Introduction to Concrete

General Instruction CLE 206

A separate note book should be maintained for the
course
All assignment should be done in the note book and
should be produced to the faculty on request
Attendance will not be marked for the students who are
late by more than 5 min. No excuses will be excused in
this regard
The use of Fans and Lights should be optimized. Seating
should be done accordingly.
Avoid bunking classes.
Actively involve in classroom discussion
75% attendance is a must no relaxation this time

Know About Concrete

The word concrete comes from the Latin word "concretus"
(meaning compact or condensed)
Single most widely and extensively used man-made construction
material in the world
Why we need to understand concrete better compared to steel ?
In curriculum, more importance is given to steel compared to
concrete- however, man on the job should know more about
concrete
Steel is manufactures under controlled condition- quality is
well tested quality of the steel is not a big worry in the
site
Concrete quality changes with site condition sound
knowledge of the material is important skilled manpower
is required

What is Concrete?
Ingredients: Cement, water and aggregates ( coarse and
fine)
Pozzolan; Fly ash; blast-furnace slag; admixtures;
fibers; recycled concrete aggregate, etc.
Concrete = Filler + Binder
Types: Portland cement concrete, asphalt concrete, and
epoxy concrete
Strength and durability: Function of degree of
compaction, properties of ingredients, proportion of
ingredients-mix proportion ( Ref. Fig.1)

Amount of
Water

Amount of
Cement
Composition quality,
Quantity

Quality and Quantity

Transporting,
placing

Compaction

Durability and
Strength of
concrete

Curing

Size, shape, grading

quality, moisture

Mix design

Size, shape, grading quality,

moisture

Amount of
Course
aggregate

Amount of
Fine
aggregate

Fig.1 important factors affecting strength of concrete

Components of modern concrete

Ingredinets: Portland cement; water; fine aggregate; course
aggregate.
calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H)
Manufacturing of modern concrete is responsible for 7% of
the global carbon emission
Definition of each component according to ASTM C 125 (
Standard Definition of Terms Relating to Concrete and Concrete
Aggregates)
Aggregate: granular material such as sand, gravel, crushed stone,
crushed blast-furnace slag, construction and demolition waste
Coarse aggregate : particle larger than 4.75 mm ( No. 4 Sieve)
Fine aggregate : particle size < 4.75 mm but > 75 m (No. 200
sieve)

 Mortar: Mixture of sand, cement and water

Grout: It is mixture of cementitious material and aggregate (
usually fine aggregate), to which sufficient amount of water is
added to produce a pouring consistency without segregation of the
components
Cement: Finely pulverized, dry material that develop binding
property as a result of hydration
Admixtures: materials other than aggregates, hydraulic cement,
water, which are added to the concrete batch before or during
mixing
Water reducing admixtures can plasticize fresh concrete by
reducing surface tension ( e.g. lignosulfonate-based
plasticizers, naphthalene and melamine sulfonate-based)
Air entraining admixtures can improve the durability of the
concrete exposed to cold weather
Mineral admixtures can reduce thermal cracking (e.g.
pozzolans)

Inactive ingredients/
inner matrix

Active ingredients

Cement
+
(admixtures)
Cement
Paste
Mortar

Water
Fine
aggregate

Concrete
Coarse
aggregate

Components of concrete of concrete

Components of ancient concrete

Ingredinets: hydrate lime; pozzolan ash; few

pieces of fist-sized rock.
calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H)
Manufacturing of ancient concrete impart less
carbon footprint compared to modern
concrete
Roman concrete has withstood in aggressive
maritime environments for > 2,000 years
One of the reason for the superiority of the
roman mortar good mixing and long
continued ramming
Colosseum, Rome

Pathion, Rome

Source of images: Web

Components of Raman concrete

This scanning electron microscope

image shows crystals of a rare mineral,
Al-tobermorite, magnified about 25,000
times. UC Berkeley researchers
characterized Al-tobermorite in samples
of Roman concrete. (Image courtesy of
UC Berkeley)
Source of images: Web

Drill core of volcanic ash-hydrated lime mortar

from the ancient port of Baiae in Pozzuloi Bay.
Yellowish inclusions are pumice, dark stony
fragments are lava, gray areas consist of other
volcanic crystalline materials, and white spots
are lime. Inset is a scanning electron
microscope image of the special Al-tobermorite
crystals that are key to the superior quality of
Roman seawater concrete.

Use of Concrete : Some Statistics

Total world consumption of concrete is around 19 billion
tons in a year ( 1 ton = 1000 kg) 2.71 ton/ head !
This mount is 2 times higher than the total amount of
other construction materials, including wood, steel,
plastic and aluminum (Source: Cement Association of
Canada)
The ratio of concrete consumption to steel consumption
exceeds 10 to 1.
Concrete worldwide production exceeds that of steel by a
factor of ~10 in tonnage and by more than a factor of 30
in volume

Why concrete is so popular as engineering material

Reason 1: Good stability in water ideal
material for building structures to control,
store and transport water
Structural elements exposed to
moisture- piles, foundations, roofs,
walls (exterior), pipes, treatment
plants etc.

 Reason 2: ease with which the structural concrete

elements can be formed various shapes and size
Reason 3: Cheapest and most readily available

Concrete cloth

Source of images: Web

 A few reasons for the use of concrete

over steel
Less Maintenance: does not
corrode, needs no surface
treatment, strength increases with
time
Fire resistance: high fire
resistance- concrete conducts heat
slowly and is able to store
considerable quantities of heat
from the environment (can stand
6-8 hours in fire) and thus can be
used as protective coating for steel
structure
Resistance to cyclic loading:
Fatigue strength of steel structures
is greatly influenced by local stress
fields in welded joints, corrosion
pitting, and sudden in change in
geometry

Source of images: Web

Why concrete is so popular? Contd.

Concrete can be prepared in ambient

condition: Hydration and setting reactions
takes place in ambient conditions
Energy efficiency: Low energy consumption
for production, compare with steel
The requirement:
plain concrete- 450-750 kWh/ ton
reinforced concrete 800-3200
kWh/ton
8000 kWh/ton for structural steel
Ability to consume waste: Many industrial
wastes can be incorporated into concrete as
substitute for cement or aggregate.
Examples are fly ash, furnace slag;
recycled concrete aggregate, etc.
Less maintenance required: No coating or
painting is needed as for steel structures
Source of images: Web

concrete

steel

Demerits of concrete
Quasi-brittle failure mode: Concrete is a type of
quasi-brittle material. (Solution: Reinforced
concrete)
Concrete has Low tensile strength: About 1/10 of
its compressive strength cracks easily (solution:
reinforced concrete)
Low toughness: The ability to absorb energy is low
(Improvements: Fiber reinforced concrete)
Fresh concrete shrink on drying and hardened
concrete expand on wetting leads to crack
formation (solution: provision for contraction and
expansion joints)
Concrete expands and contracts with temperature
changes (solution: provision for expansion joints
to avoid cracks due to thermal movement)
Concrete is not 100% impervious and contains
soluble salts which may cause efflorescence

efflorescence

Source of images: Web

 Susceptible to sulfate and alkali attack

Formwork is needed: Formwork fabrication is labor intensive and
time consuming, hence costly (Improvement: Precast concrete)
Long curing time: Full strength development needs a month.
(Improvements: Steam curing)

curing

Precast concrete

Steam curing

formwork

Types of modern concrete

Classification based on unit weight
Normal weight concrete unit weight 2400 kg/m3
Light weight concrete unit weight 1800 kg/3
Heavy weight concrete - unit weight 3200 kg/m3
Classification based on compressive strength
Low Strength Concrete (LSC) : compressive strength< 20 MPa (20
N/mm2)
Moderate Strength Concrete (MSC) - compressive strength 20-40
MPa (20-40 N/mm2)
High Strength Concrete- compressive strength> 40 MPa (40 N/mm2)
Classification based on mixing condition
Site mix concrete
Ready mix concrete
Precast concrete

Parameters

LSC

MSC

HSC

Cement

255

356

510

Water

178

178

178

Fine aggregate

801

848

890

Coarse aggregate

1169

1032

872

Water/cement by
mass Strength

18

30

60

Typical proportion of materials in concrete mixtures

Grades of Concrete
Grading based on Plain and reinforced concrete code or practice :
IS 456 : 2000 (Clause 6.1, 9.2.22, 15.1.1 and 36.1)
Grading is done based on compressive strength
Group

Grade

Compressive strength of
150 mm cube at 28 days
(N/mm2)

Ordinary concrete

M10
M15
M20

10
15
20

Standard concrete

M25
M30
M35 to M55

25
30
35 to 55

High strength concrete

M60
M65- M80

60
65-80

M refers to mix

Dont follow standard

design parameters

Appendix

Sieve Designation
Standard
25.4 mm
22.6 mm
19.0 mm
16.0 mm
13.5 mm
12.7 mm
11.2 mm
9.51 mm
8.00 mm
6.73 mm
6.35 mm
5.66 mm
4.76 mm
4.00 mm
3.36 mm
2.83 mm
2.38 mm
2.00 mm
1.68 mm
1.41 mm
1.19 mm
1.00 mm
0.841 mm
0.707 mm
0.595 mm
0.500 mm
0.420 mm
0.354 mm
0.297 mm
0.250 mm
0.210 mm
0.177 mm
0.149 mm
0.125 mm
0.105 mm
0.088 mm
0.074 mm
0.063 mm
0.053 mm
0.044 mm
0.037 mm

Mesh
1 in.
7/8 in.
3/4 in.
5/8 in.
0.530 in.
1/2 in.
7/16 in.
3/8 in.
5/16 in.
0.265 in.
1/4 in.
No.3 1/2
No. 4
No. 5
No. 6
No. 7
No. 8
No. 10
No. 12
No. 14
No. 16
No. 18
No. 20
No. 25
No. 30
No. 35
No. 40
No. 45
No. 50
No. 60
No. 70
No. 80
No. 100
No. 120
No. 140
No. 170
No. 200
No. 230
No. 270
No. 325
No. 400

inches
1.00
0.875
0.750
0.625
0.530
0.500
0.438
0.375
0.312
0.265
0.250
0.223
0.187
0.157
0.132
0.111
0.0937
0.0787
0.0661
0.0555
0.0469
0.0394
0.0331
0.0278
0.0234
0.0197
0.0165
0.0139
0.0117
0.0098
0.0083
0.0070
0.0059
0.0049
0.0041
0.0035
0.0029
0.0025
0.0021
0.0017
0.0015

Nominal Sieve Opening

mm
25.4
22.6
19.0
16.0
13.5
12.7
11.2
9.51
8.00
6.73
6.35
5.66
4.76
4.00
3.36
2.83
2.38
2.00
1.68
1.41
1.19
1.00
0.841
0.707
0.595
0.500
0.420
0.354
0.297
0.250
0.210
0.177
0.149
0.125
0.105
0.088
0.074
0.063
0.053
0.044
0.037

Microns
25400
22600
19000
16000
13500
12700
11200
9510
8000
6730
6350
5660
4760
4000
3360
2830
2380
2000
1680
1410
1190
1000
841
707
595
500
420
354
297
250
210
177
149
125
105
88
74
63
53
44
37

Assignment review questions

What is:
Concrete
hydraulic cement
Grout
Mortar
Fine aggregate
Course aggregate
Pozzolan
Cement
Curing
Surkhi