M30 Mix Design Calculator
30 MPa Concrete | IS 10262:2019 Absolute Volume Method — Calculate Complete Mix Proportions, IS 456 Compliance Checks, Step-by-Step Workings & Batch Quantities for Any Pour Volume
IS 10262:2019IS 456:2000
fck = 30 MPafcm = 38.25 MPa
Absolute Volume MethodStep-by-Step
IS 456 Compliance
🏗️ M30 Concrete — Overview & Design Basis
IS 10262:2019 — Primary Method
IS 456:2000 Table 5 — Exposure Limits
IS 9103:1999 — Admixtures
IS 383:2016 — Aggregates
M30 is one of the most widely specified structural concrete grades in India — the minimum grade for Severe exposure class per IS 456:2000 Table 5, and the workhorse of commercial buildings, bridges, and infrastructure projects. This calculator implements the complete IS 10262:2019 Absolute Volume Method step by step, showing every formula and every calculated intermediate value — so results can be independently verified.
Enter your project-specific material properties below. The calculator uses IS 10262:2019 Table 2 for water content, the Bogue-correlation w/c relationship for target mean strength, and calculates FA/CA split based on IS 383 zone and fineness modulus adjustment.
M30 Grade — Key Design Parameters
Characteristic Strength fck: 30 MPa (28-day cube)
Standard Deviation S: 5.0 MPa (IS 10262 Table 1)
Target Mean Strength fcm: 30 + 1.65 × 5.0 = 38.25 MPa
Max w/c (Moderate exp.): 0.50 per IS 456 Table 5
Min Cement (Moderate): 300 kg/m³ per IS 456 Table 5
Min Grade IS 456 Table 5: M25 (Moderate), M30 (Severe)
IS 456 Minimum MSA: IS 456 Cl. 5.3.1 (cover / bar spacing)
⚙️ Mix Design Inputs — Enter Your Project Material Data
Mix Design Basis
Cement & Cementitious Materials
OPC 53: 3.15 | PPC: 2.89 | PSC: 2.90
FA: 15–35% | GGBS: 20–65% | SF: 5–15%
Fine & Coarse Aggregate
River Sand: 2.60–2.68 | M-Sand: 2.62–2.70
Calculated from sieve analysis — IS 2386 Pt.1
Granite: 2.63–2.70 | Basalt: 2.70–3.00
Granite: 0.2–1.5% | RCA: 3–8.5%
Admixture & Air
Non-AE vibrated concrete: 1.5–2.5%
Ready to Calculate
Enter your material properties above and click Calculate M30 Mix Design. The calculator will show complete IS 10262:2019 proportions, step-by-step workings, IS 456 compliance check, and batch quantities for your specified pour volume.
📐 Theoretical Background — IS 10262:2019 Method for M30
The following fixed parameters apply to all M30 designs per IS 10262:2019 and IS 456:2000, regardless of material inputs:
1 Target Mean Strength (fcm)
IS 10262:2019 Cl. 5.1 — fcm must account for production variability (SD = 5.0 MPa for M25–M35 per Table 1) so that only 5% of results fall below fck.
fcm = fck + k × S
= 30 + 1.65 × 5.0
= 30 + 8.25
= 38.25 MPa (target mean strength)
2 Water-Cement Ratio Selection
Lower of: strength-based w/c from Abrams’ Law correlation (OPC 53: w/c ≈ 0.46 for fcm = 38.25 MPa) AND IS 456 Table 5 maximum for exposure class.
Strength-based w/c (OPC 53, fcm 38.25 MPa):
w/c ≈ 0.46
IS 456 Table 5 maximum w/c by exposure:
Moderate: 0.50 | Severe: 0.45 | V.Severe: 0.40
Design w/c = min(0.46, IS 456 max)
3 Free Water Content (IS 10262 Table 2)
Water content is read from IS 10262:2019 Table 2 by slump and MSA (crushed aggregate basis), then adjusted for aggregate shape and SP water reduction.
Base water (crushed, 20mm MSA, 100mm slump) = 202 L/m³
Adjustment for M-Sand FA: +5 to +10 L/m³
SP water reduction (PCE 25%): × 0.75
Effective water = 202 × 0.75 ≈ 152 L/m³ (approx.)
4 Cement Content
Cement = Water / w/c. Check against IS 456 Table 5 minimum (300 kg/m³ for Moderate) and maximum (550 kg/m³, IS 456 Cl. 8.2.5).
C = W / (w/c) [kg/m³]
= 152 / 0.46 ≈ 330 kg/m³
Check: 330 ≥ 300 (IS 456 min) ✅
330 ≤ 550 (IS 456 max) ✅
5 Absolute Volume — Aggregate
V_agg = 1.000 − V_cement − V_SCM − V_water − V_air − V_admix
V_cem = C / (Sg_cem × 1000)
V_water= W / 1000
V_air = Air% / 100
V_SP = SP volume (L/m³) / 1000
V_agg = 1.000 − sum of above
6 FA/CA Split (IS 10262 Cl. 5.3)
Base FA% from IS 10262 Zone table; adjusted by FM deviation from 2.60 (±1.5% per 0.1 FM change).
Zone II (20mm MSA) base FA% = 40%
FM adjustment (FM 2.7 − 2.6 = +0.1):
ΔFA% = −1.5% per +0.1 FM = −1.5%
Adjusted FA% = 40 − 1.5 = 38.5%
FA mass = V_agg × 0.385 × Sg_FA × 1000
CA mass = V_agg × 0.615 × Sg_CA × 1000
📚 IS 456 M30 Requirements Quick Reference 2026
← Scroll
| Exposure Class | Min Grade | Max w/c | Min Cement (kg/m³) | Min Cover (mm) | M30 Suitability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mild | M20 | 0.60 | 300 | 20 | Over-specified |
| Moderate | M25 | 0.50 | 300 | 30 | ✅ Fully Compliant |
| Severe | M30 | 0.45 | 320 | 45 | ✅ Minimum Code Grade |
| Very Severe | M35 | 0.40 | 360 | 50 | ❌ M30 Not Permitted |
| Extreme | M40 | 0.35 | 380 | 75 | ❌ M30 Not Permitted |
IS 10262:2019 vs IS 10262:2009 — Key Changes for M30
The 2019 First Revision of IS 10262 updated Table 2 water content values (slightly revised for specific slump-MSA combinations), expanded Annexure B coverage of SCMs, and provided more explicit guidance on admixture water correction. For M30, the key practical change is the formal recognition of PCE SP water reduction in the calculation procedure, enabling cement-efficient M30 designs (350–380 kg/m³ OPC 53 range) that were previously harder to justify without explicit standard coverage. All calculations in this page implement IS 10262:2019 exclusively.