Introduction To Concrete

Civil Engineering Materials
Lecture 16
Introduction to Concrete,
Ingredients of Concrete and their Function,
Characteristics of a Good Concrete,
Advantages and Disadvantages of Concrete and
Uses Of Concrete.
Prof.Dr.Tauha Hussain Ali / Engr. Masroor Ali Jatoi

Introduction:
 Concrete a composite man-made material, is the most widely

used building material in the construction industry.
 It consists of a rationally chosen mixture of binding material

such as lime or cement, well graded fine and coarse
aggregates, water and admixtures (to produce concrete with
special properties).
 In a concrete mix, cement and water form a paste or matrix which in
addition to filling the voids of the fine aggregate, coats the surface of
fine and coarse aggregates and binds them together.
 Freshly mixed concrete before set is known as wet or green concrete
whereas after setting and hardening it is known as set or hardened
concrete
 The moulded concrete mix after sufficient curing becomes hard like
stone due to chemical action between the water and binding material.
 Cement concrete when used by itself is known as “mass
concrete”.
 Concrete is much stronger in compression then tension.
 In order to enable it to resist tensile stresses it is reinforced

with steel bar, that is known as “reinforced concrete”.
Ingredients
of
Concrete
Ingredients
a. Binding Material
The binding Material may be cement or lime.
 It makes the concrete impermeable by filling up the voids

existing in the fine aggregate
 It binds the aggregate into a solid mass( due to its setting and
hardening properties)
 It imparts strength to the concrete

b. Fine Aggregate
 It fills the voids present in the coarse aggregate.
 It assists in hardening of cement by allowing water to penetrate
through its voids.
 It minimizes shrinking and cracking of concrete
 It prepares concrete economically.

c. Coarse Aggregate:
 Broken stone, broken bricks and gravel are generally used .
 It imparts greater volumetric stability and durability to

concrete.
 It increase the crushing strength of concrete.
 It acts as main filler, and forms the main bulk of concrete…

d. Water
 It plays an important role in mixing, compaction, setting and

hardening of concrete.
 Water influences the strength development and durability of
concrete
 Ordinary drinking water can be used for preparing concrete.
It should be free from certain chemicals injurious to cement.
 The quantity of water used should be just sufficient for
chemical reaction and suitable workability of the concrete
d. Water
• It wets the surface of the aggregates
• It facilitates spreading of cement over the fine aggregate
• It lubricates the surface of the aggregate which influences the

workability and compaction of concrete during plastic stage.
• It chemically combines with various compounds in cement to

form a binding medium for pieces of aggregate
Characteristics Of Good
Concrete
1. It should have compressive strength. The compressive strength should
not be less than 15.5 kN/mm2.
2. On hardening, it should exhibit minimum shrinkage.
3. It must be adequately dense. The density of a good concrete should be

about 24 kN/m3.
4. It should be economical for desired strength.
5. It should sufficiently hard and provide enough resistance to abrasion.
6. It must be adequately durable to resist the effects of weathering agencies.

7. It should have minimum thermal expansion as to provide good
resistance to fire.
8. It should provide the required finish to the concrete structure.
9. It should have sufficient impermeability or water tightness.
10. It should have minimum creep (creep, time yield or plastic flow is the
continuous strain with time which the concrete undergoes due to
application of external load).

Advantages:
1. It has high compressive strength, and the corrosive and weathering effects are
minimal. Its strength equals that of a hard material stone when properly
prepared.
2. As compared to other materials, concrete is economical in the long run.
3. It is durable and fire resistant and requires very little maintenance.
4. The green concrete can be easily handled and moulded into any shape or size
according to specifications.
5. The concrete can be pumped and hence it can be laid in the difficult positions
also.
6. Concrete can even be sprayed on and filled into the cracks for repairs by the
grinding process.
7. Being strong in compression, it has unlimited structural applications in
combination with steel reinforcement
Disadvantages:
1. Concrete is to reinforced with steel bars or meshes since it has low tensile
strength and hence cracks easily.
2. Provision for contraction joints has to be made to avoid the development of
cracks due to drying shrinkage and moisture movement in fresh concrete.
3. In order to avoid the formation of cracks due to thermal movement,
expansion joints have to be provided.
4. Concrete as a material less in ductility and this factor proves
disadvantageous with respect to earthquake resistance design.
5. Concrete is liable to disintegrate by alkali and sulphate attack.
6. Concrete undergoes creep under sustained loading resulting in reduction of
pre-stress in the pre-stressed concrete construction
Uses Of Concrete
The concrete is used in the construction of the following:
a)Foundations
b)Buildings
c)Roads
d)Airfields
e)Water retaining structures
f)Docks and harbors
g)Dams
h) Bridges
i)Bunkers
j)Silos, etc.
Thank you !!

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Civil Engineering Materials

Prof.Dr.Tauha Hussain Ali / Engr. Masroor Ali Jatoi

 Concrete a composite man-made material, is the most widely

 It consists of a rationally chosen mixture of binding material

 Concrete is much stronger in compression then tension.

 In order to enable it to resist tensile stresses it is reinforced

 It makes the concrete impermeable by filling up the voids

 It imparts strength to the concrete

 It fills the voids present in the coarse aggregate.

 It assists in hardening of cement by allowing water to penetrate

through its voids.

 It minimizes shrinking and cracking of concrete

 It prepares concrete economically.

 Broken stone, broken bricks and gravel are generally used .

 It imparts greater volumetric stability and durability to

 It increase the crushing strength of concrete.

 It acts as main filler, and forms the main bulk of concrete…

 It plays an important role in mixing, compaction, setting and

• It facilitates spreading of cement over the fine aggregate

• It lubricates the surface of the aggregate which influences the

• It chemically combines with various compounds in cement to

2. On hardening, it should exhibit minimum shrinkage.

3. It must be adequately dense. The density of a good concrete should be

4. It should be economical for desired strength.

5. It should sufficiently hard and provide enough resistance to abrasion.

6. It must be adequately durable to resist the effects of weathering agencies.

8. It should provide the required finish to the concrete structure.

9. It should have sufficient impermeability or water tightness.

continuous strain with time which the concrete undergoes due to

application of external load).

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