Qualified specialists in the field of construction often advise to carry out independent production of concrete mix, and not to purchase batches of ready-made filling compound. Since the key component is the cementitious binder powder, it is necessary to accurately calculate the cement consumption per 1 m3 of concrete produced at a certain level. All calculations are carried out within the framework of a special construction scheme, taking into account a number of important factors.
Selection of concrete grades for foundations and general construction tasks
The preparation of concrete mixes is based on the fact that the required amount of each structural component is combined in a viscous solution, the most important of which is a certain volume of cement grade powder. The solidified mass has a number of optimal physical and technical characteristics and operational properties (high level of strength and maximum density, resistance to mechanical impact and negative manifestations of natural phenomena).
Before starting construction activities, you should correctly (based on the information below) determine which brand of concrete can be used in a particular process. The foundation of any structure (residential structure or technical structure) must have certain properties for its maintenance during long-term operation.
Based on the brand name, concrete varieties should be used as follows::
- From M100 and M150 to M200 and M250. These are not foundation mixes. Reliability from them can not be achieved, and therefore experts do not recommend including them in the work with the supporting parts of structures.
- M300 (350) has optimal performance for foundation pouring in private buildings. At the same time, the cost of astringent powder required for the preparation of the mixture is optimal.
- When obtained from M400 or M500 cement, the mixture is used in industrial buildings, as well as for the construction of special-purpose facilities.
The main task of the supporting part of any structure is to ensure the durability of its “vital activity” without destruction and reduce quality indicators.
Calculations of the required amount of cement
The structural composition of the concrete mix, in addition to cement, should include pure water and purified sand of a certain fraction, crushed stone or gravel, as well as various additives that form a number of qualitative features. The proportions of the binder powder relative to the liquid, sand and crushed stone determine the brand identity of the mixture.
Various regulatory and technical acts contain information on the proportion of cement in kg per cubic meter of the mixture. However, qualified builders most often use simplified calculation schemes.
Arithmetic method
In private practice, builders use the following formulas to find out how many bags of cement are in 1 cube of concrete.
- The batch of the main components for obtaining a meter of cubic concrete assumes a ratio of 1: 3: 5 CPSC.
- A cubic meter of the mixture is 1 million cubic cm., therefore, in the ninth part of it contains approximately 111111 cubic div.
- With a specific gravity of the binder powder of 3 g / cm3, we obtain its mass in cubic meter of the mixture: 3*111111=333333 g (~333.3 kg).
If we take into account that standard bags contain 50 kg of powder, then there are approximately 6.5 pieces per 1 cubic meter of the mixture.
Precision of arithmetic
However, in fact, this scheme is relevant when considering a bag of 100 grade cement. In other cases, the specified values are approximate. It is recommended to calculate how much cement will be included in a cubic meter of the mixture with an accuracy of 1 kg (crushed stone – up to 5 kg).
As practice shows, mixing a 10-liter bucket requires 15-17 kg of astringent powder and crushed stone, as well as 14-15 kg of sand fraction. If the brand identity of the resulting mixture should be higher, then part of the powder poured out of the cement bag becomes smaller. The most popular brand matches contain the following table.
| Based on M300 cement powder | Based on M400 cement powder | |||
| Brand identity of the mixture | M250 | M300 | M300 | M300 |
| Cement weight value (in kg) | 340 | 300 | 350 | 300 |
Based on these data, you can calculate the number of bags of cement per 1 cubic meter of concrete, remembering that one bag contains 50 kg of powder.
It is impractical to use the highest-grade Portland cement M500, since it is designed for narrow-profile tasks. If the mixture is oversaturated with cement powder after the active phase, when the moisture completely evaporates, cracking of the base will begin, which, of course, will lead to a decrease in quality.
Attention! How many bags of cement are actually poured into concrete is a value that tends to change up or down.
Dependence of cement powder consumption on related factors
You should know how many bags of cement are in one cube of concrete, focusing not only on mathematics and practical methods that are close to the “by eye” method. It depends on the following factors::
- the brand identity and how fast the mixture should set is desirable;
- plasticity and mobility of the mixture;
- the type of other fillers that are used for kneading.
In fact, you need to evaluate all the materials included in the mix. In this case, it will be clear how much concrete can be obtained from the powder material or how much cement in the concrete cube will be retained after kneading.