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Modulus of elasticity of low strength concrete

Conference Paper · September 2010

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9th International Congress on Advances in Civil Engineering, 27-30 September 2010
Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey

Modulus of elasticity of low strength concrete

M. Ispir1, K.D. Dalgic2, C. Sengul3, F. Kuran4, A. Ilki5, M.A. Tasdemir6

1
Department of Civil Engineering, ITU, Istanbul, Turkey, medispir@gmail.com
2
Department of Civil Engineering, Kultur University, Istanbul, Turkey, denizkorhan@hotmail.com
3
Department of Civil Engineering, ITU, Istanbul, Turkey, cengizsengul@yahoo.com
4
Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, Ankara, Turkey, fikretkuran@deprem.gov.tr
5
Department of Civil Engineering, ITU, Istanbul, Turkey, ailki@itu.edu.tr
6
Department of Civil Engineering, ITU, Istanbul, Turkey, tasdemir@itu.edu.tr

Abstract
In Turkey, many existing reinforced concrete buildings are in urgent need of seismic retrofitting. While there are
many factors for high seismic vulnerability of existing buildings, poor quality of concrete is a major and
widespread problem for existing buildings all around Turkey. In recent years, after revision of the seismic design
code and inclusion of a seismic assessment and retrofitting part in the revised code, the number of seismic
retrofitting applications has increased significantly. While carrying out a structural analysis for existing
buildings, the assumption on the modulus of elasticity of concrete is vitally important. It is known that the code
equations are established based on experimental results obtained for normal strength concretes and may not be
valid for low strength concrete. Therefore, in this study, a preliminary work is carried out for determining the
modulus of elasticity of low strength concrete. The experimental data of this work is compiled from the concrete
cylinder test results conducted at Istanbul Technical University. Based on the experimental data, an empirical
equation is proposed for making better estimations of modulus of elasticity as a function of compressive strength
of concrete. It is authors’ belief that the findings of this study are extremely important for accurate analysis of
existing buildings constructed with low strength concrete.

Keywords: Assessment, Concrete, Compression, Low Strength, Elasticity Modulus.

1 Introduction
A majority of the existing reinforced concrete existing structures in our country was constructed with low
strength concrete. As these structures do not satisfy the requirements of the related codes, the analysis of this
type of structures is still a challenging issue. The modulus of elasticity is one of the important parameters needed
for the performance assessment, and if needed, retrofitting of these structures. The codes generally propose
empirical equations for predicting the modulus of elasticity depending on the compressive strength of concrete.
However, these empirical equations are basically proposed for normal strength concrete. Consequently,
conducting experimental work on the low strength concretes is required to suggest more reliable equations for
determination of the modulus of elasticity.

Several studies in literature focused on the modulus of elasticity of concrete (Ec). Pauw (1960) expressed that the
modulus of elasticity of concrete is affected by its strength, age, the properties of aggregates and cement, rate of
loading, type and size of specimen. An empirical equation taking into account density of concrete and the
variation of aggregate type was proposed for normal and lightweight concrete by Pauw (1960). The relationship
between compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of concrete is studied by Sideris et al. (2004) taking into
account the cement hydration equation for normal concrete. Demir (2005), Aydin et al. (2006) and Yan et al.
(2010) investigated this relationship for normal and high strength concrete, using the theory of fuzzy logic.

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The equations proposed by the codes are valid for specified characteristics of concrete. While the proposal of
TS500 (2005) is for concrete with characteristic compressive strength of at least 16 MPa, proposals of ACI
318M-08 (2008) are for concretes with density of 1440-2560 kg/m3. Eurocode 2 (2001) suggests a relation for
conventional concretes with characteristic (mean) compressive strength of at least 12 (20) MPa.

There are some difficulties to assess the modulus of elasticity in literature due to the differences in its definition
(initial tangent or secant) and in strain measurement (over all height or mid-height). In a similar way for the
experimental determination of Ec, Eurocode 2 (2001) and TS 500 (2005) define the modulus of elasticity as the
slope of the line between the points of 0 and 40% of concrete compressive strength on the stress-strain diagram.
ACI 318M-08 (2008) defines the modulus as the slope of the line between the points of 0 and 45%. It may be
worth to note that TS 500 (2005) and ACI 318M-08 (2008) use the characteristic compressive strength, but
Eurocode 2 (2001) uses the mean compressive strength for determination of Ec.

Considering the studies related to Ec in literature are generally for normal and high strength concrete, in this
paper, it is aimed to carry out a preliminary study on the elastic modulus of the low strength concrete. The
preliminary study is limited with the gathering of the results of the concrete cylinder tests conducted at Istanbul
Technical University and limited amount of new compression tests performed towards this purpose. The
objective of the study presented is to suggest an equation for the determination of Ec of the low strength concrete
based on the statistical assessment of the test results gathered.

2 Method
In order to realize the objective, firstly, the test specimens are classified into groups according to solely their
compressive strengths (fc) without paying any attention to specimen age, mixture proportions and curing
conditions. Then, the values of fc and Ec of each group are evaluated statistically by eliminating values showing
high deviations. It should be noted that the statistical evaluation is carried out according to Chauvenet criteria
(Akman, 1978). Lastly, the average values (fcm and Ecm ) of fc and Ec are calculated for each group by using the
remaining data from elimination. Then characteristic strength values of concrete fcc are determined. In order to
investigate possible relation between the variables of fcc and Ec, the pairs of fcc0.5 and Ec are plotted. By
conducting a simple regression analysis on these pairs, a relationship between these variables is obtained. It
should be mentioned that characteristic strength values are calculated using Equation 1.

fcc = fcm 1.28Stdev (1)

3 Compression Tests
Considering insufficient data, some additional uniaxial compression tests are performed on 150x300 mm
cylindrical concrete specimens. The specimen preparation and testing procedures were performed taking into
account the requirements of EN 12390-3 (2003). The tests were carried out by an Amsler testing machine with
the capacity of 500 tons. The test setup and measurement system utilized is shown in Figure 1. The vertical
shortening was measured by a compressometer with a gage length of 150 mm on the mid-height. The applied
load was measured by a load cell of 100 tons capacity. The displacement and load measurements are recorded
with a TDS 302 data logger.

Figure 1. Compression test setup and measurement system.

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4 Compression Test Results

In an ascending sorting of fc value, the specimens are divided into nine groups. The statistical parameters of each
group (average value fcm, standard deviation Stdev and coefficient of variation CoV) and characteristic values of
compressive strength of each group fcc are presented in Table 1. It should be noted that the eliminated results
according to Chauvenet Criteria are not given in this table. As seen, while CoV values of fc are smaller than 7%,
those of Ec are smaller than 20%. In this study, the modulus of elasticity is determined as the slope of a line best
fitted between 5-45% of the compressive strength, taking into account the requirement of ACI 318M-08 (2008).

The relationship between compressive stress and strain is presented in Figure 2 for each group. As seen, the
modulus of elasticity increases for increasing compressive strength. However, the increment is not proportional
to the increase in the compressive strength. The strain at compressive strength is generally lower than 0.002 for
the concrete specimens with characteristic compressive strengths up to 12.6 MPa. It is also clear that low
strength concrete fails in a quite ductile manner.

In order to obtain a relationship between the variables of fcc and Ec, a simple regression analysis is conducted on
the pairs of fcc0.5 and Ec, using the test data given in Table 1. As shown in Figure 3, the relationship can be
expressed by a linear function with a correlation coefficient of value (R) of 0.95:

Ec = 4630 fcc  2370 (2)

where fc and Ec are expressed in MPa. Using Equation 2, it is possible to determine the modulus of elasticity of
low strength concrete if the compressive strength of the concrete is known.

Table 1. The values of compressive strength and modulus of elasticity.

Average (MPa) Stdev (MPa) CoV

Specimen fcc (MPa)
fcm Ecm fc Ec fc Ec
CI 5.1 12902 0.32 877 0.06 0.07 4.7
CII 6.0 12762 0.30 2395 0.05 0.19 5.6
CIII 6.8 14566 0.30 1406 0.04 0.10 6.4
CIV 7.5 14343 0.00 436 0.00 0.03 7.5
CV 9.9 15378 0.40 2625 0.04 0.17 9.4
CVI 11.0 17880 0.30 2719 0.03 0.15 10.6
CVII 12.2 20035 0.20 1972 0.02 0.10 11.9
CVIII 13.0 19088 0.30 2415 0.02 0.13 12.6
CIX 15.8 19618 0.30 1077 0.02 0.05 15.4

5 Evaluation of the modulus elasticity-compressive strength relations

Equations proposed by the codes for the determination of Ec depending on the compressive strength are given as
follows:

Ec = 22 (fcm 10)0.3 (Eurocode2, 2001) (3)

Ec = 3250 fcc  14000 (TS500, 2005) (4)

Ec = 4700 fcc (ACI 318M-08, 2008) (5)

In these equations, the units are in MPa except that Ec determined from Equation 3 is in GPa.

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Compressive stress (MPa) 20 20

fcm=5.1 MPa

Compressive stress (MPa)

fcm=6.0 MPa
15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01
Strain (mm/mm) Strain (mm/mm)
20 20
Compressive stress (MPa)

Compressive stress (MPa)

fcm=6.8 MPa fcm=7.5 MPa
15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01
Strain (mm/mm) Strain (mm/mm)
20 20
Compressive stress (MPa)

Compressive stress (MPa)

fcm=12.2 MPa fcm=9.9 MPa

15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01
Strain (mm/mm) Strain (mm/mm)
20 20
fcm=13.0 MPa
Compressive stress (MPa)
Compressive stress (MPa)

fcm=11.0 MPa
15 15

10 10

5 5

0 0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01
Strain (mm/mm) Strain (mm/mm)
20
Compressive stress (MPa)

fcm=15.8 MPa
15

10

0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01
Strain (mm/mm)

Figure 2. Compressive stress versus axial strain relationships for various low strength concretes.

In order to evaluate the test results with respect to the expressions given in the codes, the test results and the
predictions of the codes are plotted in Figure 4. As seen, while Eurocode 2 (2001) and TS 500 (2005)
overestimate the test results, ACI 318M-08 (2008), while predicting better than other codes, underestimate the

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elasticity modulus. To determine the magnitude of the over/underestimations, the calculation of the ratio of Ec
obtained from the tests to Ec obtained from the equations given in codes may be useful. The average ratios are
calculated as about 1.32 for Equation 3, 1.48 for Equation 4 and 0.87 for Equation 5. According to these ratios,
to determination of Ec of low strength concrete from the equations given above may be lead to remarkably
unrealistic assessment.

With the aim of comparison, the constants given in Equations 3 and 5, simple regression analyses are preformed
on the test data using the form of Equations 3 and 5 (Figure 5). As seen, the constants obtained from the
regression analysis (about 16900 and 5395) are different from those given in Equations 3 and 4 (22000 and
4700). Considering the obtained values of R, apparently, the function, which represents the test data most
realistically is Equation 2.

25000
Test
Modulus of elasticity (MPa)

Trendline

20000

15000

Ec = 4630.9fcc0.5 + 2368.5
R = 0.95
10000
2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Strength0.5

Figure 3. The relationship between the modulus of elasticity and the square root of compressive strength.

30000
Modulus of elasticity (MPa)

25000

20000

15000
Test
10000
Eurocode 2 (2001)

5000 TS500 (2005)

ACI318M-02 (2008)
0
4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Strength (MPa)

Figure 4. The comparison between the test results and the predictions of the codes.

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25000 25000

Modulus of elasticity (MPa)

Test

Modulus of elasticity (MPa)

Test
Trendline Trendline
20000 20000

15000 15000

10000 10000
Ec = 16903(fcm /10)0.3 Ec = 5392.6fcc0.5
R = 0.92 R = 0.94
5000 5000
0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
(fcm /10)0.3 Strength0.5

Figure 5. The relationships between the modulus of elasticity and compressive strength (in the form of Eurocode
and ACI equations).

4 Conclusions
In this study, an attempt has been made to develop an expression representing the relationship between the
modulus of elasticity and compressive strength for low strength concrete. The comparison between test data and
the equations suggested by the codes indicates that the use of the existing equations is not appropriate for low
strength concrete. By taking into account the fact that the modulus of elasticity is one of the basic parameters
affecting the strain distribution and displacements determined from structural analysis, an empirical equation for
low strength concrete is proposed based on the test data of the concrete cylinders.

5 Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Oktay Özel for his asisstance during the tests.

References
ACI 318M-08 (2008). Building code requirements for structural concrete and commentary, American Concrete
Institute, USA.
Akman, M. S. (1978). Introduction to Experiment and Measurement Techniques (in Turkish). Bookstore of
Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Aydın, A.C., Tortum, A., and Yavuz, M. (2006). Prediction of concrete elastic modulus using adaptive neuro-
fuzzy inference system. Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems. Vol. 23(4), pp. 295-309.
Demir, F. (2005). A new way of prediction elastic modulus of normal and high strength concrete-fuzzy logic.
Cement and Concrete Research. Vol. 35, pp. 1531-1538.
Eurocode 2 (2001). Design of concrete structures-Part1: General rules and rules for buildings, European
Committee Standardization, Brussels.
Pauw, A. (1960). Static modulus of elasticity of concrete as affected by density. Journal of ACI, Vol. 57, pp.
679-687.
Sideris, K.K., Manita, P., and Sideris, K. (2004). Estimation of ultimate modulus of elasticity and Poisson ratio
of normal concrete. Cement & Concrete Composites. Vol. 26, pp. 623-631.
TS EN 12390-3 (2003). Testing hardened concrete-Part 3: Compressive strength of test specimens (in Turkish),
Turkish Standardization Institute, Ankara.
TS500 (2005). Requirements for design and construction of reinforced concrete structures (in Turkish). Turkish
Standardization Institute, Ankara.
Yan, K., and Shi, C. (2010). Prediction of elastic modulus of normal and high strength concrete by using support
vector machine. Construction and Building Materials. Article in press.

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