CEN 204

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND

TESTING

MODULE 1-
INTRODUCTION
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 1. Historical Development in Material Use:
• Early humans used stones, wood and other
materials they found in sizes and shapes that they
needed
• Flint was chipped and sharpened for cutting edge
• Oldest known manufactured materials were
ceramics- before 3,000 BC
• First metals used in their natural state: gold,
copper and copper alloys ( bronze)
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 1. Historical Development in Material Use
• Iron was extracted from its ore by the Hittites
around 1500 BC ( in Mesopotamia now Iraq and
Syria). The new material was harder and stronger
than copper and bronze.
• Chemistry and other sciences produced new
materials and products
• Late 19th century development of aluminum,
bakelite, magnesium, portland cement,
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 2. Construction – is the mobilization and

utilization of capital and specialized
personnel , materials and equipment to
assemble materials and equipment on a
specific site in accordance with drawings ,
specifications and contract document
prepared to serve the purposes of a client or
owner( Standard Handbook for Civil
Engineering, 4th Ed)
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 3. Importance of Knowledge of Construction

Materials
• 3.1. Be able to specify appropriate types of
materials and their properties for design and
construction of structures
• 3.2. Specify the quality and quantity of
materials as basis for acceptance
• 3.3. Construction cost determination
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 4. Need for Material Testing

• 4.1. For engineers to design machineries,
buildings and structures need an
understanding of the properties of the
materials with which they work.
• 4.2. One of the methods to study material
properties is to test the materials.
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 5.Four Reasons for testing materials:

• 5.1. Research
• 5.2. Quality assurance
• 5.3. Fracture or failure analysis
• 5.4. Engineering Design Analysis
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 5. Four Reasons for testing materials:

• 5.1. Research:
• 5.1.1. Determine material properties:
• (a)Material Properties
• Physical
• Chemical
•
•
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 5. Four Reasons for testing materials:

• 5.1. Research:
• Physical Properties Chemical Properties
• Mechanical Electro-negativity
• ThermalReaction rates
• Electrical Corrosion resistance
• Magnetic Electronic structure
• Optical Solubility
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 5. Four Reasons for testing materials:
• 5.1. Research
• Mechanical Properties:
• Tensile Strength Elasticity
• Compressive Strength Plasticity
• Flexure Strength Ductility
• Shear Strength Malleability
• Torsion Strength Hardness
• Impact Strength Viscosity
• Fatigue resistance
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 5. Four Reasons for testing materials:
• 5.1. Research
• Thermal Properties
• Thermal expansion Flame point
• Heat CapacityHeat of Combustion
• Heat of Fusion Specific heat
• Heat of vaporization
• Melting point
• Boiling point
• Flash point
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 5. Four Reasons for testing materials:
• 5.1. Research
• Electrical Properties
• Electrical resistance and resistivity
• Electrical conductance and conductivity
• Magnetic Properties
• Dia-, Para-, ferromagnetism
• Optical Properties
• Optical transparency Optical absorption
• Index of refraction Color
• Turbidity
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 5. Four Reasons for testing materials:

• 5.1. Research
• Chemical Properties
• Electron negativity
• Reaction rates
• Corrosion resistance
• Electronic Structure
• Solubility
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 5. Four Reasons for testing materials:
• 5.2. Quality Assurance and Quality Control
• 5.2.1 Quality Assurance- test done to make
• certain that ordered/purchased materials
• meets the standards

• 5.2.2 Quality Control – test done on products

• produced prior to shipment to ensure the
• products or material are within standard
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 5. Four Reasons for testing materials:

• 5.3. Fracture or Failure Analysis
• Test performed on materials that have failed
• or on new materials similar to the failed
• one to determine possible cause of failure
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 5. Four Reasons for testing materials:

• 5.4. Engineering Design:
• Engineering design testing involves testing
• an experimental product to determine
• reliability, ( how long it will last,
• performance, safety, ) and
• How it can be cheaply produced
CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 6. Standardizing the Test
• A test must be done exactly the same way
• every time by every person running the
• test
• 7. Organizations with Standardized Tests
• ASTM- American Society of Testing
• Materials
• AISI – American Iron and Steel Institute
• ASM- American Society of Metals
•
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 7. Organizations with Standardized Tests

• ANSI- American National Standards
• Institute
• Portland Cement Association
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 8. Qualities of a Good Test
• 8.1 Reliable- gives the same result for the
• same materials on repeated test
• 8.2 Valid – measures exactly what it claims to
• measure and not some other , often
• unknown property of the material
• 8.3 Objective- give the same results
regardless of who performs the test
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 8. Qualities of a Good Test

• 8.4 Precision – a measure of how close
• together the values of the same
• measurement lie
• 8.5 Accuracy – measure how close to the
true value a measurement falls
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 9. Mistakes- wrong moves can be corrected

and eliminated given a chance
• 10. Error- inaccuracies in measurement, can
be minimized but can never be eliminated
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 11. Terms related to

characteristics/properties of materials:
• 11.1 Brittleness- characteristic of material
that causes it to break prior to undergoing
plastic deformation
• 11.2 Plastic Deformation- is a permanent
change in material caused by a load being
applied
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 11. Terms related to characteristics/properties of
materials:
• 11.3 Ductility- ability of a material to be drawn into
a wire. Opposite of brittleness , one type of plasticity
• 11.4 Elasticity- ability of material to return to its
original size and shape once the load has been
removed.
• 11.5 Malleability- ability of material to withstand
rolling or pounding into sheets. ( Plasticity)
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 11. Terms related to characteristics/properties of
materials:
• 11.6 Plasticity- ability of material to withstand
permanent deformations without rupturingor tearing
• 11.7 Resilience- ability of material to absorb energy
without being permanently deformed. The modulus of
resilience of a material is the amount of energy in foot-
pounds per cubic inch or newtons per cubic that can
be elastically recovered by deforming the material.
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 11. Terms related to

characteristics/properties of materials:
• 11.8 Toughness- measure of the ability of the
material to absorb energy without breaking .
Modulus of toughness of a material is the
energy in foot-pounds per cubic inch or
newtons per cubic meter required to break
the material
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 12. Types of Tests
• Materials are usually tested by techniques that
closely approximate their use.
• 12.1 Tension-member being pulled
• 12.2 Compression- component being pushed
• 12.3 Torsion- rod being twisted
• 12.4 Flexure –beams being bent
• 12.5 Impact test- used to test materials ability to
withstand shock. ( Izod, Charpy)
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 12. Types of Tests
• 12.6 Hardness Test –measures the ability of a material
to resist surface deformation. ( Rockwell, Brinell, Mohs,
sceleroscope, Tukon, Vickers and others)
• 12.7 Fatigue test- test of metals being bent back and
forth many times
• 12.8 Shear Test- measures the ability to resist cutting
by off-axial forces ( shearing strength)
• 12.9 Creep – deformation resulting from a continuous
load applied for a long period
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 13. Destructive and Non-destructive Testing

• 13.1 Destructive Test- part or sample
specimen of a material is consumed, broken,
or damaged during test, such that it can no
longer be used for its intended purpose.
• 13.2 Products that must be destroyed can be
tested only by sampling
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 13. Destructive and Non-destructive Testing

• 13.3 Non-Destructive Testing ( NDT) and Non-
Destructive Evaluation( NDE) – measurement,
comparison with standard, X-rays, sound
waves and magnetism
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 14. Measurements in Testing

• 14.1 Purpose of all testing is to reduce the
properties of material into numerical or
quantitative values.
• 14.2 Standard units must be established by
which to measure the properties of the
materials.
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 14. Measurement of Testing

• 14.3 Pressure
• Pressure – force per unit area
• P = F/A
• F = mass x acceleration
• mass = kg
• g = acceleration due to gravity =9.8 m/s2
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 14. Measurement of Testing
• 14.4 Thermal Properties of a material are those
related to heat.
• 14.4.1 Temperature- is caused by the amount of
heat in a material
• 14.4.2. Heat is the internal energy of the material
caused by the movement of atoms.
• 14.4.3 Temperature is the measure of the number
of collisions per unit of time of the atoms
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 14. Measurement of Testing
• 14.4 Thermal Properties
• 14.4.4 Heat is measured in calories in the metric
system and in BTU ( British Thermal Unit)
• 14.4.5 Calorie- amount of heat required to raise 1
gram of water 1 degree celsius ( 14 deg to 15 deg)
• 14.4.6 BTU – heat required to raise 1 pound of
water 1 degree F
• 14.4.7 1 BTU = 252 calories
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 14. Measurement of Testing
• 14.4 Thermal Properties
• 14.4.8 Heat Capacity- the amount of heat
required to raise a unit of any material 1 degree
of temperature . Metric –cal per gram per deg
Celsius, English –BTU per pound per deg F
• 14.4.9 Specific Heat of any material is its heat
capacity divided by heat capacity of water
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION
• 14. Measurement of Testing
• 14.4 Thermal Properties
• 14.4.10 Coefficient of Thermal Expansion- the amount
metal will expand per unit of original length per unit
of temperature. Metric-cm/cm/deg C, English-
in/in/deg F
• 14.4.11 Thermal Conductivity- amount of heat it will
transmit over a given area through a given thickness
per degree difference between the hot and cold side
per unit of time
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 14. Measurement of Testing

• 14.4 Thermal Properties
• 14.4.12 Heat of Combustion- of a fuel or
other material is the amount of heat per unit
weight that the material will emit when it is
burned.
• 14.4.13 Cal per gram or BTU per pound
 CEN 204-MODULE 1-INTRODUCTION

• 14. Measurement of Testing

• 14.5 Electrical Properties
• Electricity – flow of electrons from one atom
to another along a conductor