No minus tolerance on yield

Allowable variations in air content and batch weights can also cause yield to vary.
But a cubic yard still has to contain no less than 27 cubic feet.

e got an e-mail mes- quires the basis of purchase to be

W sage from a con-

crete producer who
received concrete
mix proportions
based on trial batches by a materials
the cubic yard of freshly mixed
and unhardened concrete as
discharged from the mixer. The
last four words indicate that the
producer has to account for any

Portland Cement
testing laboratory. When he used these materials retained in the mixer

proportions, yield of the field-pro-
duced concrete was 26.87 cubic feet.
He asked if there was a tolerance on
yield to account for any concreting
materials left in the mixer drum after
discharge. And if there wasnt, did the
responsibility for underyield rest with
the concrete producer or the laborato-
ry that designed the mix?
Plus tolerance only
ASTM C 94, Standard Specification
for Ready-Mixed Concrete, answers the
first part of the question. Section 3 re-
after discharge. ACI 117, Standard
Specifications for Tolerances for Con-
crete Construction and Materials, gives
no tolerance for yield. And since
ASTM C 94 doesnt say the basis for
purchase shall be about a cubic yard, or
a nominal cubic yard, the meaning is
pretty clear: Producers must yield at
least a cubic yard, that is, 27 cubic feet
or more per nominal cubic yard.
Does that mean every 10-yard truck
must contain at least 10 cubic yards
of concrete? Not according to ASTM
C 94. The specification states that
Association
volume shall be determined
from the total weight of the batch di-
vided by the concrete unit weight.
This unit weight must be the average
of three unit weight tests run on sam-
ples from three different trucks, and
the batch weight divided by the aver-
age unit weight must equal or exceed
27 cubic feet.

How testing procedures can affect yield

E ven though yield values determined from batch weights

and average unit weights are the producers responsibili-
ty, apparent underyields can sometimes result from test re-
quirements. Lets say youre supplying concrete in 10-yard
loads for a 150-cubic-yard bridge-deck pour for which
specifications require an air test on every truckload of con-
crete. For making test cylinders, ASTM C 172, Standard
Method for Sampling Concrete, requires at least a 1-cubic-
foot sample composed of two increments from different
parts of the load. The standard doesnt give a minimum
sample size for air tests. However, when the technician dis-
charges two sample increments into a 4-cubic-foot wheel-
barrow, chances are that the sample size will be closer to 2
cubic feet, regardless of whether the technician is making
cylinders or only running an air test.
If all of the 2-cubic-foot samples in this example are then
discarded, the customer has just lost more than a yard of
concrete. The 30-cubic-foot loss from testing alone equals a
0.2-cubic-foot yield variation per cubic yardthe suggested
average target variation that indicates good control. Yet the
loss from test samples is independent of your quality-con-
trol measures.
(a) (b) (c) (d)
If the unit weight measure is incorrectly struck off with a tamping rod
(a), concrete may mound up (b), making measured unit weight higher
than the true value. Carefully striking off the surface with a flat plate (c)
leaves the measure just level full.
Lack of care in running the unit weight test can also sig-
nificantly affect calculated yield. If technicians dont correct-
ly and carefully strike off concrete in the unit-weight bucket,
an incorrect value may result. This is especially likely if they
use a tamping rod instead of a flat plate, causing concrete
to mound slightly above the bucket rim. A measured unit
weight only 1 pound higher than the true unit weight for
normalweight concrete can result in a nearly 0.20-cubic-
foot error in calculated yield.
Responsibility for underyield
ACI 301-96, Specifications for Struc-
Yield factor analysis
tural Concrete, requires air contents
hat factors have the greatest effect on yield? Consider the following hy-
and slumps of laboratory trial batches
to be within 0.5% and 34 inch of the
W pothetical mix for 1 cubic yard of concrete with saturated surface-dry
(SSD) batch weights and specific gravities as shown. Air content is 6%.
specified maximum, respectively. This
lowers the likelihood of low field
strength-test results, but it also means Material SSD batch weight Specific gravity Absolute volume
that when the air content of field-pro- Water 240 lbs 1.00 3.85 cu ft
duced concrete falls to the low side of
Cement 564 lbs 3.15 2.87 cu ft
the specified range, yield decreases. A
lower slump caused by lower water Fine aggregate 1,260 lbs 2.63 7.68 cu ft
content has a similar effect (see Yield Coarse aggregate 1,850 lbs 2.70 10.98 cu ft
factor analysis). Air 1.62 cu ft
According to ACI 221.5R-96,
Total 3,914 lbs 27.00 cu ft
Guide for Submittal of Concrete Pro-
portions, It is customary and ac-
Unit weight = 145 pcf
ceptable in most localities to propor-
tion mixtures to yield in excess of
27.00 cubic feet per cubic yard. The Heres what happens to yield for the following changes in mix or material
practice provides producers with a properties or proportions, assuming no adjustments are made.
systematic means of handling
charges of short yield due to air con- Change Effect on yield
tent fluctuations. How much in ex-
Air content decreases by 1% -0.27 cu ft
cess? For good producer control, a
variation of about 0.20 cubic foot in Water content decreases by 1 gallon* -0.13 cu ft
one cubic yard is suggested (see Ref- Sand batch weight decreases by 2% -0.16 cu ft
erence). Some producers plan to Coarse aggregate batch weight decreases by 2% -0.22 cu ft
overyield by about 0.20 cubic foot Sand specific gravity increases by 0.02 -0.06 cu ft
for air-entrained concrete and 0.10 Coarse aggregate specific gravity increases by 0.02 -0.08 cu ft
cubic foot for non-air-entrained
concrete. * Due either to changes in aggregate moisture content or to holding back water
Whatever the value chosen, the at the plant to allow slump adjustments in the field.
producer controls field air content
and slump in addition to batch
quantities for cement and aggregate. This example shows that air content is one of the most critical factors affect-
Thus, the responsibility for yield still ing yield. An air content reduction from 7% to 5% reduces yield by more
rests with the producer, not the test- than 12 cubic foot. And holding back 2 or 3 gallons of water, if its not added at
ing laboratory, if the producer is the jobsite, can also cause a significant underyield.
permitted to adjust yield by slightly For instance, assume that specifications require a 4% to 7% air content and
changing mix proportions. But as a 3- to 5-inch slump. Mix proportions are based on a trial-mix concrete with
stated in ASTM C 94, yield determi- 6.5% air and a 414-inch slump in accordance with ACI 301-96 requirements. If
nations must be based on unit one field-produced load hits the lower limits for both air and slump, assum-
weight tests and batch weights, not ing that reducing water content 1 gallon reduces slump by 1 inch, the result-
on volumes of in-place concrete cal- ing drop in yield is 0.83 cubic foot. Thats enough to reduce the average yield
culated from dimensions of the of three loads below 27, even if the other two come in at 27.2 cubic feet.
structural elements.
WARD R. MALISCH AND
BRUCE A. SUPRENANT Producer, 426 S. Westgate St., Addi-
son, IL 60101.
Authors note: How do you ensure that
your mixes dont underyield? What Reference
about lightweight concretes, for Joseph Waddell, Concrete Manual, PUBLICATION #J980328
which yield is particularly hard to International Conference of Building Copyright 1998, The Aberdeen Group
control? Write to us at The Concrete Officials, 1992, p. 150. All rights reserved