1. The document discusses the properties of fresh and hardened concrete, including workability, strength, permeability, and durability. 2. Workability of fresh concrete refers to the effort required to mix and place the concrete without segregation. It is measured by tests like slump. 3. Compressive strength is an important property of hardened concrete, as concrete is designed to resist compressive loads. Strength depends on factors like water-cement ratio and compaction. 4. Permeability and durability are also important properties, as permeability affects how easily substances like water or salts can pass through concrete. Low permeability leads to higher durability.

1. Unit -2,RGPV
PROPERTIES OF FRESH AND
HARDENED CONCRETE
Rishabh Lala
VI SEM
Rajiv Gandhi Technological University,Bhopal

2. Syllabus Covered (Left Click to enter )
• Properties of Fresh (Workability)
• Hardened Concrete
(Workability,Permiablitiy,Durablility)
• Thermal properties
• Micro-cracking of concrete
• Mix Design
• Rheology
• Causes of Damage of Concrete

3. Introduction:
The potential strength and durability of concrete of a given mix proportion is
very dependent on the degree of its compaction. It is vital, therefore, that the
consistency of the mix be such that the concrete can be transported, placed, and
finished sufficiently early enough to attain the expected strength and durability.
Properties of Fresh Concrete:
Significance:
The first 48 hours are very important for the performance of the concrete
structure.
It controls the long-term behavior, influence f'c (ultimate strength), Ec (elastic
modulus), creep, and durability.
Properties of Fresh Concrete :
Properties at Early Ages :
• Workability
• Slump Loss
• Segregation/Bleeding
• Plastic Shrinkage
• Time of Set
• Temperature

4. Workability :
Definition: Effort required to manipulate a concrete mixture with a minimum of
segregation.
It is not a fundamental property of concrete.
I) consistency (slump)-- easy to flow
II) cohesiveness --tendency to bleed and segregate
Slump Test:
Slump test is a test conducting before concrete to
be used for casting. The purpose of slump test
Is to determine the water content in concrete and its workability
Consistency:
Consistency or fluidity of concrete is an important component of workability and
refers in a way to the wetness of the concrete.
However, it must not be assumed that the wetter the mix the more workable it is. If a
mix is too wet, segregation may occur with resulting honeycomb, excessive bleeding,
and sand streaking on the formed surfaces.
On the other hand, if a mix is too dry it may be difficult to place and compact, and
segregation may occur because of lack of
cohesiveness and plasticity of the paste.

5. PROPERTIES OF
HARDENED CONCRETE
 The principal properties of hardened concrete
which are of practical importance can be listed
as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Strength
Permeability & durability
Shrinkage & creep deformations
Response to temperature variations
Of these compressive strength is the most
important property of concrete. Because;

6. PROPERTIES OF
HARDENED CONCRETE
Of the abovementioned hardened
properties compressive strength
is one of the most important
property that is often required,
simply because;
1. Concrete is used for compressive
loads
2. Compressive strength is easily
obtained
3. It is a good measure of all the other
properties.

7. STRENGTH OF CONCRETE
 The strength of a concrete specimen
prepared, cured and tested under specified
conditions at a given age depends on:
1. w/c ratio
2. Degree of compaction

9. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
 Compressive Strength is determined by loading
properly prepared and cured cubic, cylindrical or
prismatic specimens under compression.

10. COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
• Cubic: 15x15x15 cm
Cubic specimens are crushed after rotating them
90 to decrease the amount of friction caused by
the rough finishing.
• Cylinder: h/D=2 with h=15
To decrease the amount of friction, capping of the
rough casting surface is performed.

11. PERMEABILITY OF CONCRETE

Permeability is
important because:
1.
2.
3.
The penetration of some
aggresive solution may
result in leaching out of
Ca(OH)2 which
adversely affects the
durability of concrete.
The moisture penetration
depends on permeability
& if concrete becomes
saturated it is more liable
to frost-action.
In some structural
members permeability
itself is of importance,
such as, dams, water
retaining tanks.

12. DURABILITY
A durable concrete is the one which will
withstand in a satisfactory degree, the effects of
service conditions to which it will be subjected.
Factors Affecting Durability:
 External → Environmental
 Internal → Permeability, Characteristics of
ingredients, Air-Void System...

13. Structure of “un-damaged” Concrete
Macrostructure
Microstructure

14. Structure of “damaged” Concrete
Macrostructure
Visible cracks in hcp
and aggregates due
to volume changes
(to understand
cause of cracks,
microstructure
should be
examined)
Microstructure



Alkali-silica reaction:
Reaction product forms
at TZ and expands
Frost action: Water
freezes in capillary pores
and expands
Sulfate attack: reaction
products form in hcp and
expand

15. LEACHING & EFFLORESCENCE
 When water penetrates into concrete, it
dissolves the non-hydraulic CH (and various
salts, sulfates and carbonates of Na, K, Ca)
 C-S-H and CH is produced upon hydration of
C3S and C2S
 These salts are taken outside of concrete by
water and leave a salt deposit.

16. SULFATE ATTACK
 Ground water in clayey soils
containing alkali sulfates may
affect concrete.
 These solutions attack CH to
produce gypsum. Later,
gypsum and calcium alumina
sulfates together with water
react to form “ettringite”.
 Formation of ettringite is
hardened cement paste or
concrete leads to volume
expansion thus cracking.
 Moreover, Magnesium
sulfate may lead to the
decomposition of the C-S-H
gel.

17. SULFATE ATTACK
 Seawater contains some amount of Na and Mg
Sulfates. However, these sulfates do not cause
severe deleterious expansion/cracking because
both gypsum and ettringite are soluble in
solutions containing the Cl ion. However, problem
with seawater is the frequent wetting/drying and
corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete.
 To reduce the sulfate attack
1. Use low w/c ratio→ reduced permeability & porosity
2. Use proper cement → reduced C3A and C3S
3. Use pozzolans → they use up some of the CH to
produce C-S-H

18. CORROSION
 Electrochemical reactions in the steel
rebars of a R/C structure results in
corrosion products which have larger
volumes than original steel.
 Thus this volume expansion causes
cracks in R/C. In fact, steel is
protected by a thin film provided by
concrete against corrosion. However,
that shield is broken by CO2 of air or
the Cl- ions.

19. FREEZING AND THAWING
 Water when freezes expands in volume. This will cause
internal hydraulic pressure and cracks the concrete.

To prevent the concrete from
this distress air-entraining
admixtures are used to produce
air-entrained concrete.

20. MIX DESIGN
 Mix design is the process of selecting suitable
ingredients of concrete & determining their relative
quantities with the objective of producing as
economically as possible concrete of certain
minimum properties such as workability, strength &
durability.
 So, basic considerations in a mix design is cost &
min. properties.

21. RHEOLOGY OF CONCRETE
• Concrete's and mortar's workability is related to the
rheological properties of the fresh cement paste. The
mechanical properties of hardened concrete increase if
less water is used in the concrete mix design, however
reducing the water-to-cement ratio may decrease the
ease of mixing and application. To avoid these undesired
effects, superplasticizers are typically added to decrease
the apparent yield stress and the viscosity of the fresh
paste. Their addition highly improves concrete and
mortar properties
• Rheology measurements on concrete indicate that it is
reasonable to approximate the concrete flow behaviour
using a Bingham model.