MODULE 5

Special Topics in Concrete Technology

Special concretes - lightweight concrete- high strength concrete – self

compacting concrete - roller compacted concrete – ready mix concrete -
fibre reinforced concrete - heavy weight concrete - high performance
concrete - polymer concrete-pumped concrete - green concrete.
Special processes and technology - sprayed concrete; underwater
concrete, mass concrete; slip form construction, prefabrication
technology- 3D concrete printing

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 LIGHT WEIGHT CONCRETE
• Light weight concrete is a special concrete which weighs lighter than
conventional concrete.
• Density of this concrete is considerably low (300 kg/m3 to 1850
kg/m3) when compared to normal concrete (2200kg/m3 to
2600kg/m3).
• Advantages:
i. Reduces the dead load of the building.
ii. Helps in disposal of industrial wastes like fly ash, slag, etc.
iii. Improves the workability.
iv. Has applications in shell roofs.
• Three types of LWC :
a. Light weight aggregate concrete
b. Aerated concrete
c. No – fines concrete
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• The basic principle behind the making of light weight concrete is by
incorporating air into concrete.
• To achieve the above principle practically, there are 3 different ways.
i. By replacing the usual mineral aggregate by cellular porous or
light-weight aggregate.
ii. By introducing gas or air bubbles in mortar. This is known as
aerated concrete.
iii. By omitting sand fraction from the aggregate. This is called ‘no-
fines’ concrete.

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1) Light weight aggregate concrete:

• Basically two types of light weight aggregates

i. Natural aggregates
ii. Artificial aggregates
• Natural light weight aggregates are less preferred over artificial
aggregates as they have more weight.
• Important natural aggregates – Pumice & Scoria
• Artificial aggregates are expanded Shale, Slate, Perlite, Vermiculite,
etc.,
• Type of aggregates decides the density of concrete.
• Density of concrete as low as 300 kg/m3 can be achieved.
• Compressive strength varies from 0.3MPa to 40MPa.

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2) Aerated concrete:
• Produced by introducing air into the concrete.
• It is also called cellular concrete having voids between 0.1mm to 1mm
size.
• Concrete of densities 300kg/m3 to 1100kg/m3 can be obtained.
• Compressive strength varies from 12MPa to 14MPa for a concrete of
density 500kg/m3.
• Two types of aerated concrete depending on air introduction:
i. Gas concrete
ii. Foamed concrete
Gas concrete:
• Gas concrete is produced by incorporating gas in the concrete.
• Finely divided aluminum powder is generally used as gas producing
agent. Powdered zinc, aluminum alloy or hydrogen peroxide may also
be used.
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• Its quantity is about 0.2% of weight of cement.
• Aluminum powder reacts with Ca(OH)2 to liberate hydrogen bubbles.

Foamed concrete:
• Foamed concrete is produced by adding foaming agent during
mixing. Hydrolyzed protein or resin soaps or stable preformed foam
is used as foaming agent.

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3) No – fines concrete:
• It is produced by omitting the fine aggregates from conventional
concrete.
• This concrete has only cement, coarse aggregate and water.
• Due to absence of fine aggregates, concrete will have large voids,
resulting in light weight.
• Density of concrete will be less if coarse aggregates are of single size
ranging from 10mm to 20mm rather than well graded aggregates.
• No – fines concrete with lighter coarse aggregates, we can get density
as low as 640 kg/m3.
• Compressive strength varies between 1.4MPa to 14 MPa
• Strength of no-fines concrete is controlled by
i. Water/cement ratio
ii. Aggregate/cement ratio
iii. Unit weight of concrete
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 A particular type of light-weight concrete called structural light-
weight concrete is the one which is comparatively lighter than
conventional concrete but at the same time strong enough to be used
for structural purposes. It, therefore, combines the advantages of
normal weight concrete and discards the disadvantages of normal
weight concrete.

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Uses of LWC

 Heat insulation on walls

 Construction of partition walls and panel walls in framed structures
 Casting structural steel to protect it against fire and corrosion or
as a covering for architectural purposes
 Insulating water pipes
 General insulative walls
 Also used for reinforced concrete structures

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 HIGH STRENGTH CONCRETE
• Concrete is generally classified as Normal Strength Concrete
(NSC), High Strength Concrete (HSC) and Ultra High Strength
Concrete (UHSC). There are no clear cut boundary for the above
classification. Indian Standard Recommended Methods of Mix
Design denotes the boundary at 35 MPa between NSC and HSC. In
the international forum, the high strength label was applied to
concrete having strength above 40 MPa. More recently, the threshold
rose to 50 to 60 MPa.
• Concrete having strength above 40 MPa is known as high strength
concrete
• With the modern equipment's, understanding of the role of the
constituent materials, production of high strength concrete has
become a routine matter.
• HSC is made by lowering w/c ratio to 0.35 or lower. Due to low
w/c ratio it causes problem of placing, to overcome this super
plasticizers are used. 13
• There are special methods of making high strength
concrete. They are given below: ---
i. Seeding
ii. Revibration
iii. High speed slurry mixing
iv. Use of admixtures
v. Inhibition of cracks
vi. Sulphur impregnation
vii. Use of cementitious aggregates.
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Seeding:
• This involves adding a small percentage of finely ground,
fully hydrated Portland cement to the fresh concrete mix.

Revibration:
• Concrete undergoes plastic shrinkage. Mixing water creates
continuous capillary channels, bleeding, and water
accumulates at some selected places. All these reduce the
strength of concrete. Controlled revibration removes all
these defects and increases the strength of concrete.

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High Speed slurry mixing:
• This process involves the advance preparation of cement
water mixture which is then blended with aggregate to
produce concrete. Higher compressive strength obtained is
attributed to more efficient hydration of cement particles
and water achieved in the vigorous blending of cement
paste.

Use of Admixtures
• Use of water reducing agents are known to produce
increased compressive strengths.

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Inhibition of cracks:
• Concrete fails by the formation and propagation of cracks. If the
propagation of cracks is inhibited, the strength will be higher.
Replacement of 2– 3% of fine aggregate by polythene or polystyrene
lenticules results in higher strength. They appear to act as crack
arresters without necessitating extra water for workability. Concrete
cubes made in this way have yielded strength upto 105 MPa.
Sulphur Impregnation:
• Satisfactory high strength concrete have been produced by
impregnating low strength porous concrete by sulphur. The process
consists of moist curing the fresh concrete specimens for 24 hours,
drying them at 120°C for 24 hours, immersing the specimen in
molten sulphur under vacuum for 2 hours and then releasing the
vacuum and soaking them for an additional ½ hour for further
infiltration of sulphur. The sulphur-infiltrated concrete has given
strength upto 58 MPa.
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Use of Cementitious aggregates:
• It has been found that use of cementitious aggregates has
yielded high strength. Cement found is kind of clinker.
This glassy clinker when finely ground results in a kind of
cement. When coarsely crushed, it makes a kind of
aggregate known as ALAG. Using Alag as aggregate,
strength upto 125 MPa has been obtained with w/c ratio
0.32.

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• Applications of HSC:
i. Use of HSC in column section decreases the column size
ii. Use of HSC in column decreases the amount of steel required for
the same column
iii. In high rise building, use of HSC increases the floor area for rental
purpose
iv. In bridges, use of HSC reduces the number of beams supporting the
slab

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 SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE
• Self compacted concrete is highly engineered concrete having much
higher fluidity and thus capable of filling every corner of formwork
under its self weight and thereby no segregation .
• Thus SCC eliminates the vibration for the compaction of concrete
without affecting its engineering properties.
• CONSTITUENTS OF SCC: With regard to its composition, SCC
consists of the same components as of conventionally vibrated
concrete, which are
i. Cement
ii. Aggregates
iii. Water
iv. Chemical Admixtures i.e. Super plasticizers and
v. Viscosity Modifying Agents
vi. Mineral Admixtures i.e., Fly ash, Silica Fume, GGBFS etc.
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Material for SCC

• Cement : Ordinary Portland Cement, 43 or 53 grade can be used.

• Aggregates : The maximum size of aggregate is generally limited to
20 mm. Fine aggregates can be natural or manufactured. Particles
smaller than 0.125 mm i.e. 125 micron size are considered as FINES
which contribute to the powder content.
• Mixing Water
• Chemical Admixtures : Superplaseizers are an essential component
of SCC to provide necessary workability. The new generation
superplasticizers termed poly-carboxylated ethers (PCE) is
particularly useful for SCC. Other types such as Viscosity Modifying
Agents (VMA) for stability, air entraining agents (AEA) to improve
freeze-thaw resistance, and retarders for control of setting.
• Mineral Admixtures: Fly ash, Ground Granulated Blast Furnace
Slag (GGBFS), Silica Fume, Stone Powder, Fibres
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Production and placing
• Mixing : Any suitable mixer could be used - Generally, mixing time need to
be longer than for conventional concrete. It is recommended that every batch
must be tested until consistent and compliant results are obtained.
• Placing: Formwork must be in good conditions to prevent leakage. Though it
is easier to place SCC than ordinary concrete, the following rules are to be
followed to minimise the risk of segregation.
• limit of vertical free fall distance to 5 meter.
• limit the height of pour lifts (layers) to 500 mm
• limit of permissible distance of horizontal flow from point of discharge
to 10 meters.
• Curing: On account of no bleeding or very little bleeding, SCC tends to dry
faster and may cause more plastic shrinkage cracking. Therefore,
initial curing should be commenced as soon as practicable.
Alternatively the SCC must be effectively covered by polyethylene sheet. Due
to the high content of powder, SCC can show more plastic shrinkage or creep
than ordinary concrete mixes.
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PROPERTIES OF SCC
• Filling ability (excellent flow characteristics) – flows easily at
suitable speed into formwork
• Passing ability (ability to pass reinforcement without blocking) -
passes through reinforcements without blocking
• High resistance to segregation- the distribution of aggregate particles
remains homogeneous in both vertical and horizontal directions

MEASUREMENT OF SCC FLOW PROPERTIES IN FRESH

STATE
1) Slump Flow test:
• Slump flow test is done to assess the horizontal flow of concrete in
the absence of obstructions.
• Ascertains the filling ability of the SCC.
• The SCC sample is poured in to the slump cone then the slump flow
diameter is measured.
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Procedure:
i. About 6 litre of concrete is needed for this test.
ii. Place the baseplate on level ground. Keep the slump cone centrally
on the base plate. Fill the cone with the scoop. Do not tamp. Simply
strike off the concrete level with the trowel.
iii. Remove the surplus concrete lying on base place.
iv. Raise the cone vertically and allow the concrete to flow freely.
v. Measure the final diameter of the concrete in two perpendicular
directions and calculate the average of the two diameters. This is the
slump flow in mm.
Inference: The higher the slump flow value, the greater its ability to fill
formwork under its own weight.
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2) T50 slump flow test:
• Similar to slump flow test and determines the filling ability of SCC
Procedure:
i. Fill the cone with SCC, no tamping is required
ii. The base plate on which the cone is placed is marked with a 500
mm diameter circle from the centre point.
iii. Start a stopwatch and lift the cone
iv. Note the time taken for the concrete to reach the 500mm mark
v. That time is noted as T50 time
Inference: Lower the time taken, the greater is its ability to fill
formwork under its own weight.

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3) L-BOX TEST
• The L-Box test is used to find the passing ability of SCC.
• The SCC sample is poured in to the L-Box apparatus, the plate is
removed to allow flow.
• The L-box ratio is calculated as H2/ H1.

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Procedure:
i. About 14 litres of concrete is required for this test.
ii. Pour the SCC sample into the L box with the gates closed
iii. Leave the concrete standing for 1 minute
iv. Lift the gate which allows concrete to flow into the horizontal
chamber
v. Measure the heights h1 and h2
vi. Calculate the blocking ratio, h2/h1

Inference: when the ratio of h2 to h1 is larger than 0.8, self compacting

concrete has good passing ability.

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4) V-FUNNEL TEST AND V-FUNNEL TEST AT T5 MINUTES:
• V-Funnel test is used to ascertain filling ability of SCC
Procedure:
• About 12 litre of concrete is needed for the test
• The V funnel is cleaned first, moisten the inside and open the trap
door to allow water remove surplus water
• Close the trap door at the bottom of the V funnel
• Place a bucket under the V funnel to collect the concrete
• The SCC sample is poured into the V-Funnel apparatus
• Start a stopwatch and open the Trap door within 10 seconds
• Note the time for the V funnel to be emptied
Inference: If passing ability is excellent then the time taken for flow
must be within 8-12 seconds

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ADVANTAGES OF SCC
• Elimination of problems associated with vibration.
• Faster construction
• Greater freedom in design.
• Less noise from vibrators and reduced danger from hand-arm
vibration syndrome (HAVS).
• Ease of placement results in cost savings through reduced equipment
and labour requirement.
• Improves the quality, durability, and reliability of concrete structures
due to better compaction and homogeneity of concrete.
• Reduced wear and tear on forms from vibration.
• Reduced permeability.
• Thinner concrete sections
• Better surface finish
• Reduction in site manpower
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 ROLLER COMPACTED CONCRETE
• Roller compacted concrete is a special blend of concrete that has
essentially the same ingredients as conventional concrete but in
different ratios and increasingly with partial substitution of fly ash for
Portland cement.
• Roller compacted concrete is a lean no slump, almost dry concrete
that is compacted by Vibratory roller used in earth or rock-fill
construction.
• A mixture of aggregates, cement and water are mixed in a
conventional batch mixer or in other suitable mixers.
• Supplementary cementing material, such as fly ash can also be used.
• In some cases high volume fly ash to the extent of 60% by weight of
cement has been used.
• The cement content ranges from 60 to 360 kg/m3.
• Compaction and water content governs strength rather than W/C
ratio 34
• Roller compacted concrete is placed in layers thin enough to allow
complete compaction.
• The optimum layer thickness ranges from 20 to 30 cm.
• To ensure adequate bonding between the new and old layer,
segregation must be prevented and a high plasticity bedding mix must
be used at the start of the placement.
• A compressive strength of about 7 MPa to 30 MPa have been obtained.
• For effective consolidation, roller compacted concrete must be dry
enough to support the mass of the vibrating equipment, but wet
enough to allow the cement paste to be evenly distributed throughout
the mass during mixing and consolidation process.

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 Advantages of roller compacted concrete

• Reduced cement consumption as the leaner concrete mix is

used
• Formwork costs are minimized or eliminated because of the
placement method
• The cost of transporting, placement and compaction are
minimized because concrete can be hauled by dump
• Spread by bulldozers and compacted by vibratory rollers.

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 APPLICATIONS
• Port, rail and military facilities
• Distribution centers, parking and storage facilities
• Streets & highways, intersections, shoulders, turn lanes,
etc.
• Manufacturing facilities, heavy haul roads, scrap yards
• Power plants and other industrial facilities
• Other secondary RCC applications
– Overtopping protection
– Embankment dam raise
– Reservoir liners
– Industrial slab floors
– Airfield maintenance areas 37
READY MIXED CONCRETE
• Concrete which is proportioned and mixed at a mixing plant and delivered
to the construction area in a freshly mixed and unhardened state is known as
Ready Mixed Concrete.
• It refers to concrete that is batched for delivery from a central plant instead
of being mixed on the job site
• Ready-mix concrete, or RMC as it's also known, refers to concrete that is
specifically batched or manufactured for customers' construction projects.
• It is a mixture of Portland cement, water, FA and CA.
• Ready-mix concrete is batched or manufactured under controlled
conditions.
• It is delivered to the contractors in plastic condition usually in trucks known
as transit mixers
• The RMC supplies two services,
1. Processing the materials for making fresh concrete
2. Transporting a product within short time
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• RMC can be ordered in three ways
i. Option A: It is a performance based. It requires the purchaser to
specify the compressive strength only. The concrete producer
selects the mixture proportions needed to obtain the required
compressive strength.
ii. Option B: It is a prescription based. The purchaser specifies-
Mixture proportions i.e., Cement, Water and Admixture contents.
iii. Option C: It is performance and prescription based. Purchaser
specifies-Compressive strength, Cement content, Admixture
content. Concrete producer can select the mix proportions.

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Advantages of RMC

• A centralized plant can serve wide area

• Better quality control is ensured
• Elimination of storage space for basic materials at site
• Elimination of hiring plant and machinery
• Wastage of basic materials is avoided
• Labours associated with production of concrete is
eliminated
• Time required is greatly reduced
• Noise and dust pollution at site is reduced

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Disadvantages of RMC

• Materials are combined in a batch plant, and the hydration process

begins at the moment water meets the Portland cement, so the travel
time from the plant to the site is critical over longer distances.
• Access roads and site access have to be able to carry the greater
weight of the ready-mix truck plus load.
• Concrete has a limited lifespan between batching / mixing and
placing. This means that ready-mix should be placed within 30 to 45
minutes of batching process to hold slump and mix design
specifications. Modern admixtures and plasticizer and water reducers
can modify that time span. The amount and type of admixture added
to the mix is very important.

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 FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE
• Plain concrete possesses a very low tensile
strength, limited ductility and little resistance to
cracking.
• Internal micro cracks are inherently present in the concrete and its poor
tensile strength is due to the propagation of such microcracks,
eventually leading to brittle fracture of the concrete.
• In plain concrete and similar brittle materials, structural cracks (micro-
cracks) develop even before loading, particularly due to drying
shrinkage or other causes of volume change.
• The width of these initial cracks seldom exceeds a few microns, but
their other two dimensions may be of higher magnitude.
• It has been recognized that the addition of small, closely spaced and
uniformly dispersed fibers to concrete would act as crack arrester and
would substantially improve its static and dynamic properties. This
type of concrete is known as Fibre Reinforced Concrete.
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• Fibre is a small piece of reinforcing material possessing certain
characteristic properties. They can be circular or flat. The fibre is
often described by a convenient parameter called “aspect ratio”. The
aspect ratio of the fibre is the ratio of its length to its diameter.
Typical aspect ratio ranges from 30 to 150.
• “Fibre reinforced concrete can be defined as a composite material
consisting of mixtures of cement, mortar or concrete and
discontinuous, discrete, uniformly dispersed suitable fibres.”
• Continuous meshes, woven fabrics and long wires or rods are not
considered to be discrete fibres

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Types of fibres used
• Natural fibres: e.g. asbestos, sisal, cellulose
• Manufactured fibres: e.g. glass, steel, carbon

Sisal Asbestos

Cellulose 49
FIBRES USED
• Although every type of fibre has been tried out in cement and concrete,
not all of them can be effectively and economically used. Each type of
fibre has its characteristic properties and limitations. Some of the fibres
that could be used are steel fibres, polypropylene, nylons, asbestos, coir,
glass and carbon.

1. Steel fibre is one of the most commonly used fibre.

– Generally, round fibres are used. The diameter may vary from 0.25 to 0.75 mm.
– The steel fibre is likely to get rusted and loose some of its strengths.
– But investigations have shown that the rusting of the fibres takes place only at the
surface.
– Use of steel fibre makes significant improvements in flexural, impact and fatigue
strength of concrete,
– It has been extensively used in various types of structures, particularly for overlays
of roads, airfield pavements and bridge decks.
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2. Polypropylene and nylon fibres are found to be suitable to increase
the impact strength. They possess very high tensile strength, but their
low modulus of elasticity and higher elongation do not contribute to the
flexural strength.
3. Asbestos is a mineral fibre and has proved to be most successful of
all fibres as it can be mixed with Portland cement. Tensile strength of
asbestos varies between 560 to 980 N/mm2. The composite product
called asbestos cement has considerably higher flexural strength than
the Portland cement paste.
• For unimportant fibre concrete, organic fibres like coir, jute, cane
splits are also used.
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4. Glass fiber is a recent introduction in making fibre concrete.
– It has very high tensile strength 1020 to 4080 N/mm2.
– Glass fiber is made up of 200-400 individual filaments which are
lightly bonded to make up a stand.
– These stands can be chopped into various lengths, or combined to
make cloth mats or tape.
– Using the conventional mixing techniques for normal concrete it is
not possible to mix more than about 2% (by volume) of fibers of a
length of 25mm.
– The major appliance of glass fiber has been in reinforcing the
cement or mortar matrices used in the production of thin-sheet
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5. Carbon fibres perhaps posses very high tensile strength
2110 to 2815 N/mm2 and Young’s modulus.
– It has been reported that cement composite made with carbon
fibre as reinforcement will have very high modulus of elasticity
and flexural strength.
– The limited studies have shown good durability.
– The use of carbon fibres for structures like cladding, panels and
shells will have promising future.
6. Organic Fibres
– Organic fiber such as polypropylene or natural fiber may be
chemically more inert than either steel or glass fibers.
– They are also cheaper, especially if natural.
– A large volume of vegetable fiber may be used to obtain a
multiple cracking composite.
– The problem of mixing and uniform dispersion may be solved by
adding a superplasticizer. 54
 Applications
• Fibre reinforced concrete is increasingly used on account of the
advantages of increased static and dynamic tensile strength, energy
absorbing characteristics and better fatigue strength.
• The uniform dispersion of fibres throughout the concrete provides
isotropic properties not common to conventionally reinforced concrete.
• Fibre reinforced concrete has been tried on overlays of air-field, road
pavements, industrial floorings, bridge decks, canal lining, explosive
resistant structures, refractory linings etc.
• The fibre reinforced concrete can also be used for the fabrication of
precast products like pipes, boats, beams, stair case steps, wall panels,
roof panels, manhole covers etc...
• Fibre reinforced concrete is also being tried for the manufacture of
prefabricated formwork moulds of “U” shape for casting lintels and small
beams.
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 Factors Effecting Properties of Fibre Reinforced Concrete

• The efficient transfer of stress between matrix and the fibres largely
dependent on the type of fibre, fibre geometry, fibre content,
orientation and distribution of the fibres, mixing and compaction
techniques of concrete, and size and shape of the aggregate. These
factors are briefly discussed below:

1. Relative Fibre Matrix Stiffness

• The modulus of elasticity of matrix must be much lower than that of
fibre for efficient Stress transfer. Low modulus of fibers such as
nylons and polypropylene are, therefore, Unlikely to give strength
improvement, but they help in the absorption of large energy and
therefore, impart greater degree of toughness and resistance to
Impact. High modulus Fibres such as steel, glass and carbon impart
strength and stiffness to the composite.
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2. Volume of Fibres
• The strength of the composite largely depends on the quantity of
fibres used in it. It can be seen that the increase in the volume of
fibres, increase approximately linearly, the tensile strength and
toughness of the composite. Use of higher percentage of fibre is
likely to cause segregation and harshness of concrete and mortar.

3. Aspect Ratio of the Fibre

• Another important factor which influences the properties and
behaviour of the composite is the aspect ratio of the fibre. It has been
reported that upto aspect ratio of 75, increase in the aspect ratio
increases the ultimate strength of the concrete linearly. Beyond 75,
relative strength and toughness is reduced.

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4. Orientation of Fibres
• One of the differences between conventional reinforcement and fibre
reinforcement Is that in conventional reinforcement, bars are oriented in
the direction desired while fibres are randomly oriented. Fibres aligned
parallel to the applied load offered more tensile strength and toughness
than randomly distributed or perpendicular fibres.

5. Workability and Compaction of Concrete

• Incorporation of steel fibre decreases the workability considerably. This
situation adversely affects the consolidation of fresh mix. Even prolonged
external vibration fails to compact the concrete. The fibre volume at which
this situation is reached depends on the length and diameter of the fibre.
Another consequence of poor workability is non-uniform distribution of
the fibres

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6. Size of Coarse Aggregate
• Maximum size of the coarse aggregate should be restricted to 10 mm,
to avoid appreciable reduction in strength of the composite. Fibres
also in effect, act as aggregate.

7. Mixing
• Mixing of fibre reinforced concrete needs careful conditions to avoid
balling of fibres, segregation, and in general the difficulty of mixing
the materials uniformly. Increase in the aspect ratio, volume
percentage and size and quantity of coarse aggregate intensify the
difficulties and balling tendencies . This can be done by the addition
of fibres before the water is added. When mixing in a laboratory
mixer, introducing the fibres through a wire mesh basket, will help
even distribution of fibres. For field use, other suitable methods must
be adopted
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GREEN CONCRETE

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 POLYMER CONCRETE
• Concrete has voids present in it and thus porous.
• The presence of these voids lead to damages in concrete. Reducing
the voids leads to a high strength and durable concrete.
• Polymer concrete is a kind of concrete in which a monomer is
impregnated into the concrete and polymerized to reduce the
porosity of concrete
• Terms:
Monomer : An organic molecule which is capable of combining
chemically with similar or different molecules to form high
molecular weight material.
Polymer : Formed by the chemical combination of numerous
monomers which are linked together in a chain like structure
Polymerization : The chemical process of formation of polymers
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• Types of Polymer Concrete:
i. Polymer Impregnated concrete (PIC)
ii. Polymer Cement Concrete (PCC)
iii. Polymer Concrete (PC)
iv. Partially Impregnated and Surface Coated concrete

1) POLYMER IMPREGNATED CONCRETE

• Conventional Portland cement concrete is dried and subsequently
saturated with a liquid monomer
• Polymerization is achieved by gamma radiation or by application
of heat.
• Advantages
a) Higher compressive, tensile and impact strength
b) Higher modulus of elasticity
c) Lower creep and drying shrinkage
d) Higher resistance to freezing, thawing, abrasion & chemical .
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2) POLYMER CEMENT CONCRETE
• A monomer is added at the time of mixing of ordinary concrete.
• This concrete mix is cured, dried and then polymerized so that
monomer gets converted to polymer
• Advantages
a) Improved durability
b) Better adhesion characteristics
c) Resistance to freezing & thawing
d) Resistance to abrasion & impact loading

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3) Polymer Concrete
• Aggregates are prepacked and vibrated in mould
• Monomer is diffused up through the aggregates
• Polymerisation is done by radiation
• Polymer strictly attached with aggregate and make
hardened polymer concrete. This process is called
polymerization.

Polymer are given below which are used in process.

• Methyl methacrylate
• Polyester string
• Epoxy string
• Urea formaldehyde
• Phenol formaldehyde, Etc. 87
4) Partially Impregnated and Surface Coated concrete
• The concrete specimen is dried and then soaked in a liquid
monomer
• Then the specimen is sealed off using a surface coating
material
• This specimen is then polymerized

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 HEAVY WEIGHT CONCRETE
Concrete having unit weight of 30 kN/m 3 to 64 kN/m3 is
called high density or heavy weight concrete.

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 HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE

• High performance concrete is a concrete in which certain

characteristics are developed for a particular application
and environment, so that it will give excellent performance
in the structure in which it will be placed, in the
environment to which it will be exposed and with the loads
to which it will be subjected during its design life.

• A high-strength concrete is always a high performance

concrete, but a high-performance concrete is not always a
high-strength concrete
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HPC is a concrete in which some or all of the following
properties have been enhanced.

(a) Ease of placement and compaction without segregation

(b) Long term mechanical properties
(c) Early age strength
(d) Permeability
(e) Density
(f) Heat of hydration
(g) Toughness
(h) Long Life in severe environment (i.e, durability)

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 Characteristics of High Performance Concrete
• Very low porosity through a tight and refined pore structure
of the cement paste.
• It has Very low permeability of the concrete.
• High resistance to chemical attack.
• Low heat of hydration.
• High early strength and continued strength development.
• High workability and control of slump.
• Low water binder ratio.
• Low bleeding and plastic shrinkage

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Components/Ingredients used in High Performance
Concrete
The assembly of High Performance Concrete involves the
subsequent three important interrelated steps:

• Choice of appropriate ingredients for concrete having the

required rheological properties, strength etc.
• Determination of relative quantities of the ingredients in
order to produce durability.
• Careful internal control of each section of the concrete
creating method.

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• Following Ingredients are used in preparation of high
performance concrete :

1. Cement :
• Physical and chemical characteristics of cement play a
significant role in developing strength and controlling
rheology of fresh concrete.
• Fineness affects water requirements for consistency.
• Little amount of tricalcium aluminate (C3A) as possible
because the lower amount of C3A, the easier to control the
physical science and lesser the issues of cement-
superplasticizer compatibility.

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2. Fine Aggregate :
• Both river sand and crushed stones can be used.
• Coarser sand may be preferred as finer sand increases the
water demand of concrete.
• Terribly fine sand might not be essential in High
Performance Concrete.

3. Coarse Aggregate :
• The coarse aggregate is the strongest and least porous
component of concrete. The strength of High Performance
Concrete is also controlled by the strength of the coarse
aggregate. Hence the selection of coarse aggregate would
be an important step in High Performance Concrete design
mix. 97
4. Water :
• Water should be free from acidic content and generally drinking
safe water will be good to use.

5. Mineral Admixtures :
• The major difference between conventional cement concrete
and high performance concrete is essentially the use of mineral
admixtures in the latter. Some of the mineral admixtures are
• Fly ash
• Silica fumes
• Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS)
• Fine filler or pozzolonic supplementary cementitious
materials
• Anhydrous gypsum based mineral additives
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6. Chemical Admixtures :
• Chemical admixtures improves the workability of the
concrete mix by increasing the efficiency of the cement
paste, which results in decreased water requirement. Some
of the important chemical admixtures are: Plasticizers,
Super plasticizers, Retarders, Air entraining agents, etc.

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Methods for Achieving High Performance
• Two approaches to achieve durability through
different techniques are as follows.

1) Reducing the capillary pore system such no fluid

movement can occur is the first approach. This is very
difficult to appreciate and every concrete can have some
interconnected pores.

2) Creating chemically active binding sites which prevent

transport of aggressive ions like chlorides is that the second
most effective method.
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Applications of High Performance Concrete

• It is widely used in construction of following mega

structures :
• Bridges
• High rise buildings
• Tunnels
• Pavements
• Nuclear structures
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Advantages of HPC
• Reduction in size of Structural members.
• Speed of construction.
• Workability and Pumpability.
• Economical material in Terms of time and money.
• Higher seismic resistance.
• Improved durability.
• Abrasion resistance.
• High tensile strength.
• Reduced maintenance cost
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Limitations of HPC

• An extended quality control, as each and every

aspect has to be checked as this type of concrete is
widely used in the construction of mega structures.
• Cost is generally high due to used of various
admixtures and high quality materials.
• Special constituents.
• Manufactured and placed carefully.

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 PUMPED CONCRETE
• Pumpable concrete is the concrete which can easily pass
through a pipeline without causing segregation and bleeding is
called pumped concrete.
• They are mostly used in concrete pumps for high rise building.
Using pumpable concrete you can transfer concrete from
mixing place to construction place without causing any delay in
concrete placing. If you use any other types of transporting
concrete there will be a delay in each step while placing the
concrete.
• In order to avoid these delay and less labor work, pumped
concrete is a very good recommended method. The pump
should be made in such a way that the friction at the inner wall
should be less. 105
 Requirements of pumped concrete
• The slump value recommended for good pumpable
concrete ranges from 50mm to 150mm.
• The water-cement ratio should not be too high. If the water
content is too high, then the water alone will move faster
along the pipe results in blocking of aggregates of concrete
in the pipe.
• The concrete should not be too wet or too dry.
• The pumped concrete should not be sticky.
• Air entrainment admixture is also helpful for the
transmission of concrete.
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Types of Concrete Pumps

• There are basically two types of concrete pumps

used for transporting, they are:
1. Direct acting concrete pumps
2. Squeeze type concrete pumps

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 1. Direct Acting Concrete Pumps
• A majority of the concrete pumps are of the direct-acting,
horizontal piston-type with semi-rotary valves. The
operation of the direct- acting pump is simple.
• The concrete is fed into the pump by gravity and partly by
suction created due to the reciprocating motion of the
horizontally-acting piston, while the semi-rotary valves
open and close alternately.
• Suction pressure of the order of 0.08 N/mm 2 is developed
in the pumping cylinder under favourable conditions.

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109
• The concrete is fed into the hopper of the direct acting
pump. The working of this type of pump is purely by
reciprocal motion of the piston. From this motion, a suction
pressure is created inside the pump.

• The working of the direct acting pump is such a way that,

during the suction stroke the inlet valve opens while the
outlet valve remains closed. During this process, the
concrete will enter into the suction pipe from the hopper.

• After the suction stroke, the inlet valves close and outlet
valve open like in the above figure. During this process, the
piston will push the concrete toward the pipe and this
process continues.
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• The maximum size of aggregate used in the concrete for
direct acting pump should be less than 1/3 rd of the
diameter of the pipe to avoid clogging. The motion of
concrete always in the form of impulse. However, the
output of the pipe should maintain a constant flow.
• The concrete moves in a series of impulses, the delivery
pipe always remaining full. Outputs of up to 60 m 3/h can be
achieved in modern pumps through 220-mm diameter
delivery pipes.

111
 2. Squeeze type Concrete pumps
• Squeeze type pumps are smaller portable peristaltic type
pumps.
• The concrete from the collecting hopper is fed by rotating
blades into a flexible pipe connected to the pumping
chamber, which is under a vacuum of about 0.08 N/mm2.
• The vacuum ensures that, except when being squeezed by
the rotating rollers, the pipe shape remains cylindrical and
thus permits a continuous flow of concrete.
• The two rotating rollers mounted on planetary drives
progressively squeeze the flexible pipe and thus push the
concrete into the delivery pipe.
• Outputs of up to 20 m3/h can be obtained with squeeze
pumps using 75-mm diameter pipelines. 112
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114
 PROBLEMS
(Why blockage occurs in pumpable concrete)

• The blockage is a common problem that comes if you

didn’t take care of the instructions properly.

• The first cause of blockage in pumps is due to the action of

friction due to the aggregates and ingredients in the
concrete on the pipe wall is very high.

• The second problem is water is being forced out of the mix

causes accumulation of large particles inside the pipe.
When choosing a right pump, you should take care of its
length, the number of bents, the diameter of the pipeline,
length of flexible hose etc.. 115
 Special processes and technology -
sprayed concrete; underwater concrete,
mass concrete; slip form construction,
prefabrication technology- 3D concrete
printing

116
 SPRAYED CONCRETE
• Concrete conveyed through a hose and pneumatically projected at
high velocity onto a backing surface or formwork is called Sprayed
Concrete
• This is also known as Shotcrete
• Shotcreting can be done in two ways depending upon the process of
mixing of materials-Dry mix process and Wet mix Process
• Dry Mix Process:
i. Step1: Dry or semi-dampened materials are placed into shotcrete
equipment and pumped through a hose.
ii. Step2: Compressed air conveys materials at high velocity to the
nozzle where the water is added.
iii. Step3: This mixture of concrete is sprayed onto formwork at high
velocity. This impact of concrete onto formwork at high velocity
consolidates the concrete mass
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120
• Wet mix process:
i. Step1: All ingredients, including water, are thoroughly
mixed to form a concrete mix.
ii. Step 2: This mix is introduced into the shotcrete
equipment.
iii. Step 3: Concrete is pumped to the nozzle where
compressed air is introduced to increase the velocity at
which the concrete mix meets the formwork to get
compacted.

121
 APPLICATIONS
• Thin and lightly reinforced sections
• Shell or folded roofs
• Stabilizing rock slopes
• Lining of tunnels, canals, etc.

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 UNDERWATER CONCRETE
• It is basically normal concrete which is placed under the water using
suitable methods.
• For underwater concreting we use Quick setting cement which allows
the cement concrete to set within 5 mins
• Most commonly used underwater concreting technique is by Tremie
concreting

Tremie Concreting:
• Concrete is mixed in required proportion.
• Concrete is transferred to the bottom using a pipe. Pipe is called
Tremie Pipe. It has a dia of 20cm and can be easily coupled with
other tremie pipe sections to facilitate increase or decrease in height.
• The top of the pipe is fitted with a funnel to facilitate pouring of
concrete and bottom pipe is closed with a plug to prevent entry of
water into the pipe
126
• The tremie pipe is extended till the pipe is in contact with the bottom
end of the ground bed.
• Then concrete is poured into pipe and once pipe is filled it is slightly
lifted and jolted to break the plug allowing concrete to fall. The pipe
is slowly lifted up as the concrete fills up beneath.

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 MASS CONCRETE
• Any large volume of cast-in-place concrete with dimensions large
enough to require that measures be taken to cope with the generation
of heat to minimize cracking. – ACI
• Mass Concrete is a concrete having considerable dimensions that
may get affected by thermal behavior of concrete. E.g.. Concrete
Dam
• The primary considerations are given to the aspect of how to reduce
the heat of hydration to reduce the adverse effect in the form of
cracks.
• Steps to control/minimize heat of Hydration in Mass Concrete
i. Use of chilled water and ice flakes can be done in place of normal
water
ii. Concrete be poured in layers of equal depths so that each layer get
some time to release the initial heat of hydration.
iii. Use of chilled aggregates can be made to control/minimize the heat
129
of hydration in mass concrete structures.
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 SLIPFORM CONSTRUCTION

• Slip form construction, or continuously formed

construction, is a construction method in which concrete is
poured into a continuously moving formwork.
• Basically, this method involves the continuous placing of
concrete in a shallow mould having the same plan as the
building to be constructed.
• This rigid mould, called "slip-form", forms the working
deck which is raised slowly upwards using a jack at a
controlled rate until the required elevation is reached.
• Types of Slip form construction:-Vertical and Horizontal
Slipform construction
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 PREFABRICATION TECHNOLOGY
• Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure
in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete
assemblies to the construction site
• Prefabricated sections are produced in large quantities in a factory and
then transported to various construction sites.
• Prefabrication work is carried out in two stages:
i. Manufacturing components at factory
ii. Erection of components at the required location.
• This requires certain stages of preparation. They are
i. Casting: Cast in mould of required shape and size
ii. Curing: Member is demoulded after 24 hrs and subjected to suitable
curing methods
iii. Transportation and erection: Cured members are transported to the site
in trucks or trailers and erected at site using erecting equipments
136
• Advantages
i. Precasting can be carried out in poor weather conditions
ii. Permits the speedy erection of structures.
iii. Saving in cost, material, time & manpower.
iv. Shuttering and scaffolding is not necessary.
v. Clean and dry work at site.

• Disadvantages:
i. High transport cost
ii. Need of erection equipment at site
iii. Handling and transportation may cause breakages of
members during the transit
iv. Skilled labour and supervision is required. 137
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 3D CONCRETE PRINTING
• 3D printing (sometimes referred to as Additive
Manufacturing (AM)) is the computer-controlled sequential
layering of materials to create three-dimensional shapes.
• It is particularly useful for prototyping and for the
manufacture of geometrically complex components.

140
• 3D concrete printing uses extremely large-scale 3D
printers, often measuring several meters in height and
length to extrude a concrete from a nozzle. These machines
generally come either as gantry or robotic arm systems.
• Whatever the printer’s configuration, practically all of them
continuously extrude a dough-like concrete material that’s
laid down in layers to create the desired building element.

141
• In practice, concrete is squeezed out of a nozzle attached to
a computer-programmed robotic arm, either stationary or
travelling along rails, in successive strips, layer upon layer,
to produce the desired building structure, such as an
exterior or interior wall, or component, like an archway or
void.
• Only the frame and walls of the house are built; other
elements, such as windows, electricity, or plumbing, need
to be installed separately. But concrete 3D printers can also
be used to print bridges, benches, or simply outdoor
decorations.

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 BENEFITS OF 3D PRINTING IN CONSTRUCTION
• Consumption of material is optimized
• Increases the ability to design a larger variety of
customized homes and buildings
• Greater degree of design freedom, able to produce
geometries (curves, hollowness, etc.) traditional concrete
molding can’t
• The construction waste is saved (Less waste, no need for
large-scale concrete molds or formwork)
• Huge save in labour cost (Lower need for labour)
• Higher productivity (it can print 24/7)
• Faster construction
• Quality can be maintained 143
 DISADVANTAGES/CHALLENGES OF 3D PRINTING

• Reduced employee number in the construction industry as

machine does most of the work
• A finite number of materials can be used since the printer
cannot be able to print the required design in various
materials
• Transportation of printers on job site becomes risky
• Any errors occur in a digital model can result in an
uncertain situation on site during the printing or
construction phase

144
However, the 3D concrete printing industry faces challenges it
must overcome before widespread adoption is possible. These
include:
• High initial investment cost (printers and related tech)
• Limitations in print size (mostly vertically)
• Limited selection of materials
• High technical expertise required to operate and maintain
printers
• Surface finish of printed elements can be visually
unappealing
• Building code hurdles

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THANK YOU

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