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Hardened Concrete
Hardened Concrete
Hardened concrete
Fresh concrete, if left undisturbed, gradually stiffens until it may be said to have
“set”. However, its setting and hardening is not a simple process. In general it is known
that there is no well defined point at which concrete sets or passes from the plastic to
rigid condition. It is also reported that the setting time of neat paste can not be taken as an
index to the setting time of concrete, but the setting time of mortar correlates fairly well
with that of concrete.
During the hardening process the water reacts with the cement and a new
product, hardened cement paste (cement stone) is produced.
Fresh concrete containing only exact amount water required for hydration would
be very dry and exceedingly hard to place. In order to produce a workable concrete, far
more water is incorporated in the mixture than is necessary to hydrate all the cement.
This extra mixing water dilutes the cement paste and weakens its strength.
There is another disadvantage resulting from the use of too much mixing water.
Water occupies space in the fresh concrete. The surplus water, which does not go into the
reaction, evaporates and doing so it leaves capillary pores or voids. The more
uncombined water, the more voids will be left in the concrete, hence, the less the density,
strength and durability of the concrete.
The desired characteristics of concrete vary from one construction to the other and as
such they should be considered in relation to the quality required.
Compressive strength
Since most concrete structures are designed to resist compressive stresses, it is this
property which gets great attention. The strength of concrete is affected by a number of
factors the most important being the water cement ratio and the degree of compaction.
The other factors include the component materials (cement and aggregates), the age and
curing condition.
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Construction materials Hardened concrete
The effect of cement on the strength of concrete is dependent both on the type and
quantity of cement in the concrete.
For the same water cement ratio and degree of compaction, the compressive strength of
concrete decreases with the specific surface of the aggregate increases. Because as the
quantity of fine increases and the demand for water rises which consequently leads to a
weaker concrete.
Generally strength of concrete increases with time or age. Properly cured concrete will
gain good strength.
Tensile Strength
Concrete is brittle material and is not designed to carry tensile forces. Tensile capacity of
concrete is about 10% of its compressive strength.
Shear Strength
The shear strength is about 20 to 30% greater than the tensile strength or about 12 to 13%
of its compressive strength.
Elasticity
Concrete, like most other brittle materials, is imperfectly elastic. When subjected to a
compressive force, it deforms partly as a result of elastic strain or creep, and partly as a
result of plastic strain or creep, and as a consequence its stress-strain diagram is
curvilinear.
Concrete subjected to a sustained load exhibits two types of deformation. The first which
is referred to as the elastic strain, refers to the increasing strain under increasing load.
The second which is creep, relates to increase in strain under constant load.
Durability
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Construction materials Hardened concrete
The resistance of concrete to the effect of weather, to salt scaling and to chemical attack,
to mechanical damage resulting from abrasion or impact and the different aspects of
durability of concrete; and a concrete which withstands the conditions it is intended for,
without deteriorating, over a long period of time, is said to be durable.
In countries with temperate and tropical climate such as Ethiopia, the problem of freezing
and thawing does mot practically exist; however, it is quite possible that concrete in
service becomes exposed to chemical. Chemical attack is brought about by the
penetration of various agents of the environment (such as reactive liquids particularly
sulphates, polluted air, etc..) into the mass concrete and the chemical reaction of the such
agents with the different components of the concrete. The chemical reaction results in the
disintegration of the concrete. Failure of concrete to resist chemical attack is primarily a
failure of the cement paste; if the cement paste can be made resistant, the concrete will be
resistant and serviceable.