ADVANCED CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY
(CN3051)
UNIT I
CONCRETE MAKING MATERIALS
SOURCES OF AGGREGATES
• Unit Weight
• Size
• Shape
The commonly used aggregate, i.e. sand and gravels; crushed
rocks such as granite, basalt quartz, sandstone and limestone etc.
which have specific gravity between 2.5 and 2.7 produce concrete
with unit weight ranging 23 to 26kN/m3.
Crushing strength at 28 days between 15 to40 MPa are termed
normal-weight concrete.
WATER ABSORPTION TEST
About 2Kg of dry aggregate sample is placed in wire basket and immersed in water for 24hrs.
The weight of the sample is taken.
The aggregate sample is placed in oven (100-1100C) for 24 hours.
After complete drying dry weight of the sample is taken.
Percentage of water absorption is calculated.
FLAKINESS INDEX
The flakiness index of aggregate is the percentage by weight of particles in it whose least dimension (thickness) is less
than three-fifths of their mean dimension.
The test is not applicable to sizes smaller than 6.3 mm.
This test is conducted by using a metal thickness gauge.
A sufficient quantity of aggregate is taken such that a minimum number of 200 pieces of any fraction can be tested.
Each fraction is gauged in turn for thickness on the metal gauge.
The total amount passing in the guage is weighed to an accuracy of 0.1 per cent of the weight of the samples taken.
The flakiness index is taken as the total weight of the material passing the various thickness gauges expressed as a
percentage of the total weight of the sample taken.
ELONGATION INDEX
The elongation index on an aggregate is the percentage by weight of particles whose greatest dimension (length) is greater
than 1.8 times their mean dimension.
The elongation index is not applicable to sizes smaller than 6.3 mm.
This test is conducted by using metal length gauge .
A sufficient quantity of aggregate is taken to provide a minimum number of 200 pieces of any fraction to be tested. Each
fraction shall be gauged individually for length on the metal gauge.
The total amount retained by the gauge length shall be weighed to an accuracy of at least 0.1 per cent of the weight of the
test samples taken.
The elongation index is the total weight of the material retained on the various length gauges expressed as a percentage of
the total weight of the sample gauged. The presence of elongated particles in excess of 10 to 15 per cent is generally
considered undesirable, but no recognized limits are laid down.
GRADES OF CEMENT
TESTING OF CEMENT
It can be brought under two categories:
• Field testing
• Laboratory testing
FIELD TESTING
It is sufficient to subject the cement to field tests when it is used for minor works.
Open the bag and take a look at the cement. There should not be any visible lumps. The colour of the cement
should normally be greenish grey.
Thrust your hand into the cement bag. It must give you a cool feeling. There should not be any lump inside.
Take a pinch of cement and feel-between the fingers. It should give a smooth and not a gritty feeling.
Take a handful of cement and throw it on a bucket full of water, the particles should float for some time before
they sink.
Take about 100 grams of cement and a small quantity of water and make a stiff paste. From the stiff paste, pat
a cake with sharp edges. Put it on a glass plate and slowly take it under water in a bucket. See that the shape of
the cake is not disturbed while taking it down to the bottom of the bucket. After 24 hours the cake should retain
its original shape and at the same time it should also set and attain some strength
Laboratory Testing
The following tests are usually conducted in the laboratory.
(a) Fineness test.
(b) Setting time test.
(c) Strength test.
(d) Soundness test.
(e) Heat of hydration test.
(f) Chemical composition test.
Fineness Test
The fineness of cement has an important bearing on
The rate of hydration
Rate of gain of strength
Rate of evolution of heat
Finer cement offers a greater surface are for hydration and hence
faster the development of strength.
Fineness of cement is tested in two ways
By sieving
By determination of specific surface by Blaine Air
permeability Apparatus
DETERMINATION OF FINENESS BY DRY SIEVING
Determination of Fineness by Air Permeability
Apparatus
The principle is based on the relation between the flow of air through the
cement bed and the surface area of the particles comprising the cement
bed.
From this the surface area per unit weight of the body material can be
related to the permeability of a bed of a given porosity.
The cement bed in the permeability cell is 1 cm. high and 2.5 cm. in
diameter. Knowing the density of cement the weight required to make a
cement bed of porosity of 0.475 can be calculated.
Slowly pass on air through the cement bed at a constant velocity.
Adjust the rate of air flow until the flowmeter shows a difference in level
of 30-50 cm.
Read the difference in level (h1) of the manometer and the difference in
level (h2) of the flowmeter.
SOUNDNESS TEST
STANDARD CONSISTENCY TEST
It is used to determine the percentage of water required for
preparing cement pastes.
The equipment used for consistenct test is
Vicat Apparatus.
This is used to determine the standard consistency value of
cement, Initial setting time and Final setting time of the cement.
Standard Consistency Test
Initial Setting Time
Final Setting Time
Advantages
It can be used in constructions of dams, bridges, water retaining structures, high rise buildings,
off shore structures, mass concreting and nuclear power stations.
