Properties of Fresh Concrete

PROPERTIES OF FRESH &
HARDENED CONCRETE
BY THE END OF THIS LESSON YOU WILL
BE ABLE TO:
 Define workability with the respect to cohesion,
mobility, compactability & flow characteristics
 List the major factors which influence workability &

surface finish characteristics, & state their effects
QUALITY CONTROL OF CONCRETE
 Qualitycontrol may, in this instance, be

defined as an operation designed to set
and maintain standards of quality in the
production of concrete and concrete
products.
QUALITY CAN BE ACHIEVED
 In the first instance by:
 Careful selection of materials

 Mix design
 Trial mixes & adjustments where necessary
QUALITY CAN BE ACHIEVED
 Afterwards it may be maintained by:
 Ensuring proper storage facilities for materials

 Monitoring the quality of incoming materials
 Plant maintenance
 Continuously sampling & testing the concrete produced
 The operation of an efficient fault diagnosis & complaints
procedures.
MATERIALS
 Materials
 Itis important to select the right materials for the proposed
concrete works, which are used in the correct combinations.
 This is a requirement to ensure the properties of fresh &

hardened concrete meet the required specifications for the
job.
BATCHING
 Batching
 Once the carefully selected materials are purchased, it is
necessary they are batched to the right quantities.
 Recognised methods of batching

 By weight
 By volume
 Batching by weight is the preferred method, as it is more

accurate than volume batching
MIXING
 Mixing
 In general terms, mixing is said to commence once all of the

constitutes, including the mixing water, are fed into the
mixer.
 The cycle should continue for as long as it takes the material
to become one consistency in colour & workability
 No advantages are gained from over-mixing – may cause
issues through additional heat transferred into the mix
 The type & capacity of mixer will be chosen to suit the job
requirements
TRANSPORTING
 Transporting – All too often the importance of proper
transportation of concrete from the point of mixing to the
point of placing is overlooked.
 Many forms of transport include:
 Wheelbarrows
 Dumpers
 Mixer Trucks
 Hoists
 Cranes & Skips
 Tipper Lorries
 Concrete Pumps
FORMWORK
 Formwork
 The choice of materials & the proper erection of formwork is
extremely important, both in terms of economy & the
finished appearance of a concrete structure
 The design & erection should be considered with ease of
stripping in mind & attention to detail given to the following
areas.
FORMWORK
 The formwork should be:-
 Accurately positioned, plumb, & level
 Be adequately propped & supported to deal with all imposed loads,
for example –
 Fluid concrete
 Men
 Equipment
 Jointsshould be leak proof

 A release agent should be applied to all surfaces in direct
contact with the concrete
 Design & erection should be consistent with easy stripping
REINFORCEMENT
 Generally, reinforcement for concrete comes in one of
two forms -
 Steelbars
 Fabricated steel mesh
 The steel is usually -

 Mild steel – smooth round bars
 High yield steel – deformed bars
 The condition of the steel should be –

 Freefrom oil, grease or other contaminations
 There should be an absence of loose, flaky rust or millscale
PLACING
 Concrete should be placed as near as possible to where it

will remain
 If this is done with just enough surcharge or overfill to

allow for compaction, then the tasks of compacting &
levelling are relatively easy.
COMPACTING
 Compacting is the operation of removing all entrapped

air from a concrete mix.
 It may be done by simple hand tamping or ramming, or

by mechanical equipment
METHODS OF COMPACTION
 Vibrating beams
 For floors, efficient up to a depth of 30mm also levels the
floor
 Immersion type poker vibrators

 For deeper floor sections, walls & beams
 External clamp vibrators

 Often used for concrete sections which are heavily congested
with steel reinforcement & would otherwise be inaccessible.
FINISHING
 Examples of finishes
 Surfaces left as cast from formwork, which are many &
varied
 Finishes produced by removing the initial surface by tooling

or sandblasting
 Surfaces produced by trowelling, floating or tamping the

concrete
 Applied toppings, such as

 Cement & sand screeds
 Tiles
CURING
 Curing is the process of preventing the loss of moisture

from the concrete whilst maintaining a satisfactory
temperature.
PROPERTIES OF FRESH CONCRETE
 Fresh concrete may be defined as –
 Concrete in the initial period after the addition of the water &
the completion of the mixing cycle
 Itwill, under normal conditions, remain in this state for

approximately 2 hours.
 The main factor which influences the rate of stiffening &

early hardening of concrete is the hydration of the cement
WORKABILITY
 The strict definition of workability is the amount of

useful internal work necessary to produce full
compaction, & refers to the concrete’s ability to
overcome internal friction & to be self compacting.
WORKABILITY
 Water is mixed with the other mix ingredients for two
reasons
 Facilitatehydration of the cement

 To make the concrete workable enough to allow the tasks of
transporting, placing, compacting & finishing to be carried
out with relative ease.
WORKABILITY TERMS
 Cohesion
 Often termed Stability, & is the tendency of a mix to stick or
hold together
 Mobility
 Represents the ease with which concrete can flow into &
completely fill a mould
 Compactablility
 Isthe capacity of a mix to be fully compacted with 99% of
entrapped air being removed by vibration or hand tamping
FACTORS AFFECTING WORKABILITY
 Water Content – An increase in water content raises the
level of workability of a mix & maybe effected by
 Increasingthe amount of mixing water
 An increase in the moisture content of aggregates
 Cement Content
 Workability increases as cement content increases, all other
factors remaining the same.
 Cement Fineness
 As fineness increases, workability decreases.
FACTORS AFFECTING WORKABILITY
 Aggregates
 Size
 Workability increases as maximum aggregate size increases
 Grading
 Workability increases as the grading becomes coarser
 Shape
 Workability increases for round aggregates, but decreases for angular
 Texture
 Workability increases for smooth, decreases for rough – surface area
FACTORS AFFECTING WORKABILITY -
SEGREGATION
 Segregation
 may be defined as the separation of the constituents of the

concrete mix, so that distribution is no longer equal.
SEGREGATION
 Most common in wet mixes, when the cement paste

segregates from the aggregate.
 Mainly occurs when too much free water is added to the mix
 Larger heavier particles of coarse aggregate separate

downwards
 More likely to happen in dry or lean mixes
SEGREGATION
 Dropping from height

It is preferable to avoid this practice whenever
possible, as it is likely to result in the
displacement of reinforcement or damage
formwork.
SEGREGATION
 Over-vibration
 May be true for poorly designed mixes, but provided the mix
is well designed & cohesive in nature, it will not generally
suffer from segregation
 Under-vibration
 Alternatively, the under vibration of concrete is more likely to
have far more serious complications, as 1% air equates to 5%
strength loss in the hardened concrete.
BLEEDING
 Also known as water gain, partial segregation or

sedimentation
 Water rises to the surface of a concrete floor slab soon

after it has been laid & compacted, the concrete is said to
bleed, & is indicative once again of a lack of cohesion in
the mix.
BLEEDING
 The result of any one or a combination of the above is a
reduction in the specific surface of the mix
 The bleed water is now surplus to requirements & has

the same effect as adding too much water
 The solid particles of the mix settle downwards &

displace the bleed water upwards
 Water becomes trapped under reinforcement &

aggregate, once cured water evaporates and leaves voids
– strength loss / potential weakness
PLASTIC CRACKING
 Two forms of plastic cracking exist –

 Plastic settlement cracking
 Plastic shrinkage cracking
 Both are in some way relating to bleeding

PLASTIC SETTLEMENT CRACKING
 These occur as a direct result of bleeding & settlement
 When bleeding takes place, the solid particles of the mix
settlement downwards & the bleed water is free to rise to
the surface
 If this settlement is downwards in any way restricted by
reinforcement, or uneven because of a change of depth in
a continuous pour, then plastic cracking may occur.
PLASTIC SETTLEMENT CRACKING
 Prevention
 Use air entrainment admixtures
 Cure
 Re-vibrate, to close the cracks, provided that the concrete is
still fluid enough to be moved by poker or vibrating screed &
not so stiff that a void is left when the poker is removed
PLASTIC SHRINKAGE CRACKS
 Caused by rapid drying out or evaporation

of water, cracking may happen in either
plain or reinforcement concrete & is most
common on hot or windy days
PLASTIC SHRINKAGE CRACKS
 Contributory Factors
 Wind
 High Ambient Temperatures
 High Concrete Temperatures
 Low Ambient Temperatures
 High Workability
All lose water to the atmosphere by evaporation

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PROPERTIES OF FRESH &

 List the major factors which influence workability &

 Qualitycontrol may, in this instance, be

 Careful selection of materials

 Ensuring proper storage facilities for materials

 This is a requirement to ensure the properties of fresh &

 Recognised methods of batching

 Batching by weight is the preferred method, as it is more

 In general terms, mixing is said to commence once all of the

 Jointsshould be leak proof

 The steel is usually -

 The condition of the steel should be –

 Concrete should be placed as near as possible to where it

 If this is done with just enough surcharge or overfill to

 Compacting is the operation of removing all entrapped

 It may be done by simple hand tamping or ramming, or

 Immersion type poker vibrators

 External clamp vibrators

 Finishes produced by removing the initial surface by tooling

 Surfaces produced by trowelling, floating or tamping the

 Applied toppings, such as

 Curing is the process of preventing the loss of moisture

 Itwill, under normal conditions, remain in this state for

 The main factor which influences the rate of stiffening &

 The strict definition of workability is the amount of

 Facilitatehydration of the cement

 may be defined as the separation of the constituents of the

 Most common in wet mixes, when the cement paste

 Larger heavier particles of coarse aggregate separate

 Dropping from height

 Also known as water gain, partial segregation or

 Water rises to the surface of a concrete floor slab soon

 The bleed water is now surplus to requirements & has

 The solid particles of the mix settle downwards &

 Water becomes trapped under reinforcement &

 Two forms of plastic cracking exist –

 Both are in some way relating to bleeding

 Caused by rapid drying out or evaporation

All lose water to the atmosphere by evaporation

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