Concrete is a composite construction material composed of cement and other cementations materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate (generally a coarse aggregate made of gravels or crushed rocks such as limestone or granite, plus a fine aggregate such as sand), water and chemical admixtures.
- Cement is a substance that produced by burning a mixture of limestone and clay. - Fine and Coarse aggregates make up the bulk of a concrete mixture. Sand, natural gravel and crushed stone are mainly used for this purpose - Water used for mixing concrete should be free from substances such as silt, soil, organic acids and other organic materials such as salt and alkali. Usually the water used for mixing concrete is eligible drinking water or taken from approved source
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2.0 Basic Knowledge Of Cement
Types of cement in the market are listed below : a) Ordinary Portland Cement @ OPC (BS 12 : 1971). b) Rapid-Hardening Portland Cement @ RHPC (BS 12 : 1971). c) White & Coloured Portland Cement. d) Low Heat Portland Cement @ LHPC (BS 1370 : 1974). e) Portland-Blast furnace Cement (BS 146 : 1973). f) Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement (BS 4027 : 1972). g) High Strength Portland Cement . h) Masonry Cement (BS 5224 : 1976).
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CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF PORTLAND CEMENT: Name of Compound Chemical Composition Usual Abbreviation
Tricalcium Silicate 3CaO.SiO 2 C 3 S Quick Reaction Dicalcium Silicate 2CaO.SiO 2 C 2 S Slow Reaction Tricalcium Aluminate 3CaO.Al 2 O 3 C 3 A Very Quick Reaction Tetra-Calcium Aluminoferrite 4CaO.Al 2 O 3 Fe 2 O 3 C 4 AF Not Very Important
Hydration of water in cement : When cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and water are mixed and blended, water and cement come together through a chemical process called hydration and produced cement paste. This cement paste was acted as a binder/adhesive to the concrete components such as fine (sand) or coarse aggregates.
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Function of chemical substances in cement : - to modify the properties of hardened concrete. - to ensure the quality of concrete during mixing, transporting, placing, and curing. - to overcome certain emergencies during concrete operations.
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3.0 Storage Methods of Cement
Storage methods in a factory - By using silos storage method -
Storage methods at the construction site - In most construction projects godowns are constructed at site for storage of a few days requirement of cement. - cement bags should be laid on a dry platform made of wooden planks resting over brick-masonry concrete, dry sand aggregates raised about 15 cm above the ground level.
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4.0 Fine and Coarse Aggregate
Criteria For Aggregates 1. Aggregate is used to describe the gravels, crushed stones & other materials which are mixed with cement & water to make concrete. 2. Aggregate is form 75% of the volume of concrete, so chosen the suitable materials is important & also aggregate should contain no constituent material which might have adverse affect of the hardening of cement or the durability of hardened cement.
Physical properties : Normal Density Aggregate: 1. Aggregate having a specific gravity between about 2.5 and 3.0 & a bulk density in ranges 1450 to 1750 kg/m 3 . 2. It can be classified as normal aggregate and it may be of crushed aggregate or naturally reduced in size.
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Light Weight Aggregate: 1. Any aggregate with a particle density of less than 200 kg/m 3 or dry loose bulk density of less than 1200 kg/m 3 is defined as Light Weight Aggregate. 2. Subdivided into following groups: Naturally Occurring Materials Important examples of these are pumice, volcanic tuff, porous limestone. Naturally Occurring Materials Which Required Further Processing Expanded Clay, Shale & Slate and other Expanded Minerals such as Perlite & Vermiculite. Materials Which Occur as Industrial By Products Sintered Pulverished Fuel Ash (Fly Ash), Sintered Slate & Colliery Waste, Foamed or Expanded Blast Furnace Slag. Has Low Density & High Water Absorption. Other characteristic of concrete using Light Weight Concrete are coarse surface texture due to reduced workability, lower tensile strength, lower modulus of elasticity (50% - 70% of the normal concrete), tendency to segregate, higher creep and shrinkage. High Density Aggregate: 1. Aggregate of specific gravity, that is ranging from 2.8 to 2.0 & unit weight from 2800 to 2900 kg/m 3 are used to make high density concrete. 2. Examples of aggregate: magnetite & barytes. 3. The compressive strength: 20 21 N/mm 2 . 4. The cement-aggregate ratio varies from 1:5 & 1:9 with a water-cement ratio between 0.5 0.65. They produce dense & crack free concrete. 5. This aggregate is not suitably graded and hence, it is difficult to have adequate workability without segregation.
Functions of aggregate in concrete. The functions of aggregate in concrete is as a mass particle which are suitable for resisting action of applied load, abrasion & percolation of moisture and the action of weather. It is also as to reduce the volume changes resulting from setting and hardening of concrete
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5.0 Properties of Water Used In Concrete Mixtures
QUALITY OF WATER SUITABLE FOR CONCRETE MIXTURE: It should be free from oil. It should be potable i.e. Fit for drinking purpose. Free from acids or alkalis or other such organics impurities. The PH value of water shall generally be not less than 6. Free from iron, vegetable matter or any other substance which is likely to have adverse effect on concrete. Salt water is not recommended because of the present of harmful salt
FUNCTION OF WATER IN THE CONCRETE MIXTURE: 1) To enable the chemical reaction which cause setting & hardening. 2) To lubricate the mixture of gravel, sand and cement in order to facilitate placing. 3) To easy a workability for concrete mixture.
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6.0 Basic Concept Of Concrete Mix
DEFINITION OF CONCRETE MIXTURE: - process of selecting the appropriate constituents of concrete materials to produce concrete mixes that can be strong, tough, has high workability and economical. CONCRETE MIX RATIO: 1) The use of concrete to determine the required mix ratio. 2) Normally, concrete is strong in compression stresses but weak in the tensile stress. 3) Mix ratio usually used was 1:2:4 (cement: sand: coarse aggregate), 1:3:6 and 1:5:10 depended on its purpose and application. 4) Table below shown an example of concrete mix ratio that depends on its purpose: MIX RATIO USES 1:1.5:3 For Pre-Cast Concrete, Water Tank, etc 1:2:4 For Reinforced Concrete to make column, beam, wall, etc 1:3:6 For Floor, Mass Concrete, etc 1:5:10 For site wall in the trenches of hard ground and a concrete floor under suspension
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7.0 Fresh Concrete
Fresh concrete is a mixture of water, cement, aggregate and admixture. The constituents materials should be uniformly distributed after mixing within the concrete mass during handling and placing. Workability of fresh concrete, that is the ease with which concrete is placed and consolidated
Factors influencing workability : a) Water-Cement Ratio. b) Aggregate-Cement Ratio. c) Admixture/Additives Substances. d) Shape & Fleshiness of Aggregate. e) Time & Temperature.
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8.0 Additives In Concrete Mixture
Types of additive : RETARDING SUBSTANCES ACCLERATING SUBSTANCES SUPERPLASTICIZER SUBSTANCES WATER REDUCING SUBSTANCES AIR ENTRAINING SUBSTANCES