CONCRETE

AGGREGATES
PREPARED BY ADRIAN R. TOISA ADMIXTURES
 Intended Learning Outcome
• Identify the composition of concrete.
• Identify the types of portland cement and
its characteristics and application.
• Explain and discuss the concrete, aggregates
and admixtures.

PREPARED BY ADRIAN R. TOISA

 CONCRETE
Terminologies
Cement
Portland cement is a hydraulic cement made by
burning a mixture of clay and limestone in a rotary
kiln and pulverizing the resulting clinker into a very
fine powder.
Figure 2.1. 50 kg Cement
Water
The water used in a concrete mix must be free of
organic material, clay, and salts; a general criterion is
that the water should be fit for drinking.

Aggregates
Aggregate refers to any of various inert mineral
materials, as sand and gravel, added to a cement
paste to make concrete. Because aggregate
represents from 60% to 80% of the concrete volume,
its properties are important to the strength, weight,
and fire-resistance of the hardened concrete.
Figure 2.2. Aggregates
PREPARED BY ADRIAN R. TOISA
 CONCRETE
Terminologies
Cement Paste
A mixture of cement and water for coating,
setting, and binding the aggregate particles
together in a concrete mix.

Lightweight Concrete
Structural lightweight concrete, made with
Figure 2.3. Lightweight concrete panel.
expanded shale or slate aggregate, has a unit
weight from 85 to 115 pcf and compressive
strength comparable to that of normal
concrete.

Insulating Concrete
Made with perlite aggregate or a foaming
agent, has a unit less than 60 pcf and low
thermal conductivity.

Figure 2.4. Insulating concrete

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CONCRETE
Terminologies

Fine Aggregate
Consist of sand having a particle smaller
than ¼”.

Figure 2.5. Fine aggregate

Coarse Aggregate
Consist of crushed stone, gravel, or blast-
furnace slag having a particle size larger than
¼”.

Figure 2.6. Coarse aggregate

 General features of the main types of portland cement
Classification Applications

General construction (most buildings,

bridges, pavements, precast units,
Type I General Purpose etc)

Type II Moderate Sulfate Resistance Structures exposed to soil or water

containing sulfate ions

Type III High Early Strength Rapid construction, cold weather

concreting

Type IV Low heat of hydration (slow reacting) Massive structures such as

dams. Now rare

Type V High sulfate resistance Structures exposed to high levels of

sulfate ions

White White Color Decorative (otherwise has properties

similar to Type I)

The ASTM has designated five types of portland cement, designated Types I-V.
Figure 2.7. Portland cement types
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 CONCRETE
Concrete
Definition
Made by mixing cement and various mineral
aggregates with sufficient water to cause the
cement to set and bind the entire mass.

Inherently strong in compression.

Figure 2.8. Concrete bridge

Capable of being formed into almost any

shape with a variety of surface finishes and
textures.

Relatively low in cost and inherently fire-

resistant.
Figure 2.9. Concrete building

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 CONCRETE
Admixtures
The ingredients other than cement and other
cementitious materials, aggregates, and water.
It is often added to concrete to alter its
properties in various ways:

Air-entraining agents
Disperse microscopic, spherical air bubbles in Figure 2.10. Air-entraining agent
a concrete mix to increase workability, improve
resistance of the cured product to the cracking
induced by free-thaw cycles or scaling caused by
deicing chemicals, and in larger amounts, to
produce lightweight, insulating concrete.

Accelerator
Hasten the setting and the strength
development of a concrete mix in order to allow
more time for placing and working the mix.
Figure 2.11. Accelerator
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 CONCRETE
Admixtures

Surface-active agents

Or Surfacants, reduce the surface

tension of the mixing water in a
concrete mix, thereby facilitating the
wetting and penetrating action of
the water or aiding in the
emulsifying and dispersion of other
additives in the mix.

Figure 2.10. Surface-active agents

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 CONCRETE
Admixtures
Water-reducing agents
 Allow a reduction in the amount of mixing
water while retaining the same workability,
which results in a higher-strength concrete.

High-range water-reducing agents

Or superplasticizers, are organic compounds
that transform a stiff concrete mix into one that
flows freely into the forms. It is used either to
facilitate placement of concrete under difficult
circumstances or to reduce the water content of
a concrete mix in order to increase its strength.
Lowering the water-cement-ratio in this manner
results in increased strength. Figure 2.11.
Superplasticizer

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 CONCRETE
Admixtures
Coloring agents
 Pigments or dyes added to concrete mix to
alter or control its color

Retarders
 Slow the setting rate of concrete, used to
counteract the accelerating effect of hot Figure 2.10. Coloring agent
weather on concrete setting.

Retarders keep concrete workable during

placement and delay the initial set of
concrete.

Use only during hot weather.

The more retarder that is added to the mix,

the greater will be the delay of the set.
Figure 2.11. Retarder
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 CONCRETE
Admixtures

Workability agents
 Improve the plasticity of wet concrete to
make it easier to place in forms and finish.
They include pozzolans and air-entraining
admixtures, along with certain fly ashes and
organic compounds.
Figure 2.12. Shrinkage reducing agent
Shrinkage reducing agents
 Reduce drying shrinkage and the cracking
that results.

Corrosion inhibitors
 Are used to reduce rusting of reinforcing
steel in structures that are exposed to road
deicing salts or other corrosion-causing
chemicals.

PREPARED BY ADRIAN R. TOISA Figure 2.13. Retarder

 CONCRETE
Admixtures

Freeze protection
 Allow concrete to cure satisfactorily at
temperatures as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit
(7oC).

Extended set-control
 May be used to delay the curing reaction
in concrete for any period up to several days.

They include two components:

a) The stabilizer component, added at the
time of initial mixing, defers the onset of
curing indefinitely;
b) The activator component, added when Figure 2.13.
desired, reinitiates the curing process. Freeze protection/winter admixture

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 CONCRETE
Supplementary Cementitious Materials
Various mineral products, called supplementary cementitious materials
(SCMs), may be added to concrete mixtures as a substitute for some portion
of the portland cement to achieve a range of benefits. Supplementary
cementitious materials are classiffied as either pozzolans or hydraulic
cements.

Pozzolans are materials that react with the calcium hydroxide in wet
concrete to form cementing compounds. They include:
a) Fly ash
b) Silica fume
c) Natural pozzolans
d) Blast furnace

Figure 2.14.
Supplementary cementing material

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 CONCRETE
Supplementary Cementitious Materials
Fly Ash
 Also known as "pulverised fuel ash" in the United Kingdom, are powder that is a
waste product from coal-fired power plants, increases concrete strength, decreases
permeability, increases sulfate resistance, reduces temperature rise during curing,
reduces mixing water, and improves pumpability and workability of concrete.

 Ash that falls in the bottom of the boiler is called bottom ash.

 Fly ash also reduces concrete drying shrinkage.

Figure 2.15.
Fly ash

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 CONCRETE
Supplementary Cementitious Materials

Silica Fume
 Also known as microsilica, is a
powder that is approximately 100
times finer than portland cement,
consisting mostly of silicon dioxide.

It is a byproduct of electronic

semiconductor chip
manufacturing.

When added to a concrete mix,

it produces extremely high-
strength concrete that also has Figure 2.16.
Silica Fume
very low permeability.

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 CONCRETE
Supplementary Cementitious Materials
Natural Pozzolans

 mostly derived from shales or clays, These characteristics make it

are used for purposes such as especially well suited as an
reducing the internal temperature of ingredient in exposed architectural
curing concrete, reducing the concrete applications where
reactivity of concrete with aggregates appearance and finish quality are
containing sulfates, or improving the critical.
workability of concrete.

 High reactivity metakaolin is a

unique white-colored natural pozzolan
that enhances the brilliance of white
or colored concrete while also
improving the materials workability,
strength, and density.

Figure 2.17.
PREPARED BY ADRIAN R. TOISA Natural Pozzolan
 CONCRETE
Supplementary Cementitious Materials
Blast Furnace Slag

 Also called slag cement, a

byproduct of iron manufacture, is a
hydraulic cement, meaning that, like
portland cement, it reacts directly
with water to form a cementitious
compound. It may be added to
concrete mixes to improve
workability, increase strength,
reduce permeability, reduce
temperature rise during curing, and
improve sulfate resistance.
Figure 2.18.
Blast Furnace Slag powder

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 CONCRETE
Supplementary Cementitious Materials

Supplementary cementitious materials may be added to portland cement

during the cement manufacturing process, in which case the resulting
product is called a blended cement, or they may be added to the concrete
mix at the batch plant.

The use of supplementary cementitious materials also enhances the

sustainability of concrete by reducing reliance on more energy-intensive
portland cement and, in many cases, by making productive use of waste
products from other industrial manufacturing processes.

PREPARED BY ADRIAN R. TOISA

 t.y.!

REFERENCES:

Fundamentals of Building Construction: M a t e r i a l s a n d M e t h o d s

Dictionary of Architecture and Building construction by F.D.K. Ching