Concrete: Know definition, varieties and uses of the strong building material

Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate, binding substance (cement or lime), water, and other ingredients in a proportion that results in an artificial stone-like mass.

Concrete: A versatile building material

A continually changing world requires constantly improving construction methods. Concrete is one of the most often utilised construction materials in the modern world. This may be due to a variety of factors, including its behaviour, strength, affordability, durability, and flexibility, in addition to the wide range of uses it provides. 

Construction and building projects thus trust concrete as a safe, sturdy, and straightforward item. It is used in all types of structures (from homes to multi-story office buildings) and infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.). Construction of foundations, columns, beams, slabs, and other load-bearing elements all employ concrete.

Know about: Ingredients in cement

Concrete: Definition, composition and uses

Concrete is a composite material made by combining aggregate (sand, gravel, stone, brick chips, etc.), binding substance (cement or lime), water, and other ingredients in a ratio that results in an artificial stone-like mass. The mixing ratios determine the strength and quality.

Concrete is a very valuable and important building material. After all the components—cement, aggregate, and water—have been combined in the proper ratios, the cement and water start reacting with one another to form a solid mass. The concrete’s rock-like bulk becomes harder as a result.

See also: Know the varieties of cement and their uses

Concrete: Components in the basic concrete mix

Four essential constituents may be identified in the concrete material mix if we examine the composition of concrete to determine what makes concrete:

Binding elements

The primary component of a concrete material mix is a binding substance. The most used binding substance is cement. Lime is another option. The cement and water combine to form a paste that covers the mix’s particles. The paste solidifies, unites the aggregates, and creates a product that resembles stone.

Aggregates

A fine combination is sand. The coarse component of the majority of mixes is gravel or crushed stone.

Water

Water is necessary for concrete to be workable and for chemicals to react with the cement (hydration). The water/cement quantitative relation is the comparison of the weights of cement and water in pounds. The more concrete is stronger, the lower the w/c quantitative connection. (More robust, less permeable)

Admixtures

Concrete (or cement) is mixed with additives to improve certain qualities. There are many different forms of admixtures, including chemical and mineral variations. The most crucial of them are dicing chemicals and air-entraining agents, which create tiny bubbles in the mixture and considerably increase concrete’s resistance to freeze/thaw cycles.

See also: All about self compacting concrete

Uses

Concrete is used for infrastructural activities like building roads, bridge, flyovers, expressways etc. In fact, buildings including the ones made of wood or steel are also built on concrete foundation.

History and development of Concrete

Use of Concrete structures date back to 6500 BC when the Nabataea traders belonging to Jordan and Syria constructed floors and housing structures using concrete.

In around 3000 BC, gypsum mortars and lime mortars were used in construction of Pyramids by the Egyptians. Also, the Great Wall of China has been constructed using a variety of cement.

Cement was developed further and in 1824, the Portland cement was invented by Joseph Aspdin because the building stones were present in Portland, England.

Concrete: Varieties

1. Lime concrete

Lime is used as the binding component in lime concrete. Unless otherwise stated, lime is often combined with surki, khoa, or stones in the ratio 1:2:5. Before combining, the khoa or stones are submerged in water. The principal applications for lime concrete are terrace roofing and foundations.

2. Cement concrete

Cement concrete composites are the primary building material used in the majority of engineering construction. It is made up of the right size amounts of cement, sand, brick, or stone chips. The typical ratios are 1:2:4 or 1:3:6. The necessary quantities of concrete ingredients are mixed, and the mixture is then cured in water for 28 days to create strength properly.

3. Concretes made of reinforced cement

Steel reinforcements are applied to concrete to increase its tensile strength. To minimise or reduce tensile stresses, RCC may occasionally be prestressed under compression. Prestressed Concrete is the name given to the final product.

Reinforced is a verb that indicates “strengthened” or “supported.” Therefore, reinforced cement concrete is a composite material made of cement and steel reinforcements.

4. Ready-mixed dry concrete

The majority of hardware and home improvement retailers carry this combo. It arrives in a sack that normally weighs between sixty and eighty pounds. Dry ready-mix is straightforward to combine, and practically all handmade meals would call for this combination. A bucket or cart, a shovel or hoe, a trowel, and a specific amount of water are required for the combination.

5. Ready-mixed concrete

Since water is already added to ready combine, dry ready-mix differs from ready-mix concrete in this regard. For bigger DIY projects or for folks who don’t need to mix their own concrete, this pre-mixed concrete is ideal. 

It is usually transported in a remarkably small trailer, sometimes with an intermixture drum attached to keep it moist and blended. The premade mix might be difficult to locate and is typically more expensive. It also has to be used promptly because otherwise, it will set without fully unfolding.

6. Dry materials in bulk

It is more affordable to buy dry goods in larger quantities. This may enable the project to be designed according to the needs and uses of the concrete. Buying in bulk has the disadvantage that there will be enough room for the items to be stored before usage. Most likely, the supplies will be delivered to the location.

7. Concrete mix for transit

Almost any cast-in-place concrete may be made with this mix. Concrete trucks with a large drum that prevents the concrete from hardening up while in motion are often used. It enables a single continuous pour, resulting in fewer seams and stronger concrete all around. 

When it comes to large orders, transit mix is significantly more cost-effective than purchasing bulk ingredients or ready-mix as in both cases, the labour required to combine the concrete would be factored into the price.

8.  Standard concrete

Regular concrete, often known as conventional weight concrete or traditional strength concrete, is the most frequently employed variety. This relates to the concrete that is now available for purchase by individuals and households within the retailer’s market. This comprises instructions for use that are printed on a product’s package. It is consolidated in temporary containers and uses aggregates made of sand and other components.

See also: All about sand replacement method

9.  Concrete with high strength

The compressive strength of high-strength concrete as a whole exceeds 6,000 pounds per square inch. By reducing the water-cement quantitative relation to a minimum of 0.35 or below, this can be treated. This type of cementless is possible because of the low water-cement quantitative connection. Superplasticisers are an alternative to the current concrete mix to address this problem.

10.  Stamped concrete

In stamped concrete, lifelike designs that resemble natural stones, granites, and tiles may be created by pressing the impression of professional stamping pads into the concrete. The concrete is stamped once it has reached the plastic stage. Finally, completely diverse colouring stains and texture work can provide a result that is awfully nearly as expensive as natural stones.

11.  Shotcrete

Shotcreting is a technique for creating structural or non-structural components of structures by rapidly tapping mortar or concrete into a surface using compressed air. The wet-mix approach is presently used with shotcrete, which is widely accepted in many nations.

12.  Concrete roller-compacted

With the use of heavy machinery like rollers, this sort of concrete has been laid down and compacted. This concrete is mostly used for filling and excavation needs. This concrete is filled for the area required and contains less cement than usual. These concrete blocks provide great density after compaction and subsequently harden into robust monolithic blocks.

13.  Asphalt concrete

Asphalt concrete may be a substance made from a combination of aggregates and asphalts, typically used in parking lots, airports, and surface roadways, although mound dams are its main application. In some nations, asphalt concrete is often referred to as rolled asphalt, bitumen, macadam, asphalt, asphalt, blacktop, or pavement.

14.  Cement and glass

Concrete may contain aggregate made from recycled glass. This concrete can improve concrete’s visual attractiveness. They are able to provide greater thermal insulation and long strength.

Recently, it has become more common to use recycled glass in concrete. Concrete worktops and floors have benefited from its usage as a decorative aggregate to add a shimmering look. Additionally, it serves as a partial substitute for conventional aggregates in concrete.

15.  Concrete that is translucent

Lightweight concrete is defined as concrete with a density less than 1920 kg/m3. We can get lightweight aggregates by the use of lightweight aggregates in concrete-style construction. The essential component that helps the concrete’s density is the aggregate. Scoria, perlites, and stone are examples of lightweight aggregates.

 

FAQs

What benefits does lime concrete offer?

Cement concrete is more expensive than lime concrete. Compared to cement concrete, lime concrete is more workable. Lime concrete is appropriate for mass concrete operations since it has a lower heat of hydration.

How long until freshly laid concrete may be driven on?

It is advised to wait between 10 and 14 days to give the concrete enough time to strengthen and solidify.

Got any questions or point of view on our article? We would love to hear from you.Write to our Editor-in-Chief Jhumur Ghosh at jhumur.ghosh1@housing.com

 

 

 

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