What is the Water-Cement Ratio? Explained in 1-Minute

Sat 18th Mar 2023 by ilyas

As the name implies, the water-cement ratio defines the ratio of water to cement. It is a very important metric when looking at the quality of a concrete mixture (in addition to the concrete slump).

What is the Water-Cement Ratio?

The water-cement ratio is defined very simply by the following equation:

Water-cement ratio =

W divided by C

Where w is the unit weight of water and c is the unit weight of cement in the concrete mix.

Example

Coming soon!

General Recommendations

In general, a low water-cement ratio is preferred since it leads to better strength and durability. However, remember that a low water-cement ratio will also affect the workability (i.e. flowability) of the concrete.

The Japanese building standards limit the water-cement ratio to a maximum value of 65% for most ordinary types of concrete.

For high-strength concrete, the water-cement ratio is limited to 50%.

Last Update 18/03/23 05:23 JST

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What is the Water-Cement Ratio? Explained in 1-Minute