CONCRETE BLOCK

General
Concrete block construction is gaining
importance in developing countries, even
in low-cost housing, and has become a
valid alternative to fired clay bricks and
other common construction materials.
Concrete

The essential
ingredients of
concrete are cement,
aggregates (sand,
gravel) and water,
Lightweight concrete
 Lightweight concrete is generally used for
concrete blocks
 Lightweight concrete comprise lightweight
aggregates and/or a high proportion of single-
sized particles of coarse aggregate in a lean
mix, which is not fully compacted.
 In producing Lightweight concrete it is
important to have a relatively high proportion of
coarser particles, because too much fine
aggregate would fill the gaps and increase the
density.
 Characteristics of concrete
Main characteristics of concrete are:
• high compressive strength, resistance to
weathering, impact and abrasion
• low tensile strength (but can be overcome
with steel reinforcement)
• capability of being molded into
components of any shape and size
• good fire resistance up to about 400°C.
 Types of Concrete Blocks
• Concrete blocks are produced in a large
variety of shapes and sizes either solid,
cellular or hollow, dense or lightweight, air-
cured or steam-cured, load bearing or
non-load bearing, and can be produced
manually or with the help of machines.
Stretcher blocks
The most commonly used concrete blocks
are the stretcher blocks with a nominal
dimensions of:
40 cm x 20 cm x 10cm
40 cm x 20 cm x 15cm
40 cm x 20 cm x 20cm
Types of Concrete Blocks
Solid blocks
Solid blocks have no cavities, or have
voids amounting to not more than 25 % of
the gross cross-sectional area.
Cellular blocks
Cellular blocks have one or more voids
with one bed blind on the other face, and
are laid with this 'blind end' upwards,
preventing wastage of bedding mortar,
which would otherwise drop into the
cavities.
Hollow blocks
Hollow blocks are the most common types
of concrete blocks, having one or more
holes that are open at both sides. The total
void area can amount to 50 % of the gross
cross-sectional area.
Advantages of hollow concrete blocks

The use of hollow concrete blocks has several

advantages:
• they can be made larger than solid blocks,
and if lightweight aggregate is used, can
be very light
• they require far less mortar than solid
blocks (because of the cavities and less
proportion of joints, due to large size), and
construction of walls is easier and quicker;
• the voids can be filled with steel bars and
concrete, achieving high seismic
resistance;
• the air-space provides good thermal
insulation, which is of advantage in most
climatic regions, except warm-humid
zones; if desirable, the cavities can also
be filled with thermal insulation material;
• the cavities can be used as ducts for
electrical installation and plumbing.
Production Process
1. Batching and Mixing
2. Molding
3. Curing
 Batching and Mixing
Aggregates can be batched by volume or
by weight, but the latter is more accurate.
For this reason, cement should only be
batched by weight, or preferably by using
only whole bags of 50 kg.
Molding
Concrete blocks can be molded by several
methods, ranging from manually tamping
the concrete in wooden or steel mould
boxes to large-scale production with 'egg-
laying' mobile machines and fully
automatic stationary machines.
Block making Machines

Automatic stationary machines

'egg-laying‘ machine
Curing
The blocks are either left to set and harden
where they were molded, or carried away on
pallets to the curing place. In all cases it is
important to keep the concrete moist, for
example, by regularly spraying with water, until
the concrete has obtained sufficient strength.
Air curing is the standard procedure for the
strength development of concrete, by which the
concrete is kept wet for 7 days or more.
 Steam curing, by which the concrete is
exposed to low or high pressure steam (in
autoclaves), high early strengths can be
achieved (with autoclaving the 28 day
strength of air-cured concrete can be
obtained in 24 hours). However, in
developing countries, steam curing is
unlikely to be implemented, because of its
high cost and sophistication.
Minimum compressive strength of HCB

Class Average of 6 Individual Units

units (MPa) (MPa)
A 4.2 3.8

B 4.0 3.2

C 2.0 1.8