Course Name: Building Materials

University of Halabja Course Code:

Civil Engineering Department Date / / 2022
2021-2022 :
First Stage-Second Semester

CHAPTER ONE

Materials composition and structure

The Compositions of Materials:

The compositions of materials include chemical compositions and mineral compositions, which
are the key factors for the properties of materials.

1. Chemical Composition.
The chemical composition refers to the chemical constituents. Various chemical compositions
result in different properties.

For example, with the increase of carbon content, the strength, hardness and toughness of carbon
steel will change; carbon steel is easy to rust, so stainless steel comes into being by adding
chromium, nickel and other chemical components into steel.

2. Mineral Composition.
Many inorganic materials consist of a variety of mineral compositions. Minerals are monomers
and compounds with a certain chemical components and structures.

The mineral compositions are the key factors for the properties of some building materials (such
as natural stone, inorganic gel and other materials).

Cement reveals different characteristics because of different clinkers.

The Structure of Materials.

The structures of materials can be divided into macro-structure, meso-structure and micro-
structure, which are the key factors related to the properties of materials.

1. Macro-structure (The engineering level).

The thick structure above millimeter that can be identified with magnifying glass or naked eyes
is called as macro-structure.
At the engineering level the total material is considered; it is normally taken as continuous and
homogeneous and average properties are assumed throughout the whole volume of the material
body.

The minimum scale that must be considered is governed by the size of the representative cell,
which is the minimum volume of the material that represents the entire material system,
including its regions of disorder.

The linear dimensions of this cell varies considerably, from say 10 -3 m for metals to 0.1 m for
concrete and 1 m for masonry.

If the properties are the same in all directions then the material is isotropic and the representative
cell is a cube, while if the properties can only be described with reference to orientation, the
material is anisotropic, and the representative cell may be regarded as a parallelepiped.

2. Meso-structure (Materials structural level).

The micro-level structure that can be observed by optical microscope is called meso-structure or
sub-microstructure.

What is mainly studied in this structure are the size, shape and interface of grains and particles,
and the size, shape and distribution of pores and micro-cracks.

This level is a step up in size from the molecular level, and the material is considered as a
composite of different phases, which interact to realize the behavior of the total material.

Often the material consists of particles such as aggregates distributed in a matrix such as
hydrated cement or bitumen.

The dimensions of the particles differ considerably, from the wall thickness of a wood cell at 5 ×
10 -6 m to the length of a brick at 0.225 m.

Size itself is not an issue; what matters is that the individual phases can be recognized
independently.

3. Microstructure (The molecular level).

The atomic and molecular structures of materials that can be studied by electron microscopy, X-
ray diffractometer and other means are called microstructure.

Atoms, the building block of elements, consist of a nucleus surrounded by a cloud of orbiting
electrons.
The nucleus consists of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons, and so has a net positive
charge that holds the negatively charged electrons, which revolve around it, in position by an
electrostatic attraction.

• Bonding of atoms:

Atoms tend to arrange themselves in the most stable patterns possible, which means that they
have a tendency to complete or fill their outermost electron orbits. They join with other atoms to
do just that.

1. Ionic bond.

Ionic boning involves a transfer of an electron, so one atom gains an electron while one atom
loses an electron.

The strength, hardness and melting point are high but volatile; some are soluble and density is
medium. There is calcium chloride, gypsum, limestone and so on. An obvious limitation of the
ionic bond is that it can only occur between atoms of different elements.

2. Covalent bond.

The most common bond in organic molecules, a covalent bond involves the sharing of electrons
between two atoms.

The bonding force is strong. The strength, hardness, melting point and density of atomic crystal
are high, such as diamond, quartz and silicon carbide.
3. Metallic bond.

Metallic bonding is sort of like covalent bonding, because it involves sharing electrons. The
simplest model of metallic bonding is the "sea of electrons" model, which imagines that the
atoms sit in a sea of valence electrons that are delocalized over all the atoms.

The strength and hardness are volatile and the density is high. Because metal ions have free ions,
the metal materials such as iron, steel, aluminum, copper and their alloys have good thermal
conductivity and electrical conductivity.

The levels of information: