11/30/2017 SEGREGATION OF CONCRETE - CAUSES & PREVENTION

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SEGREGATION OF CONCRETE – CAUSES & PREVENTION

Segregation of concrete is separation of ingredients of concrete from each other. In good concrete all
concrete aggregates are evenly coated with sand and cement paste and forms a homogeneous mass.

During handling, transporting and placing, due to jerks and vibrations the paste of cement and sands gets
separated from coarse aggregate. If concrete segregates during transit it should be remixed properly before
depositing. However a concrete where initial setting time is over, should not be used.

Causes of Segregation of Concrete:

1) Use of high water-cement ratio in concrete. This general happens in case of concrete mixed at site by
unskilled workers.

2) Excessive vibration of concrete with mechanical needle vibrators makes heavier particles settle at bottom
and lighter cement sand paste comes on top.

3) When concreting is done from height in case of underground foundations and rafts, which causes concrete
to segregate.

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Prevention of Segregation of Concrete:

Wherever depth of concreting is more than 1.5 meters it should be placed through temporary inclined
chutes. The angle of inclination may be kept between 1:3 and 1:2 so that concrete from top of chutes
travels smoothly to bottom, use of small quantity of free water from top at intervals helps in lubricating the
path of flow of concrete to bottom smoothly. The delivery end of chute should be as close as possible to the
point of deposit.

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11/30/2017 SEGREGATION OF CONCRETE - CAUSES & PREVENTION

Segregation in deep foundations and rafts of thickness more than 1 meter, there is every possibility of
presence of segregated concrete near bottom or in center if proper supervision is not there. Such
segregation can be detected by advanced method of testing like ultrasonic testing. In case of doubt random
ultrasonic testing should be conducted and if it is present, designer’s opinion should be taken. This type of
segregation can be rectified by pressure grounding with special chemical compounds.

After any defect rectified by pressure grouting core test has to be performed to ensure that the strength of
concrete has reached to the desired level.

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