Some vital factors that impact the strength of concrete

This construction video tutorial deeply delves into the factors which significantly impact the strength of concrete.

This is a common question that is given in any civil engineering exam.

Given below some of the prime factors :-

• Quality of raw material
• Proportion of Water Cement
• Proportion of Course/Fine Aggregates
• Curing
• Temperature

Compaction of concrete:

1) Quality of raw material – The are mainly three raw materials found in concrete like cement, fine & course aggregates and water. The concrete is formed after mixing all these materials.

Standard quality cement should be used in forming concrete. Generally, Portland cement is used in concrete.

If you want that your soil should have chloride and sulphate resistance capacity, don’t use Portland cement as it does not have the properties for resistance. Therefore, it is recommended to use portland blast furnace cement (PBFC).

For Fine and course aggregates, the size and shape should be proper and sharpness should be maintained. These aggregates should be free form salt, chloride, clay present because bond will not be formed between cement and fine & course aggregates due to this and strength will be reduced.

Clean drinking water should be used for concrete and water should be free from clay, sand etc as these can damage the strength of the concrete.

2) Proportion of water and cement – If the ratio between water and cement is high, initial spacing among cement grains will be increased, so strength of concrete will be decreased.

Low water cement – If the ratio between water and cement is low, it will be difficult for compaction due to low presence of water, so cement will be high and difficult for compaction, as a result strength will be reduced. It should be according to design.

3) Proportion of course and fine aggregates – If the ratio of fine aggregates i.e. sand get higher as compared to course aggregates, the surface area will be increased significantly and as a result the demand of water will be raised and we have to increase the water cement ratio.

To get more information, watch the following video.

Video Courtesy: F&U-FORYOU