STRONGER CONCRETE

THE MOST FREQUENTLY ENCOUNTERED DIFFICULTY WITH ANY PARTICULAR QUANTITY OF CONCRETE IS THAT THE REPRESENTATIVE TEST SPECIMENS DID NOT DEVELOP A HIGH ENOUGH APPARENT COM- PRESSIVE STRENGTH WHEN TESTED. IN MANY CASES THE CONCRETE IS ACTUALLY STRONG ENOUGH FOR ITS INTENDED USE, BUT THE TEST RESULTS ARE IN ERROR OR THE DESIRED STRENGTH IS IN EXCESS OF THAT NEEDED. IN OTHER CASES THE CONCRETE IS ACTUALLY NOT STRONG ENOUGH. THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT AFFECT CONCRETE STRENGTH AND MANY WAYS OF MAKING STRONGER CONCRETE. THE PRACTICAL ROUTINE PRODUCTION OF PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE HAVING A COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH CONSISTENLY ABOVE 10,000 PSI AFTER 90 DAYS MOIST-CURING CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY CAREFUL SELECTION OF MATERIALS, MIXTURE PROPORTIONS, AND MIXING, PLACING, CONSOLIDATING, AND CURING PROCEDURES. THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE FACTOR IN THE SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTION OF STRONG CONCRETE IS CONSISTENTLY MAINTAINING AN ADEQUATELY LOW WATER-CEMENT RATIO. CONCRETE WITH A STRENGTH OF 10,000 PSI CANNOT BE OBTAINED FROM MIXTURES HAVING WATER-CEMENT RATIOS HIGHER THAN 0.45 BY WEIGHT. TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE WORK- ABILITY, IT WILL USUALLY BE NECESSARY TO USE AT LEAST SEVEN BAGS OF CEMENT PER CUBIC YARD OF MIXED CONCRETE. THE SAME METHODS THAT MAY BE USED TO MAKE STRONG CONCRETE STRONGER MAY ALSO BE USED TO MAKE WEAK CONCRETE STRONGER. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1967/210/210-001.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Paper sponsored by Committee on Mechanical Properties of Concrete and presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Mather, Bryant
• Conference:
  • Symposium on concrete strength, 1966, Washington, DC, USA
• Publication Date: 1967

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1-28
• Monograph Title: A Symposium on Concrete Strength
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 210
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Compression tests; Compressive strength; Concrete; Concrete curing; Moisture content; Portland cement concrete; Specimens; Water cement ratio
• Old TRIS Terms: Compressive strength tests
• Subject Areas: Highways; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00212323
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Feb 2 1994 12:00AM