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Issue-106 (5 - 9 March 2012) : Answer of The Last Week's Questions

The document discusses the hydration process of cement and how it relates to the strength and properties of concrete. It explains that the hydration of cement compounds like tricalcium silicate and dicalcium silicate release heat and cause concrete to set and gain strength over time. The water-cement ratio is also important, as a lower ratio leads to less porosity and higher strength. Admixtures can be added to concrete to influence properties like workability, strength development and durability. Overall the document provides an overview of how cement hydration and factors like water content and curing affect the long-term strength and performance of concrete.

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saritasoham
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69 views4 pages

Issue-106 (5 - 9 March 2012) : Answer of The Last Week's Questions

The document discusses the hydration process of cement and how it relates to the strength and properties of concrete. It explains that the hydration of cement compounds like tricalcium silicate and dicalcium silicate release heat and cause concrete to set and gain strength over time. The water-cement ratio is also important, as a lower ratio leads to less porosity and higher strength. Admixtures can be added to concrete to influence properties like workability, strength development and durability. Overall the document provides an overview of how cement hydration and factors like water content and curing affect the long-term strength and performance of concrete.

Uploaded by

saritasoham
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Weekly Newsletter

Design Quiz

Issue-106 (5th 9th March 2012)


Answer of the Last Weeks Questions
Q-.203)Consider the following oxides: 1. Al2O3
2. CaO
3. SiO2
The correct sequence in increasing order of their percentage in an ordinary Portland cement is
a)
2,1,3
b)
1,3,2
c)
3,1,2
d)
1,2,3
Q.204) How many times has Brazil won the World Cup Football Championship?
a)
b)
c)
d)

Four Times
Twice
Five Times
Once

***Last Weeks Winners***


Q.203) Mr. Vinay Kumar
Mr. Najmuddin Saify
Q.204) Mr. Vinay Kumar
Mr. Najmudin Saify

Thought for the Week


There are two kinds of people,
Those who do the work and Those who
take the credit.
Try to be in the first group;
There is less competition.

Questions for this Week


Q.205) Ideal steps that an engineer would take when he is suppose to do concreting at 40 deg C
1. Reduce the water content in the mix.
2. Use Higher Grade of Cement
3. Start early curing
4. Use lesser quantity of cement
a)
b)
c)
d)

1,2,3
1,2,4
1,3,4
2,3,4

Q.206) Indias leading telecom company Airtel on 28 February 2012 joined hand with which IT company for its Mobile
Wallet service across the country?
a) IBM b) INFOSYS c)MICROSOFT d) Hewlett-Packard

Casual Day - Office Humor


A Company decides to adopt Fridays as Casual Day and they issued a Memo to all department intimating
the same.
Week 1
Memo 1: Effective this week, the company is adopting Fridays as Casual Day. Employees are free to dress in
the casual attire of their choice.
Week 3
Memo 2: Casual Day refers to dress only, not attitude.
Week 6
Memo 3: A seminar on how to dress for Casual Day will be held at 4 p.m. Friday in the cafeteria. A fashion
show will follow. Attendance is mandatory.
Week 10
Memo 4: As an outgrowth of Friday's seminar, a 14-member Casual Day Task Force has been appointed to
prepare guidelines for proper casual-day dress.
Week 14
Memo 5: The Casual Day Task Force has distributed a 30-page manual entitled "Relaxing Dress Without
Relaxing Company Standards." A copy has been distributed to every employee.
Week 18
Memo 6: Company is providing psychological counseling for employees who may be having difficulty
adjusting to Casual Day.
Week 20
Memo 7: We are no longer able to effectively support or manage Casual Day. Casual Day is discontinued

Holi the Festival of Colors (7th & 8th March 2012)


It is marked as the opening festival in Hindu calendar, falls on the full moon day in the
month of Phalgun. People enjoy themselves playing with several colours and celebrate
the whole day with much pump and gaiety.

Originally Holi was regarded to be the festival to celebrate good harvests and
fertility of the land. There are several legends and stories behind Holi. A popular
legend says that Holi is remembered for the sacrifice of Holika who burnt herself in
fire on this day.
Celebration of Holi festival is characterized by performing Holi puja as per Hindu tradition.
Dhuleti, which falls day after Holi Puja, is considered to be the actual festival
of colors.
Children and youngsters vie with each other use fast and sticky colors to
celebrate Holi. It is all fun and joy for them.

The other major components of portland cement, tricalcium aluminate and tetracalcium aluminoferrite also react with water.
Their hydration chemistry is more complicated as they involve reactions with the gypsum as well. Because these reactions do not
contribute significantly to strength, they will be neglected in this discussion. Although we have treated the hydration of each
cement compound independently, this is not completely accurate. The rate of hydration of a compound may be affected by
varying the concentration of another. In general, the rates of hydration during the first few days ranked from fastest to slowest
are:
tricalcium aluminate > tricalcium silicate > tetracalcium aluminoferrite > dicalcium silicate.
Heat is evolved with cement hydration. This is due to the breaking and making of chemical bonds during hydration. The heat
generated is shown below as a function of time.

Figure 4: Rate of heat evolution during the hydration of portland cement


The stage I hydrolysis of the cement compounds occurs rapidly with a temperature increase of several degrees. Stage II is known
as the dormancy period. The evolution of heat slows dramatically in this stage. The dormancy period can last from one to three
hours. During this period, the concrete is in a plastic state which allows the concrete to be transported and placed without any
major difficulty. This is particularly important for the construction trade who must transport concrete to the job site. It is at the
end of this stage that initial setting begins. In stages III and IV, the concrete starts to harden and the heat evolution increases due
primarily to the hydration of tricalcium silicate. Stage V is reached after 36 hours. The slow formation of hydrate products occurs
and continues as long as water and unhydrated silicates are present.
Strength of Concrete
The strength of concrete is very much dependent upon the hydration reaction just discussed. Water plays a critical role,
particularly the amount used. The strength of concrete increases when less water is used to make concrete. The hydration
reaction itself consumes a specific amount of water. Concrete is actually mixed with more water than is needed for the hydration
reactions. This extra water is added to give concrete sufficient workability. Flowing concrete is desired to achieve proper filling
and composition of the forms. The water not consumed in the hydration reaction will remain in the microstructure pore space.
These pores make the concrete weaker due to the lack of strength-forming calcium silicate hydrate bonds. Some pores will remain
no matter how well the concrete has been compacted.

Figure 5: Schematic drawings to demonstrate the relationship between the

water/cement ratio and porosity.

The empty space (porosity) is determined by the water to cement ratio. The relationship between the water to cement ratio and
strength is shown in the graph that follows.

Figure 6: A plot of concrete strength as a function of the water to cement ratio.


Low water to cement ratio leads to high strength but low workability. High water to cement ratio leads to low strength, but good
workability.
The physical characteristics of aggregates are shape, texture, and size. These can indirectly affect strength because they affect the
workability of the concrete. If the aggregate makes the concrete unworkable, the contractor is likely to add more water which will
weaken the concrete by increasing the water to cement mass ratio.
Time is also an important factor in determining concrete strength. Concrete hardens as time passes. Why? Remember the
hydration reactions get slower and slower as the tricalcium silicate hydrate forms. It takes a great deal of time (even years!) for all
of the bonds to form which determine concrete's strength. It is common to use a 28-day test to determine the relative strength of
concrete.
Concrete's strength may also be affected by the addition of admixtures. Admixtures are substances other than the key ingredients
or reinforcements which are added during the mixing process. Some admixtures add fluidity to concrete while requiring less water
to be used. An example of an admixture which affects strength is superplasticizer. This makes concrete more workable or fluid
without adding excess water. A list of some other admixtures and their functions is given below. Note that not all admixtures
increase concrete strength. The selection and use of an admixture are based on the need of the concrete user.
SOME ADMIXTURES AND FUNCTIONS
TYPE

FUNCTION

AIR ENTRAINING

improves durability, workability, reduces bleeding, reduces freezing/thawing problems (e.g. special
detergents)

SUPERPLASTICIZERS

increase strength by decreasing water needed for workable concrete (e.g. special polymers)

RETARDING

delays setting time, more long term strength, offsets adverse high temp. weather (e.g. sugar )

ACCELERATING

speeds setting time, more early strength, offsets adverse low temp. weather (e.g. calcium chloride)

MINERAL
ADMIXTURES

improves workability, plasticity, strength (e.g. fly ash)

PIGMENT

adds color (e.g. metal oxides)


Table 3: A table of admixtures and their functions.

Durability is a very important concern in using concrete for a given application. Concrete provides good performance through the
service life of the structure when concrete is mixed properly and care is taken in curing it. Good concrete can have an infinite life
span under the right conditions. Water, although important for concrete hydration and hardening, can also play a role in
decreased durability once the structure is built. This is because water can transport harmful chemicals to the interior of the
concrete leading to various forms of deterioration. Such deterioration ultimately adds costs due to maintenance and repair of the
concrete structure. The contractor should be able to account for environmental factors and produce a durable concrete structure
if these factors are considered when building concrete structures.
Source...http://matse1.matse.illinois.edu/concrete/prin.html

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