CE 361 Advanced Concrete

Technology

MODULE 2
Mix proportioning
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 OVERVIEW
• Proportioning of concrete mixtures: Mix design - nominal mix- design
mix – concept of mix design - variables of proportioning - general
considerations - factors considered in the design of concrete mix-
various methods of mix design - design of concrete mix as per IS
10262-2019
• Statistical quality control of concrete – mean strength – standard
deviation – coefficient of variation – sampling - testing -acceptance
criteria.

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 Concept of Mix design
• The process of selecting suitable ingredients of concrete and determining
their proportions is referred to as mix design.
• The objective is producing a concrete of the required, strength, durability,
and workability as economically as possible
• The proportioning of ingredient of concrete is governed by the required
performance of concrete in two states, namely the plastic and the hardened
states
• The compressive strength of hardened concrete which is generally
considered to be an index of its other properties, depends upon many factors
like quality and quantity of cement, water and aggregates; batching and
mixing; placing, compaction and curing.

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• From technical point of view the rich mixes may lead to high
shrinkage and cracking in the structural concrete and evolution of high
heat of hydration in mass concrete which may cause cracking.
• The cost of concrete is made up of the cost of materials, plant and
labour
• The actual cost of concrete is related to the cost of materials required
for producing a minimum mean strength called characteristic strength
that is specified by the designer of the structure

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REQUIREMENTS OF CONCRETE MIX DESIGN
The requirements which form the basis of selection and proportioning of
mix ingredients are:
a. The minimum compressive strength required from structural
consideration
b. The adequate workability necessary for full compaction with the
compacting equipment available.
c. Maximum water‐cement ratio and/or maximum cement content to
give adequate durability for the particular site conditions
d. Maximum cement content to avoid shrinkage cracking due to
temperature cycle in mass concrete.
e. Minimum density for gravity dams and similar structures.
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Types of Mixes
1. Nominal Mixes
• In the past the specifications for concrete prescribed the proportions of
cement, fine and coarse aggregates.
• These mixes of fixed cement‐aggregate ratio which ensures adequate
strength are termed as nominal mixes.
• These offer simplicity and under normal circumstances, have a margin
of strength above that specified.
• However, due to the variability of mix ingredients the nominal
concrete for a given workability varies widely in strength

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2. Standard mixes.
• The nominal mixes of fixed cement‐aggregate ratio (by volume) vary
widely in strength and may result in under‐ or over‐rich mixes
• For this reason, the minimum compressive strength has been included
in many specifications. These mixes are termed as standard mixes
• IS 456‐2000 has designated the concrete mixes into a number of
grades as M10, M15, M20, M25, M30,M35 and M40
• In this designation the letter M refers to the mix and the number to the
specified 28 day cube strength of mix in N/mm2.
• The mixes of grades M10, M15, M20 and M25 correspond
approximately to the mix proportions (1:3:6), (1:2:4), (1:1.5:3) and
(1:1:2) respectively

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3. Designed Mixes
.
• In these mixes the performance of the concrete is specified by the
designer but the mix proportions are determined by the producer of
concrete, except that the minimum cement content can be laid down.
• This is most rational approach to the selection of mix proportions with
specific materials in mind possessing more or less unique
characteristics

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FACTORS AFFECTING THE CHOICE OF MIX
PROPORTIONS
The various factors affecting the mix design are:
1. Compressive strength
2. Workability
3. Durability
4. Maximum nominal size of aggregate
5. Grading and type of aggregate
6. Quality Control

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 Compressive Strength
• The compressive strength of concrete is given in terms of the
characteristic compressive strength of 150 mm size cubes tested at 28
days (fck)‐ as per Indian Standards.
• The characteristic strength is defined as the strength of the concrete
below which not more than 5% of the test results are expected to fall.

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• Mean strength: This is the average strength obtained by dividing the
sum of strength of all the cubes by the number of cubes
• The mean compressive strength required at a specific age usually 28
days, determines the nominal water‐cement ratio of the mix.
• According to Abraham’s law the strength of fully compacted concrete
is inversely proportional to the water‐cement ratio
• The other factor affecting the strength of concrete at a given age and
cured at a prescribed temperature is the degree of compaction

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 Workability
• The degree of workability required depends on three factors
• These are the size of the section to be concreted, the amount of
reinforcement, and the method of compaction to be used
• For the narrow and complicated section with numerous corners or
inaccessible parts, the concrete must have a high workability so that
full compaction can be achieved with a reasonable amount of effort

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 Durability
• The durability of concrete is its resistance to the aggressive
environmental conditions.
• High strength concrete is generally more durable than low strength
concrete
• In the situations when the high strength is not necessary but the
conditions of exposure are such that high durability is vital, the
durability requirement will determine the water‐cement ratio to be
used.

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 Maximum nominal size of aggregate
• In general, larger the maximum size of aggregate, smaller is the
cement requirement for a particular water‐cement ratio, because the
workability of concrete increases with increase in maximum size of
the aggregate.
• However, the compressive strength tends to increase with the decrease
in size of aggregate
• IS 456:2000 and IS 1343:1980 recommend that the nominal size of the
aggregate should be as large as possible

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 Grading and type of aggregate
• The grading of aggregate influences the mix proportions for a
specified workability and water-cement ratio.
• Coarser the grading leaner will be mix which can be used.
• The type of aggregate influences strongly the aggregate‐cement ratio
for the desired workability and stipulated water cement ratio.
• An important feature of a satisfactory aggregate is the uniformity of
the grading which can be achieved by mixing different size fractions

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 Quality Control
• The degree of control can be estimated statistically by the variations in
test results.
• The variation in strength results from the variations in the properties of
the mix ingredients and lack of control of accuracy in batching,
mixing, placing, curing and testing.
• The lower the difference between the mean and minimum strengths of
the mix lower will be the cement‐content required.

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FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR MIX DESIGN

• The grade designation giving the characteristic strength requirement of

concrete.
• The type of cement influences the rate of development of compressive
strength of concrete.
• Maximum nominal size of aggregates to be used in concrete may be as large
as possible within the limits prescribed by IS 456:2000.
• The cement content is to be limited from shrinkage, cracking and creep.
• The workability of concrete for satisfactory placing and compaction is
related to the size and shape of section, quantity and spacing of
reinforcement and technique used for transportation, placing and
compaction.

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 MIX DESIGN METHODS
1. BIS method
2. ACI method
3. Arbitrary proportion.
4. Fineness method.
5. DOE method (British standard mix design developed by Department
of Environment in 1975)

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 BIS Method
• The Bureau of Indian Standards recommended a set of procedure for
design of concrete mix (IS 10262-2009).
• This method can be applied for both medium and high strength
concrete
• Step by step procedure is discussed in the following slides
• References – (IS 10262-2009),IS 456,SP 23(Hand Book on concrete
mixes).

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1.Determination of Target Mean Strength
• The target mean compressive ( ft ) strength at 28 days is given by
ft= fck + tS
where fck = characteristic compressive strength at 28 days

S is the standard deviation obtained from table 39 of SP23

t = a statistical value depending on expected proportion of

low results (risk factor).

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 2.Selection of Water-Cement Ratio
• Obtain the free water cement ratio corresponding to the targeted
mean strength from fig. 46 page 119 of SP23 .

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 3.Estimation of Entrapped Air
• Estimate the amount of entrapped air for maximum nominal size of
the aggregate is selected from the table 41 page 113 of SP23.

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 4. Select the water content
• Select the water content for the required workability and maximum
size of aggregates (for aggregates in saturated surface dry condition)
from table 42 & 43 of SP23

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5. Determine the percentage of fine aggregate
• Determine the percentage of fine aggregate in total aggregate by
absolute volume from table for the concrete using crushed coarse
aggregate from table 42,43

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6. Adjust the values of Water content and percentage of Sand

• Adjust the values of water

content and percentage of
sand as provided in the table
for any difference in
workability, water cement
ratio, grading of fine
aggregate and for rounded
aggregate the values are
given in table 44

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 7. Determination of Cement Content:
• Calculate the cement content from the water‐cement ratio and the final
water content as arrived after adjustment (cement by mass = water
content/water cement ratio).
• Check the cement against the minimum cement content from the
requirements of the durability from IS 456, and greater of the two
values is adopted

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8. Determination of Coarse and Fine aggregate
• From the quantities of water and cement per unit volume of concrete
and the percentage of sand already determined in steps 5 and 6
above, calculate the content of coarse and fine aggregates per unit
volume of concrete from the following relations

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Where,
V = absolute volume of concrete = gross volume
(1m3) minus the volume of entrapped air
Sc = specific gravity of cement
W = Mass of water per cubic meter of concrete, kg
C = mass of cement per cubic meter of concrete, kg
P = ratio of fine aggregate to total aggregate by
absolute volume
fa , Ca = total masses of fine and coarse aggregates,
per cubic meter of concrete, respectively in kg,
Sfa, Sca = specific gravities of saturated surface dry
fine and coarse aggregates, respectively

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9. Determine the concrete mix proportions for the first trial
mix.

10. Prepare the concrete using the calculated proportions

and cast three cubes of 150 mm size and test them wet
after 28‐days moist curing and check for the strength.

11. Prepare trial mixes with suitable adjustments till the

final mix proportions are arrived at.

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STEPS IN BIS METHOD
1. Determination of Target Mean Strength
2. Selection of Water-Cement Ratio
3. Estimation of entrapped air
4. Select the water content
5. Determine the percentage of fine aggregate
6. Adjust the values of water content and percentage of sand
7. Determination of Cement Content
8. Determination of Coarse and Fine aggregate
9. Determine the concrete mix proportions for the first trial mix.
10. Prepare the concrete using the calculated proportions and test them
11. Prepare trial mixes with suitable adjustments till the final mix proportions
are arrived .
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