 TYPE OF CONCRETE  PROPERTY  USE  ADVANTAGES  DISDAVANTAGES

1. Plain cement Concrete  The plain concrete will have  mainly used in the  The durability given by  It is incredibly strong
no reinforcement in it. construction of the these type of concrete is under compression
 The main constituents are the pavements and the satisfactory to high whilst weak under
cement, aggregates, and buildings, especially in extent. tension. Concrete is less
water. Most commonly used areas where there is less  capable of withstanding ductile.
mix design is 1:2:4 which is demand of high tensile huge amounts of weight.  The weight is high
the normal mix design. strength. compared to strength.

2. Reinforced Concrete  The reinforced cement 
concrete is defined as the
concrete to which
reinforcement is introduced
to bear the tensile strength.
Plain concrete is weak in
tension and good in
compression.
 reinforcement used in the
concrete can be in the form of
rods, bars or in the form of
meshes.
3. Prestressed Concrete  This is a special technique in 
which the bars or the tendons
used in the concrete is
stressed before the actual
service load application.
 During the mixing and the
placing of the concrete, these
tensioned bars placed firmly
and held from each end of the
structural unit. Once the
concrete sets and harden, the
structural unit will be put in
compression  It resists stresses are
Reinforced concrete is
being used for the
construction of
foundations to the
rooftops of buildings, in
the construction of
highways roads traffic,
precast structures, floating
structures, and hydro-
power tunnels, irrigation
canals, drains, and all
other conceivable
structures.
Prestressed concrete is
used in bridges to increase
the possible span of the
bridge and to make the
structure more durable
under moving traffic
conditions. Prestressed
concrete is widely used for
residential and
commercial products on
the interior and exterior of
building construction.
higher than normal RCC.
 high compressive
strength
 withstand a good amount
tensile stress.
 Fire and weather
resistance is fair.
 more durable.
 economically moulded
into a nearly limitless
range of shapes.
 maintenance cost is very
low.
 prestressing will make the
lower section of the
concrete member to be
stronger against the
tension.
 fewer joints are needed
 maintenance cost also
becomes reduced during
the design
 Long-term Durability.
 Better finishing of placed
concrete.
 It requires a smaller
amount of construction
materials.
 The cost of the forms
used for casting is
relatively higher.
 Shrinkage causes crack
development, strength
loss.
 Heavier than materials
like steel, wood and
glass.
 Needs lot of form-work,
require lot of site space
and skilled labour.
 It requires high strength
concrete and high tensile
strength steel wires.
 The main disadvantage is
construction requires
additional special
equipment like jacks,
anchorage, etc.
 It requires highly skilled
workers under skilled
supervision.
 Construction cost is little
higher than RCC
structures.
4. Precast Concrete  Various structural elements 
can be made and cast in the
factory as per the
specifications and bought to
the site at the time of
assembly. Such concrete units
are called as the precast
concrete.
 The examples of precast
concrete units are concrete
blocks, the staircase units,
precast walls and poles,
concrete lintels and many
other elements.
5. Lightweight Concrete  Concrete that have a density 
lesser than 1920kg/m3 will be
categorized as lightweight
concrete. The use of
lightweight aggregates in
concrete design will give us
lightweight aggregates.
 The examples of light weight
aggregates are the pumice,
perlites, and scoria.
6. High-Density Concrete  The concretes that have 
densities ranging between
3000 to 4000 kg/m3 can be
called as the heavyweight
concrete. Here heavy weight
aggregates are used.  The main use of HDC is in
 The crushed rocks are used as
the coarse aggregates. The
most commonly used heavy
weight aggregates is Barytes.
widely used in low- and  speedy construction as 
mid-rise apartment only assemblage is
buildings, hotels, motels, necessary. As the
and nursing homes. manufacturing is done at
Precast concrete is also a site, quality is assured.
popular material for  superior fire resistance
constructing office and sound control for the
buildings. individual units
 Saves Construction Time
 reduced size of the cross- 
section of structural
members, etc.
 Cost-effective, Durability
 Aesthetics, Safe
Construction Platform
Decks of long span bridges,  protection of the steel 
covering for architectural structures.
purposes., Heat insulation  Reduction in dead loads
on roofs., Insulation of and reinforcement.
water pipes., Filling for Improved thermal
floor and roof slabs. properties. Improved fire
partition walls and panel resistance. Savings in
walls in framed transporting and handling
structures., Production precast units on site.
precast building blocks and Reduction in formwork
low cost housing. and propping.
These types of aggregates  resist all possible type of 
are most commonly used radiations.
in the construction of  It has good mechanical
atomic power plants and properties as strength
for similar projects. and durability.
 When green, it can be
the nuclear industry as moulded into any shape.
radiation shielding.  Its initial and 
maintenance cost is also
relatively low.
High Initial Investment:
For installing a Precast
Concrete plant, heavy
and sophisticated
machines are necessary
which requires a high
initial investment.
 Transportation Issue:
Handling Difficulties:
Modification:Limitation
in case of precast
structures, it is difficult to
modify the structure. &
Sensitive Connection
Works:
Very Sensitive with water
content in the mixture. •
Difficult to place and
finish because of porosity
and angularity of the
aggregate. • Mixing time
is longer • Lightweight
Concrete are porous and
shows poor resistance
As the sections of the
structure are heavy, they
need more space. Thus
the use of concrete as
shielding against
radiation needs more
space.
The weight of shielding
concrete is very high
7. Air Entrained Concrete  These are concrete types into 
which air is intentionally
entrained for an amount of 3
to 6% of the concrete. The air
entrainment in the concrete is
achieved by the addition of
foams or gas – foaming
agents. Some examples of air
entraining agents are resins,
alcohols, and fatty acids.
8. Ready Mix Concrete  The concrete that mix and 
bathed in a central mixing
plant is called as ready-mix
concrete. The mixed concrete
is brought to the site with the
help of a truck-mounted
transit mixer. This once
reached in the site can be
used directly without any
further treatment.
9. Polymer Concrete  polymer concrete the 
aggregates will be bound with
the polymer instead of
cement. The production of
polymer concrete will help in
the reduction of volume of 
voids in the aggregate. This
will hence reduce the amount
of polymer that is necessary
to bind the aggregates used.
freeze-thaw resistance. 
The air voids provide
pressure relief sites during
a freeze event, allowing
the water inside
the concrete to freeze
without inducing large
internal stresses. Another
related use is for deicer-
scaling resistance.
in construction projects
where the construction
site is not willing, or not
able, to mix concrete on
site. Using ready-mixed
concrete means product is
delivered finished, on
demand, in the specific
quantity required, to the
specific mix design
required.
new construction or 
repairing of old concrete.
and for the placement of
Impermeable, skid-
resistant overlays.
The impermeable polymer 
concrete overlays will help
extend the life span of
even salt-contaminated
bridge decks.
increased resistance to
freeze-thaw degradation,
increased cohesion
(resulting in less bleed
and segregation) and
improved compaction in
low-workability mixes.
The volume of air
entrained depends on the
application and the mix
design.
 Quality and Consistency.
 Efficiency.
 Environment Friendly.
 Convenient Delivery.
 Versatility.
 Reduced Wastage.
 Reduced Life-Cycle Cost.
 very precise and specialty
concrete can be
developed based on the
specification with utmost
quality.
The adhesive properties
of polymer concrete allow
repair of both polymer
and conventional
cement-based concretes.
Polymer' concrete and
premixed over lays can be
cast in place and will cure
rapidly over a wide range
of temperatures, develop
high strength in a few
hours, bond well to
Portland cement
concrete.
 The strength of concrete
decreases.
 The use of air entraining
agent increases the
porosity of concrete
thereby reducing the unit
weight.
 require a centralized
mixing plant.
 If the transportation is
too long, then it will
result in setting of
concrete.
 Such issues of time delay
are cope up with the use
retarding agents that
delays the setting.
 Polymer concrete is very
expensive than a
conventional concrete.
 Polymer concrete needs
high skill and precise
work while mixing.
 Improper proportioning
of two-component
materials can occur;
thus, the proper mix
design is required.
10. Fly Ash Concrete.
11. Ferro Cement Concrete.  Ferro cement concrete should 
12. Vacuum Concrete  Concrete with water content 
 Hence the concrete structure
 Concrete using fly ash is called  Fly ash could be an  Up to 30 percent  Slower strength gains.
fly ash concrete. Fly ash is expensive replacement for replacement of fine
 Seasonal limitation.
obtained from coals. Fly ash Portland cement in aggregates and 20
can be used to replace fine concrete and using it, percent replacement of  Increased need for air-
aggregates or cement or to improves strength, cement have been entraining admixtures.
replace partially both. segregation and ease of reported.  Increase of salt scaling
pumping concrete  Fly ash improves produced by higher
workability in the fresh proportions of fly ash.
concrete and durability
and strength in hardened
concrete.
making boats.  Basic raw materials are  Structures made of it can
not be confused with fiber  Used as planks for shelves readily available in most be punctured by collision
concrete. Ferro cement in housing projects countries. with pointed objects.
consists of closely spaced replacing costly wooden  Fabricated into any  Corrosion of the
wire-meshes which are planks. desired shape. reinforcing materials due
impregnated with a rich mix  Used in construction of to the incomplete
 Low labour skill required.
of cement mortar. boxes for water and coverage of metal by
electrical meters.  Ease of construction, low
mortar.
 Used in construction of weight and long lifetime.
 It is difficult to fasten
sewage manhole covers.  Low construction
to Ferro cement with
 Ferro-cement components material cost.
bolts, screws, welding
are Used in Rural areas for  Better resistance against and nail etc. Large no of
low cost housing. earthquake. labours required.
Applications of Vacuum  These concretes will  High initial cost. Need
more than required quantity Concrete: • Industrials attain their 28 days’ trained labour.
is poured into the formwork. floor sheds like cold compressive strength  Need specific equipment.
The excess water is then storages • Hydro power within a period of 10 days
 Need power
removed out with the help of plants • Bridges ports and and the crushing strength
consumption.
a vacuum pump without harbour • Cooling towers of these structure is 25 %
waiting for the concrete to greater compared with
undergo setting. the conventional
concrete types.
or the platform will be ready  It enhances the wear
to use earlier when compared resistance of concrete
with normal construction surface.
technique.
13. High-Strength Concrete
14. Self – Consolidated 
Concrete
15. Fiber reinforced concrete
 The concretes that have 
strength greater than 40MPa
can be termed as high
strength concrete. This
increased strength is achieved
by decreasing the water-
cement ratio even lower than
0.35.
 The calcium hydroxide
crystals that are the major
concern product during
hydration for the strength
properties is reduced by the
incorporation of silica fume.
The concrete mix when 
placed will compact by its
own weight is regarded as
self-consolidated concrete.
No vibration must be 
provided for the same
separately. This concrete due
to its higher workability is also
called as flowing concrete.
 Concrete containing cement, 
water, aggregate, and
discontinuous, uniformly
dispersed or discrete fibers is
called fiber reinforced
concrete. It is a composite
obtained by adding a single
type or a blend of fibers to the
conventional concrete mix.
Fibers can be in form of steel
fibers, glass fibers, natural
fibers , synthetic fibers, etc.
concrete is typically used 
in the erection of high-rise
structures. It has been
used in components such
as columns (especially on
lower floors where the
loads will be greatest),
shear walls, and
foundations. ... High –
strength concrete is
occasionally used in the
construction of highway
bridges.
The areas where there is
thick reinforcement, self –
consolidating concrete
works best.
Construction of structures
with complicated
reinforcement. Used for
repairs, restoration and
renewal construction.
Highly stable and durable
retaining walls
Runway, Aircraft Parking, 
and Pavements. It can be
used in runways, taxiways,
aprons, seawalls, dock
areas, parking and loading
ramps. Tunnel Lining
Dams and Hydraulic
Structure. Thin Shell,
Walls, Pipes, used in the
construction of
hemispherical domes.
High-strength concrete  In terms of performance,
provides a higher the high strength
compressive strength, a concrete ought to be less
higher modulus of performing in terms of
elasticity, a higher tensile workability which is an
strength, reduced creep, issue.
and greater durability  Extended Quality
than normal-strength Control.
concrete.  High Cost.
 Special Constituents.
 They are manufacture
and Placed carefully.
 This mix has a higher  Material selection is
workability. stricter.
 Fast placement without  Construction costs
mechanicalconsolidation. increase, compared with
 Improvedconstructability. regular concrete.
 Reduces permeability in  Many trial batches and
concrete structures. laboratory tests are
 Minimizes voids in highly- required to use a
reinforced areas. designed mixture.Higher
 Eliminates problems with precision is required
concrete vibration.
High modulus of elasticity  Greater reduction of
 Does not rust nor workability.  High cost
corrode and requires no of materials.  Generally
minimum cover.  Easily fibers do not increase the
placed, Cast, Sprayed and flexural strength of
less labour intensive than concrete, and so cannot
placing rebar.  Greater replace moment resisting
retained toughness in or structural steel
conventional concrete reinforcement.
mixes.  Higher flexural
strength,