Water-Cement Ratio Versus Strength-Another Look

A NUMBER OF PUBLISHED WORKS WHICH HAVE CRITICIZED THE WATER-CEMENT RATIO ARE DISCUSSED AND THEIR RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE ASSESSED. TO EXPLAIN DISCREPANCIES IN THE THEORY, AN ACCOUNT IS GIVEN OF STRESS-STRAIN BEHAVIOR AND WATER GAIN, WHICH ARE PRESENTED AS EVIDENCE OF THE HETEROGENEITY OF A MATERIAL SUCH AS CONCRETE. STRENGTH IS INFLUENCED BY THE CEMENT-AGGREGATE RATIO AND THE GRADING, SURFACE TEXTURE, MAXIMUM SIZE AND STIFFNESS OF THE AGGREGATE AS WELL AS BY THE WATER-CEMENT RATIO.