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UNDERSTANDING CONCRETE MIX RATIO
Based on strength, concrete is classified into different grades like M5, M7.5, M10, M15 etc., M stands for Mix and
number stands for characteristic compressive strength of the concrete in 28 days in direct compressive test. If the
ratio for M20 concrete is 1:1.5:3 then 1 part cement, 1.5 part sand and 3 part aggregate (crushed stone) in
volume is batched for mixing.
GRADE MIX RATIO
M5 1 : 5 : 10
M7.5 1 : 4 : 8
M10 1 : 3 : 6
M15 1 : 2 : 4
M20 1 : 1.5 : 3
Ordinary concrete up to M20 grade can be designed by nominal mix concrete procedure. Standard and High
strength concrete should be designed by standardized prescribed mix design procedure.
In most cases, ratio of fine aggregate to coarse aggregate is 1:2, but based on the size difference it shall be
between 1:1.5 to 1:2.5.
NOMINAL MIX CONCRETE DESIGN FOR ONE METRE CUBE OF M20 CONCRETE
It takes 1.5 cubic metre of total material to prepare one cubic of concrete, because cement and sand fills the gaps
between the aggregate (crushed stone).
Let’s design M20 grade concrete.
Ratio for M20 concrete is 1:1.5:3
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8/23/2016 Calculate cement sand and aggregate | Nominal Mix Concrete | Civil RND
CALCULATION FOR REALWORLD APPLICATION
Cement is often bought in 50kg bags and aggregate is bought in Units. So, convert the calculated quantity to bags
and units.
Weight of cement needed = Volume of cement *Density of cement
= 0.273 cu.m * 1440 kg/cu.m
= 393.12 (approximately 390 kg)
No of bags = 390 / 50 = 7.8 bags
Hence it takes nearly 8 bags of cement to prepare one cubic meter of M20 grade concrete
An Unit is 100cft (cubic feet) of material. 1 cu.m = 35.32 cu.ft.
Unit of sand needed = Volume of sand * 35.32 / 100
= 0.409 * 35.32 /100
= 0.145 unit or 14.5 cft
Hence it takes 14.5 cft of sand to prepare one cubic meter of M20 grade concrete
Unit of aggregate needed = Volume of aggregate* 35.32 /100
= 0.29 unit or 29cft
Hence it takes 29 cft of aggregate to prepare one cubic meter of M20 grade concrete
WATER REQUIREMENT FOR NOMINAL MIX CONCRETE
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8/23/2016 Calculate cement sand and aggregate | Nominal Mix Concrete | Civil RND
Water is added based on the quantity of content. Water/Cement ratio is a ratio of weight of water to cement. W/C
ratio changes based on the desired workability of the concrete. IS456 code book suggest the following quantities
for different concrete grades.
Grade of Cement Water per bag(50kg) of Cement
M5 60 litre
M7.5 45 litre
M10 34 litre
M15 32 litre
M20 30 litre
QUANTITY REQUIRMENT PER BAG OF CEMENT
Gauge box is used for Volume batching in site. Volume of a gauge box is 0.035cu.m(1cft) which is a volume of 1
bag of cement. For M20 grade, use 1 bag of cement 1.5 box of sand and 3 box of aggregate.
M20 GRADE – MATERIAL REQUIREMENT BY VOLUME
Workability of the fresh concrete can be field tested by using slump cone test. Strength development of concrete
should be tested by casting concrete in 15cm cube mould or cylinder mould and tested under compressive test
machine on 3, 7, 14, and 28 days.
MATERIAL REQUIREMENT BY WEIGHT FOR 1 BAG (50KG) OF CEMENT
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8/23/2016 Calculate cement sand and aggregate | Nominal Mix Concrete | Civil RND
IS456 Code book suggests the following quantities of total aggregate per 50kg of cement to produce nominal mix
concrete.
GRADE TOTAL ( FINE+COARSE )
M5 800 kg
M7.5 625 kg
M10 480 kg
M15 330 kg
M20 250 kg
Note: General ratio of fine aggregate to coarse aggregate is 1:2, but it can be adjusted between 1:1.5 to 1:2.5
based on the grading of fine aggregate and size of coarse aggregate. Water is chosen from the above table.
Lets find out the quantity needed to produce M20 grade by codal procedure. Sand is confirmed to Zone II –
average grading. Ratio of fine to coarse aggregate is chosen as usual as 1:2. From the above table we know we
need 250kg of total dry aggregate.
Weight of sand needed per bag = (1 / (1+2)) * 250 kg
= 83 kg ~ 85 kg
Weight of aggregate needed per bag = (2 / (1+2)) * 250 kg
= 166 kg ~ 165 kg
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