CHAPTER 6

CONCRETE & CONCRETE PRODUCTS

Concrete is one of the most ubiquitous, flexible, and dynamic building materials in
architectural history. By offering a profoundly different building technique to
architects and engineers, it has significantly altered the way in which buildings are
designed and constructed in the modern age.
Basically, concrete consists these days of cement, sand, water and a stone aggregate:
cement, a hydraulic-setting binding agent, produces a cement paste when mixed with
water, which is then enriched with a stone aggregate. The paste envelopes the small
pieces of stone, fills the hollows and makes the wet concrete workable, until it
hardens through hydration. The concrete then stays rigid, even under water and has a
stable volume.
Reinforced concrete has led to a revolution in architecture. Steel possesses a high
tensile strength, unlike concrete, and therefore makes large spans possible, without
the need of arching.
History
The inventor Joseph Aspdin, of England, patented the basic process in 1824, naming it
for the resemblance of the cement when set to portland stone, a limestone from the
Isle of Portland.
Aspdin British bricklayer and builder, experimented with heating limestone and clay
until the mixture calcined, grinding it and then mixing it with water.
In 1891, George Bartholomew placed the first concrete street in the USA in
Bellefontaine, Ohio where you'll still find it to this day. In 1908, Thomas Edison was
credited with designing and building the first concrete homes in the United States
located in Union, New Jersey. These homes still exist today.
CONCRETE HISTORY TIMELINE

3000 BC-Egyptian Pyramids

The Egyptians were using early forms of concrete

over 5000 years ago to build pyramids. They mixed
mud and straw to form bricks and used gypsum
and lime to make mortars.
 300 BC - 476 AD-Roman Architecture
The ancient Romans used a material that is
remarkably close to modern cement to build many
of their architectural marvels, such as the
Colosseum, and the Pantheon. The Romans also
used animal products in their cement as an early
form of admixtures.

1824-Portland Cement Invented

Joseph Aspdin of England is credited with the invention of
modern portland cement. He named his cement portland,
after a rock quary that produced very strong stone.

1836-Cement Testing

The first test of tensile and compressive strength took

place in Germany. Photo courtesy of Portland Cement
Association.

1889- Alvord Lake Bridge

The first concrete reinforced bridge was built in

San Francisco. Alvord Lake Bridge still exists
today, over two hundred years after it was built.
1891- Concrete Street
The first American concrete street was built in
Bellefontaine, Ohio.

1903-The Ingalls Building

The first concrete high rise was built in Cincinnati,

Ohio. The Ingalls Building has sixteen stories and
was a great engineering feat of its time.

1908-Concrete Homes

Thomas Edison designed and built the first

concrete homes in Union, New Jersey. These
homes still exist today. Photo courtesy
of flyingmoose.org.

1913-Ready Mix

The first load of ready mix was delivered in

Baltimore, Maryland. Photo courtesy
of Kuhlman Corp.
1915-Colored Concrete

Lynn Mason Scofield founded L.M. Scofield, the first

company to produce color for concrete. Their products
included color hardeners, colorwax integral color,
sealers, and chemical stains.

1930-Air Entraining Agents

Air entraining agents were used for the first time in
cement to resist against damage from freezing and
thawing.

1936-Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam was built along the Colorado

River, bordering Arizona and Nevada. It was
the largest scale concrete project ever
completed.

1938-Concrete OverlayJohn Crossfield was the first

to receive a patent for a concrete overlay. He add
latex to portland cement, aggregate, and other
materials to make a covering for ship decks. Photo
on right of modern concrete overlay, courtesy of
Milagro Custom Flooring Solutions, LLC.
 1950's-Decorative Concrete

Brad Bowman developed the Bomanite process, the

original cast-in-place, colored, textured and imprinted
architectural concrete paving, in the middle 1950's in
Monterey, California. (Courtesy of bomanite.com).

1967-Concrete Sports Dome

The first concrete domed sports arena, known as the

Assembly Hall, was built at the University of Illinois.

1970's-Fiber Reinforcement

Fiber reinforcement was introduced as a way to strengthen

concrete.

1980's-Concrete Countertops
Buddy Rhodes, the father of the concrete countertop, cast his first countertop in the mid
'80s. Around the same time, Fu-Tung Cheng also cast his first concrete countertop. (Photo
courtesy of Cheng Design.)

1990-Concrete Engraving

Darrel Adamson desined the Engrave-A-Crete ® System.

1992-Tallest Concrete Building

The tallest reinforced concrete building was built in

Chicago, Illinois. The 65-story building is known only
by its street address, 311 South Wacker Drive.

1999-Polished Concrete

The first installation of a polished concrete floor in

the US was a 40,000-square-foot warehouse floor
for the Bellagio in Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy of
HTC-America.)
6.2 CONCRETE
6.2.1 Ratio and proportion
One standard recipe calls for one part of cement to two parts of sand to four
parts of gravel. (1:2:4 mixture : Example 1cu ft. cement, 2cuft. Sand & 4 cuft.
Gravel) This results in a C20-rated concrete mix, which mean
the concrete will be of medium strength.

Another "old rule of thumb" for mixing concrete is 1 cement : 2 sand : 3 gravel
by volume. For small concreting works some use bucket or pail for measuring
say capacity of 1 pail = 1 cu.ft. for easy measurement.

Mixing water with the cement, sand, and stone will form a paste that will bind the
materials together until the mix hardens.

The strength of the concrete, after it cures, will be inversely proportional to the
water/cement ratio.
Basically this means the more water you use to mix the concrete (very fluid) the
weaker the concrete
6.2.2 CEMENT
13 Types of Cement and their Uses in Concrete
Construction
There are various types of cement used in concrete construction. Each type of
cement has its own properties, uses and advantages based on composition
materials used during its manufacture.

1.Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)

2. Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)
3. Rapid Hardening Cement
4. Quick setting cement
5.Low Heat Cement
6. Sulphates resisting cement
7.Blast Furnace Slag Cement
8.High Alumina Cement
9.White Cement
10.Coloured cement
11. Air Entraining Cement
12.Expansive cement
13. Hydrographic cement

1. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)

Ordinary Portland cement is the most widely used type of cement which is
suitable for all general concrete construction. It is most widely produced and
used type of cement around the world with annual global production of around
3.8 million cubic meters per year. This cement is suitable for all type of
concrete construction.

2. Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC)

Portland pozzolana cement is prepared by grinding pozzolanic clinker with
Portland cement. It is also produced by adding pozzolana with the addition of
gypsum or calcium sulfate or by intimately and uniformly blending portland
cement and fine pozzolana.

This cement has high resistance to various chemical attacks on concrete

compared with ordinary portland cement and thus it is widely used. It is used in
marine structures, sewage works, sewage works and for laying concrete under
water such as bridges, piers, dams and mass concrete works etc.

3. Rapid Hardening Cement

Rapid hardening cement attains high strength in early days it is used in
concrete where formworks are removed at an early stage and is similar to
ordinary portland cement (OPC). This cement has increased lime content and
contains higher c3s content and finer grinding which gives greater strength
development than OPC at an early stage.

The strength of rapid hardening cement at the 3 days is similar to 7 days

strength of OPC with the same water-cement ratio. Thus, advantage of this
cement is that formwork can be removed earlier which increases the rate of
construction and decreases cost of construction by saving formwork cost.

Rapid hardening cement is used in prefabricated concrete construction, road

works, etc.

4. Quick setting cement

The difference between the quick setting cement and rapid hardening cement
is that quick setting cement sets earlier while rate of gain of strength is similar
to Ordinary Portland Cement, while rapid hardening cement gains strength
quickly. Formworks in both cases can be removed earlier.

Quick setting cement is used where works is to be completed in very short

period and for concreting in static or running water.

5. Low Heat Cement

Low heat cement is prepared by maintaining the percentage of tricalcium
aluminate below 6% by increasing the proportion of C2S. This makes the
concrete to produce low heat of hydration and thus is used in mass concrete
construction like gravity dams, as the low heat of hydration prevents the
cracking of concrete due to heat.

This cement has increased power against sulphates and is less reactive and
initial setting time is greater than OPC.

6. Sulphates Resisting Cement

Sulfate resisting cement is used to reduce the risk of sulphate attack on
concrete and thus is used in construction of foundations where soil has high
sulphate content. This cement has reduced contents of C3A and C4AF.

Sulfate resisting cement is used in construction exposed to severe sulphate

action by water and soil in places like canals linings, culverts, retaining walls,
siphons etc.

7. Blast Furnace Slag Cement

Blast furnace slag cement is obtained by grinding the clinkers with about 60%
slag and resembles more or less in properties of Portland cement. It can be
used for works economic considerations is predominant.

8. High Alumina Cement

High alumina cement is obtained by melting mixture of bauxite and lime and
grinding with the clinker. It is a rapid hardening cement with initial and final
setting time of about 3.5 and 5 hours respectively.

The compressive strength of this cement is very high and more workable than
ordinary portland cement and is used in works where concrete is subjected to
high temperatures, frost, and acidic action.

9. White Cement
It is prepared from raw materials free from Iron oxide and is a type of ordinary
portland cement which is white in color. It is costlier and is used for
architectural purposes such as precast curtain wall and facing panels, terrazzo
surface etc. and for interior and exterior decorative work like external
renderings of buildings, facing slabs, floorings, ornamental concrete products,
paths of gardens, swimming pools etc.
10. Colored cement
It is produced by mixing 5- 10% mineral pigments with ordinary cement. They
are widely used for decorative works in floors.

11. Air Entraining Cement

Air entraining cement is produced by adding indigenous air entraining agents
such as resins, glues, sodium salts of sulphates etc. during the grinding of
clinker.

This type of cement is especially suited to improve the workability with smaller
water cement ratio and to improve frost resistance of concrete.

12. Expansive Cement

Expansive cement expands slightly with time and does not shrink during and
after the time of hardening . This cement is mainly used for grouting anchor
bolts and prestressed concrete ducts.

13. Hydrographic cement

Hydrographic cement is prepared by mixing water repelling chemicals and has
high workability and strength. It has the property of repelling water and is
unaffected during monsoon or rains. Hydrophobic cement is mainly used for
the construction of water structures such dams, water tanks, spillways, water
retaining structures etc.

6.2.3 SAND & GRAVEL

The difference between sand and gravel is simply the size of the material in
question. ... Sand particles are larger than silt but smaller than gravel. Gravel is
a granular material derived from the erosion of rocks, ranging in size from 4.75
mm to 75 mm. Gravel particles are larger than sand but smaller than boulders.
.
6.2.4 MORTAR & PLASTER

PLASTER is a building material used for coating, protecting

and decorating internal walls and ceilings. It can also be used to
create architectural mouldings such as ceiling roses, cornices,
corbels, and so on.