Lecture 1:

Introduction to concrete
Engr. USAMAALI
Contents
 What is concrete?
 History
 Components
 Properties
 Classification
What is Concrete?
 Concrete is a composite construction material
composed primarily of aggregate, cement and water
What is Concrete?
 Concrete is a composite material composed of coarse
granular material (the aggregate or filler) embedded in a
hard matrix of material (the cement or binder) that fills
the space among the aggregate particles and glues them
together.
 Alternatively, we can say that concrete is a composite
material that consists essentially of a binding medium in
which their are embedded particles or fragments of
aggregates.
 The simplest definition of concrete can be written as
concrete = filler + binder
History
 The word concrete comes from the Latin
word "concretus" (meaning compact or
condensed)

 During the Roman Empire, Roman concrete was

made from quicklime, pozzolana and an aggregate
of pumice.

 An analysis of mortar from the Great Pyramid

showed that it contained 81.5 per cent calcium
sulphate and only 9.5 per cent carbonate.
History (Cont’d)
In Serbia, remains of a hut dating from Cementing material, used in the
5600 BC have been found, with a floor construction of the cities of Harappa
made of red lime, sand, and gravel. and Mohenjadaro. (3300–1300 BC)
(3000BC)
History (Cont’d)
The multiple arches of the Pont du
Hadrian's Pantheon in Rome is an
Gard, in Roman Gaul. Its lower tiers
example of Roman concrete
carry a road across the river, and the
construction. 126AD
upper tiers support an aqueduct conduit
that carried water to Nimes (300AD)
 History (Cont’d)
 The first recorded fact points to the year 1756 when John
Smeaton, an engineer made the present day concrete by
mixing coarse aggregate (pebbles) and powered brick and
mixed it with cement.

 In 1793, he built the Eddystone Lighthouse in Cornwall,

England with the use of hydraulic cement.

 Another major development took place in the year 1824.

An English inventor Joseph Aspdin invented Portland
cement. He made cement by burning grounded chalk and
finely crushed clay in a limekiln till the carbon dioxide
evaporated, resulting in strong cement.
 History (Cont’d)
 There has been no looking back for concrete since its
modern development. Known as the strongest building
material, concrete has found major uses in dams, highways,
buildings and many different kinds of building and
construction.

 As of 2006, about seven billion cubic meters of concrete

are made each year, more than one cubic meter for every
person on Earth. Concrete powers a $US 35-billion
industry which employs more than two million workers in
the United States alone. More than 55,000 miles of
highways in America are paved with this material.
 History (Cont’d)

 The People's Republic of China currently consumes 40% of

the world's cement/concrete production.
Components of Concrete
 Cement

 Aggregates
Fine Aggregates
Coarse Aggregates

 Water
Cement
Fine Aggregates
Coarse Aggregates
Classification of concrete
 Classification according to binding material
 Classification according to design
 Classification according to purpose
Classification according to binding material
1.Cement Concrete: In this type, cement is used as a
binding material, sand as fine aggregates and gravel,
crushed stones as coarse aggregates. In cement
concrete useful proportions of its ingredients are
1 part cement:1-8 part sand:2-16 parts coarse aggregates.

2.Lime Concrete: In this type of concrete hydraulic

lime is generally used as a binding material, sand and
cinder are used as fine aggregates and broken
bricks, gravel can be used as coarse aggregates
Classification according to design
1.Plain Cement Concrete: The cement concrete in which
no reinforcement is provided is called plain cement concrete
.This type of concrete is strong in taking compressive
stresses but weak in taking tensile stresses. Commonly used
for foundation work and flooring of buildings
2. Reinforced Cement Concrete: The cement
concrete in which reinforcement is embedded for taking
tensile stress is called reinforced cement concrete. RCC is
commonly used for construction of slabs, beams and
columns, Usual proportions of ingredients in a reinforced
concrete are 1part of cement:1-2parts of sand:2-4parts of
crushed stones or gravel.
Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC)
Classification according to design (Cont’d)
3.Pre-Stressed Cement Concrete: The cement
concrete in which high compressive stresses are
artificially induced before their actual use is called pre-
stresses cement concrete.
in this type of cement concrete, the high compressive
stresses are induced by pre-tensioning the reinforcement
before placing the concrete, and the reinforcement is
released when final setting of the concrete take place.This
concrete can take up high tensile and compressive
stresses without development of cracks. The quantity of
reinforcement can be considerably reduced by using this
concrete
PRE-STRESSED CEMENT CONCRETE
(PCC)
PRE-STRESSED CEMENT CONCRETE
(PCC)
PRE-STRESSED CEMENT CONCRETE
(PCC)
Classification according to purpose
1. Normal concrete
2. High Performance Concrete
3. High Density Concrete
4. Fiber Reinforced Concrete
5. Air Entrained Concrete
6. Light Weight Concrete
7. Self Compacting Concrete
8. Shotcrete
9. Pervious Concrete
10.Roller Compacted Concrete
Advantages of concrete
1. Economical:
Concrete is the most inexpensive and the most readily available
material in the world. The cost of production of concrete is low
compared with other engineered construction materials. The three
major components in concrete are water, aggregate, and cement.
Compared with steels, plastics, and polymers, these components are
the most inexpensive, and are available in every corner of the world.
This enables concrete to be produced worldwide at very low cost for
local markets.
2. Ambient temperature-hardened material:
Because cement is a low-temperature bonded inorganic material and
its reaction occurs at room temperature, concrete can gain its
strength at ambient temperature. No high temperature is needed.
3. Ability to be cast:
Fresh concrete is flow able like a liquid and hence can be poured into
various formworks to form different desired shapes and sizes right on
a construction site. Hence, concrete can be cast into many different
configurations
Advantages of concrete
4. Energy efficient:
Compared with steel, the energy consumption of concrete
production is low. The energy required to produce plain
concrete is only 450–750 kW/ton and that of reinforced
concrete is 800–3200 kW/ton, while structural steel requires
8000 kW/ton or more to make
5. Excellent resistance to water:
Unlike wood (timber) and steel, concrete can be hardened in
water and can withstand the action of water without serious
deterioration, which makes concrete an ideal material for
building structures to control, store, and transport water, such as
pipelines, dams, and submarine structures.
6. High-temperature resistance:
Concrete conducts heat slowly and is able to store considerable
quantities of heat from the environment.
Advantages of concrete.
7. Ability to consume waste:
With the development of industry, more and more by-products
or waste has been generated, causing a serious environmental
pollution problem. To solve the problem, people have to find a
way to consume such wastes. It has been found that many
industrial wastes can be recycled as a substitute (replacement)
for cement or aggregate, such as fly ash, slag (GGBFS = ground
granulated blast-furnaces slag), waste glass, and ground vehicle
tires in concrete. Production of concrete with the incorporation
of industrial waste not only provides an effective way to protect
our environment, but also leads to better performance of a
concrete structure. Due to the large amount of concrete
produced annually, it is possible to completely consume most of
industry waste in the world.
Advantages of concrete
9. Less maintenance required:
Under normal conditions, concrete structures do not need
coating or painting as protection for weathering, while for a
steel or wooden structure, it is necessary. Moreover, the
coatings and paintings have to be replaced few years. Thus,
the maintenance cost for concrete structures is much
lower than that for steel or wooden structures.
Disadvantages of concrete
Following are the disadvantages of concrete:
1. Low tensile strength: The tensile strength of reinforced concrete
is about one-tenth of its compressive strength.
2. Brittle Material: Easily breakable like glass. Less or no Elasticity
3. Formwork is needed: Fresh concrete is in a liquid state and needs
formwork to hold its shape and to support its weight. Formwork
can be made of steel or wood.
4. Long curing time: Strength Development need proper curing.
5. Cracks Occurring: Shrinkage causes crack development and
strength loss.
6. Demands Strict Quality Control: Concrete demands strict
quality control and skilled labor during mixing, placing and curing of
concrete. This is important for superior quality of concrete. If not,
concrete is viable to poor strength, durability and performance
issues.
THANK YOU