[Chapter 1] Manual for Advanced Design

Care is therefore recommended when designing any concrete mix as well as adequate safe judgement
from the Engineer. Assuming a common service situation, the procedure indicated next may be, at times,
deemed satisfactory (relevant indications are available in corresponding literature, cited herein in
[Appendix (2) B] Cement.

(1-2) Partial Example – Concrete Mix

Design the proportions of constituents for a C30/37 concrete grade mixture.

(1) Check if the consistency class is adequate for the intended concrete grade, member type and
corresponding concreting technology.
(1-2) Note 1. Since no specific conditions are imposed a consistency class ‘S3’ (spreading class 3, mean value) may be
adequate which in turn poses no changes to account for;
(a) The spreading level is indicated here because it is the easiest/common test field that can be applied to any
concrete batch to verify its workability (ability to flow and therefore be delivered in the forms as well as the
embedding potential of any placed rebars);
(b) The method is fully described in (SR EN 12350-2:2009, Încercare pe beton proaspăt. Partea 2: Încercarea
de tasare) which is the Romanian applicable code. Although the explicit fore mentioned code is available only
in Romanian, the equivalent English EN 12350-2 code may be consulted with confidence;
(c) Since there are international standardisation organisations working towards the worldwide integration of
testing methods such as The International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials,
Systems and Structures (RILEM, from the French name) any procedure described in an original copy authored
by any of the working committees of RILEM may be used with confidence especially for research purposes;

(2) Choose the type of cement.

(1-2) Note 2. Using [Appendix (2) B] as design aid, a cement type CEM II/A-S 32,5 R is deemed adequate for the intended
concrete grade:
(a) The indicated cement type is locally commercial available;
(b) Since it’s a type II cement (Portland clinker in combination with fly ash) the acquisition cost is lower than
for a type I cement (Portland clinker);
(c) The product is a form ‘A’ sulphuric resistance ‘S’ cement, which although not required specifically in the
specification, may provide for some additional durability of the structural member;
(d) The indicated cement strength ‘32,2 MPa’ may provide the concrete grade required since its domain of
potential strength is from 32,2 MPa to 52,2 MPa as (SR EN 197-1:2011) Cement indicates in Table 2 from part
7.1.2 Initial Strength;
(e) The indicated cement set mechanism ‘R – rapid’ may provide for early hardening and therefore faster
removal of forms;

(3) Choose a maximum water to cement ratio

(1-2) Note 3. Use App. (2) Table 1 as design aid and for the indicated concrete grade establish W C  0,55 ;
(4) Choose an adequate cement dosage.
(1-2) Note 4. Use App. (2) Table 1 as design aid and for the indicated concrete grade a start quantity of 300 kg may be
considered. Since the specified dosage is minimal and to account for the possible spread of the trial results
increase it by a maximum of 10% giving therefore a trial cement dosage of C  310 kg ;

(5) Establish the water content by considering the maximum W C ratio and the C dosage of cement:

W
W C  0,55 & C  310 kg  W   C  0, 55  310 kg  170,5 l which may be increased up to a
C
maximum of 10% (yielding a trial water content of W  180 l

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(6) Establish the overall quantity of aggregates with the formula:

 C W A 
Aagg  agg  1000     P  kg m3 with
 cem  w  add 
 agg  2,7 kg dm3 is the density of a crushed siliceous based aggregate. Since no special conditions are imposed on
the nature of the aggregates, the previous type and corresponding values is deemed adequate for the job at hand
cem  3 kg l is the density of cement

w  1 kg l is the density of water

A is the dosage of the admixture (none added)

add is the density of the admixture (none added)

P  20 l m3 is the volume of entrained air for normal strength, common use concrete grades, for consistency class S1
 310 180 
The above yields: Aagg  2,7  1000    20  =2,7  696,67=1881 kg m3 .
 3 1 
(7) Establish the maximum size of the aggregates to be used as well as the granulometry curve
(measurement of the size distribution in a collection of grains):

(1-2) Note 5. Choose a maximum aggregate size agg  16 mm (common conditions);

(a) Use the code’s grain size distributions: 0  4 mm , 4  8 mm and 8 16 mm ;

(1-2) Note 6. Choose the granulometry curve based on the (NE 012-1: 2008, Cod de Practică pentru Executarea Lucrărilor
din Beton, Beton Armat și Beton Precomprimat. Partea 1: Producerea Betonului) which is the applicable
Romanian code;
(a) The Appendix L, Compoziţia granulometrică a agregatelor utilizate la prepararea betonului (Granulometry
composition of aggregates to be used for concrete production) presents a series of graphs for prescribed domains
of grain sizes depending on the maximum aggregate size;
(b) The same source stated that the favourable distribution of continuous grain sizes is the curve labelled ‘curve
3’, which for the foreseen distribution contains aggregates in the following proportions:

0  4 mm  36% of the overall quantity of aggregates

4  8 mm   60%  36%  24% of the overall quantity of aggregates
8  16 mm  100%  60%  40% of the overall quantity of aggregates
The above yields the following quantities:

0  4 mm  36% 1881 kg m3  677,16 kg m3  678 kg m3

4  8 mm  24% 1881 kg m3  451,44 kg m3  451 kg m3
8  16 mm  40% 1881 kg m3  752,4 kg m3  752 kg m3

(1-2) Note 7. The first domain of grain sizes was rounded up to favour the workability of the mix, while the other two were
rounded down without losing track of the overall quantity calculated in the previous step.

A summary of the trial mix is indicated infra:

C  310 kg m3 is the cement dosage

W  170 l m3 is the water content

Aagg  1881 kg m3 with the following distribution of grain sizes (grading):

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0  4 mm  36% 1881 kg m3  677,16 kg m3  678 kg m3

4  8 mm  24% 1881 kg m3  451,44 kg m3  451 kg m3
8  16 mm  40% 1881 kg m3  752,4 kg m3  752 kg m3

[Note (1-C) b] Shrinkage of Concrete

The hardening process for most concrete mixes is accompanied by a reduction in volume, which is
referred to as ‘shrinkage’; while the phenomenon is liable to cause cracking of the concrete, it may also
have the beneficial effect of strengthening the bond between the concrete and the steel reinforcement.
The initial phase takes place as soon as the concrete is mixed and is caused by the absorption of the
water by the concrete and the aggregate with a further shrinkage being caused by evaporation of the
water which rises to the concrete surface. Since the setting process of concrete is given by the hydration
of the cement which causes a great deal of heat to be generated, further shrinkage takes place because
of thermal contraction while cooling of the concreted member occurs. Even after hardening, shrinkage
continues as drying out persists and any subsequent wetting and drying can also cause swelling and
shrinkage. To reduce the effects of the thermal shrinkage it is generally preferred to reduce the
temperature rise during hydration. This may be achieved by the following:
 Use of mixes with a low cement content or suitable cement replacement (i.e. Pulverised Fuel Ash or
Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag);
 Avoiding rapid hardening and finely ground cement whenever possible;
 Keeping aggregates and mixing water cool;
 Using steel shuttering that is cooled with a water spray;
 Remove the shuttering early to allow the heat of hydration to dissipate;
 Low water to cement ratios will also help to reduce (drying) shrinkage by keeping to a minimum the
volume of moisture that can be lost.

Original casted member

Plain concrete (unrestrained)

Reinforced concrete (unrestrained)

Reinforced concrete (fully restrained)

(1) Figure 14
Shrinkage strains

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