Concrete Mix Design

RAMYA KUMANAYAKE
 What is concrete mix design?
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Concrete like other engineering materials

needs to be designed for properties like
strength, durability, workability & cohesion.
Concrete mix design is the science of
deciding relative proportions of ingredients
of concrete, to achieve the desired
properties in the most economical way.

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 Concrete needs to be designed for certain
properties in the plastic stage as well as in the
hardened stage. 3

Properties desired from concrete in plastic stage

Workability
Cohesiveness
Initial set retardation

Properties desired from concrete in hardened stage

Strength
Imperviousness
Durability

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Concrete mix design is the method of

correct proportioning of ingredients in
order to optimize the above properties of
concrete as per site requirements.
Relative proportions of ingredients of
concrete are designed to achieve desired
strength & workability in a most
economical way.

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 Advantages of mix design
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I. Increased quality of concrete

Better strength
Better imperviousness &
durability
Dense & homogeneous concrete

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 Advantages of mix design.
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2. Economy
a) Economy in cement consumption
b) Best use of available materials
c) Other properties: Mix design also
helps in achieving good finish, high
early strengths for early deshuttering,
concrete with better flexural
strengths, pumpability & lower
densities.
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Information required for concrete mix
design
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a) Grade of concrete (the characteristic strength)
b) Workability requirement in terms of slump
c) Condition of exposure to concrete is mild, moderate severe or
very severe.
e) Degree of control at site
i. Batching weigh batching / volume batching.
ii. Type of aggregates whether mixed graded aggregate will be
used or 20mm, 10mm aggregates will be used separately.
iii. Testing of concrete whether casting & testing of concrete
cubes will be done regularly at site.
iv. Source of aggregate whether sources of s& & aggregate will
be st&ardized or likely to change frequently.
v. Supervision whether qualified staff will be present to
supervise concreting work & make necessary corrections
vi. Site laboratory whether the site will have necessary
laboratory equipment like sieves, weighing balance etc. to check
material properties.

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 Basic concepts related to mix design
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Strength margin
Because of the variability of concrete
strengths, the mix must be designed to have a
considerably higher mean strength than the
strength specified.
The difference between the specified
characteristic strength & the target mean
strength is called the margin.

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 Basic concepts related to mix design.
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Measurement of workability
Two alternative test methods are used, the slump
test which is more appropriate for the higher
workability mixes, & the Vebe time test which is
particularly appropriate for those mixes which
are to be compacted by vibration.
The compacting factor is not used in this method
since it is not possible to establish consistent
relationships between it & the slump or Vebe
time tests. If required, it can be used as a control
test.

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 Basic concepts related to mix design.
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Free-water content
Total water in a concrete mix consists of the water
absorbed by the aggregate to bring it to a saturated
surface-dry condition, & the free-water available for
the hydration of the cement & for the workability of
the fresh concrete.
In practice aggregates are often wet & they contain
both absorbed water & free surface water so that the
water added at the mixer is less than the free water
required.
The workability of concrete depends to a large extent
on its free-water content.
The water/cement ratio is the ratio by mass of free-
water to cement in the mix.

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 Basic concepts related to mix design.
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Types of aggregate
Two types of aggregate are considered, ie
crushed & uncrushed.
Generally, crushed aggregates consist of rather
angular particles having a rough surface texture
resulting in a concrete of lower workability but
higher strength compared with a similar mix
made with uncrushed aggregates.
The higher the specified strength the more
critical is the selection of the source of the
aggregate.

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 Basic concepts related to mix design.
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Aggregate grading
The mix design refers to the percentage of
fine aggregate passing 600 m test sieve. The
higher the percentage passing the 600 m
test sieve, the finer the fine aggregate.
In deriving a suitable fines content, factors
such as the type & maximum size of coarse
aggregate, the grading of the fine aggregate
characterized by the percentage passing the
600 m test sieve, the cement content &
workability of the concrete are considered.

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The compressive strength of concrete is

affected by,
Age at test & curing conditions

Type & strength class of cement

Cement strength variation

Aggregate type & grading

Free water cement ratio

Type of mixing

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 Variability of concrete strength during
production
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Factors contributing to the overall variation

Variation in the quality of the materials
used
Variation in the mix proportions due to
the batching process
Variation due to sampling & testing

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 Variation of strength
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It is generally accepted that the variation in

concrete strengths follows the normal distribution.

The normal
distribution curve is
symmetrical about
its mean, & is
completely specified
by two parameters,
its mean m & its
standard deviation s.
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The standard deviation is a measure of the
variability calculated from the equation:
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The area beneath the curve represents the total

number of test results, & the proportion of results
less than some specified value is represented by the
area beneath the curve to the left-h& side of a
vertical line drawn through the specified value.

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Procedure for concrete mix
design
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 Basic steps in mix design
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1. Find the target mean strength.

2. Determine water/cement ratio.
3. Determine cement content.
4. Determine fine & coarse aggregate
proportions

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 Determination of target mean strength
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Concrete is designed for strength higher than

characteristic strength as a margin for
statistical variation in results & variation in
degree of control exercised at site. This higher
strength is defined as the target mean strength.
fm = f c + M
where fm = the target mean strength
fc = the specified characteristic strength
M = the margin

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As shown in Figure 1, if previous information
concerning the variability of strength tests
comprises fewer than 20 results, the standard
deviation to be used should be obtained from
line A.
If previous information is available consisting
of 20 or more results, the standard deviation
of such results may be used provided that this
value is not less than the appropriate value
obtained from line B.

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Figure 1: Relationship between standard deviation &

characteristic strength
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The margin can then be derived as follows.

M=ks
where M = the margin
k = a value appropriate to the percentage
defectives permitted below the
characteristic strength
s = the standard deviation.

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 Determining water/cement ratio
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A value is obtained from the Table 2 for

the strength of a mix made with a free-
water/cement ratio of 0.5 according to
the specified age, the strength class of
the cement & the aggregate to be used.

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Table 1: Approximate compressive strengths (N/mm2)

of concrete mixes made with a free water cement ratio
of 0.5

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This strength value is plotted on the Figure 2

& a curve is drawn from this point & parallel
to the printed curves until it intercepts a
horizontal line passing through the ordinate
representing the target mean strength.
Corresponding value for the free-
water/cement ratio can then be read.
This should be compared with any maximum
free-water/cement ratio that may be
specified & the lower of these two values
used.
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 Figure 2: Relationship
between compressive
strength & free water cement
ratio

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 Determination of free-water content
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Free water content was determined from

Table 2 depending on the type &
maximum size of the aggregate to give a
concrete of the specified slump or Vebe
time.

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Table 2: Approximate free water content (kg/m3) for

various levels of workability

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 Determination of cement content
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The cement content is determined as below.

Cement content = free-water content
free-water/cement ratio
The resulting value should be checked against any
maximum or minimum value that may be specified.
If the calculated cement content is below a specified
minimum, this minimum value must be adopted & a
modified free-water/cement ratio calculated which
will be less than that determined previously. This
will result in a concrete that has a mean strength
somewhat higher than the target mean strength.

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Determination of total aggregate content
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This requires an estimate of the density of

the fully compacted concrete which is
obtained from Figure 3 depending on the
free-water content & the relative density of
combined aggregate in the saturated surface-
dry condition.
If no information is available regarding the
relative density of the aggregate, an
approximation can be made by assuming a
value of 2.6 for uncrushed aggregate & 2.7
for crushed aggregate.
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 Figure 3: Estimated wet density of fully compacted concrete

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From the estimated density of concrete, the

total aggregate content can be determined.
Total aggregate content (saturated & surface-
dry) = D C W
where D = the wet density of concrete (kg/m3)
C = the cement content (kg/m3)
W = the free-water content (kg/m3)

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Determination of fine & coarse aggregate
contents
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Involves in deciding how much of the total
aggregate should consist of materials
smaller than 5 mm, ie the fine aggregate
content.
Figure 4 shows recommended values for
the proportion of fine aggregate depending
on maximum size of aggregate, workability
level, grading of fine aggregate (defined by
its percentage passing a 600 m sieve) &
free-water/cement ratio.

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Figure 4: Recommended proportions of fine aggregate
according to the percentage passing a 600 m sieve

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 Figure 4 (contd.):
Recommended proportions of
fine aggregate according to the
percentage passing a 600 m
sieve

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The best proportion of fines to be used in a

given mix depends on the shape of the
particular aggregate, the actual grading of
the particular aggregate, the actual grading
of the fine aggregate & the use to which the
concrete is to be put.
However, adoption of a proportion
obtained from previous figure generally
gives a satisfactory concrete in the first trial
mix which can then be adjusted as required
for the exact conditions prevailing.

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The final calculation, to determine the fine & coarse

aggregate contents, is made using the proportion of
fine aggregate obtained from previous figure & the
total aggregate content derived.
Fine aggregate content
= total aggregate content x proportion of fines
Coarse aggregate content
= total aggregate content fine aggregate content

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 References
40

Design of normal concrete mixes,

Teychenne, DC, Franklin, RE, Erntroy, HC,
Building Research Establishment Ltd., ISBN:
1860811728
Concrete Technology, Neville, AM, Brooks,
JJ, Addison Wesley Longman Ltd., ISBN:
9822358404
BS 5328: Concrete: Part 1: Guide to
specifying concrete

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