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93 Concrete PDF
93 Concrete PDF
situations that call for the very rapid development of with steel or other high-strength material is known
strength or rigidity. as reinforced concrete. See MORTAR.
4. Color pigments in powder or liquid form may Production of concrete. The properties of the end
be added to the concrete mix to produce colored product depend not only on the various constituent
concrete. These are usually used with white port- materials listed above but also on the way they are
land cement to attain their full coloring potential. proportioned and mixed, as well as on the methods
See PIGMENT (MATERIAL). of placing and curing the composite.
Reinforcing steels. Because of concrete’s relatively Mix design. It is not possible to predict the strength
low tensile strength, it is typically reinforced with and other concrete properties solely based on the
steel bars (Fig. 1). These bars are produced in stan- properties and proportions of the mix components.
dard sizes. In the United States, the identification Therefore, mixes are designed on an empirical basis,
number of a reinforcing bar refers to the nominal di- often with the help of trial mixes. The objective
ameter expressed in eighths of an inch. For example, of the mix design is to assure that the product has
a number 6 bar has a diameter of 6/8 = 0.75 inch. The specified properties in both the fresh and hardened
available bar sizes range in general from 2 to 18. Re- state. The most important mix design variable is
inforcing steel usually has a nominal yield strength the weight ratio between water and cement, re-
of 60,000 lb/in.2 (414 MPa). To improve the bond ferred to as the w/c ratio. There is a theoretical
strength between the bars and the concrete, the minimum amount of water needed for the cement
bars are fabricated with surface deformations or ribs. to completely hydrate, which can be determined
The relatively high cost of steel mandates its sparing using the equations of hydration chemistry. Any ex-
use. This means that the concrete is usually assigned cess water creates pores which, together with any
the task of resisting compressive forces, while the air-filled pores, do not contribute to the material
steel carries primarily the tensile forces. The alkalin- strength. The result is a drastic decrease in strength
ity of the cement paste generally provides sufficient as a function of increasing the w/c ratio. On the other
protection of the steel against corrosion. However, hand, too low w/c ratios cause poor workability of
corrosion protection is often breached, for exam- the concrete. For practical reasons, the w/c ratio typ-
ple, in highway bridge decks with continuous pore ically varies between 0.4 and 0.6. The other impor-
structure or traffic-induced cracks that permit the de- tant mix design variables are the cement-to-aggregate
icing chemicals used in winter to penetrate the pro- ratio and the fine-to-coarse aggregate ratio. Also, the
tective concrete cover. Additional protective mea- maximum aggregate size is of importance. And since
sures may be necessary, such as using epoxy coatings cement is the most expensive bulk ingredient, the
on the bars, noncorrosive steels, or nonmetallic rein- mix design will generally aim at the least amount of
forcement (for example, fiber-reinforced polymers). cement necessary to achieve the design objectives.
See CORROSION. Construction practice. The material obtained immedi-
Other important concrete terminology can be de- ately upon mixing of the various concrete ingredi-
fined. A mixture of cement and water is called ce- ents is called fresh concrete, while hardened con-
ment paste. Cement paste plus fine aggregate is crete results when the cement hydration process has
called mortar or concrete matrix. Mortar plus coarse advanced sufficiently to give the material mechani-
aggregate constitutes concrete. Concrete reinforced cal strength. Concrete that is batched and mixed in
a plant and then transported by truck in its fresh, or
plastic, state to the construction site for final place-
ment is called ready-mixed concrete. If the result-
ing structure or highway pavement, for example,
remains in place after placement, the concrete is re-
ferred to as cast-in-place concrete, whether mixed
on-site or off-site. Precast concrete refers to any struc-
ture or component that is produced at one site, typi-
cally in a precasting plant, and then transported in its
hardened state to its final destination. The controlled
environment of a precasting plant generally permits
higher quality control of the product than is possible
with cast-in-place concrete produced at a construc-
tion site. See CONSTRUCTION METHODS; PAVEMENT.
Code-writing organizations, such as the American
Society for Testing and Materials, the American
Concrete Institute (ACI), and the American Asso-
ciation of State Highway and Transportation Offi-
cials (AASHTO), have published detailed specifica-
tions and recommendations for measuring, mixing,
transporting, placing, curing, and testing concrete.
A proper mix design assures that the concrete mix is
Fig. 1. Workers placing and vibrating concrete on a bridge deck including epoxy-coated well proportioned. The mixing time should be suffi-
reinforcing steel. (Portland Cement Association) cient to assure a uniform mixture. When placing the
Concrete 3
shrinkage is restrained somehow, it can lead to crack- built with well-designed concrete mixes, having low
ing. Shrinkage deformations caused by drying can porosity or high density and minimal cracking, are
be reversed only partially upon wetting. A concrete likely to resist most causes of chemical attack, al-
member or structure subjected to external load will though for service in particularly aggressive envi-
undergo deformations which, up to a point, are pro- ronments special countermeasures may have to be
portional to the amount of applied load. If these loads taken.
remain in place for an appreciable time (months or Under repeated load applications, structures can
years), these deformations will increase due to a ma- experience fatigue failure, as each successive load
terial property called creep. Even for regular con- cycle increases the degree of cracking and material
crete mixes, creep deformations can be two or three deterioration to the point where the material itself
times as high as the initial elastic deformations, es- may gradually lose its strength or the increased ex-
pecially if the concrete is loaded at a very young age. tent of cracking is the source of loss of durability.
When designing concrete structures, such creep and Thermal and other properties. The heavy weight of
shrinkage deformations must be accounted for. See concrete [its specific gravity is typically 2.4 g/cm3
CREEP (MATERIALS); ELASTICITY. (145 lb/ft3)] is the source of large thermal mass.
Durability. Durability is the ability of a material (or For this reason, massive concrete walls and roof and
structure) to maintain its various properties through- floor slabs are well suited for storing thermal energy.
out its design or service life. Some concrete struc- Because of this heat capacity of concrete, together
tures built by the Romans served for over 2000 years. with its reasonably low thermal conductivity, con-
A material that loses its strength in time, for whatever crete structures can moderate extreme temperature
reason, cannot be considered durable. cycles and increase the comfort of occupants. Well-
There can be numerous causes for loss of durabil- designed concrete mixes are impermeable to liq-
ity or deterioration of concrete structures. The most uids and therefore suitable for storage tanks without
common one is an excessive amount of cracking or the need for impermeable membranes or liners. Al-
pore structure. Most concrete structures contain nu- though steel reinforcing bars conduct electricity and
merous cracks. But as long as these remain small (of influence magnetic fields, the concrete itself does
the order of 0.25 mm or less), they are generally in- neither. See CONCRETE SLAB; FLOOR CONSTRUCTION;
visible to the naked eye, and the concrete remains ROOF CONSTRUCTION.
basically impermeable to salts and other aggressive Special concretes and recent developments. Con-
agents, so that it can continue to protect the rein- crete is an engineered material, with a variety of
forcing steel against corrosion. Larger cracks pro- specialty products designed for specific applications.
vide easy access for such agents to the steel, thereby Some important ones are described below.
promoting corrosion. Since the steel corrosion prod- Lightweight concrete. Although the heavy weight or
ucts occupy a larger volume than sound steel, they large mass of typical concrete members is often
produce internal pressure during expansion and can an advantage, there are situations where this is not
spall off the protective concrete cover, the loss of the case. For example, because of the large stresses
which may render the structure unsafe to resist caused by their own heavy weight, floor slabs are
loads. often made lighter by using special lightweight ag-
The concrete itself may deteriorate or weather, es- gregate. To further reduce weight, special chemical
pecially if subjected to many cycles of freezing and admixtures are added, which produce large porosity.
thawing, during which the pressure created by the Such high porosity (in either the matrix or the aggre-
freezing water progressively increases the extent of gate particles themselves) improves the thermal re-
internal cracking. In addition, carbon in the atmo- sistance of the concrete as well as sound insulation,
sphere can react chemically with the cement hydra- especially for higher frequencies. However, because
tion products. This process is known as carbonation. weight density correlates strongly with strength, ul-
It lowers the pH of the concrete matrix to the point tralightweight concretes [1.1 g/cm3 (70 lb/ft3) and
where it can no longer protect the steel against cor- less] are used only for thermal or sound insulation
rosion. purposes and are unsuitable for structural applica-
Most types of aggregate used for concrete pro- tions.
duction are inert; that is, they do not react chemically Heavyweight concrete. When particularly high weight
with the cement or hydration products. However, densities are needed, such as for shielding in nuclear
there are various aggregate types, including those reactor facilities, special heavyweight aggregate is
containing amorphous silica such as common glass, used, including barite, limonite, magnetite, scrap
which react chemically with the alkali in the cement. metal, and steel shot for fine aggregate. Weight den-
In the presence of moisture, the alkali–aggregate re- sities can be achieved that are twice that of normal-
action products can swell and cause considerable weight concrete.
damage. The deterioration of numerous major struc- Architectural concrete. Concrete surfaces that remain
tures and highway pavements has been attributed exposed may call for special finishes or textures
to such reactions, especially alkali–silica reaction, according to the architect’s desires. Textures are
often after years of seemingly satisfactory service. most readily obtained by inserting special form lin-
Other common causes of chemical attack are sul- ers before casting the concrete. Sometimes the neg-
fates found in soils, chlorides in seawater, acid rain, ative imprint of roughly sawn timber is consid-
and other industrial pollutants. Generally, structures ered attractive and left without further treatment.
Concrete 5
conform to the principles of sustainable develop- construction industry, it is undertaking major efforts
ment. The most significant step is the replacement to make concrete a more “green” material.
of portland cement by other cementitious or poz- Christian Meyer
zolanic materials, preferably materials that are by- Bibliography. ACI Committee 225, Guide to the
products of industrial processes, such as fly ash Selection and Use of Hydraulic Cements, ACI Re-
(the by-product of coal-burning power plants) and port 225R-99, American Concrete Institute, Farm-
granulated blast furnace slag (a by-product of the ingdale Hills, MI, 2001; ACI Committee 304, Guide
steel industry). To reduce the need for virgin aggre- to Measuring, Mixing, Transporting, and Placing
gate, recycled concrete is the most promising ap- Concrete, ACI Report 304R-00, American Concrete
proach, because construction debris, in particular Institute, Farmingdale Hills, MI, 2001; B. Mather and
demolished concrete, constitutes a major compo- C. Ozyildirim, Concrete Primer, 5th ed., ACI Spec.
nent of solid waste that fills up sparse landfill ca- Publ. 1, 2002; P. K. Mehta and P. J. M. Monteiro,
pacity. These recent developments are much more Concrete, 3d ed., McGraw-Hill, 1993; S. Mindess,
advanced in Europe and Japan than in the United J. F. Young, and D. Darwin, Concrete, 2d ed., Pren-
States. But the “green” building movement is gain- tice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 2003; A. M. Neville,
ing momentum there as well, and for the concrete Properties of Concrete, 4th ed., Wiley, New York,
industry to maintain its dominant position within the 1996.