Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 60 views

    Lecture 5'CONCRETE BLOCK

    Uploaded by

    Ermiyas Alhegn
    Concrete block construction is an important building material in developing countries. Concrete blocks are made of cement, aggregates like sand and gravel, and water. Lightweight blocks use lightweight aggregates or a lean concrete mix. Concrete blocks have high compressive strength, weather resistance, and can be molded into various shapes and sizes. The most common blocks are hollow concrete blocks, which are lighter and require less mortar than solid blocks. Proper curing, like keeping blocks moist, is important for concrete to gain strength.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Lecture 5'CONCRETE BLOCK

    Uploaded by

    Ermiyas Alhegn
    60 views22 pages
    Concrete block construction is an important building material in developing countries. Concrete blocks are made of cement, aggregates like sand and gravel, and water. Lightweight blocks use lightweight aggregates or a lean concrete mix. Concrete blocks have high compressive strength, weather resistance, and can be molded into various shapes and sizes. The most common blocks are hollow concrete blocks, which are lighter and require less mortar than solid blocks. Proper curing, like keeping blocks moist, is important for concrete to gain strength.

    Original Title

    lecture 5'CONCRETE BLOCK

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Concrete block construction is an important building material in developing countries. Concrete blocks are made of cement, aggregates like sand and gravel, and water. Lightweight blocks use lightweight aggregates or a lean concrete mix. Concrete blocks have high compressive strength, weather resistance, and can be molded into various shapes and sizes. The most common blocks are hollow concrete blocks, which are lighter and require less mortar than solid blocks. Proper curing, like keeping blocks moist, is important for concrete to gain strength.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    60 views22 pages

    Lecture 5'CONCRETE BLOCK

    Uploaded by

    Ermiyas Alhegn
    Concrete block construction is an important building material in developing countries. Concrete blocks are made of cement, aggregates like sand and gravel, and water. Lightweight blocks use lightweight aggregates or a lean concrete mix. Concrete blocks have high compressive strength, weather resistance, and can be molded into various shapes and sizes. The most common blocks are hollow concrete blocks, which are lighter and require less mortar than solid blocks. Proper curing, like keeping blocks moist, is important for concrete to gain strength.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 22

    CONCRETE BLOCK

    General
    Concrete block construction is gaining
    importance in developing countries, even
    in low-cost housing, and has become a
    valid alternative to fired clay bricks and
    other common construction materials.
    Concrete

    The essential
    ingredients of
    concrete are cement,
    aggregates (sand,
    gravel) and water,
    Lightweight concrete
     Lightweight concrete is generally used for
    concrete blocks
     Lightweight concrete comprise lightweight
    aggregates (pumice, scoria..)and/or a high
    particles of coarse proportion of single-sized
    aggregate in a lean mix, which is not fully
    compacted.
    Characteristics of concrete
    Main characteristics of concrete are:
    • high compressive strength, resistance to
    weathering, impact and abrasion
    • low tensile strength (but can be overcome
    with steel reinforcement)
    • capability of being molded into
    components of any shape and size
    • good fire resistance up to about 400°C.
    Types of Concrete Blocks
    • Concrete blocks are produced in a large
    variety of shapes and sizes either solid,
    cellular or hollow, dense or lightweight, air-
    cured or steam-cured, load bearing or non-
    load bearing, and can be produced manually
    or with the help of machines.
    Stretcher blocks
    The most commonly used concrete blocks
    are the stretcher blocks with a nominal
    dimensions of:
    40 cm x 20 cm x 10cm
    40 cm x 20 cm x 15cm
    40 cm x 20 cm x 20cm
    Types of Concrete Blocks
    Solid blocks
    Solid blocks have no cavities, or have
    voids amounting to not more than 25 % of
    the gross cross-sectional area.
    Cellular blocks
    Cellular blocks have one or more voids
    with one bed blind on the other face, and
    are laid with this 'blind end' upwards,
    preventing wastage of bedding mortar,
    which would otherwise drop into the
    cavities.
    Hollow blocks
    Hollow blocks are the most common types
    of concrete blocks, having one or more
    holes that are open at both sides. The total
    void area can amount to 50 % of the gross
    cross-sectional area.
    Advantages of hollow concrete blocks

    The use of hollow concrete blocks has several


    advantages:
    • if lightweight aggregate is used, can be
    very light
    • they require far less mortar than solid
    blocks (because of the cavities and less
    proportion of joints, due to large size), and
    construction of walls is easier and quicker;
    contd
    • the voids can be filled with steel bars and
    concrete, achieving high seismic
    resistance;
    • the air-space provides good thermal
    insulation, which is of advantage in most
    climatic regions, except warm-humid
    zones; if desirable, the cavities can also
    be filled with thermal insulation material;
    • the cavities can be used as ducts for
    electrical installation and plumbing.
    Materials For Concrete Blocks

    • Cement
    • Aggregate
    • Water
    Cement
    OPC,portland blast furnace slag,sulfate
    resisting,RHPC
    Aggregates

    • The maximum particle size of coarse


    aggregate is 13mm(10 mm ).
    • Rounded stones produce a concrete that
    flows more easily than angular particles
    but the latter give high strength.
    Production Process
    1. Batching and Mixing
    2. Molding
    3. Curing
    Batching and Mixing
    Aggregates can be batched by volume or
    by weight, but the latter is more accurate.
    For this reason, cement should only be
    batched by weight, or preferably by using
    only whole bags of 50 kg.
    Molding
    Concrete blocks can be molded by several
    methods, ranging from manually tamping
    the concrete in wooden or steel mould
    boxes to large-scale production with 'egg-
    laying' mobile machines and fully
    automatic stationary machines.
    Block making Machines

    Automatic stationary machines


    'egg-laying‘ machine
    Curing
    The blocks are either left to set and harden
    where they were molded, or carried away on
    pallets to the curing place. In all cases it is
    important to keep the concrete moist, for
    example, by regularly spraying with water, until
    the concrete has obtained sufficient strength.
    Air curing is the standard procedure for the
    strength development of concrete, by which the
    concrete is kept wet for 7 days or more.
    Cont’d

    Steam curing, by which the concrete is


    exposed to low or high pressure steam (in
    autoclaves), high early strengths can be
    achieved (with autoclaving the 28 day strength
    of air-cured concrete can be obtained in 24
    hours). However, in developing countries, steam
    curing is unlikely to be implemented, because of
    its high cost and sophistication.
    Minimum compressive strength of HCB

    Class Average of 6 Individual Units


    units ( Mpa ) ( Mpa )
    A 4.2 3.8

    B 4.0 3.2

    C 2.0 1.8

    You might also like