Ferrocement

Ferrocement is a composite material composed of a mortar reinforced

with light steel fabric/mesh, used to form thin sections.
(Ferrocement should not be confused with 'Ferroconcrete', a name given
to early reinforced concrete.)

What is Ferrocement?
Ferrocement is a construction material consisting of wire meshes and cement
mortar. Applications of ferrocement in construction is vast due to the low self
weight, lack of skilled workers, no need of framework etc.

It was developed by P.L.Nervi, an Italian architect in 1940. Quality of ferrocement

works are assured because the components are manufactured on machinery set
up and execution time at work site is less. Cost of maintenance is low. This
material has come into widespread use only in construction in the last two
decades.

Properties of Ferrocement
o Highly versatile form of reinforced concrete.
o It’s a type of thin reinforced concrete construction, in which large amount of small
diameter wire meshes uniformly throughout the cross section.
o Mesh may be metal or suitable material.
o Instead of concrete Portland cement mortar is used.
o Strength depends on two factors quality of sand/cement mortar mix and quantity
of reinforcing materials used.
 Fig: Typical cross section of ferrocement structure.

Constituent Materials for Ferrocement

1. Cement
2. Fine Aggregate
3. Water
4. Admixture
5. Mortar Mix
6. Reinforcing mesh
7. Skeletal Steel
8. Coating
 Fig: Reinforcing Mesh

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ferrocement

Advantages
o Basic raw materials are readily available in most countries.
o Fabricated into any desired shape.
o Low labour skill required.
o Ease of construction, low weight and long lifetime.
o Low construction material cost.
o Better resistance against earthquake.
Disadvantages
o Structures made of it can be punctured by collision with pointed objects.
o Corrosion of the reinforcing materials due to the incomplete coverage of metal by
mortar.
o It is difficult to fasten to Ferrocement with bolts, screws, welding and nail etc.
o Large no of labors required.
o Cost of semi-skilled and unskilled labors is high.
o Tying rods and mesh together is especially tedious and time consuming.
Process of Ferrocement Construction
o Fabricating the skeletal framing system.
o Applying rods and meshes.
o Plastering.
o Curing
Applications of Ferrocements in Construction

o Housing
o Marine
o Agricultural
o Rural Energy
o Anticorrosive Membrane Treatment.
o Miscellaneous.
Housing Applications of Ferrocement
 Cost Effectiveness of Ferrocement Structures

o The type of economic system.

o Type of applications.
o Relative cost of labor.
o Capital and local tradition of construction procedure.
o Doesn’t need heavy plant or machinery.
o Low cost of construction materials.
Recent Applications:
o Residential and Public Buildings.
o Industrial Structures.
o Agricultural structures.
o Transportation Structures.
 What is Lightweight Concrete?.
Lightweight concrete mixture is made with a lightweight coarse aggregate and
sometimes a portion or entire fine aggregates may be lightweight instead of normal
aggregates. Structural lightweight concrete has an in-place density (unit weight) on
the order of 90 to 115 lb / ft³ (1440 to 1840 kg/m³).

Normal weight concrete a density in the range of 140 to 150 lb/ft³ (2240 to 2400
kg/m³). For structural applications the concrete strength should be greater than
2500 psi (17.0 MPa).

Lightweight aggregates used in structural lightweight concrete are typically

expanded shale, clay or slate materials that have been fired in a rotary kiln to
develop a porous structure. Other products such as air-cooled blast furnace slag are
also used.

There are other classes of non-structural LWC with lower density made with other
aggregate materials and higher air voids in the cement paste matrix, such as in
cellular concrete.

Classification of Lightweight Concrete

It is convenient to classify the various types of lightweight concrete by their
method of production. These are:

1. By using porous lightweight aggregate of low apparent specific gravity, i.e. lower
than 2.6. This type of concrete is known as lightweight aggregate concrete.
2. By introducing large voids within the concrete or mortar mass; these voids should
be clearly distinguished from the extremely fine voids produced by air
entrainment. This types of concrete is variously knows as aerated, cellular,
foamed or gas concrete.
3. By omitting the fine aggregate from the mix so that a large number of interstitial
voids is present; normal weight coarse aggregate is generally used. This concrete
as no-fines concrete.
LWC can also be classified according to the purpose for which it is to be used: it
can distinguish between structural lightweight concrete (ASTM C 330-82a),
concrete used in masonry units (ASTM C 331-81), and insulating concrete (ASTM
C 332-83).

This classification of structural lightweight concrete is based on a minimum

strength: according to ASTM C 330-82a, the 28-day cylinder compressive strength
should not be less than 17 MPa (2500 psi).

The density (unit weight) of such concrete (determined in the dry state) should not
exceed 1840 kg/m³ (115 lb/ft³), and is usually between 1400 and 1800 kg/m³ (85
and 110 lb/ft³). On the other hand, masonry concrete generally has a density
between 500 and 800 kg/m³ (30 and 50 lb/ft³) and a strength between 7 and 14
MPa (1000 and 2000 psi).

Types of Lightweight Concrete

1. Lightweight Aggregate Concrete
In the early 1950s, the use of lightweight concrete blocks was accepted in the UK
for load bearing inner leaf of cavity walls. Soon thereafter the development and
production of new types of artificial LWA (Lightweight aggregate) made it
possible to introduce LWC of high strength, suitable for structural work.

These advances encouraged the structural use of LWA concrete, particularly where
the need to reduce weight in a structure was in a structure was an important
consideration for design or for economy.

Listed below are several types of lightweight aggregates suitable for

structural reinforced concrete:-
1. Pumice – is used for reinforced concrete roof slab, mainly for industrial roofs in
Germany.
2. Foamed Slag – was the first lightweight aggregate suitable for reinforced
concrete that was produced in large quantity in the UK.
3. Expanded Clays and Shales – capable of achieving sufficiently high strength for
prestressed concrete. Well established under the trade names of Aglite and Leca
(UK), Haydite, Rocklite, Gravelite and Aglite (USA).
4. Sintered Pulverised – fuel ash aggregate – is being used in the UK for a variety
of structural purposes and is being marketed under the trade name Lytag
2. Aerated Concrete
Aerated concrete has the lowest density, thermal conductivity and strength. Like
timber it can be sawn, screwed and nailed, but there are non-combustible. For
works in-situ the usual methods of aeration are by mixing in stabilized foam or by
whipping air in with the aid of an air entraining agent.

The precast products are usually made by the addition of about 0.2 percent
aluminums powder to the mix which reacts with alkaline substances in the binder
forming hydrogen bubbles.

Air-cured aerated concrete is used where little strength is required e.g. roof screeds
and pipe lagging. Full strength development depends upon the reaction of lime
with the siliceous aggregates, and for the equal densities the strength of high
pressure steam cured concrete is about twice that of air-cured concrete, and
shrinkage is only one third or less.

Aerated concrete is a lightweight, cellular material consisting of cement and/or

lime and sand or other silicious material. It is made by either a physical or a
chemical process during which either air or gas is introduced into a slurry, which
generally contains no coarse material.

Aerated concrete used as a structural material is usually high-pressure steam-cured.

It is thus factory-made and available to the user in precast units only, for floors,
walls and roofs. Blocks for laying in mortar or glue are manufactured without any
reinforcement.

Larger units are reinforced with steel bars to resist damage through transport,
handling and superimposed loads. Autoclaved aerated concrete, which was
originally developed in Sweden in 1929, is now manufactured all over the world.
 3. No Fines Concrete
The term no-fines concrete generally means concrete composed of cement and a
coarse (9-19mm) aggregate only (at least 95 percent should pass the 20mm BS
sieve, not more than 10 percent should pass the 10mm BS sieve and nothing should
pass the 5mm BS sieve), and the product so formed has many uniformly
distributed voids throughout its mass.

No-fines concrete is mainly used for load bearing, cast in situ external and internal
wall, non load bearing wall and under floor filling for solid ground floors (CP III:
1970, BSI). No-fines concrete was introduced into the UK in 1923, when 50
houses were built in Edinburgh, followed a few years later by 800 in Liverpool,
Manchester and London.

This description is applied to concrete which contain only a single size 10mm to
20mm coarse aggregate (either a dense aggregate or a light weight aggregate such
as sintered PFA). The density is about two-third or three quarters that of dense
concrete made with the same aggregates.

No-fines concrete is almost always cast in situ mainly as load bearing and non load
bearing walls including in filling walls, in framed structures, but sometimes as
filling below solids ground floors and for roof screeds.

No-fines concrete is thus an agglomeration of coarse aggregate particles, each

surrounded by a coating of cement paste up to about 1·3 mm (0·05 in.) thick. There
exist, therefore, large pores within the body of the concrete which are responsible
for its low strength, but their large size means that no capillary movement of water
can take place.

Although the strength of no-fines concrete is considerably lower than that of

normal-weight concrete, this strength, coupled with the lower dead load of the
structure, is sufficient in buildings up to about 20 storeys high and in many other
applications.

Types of Lightweight Concrete Based on Density and Strength

LWC can be classified as :-

1. Low density concrete

2. Moderate strength concrete
3. Structural concrete
1. Low Density Concrete
These are employing chiefly for insulation purposes. With low unit weight, seldom
exceeding 800 kg/m³, heat insulation value are high. Compressive strength are low,
regarding from about 0.69 to 6.89 N/mm2.

2. Moderate Density Concrete

The use of these concrete requires a fair degree of compressive strength, and thus
they fall about midway between the structural and low density concrete. These are
sometimes designed as ‘fill’ concrete. Compressive strength are approximately
6.89 to 17.24 N/mm² and insulation values are intermediate.

3. Structural Concrete
Concrete with full structural efficiency contain aggregates which fall on the other
end of the scale and which are generally made with expanded shale, clay, slates,
slag, and fly-ash. Minimum compressive strength is 17.24 N/mm².

Most structural LWC are capable of producing concrete with compressive strength
in excess of 34.47 N/mm².

Since the unit weight of structural LWC are considerably greater than those of low
density concrete, insulation efficiency is lower. However, thermal insulation values
for structural LWC are substantially better than NWC.

Uses of Lightweight Concrete

1. Screeds and thickening for general purposes especially when such screeds or
thickening and weight to floors roofs and other structural members.
2. Screeds and walls where timber has to be attached by nailing.
3. Casting structural steel to protect its against fire and corrosion or as a covering for
architectural purposes.
4. Heat insulation on roofs.
5. Insulating water pipes.
6. Construction of partition walls and panel walls in frame structures.
7. Fixing bricks to receive nails from joinery, principally in domestic or domestic
type construction.
8. General insulation of walls.
9. Surface rendered for external walls of small houses.
10.It is also being used for reinforced concrete.
Advantages of Lightweight Concrete
1. Reduced dead load of wet concrete allows longer span to be poured un-propped.
This save both labor and circle time for each floor.
2. Reduction of dead load, faster building rates and lower haulage and handling costs.
The eight of the building in term of the loads transmitted by the foundations is an
important factor in design, particular for the case of tall buildings.
3. The use of LWC has sometimes made its possible to proceed with the design
which otherwise would have been abandoned because of excessive weight. In
frame structures, considerable savings in cost can be brought about by using LWC
for the construction floors, partition and external cladding.
4. Most building materials such as clay bricks the haulage load is limited not by
volume but by weight. With suitable design containers much larger volumes of
LWC can haul economically.
5. A less obvious but nonetheless important characteristics of LWC is its relatively
low thermal conductivity, a property which improves with decreasing density in
recent years, with the increasing cost and scarcity of energy sources, more
attention has been given the formerly to the need for reducing fuel consumption
while maintaining, and indeed improving, comfort conditions buildings. The point
is illustrated by fact that a 125 mm thick solid wall of aerated concrete will give
thermal insulation about four times greater than that of a 230 mm clay brick wall.
Durability of Lightweight Concrete
Durability is defined ass the ability of a material to withstand the effect of its
environment. In a building material as chemical attack, physical stress, and
mechanical assault:-
Chemical attack is as aggregate ground-water particularly sulfate, polluted air, and
spillage of reactive liquids LWC has no special resistant to these agencies: indeed,
it is generally move porous than the ordinary Portland cement. It is not
recommended for use below damp-course. A chemical aspects of durability is the
stability of the material itself, particularly at the presence of moisture.

Physical stresses to which LWC is exposed are principally frost action and
shrinkage and temperature stresses. Stressing may be due to the drying shrinkage
of the concrete or to differential thermal movements between dissimilar materials
or to other phenomena of a similar nature. Drying shrinkage commonly causes
cracking of LWC if suitable precautions are not taken.

Mechanical damage can result from abrasion or impact excessive loading of

flexural members. The lightest grades of LWC are relatively soft so that they
subject to some abrasion were they not for other reasons protected by rendering.
Introduction
No-fines concrete is a concrete containing little or no fine aggregate. The coarse
aggregate should preferably be a single-size material (nominal maximum sizes 10
mm and 20 mm being the most common). However, blended aggregates (10 and 7
mm; and 20 and 14 mm) have been found to perform satisfactorily. Because it is
characterised by uniformly distributed voids, it is not suitable for reinforced or
prestressed concrete construction.

Materials ■ Cement Type GP (General purpose portland) cements are suitable.

Extra care with curing is required if Type GB (General purpose blended) cements
are used.

■ Aggregates Aggregates should comply with AS 2858.1 and the particles should
not be flaky or excessively elongated (Flakiness index ≤ 30%)

Properties ■ Compressive Strength This is lower than conventional concrete and is

a function of the aggregate:cement ratio, the water-cement ratio, and the degree of
compaction (the density). Typical strengths are in the range 5 to 13 MPa. A mix
with an aggregate:cement ratio of 8:1; a water-cement ratio of 0.4; and a density of
1850 kg/m3 has a strength of approximately 7.5 MPa.

■ Drying Shrinkage Much lower than conventional concrete, eg in range 0.0002–

0.0003 microstrain.

■ Permeability High. Water and air flow easily through it but no quantitative data
is available. As noted above, blocking of the pores is more likely to occur the
smaller the aggregate size.

ADVANTAGES OF NO-FINES CONCRETE:

The principal advantages claimed for no–fines concrete are economy in materials,
somewhat higher thermal insulating values, lower shrinkage, and lower unit
weight. The major disadvantages are its low compressive, flexural, and bond
strength, and higher permeability.

1. The density of no fines concrete is very low.

2. No fines concrete does not segregate and the capillary movement of water is
almost nil.
3. It has better thermal insulating characters due to the presence of large voids.

4. This concrete can be used by dropping from a permissible height.

5. Shrinkage is also lower than normal concrete.

6. It is lightweight.

7. The formwork can be removed earlier.

8. No mechanical vibrator is required for compacting no fines concrete, simple

rodding method is sufficient for full compaction.

9. It gives better and attractive appearances.

10. Production cost is comparatively lower than other conventional concrete

because lower cement content is used.

DISADVANTAGES OF NO-FINES CONCRETE:

1. The strength of no-fines concrete is lower than ordinary concrete.

2. No-fines concrete cannot be used in reinforced concrete structure.

3. The consistency of no-fines concrete cannot be measured by any available

standard methods such as slump test, compacting factor test etc.

Applications
■ Walls in buildings Primarily in external and internal walls of low-rise and multi-
storey flats/units.

■ Car park paving Provides free-draining pavements for light traffic

■ Tennis courts Using a small nominal aggregate size, eg 5 mm, a free-draining

playing surface is achieved.
■ Drainage layers Used as drainage layers on civil engineering projects. 20-mm
aggregate size is preferred but the surface finish is poorer than that achieved using
10-mm aggregate.

■ Levelling courses Has been used as a lightweight screed for levelling on floors
and roofs.

Mix Proportions

Generally, the cement:aggregate ratio by volume is in the range 1:6 to 1:8. Leaner
mixes (1:8 to 1:10) reduce the likelihood of the pores being blocked by cement
paste. Thus for drainage layers where lower strength can be tolerated, 1:10 is
preferred. The water-cement ratio needs to be kept low, eg 0.4–0.45, to ensure the
cement paste coats the aggregates and does not run off.
High density concrete is a concrete having a density in the range of 6000 to 6400
kg/cu.m. High density concrete is also known as Heavy weight concrete. High
density concrete is mainly used for the purpose of radiation shielding, for
counterweights and other uses where high density is required.

Following properties of high density concrete have been observed:

1. The strength of this concrete measured on standard cylinders has been found 42
MPa at 28 days for a water/cement ratio 0.58 and 24 MPa at water/cement ratio
0.9.

2. The density of this concrete for a mix of 1:4.6:6.4 with water/cement ratio of
0.58 has been found as 3700 kg/m3.
3. The coefficient of thermal expansion of barite concrete measured in the range of
temperature of 4°C to 38°C is found about twice that of normal concrete.

4. The modulus of elasticity and poisson’s ratio of high density concrete and
normal concrete are approximately the same.

5. Shrinkage of high density concrete is about 1/4 to 1/3 of the normal concrete.

6. Thermal conductivity, diffusivity etc. of high strength concrete is considerably

lower than corresponding values for normal aggregate concrete.

7. Concrete made with barite aggregate does not stand well to weathering.

8. Fine barite aggregate delay the setting and hardening process of the concrete,
hence trial mixes are advisable.

9. No entrained air should be permitted in this concrete. However use of de-entrain

agent is suggested.

Advantage

1. It has sufficient capacity to absorb the radiation both of neutron and gamma
rays, reducing the radiation to a very weak state.

2. It has good mechanical properties as strength and durability.

3. When green, it can be molded into any shape. Thus the ease of construction
makes concrete a specially suitable material for radiation shielding.

4. Its initial and maintenance cost is also relatively low.

Disadvantages:
Its disadvantages are as follows:

1. As the sections of the structure are heavy, they need more space. Thus the use of
concrete as shielding against radiation needs more space.

2. The weight of shielding concrete is very high in the range of 3360 to 3840
kg/m3.

Application.
1. High density radiation shielding.
2. Precast blocks.
3. Mass concrete projects.
4. Gravity seawall, coastal projection and breakwater structure.
5. Bridge counterweigths.
6. Ballast for ocean vessels.
Polymer concrete is the composite material made by fully replacing
the cement hydrate binders of conventional cement
concrete with polymer binders or liquid resins, and is a kind of
concrete-polymer composite. For hardening of polymer concrete, most
liquid resins such as thermosetting resins, methacrylic resins and tar-
modified resins are polymerized at ambient or room temperature.
Classification of Polymer-Concrete Materials

Polymer-Portland Cement Concrete (PPCC),

(b) Polymer impregnated Concrete (PIC)

(c) Polymer Concrete (PC).

1.1 Polymer Portland Cement Concrete (PPCC)

A monomer, prepolymer of dispersed polymer is incorporated into a Portland

cement mix and a polymer network formed in situ during curing of the concrete.

1.2 Polymer-Impregnated Concrete (PIC)

Previously formed concrete is impregnated with a monomer which is subsequently

polymerized in situ. Polymers enhances the Strength Characteristics of the original
concrete.

1.3 Polymer Concrete (PC)

It is also known as Resin Concrete. A polymer is used to bind an aggregate

together.

History of Polymer Concrete

 The advancement in the field of polymer concrete had started after the 1950’s
when these materials were conditioned as a replacement of cement concrete
for some specific applications. The primary usage of polymer concrete has
been reported for building cladding. Later on, this concrete provides excellent
bonding to the steel reinforcement. Effect of curing at the ambient temperature
is rapid, thus it gains strength early. Hence, due to the high strength and good
durability, it is now being broadly used as a repair material.

Properties of Polymer Concrete

. Rapid Curing:

 Curing effect is rapid at the ambient temperatures from –18 to +40°C (0 to

104°f). According to ‘Raman Bedi and et al (2013)’,polymer concrete develops
70% strength after one day of curing at room temperature while the
conventional concrete gains only 20% strength of its 28-day strength in one
day.
02. Strength:

 Polymer concrete has high tensile strength, flexural strength, compressive

strength and good abrasion resistance as compared to cement-concrete.
03. Good Adhesion:

 Good adhesion to most surfaces improves adhesion to the old surface.

04. Durability:

 Polymer concrete gives good long-term durability of concrete with respect to

cycles of freezing and thawing action and chemical attack, as it reduces the
intrusion of chlorides and salts.
05. Low Permeability and Water Tightness:

 Polymer concrete is low permeable to water and aggressive solutions or

chemicals.
06. Lightweight:

 Use of polymer in concrete produces lightweight concrete.

Types of Polymer Materials Used in
Polymer Concrete
The most commonly used resins for polymer concrete are as follows:
 Unsaturated Polyester Resin
 Furan Resins
 Acrylics and Styrene-Acrylics
 Vinyl Acetate-Ethylene (VAE)
 Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA)
 Styrene-Butadiene Resin (SBR)
 Methyl Methacrylate MMA
 Styrene and Polyester Styrene
 Methanol
 Epoxy Resins
 Poly Urethane Resins (PUR)
 Urea Formaldehyde Resin and so forth.

Advantage;
1. It has high impact resistance and high compressive strength.

2. Polymer concrete is highly resistant to freezing and thawing.

3. Highly resistant to chemical attack and abrasion.

4. Permeability is lower than other conventional concrete.

Disadvantages of Polymer Concrete

 Polymer concrete is very expensive than a conventional concrete.
 Polymer concrete needs high skill and precise work while mixing.
 Improper proportioning of two-component materials can occur; thus, the proper
mix design is required.
 The chemicals or resins used in the polymer concrete can be risky; hence using
masks and hand gloves for skin protection is must.
Application;
Polymer concrete is broadly utilizing in several circumstances as following

1. Nuclear power plants.

2. Kerbstones.

3. Prefabricated structural element.

4. Precast slabs for bridge decks.

5. Roads.
6. Marine Works.
7. Prestressed concrete.

8. Irrigation works.
9. Sewage works.

10. Waterproofing of buildings.

11. Food processing buildings etc.
Geopolymer concrete is a type of concrete that is made by reacting aluminate and silicate
bearing materials with a caustic activator. Commonly, waste materials such as fly ash or slag
from iron and metal production are used, which helps lead to a cleaner environment.
CONSTITUENTS OF GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE
The following are the constituents of Geopolymer concrete
_ Fly Ash- rich in Silica and Aluminium
_ Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide
_ Sodium Silicate or Potassium Silicate

PROPERTIES OF GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE

_ sets at room temperature
_ non toxic, bleed free
_ long working life before stiffening
_ impermeable
_ higher resistance to heat and resist all inorganic solvents
_ higher compressive strength

Advantage;
1. Cutting the world’s carbon.
2. The price of fly ash is low.
3. Better compressive strength.
4. Fire proof
5. Low permeability.
6. Eco-friendly.
7. Excellent properties within both acid and salt enviroments

Disadvantage;
While geopolymer concrete appears to be the super concrete to take the place of
traditional Portland concrete, there are some disadvantages such as:

1. Difficult to Create – geopolymer concrete requires special handling needs and

is extremely difficult to create. It requires the use of chemicals, such as sodium
hydroxide, that can be harmful to humans.
2. Pre-Mix Only – geopolymer concrete is sold only as a pre-cast or pre-mix
material due to the dangers associated with creating it.
3. Geopolymerization Process is Sensitive – this field of study has been proven
inconclusive and extremely volatile. Uniformity is lacking.
Applications of Geopolymer Concrete
This concrete has been used for construction of pavements, retaining walls, water
tanks, precast bridge decks. Recently world's first building Structural Building, The
University of Queensland's Global Change Institute (GCI) has been constructed with the
use of geopolymer concrete.