Vicat Apparatus.

Procedure to determine initial and final setting time of cement

i) Prepare a cement paste by gauging the cement with 0.85 times the water required to
give
a
paste
of
standard
consistency.
ii) Start a stop-watch, the moment water is added to the cement.
iii) Fill the Vicat mould completely with the cement paste gauged as above, the mould
resting on a non-porous plate and smooth off the surface of the paste making it level with
the top of the mould. The cement block thus prepared in the mould is the test block.
A)INITIAL
SETTING
TIME
Place the test block under the rod bearing the needle. Lower the needle gently in order to
make contact with the surface of the cement paste and release quickly, allowing it to
penetrate the test block. Repeat the procedure till the needle fails to pierce the test block
to a point 5.0 0.5mm measured from the bottom of the mould.The time period elapsing
between the time, water is added to the cement and the time, the needle fails to pierce the
test block by 5.0 0.5mm measured from the bottom of the mould, is the initial setting
time.
B)FINAL
SETTING
TIME
Replace the above needle by the one with an annular attachment. The cement should be
considered as finally set when, upon applying the needle gently to the surface of the test
block, the needle makes an impression therein, while the attachment fails to do so. The
period elapsing between the time, water is added to the cement and the time, the needle
makes an impression on the surface of the test block, while the attachment fails to do so,
is the final setting time.

CONSISTENCY
The basic aim is to find out the water content required to produce a cement paste of
standard consistency as specified by the IS: 4031 (Part 4) - 1988. The principle is that
standard consistency of cement is that consistency at which the Vicat plunger penetrates
to a point 5-7mm from the bottom of Vicat mould.
Apparatus - Vicat apparatus conforming to IS: 5513 - 1976, Balance, whose permissible
variation at a load of 1000g should be +1.0g, Gauging trowel conforming to IS: 10086 1982.
Procedure to determine consistency of cement
i) Weigh approximately 400g of cement and mix it with a weighed quantity of water. The
time of gauging should be between 3 to 5 minutes.
ii) Fill the Vicat mould with paste and level it with a trowel.
iii) Lower the plunger gently till it touches the cement surface.
iv) Release the plunger allowing it to sink into the paste.
v) Note the reading on the gauge.
vi) Repeat the above procedure taking fresh samples of cement and different quantities of
water until the reading on the gauge is 5 to 7mm.
Reporting of Results
Express the amount of water as a percentage of the weight of dry cement to the first place
of decimal.
SOUNDNESS
Soundness of cement is determined by Le-Chatelier method as per IS: 4031 (Part 3) 1988. Apparatus - The apparatus for conducting the Le-Chatelier test should conform to
IS: 5514 1969 Balance, whose permissible variation at a load of 1000g should be +1.0g
and Water bath.

Procedure to determine soundness of cement

i) Place the mould on a glass sheet and fill it with the cement paste formed by gauging
cement with 0.78 times the water required to give a paste of standard consistency.
ii) Cover the mould with another piece of glass sheet, place a small weight on this
covering glass sheet and immediately submerge the whole assembly in water at a
temperature of 27 2oC and keep it there for 24hrs.
iii) Measure the distance separating the indicator points to the nearest 0.5mm (say d1 ).

iv) Submerge the mould again in water at the temperature prescribed above. Bring the
water to boiling point in 25 to 30 minutes and keep it boiling for 3hrs.
v) Remove the mould from the water, allow it to cool and measure the distance between
the indicator points (say d2 ).
vi) (d2 d1 ) represents the expansion of cement.

FINENESS
So we need to determine the fineness of cement by dry sieving as per IS: 4031 (Part 1) 1996.The principle of this is that we determine the proportion of cement whose grain size
is larger then specified mesh size.The apparatus used are 90m IS Sieve, Balance capable
of weighing 10g to the nearest 10mg, A nylon or pure bristle brush, preferably with 25 to
40mm, bristle, for cleaning the sieve.Sieve shown in pic below is not the actual 90m
seive.Its just for reference.

Procedure to determine fineness of cement

i) Weigh approximately 10g of cement to the nearest 0.01g and place it on the sieve.
ii) Agitate the sieve by swirling, planetary and linear movements, until no more fine
material passes through it.
iii) Weigh the residue and express its mass as a percentage R1,of the quantity first placed
on the sieve to the nearest 0.1 percent.
iv) Gently brush all the fine material off the base of the sieve.
v) Repeat the whole procedure using a fresh 10g sample to obtain R2. Then calculate R as
the mean of R1 and R2 as a percentage, expressed to the nearest 0.1 percent. When the
results differ by more than 1 percent absolute, carry out a third sieving and calculate the
mean of the three values.

AGGREGATE CRUSHING VALUE

This test helps to determine the aggregate crushing value of coarse aggregates as per IS:
2386 (Part IV) - 1963. The apparatus used is Cylindrical measure and plunger,
Compression testing machine, IS Sieves of sizes - 12.5mm, 10mm and 2.36mm
Procedure
to
determine
Aggregate
Crushing
Value
i) The aggregates passing through 12.5mm and retained on 10mm IS Sieve are oven-dried
at
a
temperature
of
100
to
110 oC
for
3
to
4hrs.
ii) The cylinder of the apparatus is filled in 3 layers, each layer tamped with 25 strokes of
a
tamping
rod.
iii)
The
weight
of
aggregates
is
measured
(Weight
A).
iv) The surface of the aggregates is then leveled and the plunger inserted. The apparatus
is then placed in the compression testing machine and loaded at a uniform rate so as to
achieve 40t load in 10 minutes. After this, the load is released.
v) The sample is then sieved through a 2.36mm IS Sieve and the fraction passing through
the
sieve
is
weighed
(Weight
B).
vi) Two tests should be conducted.
Aggregate crushing value = (B/A) x 100%

WATER ABSORPTION
This test helps to determine the water absorption of coarse aggregates as per IS: 2386
(Part III) - 1963. For this test a sample not less than 2000g should be used. The apparatus
used for this test are :Wire basket - perforated, electroplated or plastic coated with wire hangers for suspending
it from the balance, Water-tight container for suspending the basket, Dry soft absorbent
cloth - 75cm x 45cm (2 nos.), Shallow tray of minimum 650 sq.cm area, Air-tight
container of a capacity similar to the basket and Oven.
Procedure
to
determine
water
absorption
of
Aggregates.
i) The sample should be thoroughly washed to remove finer particles and dust, drained
and then placed in the wire basket and immersed in distilled water at a temperature
between 22 and 32oC.
ii) After immersion, the entrapped air should be removed by lifting the basket and
allowing it to drop 25 times in 25 seconds. The basket and sample should remain
immersed for a period of 24 + hrs afterwards.
iii) The basket and aggregates should then be removed from the water, allowed to drain
for a few minutes, after which the aggregates should be gently emptied from the basket
on to one of the dry clothes and gently surface-dried with the cloth,transferring it to a
second dry cloth when the first would remove no further moisture.The aggregates should
be spread on the second cloth and exposed to the atmosphere away from direct sunlight

till it appears to be completely surface-dry.The aggregates should be weighed (Weight

A).
iv) The aggregates should then be placed in an oven at a temperature of 100 to 110oC for
24hrs. It should then be removed from the oven, cooled and weighed (Weight B).
Formula used is Water absorption = [(A - B)/B] x 100%

SIEVE ANALYSIS
Sieve analysis helps to determine the particle size distribution of the coarse and fine
aggregates.This is done by sieving the aggregates as per IS: 2386 (Part I) - 1963. In this
we use different sieves as standardized by the IS code and then pass aggregates through
them and thus collect different sized particles left over different sieves.
Procedure to determine particle size distribution of Aggregates.
i) The test sample is dried to a constant weight at a temperature of 110 + 5oC and
weighed.
ii) The sample is sieved by using a set of IS Sieves.
iii) On completion of sieving, the material on each sieve is weighed.
iv) Cumulative weight passing through each sieve is calculated as a percentage of the
total sample weight.
v) Fineness modulus is obtained by adding cumulative percentage of aggregates retained
on each sieve and dividing the sum by 100.
Reporting
of
Results
The
results
should
be
calculated
and
reported
as:
i)
the
cumulative
percentage
by
weight
of
the
total
sample
ii) the percentage by weight of the total sample passing through one sieve and retained on
the next smaller sieve, to the nearest 0.1 percent. The results of the sieve analysis may be
recorded graphically on a semi-log graph with particle size as abscissa (log scale) and the
percentage smaller than the specified diameter as ordinate.
Aggregate particles are said to be flakey when their thickness is less than
0.6 of their mean size.
Flakey aggregate has less strength than cubical aggregate, and does not
create the dense matrix that well graded cubicle aggregate is able to do,
and it will provide less texture when used in surface dressing.
E.g. Granular sub-base with a high proportion of flakey aggregate tends to
segregate and be difficult to compact, although performing a normal
aggregate grading test will show it conforms to specification.

Flakey chippings do not create the surface texture that a cubicle or angular
chipping is able to produce.
WELL GRADED
Well graded means that within a material that is well graded there is a good
distribution of all the aggregate sizes from largest to smallest, coarse
aggregate to dust.
With a well graded material all the different size aggregate particles will
position themselves within the total matrix in such a way to produce a
tightly knit layer of maximum possible density, when compacted correctly.
A well graded material is better able to carry and spread load imposed on it
than a poorly graded material.
A well graded material will possess good stability, with good distribution of
load / stress spreading out uniformly through the material to the road
pavement layer below

EFFECT OF INCREASING SIZE OF COARSE AGGREGATES.

1.

A decrease of the water requirement and content of cement and an

increase of the density of concrete due to a decrease of the sand
content and corresponding increase of the stony component are a
positive aspect of increasing the size of the aggregate.

2.

The consumption of cement with an increase of the size of the

aggregate from 40 to 80 mm, other conditions being equal,
decreases by 2030 kg per 1 m3 of concrete (Figs. 1 and 3), which
amounts to 1012% and, accordingly, the density of the concrete
mix increases.

3.

With an increase of the size of the aggregate from 40 to 80 mm for

concretes with a water/cement ratio from 0.40 to 0.68, the
compressive strength increases insignificantly (up to 9%) and the
splitting strength, conversely, decreases up to 10%.

4.

A decrease of the tensile strength, accompanied by an increase of

the modulus of elasticity, led to a substantial decrease of the
ultimate extensibility of concrete (up to 28%), which occurs as a
result of an increase of the inhomogeneity of the concrete and
decrease of the cohesive strength of the aggregate with the
hardened cement.

5.

The limiting value of the maximum size of aggregate should be

selected on the basis of the fractional composition of natural
deposits planned to be used for obtaining aggregates with
consideration of their rational use and the design characteristics of
the structures and feasibility study.