By: Dr.

Shamshad Ahmad

LECTURE NO. 1
FUNDAMENTALS OF CONCRETE

Objectives:
• To explain the basic concepts of concrete
• To explain briefly the ingredients of concrete
• To explain briefly the preparation of concrete
• To explain briefly the properties of freshly mixed
concrete
• To explain briefly the properties of hardened
concrete
 Fly ash or Silica fume
Concrete is basically a
mixture of water, cement,
fine aggregate, and
coarse aggregate.

Superplaticize
Mineral admixture

Water
workability and hydration

Coarse aggregate
Filler

Fine aggregate Cement

Filler workability and binding
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Composition of concrete

Paste: (25-40%)
Aggregates: (60-75%)
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Role of paste and aggregates

Paste
• Quality of the paste, which mainly depends upon its
water/cement ratio, mostly govern the quality of
concrete
• Paste should be sufficient enough to completely coat
each particle of aggregate and to fill spaces between
aggregate particles completely
Aggregates
• Since aggregates are naturally stronger and durable than
paste, these are used as filler and have no adverse
effects on concrete as long as they satisfy all quality
requirements
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Role of paste and aggregates

• When paste and aggregates are mixed together
the particles of aggregates get coated with the
paste
• Because of the chemical reaction of the cement
and water the paste hardens and binds the
aggregates together to form a rocklike mass
called “concrete”

Concrete using gravel as Concrete using crushed stone

coarse aggregate as coarse aggregate
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Percentage distribution of ingredients

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

INGREDIENTS OF CONCRETE
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

WATER

Drinking water should

be used for concrete
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Questionable water may also be used for making concrete if the

acceptance criteria given below are met.
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

CEMENT
Different major types of cements
used
Type I: Normal
Type II: Moderate sulfate resistance
Type III: High early strength
Type IV: Low heat of hydration
Type V: High sulfate resistance

Types of cements used in Saudi

Arabia
Type I and Type V

Main quality tests

•Fineness
•Setting time
•Strength
•Soundness
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

FINE AGGREGATE
(size < 4.75 mm)
•Sand from pit, river, lake, seabed, etc
•Crushed powder of stone, brick, slag
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
COARSE AGGREGATE
(size ≥ 4.75 mm)
•Natural gravel
•Crushed quarry rock

Natural gravel Crushed stone

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

LIGHT WEIGHT AGGREGATES

Expanded clay Expanded shale

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
AGGREGATE CHARACTERISTICS AND TEST METHODS
C h a ra c te ristic S ig n ific a n c e T est M eth o d

G ra d in g W o r k a b i li t y o f f r e s h A STM C 136
co n crete; eco n o m y A STM C 117

A b so rp tio n a n d C o n tro l o f co n c rete A STM C 128

su r fa c e m o istu r e q u a li t y a n d A STM C 70
w a te r/c e m e n t ra tio n A STM C 127

D e n sity M ix d e sig n A STM C 29

c a lc u la t i o n s ;
c la s s i f i c a t i o n
R e la t i v e D e n s i t y M i x d e s i g n c a lc u la t i o n s A STM C 128
A STM C 127

S o u n d n ess R e sista n c e to e x c e ssiv e A STM C 88

v o lu m e c h a n g e a n d
w e a th e rin g a c tio n

R e sista n c e to a b ra sio n In d ex o f a g g reg a te A STM C 131

q u a li t y ; w e a r r e s i s t a n c e A STM C 535
o f f lo o r s a n d p a v e m e n t s A STM C 779

A g g re g a te c o n stitu e n ts D e te r m in e a m o u n t o f ASTM C 142

d e le t e r i o u s a n d o r g a n i c ASTM C 123
m a te ria ls ASTM C 117
ASTM C 40
ASTM C 87
ASTM C 295

R e s i s t a n c e t o a lk a li S o u n d n e ss a g a in st A STM C 295
r e a c t i v i t y a n d v o lu m e v o lu m e c h a n g e A STM C 289
change A STM C 227
A STM C 586
 CHEMICAL ADMIXTURES By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Shrinkage Water reducer Foaming agent

Anti-washout Corrosion
reducer Air-entraining
(superplaticizer) (for light weight inhibitor
(for cohesive agent
concrete)
concrete for
underwater)
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
MINERAL ADMIXTURES

Fly ash

Silica fume

Blast furnace slag

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

PREPARATION OF CONCRETE
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

PROPORTIONING
Proportioning is specifying quantities of the
ingredients of concrete for producing a unit amount
of concrete satisfying the following requirements:
•Workability
•Strength
•Durability
•Economy
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
BATCHING

Accuracies in batching:
Water: 1%
Cement: 1%
Aggregates: 2%
Admixtures: 3%
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
JOBSITE MIXING
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

MIXING IN A READY MIXED CONCRETE PLANT

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

TRANSPORTING, HANDLING AND PLACEMENT

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
CONSOLIDATING
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

IMPORTANCE OF CONSOLIDATION

Good consolidation Bad consolidation

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
FINISHING
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
CURING

Fogging
Sprinkling

Liquid membrane forming

Sheet covering
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

PROPERTIES OF FRESH CONCRETE

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
WORKABILITY

Lower slump Higher slump

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
SEGREGATION

• Dry segregation (separation of paste and aggregate)

• Bleeding (separation of water from a consolidated concrete)

Bleed water on the surface of a

freshly placed concrete
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

PROPERTIES OF HARDENED CONCRETE

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
STRENGTH

Compressive strength test Flexural tensile strength test

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad
STRENGTH

Rebound hammer test for in-situ strength

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

EFFECT OF W/C RATIO ON STRENGTH

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

EFFECT OF CEMENT CONTENT ON STRENGTH

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

EFFECT OF AGGREGATE/CEMENT RATIO ON

STRENGTH
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

EFFECT OF AGE ON STRENGTH

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

SHRINKAGE
The major factors causing plastic shrinkage are as
follows:
•High water/cement ratio
•High cement content (i.e. low aggregate content)
•Hot and windy weather
•Insufficient curing
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

PROGRESS OF DRYING SHRINKAGE WITH AGE

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

PERMEABILITY: AN INDEX OF DURABILITY

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Major factors causing concrete deterioration:

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Chloride penetration (permeability and diffusion)
• Carbonation
• Freezing-thawing
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Concrete durability problems:

• Reinforcement corrosion
• Sulfate attack
• Acid attack
• Efflorescence
• Seawater attack (salt weathering and
crystallization)
• Alkali-silica reaction
• Abrasion, erosion, and cavitation
• Frost action
• High temperature, cryogenic temperature, and
fire problems
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

REINFORCEMENT CORROSION

Rust stains due to

reinforcement corrosion

Spalling of concrete due

to excessive
reinforcement corrosion
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

REINFORCEMENT CORROSION
SULFATE ATTACK By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

acidic type

expansive type

onion-peeling type
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Concrete chairs under pipeline suffered severe sulfate attack

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

ALKALI-SILICA REACTION ATTACK

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

ALKALI-SILICA REACTION ATTACK

 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

EFFLORESENCE
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Acid attack

A concrete block
attacked by lactic
acid in milk
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

Utility of Concrete

• In the modern construction scenario concrete is

found to be excellent and most utilized building
material in almost unlimited number of
applications because it can be formed into a wide
variety of shapes, colors, and textures
• Major applications of concrete include: buildings,
bridges, dams, roads
 By: Dr. Shamshad Ahmad

MASS UTILIZATION OF CONCRETE

BUILDING RUNWAY

DAM

BRIDGE

TUNNEL