What Are Chemical Admixtures For Concrete?

What is Admixture? It is an optional ingredient of concrete which is added to modify the properties of fresh and hard concrete and grout materials as per some specific requirements. Addition of admixture may alter workability, pumping qualities, strength development, appearance etc in fresh concrete and permeability, strength, durability etc in hardened concrete. But use … Read more

HOT WEATHER CONCRETING – 10 GUIDELINES TO FOLLOW

Liquid Nitrogen Used To Keep Mixer Cool

The followings are general recommendations or considerations for hot weather concreting. Guidelines to Follow 1. Do not exceed the maximum allowable water-cementious materials ratio or the manufacturer’s maximum recommended dosage of any admixture. 2. Consider retarding admixtures if their performance has been verified during trial batches. 3. Substitute ground, granulated blast furnace slag for part … Read more

How To Control Temperature Of Concrete Ingredients In Hot Weather?

During hot weather, problems that may occur in concrete include the following. Rapid slump loss Reduced air content Premature stiffening Plastic shrinkage cracks Thermal cracking Therefore it is necessary to keep concrete temperature down. The most effective way to keep concrete temperature down is by controlling the temperature of its ingredients. Among all ingredients of … Read more

What Are The Effects of Hot Weather On Concrete?

Effects of hot weather on concrete, in the absence of special precautions can be as follows. Accelerated setting of concrete Reduction in strength of concrete Increased tendency to crack Rapid evaporation of water during curing period Difficulty in control of air in air-entrained concrete Accelerated Setting The rate of setting time of the concrete increases … Read more

Comparison of Workability Measurements By Various Methods

There are different methods of measuring the workability of fresh concrete. Each of them measures a particular aspect of it and there is no unique test which measures workability of concrete in its totality. The three most commonly used method for testing workability of concrete are Slump test Vee-bee test Compacting factor test. The table … Read more

WHAT IS VOLUME BATCHING OF CONCRETE AND HOW IT IS DONE IN FIELD?

Gauge Box

What Is Volume Batching of Concrete? Batching of concrete means measuring different ingredients of concrete (i.e. cement, sand, coarse aggregate and water) before mixing it. When this measurement is done on the basis of volume, we call it Volume Batching. Below are mentioned some of important points to remember before adopting volume batching method in … Read more

WORKABILITY TEST OF CONCRETE BY VEE-BEE CONSISTOMETER METHOD (IS-1199-1956)

Vee-Bee Consistometer

Objective To determine the workability of freshly mixed concrete by using of Vee – Bee consistometer apparatus. Scope and Significance The workability of fresh concrete is a composite property, which includes the diverse requirements of stability, mobility, compactability, placeability and finishability. There are different methods for measuring the workability. Each of them measures only a … Read more

IS-10262-2009-CONCRETE MIX DESIGN – INDIAN STANDARD METHOD

Concrete Mix Design

The following points should be remembered before proportioning a concrete mix a per IS-10262-2009. This method of concrete mix proportioning is applicable only for ordinary and standard concrete grades. The air content in concrete is considered as nil. The proportioning is carried out to achieve specified characteristic compressive strength at specified age, workability of fresh … Read more