UNIT-1

ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION METHODS IN RCC:

Construction Industry is one of the cannonading industries of today that has a great
impact on the economy of any nation. Any piece of infrastructure or real estate
erected around us is undertaken by segments under Construction Industry. The
scope of Construction Industry is too broad.

Advanced construction means improvement in the way of construction, usage of

new construction materials, incorporating technology and cutting down on time
and cost.

Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness

in tension. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a
longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete. It is often used in
commercial and residential construction as a foundation slab. Prestressing tendons
(generally of high tensile steel cable or rods) are used to provide a clamping load
which produces a compressive stress that balances the tensile stress that the
concrete compression member would otherwise experience due to a bending load.
Traditional reinforced concrete is based on the use of steel reinforcement
bars, rebars, inside poured concrete. Prestressing can be accomplished in three
ways: pre-tensioned concrete, and bonded or unbonded post-tensioned concrete.
Prestressed concrete diagram

1. Pre-tensioned concrete is cast around steel tendons—cables or bars—while

they are under tension.

2. The concrete bonds to the tendons as it cures, and when the tension is

released it is transferred to the concrete as compression by static friction.

3. Tension subsequently imposed on the concrete is transferred directly to the

tendons.

4. Pre-tensioning requires strong, stable anchoring points between which the

tendons are to be stretched.

5. Thus, most pre-tensioned concrete elements are prefabricated and

transported to the construction site, which may limit their size. Pre-tensioned
elements may be incorporated into beams, balconies, lintels, floor
slabs or piles.

6. An innovative bridge design pre-stressing is the stressed ribbon bridge.

Bonded post-tensioned concrete is the descriptive term for a method of

applying compressionafter pouring concrete and during the curing process (in situ).
The concrete is cast around a plastic, steel or aluminium curved duct, to follow the
area where otherwise tension would occur in the concrete element.

A set of tendons are fished through the duct and the concrete is poured. Once the
concrete has hardened, the tendons are tensioned byhydraulic jacks that react
(push) against the concrete member itself.

When the tendons have stretched sufficiently, according to the design

specifications (see Hooke's law), they are wedged in position and maintain tension
after the jacks are removed, transferring pressure to the concrete. The duct is
then grouted to protect the tendons from corrosion.

This method is commonly used to create monolithic slabs for house construction in
locations where expansive soils (sometimes called adobe clay) create problems for
the typical perimeter foundation. All stresses from seasonal expansion and
contraction of the underlying soil are taken into the entire tensioned slab, which
supports the building without significant flexure.

Post-tensioning is also used in the construction of various bridges, both after

concrete is cured after support by false work and by the assembly of prefabricated
sections, as in the segmental bridge.

Among the advantages of this system over unbonded post-tensioning are:

 Large reduction in traditional reinforcement requirements as tendons cannot

destress in accidents.
 Tendons can be easily "woven" allowing a more efficient design approach.
 Higher ultimate strength due to bond generated between the strand and
concrete.
 No long term issues with maintaining the integrity of the anchor/dead end.
Lift slab construction is a method of constructing concrete buildings
by casting the floor or roof slab on top of the previous slab and then raising
(jacking) the slab up with hydraulic jacks, so being cheaper and faster as not
requiring boxing and supports for casting in situ.
 Multi-storied building frames:

A multi-story building is a building that supports two or more floors above

ground. 
Factors affecting choice of structural system
The design should ensure a coordinated approach including structure, envelope,
services and finishes.
The principal decisions regarding structure relate to column layout, foundation
conditions, integration of building services, and external wall construction.
Floor systems
The principal structural elements of a typical multi-storey building are the floors,
beams, columns and foundations.
Framing schematics for a complete building structure
The most common forms of complete building structure in steel construction are
the established composite system and the Slimdek system.
Structural principles
The structure must have adequate strength and stiffness to resist the applied loads
due to gravity and wind. The function of the structure in resisting vertical loads due
to gravity and horizontal loads due to wind is generally considered separately.
Vertical bracing systems
A variety of structural forms can be used to provide lateral stability. The principal
systems are shear walls, lattice frames and rigid frames, but more sophisticated
systems may be needed for very tall buildings.

Circular slabs are more commonly used in the design of circular water tank
containers with flat bottom and raft foundations

.• The analysis of stresses in these slabs is generally based on elastic theory.

  Under uniformly distributed loads, these slabs deflect in the form of a saucer
and develop radial and circumferential stresses.

 Tensile stresses develop on the convex surface and compressive stresses

develop on the concave surface.

• Tensile stresses must be provided in the radial and circumferential l

directions near the convex surface.

• Alternatively, reinforcing bars can be provided in two mutually

perpendicular directions instead of in the radial and circumferential
directions.

• Normally, near the Centre of the slab, reinforcement is provided in the form
of mutually right angle mesh; and near the edge of the slab, in the form of
radial and circumferential bars.
 Uses of Circular Slabs:
1.Roof of a room or hall circular in plan
2.Floor of circular water tanks or towers
3.Roof of pump houses constructed above tube wells
4.Roof of a traffic control post at the intersection of roads.

In circular slab, Bending takes place indistinctly two perpendicular directions

along the two spans.
• Reinforcement is provided in the form of a mesh of bars having equal area of
cross section in both the directions, the area being equal to that required for the
bigger of the radial and circumferential moments.
• However, if the stresses near the edge are not negligible, or if the edge is fixed,
radial and circumferential reinforcement near the edge becomes essential.
Circular beams
Rapid Hardening Portland Cement contains high percentage of tri calcium
silicate (C3S) and it attains high strength in early days. The high % of C3S is due
to the increased lime content in cement composition.

 (RHPC) is a special purpose cement used in concrete to achieve a higher rate of

early strength development, compared to using Normal Cement. The improved
early performance of RHPC is achieved principally through increased product
fineness.

Uses:

• It is used where formwork has to be removed as early as possible in order to

reuse it.

• It is used where high early strength is required.

• It is generally used for constructing road pavements, where it is important to

open the road to traffic quickly.

• It is used in industries which manufacture concrete products like slabs,

posts, electric poles, block fence, etc. because moulds can be released

quickly.

• It is used for cold weather concreting because rapid evolution of heat during

hydration protects the concrete against freezing.

• Ready-mix concrete is concrete that is manufactured in a factory

or batching plant, according to a set recipe, and then delivered to a work site,
by truck mounted in–transit mixers.

• This results in a precise mixture, allowing specialty concrete mixtures to be

developed and implemented on construction sites.
 • The first ready-mix factory was built in the 1930s, but the industry did not
begin to expand significantly until the 1980s, and it has continued to grow
since then.

• Ready-mix concrete is sometimes preferred over on-site concrete mixing

because of the precision of the mixture and reduced work site confusion.

• However, using a pre-determined concrete mixture reduces flexibility, both

in the supply chain and in the actual components of the concrete.

• Ready-mix concrete is also referred as the customized concrete products for

commercial purpose.

• Ready-mix concrete, or RMC as it is popularly called, refers to concrete that

is specifically manufactured for delivery to the customer's construction site
in a freshly mixed and plastic or unhardened state.

• Concrete itself is a mixture of Portland cement, water and aggregates

comprising sand and gravel or crushed stone.

• In traditional work sites, each of these materials is procured separately and

mixed in specified proportions at site to make concrete.

• Read-mix concrete is bought and sold by volume - usually expressed in

cubic meters (cubic yards in the US).

• Ready-mix concrete is manufactured under controlled operations and

transported and placed at site using sophisticated equipment and methods.

• In 2011, there were 2,223 companies employing 72,924 workers that

produced RMC in the United States.

Disadvantages of ready-mix concrete

 The materials are batched at a central plant, and the mixing begins at that
plant, so the traveling time from the plant to the site is critical over longer
distances. Some sites are just too far away, though this is usually a commercial
rather than a technical issue.
 Generation of additional road traffic. Furthermore, access roads and site
access have to be able to carry the greater weight of the ready-mix truck plus
load. (Green concrete is approx. 2.5 tonne per m³.) This problem can be
overcome by utilizing so-called 'mini mix' companies which use smaller 4m³
capacity mixers able to reach more-restricted sites.
 Concrete's limited time span between mixing and curing means that ready-
mix should be placed within 210 minutes of batching at the plant. Modern
admixtures can modify that time span precisely, however, so the amount and
type of admixture added to the mix is very important.

EFFECT OF TRANSIT TIME ON READY MIX CONCRETE

Ready mix concrete is generally produced in large quantity and is transported to

distant places for placement in structural elements. Sometimes the distance can be

in many kilometers or miles. So, the effect of this transit times can reduce the

quality of concrete. Following are the various effects of transit times on Ready Mix

Concrete:
1. Loss of workability:

The concrete should always be laid in position without loss of time to avoid setting

and stiffening of concrete to reduce its workability. When the transit time is high, it

will have effect on workability of concrete. This happens due to hydration reaction

taking place when cement mixes with water, evaporation of mixed water in

concrete and due to absorption of water by aggregates.

While the workability of concrete depends on many factors such as the constituent

material, mixed proportion, ambient temperature, humidity and method of

transport etc., the reduction in workability may lead to difficulty in placement of

concrete. Thus, while planning for use of Ready Mixed Concrete, the aspect of loss

of workability in the likely transit time involved should be taken into account.

By measuring slump or compacting factor of concrete immediately after mixing at

RMC plant and after transit time, loss of workability may be estimated.

How to Prevent Reduction of Workability of Ready Mix Concrete:

In order to reduce rate of loss of workability generally water reducing agent /

superplasticizer is used. Use of water reducing agent/ admixtures should be

permitted after testing their suitability in proposed concrete mix.

Dose of water reducing agent/ super plasticizer should be decided on trials.

Excessive dose may lead to segregation. In addition, there may be retardation also.

IS: 4926-2003 permits re-tempering i.e. addition of water / admixture in concrete

at site to restore the workability, provided requirement for uniformity, as specified

in IS: 4926-2003, are met with. Uniformity requirement specify variation limits for

properties like air content, slump, compressive strength & density etc. At site, there

is no way to judge whether specified uniformity requirement are met or not.

Moreover, addition of water affects the strength and durability characteristic of

concrete. Thus, it is advised that re-tempering i.e. addition of water after mixing,

should not be permitted at all either during transit or at the site of construction.
2. Setting of concrete:

When the transit time of ready mix concrete is high, the initial setting of concrete

may take place. To avoid setting of concrete, retarding admixtures can be used to

prolong the setting of concrete. While permitting use of retarder, it should be

ensured that the suitability and dose of retarder is decided after conducting

necessary trials. It may be noted that generally retarding effect of retarder is

smaller at higher temperature and sometimes few retarders seem to be in-effective

at extremely high temperature. Thus, it is desirable to keep the temperature of

concrete as low as possible.

In addition, it is also important that a dose of retarding admixture is tested by

conducting trials. Large quantity of admixture/ retarder may delay the setting of

concrete adversely or may prevent the setting of concrete totally. Some ti me

dosing of admixture is done in stages to ensure desired workability. In such cases,

admixture should be mixed at delivery site only. Addition of admixture should not

be permitted during transit.

3. Time period for delivery of concrete:

In order to control loss of workability and setting of concrete, the concrete should

be delivered completely to the site of work within one and half hours (when the

atmospheric temperature is above 200C) and within two hours ( when the
atmospheric temperature is at or below 200C)of adding the mixing water to the dry

mix of cement and aggregate or adding the cement to the aggregate whichever is

earlier.

Adequacy of the time period, required for delivery of concrete, should be checked.

In case, location of site of construction is such that this time period is inadequate,

delivery time period should be increased and specified clearly duly keeping some

margin for hurdles in the way (i.e. level crossing/ check post/heavy traffic

congestion locations etc).

Checking suitability of admixture:

As explained earlier, generally admixture like water reducing agents/ retarders are

used in Ready Mixed Concrete for retention of workability and to avoid setting of

concrete. IS: 9103 “Specification for admixtures for Concrete” may be referred to

judge the suitability of admixtures.

According to it, the concrete mix should be prepared both with and without

admixture using the same raw materials as proposed to be used for the work. The

later being treated as the reference or controlled concrete mix.

Lightweight concretes

Lightweight concretes can either be lightweight aggregate concrete, foamed

concrete or autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC). Such lightweight concrete blocks
are often used in house construction.

Lightweight aggregate concrete

Lightweight aggregate concrete can be produced using a variety of lightweight
aggregates. Lightweight aggregates originate from either:

 Natural materials, like volcanic pumice.

 The thermal treatment of natural raw materials like clay, slate or shale i.e.
Leca.
 Manufacture from industrial by-products such as fly ash, i.e. Lytag.
 Processing of industrial by-products like FBA or slag.
 
The required properties of the lightweight concrete will have a bearing on the best
type of lightweight aggregate to use. If little structural requirement, but high
thermal insulation properties, are needed then a light, weak aggregate can be used.
This will result in relatively low strength concrete.
 
Lightweight aggregate concretes can, however, be used for structural applications,
with strengths equivalent to normal weight concrete.
 
The benefits of using lightweight aggregate concrete include:
 
 Reduction in dead loads making savings in foundations and reinforcement.
 Improved thermal properties.
 Improved fire resistance.
 Savings in transporting and handling precast units on site.
 Reduction in formwork and propping.

(a) Light weight concrete - or foamed concrete - is a versatile material which

consists primarily of a cement based mortar mixed with at least 20% of
volume air.

(b)The material is now being used in an ever increasing number of

applications, ranging from onestep house casting to low density void
fills.

(c)
Foamed concrete has a surprisingly long history and was first patented in
1923, mainly for use as an insulation material.

(d)Although there is evidence that the Romans used air entrainers to

decrease density, this was not really a true foamed concrete.

(e) Significant improvements over the past 20 years in production equipment

and better quality surfactants (foaming agents) has enabled the use of
foamed concrete on a larger scale.

(f)
Lightweight and free flowing, it is a material suitable for a wide range of
purposes such as, but not limited to,

 panels and block production,

 floor and roof screeds,

 wall casting,

 complete house casting,

 sound barrier walls,

 floating homes,

 void infills,

 slope protection,
 outdoor furniture and many more applications.

 Not everyone knows that density and compressive strength can be

controlled.

 In the light weight concrete this is done by introducing air through the
proprietary foam process which enables one to control density and
strength precisely

 Normal concrete has a density of 2,400 kg/m3 while densities range from
1,800, 1,700, 1,600 down to 300 kg/m3.

 Compressive strengths range from up to 40 mpa down to almost zero for

the really low densities.

 Generally it has more than excellent thermal and sound insulating

properties, a good fire rating, is non combustible and features cost
savings through construction speed and ease of handling.