Civil Engineering Articles, Softwares: Concrete Mix Design Work Sheet

Concrete

Concrete is an intimate mixture of:
Cement,
Sand (Fine Aggregate),
Coarse Aggregate,
Water.
New Generation Concrete needs use of Special
Materials in addition to above i.e. “ADMIXTURES”
Admixtures may be Mineral or Chemical
Admixtures

Versatility of making concrete with locally
available materials, ease in molding it
into any shape and size and economy in
its making has made concrete the 2nd
largest consumed material on earth!!

Requirements of Good Concrete

A good concrete should:
meet the strength requirements as
measured by compressive strength,
fulfill durability requirements to resist the
environment in which the structure is
expected to serve,
be mixed, transported and compacted as
efficiently as possible and
will be as economical as possible

Concrete Durability

“Durability of concrete is the ability of concrete
to withstand the harmful effects of
environment to which it will be subjected to,
during its service life, without undergoing into
deterioration beyond acceptable limits”.
Durability can be assured keeping in view the
environment exposure of structure, certain
minimum cement binder content, max limit on
w/c ratio and a certain minimum grade of
concrete for that particular exposure.

Making Durable Concrete

Lowering the porosity and permeability of
concrete is only way to reduce environmental
attacks on concrete,
Dense and compact concrete that prevents the
ingress of harmful elements is the key to
“DURABLE CONCRETE”.