Details Of PCC & How To Measure Concrete For Street

Plain Cement Concrete alias PCC stands for a construction material that is mostly utilized as binding materials.

The main ingredients of PCC are cement, (usually Portland Cement) and other cementitious materials like fly ash and slag cement; aggregate (normally a coarse aggregate is formed by gravels or crushed rocks like limestone or granite along with a fine aggregate like sand); water, and chemical admixtures.

Specifications Of Plain Cement Concrete (PCC)

PCC: Materials Specifications

Aggregate is made of invert materials and should have been clean, thick, solid, sound, long-lasting, non-absorbent and the ability to make strong bond with mortar.

Coarse aggregate is made of hard broken stone of granite or equivalent stone without any dust, dirt and other foreign matters. The size of the stone ballast shall be 20mm and lesser. All the coarse material should be provided in a 5mm square mesh and should be well graded to keep the voids under 42%.

Fine aggregate is created with coarse sand comprising hard, sharp and angular grains and it should move across a screen of 5mm square mesh. Sand should contain standard specifications, clean and without dust, dirt and organic matter. Sea sand should not be utilized.

Cement should contain fresh Portland cement of standard ISI specifications and shall contain the necessary tensile and compressive stresses and fineness.

Water should be clean and does not contain alkaline and acid matters and convenient for drinking purposes.

Also Read: Different applications of concrete in civil engineering

PCC: Proportion Specifications:

1:2:4 (cement : sand: stone ballast) by volume when indicated. Minimum compressive strength of concrete of 1:2:4 proportion should retain as 140 kg/cm2 in 7 days.

PCC: Hand mixing

Mixing should be carried out on the masonry platform or sheet-iron tray.

PCC: Machine mixing

Stone ballast, sand and cement are provided to cement concrete mixer to obtain the required proportions.

Slump: Regular slump test is conducted to manage the addition of water as well as retain the desired consistency. A slump of 7.5cm to 10cm is permitted for building work.

Laying Method: Concrete should be placed smoothly (not thrown) in layers not beyond 15cm and compacted by pinning with rods and tamping with wooden tampers or through mechanical vibrating machine till a dense concrete is formed.

Curing Method: When two hours are completed for placing the concrete and the concrete starts to get solidified, it should be wrapped with wet gunny bags or wet sand for 24 hours to keep it damp.

If you want to find out the quantity of concrete for PCC in road construction, go through the following exclusive video tutorial presented by the renowned engineer S.L. Khan.

Video Source: SL Khan