PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE AS A CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL Flashcards
is a dominant structural material used in construction industry. Concrete is a mixture of cement, water and aggregates. As with most rocklike mass, concrete has a very high compressive strength but have low tensile strength. As a structural, concrete can be made to carry tensile stresses. In this regard, provided reinforcing steel bars are used to give additional strength to resist tensile
stresses.
Reinforced Concrete
Concrete as a material
- Roadways or Transportation System
- Airstrips
- Infrastructures
- Water Distribution
- Underground Structures
Prestressed Concrete
is those in which cracking and tensile forces are greatly reduced or eliminated by the imposition of internal stress that are of opposite character to those that will be caused by the service or working loads.
The materials used in prestressed concrete are concrete and high strength steels also known
tendons
tendons were tensioned before the concrete was placed. After the concrete had hardened sufficiently, the tendons are cut, and the
prestress force is transmitted to concrete by bond. These methods are well suited for mass production where the tendons can run to several meters long across several beams in the casting bed,
pre-tensioning
the tendons are tensioned after the concrete is placed and has gained the required strength. The tendons are placed inside hallow ducts or tubes located in the form. When the concrete has hardened, the tendons are stretched and mechanically attached to end anchorage. In this method, the prestress force is transferred to the concrete by end bearing.
post-tensioning
Uses of Prestressed Concrete
- Long span bridges
- High buildings
- Hollow slabs
- simple span box girders
- cable bridges
- Flat slab floor
Factors Affecting Strength of Concrete
- Water-Cement Ratio
- Properties and Proportions of Concrete Constituents
- Method of Mixing and Curing
- Age of Concrete
- Loading Conditions
- Shape and Dimensions of Tested Specimen
the higher the ratio, the lower the strength. In fact, the relationship is approximately linear when
expressed in terms of C/W, the ratio of cement to water by weight.
Water-Cement Ratio
An increase in cement content and the use of well-graded aggregates increase the strength of concrete. Special admixtures are used to produce desired quality and strength of concrete.
Properties and Proportions of Concrete Constituents
The use of mechanical concrete mixers and proper time mixing have both favorable effects on strength of concrete. Also using a vibrator may lessen the percentage of air voids in concrete. A void ratio of 5% may reduce the concrete strength up to 30%. The curing time influences also the strength of concrete. The longer the period of moist storage, the greater the strength.
Method of Mixing and Curing
In practice, the strength of concrete is determined from cylinders or cubes
tested at the age of 7 days and 28 days. As practical assumptions, concrete at 28 days is 1.5 times as strong as at 7 days. The strength of concrete increases with
age and hydration of cement continues for months.
Age of Concrete
The compressive strength of concrete is estimated by testing a cylinder or
cube to failure in a few minutes. Under sustained loads, the compressive strength of concrete reduces by 30%.
Loading Conditions
The common sizes of concrete specimens used to predict the compressive strength, as discussed in earlier course, are either 6in x 12in (150mm x 300mm) or 4in x 8in (100mm x 200mm) cylinders. The greater the ratio of specimen height
to diameter, the lower the strength indicated by compression strength.
Shape and Dimensions of Tested Specimen
- weighs 2400 kg/m^3 (145 lbs/ft^3)(3915 lbs/yard^3)
- development of strength starts at 7 days
- common strength values is 10 MPa (1450 psi) to 40 MPa (5800 psi)
- about 28 days 75-80% of the total strength is attained
- not durable against severe condition e.g freezing and thawing
Normal-Weight Concrete