Concrete Hollow Blocks, Pre-cast Concrete and Cast in Place

HOLLOW BLOCKS:
– is a large rectangular block that is hollow inside and is used in building construction.
Concrete blocks are made from cast concrete, e.g. Portland cement and aggregate,
usually sand and fine gravel for high-density blocks. Lower density blocks may use
industrial wastes as an aggregate. Lightweight blocks can also be produced using
aerated concrete.

Concrete blocks may be produced with hollow centers to reduce weight or improve
insulation. The use of blockwork allows structures to be built in the traditional masonry
style with layers (or courses) of staggered blocks. Blocks come in many sizes.

Concrete block, when built in tandem with concrete columns and tie beams and
reinforced with rebar, is a very common building material for the load-bearing walls of
buildings, in what is termed “concrete block structure” (CBS) construction. American
suburban houses typically employ a concrete foundation and slab with a concrete block
wall on the perimeter. Large buildings typically use copious amounts of concrete block;
for even larger buildings, concrete blocks supplement steel I-beams. Tilt-wall as well as
steel frame construction are both to some extent replacing CBS for some large
structures, particularly those more than seven storeys.

The hollow block sizes in the Philippines are the following:

40cm (length) X 20 cm (width) X 4 in (thickness)
40cm (length) X 20 cm (width) X 5 in (thickness)
40cm (length) X 20 cm (width) X 6 in (thickness)

Typically the Size Of Hollow Blocks In The Philippines are definitely the subsequent:
40cm (length) X 20 cm (width) X 4 in (thickness) 40cm (length) X 20 cm (width) X 5 in
(thickness) 40cm. Normally, this is utilize for building small house floor plans in the
philippines or small bungalow house plans in the Philippines.

The hollow block sizes in the Philippines would be the subsequent: 40cm (length) X 20
cm (width) X 4 in (thickness) 40cm (length) X 20 cm (width) X 5 in (thickness) 40cm.
PRE-CAST CONCRETE:
– Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable
mold or “form” which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the
construction site and lifted into place. In contrast, standard concrete is poured into site-
specific forms and cured on site.
Precast stone is distinguished from precast concrete by using a fine aggregate in the
mixture, so the final product approaches the appearance of naturally occurring rock or
stone. By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment (typically referred to
as a precast plant), the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and
be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers
many potential advantages over site casting of concrete.

The production process for Precast Concrete is performed on ground level, which helps
with safety throughout a project. There is a greater control of the quality of materials and
workmanship in a precast plant rather than on a construction site. Financially, the forms
used in a precast plant may be reused hundreds to thousands of times before they have
to be replaced, which allow cost of formwork per unit to be lower than for site-cast
production.

To complete the look of the four precast wall panel types — sandwich, plastered
sandwich, inner layer, and cladding panels — there are many different possibilities for
the surface. The cement can be white or grey, and the color and size of the aggregate
make a difference. Different colors, pigments, and paints can be added. The shape and
surface of the precast concrete molds have an effect on the look: the mold can be made
of timber, steel, plastic, rubber, or fiberglass, each material giving a unique finish.

Precast concrete provides the manufacturers with the ability to produce a wide range of
engineered earth retaining systems. Products include: commercial retaining wall,
residential walls, sea walls, mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) panels, modular block
systems, segmental retaining walls, etc. Retaining walls have 5 different types which
include: gravity retaining wall, semigravity retaining wall, cantilever retaining wall,
counterfort retaining wall, and buttress retaining wall.
Precast concrete sandwich wall panels have been used on virtually every type of
building, including schools, office buildings, apartment buildings, townhouses,
condominiums, hotels, motels, dormitories, and single-family homes. Although typically
considered part of a building’s enclosure or “envelope,” they can be designed to
additionally serve as part of the building’s structural system, eliminating the need for
beams and columns on the building perimeter. Besides their energy efficiency and
aesthetic versatility, they also provide excellent noise attenuation, outstanding durability
(resistant to rot, mold, etc.), and rapid construction.

CAST-IN-PLACE:
– Cast-in-place concrete is transported in an unhardened state, primarily as ready-mix,
and placed in forms. Ready mixed concrete is proportioned and mixed off the project
site. The concrete is delivered to the site in a truck agitator (often incorrectly called a
“cement truck”) but can also be delivered in a non-agitating truck. Specialized paving
equipment may be used to mix and spread concrete for pavement.
(cast-in-place concrete, in situ concrete)
Concrete which is deposited in the place where it is required to harden as part of the
structure, as opposed to precast concrete.

Cast-in-place concrete is the material of choice for slab-on-ground and foundations

because of its long-term durability and structural support. It is also used in all types of
buildings for either structural support as beams and columns, as well as for floors, walls,
and roofs.

Ready mixed concrete has many environmental benefits during construction and for the
life of the structure.

It’s being used in:

Most foundations and slabs-on-ground

Walls, beams, columns, floors, roofs
Large portions of bridges, pavements, and other infrastructure.

Waste Minimization. Concrete is ordered and placed as needed and does not need to
be trimmed or cut after installation. Wash water is frequently recycled using trucks
equipped with devices that collect wash water and return it to the drum where it can be
returned to the ready mixed concrete plant for recycling.
Extra concrete is often returned to the ready-mix plant where it is recycled or used to
make jersey barriers or retaining wall blocks; or it can be washed to recycle the coarse
aggregate. Special set retarding admixtures can be added to returned concrete to allow
for storage and future use.
Energy Performance and Thermal Mass. Thermal mass improves energy performance
when appropriately insulated. When 3 in. or more in thickness, concrete forms an air
barrier.

Durable. Concrete stands up to natural disasters, wind-driven rain, moisture damage,

and vermin. Less replacement means reduced resource requirements.

Cool. Using light- or natural-colored material helps reduce the heat island affect.

Low emitting. Concrete has low VOC emission and does not degrade indoor air quality.
Recyclable. Concrete is commonly recycled in urban areas into fill and road base
material at the end of service life.

(VOC – Volatile organic compounds are released from burning fuel, such as gasoline,
wood, coal, or natural gas. They are also emitted from oil and gas fields and diesel
exhaust. They are also released from solvents, paints, glues, and other products that
are used and stored at home and at work.) ~TOX TOWN-Volatile organic compounds~
(SEE CRYSTAL HOMES GUITNANG BAYAN, for houses made of cast in place
concrete walls)
Concrete should not be placed more rapidly than it can be spread, struck off, and
consolidated. It should be deposited continuously as near as possible to its final
position. In many types of construction, concrete is placed in forms and consolidated.
Consolidation compacts fresh concrete to mold it within the forms around embedded
items and reinforcement and eliminates stone pockets, honeycombing, and entrapped
air. Vibration is the most widely used method for consolidating concrete. Self-
compacting concrete, also referred to self-consolidating concrete, is able to flow and
consolidate under its own weight and requires no vibration.

After the concrete is placed, a satisfactory moisture content and temperature is required
for concrete to develop adequate strength and durability; this is called the curing
process. Curing compounds or other surface treatments prevent the rapid loss of
moisture from the surface of concrete and aid in the curing process.

Exposed concrete surfaces, usually the top surface, generally require finishing if they
will be visible. This includes driveways, pavements, sidewalks, floors, slabs, and other
flatwork. Options include various colors and textures, such as exposed aggregate or a
pattern-stamped surface. Some surfaces may require only strikeoff or screeding (which
removes excess concrete and evens out the exposed surface) to the proper contour
and elevation. Other surfaces may have a broomed, floated, or trowel finish. Sawcut
joints, if required, are made after the concrete is sufficiently hard or strong to prevent
raveling (is the disintegration of the surface to leave loose or protruding aggregates).

In comparison, Concrete Hollow Blocks are mostly pressure-rated from 200 to

500 psi
Precast Wall Panels (‘buhos’) able to stand pressures of about 3,000 to 4,000 psi,
under strict quality assurance guidelines
While Cast in Place or In-situ concrete are able to stand pressures of about 3,500
to 5,000 psi,
under strict quality assurance guidelines
(PSI – Pounds per square inch)
or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch
is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units. It is the pressure resulting
from a force of one pound-force applied to an area of one square inch:
1 psi = \frac{1\text{ lbf}}{(1\text{ in})^2} ≈ \frac{4.4482\text{ N}}{(0.0254\text{ m})^2} ≈
6894.757 N/m²
Therefore, one pound per square inch is approximately 6894.757 Pa.
Estimation of Cement, Sand, and Gravel in Construction
In the estimation of cement, sand, and gravel volumes for concrete proportioning, we
use the Fuller's Formula. This is an easy way to get a rough estimate in case you are in
the field.

FULLER'S FORMULA
Let:
C = number of bags of cement per cubic meter of concrete work (bag/m3)
S = volume of sand per cubic meter of concrete work (m3 of sand /m3)
G = volume of gravel per cubic meter of concrete work (m3 of gravel /m3)
c,s,g = cement-sand-gravel ratio (relative amounts of solids by volume in a mixture)

C = 55 / (c+s+g)
S = 0.028*C*s
G = 0.028*C*g

The classes of concrete mixture depends on the cement-sand-gravel ratio (c:s:g).

Class A (1:2:4) = for beams, slabs, columns, all members subjected to bending
Class B (1:2.5:5) = member not reinforced for bending stress
Class C (1:3:6) = for footing (not under water)

Note: We use here 94 lbs Portland Cement per cubic meter of concrete

Example 1:
Determine the number of bags of cement, sand, and gravel of a proposed concrete
pavement whose width and length are 100 m x 200 m. The thickness is 100 cm.

Given: Width = 100 m Length = 200 m Thickness = 0.1 m

Reqd: number of bags of cement, sand, and gravel

Solution:
Volume of concrete = 100 * 200 * 0.1 = 2000 m3
Pavement = Class A (1:2:4)

C = 55 / (c+s+g) = [ 55 / (1+2+4) ] * 2000 = 15,680 bags

S = 0.028*C*s = {0.028* [ 55 / (1+2+4) ] * 2 } * 2000 = 800 m3 of sand
G = 0.028*C*g = {0.028* [ 55 / (1+2+4) ] * 4 } * 2000 = 1760 m3 of sand