Concrete Construction

BT- 5
 What is Concrete ?
a heavy, rough building material made from
a mixture of broken stone or gravel, sand,
cement, and water, that can be spread or
poured into molds and that forms a stonelike
mass on hardening.
 Concrete
• Concrete is either Plain or Reinforced. By
definition,
• Plain Concrete is an artificial stone as a
result of mixing cement, fine aggregates,
coarse aggregates and water. The
conglomeration of these materials
producing a solid mass is called plain
concrete.
 The Different Types
of Concrete Used in Construction are
1.The Ordinary Portland cement.
2. The Rapid Hardening Portland Cement which is
preferred when high early strength concrete is desired.
3. The Blast Furnace or Sulfate Cement used on concrete
structures designed to resist chemical attack.
4. The Low Heat Portland Cement used for massive'
sections designed to reduce the heat o f hydration.
5. The Portland Pozzolan Cement with a low hardening
characteristic concrete.
6. .The High Alumina Cement.
 Qualities of Cements
he High Alumina Cement is sometimes called
aluminous cement or cement fundu. Its chemical
composition is different from that of Portland
cement for having predominant alumina -oxide
content of at least, 32% by weight. The alumina
lime is within the limit of 0.85 % to 1.3%
The type of cement has a very high rate of
strength development compared with the
ordinary Portland cement. Aside from its rapid
hardening properties, it can resist chemical
attack by sulfate and weak acids including sea
water. It can also withstand prolonged exposure
to high temperature of more than 1 000 C.
Alumina cement however, is not advisable for
mixing with any other types of cement.
 The Main Composition of
Cement
1.6 to 65% Lime
18- 25% Silica
3- 8% Alumina
3- 5% Iron oxide
2- 5% Magnesia
1- 5% Sulfur trioxid
 PRINCIPLES OF
CONCRETE MIXING
The purpose in mixing concrete is to select an
optimum proportion of cement, water and
aggregates, to produce a concrete mixture that
will meet the following requirements.

1. Workability
2. Strength
3. Durability
4. Economy
The proportion that will be finally adopted in
concrete mixing has to be established by actual
trial and adjustment processes to attain the
desired strength and quality of concrete
required under the following procedures:
 1. the water cement ratio is
first determined at the very
first hour of mixing to meet
the requirements of strength
and durability

2.The cement-aggregate ratio is then chosen

and established to satisfy the workability
requirements. Workability, means the ability
of the fresh concrete to fill all the voids between
the steel bars and the forms without necessarily
exerting much effort in tamping.
ASTM C172 – Standard Practice for Sampling Freshly Mixed
Concrete, ASTM International
Laboratory tests showed that the water-cement
content ratio is the most important consideration in
mixing because it deter\mines not only the strength
and durability of he concrete but also the workability
of the mixture.

ASTM C39 – Standard

Test Method for
Compressive Strength
of Cylindrical Concrete
Specimens, ASTM
International
 Reinforce Concrete

Reinforced Concrete or' the other hand, is

a concrete with reinforcement properly
embedded in such a manner that the two
materials act together in resisting forces.
Normal concrete weighs approximately 150
pounds per cubic foot and should be placed as
near as possible to its final position. Excess
handling can cause segregation of the course
and fine aggregates. Wetting up the concrete
so it can be raked or pushed into a location far
from where it is discharged is not acceptable.
 What is a cast in place concrete?

• Cast-in-place concrete is transported in an

unhardened state, primarily as ready-mix, and
placed in forms. Ready mixed concrete is
proportioned and mixed off the project site. ...
Specialized paving equipment may be used to
mix and spread concrete for pavement.
 What is a good concrete mix?

Another "old rule of thumb" for mixing concrete

is 1 cement : 2 sand : 3 gravel by volume. Mix
the dry ingredients and slowly add water until the
concrete is workable. This mixture may need to
be modified depending on the aggregate used to
provide a concrete of the right workability.
 What is meant by cast in situ
concrete?
• Cast-in-situ refers to a construction
material, a beam or a pile, that is to be
assembled or cast on site rather than
prefabricated in a factory. This is the
meaning in Civil Engineering.
 What is site concrete?
• Ready-mix concrete is concrete that is
manufactured in a batch plant, according
to a set engineered mix design. Ready-mix
concrete is normally delivered in two
ways. First is the barrel truck or in–transit
mixers. ... This delivers the ready mix in a
dry state and then mixes the concrete on
site.
What is the mixture of concrete?
• Another "old rule of thumb" for mixing
concrete is 1 cement : 2 sand : 3 gravel
by volume. Mix the dry ingredients and
slowly add water until the concrete is
workable. This mixture may need to be
modified depending on the aggregate
used to provide a concrete of the right
workability.
 What is pre cast concrete?

Precast concrete is a construction

product produced by casting concrete in a
reusable mold or "form" which is then
cured in a controlled environment,
transported to the construction site and
lifted into place ("tilt up"). In contrast,
standard concrete is poured into site-
specific forms and cured on site.
• 3 major costs of concrete
– Formwork costs including labor, equipment,
and materials
– Cost of reinforcing steel and placement
– Concrete materials, equipment, and labor for
placing, curing, and finishing
– F11-1
 Cast in Place
• Traditional method
– Allows concrete to be formed to site
conditions
– Used on most construction sites for structural
members
• Concrete placed in forms to cure
• Forms removed after enough strength in concrete
to support self and additional construction loads
 Cast in Place
• Walls and wall footings
– Need to avoid voids and separation of
materials due to large fall
• Special care for areas under windows , pipe
chases and other formwork installed inside wall
forms
• Can pump concrete from bottom of form to get rid
of voids
 Cast in Place
• Floors and roofs
– One way slab – only supported in one
direction F 11-3
• Slab and beam
• Slab, beam & girder
• Outside beam is called spandrel beam
• Columns poured before slabs – shrinkage
– If poured same time could stress floors and beams due
to shrinkage
 Cast in Place
• Floors and roofs
– One way slab – only supported in one
direction F 11-3
• Slab and beam
• Slab, beam & girder
• Outside beam is called spandrel beam
– Two directional slabs (waffles) provide
support in two perpendicular directions
– supported by columns
 Cast in Place
• 2 way
– Basically joists in both directions
• Flat slabs
– Supported directly by columns
– Uses column capitals to distribute load over
larger area
– More reinforcement needed to carry loads to
columns
– F 11-6
 Precast concrete
• Cast into desired shape at plant and
moved to site
– Controlled environment -> better finish and
quality
– All prestressed and pretensioned members
are precast
– F 11-7, 11-8
 Precast concrete
• Types
– Joists and purlins F 11-7
– Roof and floor panels
• Flat 1-4” thick, 15 – 32” wide, 4-10’ long
• hollow core 4 – 12” thick, 4-8’ wide, 15 – 50’ long
• tee, double tee 4-12’ wide span 12 – 100 feet
• channel slabs 2 – 5 ‘ wide, 15-50 ‘ long
– F11-8
 Precast concrete
• Types
– Walls
• Usually curtain wall construction panels fit between
structural components to form wall
• But used in tilt up construction
– Panels cast horizontally on existing slab and tilted upright
– F 11-9
 Prestressed Concrete
• Initial compression load applied to
concrete
– Places entire beam in compression
• Makes beam stronger since more force is required
to induce a tension component
• Reduces deflection
• F11-10
 Prestressed Concrete
• 2 ways to do
– Pretension – place prestressing material in
tension in the form while concrete is poured
• Once concrete hardened remove tension
• Bond between steel and concrete keeps steel in
place
– Post tensioning – steel is placed inside a
plastic tube during concrete pouring
• Upon placement steel is tensioned and the steel is
mechanically anchored to the concrete at each end
• Load is removed and steel cut flush
 Architectural Concrete
• Appearance effects
– Shape, size, texture, and color
– F 11-12 & 11-13
Concrete Construction Practices
• Transporting and Hauling
– Need to avoid segregation of materials in
concrete
– Wheelbarrows, buggies, chutes, pumps,
conveyors, buckets, trucks
• Placing and consolidating
– Need to make sure form surfaces and bracing
is right before placing concrete
 Placing
– Forms must be coated in oil to allow removal
– If placing concrete on ground – must moisten
ground
– If pouring on top of cured concrete must place
bonding agent between pours
– Shotcrete (gunite) – concrete placed
pneumatically
– Consolidation – removing air voids
• vibration
 Finishing & Curing
• Finishing – bring surface of concrete to its
final position and surface texture
– Screeding – striking off excess concrete
– Floating – smoothes and compacts concrete
imbeds aggregates
– Troweling – compacts surface F 11-16
– Brooming – surface texture
 Curing
• To get good concrete must cure properly
– Moisture and temperature are key
– Moisture – wet straw or burlap, curing
compounds
– Vacuum dewatering – mat placed on concrete
• Vacuum applied to mat – takes out excess water
• Lower W/C ratio -> denser mix
 Hot weather Concreting
• Curing accelerates when concrete temp
above 50 – 60 F
– How to lower temp
• Use cold water in mix
• Cool aggregates before mixing
• Use Type IV (low heat cement)
• Add a retarder
• Decrease max time to discharge to 1 hour
 Cold weather Concreting
• Concrete should not freeze for 1st 24 hours
– Min temp for placement is 50F
– Use type III (hi early strength)
– Use accelerator
– Heat water and aggregates before mixing
– Use vented heaters to keep concrete warm