UNIT I

BUILDING MATERIALS
STONES
BRICKS
CEMENT
 CONCRETE
STEEL
CONCRETE

• Concrete is the most versatile material for all types of

construction works and has been used for
innumerable construction works, either as plain
concrete or as reinforced cement concrete or as
precast concrete, or prestressed concrete or in many
other forms.
• The various constituents of concrete are cement,
water, fine aggregate, and coarse, aggregates. In
Reinforced Cement Concrete Steel is also used.
• Cement: Properties and various types of cement
have already been discussed previously.
 Role of Aggregates in Concrete

60-80% of the volume of concrete is occupied by

aggregates.

Main significance:
– Cost
– Dimensional stability
– Strength and stiffness
– Abrasion resistance
 Aggregate: (Coarse and Fine)
 These are the inert or chemically inactive materials which
form the bulk of cement concrete.
 These aggregates are bound together by means of cement. The
aggregates are classified into two categories, Fine and coarse.
 The material which is passed through 4.75mm size sieve is
termed as fine aggregate. Usually natural river sand, issued as
a fine aggregate.
 The material which is retained on 4.75 mm size sieve termed
as a coarse aggregate. Broken stone is generally used as a
coarse aggregate.
Water:
 Water which is used for making concrete should be clean and free
from harmful impurities such as oil, alkali, acid etc.
 In general water which is fit for drinking should be used for making
concrete.
Grades of Concrete
 Concrete as per IS456:2000 is classified into three groups as
ordinary concrete, Standard concrete and High strength
concrete.
 M10, M15 and M20 are ordinary concrete, M25, M30, M35,
M40, M45, M50 and M55 are grouped as Standard concrete
and M60, M70, M75 and M80 are grouped under High
strength concrete.
 The letter ‘M’ refers to the mix and the number indicates the
specified compressive strength of that mix at 28 days
expressed in or Mega Pascal (MPa) or N/mm2.
 For lean concrete bases and simple foundations for masonry
walls M5 and M7.5 grades of concrete may be used. These
mixes need not be designed
 Grades of Concrete contd……
 Grades of concrete lesser than M20 are not to be used in RCC
work.
 For general guidance, the nominal mix proportions (volume
ratio) correspond approximately to the different grades as
follows:

 M 5 - 1:5:10 (Cement : Fine aggregate : Coarse aggregate)

 M 7.5- 1:4:8
 M 10 - 1:3:6
 M 15 - 1:2:4
 M 20 - 1:1.5:3
 M 25 - 1:1:2
Gain of strength with age contd……….
 The concrete develops strength with continued hydration.
 The rate of gain of strength is faster to start with and the rate gets
reduced with age.
 It is customary to assume the 28 days strength as the full
strength of concrete. Actually concrete develops strength beyond
28 days also. The variation of strength with age is given below

Age of curing (Days) Approx. Strength achieved

3 1/3rd of target strength
7 2/3rd
28 90 %
 Strength of Concrete
 Strength of concrete is its resistance to rupture.

 It may be measured in number of ways, such as strength in

compression, in tension, in shear or in flexure.

 The compressive strength of concrete is generally determined by

testing cubes or cylinders made in laboratory or field. The size of
the mould should be 150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm.

 Based on the compressive strength, only the concrete is graded.

 Strength of Concrete contd…..

The strength of the concrete is mainly depend on the following

factors:
 Quality of materials and grading of the aggregates
 Water cement ratio
 Cement content
 Age of concrete; and
 Methods of mixing, placing, compacting and curing.
Workability of concrete
 The workability of concrete indicates the ease
with which it can be mixed, placed and
compacted.
Slump Test to define workability
 Slump test is the most commonly used method of
measuring workability of concrete which can be
employed either in the laboratory or at site of
work.
Durability of Concrete
 The concrete possesses a high durability value, it is not much
affected by atmospheric actions.
 On the contrary, with the age, the concrete goes on hardening,
there by increasing in strength.
Water Cement Ratio
 The strength of concrete depends upon the quantity and quality
of its ingredients i.e. cement, aggregate and water.
 General assumption is that strength of concrete directly
depends up on the quantity of cement.
 If cement is more, strength will be more but this assumption is
not correct because strength of concrete also depends upon
water cement ration.
 Chloride
Ingress

Carbonation

Saturation
Water
Concrete

Silica in
Aggregates

Mathews
Operations in Concreting
The following processes are involved in making concrete to
achieve desired strength and durability.

1. Storing of material (Cement, aggregate)

2. Batching of material (By volume, by weight)
3. Mixing of concrete (By hand, by machine)
4. Transportation of concrete.
5. Placing of concrete.
6. Curing of concrete
Operations in Concreting contd……
1. Storing of Material
Cement:
 It is a fine powder and also hygroscopic in nature i.e. it
absorbs moisture from air or free water and starts setting.
 Hence the warehouses constructed for its storage must fulfill
the basic requirements.
 Cement stored for long time should be checked before its use.
Aggregates:
 It is essential that aggregate should be free from deleterious
materials, organic matters such as tree leaves, vegetable
wastes, animal refuse etc.
 It should have uniform moisture content and proper grading of
aggregates.
Operations in Concreting contd……

2. Batching of Materials
 Batching means measurement of ingredients of concrete for
proper mixing.
 Normally such a quantity is mixed in one batch, which can be
transported, placed and compacted with in time i.e. before
initial set takes place.
 Batching is of two types.
 Volume Batching.
 Weight Batching.
2. Batching of Materials contd……….
Measurement of Cement:
 Cement is always measured by weight.
 A batch of concrete should always consume full number of
bags. For this purpose weight, of cement bag is taken as 50 kg.
Measurement of Water:
 Water is generally measured by volume because its weight can
not be easily calculated.
Measurement of Aggregate by Volume:
 For these purpose generally wooden boxes of capacity
equivalent or part of one cement bag i.e. 35 liters are used.
These boxes are known as Petties or Farmas or Gauge Box.
2. Batching of Materials contd……….

Weigh Batching:
 As per the name, ingredients of concrete are measured by
weight.
 This is more accurate and is generally used where high quality
concrete is required.
 As described earlier generally one cement bag or its multiple is
the basic unit.
 In this system allowance for water present in aggregate is
made, but bulking has no effect.
Operations in Concreting contd……
3. Mixing of Concrete:
i) Hand Mixing
ii) Machine Mixing.
i) Hand Mixing: It is adopted for small works where quantity of
concrete required is small. In it various ingredients of concrete
are mixed by hand.

ii) Machine Mixing: For producing large quantity of concrete at

a faster rate and at lesser cost, machine mixing is adopted.

A. Continuous mixer
B. Batch type mixer.
3. Mixing of Concrete contd……….

A. Continuous mixer:
 It mixes and delivers concrete just as a steady stream of
concrete, till it is in operation.
 This type of mixers is not so common in use in India.

B. Batch type mixer:

 Mixes and discharge each loads of material separately. These
are of two types.
a. Tilting mixers.
b. Non-Tilting or Rotary Mixers.
Rotating mixer Tilting mixer
Manual & machine compaction
The relation between strength and water/ cement ratio of concrete
Operations in Concreting contd……
4. Transportation of concrete:
 As the initial setting time of cement is generally 30 minutes,
hence mixing, transportation, placing and compaction should
be completed with in this time.
 In no case this time should not exceed one hour after initial
setting time.
5. Placing of Concrete:
 As for as possible concrete should be placed in single
thickness.
 In case of deep sections, concrete should be placed in
successive horizontal layers and proper care should be taken to
develop enough bond between successive layers.
Placing of concrete
Operations in Concreting contd……
6. Curing of Concrete:
 Concrete surfaces are kept wet for a certain period after
placing the concrete.
 The period of curing depends on the type of cement and nature
of work.
 For ordinary Portland cement, the curing period is 7 to 14
days. If rapid hardening cement is used, curing period can be
considerably reduced.
 It can be done by spraying and ponding of water or covering
the concrete with moist earth, sand, or wet gunny bags.
Types of Concrete

• Plain Cement Concrete

• Reinforced Cement Concrete
• Pre Stressed Concrete
• Pre-Cast Concrete
• High Strength or High Performance Concrete
• Self Compacting or Self Consolidating Concrete
• Fibre Reinforced Concrete
• Light weight / Foamed Concrete
• Shotcrete
• Porous / pervious / permeable Concrete
• High Density Concrete
• Heat Resistant and Refractory Concrete
• Underwater Concrete
• Recycled Aggregate Concrete
• Geopolymer Concrete
1. Plain Cement Concrete
 It is a mixture of cement, sand pebbles or crushed rock and
water. It possesses the following important properties.
 It is free from corrosion
 It has a high compressive strength
 It binds rapidly with steel
 It has a tendency to be porous.

2. Reinforced Cement Concrete

 Plain cement concrete is strong in compression but weak in
tension.
 To make this efficiency better steel bars known as
reinforcement are embedded in concrete.
 Plain concrete

Reinforced concrete
 High Strength / High Performance Concrete

• High performance concrete is that which satisfies the

requisites in terms of all the critical aspects of the
fabrication and utilization, at the lowest possible cost.

• There is no unique high performance concrete. The mix

design depends on the application.

• High performance concrete refers to a type of concrete

that offers more than just high strength.

• Generally, high performance implies both high

compressive strength and durability, today.
High Strength / High Performance Concrete

Important Characteristics
• Good quality material components
• Dense packing of aggregates
• Low water/cement ratio, normally less than 0.35
• Incorporation of one or more pozzolanic mineral
admixtures, such as silica fume, fly ash, slag &
metakaolin
• Adequate type and dosage of superplasticizer to
obtain the desired workability
• Proper curing to avoid early cracking due to
shrinkage and thermal stresses
 High Strength / High Performance Concrete
Mechanical Behaviour

• More pre-peak
linearity
• Less pre-peak
HSC cracking and no crack
stress
coalescence
• Sharp post-peak
descent

Usual
concrete

strain
 High Strength / High Performance Concrete
• Example of Applications

Hibernia Offshore Platform, 1997

• More than 110 m
high
• Designed to
resist iceberg
impact
• Vertical parts
were slipformed;
placing rate was
1 m/day

Most concrete had unit weight of

2200-2250 kg/m3, elastic modulus > 32 GPa,
characteristic compressive strength = 69 MPa
 Self-Compacting Concrete
• It is a concrete that is capable of flowing within a mould or
formwork, filling it completely, passing through the
reinforcement and consolidating under its own weight.

• Important characteristics in the fresh state:

 Flowability or filling ability
 Passing ability
 Stability or resistance against segregation
The mechanisms that govern these properties are the fluidity
and internal cohesion of the fresh concrete.
 Self-Compacting Concrete
General Characteristics

• Maximum aggregate size limited to 25 mm

• Paste content of about 400 litre/m3

• Water/fines ratio of 0.31-0.36

• Fines content of 500-600 kg/m3 (i.e., cement, mineral
admixtures, fillers)
• Coarse aggregate/sand ratio of about 50/50

• Superplasticizer for fluidity

• Viscosity modifier for stability and robustness

 Shotcrete / Sprayed Concrete
• Concrete or mortar that is placed and
compacted by projecting it
pneumatically at high velocity onto a
surface.

• Wet-mix shotcrete: All major

ingredients are mixed before
introduction in the hose. Compressed
air is introduced to the material at the
nozzle. If an accelerator is used, it is
normally added at the nozzle.

• Used in tunnel lining, slope stabilization

and repair.

• Possibility of use in sloped and shell

Shorcrete mixing process
 Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC)
• Conventional fibre performance concrete is that which has a
homogeneous distribution of randomly-oriented short fibres.
• Fibres normally used are steel or polypropylene. Steel fibres
improve the properties of the hardened concrete (i.e.,
increase the post-cracking strength). Asbestos, glass, nylon
or coconut fibers are also used.
Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC)
• The fibres are generally:
• much shorter than the dimensions of the concrete element
• stronger and can elongate more than the matrix under
tension
• introduced in the matrix during the mixing of the concrete

 The advantages are:

• It has thin sections
• More durable
• Increases toughness of concrete
• Decrease plastic shrinkage cracking.
 Lightweight Concrete (LWC)

• Lightweight concrete has a maximum density of

1900 kg/m3 and is achieved by using low-density
aggregates.

• Intermediate-density concretes, where part or all the

normal-density coarse aggregates are replaced with
structural-grade low-density aggregates, have densities
of 1900-2200 kg/m3.

• Low density aggregates used could be natural

(expanded by heating or of volcanic origin), such as
shale, clay or slate; processed, such as sintered or cold-
bonded fly ash.
 High Density Concrete (HDC)

• High-density or heavyweight concrete has a density

greater than 2800 kg/m3, and a typical range of 3200 –
4200 kg/m3. It is made with aggregates having high
density, such as iron ores or pieces of steel (i.e.,
punchings, shots, rods).

• Densities of up to 3600-4000 kg/m3 can be obtained

with naturally occurring aggregates (both fine and
coarse), such as haematite, magnetite, limonite and
ilmenite. For higher densities, steel pieces have to be
used.
• The mixes are generally harsh and have a tendency to
segregate. Other than this, the mix proportioning is
similar to that of normal concrete.
Alexander & Mindess; Forde
 High-Density Concrete

• The main application is in nuclear power plants and

proton beam therapy clinics for radiation shielding as
the high density facilitates the attenuation of gamma
and fast neutron radiation. For the attenuation of
moderate and slow neutrons, aggregates containing
hydrogen are desirable and so boron-containing
aggregates are useful.

• In India, HDC has been used in the nuclear power

plants in Rawatbhata and Kalpakkam for radiation
shielding.

• Other applications include counterweights and in

underwater pipeline coverings.
Alexander & Mindess; Forde
 Heat Resistant / Refractory Concrete

• Heat-resistant concrete can be exposed to

temperatures up to 1000 °C, and refractory concrete up
to 1900 °C.

• These concretes are made with high-alumina cement,

which contains about 40% of alumina and 40% of lime,
and the main cementitious compounds are CA and
C12A7, whose hydration results in C-A-H.

• Aggregates that can resist high temperatures such as

slag need to be used.
 Underwater Concrete

• Concrete to be placed under water must be cohesive

(to minimise cement washout), flowing (to fill spaces
and bond well) and self-compacting (as vibration is not
practical).

• Normally, a higher fines content and a viscosity

modifying admixture is used in underwater concrete.

• The concrete should be protected such that the fines

are not washed away. This can be achieved by using
tremies and pumps.
 Recycled Aggregate Concrete

• Recycled aggregate concrete generally refers to that

made with aggregates derived from construction and
demolition waste.

• The majority of such concretes are used in road

subbase construction, engineering fill or landfill
engineering.

• There is a good potential for its use in building blocks

and paver blocks/slabs.

Forde
 Recycled Aggregate Concrete

Aggregates derived from other industrial wastes:

• Waste Glass: Can be used as fine aggregates under
some circumstances. Has been used to get a glittery
surface in precast concrete. Can be susceptible to
alkali-silica reactivity.
• Granulated or crumb rubber: Can be used in low-
strength flowable concretes. Improves flexibility and
thermal insulating properties.
• Incinerator bottom ash: Waste from the burning of
municipal waste has been used in low strength non-
structural concrete.

Alexander & Mindess

 Geopolymer Concrete
• Geopolymer concrete is one where the binder is made
up of fine aluminosilicates activated by alkalis to give
poly(sialates). Sialate stands for silicon-oxo-aluminate.
Poly(sialates) are inorganic polymers with chain and
rings structures of Si4+ and Al3+ in coordination with
oxygen.

• There are a large range of natural materials, such as

zeolite, lateritic rock and soils, clay, mica and feldspar,
and waste products, such as fly ash and slag, that can
be used in the production of geopolymers.

• Potential applications include building and paver

blocks, heat- and chemical-resistant composites, and
hazardous waste encapsulation.
www.geopolymer.org; Forde
Pre-stressed Concrete
 In this type of concrete, high tensile steel wires are used as
reinforcement instead of mild steel bars.
 There are two types of prestressing namely

i) Pre-tensioning and
ii) Post tensioning.

i) Pre-tensioning:
 In pre-tensioning method, the wires are initially stressed and
the concrete is cast in the moulds built around the wires.
 The wires released after the concrete attain its strength.
Prestressed concrete
Pre-stressed Concrete contd…….

 The tendency of the wires to return to their original length sets

up a compression in concrete, which helps the concrete to
resists more tensile stress.

ii) Post-tensioning:
 In post tensioning the wires are placed inside the concrete and
then stressed.
 The use of prestressed concrete results in saving of concrete
and steel to the extent of 50% and 80% respectively compared
to RCC.
 No-fines /pervious / permeable Concrete
 It consists of cement, coarse aggregate and water. Thus fine aggregate
or sand is eliminated.
 This concrete has been adopted for parking areas, path to swimmimg
pools, etc.,
 The advantages are.
• It possesses better insulating properties
• The unit weight of no-fines concrete is about 2/3 of the unit weight of
conventional concrete.
• There is direct saving in material requirements as the concrete does
not require sand.
• The drying shrinkage is low
 Precast Concrete

 Precast concrete is manufactured in a factory and the

transmitted to the site.
 The advantages are:
• The pre-cast articles may be given the desired shape and finish
with accuracy.
• The labour required in the manufacturing process of pre-cast
units can be easily trained.
• Concrete of superior quality is produced
• The pre-cast structures can be dismantled when required and
they can then be suitably used elsewhere.
• The work can be completed in short time.
Precast panels
IIT madras low cost building
 UNIT I
BUILDING MATERIALS
STONES
BRICKS
CEMENT
 CONCRETE
STEEL