Water cement ratio is the main factor which influences the workability of concrete. More the water content resulting in better workability because more water will be available for the lubrication purposes which help in rolling aggregates easily.
When the water cement ratio will be more, the shrinkage of concrete will be more. The shrinkage is one of the important factor that contributes the cracks in the concrete. The strength and workability is inversely proportional. The following graph shows the relation between strength and workability in the form of W/C Ratio. Workability is increased with the increase in W/C ratio uptoa extent and then reduces.
Thus lower the W/C ratio, greater is the strength of the concrete i.e. the strength of concrete decreases as the W/C ratio increases.
