REINFORCED CEMENT chapesr CONCRETE STRUCTURES INTRODUCTION GENERAL Cement concrete isa composite material obtained by mixing its three ingredients, namely, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and cement im predetermined proportions (which depend on the strength to be possessed by the concrete) with specified amount of water. The coarse aggregate may sometimes be referred as gravel or metal and fine aggregate is sand. Initially the mixture will be a plastic mass which can be poured in suitable moulds, called forms and becomes hard progressively. This process is known as selfing. The setting time can be divided into 3 distinct Phases, The fnitial set requires 30 to 60 minutes and during this phase the concrete decreases its plasticity and develops resistance to flow. The second phase, known as final set, may vary between 5 to 6 hours after mixing. During the third phase, known as progressive hardening the concrete increases its strength. The advantage of concrete is that it can be cast to any shape and size with an appropriate form work, With proper curing it attains most of its strength by the end of one month after mixing. The strength and hardness of concrete depend on the quality and proportions of the ingredients used and the properties of concrete vary almost as widely as different kinds of stones. The concrete described above is known as plait concrete, Concrete is fairly strong in compression and weak in tension and it-can be used where the tensile stresses are absent or negligibly small. However, the concrete used in beams, slabs etc, reinforcement bars (usually mild steel bars) have to be embedded in concrete at the tensile zones, The concrete is then called the reinforced cement corerele abbreviated as RCC.Merits of R.C. (a) The coefficient of linewr expansion of concrete is almost equal to that of steel, (H) Concrete can be moulded into any shape and size and its ingredient materials are easily available. {c) Cancrete constructions are economical and their maintenance cost is almost nil (d) Concrete is durable and is not easily affected by the atmospheric agencies (ce) Conerete is fire resistant and its construction is superior to steel and timber construction (f) Monolithic construction is possible with concrete and this provides a greater flexibility in planning and design. ‘Types of Cement, There are many typesof cement such as Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Low Heat Portland Cement, Portland — pozzolona Cement (PPC), High alumina cement, natural cements and special cements like masonry cement, expansive cement ete. The type of cement must be chosen such that it is the most appropriate to the work. The specifications to be satistied by the cement can be found in the relevant IS-code. Aggregates. Aggregates used for concrete must comply with the norms laid down in IS: 383-1970. Measurement of Materials. All the three ingredient materials have tobe measured by weight. In our country cement is supplied in bags weighing 30 kg each. The volume of cement in one bag may be taken as 34.5 litres that is 0.1345 m’. Water Cement Ratio. Water cement ratio is defined as the ratio of the volume of water used in making concrete to the volume of cement used. The workability and strength of concrete depend. on water cement ratio. For a given proportion of materials there is one optimum value of water cement. If the actual water cement is less than this optimum it will notonly reduce the strength but may be also insufficient to ensure complete setting of cement, Likewise, if the actual water cement ratio is more than optimum, it will increase the workability but decrease the strength. Some practical values of water cement for R-C.C, are about: 0.45 for 1:1; 2 concrete, 0.50 for 1: 1.5; 3 and 0.60 far 12:4, Durability of Concrete. The property of conerete by virtue of which it resists the disintegration and decay is called the durability. The disintegration and decay in concrete may be due to: (a) Use of unsound cement which produces changes in hardened concrete due to delayed chemical reactions. (b) Use of less durable aggregate which is acted upon by cement and atmospheric gases, (c) Excessive pores formed while making concrete, which permits harmful gases causing disintegration. (d) Freezing and thawing of water sucked through the cracks causing disintegration. (¢) Expansion and contraction occurring due to temperature changes, or alternate wetting and drying, One of the main characteristic of the concrete influencing the durability is its permenbility. Higher permeability permits rather the free flow of potentially deleterious substances like water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, chloride, sulphate and others. To ensure durability care should be takento see that proper ingredient materials are used, mixing and compaction is properly done and sufficient cover is provided for the embedded reinforcement bars. Workability of Concrete. Workability may be defined as the ease with which the concrete may be mixed, handled, transported, placed in position and compacted, The major factor influencing the workability is the amount of water present in the mix, The concrete mix proportions chosen should be such that the concrete is of adequate workability for the placing conditions of concrete and can be properly compacted. Grades of Concrete, IS 4156 : 2000 specifies 15 grades of concrete which are designated as MLO, M15, M20,.Mi25, M30,M35, M40, M45, M50,.M55, Mol, M65, M70, M75 anc M80 in which the letter M refers to the mix and the number that follows the letter M{ refers to the chanmcferisticstrengtiy in N/mm? (/.,) of 150 mm concrete cube at 28 days. Thus for example M20 grade refers toa concrete mix whose characteristic strength is 20 N/mm. The characteristic strength is defined as the strength of the material below which not more than 5% of the test results are expected to fall. Suppose n (say BO) cubes of M20) grade concrete are tested for their compressive strength, ‘Then at the maximum 0.05 n (that is 4) cubescan have strength of less than 20) N/mm? and the remaining 0.95 n (that is 76) cubes shall have strength more than or ‘equal to 20 Ni'mm?, From the definition of characteristic strength it is implied that there is only 5% chance or a probability of 0.05 for the actual strength to be less than the characteristic strength. To put it iin other words the characteristic strength has 95% reliability. The characteristic cube compressive strength of concrete is denoted by f,- An estimate of tensile strength of concrete in flexure denoted by f,, may be obtained from the following equation: heave 41) The modulus of elasticity of concrete denoted by E_ can be assumed as follows: E,= 5000 Fy eo.) 18. 456:2000 recommends that minimum grade of concrete used in reinforced cement concrete works shall not be less than M20. Steel Reinforcement. The steel reinforcement used in concrete are generally of the following types: (a) Mild steel bars conforming to 1S 432 (part-1): 1966 and Hot rolled mild steel deformed bars conforming to IS 1139: 1966, ‘These bars have yield strength of 250 N/mm?, Hence they are referred to as Fe 250 steel. (0) Hot rolled high yield strength deformed bars conforming, to IS 1139 : 1966 and Cold worked steel high strength deformed bars conforming to 1S 1786 : 1979 (Grade Fe 415 and Fe 500) having 0.2% proof stress as 415 N/mm? and 500 N/mm? respectively, These are also known as CTD (cold twisted deformed) bars. The idealized stress-strain curve for mild steel bars, and the stress-strain curves for CTD bars are shown in Fig. 14.1.