CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND TESTING

COURSE CODE: mkbp222

INTRODUCTION
IMPORTANCE OF STUDY OF MATERIALS FOR
CONSTRUCTION
 The basic concern of a civil engineer is the design,
construction, supervision and maintenance of different
type of structures such as buildings, bridges, canals,
tube wells, water tanks, roads, etc.
 A key element in field practice is to deal with different
types of materials.
 This entails drawing up detailed specifications,
selecting the material, storage, sampling and testing,
maintaining material inventories, etc.
 A study of these aspects of materials and their
application in construction is very important in Civil
engineering.
 Corrosion
 Durability
 Soundness
PHYICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
 It is defined as the ratio of the weight of material per
unit volume (not including air holes and pores) to the
weight of an equal volume of water under standard
conditions. This property is used to calculate the
density & porosity of materials.
DENSITY
It is defined as the mass of a material per unit of its
volume.

CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIALS
According to Chemical Composition
ORGANIC
 Contains carbon as the basic element.
 Include materials like timber, plastics, asphalt,
bitumen, etc.

IN-ORGANIC
 Comes the silicaceous materials essentially containing
silica, calcareous materials containing calcium and
argillaceous material like clay.
 Some common building material are metals: elements
like iron, copper, etc.
According to their Use
 Solid Building Materials - Stones, bricks, etc
 Binding Materials - Cement (silicaceous), lime
(calcareous), clay (argillaceous), bitumen (organic),
etc.
 Finishing Materials - Paint, varnish, distemper, etc
 Insulating Materials - Wool, glass wool, expanded
clays, etc
OTHER CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIALS
• Naturally occurring - Stones, timber, metals, etc.
which needs only to be recovered and processed.
• Manufactured materials - Plastics, concrete, mortars,
etc.
BULK DENSITY / UNIT WEIGHT
 It is defined as the total weight including solids and
voids of any granular material per unit of its total
volume.
POROSITY
 It is defined as the ratio of the volume of voids in a
material to the total volume a granular material.
WATER ABSORPTION
 The property of material by virtue of which it absorbs
water from ambience, which is important in the case of
stone and bricks.
HYGROSCOPICITY
 The property whereby a material absorbs water present
in the ambience, as in the case of salt, sugar, etc. Timber
is hygroscopic material.

PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS PERMEABILITY

PHYSICAL MECHANICAL/  The property whereby a material allows water to pass
STRENGTH through its pores. It is important in the case of soil.
 Specific Gravity  Elasticity
 Density  Toughness FIRE RESISTANCE
 Bulk Density or Unit  Plasticity  Some materials, like petroleum, are inflammable
Weight  ResilienceHardness (readily catch fire) while others are combustible (can be
 Porosity  Brittleness burnt but may not readily ignite).
 Water Absorption  Ductility Timber is combustible but not inflammable. Fire raises
 Hygroscopicity  Fatigue the temperature of otherwise fire resistant materials,
 Permeability  CreepAbrasive sometimes causing damage by expansion.
 Fire resistance Resistance
 Thermal properties  Impact Strength THERMAL PROPERTIES
 Sound transmission  Strength Properties
properties
Thermal properties are important in the heating and  Is the property of the material whereby it retains a
cooling of rooms and in designing suitable thermal change in shape or size after removal of the load. It
insulation. is important when a material has to be moulded into
 Heat capacity – is defined as the amount of heat different shapes.
required to raise the temperature of a unit mass
of the substance by one degree. RESILIENCE
 Thermal conductivity – is the amount of heat  It is the ability of a material to recover its size
transmitted in unit time through unit area over and form after deformation.
unit length perpendicular to the direction of heat
when the temperature gradient across the heat
conducting unit is 1 degree.
 Thermal resistivity – is the reciprocal of
thermal conductivity, and is defined as the time
taken for a unit heat to be transferred under the
above conditions.

SOUND TRANSMISSION PROPERTIES HARDNESS

The transmission of sound, which is a form of energy,
can be studied by measuring energy levels at different
locations.
 Decibels– one tenth of a bel, used to define
sound intensities, which vary according to a
logarithmic scale. Also used to indicate sound
reduction factor. This is the ratio of the energy
level at source to that at any other location,
which also depends on frequency.
 Sound absorption– is the property generally of
porous materials whereby sound reflected by
their surface is appreciably reduced.
 Sound insulation– is a characteristics of various
forms of construction, for instance, walls,
whereby the transmission of sound through them
is reduced. Transmission loss is the loss in
intensity of sound expressed in decibels.
CORROSION
 Is the gradual destruction of metal or ally due to
chemical processes such as oxidation.
DURABILITY
 Is the resistance of a material to destruction by
natural agencies.
SOUNDNESS
 Is the resistance of a material to its deterioration due
to heat, alternate freezing and thawing, etc. it is
important in the case of cement, aggregate, etc.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
ELASTICITY
 The property of a material whereby it tends to regain
its shape after the removal of an applied load.
 Depends upon the magnitude of the load.
 Some materials are not elastic even under small loads
while some others are able to withstand larger loads.
The stress at the limiting point is known as the elastic
limit.
 It is the resistance offered by any material to
indentation, scratching, cutting or wear by abrasion.
BRITTLENESS
 Refers to the tendency of a material to shatter on
receiving a shock.
DUCTILITY
 It is the capacity to undergo large plastic deformation
before actual failure. This property allows the drawing
of thin wire of a metal.
FATIGUE
 Is the failure of a material by cracking resulting from
repeated straining action.
CREEP
 Is the property whereby a material undergoes
deformation with respect to time under a constant
load. This is over and above the instantaneous elastic
strain.
ABRASIVE RESISTANCE
 Is the ability of a material to resist wearing due to
contact with another surface moving with respect to it.
This is important in road surfaces, warehouse floors,
etc.
IMPACT STRENGTH
 Refers to the ability of a material to withstand shock.

TOUGHNESS
 Is the property of the material whereby it absorbs
energy due to straining actions by undergoing plastic
deformation.

PLASTICITY STRENGTH PROPERTIES

 Tensile strength – i.e. the maximum stress a
material can withstand under a tensile
 Types of Building Materials Used in
Construction
SAMPLING AND TESTING  Wood
• Testing of a material is an important adjunction of  Bamboo
their use.  Concrete
• It is necessary before, during and after construction.  Bricks
• Tests may be destructive, as in strength tests up to  Glass
failure, or non-destructive, where the sample is not  Ceramics
rendered unusable.  Steel
• As it impossible to test all materials used in  Carbon Fiber
construction, one resorts to sampling i.e. the  Copper
process of selecting a representative sample for  Aluminum
testing out of the lot supplied. It is possible to  Plastic
predict the properties of the lot from the tests  Foam
results of the sample using statistical procedure.  Plaster
• Testing followed standard prescribed procedures to  Dimension Stone
obtain uniformity of results for purposes of  Fabric
comparison. This means maintaining standard  Paper
conditions for tests like temperature, rate of  Minerals
loading, moisture content, etc. as specified for a  Fibers
particular test.
• Testing equipment have been standardized and
specified according to various consultation with various
users.
STONES
Definition
 Stones are naturally occurring compact, slid and
massive material that make the crust of the earth
 Technically the stones are called as rocks. The rocks
occur in great variety. The rocks occur in great variety.
The rocks possess suitable properties often find use in
building stones. It follows that all building stones are
rocks in nature, all rocks may not be useful as building
stones Classification of stones
 The building stones are classified in three ways:
Introduction Geologically, Chemically, and Physically
 Stones have been used in all type of construction since
time immemorial. The pyramids of Egypt, The Eiffel a.Geological Classification:
tower, The temple of Jagannathpuri, the Taj Mahal,  This classification is based on mode of formation
the red fort, the great wall of china and hundreds of of the rock from which building stones are btained.
historical buildings in each big country are made of Three main group recognized are: Igneous Rocks,
stones. The greatest thing about stone is that they are Sedimentary Rocks, Metamorphic Rocks
natural and do not required to be manufactured. I. Igneous Rocks
 Stone, timber and clay had been the most commonly (a) The Plutonic Rocks
construction used material right from the beginning of  These are formed at greater depth below the
the civilization till the advent of Portland cement and surface. They are exposed on the surface by
hence concrete in the early nineteenth century. erosion of the overlying secondary rocks with
passage of time. They are coarsely
HISTORICAL BUILDINGS crystallized. i.e. the component of crystals can
be easily seen without the help of magnifying
glasses. Granites, Syenites and gabbros are
typixally igneous plutonic rocks

(b) The Volcanic Rocks

 These are formed on the surface of the earth
from lava coming out of numerous volcanoes
that erupt from time to time. Basalt and trap
rocks are very common examples; the
constituents minerals are so small that they
can be seen only after magnifying under
microscope.

(c) The Hypabyssal Rocks

 These are formed at shallow depths, about 2-
3 km below the surface from mgma that
 could not come out as lava. They show
crystal that are partly coarse and partly fine
in size. Rock known as porphyries belong to
this group
II. Sedimentary Rocks
 Sedimentary Rocks (sediment=particle)
 They are the most widespread rocks covering a
great part of the surface of earth. The Sedimentary
rock are formed from any type of preexisting rocks
by a simple process of breakdown into smaller
particles under the influence of natural agencies like
wind, water and ice and atmospheric gases.
 The natural process of rock disintegration are
called weathering and erosion. The sediments
produced by natural agencies are transported by
these very natural agencies to riverbed, lake basin,
seas and oceans where this deposition takes place
for millions of years. Gradually, the particles so
deposited are compressed under their own load into
hard massive rocks, called secondary rocks. Since
they are formed of sediments it is quite appropriate
to call them sedimentary rocks.
 Just like igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks may
also be formed in different manners. These sub
group of sedimentary rocks are: Clastic Rocks,
Chemically formed Rocks, Organically formed
Rocks
(a) Clastic Rocks
 Formed by deposition and consolidation of
disintegrated sediments and fragments from the
previous rocks in suitable river basins, lake and the
sea basins etc. They are most widespread and
include such types as sandstones, hales, breccias
and conglomerates. Sandstones are made mostly of
silica grains together or thoroughly compacted
under natural environment. They form very good
type of building stone.
(b) Chemically formed Rocks
 Many sedimentary rocks are precipitated form
river, lake and especially from seawater by
evaporation etc. some of the components of
previous rocks are taken in solution during the
processes of weathering and erosion. The water
may get saturated with these compounds with
passage of time and precipitate them. The huge
accumulation of these precipitates and evaporates
ultimately may form rock deposits of considerable
importance. Limestones, Gypsum, anhydrite and
rock salts are few examples of chemically formed
sedimentary rocks. None of them are used as
building stones.
(c) Organic formed Sedimentary Rocks
 As we know that more than 70% of the surface of
earth is covered with water in the form of sea and
oceans. Great variety of life exists in these great
water bodies. Many sea animals have their hard
parts made up of bones, which are a mixture of
calcium and magnesium carbonates. These parts
accumulate at proper places on the sea floor.
Gradually huge thickness of such deposits get
formed and compacted and consolidates with
passage of time. These are the organically formed
sedimentary rocks. The best example of organically
formed sedimentary rock is a great variety of
limestone, which now form the greater part of many
mountains of the earth including Himalayas. Many
massive types of limestone form best type of
building stones.
III. Metamorphic Rocks
 (meta=Change; morph=form) These are originally
either igneous or sedimentary rocks. The process
for their change under the influence of increased
temperature, pressure, and chemical environment
is called metamorphism. When an existing rock
gets subjected to increased temperature or changed
stresses and chemically active fluids it undergoes a
slow but definite change in its original structure
and chemical composition. The new rock so
formed is called metamorphic rock.
 To well-known example of metamorphic rock are
marble and slate. Marble is formed in natural
environment by very gradual heating of
sedimentary rocks, limestone, in its natural
environment. The heating may be caused by rise of
magma from below in a limestone area. Similarly,
another sedimentary rock, shale may be formed
combined action of temperature, pressure &
chemically active fluids that it gets changed to a
metamorphic rock slate.
 The nature of change of an original rock depend on
following factors:
 (i) The type of agent/s operating
 (Temperature, Pressure, chemically active fluid
etc.)
 The duration of operation of the above agent
 The nature and composition of the original rocks,
Some very common metamorphic rocks are
Marble, Quartzite, Gneiss, Slate and Schist; The
first three rocks are very good building stones in
many cases.
b.Chemically Classification:
 On the basis of dominant chemical composition,
following three main groups of rocks are commonly
recognized:
I. Siliceous Rocks
 These rock have SILICA (SiO2) as the
predominant component, that is more than 50% of
the bulk composition of the rock
 These include variety of quartzites. Naturally they
are classed among the strongest type of building
stones. Some other rocks like granites, sandstones
and gneisses are also made up of Silica in
combined form
II. Calcareous Rocks
 In these rocks, the dominant component is a
carbonate, generally of calcium but often with
magnesium. Most commonly they belong to
sedimentary and metamorphic group of rocks.
Limestone, dolomite and marbles are ntirely
carbonate rocks and all form good building stone.
III. Argillaceous Rocks
  They are mostly sedimentary rocks having clay
(hydrous alumino silicates of K, Na, Ca, Mg, etc.)
as a dominant constituent. They are invariably
soft and untrustworthy as building stone and
untrustworthy as building stones. Shales, Slates,
and Schists are examples
C. Physically/Structural Classification:
 Broadly speaking, in apparent structures, the rock
(Stones) may either be found in the form of
undifferentiated masses or the occur in very well
defined layers or sheets. A third category is foliated
rocks.
I. The Massive or Unstratified Rocks
 These rocks occur in huge masses without
showing any layered structure in them. Igneous
and many metamorphic rocks and some
sedimentary rocks may be seen occurring as big
masses. Granite and Quartzite often occur in
massive form.
II. The Stratified Rocks
 Most sedimentary rocks occur in distinct layers of
same and different color and composition. Their
different layers are also called beds and are
separated by planes of weaknesses called bedding
planes.
III. Foliated Rocks
 Very often a third group of rock is distinguished
as foliated rocks in which there is profuse
development of well-defined band of different
composition. His is seen as schists and gneisses.
The foliated rocks do not yield building stone of
good quality.
REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD BUILDING STONE
1. Strength 6. Toughness
2. Durability (weight) 7. Specific Gravity
and Unit
3. Cost 8. Porosity and Absorption
4. Appearance 9. Dressing
5. Hardness 10. Seasoning
DURABILIITY
The Durability of stone depends upon the relation
between its chemical composition and that of the
atmospheric surroundings
CONCRETE
INTRODUCTION OF CONCRETE
 Concrete is a mixture of sand, gravel, crushed rock or
other aggregate held together by a hardened paste of
cement and water.
 This mixture, when properly proportioned, is at first a
plastic mass that can be cast or molded into a
predetermined size and shape.
 Upon hydration of the cement by the water, concrete
becomes stone like in strength, hardness and
durability.
COST
The Cost of a stone depends upon the ease with which it
can be carried out, the proximity of the quarry to the
place of use and transportation facilities available
APPEARANCE
A primary factor, its color and ability to receive polish is
an important factor
OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD
BUILDING STONE
 The stone used in floors, pavements and bridges should
be able to resist the abrasive forces caused due to wear
and friction
 Building stones should be tough enough to withstand
stresses developed due to vibration of machinery and
moving loads over them
 The specific gravity of good building stones should be
between 2.4 and 2.8
 A good stone should not be porous. Rain water, which
is generally acidic, slipping into pores, reacts with the
constituents of the stones causing them to crumble
 Giving a definite shape a natural: stone is known as
dressing. Building stone should possess good dressing
properties to make it amenable for carving and other
structural works.
 Good stone must be free from quarry sap. To ensure
this, the stones after quarrying and dressing must be left
for a period of 6 to 12 months for proper seasoning,
before using in a construction work.
TESTING OF STONES
1. Acid test
2. Attrition Test – is done to determine the rate of wear of
stones
3. Crushing Test – used to determine the compressive
strength of a stone
4. Freezing and Thawing Test
5. Hardness Test
6. Impact Test
7. Water Absorption Test
QUARRYING OF STONES
 It is known that stones occur in nature in the form of
natural rock masses forming hills or walls f valleys.
These have to be broken and extracted from those
natural outcrops for using in the construction. The
process of extraction of suitable stones form their
natural place of occurrence for use in construction is
called quarrying.
coarse aggregate
Difference between cement and concrete
 Cement is actually an ingredient of concrete.
 Concrete is basically a mixture of aggregates and
paste. The aggregates are sand and gravel or crushed
stone; the paste is water and Portland cement.
 Concrete gets stronger as it gets older. Portland
cement is not a brand name, but the generic term for
 the type of cement used in virtually all concrete, just
as stainless is a type of steel and sterling a type of
silver.
 Cement comprises from 10 to 15 percent of the
concrete mix, by volume. Through a process called
hydration, the cement and water harden and bind the
aggregates into a rocklike mass.
 This hardening process continues for years meaning
that concrete gets stronger as it gets older.
 So, there is no such thing as a cement sidewalk, or a
cement mixer; the proper terms are concrete sidewalk
and concrete mixer.
c. Aggregates
 Chemically inert, solid bodies, held together by the
cement.
 Come in various shapes, sizes and materials ranging
from fine particles of sand to large, coarse rock.
 Soft, porous aggregates can result in weak concrete
with low wear resistance.
 Hard aggregates can make strong concrete with high
resistance to abrasion
 Should be clean, hard and strong. Usually washed to
remove any dust silt, clay, and organic matter.

Classifications of concrete d. Admixture

 Based on unit weight  A material, other than aggregates, cement, or water,
 Ultra light concrete < 1,200 kg/m3 added in small quantities to the mix in order to
 Lightweight concrete 1200 - 1,800 kg/m3 produce some desired modifications, either to the
 Normal-weight concrete = 2,400 kg/m3 (Unit physical or chemical properties of the mix or of the
weight = 23.54 N/mm2) hardened product.
 Heavyweight concrete > 3,200 kg/m3  The most common admixtures affect plasticity, air
 Based on strength (of cylindrical sample) entrainment and curing time.
 Low-strength concrete < 20 MPa compressive
strength Properties of concrete
 Moderate-strength concrete 20 - 50 MPa a. Grades of Concrete
compressive strength  Generally graded according to its compressive
 High-strength concrete 50 – 200 MPa strength at 28 days
compressive strength  Concrete hardens and gains strength as it
 Ultra high-strength concrete > 200 MPa hydrates. The hydration process continues over a
compressive strength long period of time. It happens rapidly at first and
slows down as time goes by. To measure the
 Based on additives: ultimate strength of concrete would require a wait
 Normal concrete of several years. This would be impractical, so a
 Fiber reinforced concrete time period of 28 days was selected by
 Polymer concrete specification writing authorities as the age that all
Materials used in concrete: concrete should be tested. At this age, a
a. Cement b. Water substantial percentage of the hydration has taken
c. Aggregates d. Admixture place.
 The various grades of concrete as stipulated in
a. Cement codes of Practice BS8110 grouped the grade in
 A mixture of compounds made by burning nine categories which is best known based on
limestone and clay together at very high their characteristic strength in N/mm2
temperature ranging from 1400 to 1500°C. The
production of Portland cement begins with the Grades of concrete proposed by Code Practice BS8110
quarrying of limestone, CaCO3. Then mixed with Grad Characteristic Lowest grade suitable for
Clay (or shale), sand and iron ore and ground together to e strength specific purposes
form a homogenous powder. (N/mm2)
7 7.0 Mass concrete
b. Water 10 10.0
 It is the key ingredient. 15 15.0 Reinforced concrete using
 When mixed with cement, forms a paste that binds lightweight aggregates
the aggregates together 20 20.0 Reinforced concrete using
 Water causes the hardening of concrete through heavy weight aggregates
25 25.0
process call hydration.
30 30.0 Prestressed pre-tensioned
 The water needs to be pure in order to prevent side concrete
reaction from occurring which may weaken the 40 40.0 Prestressed pre-tensioned
concrete or otherwise interfere with hydration concrete
process. 50 50.0
 The ratio of cement and water is the most critical 60 60.0
factor in the production of ‘perfect’ concrete.
 Too much water can reduces concrete strength but b. Workability of Concrete
high workability  Workability implies the ease with which a
 Too little water will make the concrete unworkable concrete mix can handled from the mixer to its
but high strength finally compacted shape.
  Factors affecting workability: measure the degree of compaction obtained by doing
 Water cement ratio a standard amount of work on the concrete. The
 Aggregates (shape, texture, size) method of determining the compacting factor test is
 Fineness of cement described in BS 1881: Part 103: 1983.
 Time and temperature  Equiment:
 Admixture  The compacting factor equipment consists of two
 Measurement of workability conical hoppers mounted vertically above a
 Slump test cylinder.
 Each of the conical hoppers comprise of a hinged
 Compacting factor test
flange and a quick release mechanism to allow
 Flow test
the concrete sample to flow freely into the
 Kelly ball test cylinder.
 Vee Bee consistometer test

Slump Test
 This test method covers the determination of
slump of concrete, both in the laboratory and in the
field.
 This test determines slump of plastic hydraulic
cement concretes
 Apparatus:
 Mold - in the form of the lateral surface of the
frustum of a cone with base 200mm in  The hoppers and cylinder is mounted on a steel
diameter, the top 100mm in diameter and the rigid frame and are easily removed for cleaning.
height 300mm inches. The apparatus is protested against corrosion.
 Tamping rod - round, straight steel rod 16mm  In making the test, the top hopper is filled with a
inches in diameter and 600mm in length. representative sample of the concrete.
Procedure  When completely filled, a hinged door at the
 Dampen the mold and place it on a flat, moist, bottom is released and the concrete allowed to fall
non-absorbent surface. into the second hopper.
 Rod each layer with 25 strokes of the tamping rod.  The filling of the second hopper is thus affected by
Rod the top, second and bottom layer throughout its a standard method. The concrete is similarly
depth. released from the second hopper and falls into the
 In filling and rodding the top layer, heap the cylindrical container.
concentrate above the mold before rodding is started.  Surplus concrete is struck off by simultaneously
Remove the mold immediately from the concrete by working two steel floats from the outside to the
raising it carefully in a vertical direction. center. The contents of the cylinder are then
 Immediately measure the slump by determining weighed to the nearest 10 grams giving the weight
the vertical difference between the top of the mold of partially compacted concrete.
and the displaced original center of the top surface of  The cylinder is then refilled from the same sample
the specimen. in layer approximately 50mm deep, the layers
being rammed to obtain full compaction.
 The top surface is gain struck off level with the top
(a) True slump of the cylinder and the weight the concrete
(b) Shear slump container again determined which is known as the
(c) Collapse slump weight of fully compacted concrete.
Conventionally, when  The compacting factor is the ratio of the weight of
shear or collapse partially compacted concrete to the weight of fully
slump occur, the test is compacted concrete. The difference in the two
considered invalid. weights is due to air voids, and the closer the
values, the less the air voids and the higher the
compacting factor. The workability is therefore
increase as the compacting factor approaches
unity.
Compacting Factor Test  Compacting factor =
 The compacting factor test gives the behavior of fresh weight of partially compacted
concrete under the action of external forces, i.e to fully compacted
Mixing Concrete
 Concrete can be mixed on site or brought to site as
ready mix from works where it is mixed in large
quantities and distributed to sites.
 Mixing directly on site will only happen for small
jobs or those which are so large, as in the case of civil
engineering contracts for bridges, reservoirs or
motorways, that large-scale mixing is the only
solution.
 Mixing directly on site can be manual and use the
machine (drum concrete mixer)
 All machines used for mixing concrete have to be
cleaned every day, usually with water and loose
aggregates
 The ingredients (cement, aggregates, water) can be
count by weight or volume.
DRUM MIXER & READYMIX CONCRETR
TRUCK
Transporting concrete
 The various methods used to move the concrete from
the mixer or truck to the forms depend largely upon
the job conditions.
 On small jobs, wheelbarrows are the usual means of
transportation.
 However, concrete can be handled and transported by
many methods, including the use of chutes, buggies
operated over runways, buckets handled by cranes or
cable ways, small rail cars, trucks, pumps to force the
concrete through pipelines, and equipment to force
the concrete through hoses pneumatically.
Placing Concrete
 All concrete forms must be clean, tight, adequately
braced, and constructed of materials that will impart
the desired texture to the finished concrete.
 Sawdust, nails, and other debris should be removed
from the forms before the concrete is placed.
 Wood forms should be moistened before the concrete
is placed, otherwise they will absorb water from the
concrete and swell.
 In addition, the forms should be oiled or lacquered to
make form removal easier.
 Reinforcing steel should be clean and free of loose
rust or mill scale at the time the concrete is placed.
Any coatings of hardened mortar should be removed
from the steel.
 The concrete should be placed between the forms or
screeds as close as possible to its final position.
 To consolidate the concrete, it should be
mechanically vibrated or spaded as it goes into the
form.
 Then the concrete is thoroughly spaded next to the
forms to eliminate voids or honeycombing at the
sides.
 In inaccessible areas, the forms can be tapped lightly
with a hammer to achieve consolidation.
 This operation makes a dense concrete surface by
forcing the coarse aggregate away from the form or
face.
 The concrete should not be overworked while it is
still plastic. Overworking will cause too much water
and fine material to be brought to the surface. This
may later lead to scaling or dusting.
Segregation (separation)
 Segregation is when the aggregates separate from the - Composition
rest of the concrete. This causes weakening and - Quantity
excessive curling and shrinkage. Some of the ways o AGGREGATES
to avoid segregation include: - Size
 Placing the concrete as close as possible to its final - Shape
position. - Grading
 Do not drop from higher that 2-3 feet. - Quantity
 Avoid high slumps. - Moisture
 Do not move the concrete with a vibrator. o WATER
- Quantity
Bleeding (water concentration) o MIXING
 Bleeding means the concentration of water at certain o TRANSPORTING
portions of the concrete. o PLACING
 The locations with increased water concentration are o COMPACTING
concrete surface, bottom of large aggregate and
bottom of reinforcing steel. HARDENED CONCRETE
 Bleed water trapped under aggregates or steel lead to o CURING
the formation of weak and porous zones, within which
micro cracks can easily form and propagate. Factors affecting concrete strength
o Concrete porosity: voids in concrete can be filled
Compacting concrete with air or with water. Air voids are an obvious and
 After placing the concrete it has to be compacted by easily-visible example of pores in concrete. Broadly
removing voids. speaking, the more porous the concrete, the weaker it
 This can be achieved by overfilling and physically will be. Probably the most important source of
tamping the concrete into place, or by using porosity in concrete is the ratio of water to cement in
mechanical vibration. the mix, known as the 'water to cement' ratio. This
 Poker vibrators are used which allow air bubbles to parameter is so important it will be discussed
rise to the surface with a cement-rich thin film. separately below.
 When this activity stops the poker can be moved along o Water/cement ratio: this is defined as the mass of
usually at intervals of between 300 and 500mm. water divided by the mass of cement in a mix. For
 When pre-cast elements are made, the concrete is example, a concrete mix containing 400 kg cement
poured into forms which are vibrated as a whole on and 240 liters (=240 kg) of water will have a
tables. water/cement ratio of 240/400=0.6. The water/cement
 Surface vibrators are only used for concrete which has ratio may be abbreviated to 'w/c ratio' or just 'w/c'. In
a maximum depth of 150mm for floors or roads. mixes where the w/c is greater than approximately
 There is an approximate loss of strength of 5% for 0.4, all the cement can, in theory, react with water to
every 1% of air in the mix. For a concrete mix to be form cement hydration products. At higher w/c ratios
durable it must be dense. it follows that the space occupied by the additional
water above w/c=0.4 will remain as pore space filled
Curing concrete with water, or with air if the concrete dries out.
 Concrete hardens because of hydration, the chemical o Consequently, as the w/c ratio increases, the porosity
reaction between Portland cement and water.
of the cement paste in the concrete also increases. As
 As long as the temperatures are favorable and moisture
the porosity increases, the compressive strength of the
is present to hydrate the cement, the following
concrete will decrease.
properties of concrete improve with age: durability
(resistance to freezing and thawing), strength, water
DESCRIPTION OF WORK RATI
tightness, wear resistance, and volume stability.
CONCRETE O
 Effect of Curing
Concrete in columns, beams 1:1:2
* All of the desirable properties of concrete are
improved by the proper curing process. Water retaining structures, Piles, !:1.5:3
* Soon after the concrete is placed, the increase in precast work or dense Concrete
strength is very rapid (for a period of 3 to 7 days). RCC beams, slabs, columns 1:2:4
The strengthening then continues slowly for an Foundations for buildings, Mass 1:3:6
indefinite period. reinforced works
* Concrete which is moist cured for 7 days is about For mass concrete work 1:4:8
50 percent stronger than that which is exposed to
dry air for the same period. WATER CEMENT RATIO
* If the concrete is kept damp for one month, the  In the preparation of concrete the water cement ratio
strength is about double that of concrete cured in is very important
dry air.  For normal construction the water cement ratio is
usually 0.5
FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE  Adding to much water will reduce the strength of
OF CONCRETE concrete and can cause segregation.
FRESH CONCRETE  For different ratio of concrete the amount of water for
o CEMENT 50kg of cement is
Concrete Water o Soundness of aggregate: it will be obvious that if
ratio the aggregate in concrete is weak, the concrete will
quantity also be weak. Rocks with low intrinsic strength, such
1:3:6 34 liter as chalk, are clearly unsuitable for use as aggregate.
1:2:4 30 liter o Aggregate-paste bond: the integrity of the bond
1:1.5:3 27 liter
between the paste and the aggregate is critical. If
1:1:2 25 liter
there is no bond, the aggregate effectively represents
a void; as discussed above, voids are a source of
weakness in concrete.