III.

USES OF CONCRETE

 Plain/ Ordinary Concrete

- One of the most commonly used types of concretes
- In this type, the essential constituents are cement, sand and coarse aggregates
- It is mostly used in the construction of dams, pavements and in buildings where very high tensile
strength is not required
 Lightweight Concrete
- Very low thermal conductivity
- Used depending on their composition, for thermal insulation, for protecting steel structures, long
span bridge decks
 Reinforced Concrete (Reinforced Cement Concrete)
- Steel in bvarious forms is used as reinforcements to give very high tensile strength
- Capable of bearing all types of stress in any type of construction
 Prestressed Concrete
- Special type of reinforced concrete in which the reinforcements are tensioned before being
embedded in the concrete
 Glass concrete – the recycled glass is used as an aggregate in the concrete
- Provides better thermal insulation and also have a great appeling look as compared to other
types
 Rapid hardening – mostly used in underwater construction and road repairs
- Used in building construction where the work should be done fast
 High strength Concrete – also known as High-Performance Concrete (HPC)
- Used to achieve some special properties in concrete like high strength, low shrinkage, self
compaction, high fire resistance
 High density Concrete - also called as heavy weight concrete
- These types are prepared by using high density crushed rocks as coarse aggregates
- Mostly used in atomic power plants and other similar structures because it provides good
protection from all type of radiations
 Asphalt – a combination of aggregates and asphalt
- Mostly used in highways, airports, as well as embankments
 Stamped Concrete – 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 all appealing look
- Pigments are used for color purposes to give it a more realistic and appealihng look.

B. USES

 How to prepare concrete

The manufacture of concrete is fairly simple. First, the cement (usually Portland cement) is prepared.
Next, the other ingredients—aggregates (such as sand or gravel), admixtures (chemical additives), any
 necessary fibers, and water—are mixed together with the cement to form concrete. The concrete is then
shipped to the work site and placed, compacted, and cured.

REMEMBER!!!

-To strengthen samples and to promote hydration, soak concrete in water (after it is set).

-Wet sand may carry considerable water, so the amount of mix water should be reduced to compensate.

CONCRETE MIX PROPORTIONS

 A basic mixture of mortar can be made using the volume proportions of 1 water : 2 cement : 3 sand. Most
of the student activities can be conducted using this basic mixture. Another "old rule of thumb" for mixing
concrete is 1 cement : 2 sand : 3 gravel by volume. Mix the dry ingredients and slowly add water until the
concrete is workable. This mixture may need to be modified depending on the aggregate used to provide
a concrete of the right workability. The mix should not be too stiff or too sloppy. It is difficult to form good
test specimens if it is too stiff. If it is too sloppy, water may separate (bleed) from the mixture.

Remember that water is the key ingredient. Too much water results in weak concrete. Too little water
results in a concrete that is unworkable.

 Important Quality Tests Of Concrete

o Slump test before leaving the batching plant and on arrival on site
o The slump test is easy to conduct. It determines the quality of concrete very fastly before its
placement. The placement standards are as recommended by the respective concrete practice
codes.
o Slump test is conducted at the site which does not require any lab arrangement or expensive
testing machines. Hence this test is economical.

o A slump test involves filling an inverted, bottomless cone with the concrete mixture. A Styrofoam
or paper cup with the bottom removed makes a good bottomless cone. Make sure to pack the
concrete several times while filling the cone. Carefully remove the cone by lifting it straight
upward. Place the cone beside the pile of concrete. The pile should be about 1/2 to 3/4 the
height of the cone for a concrete mixture with good workability. (SEE DIAGRAM)

 Compressive strength
The compressive strength of concrete cube test provides an idea about all the characteristics of concrete
  Water Permeability test
A water permeability test is one of the tests to determine the durability of concrete. Three cubes shall be taken
from fresh concrete and tested in accordance with the German Standard DIN 1048 at 28 days age. This kind of test
shall be taken from substructures concrete elements like foundations, concrete water tank, retaining wall etc.

 Rapid Chloride Ion Penetration Test

Like water permeability test, this is also one of the tests to determine the durability of concrete. Three cubes shall
be taken from fresh concrete delivered on site and tested at 28 days age. The test shall be done in accordance with
ASTM C1202-97.

 In site test on concrete

There are various in-site test conducted on hardened concrete, both destructive and non-destructive. Some of
them are concrete pull out tests, Break off tests, Schmidt Hammer test.