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CHAPTER TWO
2.1 CONCRETE
The strength, durability and other characteristics of concrete depend upon the
properties of its ingredients, on the proportions of mix, the method of compaction
and other controls during placing, compaction and curing. The popularity of the
concrete is due to the fact that from the common ingredients, it is possible to tailor
the properties of concrete to meet the demands of any particular situation. The
advances in concrete technology have paved the way to make the best use of
locally available materials by judicious mix proportioning and proper
workmanship, so as to produce concrete satisfying performance requirements.
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
As mentioned earlier the main ingredients of concrete are cement, fine aggregate
(sand) and coarse aggregate (gravel or crushed rock). It is usual to specify a
particular concrete by the proportions (by weight) of these constituents and their
characteristics, e.g. a 1 : 2 : 4 concrete refers to a particular concrete
manufactured by" mixing cement, sand and broken stone in a 1 : 2 : 4 ratio (with a
specified type of cement, water-cement ratio, maximum size of aggregate, etc.).
This classification specifying the proportions of constituents and their
characteristics is termed prescripitive specifications and is based on the hope that
adherence to such prescripitive specifications will result in satisfactory
performance.
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
3. The green concrete can be easily handled and moulded into any shape or
size according to specifications. The form work can be reused a number
of times of similar jobs resulting in economy.
5. Concrete can even be sprayed on and filled into fine cracks for repairs by
the guniting process.
6. The concrete can be pumped and hence it can be laid in the difficult
positions also.
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
1. Concrete has low tensile strength and hence cracks easily. Therefore,
concrete is to be reinforced with steel bars or meshes.
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
2.7.1 CEMENT
Although all materials that go into a concrete mixture are essential, cement is by
far the most important constituent because it is usually the delicate link in the
chain. The function of cement is first, to bind the sand and coarse aggregates
together, and second, to fill the voids in between sand and coarse aggregate
particles to form a compact mass. Although cement constitutes only about 10
per cent of the volume of the concrete mix, it is the active portion of the binding
medium and the only scientifically controlled ingredient of concrete.
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
2.7.2 AGGREGATES
Aggregates are generally cheaper than cement and impart greater volume
stability and durability to concrete. The aggregate is used primarily for the
purpose of providing bulk to the concrete. To increase the density of the
resulting mix, the aggregate is frequently used in two or more sizes. The
aggregates provide about 75% of the body of the concrete and hence its
influence is extremely important.
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
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2.7.3 WATER
Generally, cement requires about 3/10 of its weight of water for hydration. Hence
the minimum water-cement ratio required is 0.35. But the concrete containing
water in this proportion will be very harsh and difficult to place. Additional water
is required to lubricate the mix, which makes the concrete workable. This
additional water must be kept to the minimum, since too much water reduces the
strength of concrete. The water-cement ratio is influenced by the grade of
concrete, nature and type of aggregates, the workability and durability.
If too much water is added to concrete, the excess water along with cement comes
to the surface by capillary action and this cement-water mixture forms a scum or
thin layer of chalky material known as laitance. This laitance prevents bond
formation between the successive layers of concrete and forms a plane of
weakness. The excess water may also leak through the joints of the formwork and
make the concrete honeycombed. As a rule, the smaller the percentage of water,
the stronger is the concrete subject to the condition that the required workability
is allowed for.
1. Suspended particles
2. Miscellaneous inorganic salts
3. Salts in sea water
4. Acids and alkalies
5. Algae
6. Sugar
7. Oil contamination.
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
2.8 ADMIXTURES
BS 2787: 1956 Glossary of term for concrete and reinforced concrete gives the
following definition for the term admixture, with additive given as an
alternative term with the same definition:
Admixtures are the materials other than the basic ingredients of concrete, cement,
water, and aggregates. The use of admixture should offer an improvement not
economically attainable by adjusting the proportions of cement and aggregates,
and should not adversely affect any property of the concrete. Admixtures are no
substitute for good concreting practice. An admixture should be employed only
after an appropriate evaluation of its effects on the particular concrete under the
conditions in which the concrete is intended to be used. It is often necessary to
conduct tests on the representative samples of the materials for a particular job
under simulated job conditions in order to obtain reliable information on the
properties of concrete containing admixtures.
The admixtures ranging from addition of chemicals to waste materials have been
used to modify certain properties of concrete. The properties commonly modified
are that rate of hydration or setting time, workability, dispersion and air-
entrainment. The admixture is generally added in a relatively small quantity.
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
1. Lightweight concrete
2. Ultralightweight concrete
3. Vacuum Concrete
4. Waste material based concrete
5. Mass concrete
6. Shotcrete or guniting
7. Ferrocement
8. Fibre reinforced concrete
9. Polymer concrete composites (PCCs)
10. Sulphur concrete and Sulphur-infiltrated concrete
11. Jet (Ultra-rapid hardening) cement concrete
12. Gap-graded concrete
13. No-fines concrete
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
The mould for the slump test is a frustum of a cone, 305 mm (12 in.) high. The
base of 203 mm (8 in.) diameter is placed on a smooth surface with the smaller
opening of 102 mm (4 in.) diameter at the top, and the container is filled with
concrete in three layers. Each layer is tamped 25 times with a standard 16 mm
diameter steel rod, rounded at the end, and the top surface is struck off by
means of a screeding and rolling motion of the tamping rod. The mould must be
firmly held against its base during the entire operation; this is facilitated by
handles or foot-rests brazed to the mould.
Immediately after filling, the cone is slowly lifted, and the unsupported concrete
will now slump - hence the name of the test. The decrease in the height of the
centre! of the slumped concrete is called slump, and is measured to the nearest 5
mm.
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
The upper hopper is filled with concrete, this being placed gently so that, at this
stage, no work is done on the concrete to produce compaction. The bottom door
of the hopper is then released and the concrete falls into the lower hopper. This
hopper is smaller than the upper one and is, therefore, filled to overflowing and
thus always contains approximately the same amount of concrete in a standard
state; this reduces the influence of the personal factor in filling the top hopper.
The bottom door of the lower hopper is released and the concrete falls into the
cylinder. Excess concrete is cut by two floats slid across the top of the mould, and
the net mass of concrete in the known volume of the cylinder is determined.
The name Vebe is derived from the initials of V. Bahrner of Sweden who
developed the test. The test is covered by BS 1881: Part 104: 1983 and is referred
to also in ACI Standard 211.3-75 (revised 1980). The slump cone is filled in the
standard manner, removed, and a disc-shaped rider (weighing 2.75 kg (6Ib)) is
placed on top of the concrete. Compaction is achieved using a vibrating table with
an eccentric weight rotating at 50 Hz so that the vertical amplitude of the table
with the empty cylinder is approximately 0.35 mm (0.014 in.).
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
The apparatus consists essentially of a wooden board covered by a steel plate with
a total mass of 16 kg (about 35 lb). This board is hinged along one side to a base
board, each board being a 700 mm (27.6 in.) square. The upper board can be lifted
up to a stop so that the free edge rises 40 mm (1.6 in.). Appropriate markings
indicate the location of the concrete to be deposited on the table.
The table top is moistened and a frustum of a cone of concrete, lightly tamped by
a wooden tamper in a prescribed manner, is placed using a mould 200 mm (8 in.)
high with a bottom diameter of 200 mm (8 in.) and a top diameter of 130 mm
(about 5 in.). Before lifting the mould, excess concrete is removed, the
surrounding table top is cleaned, and after an interval of 30 sec. the mould is
slowly removed. The table top is lifted and allowed to drop, avoiding a significant
force against the stop, 15 times, each cycle taking approximately 4 sec.
In consequence, the concrete spreads and the maximum spread parallel to the two
edges of the table is measured. The average of these two values, given to the
nearest millimetre, represents the flow. A value of 400 indicates a medium
workability and 500 a high workability. Concrete should at this stage appear
uniform and cohesive or else the test is considered inappropriate for the given
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LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE AND APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
mix. Thus the test offers an indication of the cohesiveness of the mix.
This is a simple field test consisting of the determination of the depth to which
a 152 mm (6 in.) diameter metal hemisphere, weighing 14 kg (30 lb), will sink
under its own weight into fresh concrete. A sketch of the apparatus, devised by
J. W. Kelly and known as the Kelly ball.
The use of this test is similar to that of the slump test, that is for routine checking
of consistence for control purposes. The test is covered by ASTM Standard C
360-82 and is rarely used in the UK. It is, however, worth considering the Kelly
ball test as an alternative to the slump test, over which it has some advantages. In
particular, the ball test is simpler and quicker to perform and, what is more
important, it can be applied to concrete in a wheelbarrow or actually in the form.
In order to avoid boundary effect, the depth of the concrete being tested should be
not less than 200mm (8 in), and the least lateral dimension 460mm
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