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9 Chapter 2f - Fresh Concrete

The document discusses properties of fresh concrete including consistency, workability, segregation, and bleeding. It explains that consistency can be measured using the slump test, with an ideal slump of 50-100mm for most concrete work. Workability is affected by water-cement ratio, aggregate size and type, admixtures, cement fineness, and temperature. Both segregation and bleeding can occur if the concrete mix is not uniform, and can be reduced through proper mixing, placement techniques, and additive use.

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200 views

9 Chapter 2f - Fresh Concrete

The document discusses properties of fresh concrete including consistency, workability, segregation, and bleeding. It explains that consistency can be measured using the slump test, with an ideal slump of 50-100mm for most concrete work. Workability is affected by water-cement ratio, aggregate size and type, admixtures, cement fineness, and temperature. Both segregation and bleeding can occur if the concrete mix is not uniform, and can be reduced through proper mixing, placement techniques, and additive use.

Uploaded by

tasha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LEARNING OUTCOME

AT THE END OF THIS SESSION, STUDENTS


SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

Explain basic science and engineering


fundamentals pertaining to properties of fresh
concrete, factor affecting consistency &
workability, segregation & bleeding, and testing
of fresh concrete.
Fresh concrete is a mixture of water, cement aggregates and
admixture (if any)
 Cement paste = water + cement
o Normally use for floor finishing
 Mortar = water + cement + sand
o Use for brickwork, plastering and etc
 Concrete = water + cement + sand + coarse agg
o Use for concrete work

For fresh concrete to be acceptable, it should:


 Be easily mixed and transported
 Be uniform throughout a given batch and between batches
 Be of a consistency so that it can fill completely the forms for
which it was designed
 Have the ability to be compacted without excessive loss of
energy
 Not segregate during placing and consolidation
 Have good finishing characteristics
 The main properties of fresh concrete are :
(i) Consistency or slump
• slump test be used as rough measure of consistency of concrete
• show the wetness or dryness of the concrete mix
• change in slump  change in the grading or proportion of aggregate
or water content

(ii) Uniformity
• indicates that concrete is mixed thoroughly until uniform appearance is
obtained with all materials are uniformly distributed
• mix for at least 1 minute, preferably 3 minutes in the mixer
• Objective of mixing  to coat the surface of all agg particles with
cement paste & blend the ingredients into a uniform mass.
PROPERTIES OF FRESH CONCRETE (cont)
(iii) Workability
 often defined in terms of the amount of mechanical
energy, or work required to fully compact concrete
without segregation. This is important since the final
strength is a function of compaction
 Implies the ease with which concrete mix can be
handled from mixer to its finall compacted shape
 Common test are:
• Slump test, flow table test (for flowing concrete)
vebe test and compacting factor test
PROPERTIES OF FRESH CONCRETE (cont)
 Main characteristic of workability are :
• Consistency
- state of fluidity of concrete mix including wettest & densest type
 depends on water content
• Mobility
- the ease concrete can flow into moulds and around steel
- completely filling the moulds (formworks) and be remoulded
• Compatibility
- the ease concrete is completely compacted and air void
removed
• Stability
- Ability of concrete to maintain its uniformity
- concrete remain stable coherent homogeneous mass during
handling and vibration without segregating
(i) SLUMP TEST
(i) SLUMP TEST (PROCEDURE)

 concrete is filled in 3 layers

 each layer is tamped 25 times with rounded end


steel rod

 Mould is held firmly against its base

 Immediately and slowly lift the cone vertically


leaving concrete to stand by itself

 Mould is placed (up side down) beside the concrete


specimen and slump is measured
(i) SLUMP TEST
(i) SLUMP TEST
Slump types

(i) True slump – concrete slump evenly all round


(ii) Shear slump – ½ of the concrete cone slide down
(iii) Collapse slump – 50 to 100mm (75mm ideal)
(ii) COMPACTING FACTOR TEST

• Gives behaviour of fresh


concrete under the
action external forces

• Target value – 0.82 – 0.92


(iii) VEBE TEST
 The slump test is the most common in use because of :
 the simplicity of the apparatus
 It is useful for check on day to day or hour to hour variation
in the materials being fed into the mixer.

 The slump test is not useful for stiff mixes and lean mixes.
Both Compacting factor test and VEBE test are useful for
stiff mixes, but VEBE test is more useful for the following
reasons:
 The problem of sticking of concrete in the hoppers of the
compacting factor apparatus.
 The treatment of concrete during the test is comparatively
closely related to the method of placing in real practice.
(i) Water-cement ratio

o Ideal use water-cement ratio = 1:4


o Higher water cement ratio increase workability but increase
void in concrete, result in segregation and bleeding
o Problem of shrinkage and creep of hardened concrete if
using high water content
o Lesser w/c ratio = lower workability
o Target slump value for must concreting work is between 50-
100mm (medium)
(ii) Aggregate (with constant w/c ratio)
o Workability will be reduced when using:
a) Finer aggregatehigh specific surface area
b) Use of irregular & angular aggregate

o Workability will be increased when using:


a) Rounded aggbecause reduction in particle interference
b) Coarse agg in large sizereduction in total specific
surface area

o Higher the ratio of course agg & fine agg will lower the
workabilitycausing of segregation
(iii) Admixture
o Addition of air entraining admixture and plasticizer will
increase workability
o Pozzolanic materials and slag will reduce workability.

(iv) Fineness of cement


o Greater fineness, increase cohesiveness but reduce
workability
o RHPC have very fine cement particle, will reduce workability
as compared to OPC
o Fineness of cement  influence on bleeding
(v) Time and Temp

o High temp – cause absorption and evaporation hence reduce


workability
o Evaporation is influenced by:-
a) Concrete temp
b) Air temp
c) Relative humidity
d) Wind velocity
o In hot and windy day, increase water content to maintain workability

o Fresh concrete loses workability due to the loss of moisture due to


evaporation
o Fresh concrete must delivered or placed in formwork within 1½ hour
after adding water
o Good practice to place fresh concrete into formwork within 30-60
minutes after mixing.
Is the separation of constituents so that their distribution no longer
uniform
Governed by total specific surface area of solid particles including
cement.
Can be prevented by providing the direction of fall during
dumping/dropping of concrete in vertical.
When discharge is at an anglelarger agg is thrown to the far side
of container & mortar is collected at the near side >>>segregation
Reasons of segregation of concrete :
 If the mix is very dry  coarse agg tend to separate
 If the mix is very wet  cement grout tend to be
separated from coarse agg
 If specific gravity of coarse & fine agg differs 
incresse segregation
 Over vibration is prone to segregation
Is form of segregation where water rise to surface of freshly placed
concrete.
During compacting & until the cement paste harden, it is natural tendency
for the solid particles to move downward and displace water.
Expressed as settlement per unit height of concrete & cause plastic
shrinkage cracking
Can be reduced by:
 Finer cement
 High alkali
 High C3 A
 Addition of calcium chloride
 High temperature
 Use of pozzolans
 Aluminum powder
 Air entraining agent

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