PAGE=1

WORKABILITY OF
CONCRETE
BY
DHARAM SINGH H.O.D.
GOVT POLY TECHNIC
COLLEGE
G.T.B GARH ( MOGA)
1

PAGE=2

WORKABILITY OF CONCRETE
workability is an important property of concrete in its
stage. workability in simple terms can be defined as
the ease with which the concrete can be mixed,
transported, placed and compacted. The workability of
concrete has also been defined as the amount of work
required to place concrete and to compact it
thoroughly
The workability is associated with the following four
concepts:
1.Ease of flow (internal friction)
2.Prevention of segregation
3.Prevention of harshness
4.Prevention of bleeding
2

EASE OF FLOW (INTERNAL

FRICTION)

PAGE=3

The ease with which the concrete flows

depends upon the internal friction
between the particles of concrete. To
improve workability, therefore it is
necessary to reduce the internal
friction. The internal friction can be
reduced by the lubrication of the
surface of aggregates. The lubrication
can be improved in two ways:
3

PAGE=4

(a) By increasing the quantity of water in a

concrete mix. Greater the quantity of water,
more area it can lubricate. But this method is
inefficient because it increases water-cement
ratio and thereby decreases the strength of
cement.
(b) The second way is to reduce the total
surface area of the aggregates by adopting
coarse aggregate. But coarse aggregate should
.
not be used too much otherwise
segregation
will take place.
4

SEGREGATION

PAGE=5

The separation of coarse aggregate from

the concrete mix in plastic stage is
called segregation.
Concrete is not a homogenous material
but rather a mixture of materials of
different specific gravities. So there is
always a tendency for the coarser and
heavier particles to settle down and for
lighter materials to rise to the surface.
Segregation reduces the strength and
durability of concrete.
5

PAGE=6

Causes of segregation. Segregation takes place

when:
(i) there is too much of water in the mix.
(ii) there are badly graded aggregates.
(iii) there are too much shocks to a concrete mix
due to transport over longer distances, discharge of
concrete from a considerable height (more than 1m)
, Pumping of concrete.
(iv) leakage of mortar from formwork.
(v) concreting is done under-water.
6

PAGE=7

Prevention of segregation.
(i) The mix should be designed correctly
and minimum amount of water should be
used for mixing.
(ii) The height of free fall of concrete should
not exceed 1m in any case.
(iii) The air-entraining agents should be
used for reducing segregation as these
reduce the quantity of mixing water.
(iv) The concreting operations should be
supervised strictly.
7

PAGE=8

HARSHNESS
The concrete mix which does not give
smooth surface with a certain amount of
trowelling is known as harsh mix.
Causes of harshness.
(i) The cement mortar not sufficient to fill
the voids in the coarse aggregates.
(ii) The presence of excessive proportion of
one particle-size in an aggregate grading.
Prevention of harshness. Harshness can
be prevented if there is sufficient proportion
of mortar to fill the voids in coarse
aggregates.
8

BLEEDING

PAGE=9

The appearance of water along with some

particles of cement and very fine sand on the surface
of freshly placed concrete after compaction is called
bleeding. A good concrete should be free from
bleeding. The term water gain is also sometimes
used
instead
of
bleeding
when water rises to the surface, flow channels are
formed in concrete mass. Thus concrete with large
amount of bleeding are permeable. Due to bleeding
watery scum (water+ particles of fine sand and
cement) is formed on the concrete surface. This scum
layer is known as laitance. This layer should be
removed if a new concrete layer is to be placed over
the old layer.
9

PAGE=1
0

Causes of bleeding.
(i) presence of excess water.
(ii) Deficiency of fine aggregate.
(iii) Too much finishing.
Prevention of bleeding. bleeding can be
prevented by:
(i) controlling the water- content ratio
(ii) providing finer grading of fine aggregates.
(iii) using finely ground cement.
(iv) controlling compaction.
(v) The air-entraining agents should be used to
prevent bleeding.
10

FACTORS AFFECTING
WORKABILITY

PAGE=11

The factors which effect the workability of

concrete are:
1. Water content
2. Size of aggregate
3. Shape of aggregate
4. Grading of aggregate
5. Porosity and absorption of aggregate
6. Admixtures
7. Mixing time
8. Temperature
11

PAGE=1
1.Water content. Workability of concrete mix largely
2

depends upon its water content. With the increases of

water, the workability also increases. But too much
water results into concrete of low strength and poor
durability.
2. Size of Aggregate. Workability increases with the
increase in the size of the aggregate. Large size
particles provide less surface area as compared to
surface area given by smaller size particles. Hence for
same degree of workability, less water is required for
large size aggregate. Lesser quantity of water used in
large size aggregate also reduces the quantity of
cement for given water-cement ratio and is therefore
economical. From practical point of view, the maximum
size of aggregate to be used will depend upon the
handling, mixing and placing equipment, thickness of
section and quantity of reinforcement.

12

PAGE=13

3.Shape of Aggregate. The particle shape also effect

the workability. Workability increases with round and
smooth surface aggregates. Crushed or angular
aggregates has less workability because of higher and
rough surface area.
4. Grading of Aggregate. The grading of aggregate
has a considerable effect on workability of concrete.
Grading is more important when lean mixes of high
workability are required than rich mixes. For lean
mixes, the grading should be continuous, whereas for
rich mixes the grading should be coarse.
5. Porosity and Absorption of Aggregate. Porous
and non-saturated aggregate will require more water
than a non-porous and saturated aggregate. For same
degree or workability, the latter will require less
quantity of water.
13

PAGE=1
4

6. Admixtures. Workability also

increases with addition of admixture
such as air, entraining agents which
produce well dispersed air bubbles.
7. Mixing Time . with the increases in
mixing time upto certain limit
workability increases.
8. Temperature. The temperature at
which the concrete mix is prepared
also effects its workability. The slump
of the concrete mix decreases as the
temperature of the mix increases.

14

PAGE=15

MEASUREMENT OF WORKABILITY
The following are the methods of measurements of workability:
1. slump test
2. compacting factors test
3. vee-bee consistometer test
Slum Test The slump test was devised in U.S.A. this test can
be performed in the laboratory or at the site of work.
Apparatus. The slump test apparatus consists of steel mould
in the form of a frustum of a cone. The internal dimensions of a
mould are:
(i) Bottom diameter =200mm
(ii) Top diameter=100mm
(iii) Height=300mm.
The bottom and top ends of the mould are open. Thickness of
the mould should not be less than 1.6 mm. for tamping the wet
concrete, a tamping rod of steel (16mm in diameter, 0.6m
long) is used.
15

PAGE=1
6

Procedure. The following procedure is

adopted for determining the slump value
of concrete:
1. The internal
surface of the mould is thoroughly
cleaned and the mould is placed on a
smooth, horizontal, rigid and nonabsorbent surface.
2.The mould is held firmly in place by
standing on the foot pieces before the
concrete is filled in.
3. Concrete under test is filled in the
mould in four layers. Each layer is
tamped (25 times) with the help of steel
rod. The stroke should be uniformly
distributed.

16

PAGE=17

4. After the top layer has been rodded, the

concrete should be struck off level with a
trowel. Any mortar which has leaked out
between the base plate and the mould is
cleaned away.
5. The mould is then removed by raising it
slowly and carefully in vertical direction. On
the removal of mould, the concrete subside.
6. Slump is measured immediately by
determining the vertical distance between
the height of the mould and that of highest
point of the specimen being tested
7. If specimen collapses than test may be
repeated

17

PAGE=1
8

The slump which is the subsidence of the concrete

cone after the mould is lifted up can give the
following three results:
(a) True slump------ If the concrete subside evenly, it
is known as true slump.
(b) shear slump----- If one half of the concrete slides
down as soon as the mould is removed.
(c) collapse slump----- If the concrete slides down as
soon as the mould is removed , it is known as
collapse slump. It is very difficult to measure. It
occurs in very wet mixes.
18

PAGE=1
9

Degree of workability w.r.t. slump

value
S.No.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Slump value in mm
(compacting factor is
suitable)
25-75
50-100
100-150

Degree of
workability
Very
low
Low
Medium
High

19

Table -2
PAGE=20
Recommended slumps for placement in various
conditions

S.NO Slump in mm Degree of

Placing Conditions

workabilit
y
1.

(compacting
factor is
suitable)

Very low

(i)
(ii)

(iii)

Blinding concrete
Shallow sections
Pavements using pavers

Mass concrete
(ii)
Lightly reinforced
(iii) Floors
(iv) Canal linings
(v)
Strip footings
(i)

2.

25-75
Low

3.

50-100

(i)

Medium

(ii)

(iii)

4.

100-150

High

(i)

(ii)

Heavily reinforced sections in

slabs,beams,walls,columns
Pumped concrete
Slip form work
Trench fill
in-situ piling

20

PAGE=2
1

COMPACTING FACTOR TEST

This test was developed by Road Research

Laboratory . It is mainly used in laboratory to
determine workability of concrete.
Principle. The workability of concrete has also been
defined as the amount of work required to place the
concrete and to compact it thoroughly. It is not easy
to measure the amount of work required to fully
compact it. But it is simpler to apply a standard
amount of work to the concrete and to measure its
degree of compaction. Work is applied by dropping
the concrete through a standard height into a
cylindrical container. The compaction in the
cylindrical container is produced by the destruction
of kinetic energy of the falling concrete. The degree
of compaction is termed as compaction factor.

21

PAGE=2
2
Apparatus. The apparatus used for this test . The apparatus
consists of two hoppers in line vertically above the cylindrical
container. The dimensions of the hoppers and cylinder are as
follows:
Upper hopper (A) :
(i) Top internal diameter =254mm
(ii) Bottom internal diameter =127mm
(iii) Internal height =239mm
Lower hopper (B):
(i) Top internal diameter =229mm
(ii) Bottom internal diameter =127mm
(iii) Internal height =229mm
Cylinder (C)
(i) Internal diameter =152mm
(ii) Internal height =305mm
Distance between bottom of upper hopper and top
of lower
hopper = 203 mm
Distance between bottom of lower hopper and top of
22
Cylinder

Procedure.
The following procedure is adopted for performing
the compacting factor test.
1. The concrete sample is placed in the upper
hopper A.
2.Then the door of hopper A is opened. The
sample
drops into lower
hopper B filling it to overflowing.

PAGE=2
3

3. The trap door of the lower hopper is then

opened and the sample falls into the cylinder which
is also filled to overflowing.
4. The surplus cement is removed from the top
of the cylinder with the help of a trowel.
5. The outside surface of cylinder is wiped and
cleaned.

23

PAGE=24

6. The cylinder is then weighed and it is recorded as weight of

partially compacted concrete.
7. The cylinder is again filled with concrete in layers not
exceeding 50 mm in thickness. Each layer is fully
compacted with tamping rod.
8.The cylinder is again weighed after wiping and cleaning the
outside surface of cylinder. This weight is recorded as the
weight of fully compacted concrete.
9. The compacting factor is then calculated from the formula:

24

PAGE=2
5

Compacting factor = wt of partially compacted

conc

wt of fully compacted

conc.

Degree of workability w.r.t. compacting factor

S.NO.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Compacting factor

0.75to 0.80
0.87
0.935
0.96

Degree of
workability
Very low
Low
Medium
High
25

PAGE=26

VEE-BEE CONSISTOMETER TEST

The

name vee-bee is derived from

the initials of V. Bahrner of Sweden
who developed the test. Sometimes
this test is called V-B consist meter
test. Vee-bee is a good laboratory
test, particularly for very dry mixes.

26

Procedure. The following procedure is

adopted for performing the vee-bee
consistometer test.

PAGE=2
7

1. Sheet metal cone is filled with

concrete.
2. The glass plate rider is then brought
into
position so that it is touching the top
of the
concrete.
3. The concrete cone is then subjected to
vibrating action by starting the

27

PAGE=28

4. The vibration is until the concrete

surface becomes horizontal. The time
taken to attain horizontal surface is
noted. The time recorded in seconds
gives the degree of workability.

Suitability. This method is suitable

for dry concrete having very low
workability.

28

PAGE=2
9

Degree of workability w.r.t. Vee-Bee

Seconds
S.NO. Time in
seconds
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

20-40
10-20
7-10
3-7
1-3

Degree of
workability
Very low
Low
Medium
High
Very High
29

Thanking you

30