ABSTRACT
In concrete, water is a component that is as important as the binder; it influences the properties of both the fresh and the hardened concrete. As already seen in Chapter 3, it is the mass ratio of the mixing water (see Chapter 2 on definitions) to the binder that will determine, with the help of admixtures, the essential properties of the fresh and hardened concrete. The beauty of the notion of w/b is that, first, it places the two essential components of concrete on the same level as far as their importance is concerned; and, second, it emphasizes that their actions are tightly bound.
