The compressive strength of concrete: a statistical approach to failure

Abstract

Synopsis An attempt is made to obtain a general expression for the dependence of the compressive strength of concrete cubes upon water/cement ratio, aggregate grading and aggregate volume concentration. It is assumed that the paste phase has a distribution of weaknesses which is represented by the Weibull distribution. It is shown that the deduced expression may, for certain conditions, be simplified to give Abrams's law. Some experimental results are given which enable the constants in the deduced expression to be obtained. It is suggested that strength calculations made from the resulting equation may be of some assistance in mix design.