most economically. This is because the
characteristics of the materials to be used and the
characteristics of the concrete required are incorporated in the
design procedure.
2.2 Grade Designation
According to Yunusa (2011) every concrete has its strength
in N/mm2 when subject to test after 28 days of curing in any
medium. The choice of concrete grade, depends on the purpose
and usage as follows:
Table 1: Concrete Grade Designation
Concrete
Grade
N/mm2
Ratio Cement,
Sand and
Aggregates
Usage
10 1:4:8 Blinding concrete
15 1:3:6 Mass concrete
20 1:2.5:5 Light reinforced concrete
25 1:2:4 Reinforced concrete/precast
30 1:1.5:3 Heavy Reinforced
concrete/pre-cast
35 1:1.5:2 Pre-stressed/pre=cast
concrete
40 1:1:1 Very heavy reinforced
concrete/pre-cast/prestressed
3. MATERIALS AND METHOD
The Dangote brand of ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)
manufactured by Dangote Cement Company Plc Obajana in
Kogi State and conforms to BS 12 (1996) and ASTM C 150
(1994)
The fine aggregate used for this research was natural quartzite
dredge from river obtained from Gumor, Toro local
Government Area of Bauchi State. It has a specific gravity of
2.63 and bulk density of 1480kg/m3 and was free from
deleterious matters. The coarse aggregate used was a normal
weight aggregate (machine crushed granite) with maximum size
of 20mm and was obtained from PW Nigeria Quarry site near
Vom, Jos south local government of Plateau state. It has a
specific gravity and bulk density of 2.63 and 1370 kg/m3
respectively.
The water used throughout the tests was water fit for drinking
and obtained from the public supply system, University of Jos.
The quantity of sand was first measured and poured on the
floor, followed by cement which was also measured and spread
on the sand. Both materials were thoroughly mixed using a
shovel. The coarse aggregate was then measured and spread on
the sand and cement mix. Mixing of the concrete was done
manually, with w/c ratio of 0.45 kept constant throughout the
experiment. They were thoroughly mixed before the required
quantity of water was added. The mixing process was
continued until a uniform matrix was obtained. Concrete of
grade 20, 30 and 40 was produced accounting for low, middle
and high strength requirements. The moulds were filled with
fresh concrete and then vibrated using the vibrating table.
After 24 hours, the concrete specimens were demoulded and
cured in water curing tank. All the specimens were cured for
hydration period of 7, 14 and 28, days respectively. Flexural
strength and compressive strength of the various grades of the
concrete were determined.
Cubes of dimension 150mm x 150mm x 150mm were
produced for the compression strength test while beams of
100mm x 100mm x 500mm were produced for the flexural test.
A total of 27 cubes and 18 beams were produced respectively.
3.1 Workability Tests
Slump test was carried out to determine the workability of each
mix. The tests were carried out in all cases in accordance with
the requirements of BS 1881: Part 102(1983) for slump test
and BS 1881: Part103 (1983) for compacting factor tests. The
results are shown in Table 10.
3.2 Compressive Strength Test on Sample Cubes
The compressive testing machine was used to test the entire
concrete cubes for crushing strength at 7, 14 and 28 days
respectively. The various weights were taken in order to
determine the various densities of the sample produced.
The average failure loads were used to obtain the
compressive strength.
3.3 Flexural Strength Test on Sample Beams
The tensile strength testing machine was used to test the
flexural strength of the concrete beams at 7, 14 and 28 days
respectively after taking their weights in order to ascertain their
densities. Results were recorded based on the average tensile
strength.
4. RESULTS AND FINDINGS
4.1 Hardened Concrete
Results of the characteristics of different grades of concrete
using mix design method are discussed in terms of density,
compressive strength, flexural strength and workability.
4.2 Density of Specimen
Table 4 shows density of concrete cubes ranging from
2441kg/m³ to 2588kg/m³.These values fall within the density
values for normal weight concrete as stated by Neville (2000).
It can be seen that the densities of the specimen increase with
the days of curing, which suggest that there is no deterioration
of the said concrete. This is in agreement with the findings of
Neville and Brooks (1997).
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Table 2: Variation of Density of Cubes (kg/m3) with
Hydration Periods (Days)
Hydration Period (Days)
7 14 28
Conc.
Grade
Ave.
Wt.
(Kg)
Den.
(Kg/
m3)
Ave.
Wt.
Den.
(Kg/m3)
Average
Wt. (Kg)
Den.
(Kg)
20 8.70 2558 8.75 2573 8.80 2588
30 8.30 2441 8.35 2455 8.50 2500
40 8.65 2544 8.60 2529 8.80 2588
4.3 Compressive Strength of Hardened Concrete
Results of the compressive strengths development with
hydration periods of 7, 14 and 28 days for the various grades of
concrete is presented in Table5. The results show that the
compressive strength generally increases with higher grades
and also with the hydration periods, which informs nondeterioration
of the concrete.
It was also was observed that maximum compressive strengths
of 39.55N/mm², 34.88N/mm2 and 28.66N/mm2 at 28 days of
curing was recorded with grade 40, 30 and 20 concretes
respectively. All the grades of concrete meet up to the design
target strength. This result obtained conforms to the findings of
Yunusa (2011)
Table 3: Variation of Density of Beams (kg/m3) with
Hydration Periods (Days)
Hydration Period (Days)
7 14 28
Conc.
Grade
Ave.
Wt.
(Kg)
Den.
(Kg/m3)
Ave.
Wt.
Den.
(Kg/m3)
Ave.
Wt.
(Kg)
Den.
(Kg)
20 12.55 2510 12.55 2510 12.65 2530
30 11.85 2370 12.20 2440 12.45 2490
40 11.95 2390 12.15 2430 12.20 2410
4.4 Tensile Strength of the Hardened Concrete
Table 7 shows the results of the flexural strength test at 7, 14
and 28days of curing. It could be deduced from the result that
the behaviour pattern of flexural strength follows that of
compressive strength as discussed above. The results of the
flexural strength falls between 10% and 30% 0f the values of
compressive strength in N/mm² which is in agreement with the
assertion of Neville (2000).
Table 4: Variation of Compressive Strength of Cubes
(N/mm2) with Hydration Periods
Hydration Period (Days)
7 14 28
Conc.
Grade
Ave.
Ld.
(N)
Comp.
Str.
(N/mm2)
Ave.
Ld.
(N)
Comp.
Str.
(N/mm2)
Ave.
Ld.
(N)
Comp.
Str.
(N/mm2)
20 570 25.33 625 27.77 645 28.66
30 572 25.42 648 28.80 745 33.11
40 685 30.44 780 34.67 890 39.55
5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
From the study of the properties of different grades of concrete
using mix design method, the following conclusions were
drawn;
(i) All compressive strength values obtained were greater than
the required characteristic strength at 28 days curing, hence the
design is considered adequate.
(ii)Concretes of grade 40 recorded the highest workability of
up to 170 mm slump followed by grade 30 concrete with
moderate workability. This very high values could be useful in
very heavy and congested reinforcements as observed by
Yunusa (2011).
(iii)The percentage increase in compressive strength of
concrete up to 13% exist between grades 20 and 30 concretes,
while percentage increase of up to 11% exist between grades
30 and 40 concretes respectively.
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
(i) All concrete works should be designed for and quality
controlled by an experienced professional.
(ii) The local authorities should include designed mix details as
part of requirements for approval of projects involving concrete
works.
(iii)There should be improved awareness about the importance
of designed mix with the professional in the construction
industry in order to control failures in concrete.
International Journal of Geology, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
Volume – 2 Issue – 6 December 2014
Website: www.woarjournals.org/IJGAES ISSN: 2348-0254
WOAR Journals Page 9
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[3] British Standard Institution (1978). BS 4550: Part 5;
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[4] British Standard Institution (1983). B.S 1881: Part 108;
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WOAR Journals Page 10
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