Concrete

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Concrete
Introduction
Concrete is effectively an artificial stone or rock. Its primary properties are that is is workable before hardening, strong in
compression and stays strong for extremely long timescales. Concrete is a strong hard building material composed of sand
and gravel and cement and water. It is used for making buildings, roads, bridges, vessels pipes etc etc etc. As the
concrete formulations develop concrete is increasing its range of applications such that it is making inroads into those
presently monopolised by metals. To enable concrete to withstand tensile loads it is often reinforced with steel rebars or
with natural or artificial fibres...
Concrete is a mixture of a binding agent (generally cement) to bond the other materials together :, fine aggregate (sand),
coarse aggregate ( gravel/stones ), and water.. A typical composition is about 7-15% cement, 14-21% water and the rest
agregate. The water/cement ratio (w/c) of the mixture has a control over the final properties of the concrete. The
water/cement ratio is the relative weight of the water to the cement in the mixture. The water/cement ratio is a factor
selected by the civil engineer. Selection of a w/c ratio gives the engineer control over two desirable properties: strength and
workability. A mixture with a high w/c will be more workable than a mixture with a low w/c: it will flow easier. But the less
workable the mixture, the stronger the concrete will be. The civil engineer must decide what ratio will give the best result for
the given situation. The water/cement ratio needs to be about 0.25 to complete the hydration reaction. Typical values of
w/c are between 0.35 and 0.40 because they give a good amount of workability without sacrificing a lot of strength.
Types of Concrete
Type of
Concrete

Description

This is the most common type of concrete and is made mostly from portand cement, sand,
aggregate and water. It is used reinforce and un-reinforce for structures, roads,
foundationa. The compositions of cement, sand and aggregate vary from 1:1:2 ( a richest
practical mixture) to 1:3 :6 (a lean mixture used for concrete filling)
Plain mass Concrete not strengthened by reinforcement. Used for foundations and mass structures such as
concrete
damn, and gravity retaining walls.. also called non-reinforced concrete
Lean
A plain concrete with a large ratio aggregate to cement than structural concrete. It is used for
concrete
filling and not structural duties
Lightweight concrete of such a quality that it is suitable for load-bearing members of structures.
Structural If it is a compact concrete made with stone aggregate , it is of comparatively high density
concrete
( about 2.4 ) and great strength. If it is based on lightweight aggregate then high strengths are
available but the design generally requires special considerations
Lightweight concrete of such a quality that it is suitable for load-bearing members of structures.
Reinforced If it is a compact concrete made with stone aggregate , it is of comparatively high density
concrete
( about 2.4 ) and great strength. If it is based on lightweight aggregate then high strengths are
available but the design generally requires special considerations
Structural concrete which is subjected to compression in those parts which in service are
Prestressed
subjecte to tensile forces so that generally,the concrete is nowhere is a state of tension under
concrete
the working load.
Cast in
This is deposited in its permanent position to harden. This is the most common method of
Place /Cast
construction and when to concrete is not deposited on the ground as for roads and similar it is
in Situ
generally placed in temporary moulds or is contained within formwork or shuttering.
Concrete
This is concrete which placed in separate moulds, under controlled factory conditions, to harden
and when required transferred to site for final erection. This procedure allow high quality
Precast
concrete castings to be made at low relative costs. This method is used for the production of
Concrete
paving slabs, bricks, road channels , kerbs lintels, fence posts, bridge beams etc etc. Precast
units can include re-inforcement and Engineered steel inserts.
This is concrete which includes high water content to allow sufficient workability to enable it to
be placed into complicated moulds or around extensive reinforcement. The concrete is then
Vacuum
subject to a vacuum which removes significant quantities of water resulting in a stronger
Concrete
concrete on hardening. Pumped concrete needs to include higher water content to improve the
flow characteristics. If a high strength concrete is required then special additives are use in
place of the additional water. Concrete pumping stations may be static or mobile
Concrete which is conveyed from the mixer to the point of deposit through pipes. The concrete
Pumped
is discharged from the mixer into a hopper which feeds it inot a pump which forces it through the
Concrete
pipe. The pipe is 100 or 150mm dia and the method can be used to pump over distances of
650m horizontally or 50m vertically., or some combination of these lengths.. lengths
This process is used for the production of vessels and pipes. The process involves feeding
Spun
relatively dry concrete into a rotating cylinderical mould. The concrete is flung against the wall
Concrete
be centrifugal action to form a dense hard impermeable wall.
Concrete which is made at a mixing plant and delivered to the site in special transport
Ready
vehicles. The transport includes a rotating drum in which the concrete is continuously mixed
mixed
until it is discharge on site. The mix specification is agreed between the supplier and the user
Concrete
prior to delivery and generally a high quality product results .
Cement
concrete

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12/8/2010

Concrete

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Water Resistant concrete can either be water proofed or watertight.

Waterproofed concrete is formed with a water resistant layer or surface whilst the mass
of concrete being ordinary concrete. The water tight layer can be formed using a spray
of lacquer, or applying a coat of asphalt or bitumen or using a wash of soda (water
glass)
A watertight concrete can be produced by ensuring and dense product using tight
quality control of the production process. The concrete so formed can be sufficiently
water-tight to enable use for tanks retaining water

Water
Resistant
Concrete

High
density
Concrete
Fibre
reinforced
Concrete

High density concrete for use as nuclear shield walls and ballast blocks and sea walls can be
produced by using different materials for the aggregate. Candidate materials include barytes,
haematite, iron shot, steel shot and lead shot.
High strength high performance concrete can be produced by including short fibres in the mix.
A number of reinforcement materials are available including glass, nylon, polypropylene, carbon
and steel. Concrete so formed as increased strength, impact resistance and greater strength.
This is an area of concrete development which is under continuous development.

Concrete Strength / Designation

Relevant Standards..
BS EN 206-1:2000 Concrete. Specification, performance, production and conformity
BS 8500:2002, Concrete. Complementary British Standard to BS EN 206-1. Method of specifying and guidance for the
specifier
Note: BS 5328: Parts 1-4: 1997- ..Has been superseded by the above standards..
According to the above standards the compressive strength class of a concrete is expressed as

Prefix: C for normal-weight and heavyweight concrete or LC for lightweight concrete

The minimum characteristic 150 300mm cylinder strength required
A Backslash (/)
The equivalent minimum characteristic 150mm (and, in the UK, 100mm) cube strength required.

The compressive strength classes are in N/mm (MPa)

Typical concrete classes include
Normal Concretes
C8/10, C12/15, C16/20, C20/25, C25/30, C28/35, C30/37, C32/40, C40/50, C50/60, C55/67, C60/75,
C70/85, C90/105, C100/115
Lightweight Concretes
LC8/9, LC12/13, LC16/18, LC20/22, LC25/28, LC30/33, LC35/38, LC40/44, LC50/55, LC55/60,
LC60/66, C70/77, LC80/88
Density of Concrete
Concrete is produced in a range of densities as listed below
Plain Concrete, with natural stone aggregate ...2300 kg/m3
Plain Concrete, with natural Broken brick aggregate...2000 kg/m3
Reinforced Concrete, with dense aggregate ...2400 kg/m3
Reinforced Concrete, with dense aggregate ...2400 kg/m3
Lightweight cellular (aerated) Concrete ...641 kg/m3
Lightweight aggregate structural grade Concrete ...1760 kg/m3
Lightweight aggregate (structural grade) Concrete ...1760 kg/m3
Steelshot aggregate Concrete ...5285 kg/m3

http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Matter/Concrete.html

12/8/2010