Unit 1 - Hardened concrete

Concrete Technology
Quality of Concrete
Various Porosity Measures
Needle Vibrator
Poor Proportions of Aggregate
Uneven Spreading of concrete
Workability Indices
Bleeding/Segregation
 Mechanics of Concrete
• Concrete is used only for compression

• We are typically interested only in its

compressive strength

• Compressive strength depends on a number of

factors – w/c, cement content, type of
aggregate, curing, age, ambient conditions, and
specimen geometry

• Strength is not a material property!!!

Compression Testing Machine
 Strength Vs. w/c
•Single most important factor
•High w/c  high porosity
•Free w/c corresponds with
the w/c after accounting for
moisture absorption by
aggregates
•Abram’s law: fc = A / Bw/c
A.M. Neville, Properties of Concrete,
4th Edition, Longman, 2000
 Strength variation with porosity
•Relationship of strength
with gel-space ratio shown
here; generally fc = f(g/s)3
•Alternatively, fc =
f(1/porosity)3
•Gel-space ratio would be
dependent on the degree of
hydration and w/c
A.M. Neville, Properties of Concrete,
4th Edition, Longman, 2000
 Influence of aggregate type

Cracks in concrete upon loading

would depend on:
•Shape and texture of coarse
aggregate
•E of aggregate (too much
difference  mismatch)

P. K. Mehta and P. J. M. Monteiro,

'Concrete: Structure, Properties, and
Materials,' Second Edition, Prentice Hall
Inc., NJ, 1993
Artificial Aggregates
 Effects of specimen geometry

•End friction effects

•Size dependency of strength A.M. Neville, Properties of Concrete,
4th Edition, Longman, 2000
 Tensile strength of concrete
• Important for judging cracking potential of
concrete in various situations
• Generally, ft = 1/10 to 1/7 of fc
• Three methods commonly used:
– Direct tension
– Split tension
– Flexure
Split Tensile Test
 Direct tension
High bond
strength epoxy

Crushing failure of
concrete possible
before tensile crack

Notched specimen
Difficult to perform;
inability to grip the Alternatives
specimen
 Split tension
•Indirect method
•Concrete actually loaded in
compression (diametric
•Tensile stresses develop in the
lateral direction
•Tensile strength = 2P/πLD

A.M. Neville, Properties of Concrete,

4th Edition, Longman, 2000
Flexural strength

•Most common method of

testing
•Mid-point load and 3rd
point load arrangements
possible
•Stress at first crack =
Modulus of rupture (MOR)
Impact Test
Concrete Mixing and Proportioning
Failure Mechanism of Concrete

Shrinkage
Microcracks are the
initial shrinkage cracks
due to carbonation
shrinkage, hydration
shrinkage, and drying
shrinkage.
Concrete Mixing and Proportioning
Failure Mechanism of Concrete
Bond Microcracks
are extensions of
shrinkage microcracks,
as the compression
stress field increases,
the shrinkage
microcracks widen but
do not propagates into
the matrix. Occur at
15-20 % ultimate
strength of concrete.
 Concrete Mixing and Proportioning
Failure Mechanism of Concrete
Matrix Microcracks - are
microcracks that occur in
the matrix. The propagate
from 20% fc. Occur up to
30-45 % ultimate strength
of concrete. Matrix
microcracks start bridge one
another at 75%. Aggregate
microcracks occur just
before failure (90%).
 Concrete Properties
1. Uniaxial Stress versus Strain Behavior in
Compression
fc Ec
f’c 12”

0.45f’c 6”

o u 
c
 Concrete Properties
The standard strength test generally uses a
cylindrical sample. It is tested after 28 days to test
for strength, fc. The concrete will continue to
harden with time and for a normal Portland cement
will increase with time as follows:
 Concrete Properties
– Compressive Strength, f’c
• Normally use 28-day strength for design strength
– Poisson’s Ratio, n fc Ec
f’c
• n ~ 0.15 to 0.20
• Usually use n = 0.17 0.45f’c

o u 
c
 Concrete Properties
– Modulus of Elasticity, Ec
• Corresponds to secant modulus at 0.45 f’c
• ACI 318-02 (Sec. 8.5.1):
Ec ( psi ) = 33 w 1.5
f 'c ( psi )
where w = unit weight (pcf)
90 pcf < wc <155 pcf

Ec ( psi ) = 57,000 f 'c ( psi )

For normal weight concrete
(wc  145 pcf)
 Concrete Properties
Compute Ec for f’c = 4500 psi for normal weight
(145 pcf) concrete using both ACI equations:

Ec ( psi ) = 33 w1.5 f 'c ( psi )

Ec ( psi ) = 57,000 f 'c ( psi )

 Concrete Properties
– Concrete strain at max. compressive stress, o
• For typical  curves in compression
• o varies between 0.0015-0.003
• For normal strength concrete, o ~ 0.002

fc Ec
f’c

0.45f’c

o u
 Concrete Properties

– Maximum useable strain, u

• ACI Code: u = 0.003
• Used for flexural and axial compression
fc
Ec
f’c

0.45f’c

o u
 Concrete Properties
Typical Concrete Stress-Strain Curves in
Compression
 Concrete Properties
Types of compression failure
There are three
modes of failure.
[a] Under axial
compression concrete
fails in shear.
[b] the separation of the specimen into columnar
pieces by what is known as splitting or columnar
fracture.
[c] Combination of shear and splitting failure.
 fc Vs. ft
• Aggregate interlock and good gradation of
sand affect the ft to fc ratio positively;
however, this ratio generally declines with
age
• Most codes suggest a relationship between
ft and fc of the form:
ft = k(fc)n, where 0.5 < n < 0.75
Constitutive properties of
concrete
•Quasi-brittle nature
•Mostly non-linear stress-strain
diagram (similar in T and C)
•4 different moduli of elasticity can
be calculated
•Secant modulus is used for testing
and measuring E (upper load limit
fixed at 33 – 40%)
 Modulus of elasticity
• As per ACI 318-95
E (psi) = 33 (w)1.5 (fc)0.5
where w = unit weight of concrete
• IS suggests
E (MPa) = 5000 (fck)0.5
• Dynamic modulus >> E from static tests
• For most concrete, 15 GPa < E < 40 GPa
 Poisson’s ratio
• For most concrete, 0.15 < ν < 0.22
• Experimentally, ν can be measured as:
ν = (E/2G) – 1
where G = modulus of rigidity