LO.1.

03 Building Material

Egyptian Building Materials

Week 05 - Week 06

Learning Outcome ES.1.03: Analyze and identify the earth materials

that are used as a resource for modern building, and integrate design
criteria and material properties in choosing materials for engineering
design.
Key Concepts:
 1. Limestone and cement materials derived from limestone
are essential Egyptian building resources due both to their
abundance and to the lack of alternative building materials.
 2. Different Earth materials and different manufactured
materials have different engineering properties, such as their
behavior under stress, making them suitable for different
uses in construction.
 3. Some construction materials are highly refined from the
original Earth material, while others are used in the original
state.

Crushed Stone
The most basic commodity of many construction, manufacturing, chemical and agricultural
industries.

Many types of crushed stone: Crushed stone is not a "standard commodity." It is made by mining one
of several types of rock such as limestone, granite, trap rock, scoria, basalt, dolomite, or sandstone;
crushing the rock; and then screening the crushed rock to sizes that are suitable for the intended end use.
The Most Basic Mineral Commodity
Crushed stone is the world's most basic mineral commodity. It is abundant, widely
available, and inexpensive.

Most crushed stone is used in highway construction (as bridges) and building
construction. In the construction of a two-lane asphalt highway, about 25,000 tons of
crushed stone is used per mile. In building a small residential subdivision, about 300
tons of crushed stone is used per home .

Types of Rock Used for Crushed Stone

Many different rock types are used to make crushed stone. The types used to make
crushed stone include the following: limestone, granite, trap rock, sandstone, quartzite,
dolomite, marble, slate, shell, and calcareous marl . Their relative importance is
shown in the pie chart on this page. Each of these rock types is suitable for a number of
uses and unsuitable for others. A brief description of the more important rocks for

crushed stone is provided below.

Crushed stone Types

Where Crushed stone Types in Egypt :

Types of rock used to make crushed stone:

Limestone
Limestone is a rock composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is the rock type most
commonly used to make crushed stone .

It holds this position because it is widely available and suitable for a greater diversity
of uses than any other type of rock. Limestone can be used to make cement. It is the
primary ingredient of concrete. It is used as a base material for highways, rural roads,
buildings, and railroad construction. It is used to make agricultural lime and for acid
neutralization in the chemical industry. There are many products made from or using
limestone that consume a small volume of material. These include poultry grit,
terrazzo, glass, air pollution sorbents, mine safety dust, animal food supplements,
cosmetics, dietary supplements, and blast furnace flux, among others.
Limestone: Crushed limestone of various particle sizes, from top left going clockwise: coarse
aggregate, crushed limestone, mine run limestone, and limestone fines.

Granite and Trap Rock

Granite is the layman's name used for any light-colored igneous rock that is used in
construction. Granite, granodiorite, diorite, and rhyolite are a few of many light-
colored igneous rocks that are called "granite" in the construction industry. "Trap rock"
is a layman's name used for any dark-colored igneous rock that is used in construction.
Basalt, peridotite, diabase, and gabbro are examples of trap rock.

Granite and trap rock are the second and third most commonly used types of rocks for
producing crushed stone. They are superior to limestone when used in acid waters or
soils and when subjected to abrasion. They can substitute for limestone as a concrete
aggregate and when a durable aggregate is needed.
Crushed rock: Crushed igneous rocks of various kinds, from top left going clockwise: trap rock,
white granite, lava rock, and red granite.

Dolomite and Dolomitic Limestone

Dolomite and limestone are very similar rocks. Dolomite is a calcium magnesium
carbonate (CaMg(CO3)2), while limestone is a calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Limestone
is more effective for making cement and for neutralizing acids. Dolomite has a Mohs
hardness of 4 compared to limestone with a Mohs hardness of 3. This hardness
difference makes dolomite distinctly more durable when the rock is subjected to
abrasion.

Dolomite, dolomitic limestone, and limestone have similar appearances and often
occur together in the rock units mined at a single quarry; however, they are rarely
mined as separate products. A significant amount of the material reported as
"limestone" in the pie chart above is actually dolomitic limestone and dolomite.

Most quarries sell their production as "limestone," which is acceptable to customers in

the construction industry if the chemical composition of the rock is not important.
Customers interested in rock for chemical, acid neutralization, blast furnace flux or
agricultural purposes will probably demand rock that has the chemical composition of
a very pure limestone or a very pure dolomite.
Sandstone and Quartzite
Sandstone and quartzite are composed primarily of quartz, a very durable mineral, but
each has its drawbacks in the construction industry that limits its use. Sandstone is
generally composed of sand grains cemented together by calcite, clay, or silicate
minerals that have precipitated between the sand grains. The cement usually does not
completely fill all of the voids between the sand grains, leaving a porosity that
typically ranges between 5 and 30%. This pore space allows the rock to absorb water.
That water will expand in volume by up to 9% every time it freezes. Over the course of
many freeze-thaw cycles, the forces of this expansion have the ability to dislodge
grains and break the rock. This is why sandstone is not popular for long-term use in
areas where freezing temperatures occur.

Quartzite is a sandstone that has been metamorphosed. The process of metamorphism

heats and compresses the rock and often causes the sand grains to become welded
together. This produces an extremely durable rock that usually does not have the
freeze-thaw concerns of sandstone. Quartzite can actually be so durable that it is
difficult to mine, handle, and transport to construction sites.

Quartzite has a Mohs hardness of 7. That makes it harder than crusher jaws, loader
buckets, sizing screens, truck beds, and other equipment used to handle and process the
stone. As a result, it can quickly put very expensive wear and tear on essential
equipment.

Slate can be made into roofing slates, which are installed by a Slater. And, are a type
of roof shingle, or more specifically a type of roof tile. Slate has two lines of break
ability "Cleavage and grain" which make it possible to split the stone into thin sheets.
When broken, slate retains a natural appearance while remaining relatively flat and
easy to stack.

Steel
is an alloy of iron and other elements, primarily carbon, that is widely used in
construction and other applications because of its high tensile strength and low cost.
Steel's base metal is iron, which is able to take on two crystalline forms (allotropic
forms), body centered cubic (BCC) and face centered cubic (FCC), depending on its
temperature. it is the interaction of those allotropes with the alloying elements,
primarily carbon, that gives steel and cast iron their range of unique properties.

Material properties
Iron is commonly found in the Earth's crust in the form of an ore, usually an iron
oxide, such as magnetite, hematite etc. Iron is extracted from iron ore by removing
the oxygen through combination with a preferred chemical partner such as carbon
that is lost to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

Concrete is a composite building material made from the

combination of aggregate and a binder such as cement.
The most common form of concrete is Portland cement
concrete, which consists of mineral aggregate (generally
gravel and sand), portland cement and water.

After mixing, the cement hydrates and eventually hardens into a stone-like material.
When used in the generic sense, this is the material referred to by the term "concrete".

For a concrete construction of any size, as concrete has a rather low tensile strength, it
is generally strengthened using steel rods or bars (known as rebars). This strengthened
concrete is then referred to as reinforced concrete. In order to minimise any air
bubbles, that would weaken the structure, a vibrator is used to eliminate any air that
has been entrained when the liquid concrete mix is poured around the ironwork.
Concrete has been the predominant building material in the modern age due to its
longevity, formability, and ease of transport. Recent advancements, such as insulating
concrete forms, combine the concrete forming and other construction steps (installation
of insulation). All materials must be taken in required proportions as described in
standards

Portland cement is one of the most important products made from limestone. It is
essential in many construction applications. The United States is not self-sufficient in
cement and must import it from other countries to make up for shortfalls. Imports of
clinker (the product from the first step in making cement) and finished cement
accounted for about 23% of total U.S. cement sales in 2006. In the years just prior to
2007, Portland cement was in seriously short supply in the Nation. Competition from
other countries, an inadequate ocean transport system, and underestimated cargo
space requirements were among the causes.

When Portland cement was in very short supply, its price increased significantly.
Consumers sought substitutes. They used pressure-treated wood, insulated steel, and
polystyrene in panels, and even redesigned building footers to reduce the amount of
cement needed. Cement shortages also caused construction delays that resulted in
increased costs for roads, bridges, and buildings.