Differences Between Workability and Consistency of Concrete

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        Dear readers, welcome to the Civil Allied Gyan. The consistency and workability of concrete often confused with one another. Therefore, we have explained the difference in the consistency and workability of cement here. After reading this article, you will be able to easily explain the differences between workability and consistency of cement.

Differences Between Workability and Consistency of Concrete

Table of Contents  (toc)

First we will know that what is the consistency and workability of concrete.

What is Workability of Concrete?

The workability of concrete is the degree of ease which refers how easily the concrete mix can be moved and placed in the framework, consolidated and finished without any segregation.

What is the Consistency of Concrete?

The consistency of concrete is the degree of wetness of concrete. The value of consistency of concrete shows that how much wet the concrete is.

ACI (American Concrete Institute) define the consistency of concrete as follows:
“Consistency is the relative mobility or ability of freshly mixed concrete or mortar to flow”.

What is the Plastic Consistency of Concrete Mixtures?

Plastic consistency of concrete indicates a condition where applied stress will result in continuous deformation without rupture. A plastic mixture possesses cohesion and does not crumble. It flows sluggishly and without segregation.

Differences Between Workability and Consistency

Differences Between Workability and Consistency of Concrete


Workability of concrete refers to the ease of trowling or shifting the freshly mixed concrete within a mould, to avoid voids. It is a fluid property.

Consistency of concrete refers to the homogeneity of the freshly mixed concrete, the even distribution of cement and of fillers like gravel.

In other words:-

Workability is the ability of concrete which refers how easily the concrete can be mixed, transported, placed, compacted and finished with minimal loss of homogeneity.

Consistency is the relative mobility or ability of freshly mixed concrete to flow. It covers the entire range from the driest to the wettest possible mixtures.

In short

Consistency is composition and ingredients and workability is ease of use.


Facts About Workability of Concrete

Workability of concrete is not an inherent property. Because, it depends on factors such as the condition where concrete needs to be poured, how concrete is moved, compacted and finished.

Know more about:

For example, a relatively dry concrete mix is workable enough in construction of a large structure using a roller compacter. But, it is not workable enough if it is meant to be used for thinner structures such as beam, column, thin wall. That is, concretes having same consistency may vary in workability.

It is often said that increasing the amount of water increases workability of the concrete. However, this is not always true. Increasing the amount of water or degree of wetness doesn’t always increases the workability of a material. If water is increased then there are more chances of segregation of concrete. If concrete is segregated then it means that coarse aggregates are separated from the fine aggregates. In this case as coarse aggregates settles down then it is difficult to move and place the concrete in framework. And in this way the workability of concrete will be reduced.

In other words, workability of concrete reduces due to segregation. In addition to water, workability of fresh concrete also depends on size, spacing of reinforcing and ratio of coarse and fine aggregates.

There are different tests for measure workability of concrete. For example, slump test measures the workability and compacting factor test measures the compact ability of the concrete mix.

Read also
1. Compacting factor test of concrete
2. Workability of concrete by slump test


Facts About Consistency of Concrete

Consistency of concrete cannot measure the workability but it can give an indication to workability of concrete.

Consistency of concrete is measured with the help of vee bee consistometer test.

Read also
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