Concrete – Introduction and Advantages

• Concrete is the most widely used man-made material in the world, with
annual consumption over 10 billion tons
• A large part of the civil infrastructure is constructed with concrete
containing steel reinforcements
• Even for steel and wood structures, the foundation is commonly built with
concrete
• Advantages of concrete include
– Low cost
– Good mechanical performance in compression
– Flexibility to form different shapes under ambient temperature
– Good resistance to fire and water
– Can incorporate waste materials as its constituents

Shape Flexibility
of concrete
facilitates
construction

Concrete Highway Bridges Auditorio de Tenerife

 Limitations of Concrete
• Low tensile strength and brittle
behavior (alleviated by addition of
steel reinforcements)
Brittle Failure of Unreinforced
• High carbon emission in its production Concrete Member
– A solution is to use cement replacement
materials
• Low strength/stiffness to density ratio
– composite structures combining
reinforced concrete and steel members
are used for very tall buildings
• Requirement of formwork (time
consuming and need for waste disposal)
– Pre-fabrication in the factory is a solution
Precast Building Facade
 Concrete and its Components
• The three basic components of concrete are water, cement
and aggregates
• Some definitions:
Water + Cement Hardened Cement Paste (Grout)
+ Sand Mortar
+ Coarse Aggregates Concrete

• Grout is rarely used on its own due to high cost and poor
dimensional stability (through shrinkage and creep)
– Commonly used for filling of small space (e.g., the duct for a
post-tensioning tendon)
• Mortar is commonly used for small volume applications
such as the joining of bricks or the repair of small damages
(e.g., localized concrete spalling due to steel corrosion)
 The Components of Concrete
• Aggregates are used to make up the bulk of concrete, typically
covering 70-80% of the volume
– Aggregates cover a range of size to provide high packing density
– Aggregates are divided into coarse aggregates (>5mm) and fine
aggregates or sand (<5mm)
• Cement undergo hydration reaction with water to produce a
binder that fills the space among aggregates and hold them
together
– The strength of concrete is governed by the binder strength
which increases with decreasing water/cement ratio
• Water also serves the purpose of lubricating the mix at the
fresh state so concrete can flow to form the required shape of
the member
– The water content cannot be too low
• In modern concrete, additional materials are often added
– Admixtures for adjusting flow properties, setting time, etc.
– Cement Replacement Materials to reduce the use of cement and
to enhance other properties
 Review of Concrete Technology
• The basis of the concrete mix design process is first
reviewed
– How is strength measured and specified
– Factors governing strength
– Workability: measurement and governing factors
– Contents of coarse and fine aggregates
– Limits on water/binder ratios
• Other important considerations are then covered
– Slump loss and setting
– Placing and curing of concrete
– Plastic shrinkage and settlement
– Heat of Hydration Effects
– Shrinkage and creep of hardened concrete
– Durability (briefly discussed), will be covered in detail in later
lectures
 What ‘strength’ is used in Design?
• Strength is commonly measured from a cube specimen in UK, China
and HK, but from a cylinder in the US
• Some countries in Europe adopt the cube while others use the
cylinder
• Size of cube (100mm or 200mm) and cylinder (100x200mm or
150x300mm) depending on maximum aggregates size (larger than
40mm or not)
• Concrete cubes exhibit opposite faces that are formed against the
mold so they are flat and parallel
– No further preparation necessary for loading applied on those faces
• One end of the cylinder is finished by hand so not perfectly flat
– The cylinder needs to be ‘capped’ before testing by applying a layer of
plaster or sulfur
– Alternatively, a soft plastic pad can be used
• For the same concrete, the strength obtained from the cube and
cylinder are different
As compare to cube, cylindrical compressive strength is less (0.8 times).
 Difference between the Tests
• During testing, friction at the top and bottom restraints horizontal sliding
movement and introduces lateral compressive stress
– Effect of the restraint decreases with distance from the two ends
• For the cube, the whole specimen is affected by the lateral restraint
• For the cylinder, the middle part is essentially free from the lateral restraint
• Under uniaxial compression, splitting failure occurs as vertical cracks are
formed
o
• In the presence of lateral compression, cracks run at approximate 45

Lateral
movement
restrained
by friction

Cube
Specimen
Cylinder
 Difference between the Tests (continued)
• The presence of lateral compression makes it more difficult for
vertical cracks to propagate
• The cube strength is hence always higher than the cylinder strength
• Generally speaking, the measured compressive strength is sensitive to the
height/width ratio of the specimen
• The difference depends on concrete strength
– Smaller difference with higher concrete strength
– The Eurocode specifies strength with reference to both kinds of specimens (e.g.,
C40/50, C50/60, C60/70, etc.)

Relative strength
measured from
concrete specimens
with different
aspect ratios
 Design Strength vs Mean Strength
• For concrete, experience shows that the compressive strength (from
testing of a large number of specimens) follow the normal distribution
• In design, instead of using the mean strength (scm), the characteristic
strength (scu) corresponding to 5% failure probability is taken, with
scm = scu + 1.64s
• The standard deviation (s) is obtained from testing, but cannot be lower
than a given minimum value
1.64s
probability

scu scm strength

 Factors affecting strength
• The strength for 0.5 w/c ratio is first determined to provide a
reference value
• The required w/c ratio for the required mean strength is
then found
• From the design charts, the strength is dependent on w/c
ratio, time as well as cement and aggregate types
Starting line with data
From the LHS figure

Move along the guiding line until

Required strength is reached

Starting point

Required
w/c
Strength vs Age for w/c=0.5
Guiding Lines for Finding the Required w/c Ratio
 Effects of w/c Ratio and Concrete Age
Concept of the Gel/Space Ratio
• Concrete failure normally starts at the cement paste
around the aggregates where there is higher porosity
– referred to as the interfacial zone
• Further loading leads to crack propagation into the
bulk cement paste
• Strength of concrete is therefore governed by the
strength of the paste, which is dependent on the
amount of reaction products (gel) formed within a
certain space which can be described by the gel/space
ratio
• The Gel/space ratio depends on the water/cement
ratio as well as the degree of hydration (a), which
increases with time
 Initial Stage (a=0) Degree of Hydration = a

a piece
Cement
of cement
Hydration
paste
Products

Space occupied Unhydrated

Cement Grains Capillary porosity
Concrete by water Cement Grains

• Consider the volume (in cc) corresponding to 1 gram of cement

– Volume occupied by cement = 1/3.15 = 0.32
– Volume occupied by water = (w/c)/1 = w/c
– Assuming perfect compaction, total volume of cement and water = w/c+0.32
• When 1 gram of cement reacts, 0.68 cc of hydration products (referred to as gel)
will form
• When degree of hydration is a,
– volume of gel = 0.68a
– Volume of unreacted cement grains = 0.32(1-a)
– Volume to be filled = total volume – volume of unreacted cement grains =w/c+0.32a
• Gel/space ratio is given by:
0.68a
X  Note: Pore ratio = 1 - X
0.32a  w / c
 0.68a
Gel/Space Ratio: X 
0.32a  w / c
• Concrete at later age will have higher degree of hydration,
therefore higher X and strength
• At the same degree of hydration, X and strength decreases
with w/c
• At full hydration (a=1), X becomes 1 when w/c=0.36
– All available space is filled by hydration products
• For w/c<0.36, some cement grains will NOT react
– X cannot be larger than 1, as pore ratio (= 1 – X) cannot be less
than zero)
– When X = 1 (space fully filled), a is less than 100%
– Not a problem as unhydrated cement grains are very strong
– Concrete strength continues to increase with continued decrease
of w/c below 0.36
– In damaged concrete, unreacted grains may react to form
additional hydration products, giving rise to self-healing
 Effects of Aggregate and Cement Type

The "R" in 52.5R cement stands for

rapid strength gain.

"N" in 42.5N cement stands for normal

strength

• For the same water/cement ratio, crushed aggregates (which

are angular and with rougher surface) make a stronger concrete
– It is more difficult for cracks, which initiate at the aggregate/paste
interface, to propagate around the aggregate
• Cement of different grades are of different particular size
– 52.5R cement has smaller particle size than 42.5N cement and
hence reacts faster
– At the same age, the strength is higher
– Ultimate strength can also be higher due to better packing in the
space with smaller particles
 Workability Requirement
Amount of Water
to Achieve a
Specific Slump

NOTE: The required

slump for a particular
type of construction
is often specified
based on experience

• The slump is commonly used to represent concrete workability

• Advantage is that it is a simple test to perform in the field
• There are a few limitations
– Results may vary with operator
– Mixes with low slump (e.g., those with a relatively high content of coarse aggregates) can make
good concrete as vibration energy is normally applied in practice
– Mixes with collapse slump (very high flowability) can make good concrete if they do not segregate
• Further discussions on workability will be given in a later lecture
 Key Factors Governing Workability
• Water Content
– Slump increases with
water content
– Excessive water
degrades cohesiveness
and may cause
segregation
– When the water/cement ratio is changed but the
water content is fixed, workability is not
significantly affected
– When water/cement is fixed but both water and
cement content are increased or decreased,
strength is not significantly affected
– The above provide means for tuning strength and
workability in mix design
 Key Factors Governing Workability

Typical Aggregate Grading Curves

• Aggregates
– Particle size of aggregates influences water requirement
• Aggregates follow certain standard grading, so if the
maximum aggregate size is larger, the overall particle size is
also larger
– To achieve the same slump,
• Aggregates with smaller size have larger surface area and
require more water
• Angular (crushed) aggregates require more water than
uncrushed aggregates 凝聚力
– Higher content of fine aggregates improves cohesiveness
 Determination of Aggregate Content

Chart fpr
Estimating
Concrete
Density

• Density of the concrete is estimated from the aggregate density and water content
• Knowing the total mass per cubic meter, the mass of aggregate is given by the total
mass minus the mass of water and cement (calculated from required water content
and w/c ratio)
• SSD means saturated surface-dry condition
– all the pores in the aggregates are just filled with water and there is NO excess water on the
surface
– There will hence be NO water exchange between the aggregates and the rest of the mix
• In reality, the aggregates may not be under SSD condition, so water correction needs
to be carried out
 Fine/Coarse Aggregate Ratio
representing fineness of sand

Chart for
Max. Aggregate
Size of 20mm

• Fine and coarse aggregates need to be under proper ratio to ensure proper grading so
segregation is avoided
• With a coarser sand (lower % below 0.6mm), higher content is required
• With the same slump and higher w/c ratio, the content of cement is reduced
– more fine aggregates are required to compensate for the total content of fine particles
• With the same w/c ratio but increasing slump, the water content is increased
– more fine aggregates are required to avoid segregation
• The above chart is for 20mm maximum aggregate size, and similar charts are available
for 10mm and 40mm aggregates
– For larger aggregate size, less fine aggregates are required because less water is required to
achieve the same slump
 Use of Cement Replacement Materials
• Common cement replacement materials (CRM) include fly ash (FA),
ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and condensed silica
fume (CSF)
• They react with the calcium hydroxide generated by reaction of
Portland cement to produce additional hydration products
• Strength at a particular age will vary with type and content of the CRM
• In mix design, the general approach is to apply a cementing efficiency
factor
– The factor is based on previous test results
– As an example, the factor for 28-day strength is 0.3 for FA when 42.5N
cement is used, because the reaction of FA is slow
– That is, a mix containing 400kg of cement and 100kg of FA is equivalent to
a mix with only 430kg of cement in the design calculations
• Slump is also affected by the use of CRM
– When FA is used, the water content to achieve the same slump can be
reduced by 3% for every 10% of replacement
• FA are spherical particles that facilitate the flow
– When GGBS is used, the water content can be reduced by 5kg/m3
 減水劑

Effect of Plasticizers/Superplasticizers
• Plasticizers and superplasticizers are chemicals added to
achieve the same workability with less water
• Effect should be established by testing as it may vary with
different mixes and ingredients
• Plasticizers and SPs can be used for different purposes
– Keeping the same strength with improved workability
– Improving the strength but keeping the same workability
– Keeping the same workability and strength but using less
cement
An example illustrating the application of plasticizers
(effect of SP is similar but more significant)
 Other Considerations in Mix Design
Limit on Water/Cement Ratio
• w/c ratio governs the porosity of the microstructure
– Low porosity is required for high resistance to water/chemical penetration which is
crucial for good durability
• For durability requirement, a MAXIMUM w/c is specified
Limit on Total Binder Content
• The binder would include cement and CRMs
• If the binder content is too high, the heat generated by the hydration reaction
may lead to high temperature differentials in the concrete member, leading to
cracking
• High temperature increases strength development but degrades long term
strength
Limit on Aggregate Size
• The maximum aggregate size is limited by the size of the structural member
and the spacing between steel reinforcement
• Specifically, the maximum aggregate size should be below
– 1/3 the smallest dimension of the member
– 1/5 the smallest dimension between sides of forms
– 3/4 the reinforcement spacing
 Iteration after Trial Mixing and Testing
• After making concrete specimens according to the mix design, actual compressive
strength can be obtained
• Using this strength, a better estimate of the w/c ratio can be obtained for a
second trial mix
• Iteration (together with scaling-up of the mixing) continued until the mix is
satisfactory in terms of performance and cost
Starting line with
data from previous chart

Required strength
fcm = 60MPa Actual strength measured
For estimated w/c ratio

Improved estimate
of w/c ratio based
on actual data

Initial estimate of w/c ratio

 Slump Loss of Fresh Concrete
• Consistency decreases with time, due to
– Absorption of mix water with aggregates (if not SSD)
– Evaporation of mix water
– Early hydration reactions
– Interaction between plasticizers and SP with cement
• Slump loss referred to excessive loss of workability which
may affect the construction process
– More severe when there is high temperature, high initial slump
and high cement content

Slump loss behavior of two mixes with different water content

 Placing of Concrete
• Concrete should be placed as close to its final
destination as possible to avoid movement over a
long distance that will lead to segregation
• Examples:
Concrete poured
on funnel chute
Concrete falls which guides it
Concrete dropped to the final
freely in air
Bad and pushed to
over long position
final position
Practice distance

Cart moved
backwards
Concrete dropped
during placing
at final position
Good
Practice Bad Good
Practice Practice
 Concrete Compaction
• This is an important process for molding concrete within
the formwork and around embedded parts (such as
reinforcement) to eliminate pockets of trapped air
• In practice, it is often performed with mechanical means
such as a vibrator which is inserted inside the concrete
– Vibrational energy helps to
overcome friction between
aggregates so they can move
– During this process, entrapped
air can come out of the mix A typical internal vibrator

• Vibration is also used to mix two parts of a member cast

at different times before setting of the first part
– This will prevent the formation of a cold joint
 Setting of Concrete
• After placing, concrete remains plastic over a certain period
of time when compacting and finishing can be performed
• Setting is defined as the onset of solidification of fresh
concrete
• Initial and final setting times are determined from
penetration tests
• From the engineering point of view
– Initial set represents the time at which fresh concrete can no
longer be properly mixed, placed and compacted
– Final set is the time after which strength starts to develop at a
significant rate
• Before setting, concrete is still in the plastic state and a
number of important phenomena, including segregation,
bleeding, plastic settlement and plastic shrinkage need to be
understood
 Segregation and Bleeding
• Segregation is defined as the separation of the components
of concrete
• One common kind of segregation occurs during casting when
over-vibration leads to separation of mortar from the large
aggregates
– Occur mostly for a dry mix or mix with insufficient fine particles
• Another kind of segregation occurs at the fresh state, when
aggregates and cement tend to move downwards while
water moves upward due to difference in density
• Specifically, movement of water to the concrete surface is
called bleeding
• Segregation may
lead to variation in
strength over the
depth of a column
 Problems associated with Bleeding
• Bleeding itself is not a major concern
• Excessive bleeding may result in two problems
– Cement paste just below the top surface is very rich in water and may hydrate
to form a weak surface (a phenomenon known as surface laitance) 表面浮漿
– Upward migrating water can be trapped under aggregates to create a weak
zone that would affect strength

Note: for floors subjected

To loading directly, the
surface layer should be
removed to expose the
stronger concrete below
 Plastic Settlement
• When downward movement of materials is resisted by any
local restraint, such as a reinforcing bar, material have to
move sideways
– A crack will then open up on top of the reinforcement
– Particularly harmful to durability as water and chemicals can
penetrate through the crack
• Plastic settlement cracking is particularly significant for a deep
pour
• Cracks formed and discovered at the plastic state can be
eliminated by re-vibrating the surface region
Settling concrete obstructed by steel bars

Cracks are formed

 Plastic Shrinkage
• Bleed water arriving at an uncovered concrete surface will be subject to
evaporation
• If evaporation rate is higher than the rate of arrival of water, there will be a
net reduction in water content of the surface concrete
• Plastic shrinkage will then occur
• As the concrete mass (well below the surface) is not shrinking, it imposes a
constraint to the surface concrete and induces tension
• The strength of concrete at the early stage is very low so cracking would occur
• Plastic shrinkage cracking usually occurs in the form of crazing 裂紋
• It is aggravated by high temperature or windy environment which increases
the rate of evaporation
加重的

Plastic Shrinkage
Cracking vs
Settlement Cracking
 Curing of Concrete
• Prevention of water loss from concrete for at least the first
few days after placing
– Longer curing time required when PFA and GGBS are used or
when temperature is low
• With proper curing
– Plastic shrinkage cracking can be prevented
– There will be adequate water for hydration reaction and strength
development to continue
• Common curing methods include
– Spraying or ponding concrete surface with water (uses a lot of
water so there may be environmental concerns) 濕粗麻布或聚乙烯片材
– Covering surfaces with wet hessian or polythene sheets
– Applying a curing membrane, which is a spray-applied resin seal
(normally, the membrane can decompose and be weathered
away in a few weeks)
– In addition, exposed surfaces can be protected from wind and
sun (with windbreaks and sunshades)
 Heat of Hydration Effects 放熱的
• Strength development of concrete is associated with exothermal hydration
reactions 絕熱條件
• Under adiabatic conditions (i.e., no heat exchange with the surroundings),
significant temperature increase can be resulted
• The temperature increase depends on cement content in the concrete
– Roughly 13 oC per 100 kg/m3 of cement
• In real situation, heat loss occurs at the concrete surface
• Temperature varies with distance from surface
• In the core of large concrete members, high temperature can be reached

Increasing
cement
content Increasing
member size

Adiabatic temperature increase Mid-depth temperature increase for

For various cement contents concrete members of different size
 Harmful Effects of Heating - Cracking
• When heated concrete is cooled down, restrained
contraction induces tensile stress that may lead to cracking
• Restraints to contraction mainly arise from
– Stiff structure surrounding the concrete (e.g. soil/rock
underneath a foundation)
– The concrete itself, as cooling is not uniform
• concrete further away form the surface contracts less, thus resisting the
contraction of surface concrete
• Thermal cracking can be controlled by
– Use of steel reinforcement to limit crack width
– Limiting the temperature differential by
• Using low-heat mixes (e.g., use low heat cement, replace cement with
PFA or GGBS)
• Reduce cement content (keep the same w/c ratio and add SP)
• Use chilled water or crushed ice in the concrete mix
• Pre-cooled the aggregates before mixing
• Put steel pipes inside the concrete and circulate water to cool down the
interior as well (Pipes will be filled with concrete later)
 Effects of Heating on Strength
• When concrete with Portland cement is heated up, curing occurs at a
high temperature, leading to
– increase in early strength
– decrease in long-term strength
• Effect much less significant for cement with PFA and GGBS
– temperature increase less significant
– high temperature beneficial to pozzolanic reaction 火山灰反應

Standard curing at 20oC

Curing following
temperature history
in the LHS figure
Temperature increase at mid-height of a
2.5m member for various mixes
Strength development of concrete vs age
 Shrinkage and Creep of Hardened Concrete
• Even without loading, concrete in a drying environment will
undergo shrinkage (which is a kind of contraction)
• Under loading, concrete will show an immediate elastic
response followed by creeping
• On unloading, elastic strain is first recovered, followed by
creep recovery

Concrete Deformation under Environmental and Loading Effects

 Drying Shrinkage – the Phenomenon
• If concrete is placed in water continuously, it will swell slightly due to
water absorption
• When placed in a drying environment, shrinkage occurs due to loss of
water to the surroundings
• After drying, when concrete is exposed to a wet environment, part of the
shrinkage will be recovered
• Shrinkage strain increases with water loss in a roughly bilinear manner
– due to water loss from the capillary pores first and then from the interlayer
space in the gel

Effect of water movement on concrete strain Shrinkage strain vs water loss

 Creep of Concrete
• The creep strain of concrete can be several times the value
of the elastic strain
• Creep may continue after many years
– Data show creeping to continue after 30 years
• In a drying environment, creeping is more significant

Concrete cured for

28 days before
loading is applied

Creep of concrete at different relative humidities

Factors affecting Shrinkage and Creep
• Time
– Both shrinkage and creep increases with time
• Environmental condition
– Shrinkage and Creep increases with decreasing relative humidity in the
surrounding as more water will move out of the concrete
– No shrinkage at 100% relative humidity
– At 100% humidity, creep can still occur, as moisture can move from small
to large pores inside the concrete to induce volume change
• Aggregates
– Non-shrinkage aggregates restrain the shrinkage and creep of the
hardened cement paste
– Shrinkage and creep decreases with increasing aggregate content
– Stiffer aggregates are more effective
• Water/cement ratio and cement content
– For the same water/cement ratio, shrinkage and creep increases with the
cement content, because the aggregate content is reduced
– For the same cement content, shrinkage and creep increase with
water/cement ratio
• Mixes with higher w/c are more porous and store more water
• Higher water content implies less aggregates
Factors affecting Shrinkage and Creep
• Size and Shape of Member
– Member size and shape influences the rate of moisture loss and degree
of restraint
– Moisture loss mainly occurs from concrete near the surface, so large
members shrink less than small members as the diffusion path of water
is longer
– Shrinkage is believed to depend on a theoretical thickness

Cross sectional area

Theoretical Thickness =
Half of the perimeter
exposed to the atmosphere Value for circular section:
pr 2/pr = r

• For Creep, the age of concrete when loading is first applied is important, as
there is lower porosity in more mature concrete
– Loading at a later age lead to less creep for the same post-loading time
– There is benefit to remove the supporting falsework later or perform post-tensioning
later
• Design charts accounting for various factors are available for predicting
shrinkage and creep in practice
 Durability of Concrete
• Has been a main concern in many countries over the last few decades
• Structural degradation can result from deterioration of concrete itself or
corrosion of steel reinforcements
• Durability was believed to be directly related to strength
• Scientifically speaking, it should be related to the transport properties of
water, gas and ions
• Durability of concrete itself and steel reinforced concrete members will
be the focus of later lectures

Concrete cracking due to Corrosion of steel reinforcement

Alkali-Aggregate Reaction Leads to concrete spalling
(US Federal Highway Administration)