Basic Civil Engineering (3110004)

Experiment 2. Chart preparation of various materials. Collection of rate

and sample
Date: ___________

Construction materials are mainly divided into two parts:

1) Naturally available materials

• Clay/Earth /Soil
• Wood/Timber
• Sand/Fine Aggregate
• Rock

2) Artificial or industrial materials

• Cement
• Bricks
• Steel
• Tiles
• Ceramic
• Paints and varnishes
• Glass
• Plastic
• Stone
• Lime

Definition of some important properties:

Hardness: The ability of a material to withstand scratching, wear, abrasion and

penetration by harder bodies is known as hardness.
Toughness: It is the amount of energy that a material can absorb before it fractures.
Strength: The ability of a material to withstand stress without fracture is called its strength.
Compressive strength: The ability of a material to withstand stress due to compressive
force on it, without fracture is called compressive strength.
Plasticity: The ability of a material to be permanently deformed without fracture, even
after removal of load is known as plasticity.
Elasticity: The ability of a material to regain its original shape and size after the
removal of load is known as elasticity.

Stiffness: The property of a material which enables it to resist elastic deformation or

deflection is called stiffness.

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 Basic Civil Engineering (3110004)

Ductility: The property of a material to undergo deformation under tension without

fracture is called ductility.
Fatigue: The failure of a material caused under repeated loads or stresses is known as fatigue.

Creep: The slow progressive deformation of a material with time at constant stress is called
creep.
Machinability: It is defined as the ease with which a given material can be treated easily by
cutting tools or machines with satisfactory finish at economical cost.
Castability: It is the ease with which the material in liquid state can be given desired solid
shapes.
Workability: Workability is defined as the ease with which a material can change its shape
while in solid state.
Malleability: The capacity of a material to withstand deformation under compression
without rupture is called Malleability.
Brittleness: The property of a material by virtue of which it will fracture without deformation
is called its brittleness.
Heat capacity: A heat capacity is the amount of energy required to produce a unit
temperature rise.
Specific heat: Specific heat of a material is the amount of heat required to raise temperature
of unit mass of that material by one degree.
Thermal conductivity: Thermal conductivity is the amount of heat conducted per unit time
through a unit area perpendicular to the direction of heat conduction when the temperature
gradient across the heat conducting element is one unit.
Permeability: Permeability is defined as the ratio of magnetic flux and magnetic field
strength.

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 Basic Civil Engineering (3110004)

Classification of materials based on their uses with example of each:

Binding materials Clay, Lime, Cement, Bitumen, Mortar, Fly ash, Bitumen

Solid materials Stone, Brick, Iron, Timber

Protective materials (coating) Paints, Varnishes, Plaster

Flooring materials Ceramics , Glass, Timber , Rubber ,Cement Concrete

Transparent material Glass

Lightweight materials Plastic , Thermocol

Reinforcing material Mild steel

Adhesive material Glues

Abrasive materials Diamond , Silicon , Garnet , Emery

Electrical insulator Ceramic , Rubber , Plastic , Timber, Copper

Solid – Coal ,Coke, Wood

Fuels Liquid – Alcohol , Crude oil , Petroleum
Gases – Natural Gas ,Coal Gas

Sound insulator Gypsum , Wood, Rubber, Thermocol , Plaster of Paris

Thermal insulator Wool ,Wood, Foam glass , Foam plastic

Lubricants Oils , Greases

Asbestos cement sheets , Galvanized iron sheets, Fiber sheets,

Covering material
Plastic, roof tiles