CE2155 Structural Mechanics and Materials

How long does concrete last?

Materials – 1. Introduction

Instructor of the materials part: GENG Guoqing, Dr., Assistant Professor

Email: ceegg@nus.edu.sg

Office: E1A #02-17E

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 civilization timeline

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Images from online
 Meanwhile…

Challenges:
1. Affordable material
2. Environmental impact
3. Degradation
4. Life-prediction

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Construction materials – general requirements

1. Performance requirement: strength, shape-ability, volume-

stability, durability …

2. Availability (economical) requirement: locally available, exist in

large quantity, very cheap …

3. Sustainability requirement: e-friendly, low energy-consumption,

low carbon footprint, recyclable …

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‘Good’ or ‘bad’ – examples

Desert Sand ‘Vibranium’

Waste glass

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 Construction materials – the most important ones

Source: P.J.M. Monteiro, S. Miller, A. Horvath, 2017, Nat. Mater. 6

Topics covered

I. Concrete II. Steel

• Cement • Constitution & structure

• Aggregate • Properties

• Chemical admixture

• Fresh concrete

• Hardened concrete
III. Wood
• Mix design
• structure &
• Volumetric properties properties

• Durability
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Course schedule Tue. 14:00-15:00 Thu. 10:00-12:00

Date Lecture Topic Tutorial Lab Session

Jan. 12, Tue. Introduction
Week 1
14, Thu. Cement
19, Tue. Aggregate
Week 2 #1
21, Thu. Chemical Admixture
26, Tue. Mechanics part, Dr. DU Hongjian
Week 3
28, Thu. Fresh Concrete
Feb. 2, Tue. Hardened Concrete
Week 4 #2
4, Thu. Mix Design
9, Tue. Volumetric Properties Design & Cast
Week 5 #3
11, Thu. Durability (presence mandatory)
16, Tue. Steel – Composition & Structure
Week 6 #4 Compression tests
18, Thu. Steel – Properties
3, 7 & 14 d volunteer;
Recess Week 28 d mandatory
Mar. 2, Tue. Wood – Structure & Properties Week 7 #5
Mechanics Part 8
Assignments

Homework (6%)
HW_1 due Feb 4th 10 am; HW_2 due Mar 4th 10 am.
20% credit off for every delayed day.

Lab report (10%)

Due April 1th 10 am.
20% credit off for every delayed day.

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Exam and assessment

Final exam
Combined with the mechanics part; place and time to be announced.

Assessment
[6% homework + 10% lab report + 24% final exam]
= 40% total of CE2155

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Where to find me

Tutorial
Bring your questions!

Email
ceegg@nus.edu.sg
Please identify yourself as a CE2155 student. Valid until the
end of this
semester!
How about a coffee-chat?
I need your feedback/comments/suggestions to make this module successful!

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Reading material

Reading materials
Concrete: Zongjin Li, 2011. Advanced concrete technology. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc. (e-book available in NUS library; will be released in LumiNUS)

Steel: H. Berns, W. Theisen, 2008. Ferrous materials: steel and cast iron. Springer Science & Business
Media. (e-book available in NUS library; will be released in LumiNUS)

Wood: reading material will be released in LumiNUS.

Supplementary reading
P.K. Mehta, P.J.M. Monteiro, 2013. Concrete: microstructure, properties and materials, 4th edition. New
York: McGraw-Hill Education. (book available in NUS library)

S. Mindess, J. F. Young, & D. Darwin, 2003. Concrete, 2nd edition. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education,
Inc. (book available in NUS library)
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LumiNUS

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I. Concrete

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Basics 60-90% yearly construction materials used is concrete!

Air
Cement

Water

Fine
Aggregate

Coarse
Aggregate

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Basics

Cement paste Mortar Concrete

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Basics

Equivalent CO2
emission

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Reading material

Zongjin Li, 2011. Advanced concrete technology. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Section 1.2 & 1.3

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