Chapter 2

Properties of Fresh Concrete

and its standard test

Asst.Prof Sushil Adhikari

Nepal Engineering College
Changunarayan, Bhaktapur
 PROPERTIES OF FRESH CONCRETE

Introduction
 The potential strength and durability of concrete of a given
mix proportion is very dependent on the degree of its
compaction.
 It is vital, therefore, that the consistency of the mix be such
that the concrete can be transported, placed, and finished
sufficiently early enough to attain the expected strength
and durability.

Significance
 The first 48 hours are very important for the performance
of the concrete structure.
 It controls the long-term behavior, influence f'c (ultimate

Elasticity and Strength Of Concrete
 The elastic properties of materials are a measure of
their resistance to deformation under an applied
load (but the elastic strain is recovered when the
load is removed).
 Strength usually refers to the maximum stress that
a given kind of sample can carry.
 Understanding these properties and how they are
measured is essential for anyone wishing to use
materials.
 PROPERTIES OF FRESH CONCRETE
Ø
Workability
Ø Consistency

Ø
Segregation
Ø
Bleeding
Ø
Setting Time
Ø
Unit Weight
Ø
Uniformity
 Concrete Consistency
•
Consistency or fluidity of concrete is an
important component of workability and is the
degree of wetness of the concrete.
•
However, it must not be assumed that the
wetter the mix the more workable it is. If a mix
is too wet, segregation may occur with
resulting honeycomb, excessive bleeding, and
sand streaking on the formed surfaces
•
On the other hand, if a mix is too dry it may
be difficult to place and compact, and
segregation may occur because of lack of
cohesiveness and plasticity of the paste.
 3 Ways to determine
Consistency of Fresh Concrete
 Slump Test

Definition
A slump test is a method used to determine the consistency
of concrete. The consistency, or stiffness, indicates how much
water has been used in the mix. The stiffness of the concrete
mix should be matched to the requirements for the finished
product quality
 Slump is a measurement of concrete’s workability, or fluidity.
 It’s an indirect measurement of concrete consistency or stiffness.


Principle
It measures the consistency or the wetness of concrete
which means “how much wet the concrete is”
 Slump Test

Apparatus
 Slump cone : frustum of a cone, 300 mm (12 in) of
height. The base is 200 mm (8in) in diameter and it
has a smaller opening at the top of 100 mm
 Scale for measurement,
 Temping rod(steel) 16mm diameter, 60cm length.

Procedure
 The base is placed on a smooth surface and the container is filled
with concrete in three layers, whose workability is to be tested .
 Each layer is temped 25 times with a standard 16 mm (5/8 in)
diameter steel rod, rounded at the end.
 When the mold is completely filled with concrete, the top surface
is struck off (leveled with mold top opening) by means of
screening and rolling motion of the temping rod.
 The mold must be firmly held against its base during the entire
operation so that it could not move due to the pouring of concrete
and this can be done by means of handles or foot – rests brazed to
the mold.

Types Of Slump
The slumped concrete takes various shapes, and
according to the profile of slumped concrete, the
slump is termed as;

Collapse Slump

Shear Slump

True Slump

Types Of Slump
 Collapse Slump

In a collapse slump the concrete collapses completely.


A collapse slump will generally mean that the mix is too
wet or that it is a high workability mix, for which slump
test is not appropriate.
 Shear Slump

In a shear slump the top portion of the concrete shears off

and slips sideways. OR
If one-half of the cone slides down an inclined plane, the
slump is said to be a shear slump.

If a shear or collapse slump is achieved, a fresh sample
should be taken and the test is repeated.

If the shear slump persists, as may the case with harsh

Uses
 The slump test is used to ensure uniformity for
different batches of similar concrete under field
conditions.
 This test is very useful on site as a check on the
day-to-day or hour- to-hour variation in the
materials being fed into the mixer. An increase in
slump may mean, for instance, that the moisture
content of aggregate has unexpectedly increases.
 Too high or too low a slump gives immediate
warning and enables the mixer operator to remedy
the situation.

Table: Workability, Slump and Compacting Factor of concrete with 19 or 38 mm (3/4 or 11/2 in) maximum size of
aggregate.
Table : Relation between Consistency and Slump values
 Flow Test

Equipment
 Flow table with a grip and a hinge, 70 cm x 70 cm.
 Abrams cone, open at the top and at the bottom - 30 cm high, 17
cm top diameter, 25 cm base diameter
 Water bucket and broom for wetting the flow table.
 Tamping rod, 60 cm height
 Scale for measurement

Procedure
 The flow table is wetted.
 The cone is placed on the flow table and filled with
fresh concrete in two layers, each layer 10 times
tamp with tamping rod.
 The cone is lifted, allowing the concrete to flow.
 The flow table is then lifted up about 4 centimeters
and then dropped 15 times in 15 seconds.
 After this the diameter of the concrete is measured
in a 6 different direction and take the average.
Flow Test
 Concrete Workability

Definition
 The property of fresh concrete which is indicated by the
amount of useful internal work required to fully compact
the concrete without bleeding or segregation in the
finished product.
 Workability is one of the physical parameters of concrete
which affects the strength and durability as well as the cost
of labor and appearance of the finished product
 Concrete is said to be workable when it is easily placed
and compacted homogeneously i.e without bleeding or
Segregation. Unworkable concrete needs more work or
effort to be compacted in place, also honeycombs &/or
pockets may also be visible in finished concrete

Factors affecting workability
 Water content in the concrete mix
 Amount of cement & its Properties
 Aggregate Grading (Size Distribution)
 Nature of Aggregate Particles (Shape, Surface Texture,
Porosity etc.)
 Temperature of the concrete mix
 Admixture
 Mode of compaction
 Method of placement of concrete

How To improve the workability of concrete
 increase water/cement ratio
 increase size of aggregate
 use well-rounded and smooth aggregate instead of
irregular shape
 increase the mixing time
 increase the mixing temperature
 use non-porous and saturated aggregate
 with addition of air-entraining mixtures

An on site simple test for determining workability is the

 Compacting Factor Test

Introduction
 These tests were developed in the UK by Glanville
( 1947 ) and it is measure the degree of
compaction. The ratio of the partially compacted
weight to the fully compacted weight, which is
always less than one, is known as compacted factor
.
 Slump test doesn’t give accurate results for the
low workability of concrete when the slump is
<50mm So compaction factor test used for
concrete mixes of very low workability.

Apparatus
 Trowels
 Hand Scoop (15.2 cm long)
 Rod of steel or other suitable material
(1.6 cm diameter, 61 cm long rounded
at one end ).
 Balance.
 Upper Hopper and Lower Hopper are of same
size(upper dia-250,lower dia-125,Height 275mm)

Procedure
1) Ensure the apparatus and associated equipment
are clean before test and free from hardened
concrete and superfluous water .
2) Weigh the bottom cylinder to nearest 10gm , put
it back on the stand and cover it up with a pair of
floats .
3) Gently fill the upper hopper with the sampled
concrete to the level of the rim with use of a
scoop .
4) Immediately open the trap door of the upper
hopper and allow the sampled concrete to fall
into the middle hopper .
 Segregation

Definition
 Segregation is when the coarse and fine aggregate, and
cement paste, become separated. Segregation may
happen when the concrete is mixed, transported, placed or
compacted.

 Segregation makes the concrete


WEAKER,

LESS DURABLE,

and will leave A POOR SURFACE FINISH

Main Causes
The primary causes of segregation are differences in
specific gravity and size of constituents of concrete.
Moreover, improper mixing, improper placing and
improper consolidation also lead to segregation.
Some of the factors affecting segregation:
– Larger maximum particle size (25mm) and
proportion of the larger particles.
– High specific gravity of coarse aggregate.
– Decrease in the amount of fine particles.
– Particle shape and texture.
– Water/cement ratio.

To Avoid Segregation
 Check the concrete is not 'too wet' or 'too dry'.
 Make sure the concrete is properly mixed. It is important that the
concrete is mixed at the correct speed in a transit mixer for at least two
minutes immediately prior to discharge.
 The concrete should be placed as soon as possible.
 When transporting the mix, load carefully.
 Always pour new concrete into the face of concrete already in place.
 When compacting with a poker vibrator be sure to use it carefully
 If placing concrete straight from a truck, pour vertically and never let
the concrete fall more than one-and-a-half meters
Concrete Bleeding
 Bleeding

Introduction
 This refers to the appearance of water along with cement particles
on the surface of the freshly laid concrete. This happens when there
is excessive quantity of water in the mix or due to excessive
compaction. Bleeding causes the formation of pores and renders the
concrete weak. Bleeding can be avoided by suitably controlling the
quantity of water in the concrete and using finer grading of
aggregates.
•
Measurement of rate of bleeding
– A sample of concrete is placed in a container of 250mm diameter
and 280mm height.
– The bleeded water accumulated on the surface is withdrawn at 10
min interval during first 40 min and at 30 min interval.
Mathematically,

Bleeding Process
 Almost all freshly placed concrete bleeds. As aggregate and cement
particles settle, they force excess mixing water upward. The process
continues until settlement stops, either because of solids bridging or
because the concrete has set.
 The total amount of bleeding or settlement depends on mix properties,
primarily water content and amount of fines (cement, fly ash, fine sand).
Increasing water content increases bleeding, and increasing the amount
of fines reduces bleeding. Amount of bleeding is also proportional to the
depth of concrete placed. More bleed water rises in deep sections than
in thin ones.
 Bleeding usually occurs gradually by uniform seepage over the whole
surface, but sometimes vertical channels form. Water flows fast enough
in these channels to carry fine particles of cement and sand, leaving
"wormholes" in the interior or sand streaks at the form face. Channels
are more likely to form when concrete bleeds excessively.
 Channels that reach the surface are open paths for deicing solutions to
penetrate the concrete. This leads to freezing and thawing damage and
rebar corrosion

Effects Of Excessive bleeding in Deep Section
 Sometimes bleed water can't entirely evaporate because it has been
trapped near the top surface by setting. This raises the water-cement
ratio, increases permeability, and lowers strength. Excessive bleeding
also causes some other problems in deep sections: heavy laitance
accumulation at horizontal construction joints; bond loss at aggregate
and rebar surfaces; and unsightly sand streaks.


Bleeding Problems in Flatwork
 Never float or trowel concrete while there's bleed water on the surface.
That's the cardinal rule of finishing. Finishing before bleed water has
evaporated can cause dusting, craze cracking, scaling, and low wear
resistance. Working bleed-water into the surface also increases
permeability.
 MIXING OF CONCRETE
Ø
The aim of mixing is to blend all of the
ingredients of the concrete to form a uniform
mass and to coat the surface of aggregates
with cement paste.
Ø
Ready-Mix concrete: In this type ingredients
are introduced into a mixer truck and mixed
during transportation to the site.
• Wet – Water added before transportation
• Dry – Water added at site
Ready Mix Concrete
 Mixing at Site

Mixing time should be sufficient to produce a uniform concrete. The time of mixing
depends on the type of mixer and also to some properties of fresh concrete.
Ø
Undermixing → non-homogeneity
Ø
Overmixing → danger of water loss, brekage of aggregate particles
CONSOLIDATING CONCRETE

Inadequate consolidation
can result in:
•
Honeycomb
•
Excessive amount of
entrapped air voids
(bugholes)
•
Sand streaks
•
Placement lines (Cold joints)
 Compaction OF CONCRETE
Ø
The process of compacting concrete consists
essentially of the elimination of entrapped
air. This can be achieved by:
– Tamping or rodding the concrete
– Use of vibrators
Ø
Internal vibrator: The poker is immersed into
concrete to compact it. The poker is easily removed
from point to point.
Ø
External vibrators: External vibrators clamp direct to
the formwork requiring strong, rigid forms.
Systematic Vibration

CORRECT
•
Vertical penetration a few
inches into previous lift
(which should not yet be
rigid) of systematic regular
INCORRECT
intervals will give
Haphazard
adequaterandom penetration of the
consolidation
vibrator at all angles and spacing
without sufficient depth will not assure
intimate combination of the two layers
External Vibrators
•
Form vibrators
•
Vibrating tables (Lab)
•
Surface vibrators
v
Vibratory screeds
v
Plate vibrators
v
Vibratory roller screeds
v
Vibratory hand floats or
trowels
 External Vibration
Ø
External vibrators are rigidly clamped to the
formwork so that both the form & concrete
are subjected to vibration.
Ø
A considerable amount of work is needed to
vibrate forms.
Ø
Forms must be strong and tied enough to
prevent distortion and leakage of the grout.
 CURING OF CONCRETE
Ø
Curing is the procedures used for promoting
the hydration of cement in order to achieve
desired strength of concrete by controlling
temperature and the moisture movement
from and into the concrete.
Ø
The primary objective of curing is
• To keep concrete saturated
• To prevent loss of water by evaporation and
maintain the hydration
• reduce shrinkage
Hydration reactions can take place
in only saturated water filled
capillaries.
 Curing Methods

1. Methods which supply additional water to

the surface of concrete during early
hardening stages.
– Using wet covers
– Sprinkling
– Ponding
2. Methods that prevent loss of moisture from
concrete by sealing the surface.
– Water proof plastics
– Use liquid membrane-forming compounds
– Forms left in place
3. Methods that accelerate strength gain by
supplying heat & moisture to the concrete.
– Heating coils
– By using live steam (steam curing)
 Concreting in Hot Weather
•
Any operation of concreting done at atmospheric
temperature above 400 c ,called hot weather
concreting. The effects of hot weather concreting
are: Rapid hydration early setting rapid loss of
workability reduction in strength increase
tendency to cracking.
•
Extra problems due to
– Low humidity
– Wind, excessive evaporation
– Direct sunlight

Solutions
 Concreting in cold Weather
•
Any concreting operation done at a temperature
below 60 c is termed as Cold Weather Concreting.
The effects of cold weather concreting are: Slow
hydration  setting time elapsed  loss in
strength
Solutions
– Heated enclosures, insulation
– Rely on heat of hydration for larger sections
– Heated ingredients i.e concrete made hot when
placed
THANK YOU!!!!