RussellWeek 2: Concrete Mix DesignsCOLLAPSE Concrete mix design can be described as a process through which concrete is prepared with the aid of various ingredients which help to attain the required...

Concrete mix design can be described as a process through which concrete is prepared with the aid of various ingredients which help to attain the required strength and stability of concrete built structures. Some of the common ingredients that are normally included in the concrete mix design include cement, chemicals, soil, reinforcement, both fine and coarse sand and water. A concrete design that has efficiently been mixed helps to promote a sound foundation for various structures. The concrete mix design is also a great determinant of the workability and cure time of the concrete therefore care should be taken when mixing so that the correct ratios for each ingredient are used.

Water cement ratio refers to the ratio between the weight of water to the weight of cement to be used in the concrete mix design. Generally, water cement ratio falls under 0.4 to 0.6 as per IS Code 10262 for nominal mix. 23% of water is needed to initiate the chemical process in cement and exceeding this percentage will increase the workability then the concrete has lots of fluid materials where the aggregates will settle down. Once the water evaporated it leaves lots of voids in concrete which affects the concrete strength.