Civil engineering & construction graphics

Muhammad Hussain
2018-CIV-92
Concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded
together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time

In concrete technology, a variety of type-names has been used for different types
of concrete. This classification is based on three factors:

1. Type of material used in its making.

2. Nature of stress conditions.
3. And it’s density.

Different Types of Concrete.

A brief account of different types of concrete is given below.

1. Plain or Ordinary Concrete.

2. Lightweight Concrete.
3. High-Density Concrete.
4. Reinforced Concrete.
5. Precast Concrete.
6. Prestressed Concrete.
7 Glass Concrete.
8. Rapid Hardening Concrete.
9. Asphalt Concrete.
10. Lime Concrete.
11. Stamped Concrete.
12. Pumped Concrete.
13. Vacuum Concrete.
14. Permeable Concrete.
15. Shotcrete.
16. Ready-mix Concrete.
17. Self-Consolidated Concrete.
18. Fiber Reinforced Concrete.
19. Fly Ash Concrete.
20. High Strength Concrete.
21. Silica Fume Concrete.
22. Polymer Concrete.
23. Ferro Cement Concrete.
24. Pre-packed Concrete.
1. Plain or Ordinary Concrete.
It is one of the most commonly used types of concrete. In this type of concrete, the
essential constituents are cement, sand and coarse aggregates designed, and mixed
with a specified quantity of water.
The ratio of essential constituents may be varied within wide limits. A very
commonly used mix design, commonly known as Nominal Mix Design, is 1:2:4.
Plain concrete is mostly used in the construction of pavements and in buildings,
where very high tensile strength is not required. It is also used in the construction
of Dams.
Among the most important properties of ordinary concrete, the following may be
mentioned.

 Density: 2200 – 2500 Kg/meter.cube.

 Compressive Strength: 200 – 500 Kg/centimeter.square.
 Tensile Strength: 50 – 100 Kg/centimeter.square.
 Durability: Very Satisfactory.

2. Lightweight Concrete:
Any types of concrete having a density less than 1920 Kg/m3 is classed
as lightweight concrete.
Various types of aggregates that are used in the manufacturing of lightweight
concrete include natural materials like pumice and scoria, artificial materials
like expanded shales and clays and processed materials like perlite and vermiculite.
The single important property of lightweight concrete is its very low thermal
conductivity.

For example: Thermal conductivity – the k value, for plain concrete may be as
high as 10-12. But the thermal conductivity of Lightweight concrete is about 0.3.
Lightweight Concretes are used, depending upon their composition, for thermal
insulation, for protecting steel structures, they are also used in long span bridge
decks, and even as building blocks.

Aerated Concrete is a variety of extremely lightweight concrete ( density 480-800

Kg/m3 ). This is obtained by using cement, sand, and powdered fuel ash as
constituents.

3. High-density Concrete:
This type of concrete is also called heavy weight concrete. In this concrete type,
the density varies between 3000-4000 Kg/m3.
These types of concrete are prepared by using high density crushed rocks as coarse
aggregates. Among such materials, Barytes is the most commonly used material,
which has a specific gravity of 4.5.
They are mostly used in atomic power plants and other similar structures because it
provides good protection from all type of radiations.

4. Reinforced Concrete:
It is also called RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete). In this concrete type, steel in
various forms is used as reinforcement to give very high tensile strength.
In fact, it is because of the combined action of plain concrete (having high
compressive strength) and steel (having high tensile strength).

The steel reinforcement is cast in the form of rods, bars, meshes, and all
conceivable shapes.

Every care is taken to ensure the maximum bond between the reinforcement and
the concrete during the setting and hardening process.

Thus, the resulting material (RCC) is capable of bearing all types of stress in any
type of construction. RCC is the most important concrete type.

5. Precast Concrete:
This term refers to numerous types of concrete shapes that are cast into molds
either in a factory or at the site.

However, they are not used in construction until they completely set and hardened
in a controlled condition.

Some of the examples of Precast Concrete are; precast poles, fence posts,
concrete lintels, staircase units, concrete blocks, and cast stones, etc.
These structural and decorative members are prepared in a well-equipped place
where all arrangements are made for;

1. Perfect proportioning of the ingredients of concrete.

2. Thorough mixing of the cement, aggregates, and water to obtain the mix of the
desired design and consistency.
3. Careful handling during transport and placement in the perfect design molds.
4. Perfect curing, under the controlled conditions of temperature and humidity.
Even steam curing is used to obtain precast products having high strength in much
less time.
5. The latest trend in the construction industry is to shift more and more to
prefabricated concrete units in building construction.

6. Prestressed Concrete:
It is a special type of reinforced concrete in which the reinforcement bars are
tensioned before being embedded in the concrete.

Such tensioned wires are held firm at each end while the concrete mix is placed.
The result is that when the concrete sets and hardens, the whole concrete members,
so the cast is put into compression.

This sort of arrangement makes the lower section of the reinforced concrete also
stronger against tension, which is the principal cause of the development of tension
cracks in un-tensioned reinforced concrete.

Since pre-stressing involves the use of jacks and tensioning equipment, the pre-
stressed concrete is also cast in the factories.

Some of its advantages are the following.

1. The potential compressive strength of concrete gets considerably increased.
2. The risk of development of tension cracks in the lower sections of beams is
considerably reduced.
3. The resistance to shear is greatly reduced. This eliminates the necessity of
stirrups to a great extent.
4. Lighter members can be used than the un-tensioned (normal) reinforced-
concrete.
5. The prestressed concrete is greatly favored in the construction of;
 Bridges.
 Long span Roofs.
 Most structures with the heavy dead load.

7. Glass Concrete.
When the recycled glass is used as an aggregate in the concrete, this type of
concrete is known as Glass Concrete.

They provide better thermal insulation and also have a great appealing look as
compared to other types.
8. Rapid Hardening Concrete.
This type of concrete is mostly used in underwater construction and in repairing of
roads. Because its hardening time is very less, it can be hardened in just a few
hours.

They are also used in building construction, where the work should be done fast.

9. Asphalt Concrete.
Asphalt concrete is a combination of aggregates and asphalt. It is also known
as Asphalt. They are vastly used in the highways, airports, as well as in the
embankments.
They can be hardened in just an hour. That is the reason for its vast usage in roads.

10. Lime Concrete.

In this type of concrete, lime is used as a binding material with the aggregates.
Before the invention of cement, the mostly used concrete was lime concrete.

In today’s age, Lime concrete is also used in floors, domes, etc.

11. Stamped Concrete.

They are ordinary concrete with some little differences and are mostly used for
architectural purposes.

A stamp of different shape and design placed on the concrete structures when they
are in their plastic state to acquire an appealing look design.

Pigments are used for color purposes of different types to give it a more realistic
and appealing look.

12. Pumped Concrete.

Pumped concrete is used for high rise buildings where concrete conveyance other
than the pump is not easy task.

They are made workable enough for an easy conveyance. Fines material are used
for a better supply. The more, the finer material, the easy will be the discharge.

The pump used for conveyance purposes is made from rigid or flexible materials to
discharge the concrete easily.
13. Vacuum Concrete.
In this type, more quantity of water is added to the concrete mix, and then the
mixture is poured into the formwork.

The excess water is then removed from the concrete with the help of a vacuum
pump. That is why it is called vacuum concrete.

This technique is used to attain the strength of concrete early. It will attain the
compressive strength within the period of 10 days as compared to 28 days of
ordinary concrete.

14. Permeable Concrete.

Permeable concrete is prepared in such a manner that the water can be passed in it.
They have about 15 to 20% voids so that the water can pass in it.

They are used in those areas where stormwater issues persist.

15. Shotcrete.
Shotcrete is a concrete prepared in the same manner as ordinary, but the difference
is that they are placed differently.

They are placed with the help of higher air pressure through nozzles. The benefit of
this technique is that the compaction and placing of concrete will be done
simultaneously.

16. Ready Mix Concrete.

This concrete type is prepared in concrete plants and or transported by the help of
truck mounted transit mixtures.

Once they are reached at the site then, there is no further treatment necessary.

The plant location will be at an adjustable location so that the concrete can be
supplied before the setting time can be started.

17. Self-Consolidated Concrete.

These types of concrete are compacted by its own weight, mean by the process of
consolidation. There is no need for using a vibrator or doing manual compaction.

The workability of concrete is always high in this type. That is the reason it is also
known as flowing concrete.

18. Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC).

It is that type of concrete in which steel fibers 10 to 20 microns in diameter and 10
to 50 mm in length is used.

Fiber increases resilience, tensile strength, flexibility, and other qualities.

The fibers may be of different materials like steel, polymer, glass, carbon, or even
natural fibers like coconut fiber.

Some type of fibers react with the cement; special care should be taken while using
them. It has been used mostly as overlays for pavements in bridges, airports, and
over industrial floors.

Fiber reinforced concrete can also be used in places where increased resistance to
cracking is required.

19. Fly Ash Concrete.

Concrete using fly ash is called fly ash concrete. Fly ash is obtained from coals.
Fly ash can be used to replace fine aggregates or cement or to replace partially
both.

Up to 30 percent replacement of fine aggregates and 20 percent replacement of

cement have been reported.

Fly ash improves workability in the fresh concrete and durability and strength
in hardened concrete.
The particles of fly ash should be finer than of cement particles.
20. High Strength Concrete.
High-strength concrete is concrete with strength over 40 N/mm2. It is also known
as High-performance concrete (HPC).

High-performance concrete is used to achieve some special properties in concrete

like high strength, low shrinkage, self-compaction, high fire resistance, etc.

Normally, the strength of such concrete should be over 60 N/mm2 (Strengths up to

80 N/mm2 have been reported).

The materials used in the HPC are the following:

1. Cement,
2. Coarse and fine aggregates of the required quality,
3. Water,
4. Supplementary cementing materials like silica fume, fly ash, blast furnace slag,
etc.
5. Super plasticizers (high water reducing agents),
6. Air entraining agents (optional).

21. Silica Fume Concrete.

Silica fume is a byproduct of silica which is very finely divided in the industry.
Concrete in which silica fume is used is called “silica fume concrete.”
The typical concrete with normal water-cement ratio always has micro-pores,
which limits the strength of regular concrete.

Silica fumes consist of very fine particles (actually, 6 times finer than of cement
particles).

Hence, if it is added to the concrete mix, the minute pore spaces can be reduced,
resulting in high-strength concrete.
Silica fume is also a pozzolana which will contribute to the strength. Thus, silica
fume, along with super plasticizers is a necessary component of high-performance
and high-strength concrete.

22. Polymer Concrete.

Polymerization is a process of conversion of monomers into polymers. In normal
concrete, you should have seen that micro-pores cannot be avoided.

The impregnation of monomer into these pores and subsequent polymerization is

the technique that has been developed recently to reduce the porosity of the
concrete and to improve its strength and other properties.

The following are the four types of polymer concrete materials available at present.

1. Polymer impregnated concrete (PIC).

This concrete type is ordinary-cured concrete, which is dried in an oven, and the
air in the open cells is removed by vacuum.

A low viscosity monomer is introduced into these spaces, which is then

polymerized by application of chemical action or heat or by using radiation.

2. Polymer Portland cement concrete (PPCC).

This types of concrete are made by mixing a monomer along with the mixing of
aggregates, cement, and water. However, the concrete obtained by this method is
not as strong as the impregnated-type.

3. Polymer concrete (PC).

In this type of concrete, instead of cement, the polymer is used with the aggregates.
It is not a true concrete as used in civil engineering terminology.

4. Partially-impregnated and surface-coated polymer concrete.

This name is self-explanatory. All these materials at present are mostly used in
building construction only to improve durability or repairs works.

23. Ferro Cement Concrete.

Ferro cement concrete should not be confused with fiber concrete. Ferro cement
consists of closely spaced wire-meshes which are impregnated with a rich mix of
cement mortar.

Usually, 0.5 to 1.0 mm diameter steel wires are formed into meshes.

Mortar 1:2 to 1:3 with a water-cement ratio of 0.4 to 0.45 is poured into the form-
work with fabricated steel by using layers of the wire mesh.
The steel content of this concrete will be as high as 300 to 500 kg/m3 of mortar. As
the material consists of a large percentage of steel, it has high ductility and tensile
strength.

The material was developed in 1940 by the Italian architect P. L. Nervi to build a
large number of pleasing structural forms.

24. Pre-Packed Concrete.

Generally, concrete is prepared by mixing different ingredients.

However, it is also possible to pack some of the ingredients (coarse aggregate) in

the form-work and then fill the pores with specially prepared cement-sand grout so
that it will fill all the pores and form a concrete mass.

Pre-packed concrete is used in special situations such as where a large volume of

concrete (like a large machine block foundation) has to be concreted without
construction joints.

One of the advantages of pre-packed concrete is that it has very little shrinkage.