UNIT 2 BUILDING MATERIALS

Text 1
The main construction materials of earlier times were wood and masonry –
brick, stone, or tile, and similar materials. The layers were bound together with
mortar or bitumen, a tarlike substance, or some other building agent.

Both steel and cement, the two most important construction materials of
modern times, were introduced in the nineteenth century. Steel is basically an
alloy of iron and a small amount of carbon.

Modern cement, called Portland cement, was invented in 1824. It is a mixture

of limestone and clay, which is heated and then ground into powder. It is mixed
at or near the construction site with sand, aggregate (small stones, crushed
rock, or gravel), and water to make concrete. Different proportions of the
ingredients produce concrete with different strength and weight. Concrete is
very versatile; it can be poured, pumped, or even sprayed into all kinds of
shapes. Concrete has a great strength under compression, whereas steel has a
great tensile strength. Thus, the two substances complement each other.

They also complement each other in another way: they have almost the same
rate of contraction and expansion. Steel rods are embedded in concrete to
make reinforced concrete in concrete beams or structures where tension will
develop. Concrete and steel also form such as strong bond-the force that
unites them- that the steel can not slip within the concrete. Another advantage
is that steel does not rust in concrete. Acid corrodes steel, whereas concrete
has an alkaline chemical reaction, the opposite of acid.

Text 2
Building materials are used in two basic ways. In the first way, they are used to
support the loads on a building and in the second way they are used to divide
the space in a building. Building components are made from building materials
and the form of component is related to the way in which it is used.
We can see how this works by considering three different types of construction:
In one kind of construction, blocks of materials such as brick, stone or concrete
are put together to form solid walls. These materials are heavy; however, they
can support the structural loads because they have the properties of high
compressive strength. Walls made up of blocks both support the building and
divide the space in the building.
In another type of construction, sheet materials are used to form walls which
act as both space-dividers and structural support. Timber, concrete and some
plastic can be made into large rigid sheets and fixed together to form a
building. These buildings are lighter and faster to construct than buildings
made up of blocks.
Rod materials, on the other hand, can be used for structural support but not for
dividing spaces. Timber, steel and concrete can be formed into rods and used
as columns. Rod materials with high tensile and compressive strength can be
fixed together to form framed structures. The spaces between the rods can be
filled with light sheet materials which act as space-dividers but do not support
structural loads.
Text 3
Concrete, a stone-like material, is made by mixing cement, water, fine aggregate (often
sand), coarse aggregate, and frequently other additives (that modify properties) into a workable
mixture. in its un-hardened or plastic state, concrete can be placed in forms to produce a larger
variety of structural elements. although the hardened concrete by itself, i.e., without any
reinforcement, is strong in compression, it lacks tensile strength and therefore cracks easily.
because un-reinforced concrete is brittle, it cannot undergo large deformations under load and
fails suddenly without warning. the addition of steel reinforcement to the concrete reduces the
negative effects of its two principal inherent weaknesses: its susceptibility to cracking and its
brittleness. although steel is a stiff, high-strength material, it also has several weaknesses that
can be minimized or eliminated by encasing it in concrete. concrete surrounding steel protects it
from corrosion by moist air or salt water. At temperatures over 1200 o f, the tensile strength of
steel reduces rapidly. since concrete is a good insulator, steel that is protected by several inches
of concrete cover will retain its strength during several hours of exposure to intense heat. Thus,
steel and concrete form a synergistic relationship; i.e., each material improves the usefulness of
the other. When properly combined by the designer, the weaknesses of each are largely
eliminated while all desirable characteristics are retained.
When the reinforcement is strongly bonded to the concrete, a strong, stiff, and ductile
construction material is produced. this material, called reinforced concrete, is used extensively
to construct foundations, structural frames, storage tanks, shell roofs, highways, walls, dams,
canals, and innumerable other structures and building products. two other characteristics of
concrete that are present even when concrete is reinforced are shrinkage and creep, but the
negative effects of these properties can be mitigated by careful design.
Pre-stressed concrete is an improved form of reinforcement. Steel rods are bent into the
shapes to give them the necessary degree of tensile strength. They are used to pre-stress
concrete, usually by one of two different methods. The first is to leave channels in a concrete
beam that corresponds to the shapes of the steel rods. When the rods are run through the
channels, they are then bonded to the concrete by filling the channels with grout, a thin mortar
of binding agent. In the other and more common method, the pre-stressed steel rods are placed
in the lower part of a form that corresponds to the shape of the finished structure, and the
concrete is poured around them. Pre-stressed concrete uses less steel and less concrete.
Because it is so economical, it is a highly desirable material.
Further reading
Pre-stressed Concrete
In conventional reinforced concrete, the high tensile strength of steel is combined with concrete's
great compressive strength to form a structural material that is strong in both compression and
tension. The principle behind prestressed concrete is that compressive stresses induced by high-
strength steel tendons in a concrete member before loads are applied will balance the tensile stresses
imposed in the member during service.

Compressive stresses are induced in prestressed concrete either by pretensioning or post-tensioning

the steel reinforcement.

In pretensioning, the steel is stretched before the concrete is placed. High-strength steel tendons are
placed between two abutments and stretched to 70 to 80 percent of their ultimate strength. Concrete
is poured into molds around the tendons and allowed to cure. Once the concrete reaches the
required strength, the stretching forces are released. As the steel reacts to regain its original length,
the tensile stresses are translated into a compressive stress in the concrete. Typical products for
pretensioned concrete are roof slabs, piles, poles, bridge girders, wall panels, and railroad ties.

In post-tensioning, the steel is stretched after the concrete hardens. Concrete is cast around, but not
in contact with unstretched steel. In many cases, ducts are formed in the concrete unit using thin
walled steel forms. Once the concrete has hardened to the required strength, the steel tendons are
inserted and stretched against the ends of the unit and anchored off externally, placing the concrete
into compression. Post-tensioned concrete is used for cast-in-place concrete and for bridges, large
girders, floor slabs, shells, roofs, and pavements.