Effect of Water-Cement Ratio on the Properties of Brick Aggrigate Concrete

Abstract

H A Rashid*, B A Nur and M A Rashid

Brick aggregate is widely used in concrete mixes for building construction in Bangladesh. The principal aim of this research is to study the effect of water-cement ratio on the properties of brick aggregate concrete. Two types of mix ratios along with variations in water-cement ratios have been considered in this study. The mix ratios (by volume) considered are 1:2:4 and 1:1.5:3 and the water-cement ratios (by weight) are 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7. Emphasis is given on studying the basic properties of hardened concrete such as compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and splitting tensile strength. The properties of concrete have been determined according to the ASTM specifications. Attempts have been made to find relation between the properties of concrete and the water-cement ratio. Test results have shown that the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of brick aggregate concrete decrease with the increase of water-cement ratio. Within the range of water-cement ratio, the rate on both strength and stiffness of concrete is found to be higher for concrete with higher cement content. The strength and stiffness of brick aggregate concrete are higher for concrete with higher cement content up to the water-cement ratio of about 0.55 and beyond this point the trend is reversed. The rate of reduction of the strength of concrete increases with the increase of water content in excess of the hydration demand of cement up to water-cement ratio of about 0.6 and beyond this point the rate decreases.

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