Concrete Pouring During the Rain Important topic for Civil Engineers

Concrete Pouring During the Rain Important topic for Civil Engineers


The question, which irritates the person constructing his /her dream home in rainy days, is “should I carried out concrete pouring activity during rain?” or “can I lay concrete in the rain?”. Here we have tried to explain few tips & tricks with the explanation of what to do while concrete pouring during rain.
It is a mixture of construction materials like cement, aggregate, water and admixture, etc.
The quality of concrete is directly related to its strength, which depend on water cement ratio. The workability is the parameter of concrete, which determines the homogeneity in the sense of the quality. The priorities and proportions of the construction materials always affect the workability of the fresh concrete.

The rain water increases the proportion of water in the concrete mix at the time of mixing, transporting, placing, compacting and finishing. The sand and aggregate get wet in the rain, which raises the proportion of water in the concrete. These factors increase the water-cement ratio of concrete mix. 

Though water-cement ratio improves the workability of concrete, it ultimately reduces the strength to a great extent. An average increase of 0.1 of water cement ratio reduces strength by 5%. Hence excess water in any case should be avoided. However, this does not mean, we cannot pour the concrete in the rainy season.

What Happens When You Pour Concrete in the Rain?
  • Whether it rains during concreting or if it rains within 30 minutes i.e. initial setting time of concrete. 
  • If it rains between initial setting time and final setting time of cement i.e. after 30 minutes and before 600 minutes (10 Hour). 
  • If it rains after final setting time i.e. 600 minutes (10 Hour).
01. The rain certainly affects the concrete pouring when it occurs before the initial setting i.e. when concrete is in fresh condition. The initial setting time of concrete is 30 min. The rain also affects the concrete while mixing or transporting. The rain increases the water-cement ratio of the fresh mix and hence results in bleeding in concrete. 

The bleeding of water also carries the cement particle with it. Hence, water cement ratio will get reduced, which will further decrease the strength of concrete.

If the formwork is fixed properly, the layer of cement slurry will be formed on the top due to the settlement of solid particles by gravity action. This top layer becomes porous and weak in nature due to rain, which results in the poor strength of concrete. Sometimes plastic shrinkage cracks may also appear on the surface of the concrete.

02. Laying concrete is not easy during the rain. The rain affects the concrete pouring when it occurs after the initial setting time (30 min) and before final setting time (600 min). It means, it is not in fresh condition or it is initially set. It also means the concrete is in gel condition (your finger leaves only an impression but not dip into the concrete when you touch it). In this case, the rain does not affect the mix very much. 

The impression of rain droplets will be seen on the surface of the concrete. It looks ugly as rain impact the surface finish, but it will not affect the strength of concrete. Sometimes, If the intensity of rainfall or the internal voids are higher in concrete, then rain may affect the top layer of concrete. 

03. The rainwater does not affect the pouring concrete when it occurs after the final setting time (> 600 min) of concrete. It means concrete is in stiff condition (your finger do not leave an impression on the surface when you touch it). On the contrary, the light rain helps to cure the concrete and ultimately helps to achieve a good strength.
Precaution while Laying Concrete in the Rainy Season:
Always see weather forecast and probability of rain on website like skymetweather.com

The provision of the adequate good quality plastic sheet should be made in advance at the time of placing the concrete.

The plastic tarpaulins sheets are used to cover the pouring area during the rainy season. But remember that the plastic sheet should not be in contact with the surface when you cover the surface of concrete at the time of rain. If it is laid directly on the surface, then it may increase the setting time of concrete and disturb the finishing. Therefore, you have to cover the plastic sheet in such a way that the concrete will get air and workers can easily place, compact, and finish the concrete. Ask him what quantity of water is to be reduced depending upon the intensity of the rain. Also, exercise all precautions.
  • Simply reduce water cement ratio as the rain water is already present on the surface of aggregate due to raining or increase the quality of cement, which is worthy. 
  • The water-cement ratio should be reduced by mixing the appropriate admixture after getting the permission of consultant. 
  • The staging should be provided to cover the pouring area with the plastic sheet. Every precaution should be taken to reduce the interruption due to rain during the pouring activity. The bit of help should be taken from the weather department to plan the pouring of concrete. 
  • Spray rich cement slurry on the surface, where it has rained immediately after you laid concrete. 
  • If possible cover aggregate also, as when they become wet; they increase the water cement ratio.
In conclusion, the answer to your question “Can I lay Concrete in the Rain?” is generally you can, provided you do exercise all above precautions. You can pour concrete in the rain. But of course not during very heavy rain as it will wash the cement slurry in laid concrete. You can lay concrete in the light rain like sprinkling or spraying of water with the provision of the thick plastic sheet. However, It is advisable, not to start concrete pouring in the heavy rain. It is also highly advisable to suspend the concrete pouring work while its raining heavily. 

If it is raining during pouring concrete or within the first 30 minutes i.e. initial setting time of concrete then reduce the water cement ratio up to the required slump of concrete, and lay a plastic sheet over concrete laid. If it rains between after setting time and before final setting time i.e. after 30 minute and before 600 minute (10 Hour) then cover the concreting or concrete casting area with tarpaulin and spread the rich cement slurry on the surface of concrete where it has rained. If it rain after final setting time i.e. 600 minute (10 Hour) then no need to worry as rain infect improve curing of concrete.

reference: gharpedia.com

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