Tarantula Curve
After four intense years of designing over four thousand mixture designs and trial batching more than eight hundred mixtures, the Tarantula Curve was developed as a tool for proportioning aggregate for most concrete applications. While RCC, pervious concrete, and SCC concrete applications were not in the scope of the work, the research investigated slip formed paving and flowable concrete applications.
- Slip formed paving includes curb and gutters, pavements, and highways that use a slip formed paving machine.
- Flowable concrete applications includes traditional ready mix concrete such as sidewalks, floor slabs, fixed formed pavements, parking lots, walls, and pumpable concrete applications.
Sieve Size Limits
For each sieve sieve the Tarantula Curve provides a recommend maximum limit and a suggested minimum limit.
For each sieve sieve the Tarantula Curve provides a recommend maximum limit and a suggested minimum limit.
Coarse Sand Limits (#8 to #30)
The amount of coarse sand (#8 to #30) provides the cohesion properties of the concrete. For example, if the mixture does not have enough coarse sand volume, then the mixture will most likely segregate for slip formed and flowable applications and also edge slump for slip formed paving work. The research found slip formed paving
The amount of coarse sand (#8 to #30) provides the cohesion properties of the concrete. For example, if the mixture does not have enough coarse sand volume, then the mixture will most likely segregate for slip formed and flowable applications and also edge slump for slip formed paving work. The research found slip formed paving
Fine Sand Range (#30 to #200)
The amount of fine sand (#30 to #200) provides the finishability, consolidation, and richness of a mixture. The research found slip formed paving to have a fine sand (#30 to #200) range of 24% to 34% and flowable concrete applications to have a fine sand (#30 to #200) range of 25% to 40%. In other words, as the paste properties and volume changes the fine sand (#30 to #200) ranges will also slightly change.
The amount of fine sand (#30 to #200) provides the finishability, consolidation, and richness of a mixture. The research found slip formed paving to have a fine sand (#30 to #200) range of 24% to 34% and flowable concrete applications to have a fine sand (#30 to #200) range of 25% to 40%. In other words, as the paste properties and volume changes the fine sand (#30 to #200) ranges will also slightly change.
The Paste Variable
While the Tarantula Curve was not developed to create a new mixture design method, many ask mixture design questions such as "How much cement should I add?", "What is the w/cm ratio?", "How much fly ash replacement?", and so forth. These questions have baffled many mixture design methods for years. The Tarantula Curve helps to remove many of the aggregate proportioning questions of a mixture design method by providing insight into possible workability issues. Determine the paste variable of w/cm, admixture type, admixture dosage, scm replacement, cementitious content, and etc are ultimately determined by the design engineer and mixture designer.
While the Tarantula Curve was not developed to create a new mixture design method, many ask mixture design questions such as "How much cement should I add?", "What is the w/cm ratio?", "How much fly ash replacement?", and so forth. These questions have baffled many mixture design methods for years. The Tarantula Curve helps to remove many of the aggregate proportioning questions of a mixture design method by providing insight into possible workability issues. Determine the paste variable of w/cm, admixture type, admixture dosage, scm replacement, cementitious content, and etc are ultimately determined by the design engineer and mixture designer.
