*2.3. Physical Properties of Concrete Mixtures*

To determine the physical properties of the six studied mixtures (MC, ETC-10, ETC-20, ETC-30, ETC-40, ETC-50), slump, temperature and unit weight tests were carried out. All tests were carried out in accordance with the ASTM and ONNCCE.

According to the NMX-C-156-ONNCCE-2010 standard [49] for determining slump, a truncated conical mold was used where the fresh concrete was poured and compacted. The mold was placed over a base and raised upwards. The measure of the consistency or workability of the concrete was provided by the amount of concrete slumped and the distance slumped, see Figure 1a.

The temperature was determined according to the ASTM C 1064/C1064M-08 standard [50], which indicates that the concrete must be placed in a non-absorbent container with at least 75 mm of concrete in all directions from the temperature sensor, which must have a resolution of ±1.0 ◦C or smaller with an interval of 0 ◦C to 50 ◦C. The thermometer was submerged in fresh concrete to a minimum depth of 75 mm, leaving it for over 2 min until the reading was established (see Figure 1b). The unitary mixture was calculated according to the NMX-C-162-ONNCCE-2014 standard [51]; the equipment used for this test was a balance with a precision of 50 gr., maze of gum, ruler plate, verification plate, measuring container and compaction rod. The concrete was placed in three layers inside

the container, and each one was compacted via 25 penetrations with the compaction rod. When compression was complete, the mold was made flush with the ruler plate; finally, the container with the compacted concrete was weighed (see Figure 1c,d).

**Figure 1.** Tests of (**a**) Slump, (**b**) Temperature, (**c**,**d**) Unit weight.
