CIVIL ENGINEERING MATERIALS II

ECE 2215

B. Sci and B.Ed in Civil Engineering

Year 2.2
 Course Outline:
• Timber: Nature and properties of wood, seasoning and effect of
moisture, defects, testing, grading. Basic and allowable stresses,
durability and preservations, uses, fire resistance.
• Steel: Methods of manufacture, types, properties, uses, methods of
working, heat treatment, welding, defects and fatigue.
• Introduction to Polymers and Plastics: types, properties and
deteriorations.
• Masonry: Building stone, blocks and brick types; properties, uses,
deterioration, design. Mixes and properties of mortar. Quality control
tests in masonry and mortar
• Lab Work - Grading of timber. Bending, tensile and shear tests of
timber, steel, polymers and masonry walls.
 Expected Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course the student should be able to:
a) Describe the nature and properties of wood, timber seasoning, timber
grading and defects
b) Explain timber strength properties, durability and preservation, fire
resistance.
c) Explain the methods of manufacture for structural steel, types, uses,
methods of working, defects and fatigue
d) Describe polymers and plastics and their engineering properties
e) Identify types and properties of materials used for masonry.
 Course References:
1. Somayaji, S. (2011). Civil engineering materials. Pearson Education India.
2. Mamlouk M. S., Zaniewski J. P., (2010), Materials for civil and construction
engineers, 3rd Edition, Pearson Education

Other References:
1. Kohler J., (2007), Reliability of timber structures, vdf Hochschulverlag AG
2. Salmon C. G., Johnson J. E., (1980), Steel structures: Design and behavior, 2nd
Edition, Harper & Row
3.Llewellyn D.T., Hudd R. C., (1998), Steels, Metallurgy and applications,
Butterworth Heinemann
4. Kasal B., Tannert T., (2010), In situ assessment of structural timber, Springer
 STEEL
Introduction
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon in which the carbon content ranges up to 2
% in content.
It is the most widely used material for building the world’s infrastructure and
industries, it is used to fabricate everything from sewing needles to oil tankers
The main reasons for the popularity of steel are:-
• Relatively low cost of making, forming, and processing it.
• Availability of its two raw materials (iron ore and scrap).
• Wide range of mechanical properties.
 Components of steel
Steel is composed of:-
• Blast furnace iron
• Steel Scrap
• Direct Residual Iron (DRI)
In its pure form, iron is soft and generally not useful as an engineering
material; the principal method of strengthening it and converting it into steel
is by adding small amounts of carbon.
In solid steel, carbon is generally found in two forms. Either it is in solid
solution in austenite and ferrite or it is found as a carbide.
 CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL
Steels can be classified reasonably well into a few major groups which
include:-
• Classification based on their chemical compositions
• Classification based on their applications
• Classification based on their shapes, and surface conditions.
 CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL
Based on their chemical compositions
On the basis of chemical composition, steels can be grouped into three major classes:
• Carbon steels,
• low-alloy steels
• high-alloy steels.
Carbon steels are by far the most produced and used, accounting for about 90 percent of the
world’s steel production. They are usually grouped into:
• high-carbon steels, with carbon above 0.5 percent;
• medium-carbon steels, with 0.2 to 0.5 percent carbon
• low-carbon steels, with 0.05 to 0.19 percent carbon
• extra-low-carbon steels, with 0.015 to 0.05 percent carbon
• ultralow-carbon steels, with less than 0.015 percent carbon.
 CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL
Based on their chemical compositions
Low-alloy steels have up to 8 percent alloying elements; any higher concentration is
considered to constitute a high-alloy steel.
There are about 20 alloying elements besides carbon.
These are manganese, silicon,
aluminum, nickel, chromium, cobalt, molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten, titanium, niobium,
zirconium, nitrogen, sulfur, copper, boron, lead, tellurium, and selenium. Several of these are
often added simultaneously to achieve specific properties.
 CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL
Classification based on Application
The many applications of steel demonstrate best the great versatility of this material. Most
often, steel consumers’ needs are met by carbon steels.
• High-strength low-alloy steels (HSLA) – They have low carbon level. They are used
for oil or gas pipelines, ships, offshore structures, and storage tanks.
• Free machining steels - developed for good machinability and fabricated into bolts, screws,
and nuts. They contain up to 0.35 percent sulfur and 0.35 percent lead; also, it sometimes
has small additions of tellurium or selenium. This keeps tools and workpieces clean,
improves tool life, and permits machining at higher speeds.
• Wear-resistant steels - wear-resistant steels, made into wear plates for rock-processing
machinery, crushers, and power shovels. Wear resistance is brought about by the high work-
hardening capabilities of these steels; this in turn is generated during the pounding
(i.e., deforming) of the surface. In other words, the more pounding the steel takes, the
stronger it becomes.
 CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL
Classification based on Application
are heat treated and are very hard, demonstrating enormous impact of material. They are used for
production of roller and ball bearings.
• Stainless steel - This outstanding group receives its stainless characteristics from an invisible,
self-healing chromium oxide film that forms when chromium is added at concentrations greater
than 10.5 percent. There are three major groups, the austenitic, the ferritic, and the martensitic.
• Electrical steels – These are high-silicon electrical steel used for the generation and transmission
of electric power. Electromagnets for alternating current are always made by laminating many
thin sheets, which are insulated in order to minimize the flow of eddy currents and thereby
reduce current losses and heat generation.
• Tool Steels – These are very hard, wear-resistant, tough, inert to local overheating, and
frequently engineered to particular service requirements. They are produced in small quantities,
contain expensive alloys, and are often sold only by the kilogram and by their individual trade
names.
 CLASSIFICATION OF STEEL
Classification based on shape and surface
In principle, steel is formed into either flat products or long products, both of which have
either a hot-rolled, cold-formed, or coated surface.
• Flat products - Flat products include plates, hot-rolled strip and sheets, and cold-rolled
strip and sheets; all have a great variety of surface conditions.
• Long products – Long products are made of either blooms or billets, which are, like
slabs, considered a semifinished product and are cast by a continuous caster or rolled at a
blooming mill. Long products include bars, rods and wires, structural shapes and rails,
and tubes. Bars are long products with square, rectangular, flat, round, hexagonal, or
octagonal cross sections.
• Hot rolled
• Cold formed
• Coated surface
 Processing of Steel
General Principle of processing of steel
• Steel making involves processes of melting, purifying and alloying carried out at
approximately 1600 degrees Celsius in molten conditions.
• Various chemical reactions are initiated either in sequence or simultaneously.
• Process models are used to control chemical reactions by analyzing options, optimizing
competing reactions, and designing efficient commercial practices.
• Raw materials required for steel processing include:-
• Blast iron furnace – It is used in liquid form at temp of 1400-1500 degrees Celsius. It
contains Carbon(4.5%), Silicon (0.8%), Manganese (0.6%), Sulphur(0.04%) and
Phosphorus(0.2%).
• Steel scrap – Metallic iron containing residuals like copper, tin and chromium
• Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) – Sourced by reducing iron ore through oxidation with
carbon monoxide (CO) and Hydrogen.
 Processing of Steel
There are three major steel making procedures
1. Basic Oxygen Process
2. Open Hearth Process
3. Electric Arc Process

Note: Basic Oxygen process and Open hearth process use liquid blast furnace and scrap metal
as raw materials while the electric arc method uses a solid charge of scrap and DRI as raw
materials.

Group Assignment 1: Question 1: To be presented in class in groups on 22/6/2022

Discuss and write short notes on the three steel making processes. Discuss the casting and the
forming of steel after productuction.
 Treating of Steel
Treating of steel are procedures done on steel to produce particular
microstructures and properties useful for specific works.
There are various ways of treating steel. They include:-
1. Heat treating - Some of the heat treating methods include:-
• Normalizing
• Annealing
• Quenching and tempering
• Surface treating
2. Pickling
3. Cleaning
4. Surface coating
 Treating of Steel
There are various ways of treating steel. They include:-
1. Normalizing – involves exposing steel to heat for a defined period of
time at a defined temperature, then cooling it in predetermined
conditions to obtained specific microstructure and properties.
2. Annealing – These are heating and cooling of steel in inert atmosphere
to prevent oxidation of steel surface.
3. Quenching and tempering – Heat treatment for plates, tubular products
and rails. They are quenched in special chambers and then tempered in
a separate low temperature furnace.
4. Surface treating – This is done by hot rolling of steel elements
 Treating of Steel
There are various ways of treating steel. They include:-
5. Pickling – This is removal of thin layers of iron oxide crystals coating
the steel by dissolving in acids.
6. Cleaning – Removal of organic substances and residues from the
surface of steel using lubricants. The cleaning lubricants can include:-
Caustic soda, phosphates, alkaline silicates etc.
7. Surface coating- Application of a metallic, organic or inorganic cover
on steel surface to mitigate defects. Some of these coats include:- zinc,
zinc alloys or aluminum.
 PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Physical properties of steel include-:
• Density of 7,850 kg/m3, making it 7.85 times as dense as water.
• Melting point of 1,510 C is higher than that of most metals. In comparison,
the melting point of bronze is 1,040 C, that of copper is 1,083 C, that of cast
iron is 1,300 C, and that of nickel is 1,453 C.
• Steel's coefficient of linear expansion is 11.1 meter per degree Celsius,
which makes is more resistant to changing size with changes in temperature
than, for example, copper (16.7), tin (21.4) and lead (29.1)
 PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Mechanical properties of steel include:-
• Young’s Modulus of Elasticity
• Yield Strength
• Ultimate tensile strength
• Fatigue strength
• Plasticity
• Hardness
• Ductility
• Toughness
• Corrosion
• Fire Resistance
 PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Mechanical properties of steel include:-
• Young’s Modulus of Elasticity – Illustrates the ability of steel to recover its
original dimension on removal of a load.
• Yield Strength – indicates the limit of the elastic behavior of steel. At this stress,
steel begins to deform plastically. Yield strength is approx. 1400MPa for high
strength steels
• Ultimate tensile strength – Maximum stress that can be sustained by a steel
structure in tension. It varies from 550-1100 MPa.
• Hardness – The ability of steel to withstand surface indentation and scratching.
• Ductility- Steel can be easily molded to desired shape
• Toughness – Has high ability to withstand energy without rapture or fracture
 PROPERTIES OF STEEL
Some of the ways for changing the mechanical properties of steel to suit
a specific purpose include:-
• Adjusting the carbon content.
• Heat-treating the steel
• Adding alloying elements other than carbon that produce characteristics
not achievable in plain carbon steel.
• Producing a small grain size is another method of strengthening steel,
since grain boundaries also restrain the flow of dislocations.
 TESTING OF STEEL
Some of the tests done on steel include:-
• Hardness test - This is measured by pressing a Vickers Diamond Pyramid
Hardness tester or a hard steel ball into the steel at a specific load. The
hardness expressed as the load in kilograms-force divided by the impressed
area of the pyramid in square millimeters.
• Tensile and yield strength - are determined by pulling a standardized
machined sample in a special hydraulic press and recording the pulling force
at increasing elongations until the sample breaks. The elongation at this
point, and the way the fracture looks, are good indications of the
steel’s ductility.
 FATIGUE AND CREEP IN STEEL
Fatigue is the initiation, and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic
loading while creep is a time dependent deformation of steel due to heavy load.
Fatigue in steel occurs when a material is subjected to repeated cycles of stress or
strain and occurs even at lower stress than the material Yield Stress.
Creep - when a material is subjected to a load for a very long time it may continue
to deform until a sudden fracture occurs.
Fatigue occurs in three different stages:-
• Crack initiation – formation of micro-cracks at the stress point.
• Crack propagation – The initial cracks are propagated to some critical size that
leads to weakening of the the uncracked sections to carry imposed loads.
• Sudden fracture of the cross-section – occurs when the stresses exceed the
value of fracture and toughness.
 DEFECTS IN STEEL
Group Assignment 1:
Question 2: To be presented in class in groups on 22/6/2022
Discuss different types of defects in steel, outlining their causes