This practical Concrete Mix Design (CDM) handbook is written for those hundreds of thousands of only academically qualified Graduate or Diploma Civil Engineers who are producing Cement Concrete with 10/7 Concrete Mixers. They are working at construction sites, usually without the full time guidance of senior civil engineers, who themselves may not have received correct practical construction training. They will learn from this handbook, how to make good cement concrete with the necessary CMD parameters of cohesion, workability, strength and Durability.
Cement concrete is a ‘Man-Made’ Rock. If made properly, it is a wonderful scientific Building Material- easily Moldable, Leak-proof, strong and durable, and should last over 100 years without maintenance and repairs. Reinforced cement concrete (RCC) was introduced in Europe in the 19th century, to reduce the thickness of load -bearing structural Members of Bridges (footings, piers and Arches), and later to replace thick load- bearing masonry walls of buildings with slim RCC columns and beams, at the request of architects, to increase the carpet areas of lower floor rooms.
But, concrete can be a treacherous building material if made without knowledge and strict supervision. A badly made RCC structure will soon leak and slowly crack. These are the first symptoms of ‘concrete cancer’. Ignoring these defects leads to a collapse within 15 to 30 years.
This CMD handbook explains in detail each item of the theory, principles and logic of concrete Mix design, along with step-by-step practical instructions. The nitty-gritty and the nuts and bolts of making good concrete will also be illustrated with many self-explanatory tables, sketches and photographs. It also serves as a self-study handbook for the contractor’s site engineer.
All construction work of the contractor’s site engineer has to be supervised, as explained in training sheet. This handbook will there fore, also be useful to the following:
1) Owner’s project engineer and inspectors
2) Architect’s clerk of works and inspectors
3) Structural consulting engineer’s resident engineer and inspectors
4) Government and municipal engineers and inspectors
Contents –
1. Introduction
2. Concrete Mix Design (CMD) Definition
3. Site Lab Infrastructure
