Prof.

Bilal Hamad

PLAIN CONCRETE
INTRODUCTION

A. Definition of Concrete
Concrete is an excellent building material because it can be formed into a wide variety of
shapes, colors, and textures for use in almost unlimited number of applications. The word
concrete comes from the Latin term “concretus,” which means to grow together.

Concrete is a composite material, which is basically a mixture of two components:

aggregates and paste. The paste, comprised of portland cement and water, binds the
aggregates (sand and gravel or crushed stone) into a rocklike mass as the paste hardens
because of the chemical reaction of cement and water (hydration).

Cement is a finely gray powder material that consists of angular particles typically in the
size range 1 to 50 μm. It is produced by pulverizing a clinker with a small amount of
calcium sulfate, the clinker being a heterogeneous mixture of several minerals produced
by high temperature reactions between calcium oxide and silica, alumina, and iron oxide.
Cement by itself is not a binder, but develops the binding property as a result of
hydration. Hydration combines cement and water to form a stone-like water-resistant
mass. Portland cements are hydraulic cements that set and harden by reacting with water.
The term hydraulic implies that the hydration products are stable in an aqueous
environment.

Aggregates are generally divided into two groups: fine and coarse. Fine aggregates
consist of natural or manufactured sand with particle sizes smaller than 4.75 mm (No. 4
sieve) but larger than 75 μm (No. 200 sieve). Coarse aggregates are those with particles
larger than 4.75 mm (No. 4 sieve). The most commonly used maximum aggregate size is
20 or 25 mm (¾ in. or 1 in.). Gravel is the coarse aggregate resulting from the natural
disintegration and abrasion of rock or from processing of weakly bound conglomerate.
The term sand is commonly used fro fine aggregate resulting from natural disintegration
and abrasion of rock or processing friable sandstone. Crushed stone is the product
resulting from industrial crushing of rocks, boulders, or large cobblestones.

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Aggregates make up about 60 to 75% of the total volume of concrete and therefore their
selection is important. Aggregates should consist of particles with adequate strength and
resistance to exposure conditions and should not contain materials that will cause
deterioration of concrete.

The paste is composed of portland cement, water, and entrapped air or purposely
entrained air. Cement paste ordinarily constitutes about 25 to 40% of the total volume of
concrete. The absolute volume of cement is usually between 7 and 15% and the water
between 14 and 21%. Air content in air-entrained concrete ranges up to about 8% of the
volume of concrete, depending on the maximum size aggregate. Mortar is a mixture of
sand, cement, and water. It is essentially concrete without a coarse aggregate.

Admixtures are defined as materials other than aggregates, cement, and water, which are
added to the concrete batch immediately before or during mixing. The use of admixtures
in concrete is now widespread due to many benefits which are possible by their
application. For instance, chemical admixtures can modify the setting and hardening
characteristic of the cement paste by influencing the rate of cement hydration. Water-
reducing admixtures can plasticize fresh concrete mixtures by reducing the surface
tension of water, air-entraining admixtures can improve the durability of concrete
exposed to cold weather, and mineral admixtures such as pozzolans (materials containing
reactive silica) can reduce thermal cracking in mass concrete.

For any particular set of materials and conditions of curing, the quality of hardened
concrete is determined by the water cement ratio. The less water used the better the
quality of concrete provided it can be consolidated properly. Some advantages of
reducing the water content include:
a. Increased compressive and flexural strength.
b. Lower permeability and thus increased water-tightness and lower absorption.
c. Increased resistance to weathering.
d. Better bond between successive concrete layers and between concrete and
reinforcement.
e. Less volume change from wetting and drying.
f. Reduced shrinkage cracking tendencies.

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Concrete could be thought of as a three-link chain. The first link is the mortar (cement,
sand, and water), which is the lubricant. The third link is the rock or coarse aggregate,
which is the material to be lubricated. The second link is the bond between the mortar and
the rock or between the lubricant and the material to be lubricated. This bond link is
actually the “transition zone”. The cause of adhesion between the hydration products and
the aggregate particle is the van der Waals force of attraction; therefore, the strength of
the transition zone at any point depends on the volume and size of voids present.

Control of quality should be maintained on site. The basic fundamentals and criteria to
produce quality concrete are set and coordinated between the engineer or designer and the
contractor. Then concrete performance is monitored on site.

B. The Structure of Concrete

Although concrete is the most widely used structural material, its structure is
heterogeneous and highly complex. At the macroscopic level, concrete may be considered
as a two-phase material, consisting of aggregate particles of varying shapes and size
dispersed in a matrix or incoherent mass of hydrated cement paste hcp. At the
microscopic level, the complexities of the concrete structure begin to show up. It becomes
obvious that the two phases of the structure are neither homogeneously distributed with
respect to each other, nor are they themselves homogeneous. For instance, in some areas
the hcp mass appears to be as dense as the aggregate while in others it is highly porous.
Also, the volume of capillary voids in the hcp would decrease with decreasing
water/cement ratio or with increasing age of hydration. Moreover, the structure of the hcp
in the vicinity of large aggregate particles is usually very different from the structure of
the bulk paste or mortar in the system.

The unique features of the concrete structure can be summarized as follow:

a. There is a third phase beside the hcp and the aggregates. It is the transition zone
which represents the interfacial region between the particles of coarse aggregate and
the hcp. Existing as a thin shell, typically 10 to 50 μm thick around large aggregate,
the transition zone is generally weaker than either of the two components of concrete,

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and therefore it exercises a far greater influence on the mechanical behavior of

concrete than is reflected by its size.
b. Each of the three phases is itself multiphase in nature. For instance, each aggregate
particle may contain several minerals, in addition to microcracks and voids. Similarly
both the bulk hcp and the transition zone generally contain a heterogeneous
distribution of different types and amounts of solid phases, pores, and microcracks.
c. Unlike other engineering material, the structure of concrete does not remain stable.
This is because the two components of the structure, the hcp and the transition zone,
are subject to change with time, environmental humidity, and temperature.

C. Types of Concrete
Based on unit weight, concrete can be classified into three board categories. Concrete
containing natural sand and gravel or crushed-rock aggregates, generally weighing about
2400 kg/m3 (4000 lb/yd3), is called normal-weight concrete, and is the most commonly
used concrete for structural purposes. For applications where a higher strength-to-weight
ratio is desired, it is possible to reduce the unit weight of concrete by using certain natural
or pyro-processed aggregates having lower bulk density. The term lightweight concrete is
used for concrete that weighs less than about 1800 kg/m3 (3000 lb/yd3). On the other
hand, heavyweight concrete, used at times for radiation shielding, is concrete produced
from high-density aggregates, and generally weighs more than 3200 kg/m3 (95300
lb/yd3).

It is not possible here to list all concrete types. There are numerous modified concretes
which are appropriately named: for example, fiber-reinforced concrete, expansive-cement
concrete, and latex-modified concrete.

Strength grading of concrete, which is prevalent in Europe and many other countries, is
not practiced in the United States. However, from the standpoint of distinct differences in
structure-property relationships, it is useful to divide concrete into three general
categories based on compressive strength:
 Low-strength concrete : less than 20 MPa (3 ksi) compressive strength
 Medium-strength concrete : 20 to 40 MPa (3 to 6 ksi) compressive strength
 High-strength concrete : more than 40 MPa (6 ksi) compressive strength

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Typical proportions of materials for producing low-strength, normal-strength, and high-

strength concretes with normal-weight aggregates are shown in Table 1. The relationships
between the cement paste content and strength, and the water/cement ratio of the cement
paste and strength should be noted from the data.

Table 1 Typical proportions of materials in concretes of different strength

Low-strength Medium-strength High-strength

lb/yd3 ft3/yd3 lb/yd3 ft3/yd3 lb/yd3 ft3/yd3

Cement 430 2.19 600 3.06 860 4.39
Water 300 4.80 300 4.80 300 4.80
Fine aggregate 1350 8.08 1430 8.56 1500 8.82
Coarse aggregate 1970 11.80 1740 10.42 1470 8.80
Cement paste
proportion
percent by mass 18 22.1 28.1
percent by volume 26 29.3 34.3
Water /cement
ratio by mass 0.70 0.50 0.35
Strength* (psi) 2650 4520 9010
Strength* (MPa) 18 30 60
* In American practice, unless otherwise specified, the strength of concrete is measured by crushing
6x12 in. cylindrical specimens under compression after 28 days of standard curing
(73.4 ± 3°F, 100% relative humidity).

D. Workability
Workability of concrete is defined in ASTM C125 as the property determining the effort
required to manipulate a freshly mixed quantity of concrete with minimum loss of
homogeneity. The term “manipulate” includes the early-age operations of placing,
compacting, and finishing. The ACI definition of workability, given in ACI 116R-90 is
“that property of freshly mixed concrete or mortar which determines the ease and
homogeneity with which it can be mixed, placed, consolidated, and finished.” So
workability must be related to the type of construction and methods of placing,
compacting, and finishing. Concrete that can readily be placed in a massive foundation
without segregation would be entirely unworkable in a thin, inaccessible, or heavily
reinforced structural member. Workability is the equilibrium between the lubricant
(mortar) and the material to be lubricated (rock or coarse aggregate).

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Workability is a composite property with at least two main components: consistency

which is a simple index for mobility or flowability of fresh concrete, and cohesiveness or
stability which is an index of both the water-holding capacity (opposite to bleeding) and
the coarse-aggregate-holding capacity (opposite to segregation).

The slump test is a fairly good measure of the consistency of fresh concrete. Consistency
is the ease with which fresh concrete can flow. It is the degree of wetness of concrete. A
low-slump concrete has a stiff consistency. Within limits, wet concretes are more
workable than dry concretes, but concretes of the same consistency may vary in
workability depending on several factors such as the type of construction and methods of
placing (pumping, or by the bucket, or by slip-forming), compacting, and finishing. The
slump test identifies a workability in the lab so that we can repeat this workability on site
A main function of the slump test is to provide a simple and very convenient method for
controlling the batch-to-batch uniformity of ready-mix concrete. For example, a more
than normal variation in slump may mean an unexpected change in mix proportions or
aggregate gradation or moisture content. This enables the ready-mix plant operator to
check and remedy the situation.

Concrete should be workable but should not segregate or bleed excessively. Bleeding is
the migration of water to the top surface of freshly placed concrete caused by the
settlement of solid material (cement, sand, and rock) within the mass. Settlement or
segregation is a consequence of the combined effect of vibration and gravity. Excessive
bleeding increases the water cement ratio near the top surface and a weak top layer with
poor durability may result, particularly if finishing operations take place while bleed
water is present. Because of the tendency of freshly mixed concrete to segregate and
bleed, it is important to transport and place each load as close as possible to its final
position. Entrained air improves workability and reduces the tendency of freshly mixed
concrete to segregate and bleed.

The significance of workability in concrete technology is obvious. It is one of the key

properties that must be satisfied. Regardless of the sophistication of the mix design
procedure used and other considerations, such as cost, a concrete mixture that cannot be

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placed easily or compacted fully is not likely to yield the expected strength and durability
characteristics.

Workability depends on a number of interacting factors: water content, aggregate

properties and gradation, aggregate/cement ratio, presence of admixtures, and fineness of
cement. Workability is also affected by time (after mixing starts) and ambient
temperature. To illustrate the effects of several factors on workability and consistency of
concrete, let’s try to explain the case of concrete prepared at the ready-mix (R/M) plant
and placed in the R/M truck with a slump of 6 in. or 150 mm. The trip to the site took 6
minutes. The concrete was then pumped up to the final location where the slump was
found to be 1 1/2 in. or 40 mm! Lubrication was lost although sand as part of the lubricant
was not lost, and water as another part of the lubricant did not leak from the pump line.
Actually, the problem was the aggregate that has been absorbing the water. The aggregate
used was limestone coming from a very poor formation. It had an absorption capacity of
3.5 %. The aggregate absorbed 1% in the R/M truck, and in the pump-line the aggregate
absorbed the other 2.5 %. The solution is to batch the concrete with the right (extra)
amount of water. Give time for the aggregate to absorb the water in the truck before
pumping it. Another solution is to keep the stockpile of aggregate wet.

E. Strength
Strength of concrete is commonly considered to be its most valuable property, although in
many practical cases other characteristics, such as durability, impermeability and volume
stability, may in fact be more important. Nevertheless, strength usually gives an overall
picture of the quality of concrete because it is directly related to the structure of cement
paste. The principal source of strength in the solid products of the hcp is the existence of
Van der Waals forces of attraction.

The most important practical factor that affects the strength of concrete is the
water/cement ratio. The underlying parameter is the porosity of the hardened cement
paste as a measure of the number and size of pores in the hydrated cement paste. The
larger the water/cement ratio, the larger is the porosity, and hence the lower is the
strength. It is important to note that stress concentration and subsequent rupture on

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application of load begin at large capillary voids, whose volume increases with increase
in the amount of water in the mix, and microcracks. It is estimated that the water/cement
ratio required for hydration of cement is around 0.22. The extra water that is used in
concrete mixes resulting in water/cement ration greater than 0.22 is there for workability.
It is important to note that curing is needed to prevent concrete from losing the water
needed for hydration and achieving strength.

Low water/cement ratio leads to higher strength and lower permeability. If we take tubes
of same diameter and fill them with 10 lbs of cement but vary amounts of water and cover
the tubes. After two years if we uncover the tubes for some time and weigh the tubes we
will find that they weigh the same. This is because the amount of water used for hydration
is the same in all tubes and the excess will evaporate once the tubes are uncovered.

Other main practical factors affecting concrete strength include the degree of compaction,
age (or the extent to which hydration has progressed), and temperature. In ordinary
construction, it is not possible to expel all the air from concrete so that, even in fully-
compacted concrete, there are some entrapped air voids. Assuming full compaction, and
at a given age and normal temperature, strength of concrete can be taken to be inversely
proportional to the water/cement ratio. This is the so-called Abram’s law. With an
increase in age, the degree of hydration generally increases so that strength increases (see
Figure 1). The rate of hydration and strength gain are also affected by the chemical
composition and the fineness of the cement used.

Other factors of secondary importance that affect strength of concrete include

aggregate/cement ratio, quality of the aggregate (grading, surface texture, shape, strength,
and stiffness), and the maximum size of the aggregate. It has been found that for a
constant water/cement ratio, a leaner mix with high aggregate/cement ratios (generally
not above 10) leads to higher strength. The main explanation lies in the volume of voids
in the concrete. If the paste represents a smaller proportion of the volume of concrete (as
is the case with leaner mix), then the total porosity of the concrete is lower, and hence the
strength is higher. The above argument ignores any voids in the aggregate, but with
normal aggregates these are minimal.

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Figure 1: Typical age-strength relationships of concrete based on compression

tests of 6 x 12 in. cylinders, using type I Portland cement and moist-
curing at 21° C or 70°F

Compressive strength may be defined as the measured maximum resistance of a concrete

or mortar specimen to axial loading. It is generally measured at the age of 28 days by
testing 6x12 in. cylinders, and is designated by the symbol f’c. If f’c is the specified
compressive strength by the designer, then f’cr would be the required average compressive
strength of concrete to be used as the basis for the selection of concrete proportions.
According to Section 5.3.2.1 of the ACI Building code (ACI 318-02):

For f’c ≤ 5000 psi, f’cr in psi is the larger of:

f’cr = f’c + 1.34 s Eq. 1
or f’cr = f’c + 2.33 s – 500 Eq. 2

For f’c > 5000 psi, f’cr in psi is the larger of:
f’cr = f’c + 1.34 s Eq. 1
or f’cr = 0.90f’c + 2.33 s Eq. 3

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Equation 1 provides a probability of 1/100 that averages of three consecutive cylinder

tests will be below the specified strength f’c. Equation 2 provides a probability of 1/100 of
individual tests more than 500 psi below the specified strength f’c. Equation 3 provides a
probability of 1/100 of individual tests less than 0.90f’c. The three equations assume that
the standard deviation (s) used is equal to the population value appropriate for an infinite
or very large number of tests. For this reason, use of standard deviations estimated from
records of 100 or more tests is desirable.

According to section 5.3.2.2 of the ACI Building code (ACI 318-02), when a concrete
production facility does not have field strength test records for calculation of standard
deviation, the required average strength f’cr in psi shall be:
 f’c is less than 3000 psi f’cr = f’c + 1000
 f’c is 3000 to 5000 psi f’cr = f’c + 1200
 f’c is greater than 5000 psi f’cr = 1.1f’c + 700

The flexural strength or modulus of rupture (fr) of normal-weight concrete is often

approximated as 7.5 to 10 (7.5 according to the ACI) times the square root of the
compressive strength. The tensile strength (ft) is about 8 to 12% of the compressive
strength and is often estimated as 5 to 7.5 (6.7 according to the ACI) times the square root
of the compressive strength. The torsional strength for concrete is related to the modulus
of rupture and the dimensions of the concrete element. The shear strength can vary from
35 to 80% of the compressive strength. Modulus of elasticity, denoted by the symbol E,
may be defined as the ratio of normal stress to corresponding strain for tensile or
compressive stress below the proportional limit of a material. For normal-weight
concrete, E according to the ACI is [33(wc)3/2 f’c1/2 ] in psi for values of wc (unit weight)
between 90 and 155 lb/ft3. It could be taken as (57000 f’c1/2).

F. Durability
Durability is the service life of concrete under given environmental conditions. Concrete
is inherently a durable material. If properly designed for the environment to which it will
be exposed, and if carefully produced with good quality control, concrete is capable of
maintenance-free performance for decades without the need for protective coatings,

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except in highly corrosive environments. However, concrete is potentially vulnerable to

attack in a variety of different exposures unless certain precautions are taken.

Deterioration of concrete can be caused by the adverse performance of any one of the
three major components: aggregate, paste, or reinforcement, and can be due to either
chemical or physical causes (refer to Table 2). Although one particular environmental
factor may initiate distress, other factors may contribute and aggravate the situation.

Table 2 Durability of concrete

Chemical attack Leaching and efflorescence (P*)
Sulfate attack (P)
Alkali-aggregate reaction (A)
Acids and alkalis (P)
Corrosion of metals (R)
Physical attack Freezing and thawing (P,A)
Wetting and drying (P)
Temperature changes (P,A)
Wear and abrasion (P,A)
* Letter(s) in parenthesis indicates the concrete component most affected,
in order of importance: A, aggregate; P, paste; R, reinforcement

Factors affecting concrete durability include:

a. Permeability or water-tightness
b. Air entrainment
c. Materials/Chemistry
d. Strength

Permeability is defined as the ease with which a fluid can flow through a solid. It is the
ability of concrete to resist penetration of water or other substances like liquid, gas, ion,
etc. Generally, the same properties that make concrete less permeable, also make it more
watertight. The overall permeability of concrete to water is a function of the permeability
of the paste, the permeability and gradation of the aggregate, and the relative proportion
of paste to aggregate. Decreased permeability improves concrete’s resistance to re-
saturation, sulfate and other chemical attack, chloride-ion penetration, and resistance to
freezing-thawing cycles. Lower water/cement ratio and an adequate moist-curing period,
are required for low-permeability concrete.

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For example, if concrete is to be sulfate resistant it has to have low permeability induced
by a low water-cement ratio. Also, proper selection of material like type of cement is very
important.

Air entrainment admixture added to a concrete mix produces circular air bubbles inside
hardened concrete that will provide the concrete with freeze resistance. Entrapped air
pockets hugging pieces of aggregates inside hardened concrete are irregular in shape (not
circular). These are caught by the aggregates while trying to leave the concrete after
consolidation by vibrators.

G. Volume Stability
Hardened concrete changes volume slightly due to changes in temperature, moisture, and
stress. These volume or length changes may range from about 0.01% to 0.08%. Thermal
volume changes of hardened concrete are about the same as those for steel. Concrete kept
continually moist will expand slightly. As long as the relative humidity (RH) is 100
percent, practically no dimensional change will occur. However, when exposed to
environmental humidity, which normally is much lower than 100 percent, the material
will begin to lose water or dry and concrete will shrink.

As soon as the RH drops below 100 percent, the free water held in large cavities (greater
than 50 nm) inside the hcp begins to escape to the environment. Since the free water is
not attached to the structure of the hydration products by any physical or chemical bonds,
its loss would not be accompanied by shrinkage. When most of the free water has been
lost, on continued drying it has been found that further loss of water begins to result in
considerable shrinkage. This is attributed to the loss of adsorbed water and water held in
small capillaries (5 to 50 nm). Since the water held in small capillaries exerts hydrostatic
tension, its removal tends to induce a compressive stress on the solid walls of the
capillary pore, thus causing contraction of the system.

The primary factor influencing the amount of drying shrinkage is the water content of the
freshly mixed concrete. Drying shrinkage increases directly with increases in this water
content. The amount of shrinkage also depends upon several other factors, such as

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amounts of aggregate used, properties of the aggregate, size and shape of the concrete
mass, relative humidity and temperature of the environment, method of curing, degree of
hydration, and time.

Concrete under stress will deform elastically. Sustained stress will result in additional
deformation called creep. The rate of creep (deformation per unit of time) decreases with
time. The mechanisms which are responsible for drying shrinkage are also responsible for
creep of the hcp. In the case of creep, a sustained external stress becomes the driving
force for the movement of the physically adsorbed water and the water held in small
capillaries. The creep strain can occur even at 100 percent RH.

H. Control of Cracking
Two basic causes of cracks in concrete are: stress due to applied loads and stress due to
drying shrinkage or temperature changes in restrained conditions.

Drying shrinkage is an inherent, unavoidable property of concrete; therefore, properly

positioned reinforcing steel is used to reduce crack widths, or joints are used to
predetermine and control the location of cracks. Thermal stress due to fluctuations in
temperature can cause cracking, particularly at an early age.

Concrete shrinkage cracks occur because of restraint. When shrinkage occurs and there is
no restraint, the concrete does not crack. Restraint comes from several sources. Drying
shrinkage is always greater near the surface of concrete; the moist inner portions restrain
the concrete near the surface, which can cause cracking. Other sources of restraint are
reinforcing steel embedded in concrete, the interconnected parts of a concrete structure,
and the friction of the subgrade on which concrete is placed.

Joints are the most effective method of controlling unsightly cracking (refer to Figure 2).
If a sizable expanse of concrete (a wall, slab, or pavement) is not provided with properly
spaced joints to accommodate drying shrinkage and temperature contraction, the concrete
will crack in a random manner.

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Control joints are grooved, formed, or sawed into sidewalks, driveways, pavements,
floors, and walls so that cracking will occur in these joints rather than in a random
manner. Control joints permit movement in the plane of a slab or wall. They extend to a
depth of approximately one-quarter the concrete thickness.

Isolation joints separate a slab from other parts of a structure and permit horizontal and
vertical movements of the slab. They are placed at the junction of floors with walls,
columns, footings, and other points where restraint can occur. They extend the full depth
of the slab and include a pre-moulded joint filler.

Construction joints occur where concrete work is concluded for the day; they separate
areas of concrete placed at different times. In slabs-on-ground, construction joints usually
align with and function as control or isolation joints.

Figure 2: The three basic types of joints used in concrete

slab-on-ground construction

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