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Gateway
College of
Architecture and Design
Building Construction and Materials
– IV AR-208 C
(Mar-Jun 2022)

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 Lecture 05

(Expansion joints and Construction

joints)

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Type of Joints 3

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► Expansion Joints
► Contraction Joints
► Construction Joints
What is Expansion joint ? 4

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What is Expansion joint ? 5

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► Joints provided to accommodate the expansion of
adjacent building parts and relieve compressive stresses
that may other- wise develop.
► Expansion joints essentially provide a space between the
parts and may sometimes be provided with the load
transmitting devices between the parts and generally filled
with expansion joint filler which is compressible enough
to accommodate the expansion of adjacent parts, and
having ability to regain 75 percent of the original
thickness, when pressure is released.
► Expansion Joint (I) = co-efficient of linear expansion x
length of the structure in centimeter x change of
temperature in degree (F…cm)
► This joint is provided when the continuous length of a
structure exceeds 45m.
► In India, recommended distance is 30m from centre to
centre.
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Expansion Expansion
joint joint

• Desirable to locate the joints in Expansion

such a way that the distance of
joints from the nearest continuous joint
corner doesn't exceed 15m.
• The maximum thermal induced
movements likely to be
encountered varies from 10 to
40mm.
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Source :
IS.3414:1968
Material used for 8

Expansion Joints

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► JOINT FILLERS
► They are made out of a variety of materials such as bitumen,
bitumen containing cellular material, cork strips, natural or cellular
rubber, expanded plastic, mineral fibre, etc.
► The joint filler shall satisfy the following performance
requirements:
► Compressibility without extrusion, that is, it must be cellular;
► Ability to recover as early as possible 75 percent of its original
thickness when pressure is released;
► Durability and resistance to decay due to termite and weathering; and
Sufficient rigidity during handling and placing to permit the
formation of straight joints.
► For garage and factory floors the joint filler shall have high
resistance to ingress of foreign matter. Resistance to chemicals,
amount of extensibility, etc, will depend upon the nature of
exposure, therefore, the joint filler shall be specially designed for
the purpose.
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► SEALANT COMPOUND
► The sealing compound shall
satisfy the following
requirements:
► To seal the joint against the passage of water,
► To prevent the ingress of grit or other foreign matter, and
► To provide protection to the joint filler where necessary.
► The various characteristics properties of the sealing compound
those require consideration are adhesion, good extensibility,
resistance to flow, resistance to ingress of foreign matter,
resistance to weathering and resistance to oil, fuel and fat.
► Applied bituminous sealing compound shall conform to IS
: 1834- 1961.
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� WATER BARS

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� The function of water bar is
to seal joint against water
penetration.
� Water bars may be necessary
where the Joint is subject to
groundwater pressure or
where the method of
construction makes it
difficult the accurate sealing
of surface cavity, and where
it is very essential that there
shall not be any risk of
penetration of water.
► Galvanized steel sheets may also
be used with specific permission 11
&engineer-in-charge provided
the liquid stored or the

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atmosphere around the liquid
retaining structure is not exactly
corrosive, for example, sewage.

5.3.4.2 The thickness of metallic

sheet shall correspond to not
less than 0.56 mm Indian
Standard gauge sheets.
5.3.4.3 The strips shall he
supplied in uniform lengths of 2.3
to 3.5 m at the option of the
manufacturer, unless otherwise
ordered
It’s Architectural Importance 12

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► Expansion joints are utilized for various vital
architectural structures that particularly have a need
of these joints.
► Buildings particularly high rise are exposed to various
factors like weather, velocity, seismic activity, etc.
► An expansion joint is an assembly that is designed to
absorb safely expansion and contraction of different
construction materials caused by heat.
► These joints also absorb vibration and permit movement
due to earthquakes and ground settlement. They are
mostly found between sections of bridges, sidewalks,
piping structures, railway tracks, and other structures.
► Concrete slabs, building faces, and pipelines contract
and expand throughout the year because of the cooling
and warming due to some heat resources and through
seasonal variation.
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CONSTRUCTION JOINTS 20

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 Contraction/Control Joints
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► Contraction/control joints are placed in concrete slabs to
control random cracking.

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► A fresh concrete mixture is a fluid, plastic mass that can be
molded into virtually any shape, but as the material
hardens there is a reduction in volume or shrinkage.
► When shrinkage is restrained by contact with supporting
soils, granular fill, adjoining structures, or reinforcement
within the concrete, tensile stresses develop within the
concrete section. While concrete is very strong in
compression the tensile strength is only 8 to 12 percent of
the compressive strength. In effect, tensile stresses act
against the weakest property of the concrete material.
The result is cracking of the concrete.
► There are two basic strategies to control cracking for good
overall structural behaviour. 23
► One method is to provide steel reinforcement in the slab
which holds random cracks tightly.

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► The most widely used method to control random cracking
in concrete slabs is to place contraction/control joints in
the concrete surface at predetermined locations to
create weakened planes where the concrete can crack
in a straight line.
Questions 24

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► Discuss briefly about the Type of Joints.
► What is Expansion Joint.
► What type of material is used in expansion joint.
► Draw the details of Expansion joint under various
conditions.
► Detail of expansion joint in walls
► Detail of expansion joint at first floor level
► Detail of expansion joint at roof level
► Detail of expansion joint at foundation level
► Detail of expansion joint in sunshade

► Draw the details of Construction joint under

various conditions.
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► Thank You