Concrete

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the construction material. For other uses, see Concrete (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with cement.

Outer view of the Roman Pantheon, still the largest unreinforced solid concrete dome.[1]

Inside the Pantheon dome, looking straight up. The concrete for the coffered dome was laid on moulds,
probably mounted on temporary scaffolding.

Opus caementiciumexposed in a characteristic Roman arch. In contrast to modern concrete structures, the
concrete used in Roman buildings was usually covered with brick or stone.

Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bonded together with a

fluid cement which hardens over time. Most use of the term "concrete" refers to Portland

cement concrete or to concretes made with other hydraulic cements, such as ciment fondu.
However, technically road surfaces are also a type of concrete, "asphaltic concrete", where the
cement material is bitumen.
In Portland cement concrete (and other hydraulic cement concretes), when the aggregate is mixed
together with the dry cement and water, they form a fluid mass that is easily molded into shape. The
cement reacts chemically with the water and other ingredients to form a hard matrix which binds all
the materials together into a durable stone-like material that has many uses. [2] Often, additives (such
aspozzolans or superplasticizers) are included in the mixture to improve the physical properties of
the wet mix or the finished material. Most concrete is poured with reinforcing materials (such
as rebar) embedded to provide tensile strength, yielding reinforced concrete.
Famous concrete structures include the Hoover Dam, the Panama Canal and the Roman Pantheon.
The earliest large-scale users of concrete technology were the ancient Romans, and concrete was
widely used in the Roman Empire. The Colosseum in Rome was built largely of concrete, and the
concrete dome of the Pantheon is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. [3] Today, large
concrete structures (for example, dams and multi-storey car parks) are usually made with reinforced
concrete.
After the Roman Empire collapsed, use of concrete became rare until the technology was
redeveloped in the mid-18th century. Today, concrete is the most widely used man-made material
(measured by tonnage).
Contents
[hide]

1 History
o

1.1 Ancient additives

2 Composition of concrete

2.1 Cement

2.2 Water

2.3 Aggregates

2.4 Reinforcement

2.5 Chemical admixtures

2.6 Mineral admixtures and blended cements

3 Concrete production
o

3.1 Mixing concrete

3.2 Workability

3.3 Curing

3.4 Specialty Concretes

3.4.1 Pervious concrete

3.4.2 Nano concrete

3.4.3 Microbial concrete

4 Properties

5 Building with concrete

o

5.1 Mass concrete structures

5.2 Prestressed concrete structures

5.3 Concrete Roads

5.4 Energy efficiency

5.5 Fire safety

5.6 Earthquake safety

6 Concrete degradation
o

6.1 Useful life

7 Impact of modern concrete use

7.1 Environmental and health

7.2 Concrete recycling

8 World records

9 See also

10 References

10.1 Notes

10.2 Bibliography
11 External links

History[edit]

The word concrete comes from the Latin word "concretus" (meaning compact or condensed),[4] the
perfect passive participle of "concrescere", from "con-" (together) and "crescere" (to grow).
Perhaps the earliest known occurrence of cement was twelve million years ago. A deposit of cement
was formed after an occurrence of oil shale located adjacent to a bed of limestone burned due to
natural causes. These ancient deposits were investigated in the 1960s and 1970s. [5]
On a human time-scale, small usages of concrete go back for thousands of years. The ancient
Nabatea culture was using materials roughly analogous to concrete at least eight thousand years
ago, some structures of which survive to this day.[6]
German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann found concrete floors, which were made of lime and
pebbles, in the royal palace of Tiryns, Greece, which dates roughly to 1400-1200 BC. [7][8] Lime
mortars were used in Greece, Crete, and Cyprus in 800 BC. The Assyrian Jerwan Aqueduct (688
BC) made use of waterproof concrete.[9] Concrete was used for construction in many ancient
structures.[10]
The Romans used concrete extensively from 300 BC to 476 AD, a span of more than seven hundred
years.[5] During the Roman Empire, Roman concrete (or opus caementicium) was made
from quicklime, pozzolana and an aggregate of pumice. Its widespread use in many Roman
structures, a key event in the history of architecture termed the Roman Architectural Revolution,
freed Roman construction from the restrictions of stone and brick material and allowed for
revolutionary new designs in terms of both structural complexity and dimension. [11]
Concrete, as the Romans knew it, was a new and revolutionary material. Laid in the shape
of arches, vaults and domes, it quickly hardened into a rigid mass, free from many of the internal
thrusts and strains that troubled the builders of similar structures in stone or brick. [12]
Modern tests show that opus caementicium had as much compressive strength as modern Portlandcement concrete (ca. 200 kilograms per square centimetre (20 MPa; 2,800 psi)).[13] However, due to
the absence of reinforcement, its tensile strength was far lower than modern reinforced concrete,
and its mode of application was also different:[14]
Modern structural concrete differs from Roman concrete in two important details. First, its mix
consistency is fluid and homogeneous, allowing it to be poured into forms rather than requiring handlayering together with the placement of aggregate, which, in Roman practice, often consisted
of rubble. Second, integral reinforcing steel gives modern concrete assemblies great strength in
tension, whereas Roman concrete could depend only upon the strength of the concrete bonding to
resist tension.[15]

Eddystone Lighthouse

The widespread use of concrete in many Roman structures ensured that many survive to the
present day. The Baths of Caracalla in Rome are just one example. Many Roman aqueducts and
bridges such as the magnificent Pont du Gard have masonry cladding on a concrete core, as does
the dome of the Pantheon.
After the Roman Empire, the use of burned lime and pozzolana was greatly reduced until the
technique was all but forgotten between 500 AD and the 1300s. Between the 1300s until the mid1700s, the use of cement gradually returned. The Canal du Midi was built using concrete in 1670,
[16]
and there are concrete structures in Finland that date from the 16th century.[citation needed]
Perhaps the greatest driver behind the modern usage of concrete was the third Eddystone
Lighthouse in Devon, England. To create this structure, between 1756 and 1793, British
engineer John Smeaton pioneered the use of hydraulic lime in concrete, using pebbles and
powdered brick as aggregate.[17]
A method for producing Portland cement was patented by Joseph Aspdin on 1824.[18]
Reinforced concrete was invented in 1849 by Joseph Monier.[19] In 1889 the first concrete reinforced
bridge was built, and the first large concrete dams were built in 1936, Hoover Dam and Grand
Coulee Dam.[20]

Ancient additives[edit]
Concrete like materials were used since 6500BC by the Nabataea traders or Bedouins who
occupied and controlled a series of oases and developed a small empire in the regions of southern
Syria and northern Jordan. They discovered the advantages of hydraulic lime, with some selfcementing properties by 700 BC. They built kilns to supply mortar for the construction of rubble-wall
houses, concrete floors, and underground waterproof cisterns. The cisterns were kept secret and
were one of the reasons the Nabataea were able to thrive in the desert. [6]
In both Roman and Egyptian times it was re-discovered that adding volcanic ash to the mix allowed
it to set underwater. Similarly, the Romans knew that adding horse hair made concrete less liable to
crack while it hardened, and adding blood made it more frost-resistant. [21] Crystallization of strtlingite
and the introduction of pyro-clastic clays creates further fracture resistance. [22][23]

Composition of concrete[edit]
There are many types of concrete available, created by varying the proportions of the main
ingredients below. In this way or by substitution for the cementitious and aggregate phases, the
finished product can be tailored to its application with varying strength, density, or chemical and
thermal resistance properties.
Aggregate consists of large chunks of material in a concrete mix, generally a coarse gravel or
crushed rocks such as limestone, or granite, along with finer materials such assand.
Cement, most commonly Portland cement is associated with the general term "concrete." A range of
materials can be used as the cement in concrete. One of the most familiar of these alternative
cements is asphalt. Other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, are sometimes
added as mineral admixtures (see below) - either pre-blended with the cement or directly as a
concrete component - and become a part of the binder for the aggregate.
Water is then mixed with this dry powder/aggregate blend, which produces a semi-liquid that workers
can shape (typically by pouring it into a form). The concrete solidifies and hardens through
a chemical process called hydration. The water reacts with the cement, which bonds the other
components together, creating a robust stone-like material.

Chemical admixtures are added to achieve varied properties. These ingredients may accelerate or
slow down the rate at which the concrete hardens, and impart many other useful properties including
increased tensile strength, entrainment of air, and/or water resistance.
Reinforcement is often included in concrete. Concrete can be formulated with high compressive
strength, but always has lower tensile strength. For this reason it is usually reinforced with materials
that are strong in tension (often steel).
Mineral admixtures are becoming more popular in recent decades. The use of recycled materials as
concrete ingredients has been gaining popularity because of increasingly stringent environmental
legislation, and the discovery that such materials often have complementary and valuable properties.
The most conspicuous of these are fly ash, a by-product of coal-fired power plants, ground
granulated blast furnace slag, and silica fume, a byproduct of industrial electric arc furnaces. The
use of these materials in concrete reduces the amount of resources required, as the mineral
admixtures act as a partial cement replacement. This displaces some cement production, an
energetically expensive and environmentally problematic process, while reducing the amount of
industrial waste that must be disposed of.
The mix design depends on the type of structure being built, how the concrete is mixed and
delivered, and how it is placed to form the structure.

Cement[edit]
Main article: Cement

A few tons of bagged cement. This amount represents about two minutes of output from a 10,000 ton per day
cement kiln.

Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general usage. It is a basic ingredient of
concrete, mortar and plaster. English masonry worker Joseph Aspdin patented Portland cement in
1824. It was named because of the similarity of its color to Portland limestone, quarried from the
English Isle of Portland and used extensively in London architecture. It consists of a mixture of
oxides ofcalcium, silicon and aluminium. Portland cement and similar materials are made by
heating limestone (a source of calcium) with clay and grinding this product (called clinker) with a
source of sulfate (most commonly gypsum).
In modern cement kilns many advanced features are used to lower the fuel consumption per ton of
clinker produced. Cement kilns are extremely large, complex, and inherently dusty industrial
installations, and have emissions which must be controlled. Of the various ingredients used in
concrete the cement is the most energetically expensive. Even complex and efficient kilns require
3.3 to 3.6 gigajoules of energy to produce a ton of clinker and then grind it into cement. Many kilns
can be fueled with difficult-to-dispose-of wastes, the most common being used tires. The extremely
high temperatures and long periods of time at those temperatures allows cement kilns to efficiently
and completely burn even difficult-to-use fuels.[24]

Water[edit]

Combining water with a cementitious material forms a cement paste by the process of hydration. The
cement paste glues the aggregate together, fills voids within it, and makes it flow more freely.[25]
A lower water-to-cement ratio yields a stronger, more durable concrete, whereas more water gives a
freer-flowing concrete with a higher slump.[26] Impure water used to make concrete can cause
problems when setting or in causing premature failure of the structure. [27]
Hydration involves many different reactions, often occurring at the same time. As the reactions
proceed, the products of the cement hydration process gradually bond together the individual sand
and gravel particles and other components of the concrete to form a solid mass. [28]
Reaction:[28]
Cement chemist notation: C3S + H C-S-H + CH
Standard notation: Ca3SiO5 + H2O (CaO)(SiO2)(H2O)(gel) + Ca(OH)2
Balanced: 2Ca3SiO5 + 7H2O 3(CaO)2(SiO2)4(H2O)(gel) + 3Ca(OH)2

Aggregates[edit]

Crushed stone aggregate

Main article: Construction aggregate

Fine and coarse aggregates make up the bulk of a concrete mixture. Sand, natural
gravel, and crushed stone are used mainly for this purpose. Recycled aggregates (from
construction, demolition, and excavation waste) are increasingly used as partial
replacements of natural aggregates, while a number of manufactured aggregates,
including air-cooled blast furnace slag and bottom ash are also permitted.
The presence of aggregate greatly increases the durability of concrete above that of
cement, which is a brittle material in its pure state. Thus concrete is a true composite
material.[29]
Redistribution of aggregates after compaction often creates inhomogeneity due to the
influence of vibration. This can lead to strength gradients. [30]
Decorative stones such as quartzite, small river stones or crushed glass are sometimes
added to the surface of concrete for a decorative "exposed aggregate" finish, popular
among landscape designers.
In addition to being decorative, exposed aggregate adds robustness to a concrete
driveway.[31]

Reinforcement[edit]

Constructing a rebar cage. This cage will be permanently embedded in poured concrete to
create a reinforced concrete structure.

Main article: reinforced concrete

Concrete is strong in compression, as the aggregate efficiently carries the compression
load. However, it is weak in tension as the cement holding the aggregate in place can
crack, allowing the structure to fail. Reinforced concrete adds either steel reinforcing
bars, steel fibers, glass fibers, or plastic fibers to carry tensile loads.

Chemical admixtures[edit]
Chemical admixtures are materials in the form of powder or fluids that are added to the
concrete to give it certain characteristics not obtainable with plain concrete mixes. In
normal use, admixture dosages are less than 5% by mass of cement and are added to
the concrete at the time of batching/mixing.[32] (See the section on Concrete Production,
below.)The common types of admixtures[33] are as follows.

Accelerators speed up the hydration (hardening) of the concrete. Typical materials

used are CaCl
2, Ca(NO3)2 and NaNO3. However, use of chlorides may cause corrosion in steel
reinforcing and is prohibited in some countries, so that nitrates may be favored.
Accelerating admixtures are especially useful for modifying the properties of
concrete in cold weather.

Retarders slow the hydration of concrete and are used in large or difficult pours
where partial setting before the pour is complete is undesirable.
Typical polyol retarders are sugar, sucrose, sodium gluconate, glucose, citric acid,
and tartaric acid.

Air entraining agents add and entrain tiny air bubbles in the concrete, which reduces
damage during freeze-thaw cycles, increasing durability. However, entrained air
entails a trade off with strength, as each 1% of air may decrease compressive
strength 5%.[citation needed] If too much air becomes trapped in the concrete as a result of
the mixing process, Defoamers can be used to encourage the air bubble to
agglomerate, rise to the surface of the wet concrete and then disperse.

Plasticizers increase the workability of plastic or "fresh" concrete, allowing it be

placed more easily, with less consolidating effort. A typical plasticizer is

lignosulfonate. Plasticizers can be used to reduce the water content of a concrete

while maintaining workability and are sometimes called water-reducers due to this
use. Such treatment improves its strength and durability
characteristics. Superplasticizers (also called high-range water-reducers) are a
class of plasticizers that have fewer deleterious effects and can be used to increase
workability more than is practical with traditional plasticizers. Compounds used as
superplasticizers include sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde condensate,
sulfonated melamine formaldehyde condensate, acetone formaldehyde condensate
and polycarboxylate ethers.

Pigments can be used to change the color of concrete, for aesthetics.

Corrosion inhibitors are used to minimize the corrosion of steel and steel bars in
concrete.

Bonding agents are used to create a bond between old and new concrete (typically
a type of polymer) with wide temperature tolerance and corrosion resistance.

Pumping aids improve pumpability, thicken the paste and reduce separation and
bleeding.

Construction aggregate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Limestone quarry.

10 mm graded crushed basalt rock or aggregate, for use in concrete, called "blue metal" in Australia.

20 mm graded aggregate.

A gravel and sand extraction facility in Meimurje County, Croatia

Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material

used in construction, including sand,gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic
aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined materials in the world. Aggregates are a component
of composite materials such as concrete and asphalt concrete; the aggregate serves as
reinforcement to add strength to the overall composite material. Due to the relatively high hydraulic
conductivity value as compared to most soils, aggregates are widely used in drainage applications
such as foundation and French drains, septic drain fields, retaining wall drains, and road side edge
drains. Aggregates are also used as base material under foundations, roads, and railroads. In other
words, aggregates are used as a stable foundation or road/rail base with predictable, uniform
properties (e.g. to help prevent differential settling under the road or building), or as a low-cost
extender that binds with more expensive cement or asphalt to form concrete.
Preferred bitumenous aggregate sizes for road construction are given in EN 13043 as d/D (where
the range shows the smallest and largest square mesh grating that the particles can pass). The
same classification sizing is used for larger armour stone sizes in EN 13383, EN 12620 for concrete
aggregate, EN 13242 for base layers of road construction and EN 13450 for railway ballast.
The American Society for Testing and Materials publishes an exhaustive listing of specifications
including ASTM D 692 and ASTM D 1073 for various construction aggregate products, which, by
their individual design, are suitable for specific construction purposes. These products include
specific types of coarse and fine aggregate designed for such uses as additives to asphalt and
concrete mixes, as well as other construction uses. State transportation departments further refine
aggregate material specifications in order to tailor aggregate use to the needs and available supply
in their particular locations.
Sources for these basic materials can be grouped into three main areas: Mining of mineral
aggregate deposits, including sand, gravel, and stone; use of waste slag from the manufacture of
iron and steel; and recycling of concrete, which is itself chiefly manufactured from mineral
aggregates. In addition, there are some (minor) materials that are used as specialty lightweight
aggregates: clay, pumice, perlite, and vermiculite.

1. Granite aggregates
Granite aggregates are crushed hard rock of granular structure, being the most common on Earth. Granite rock
comes from magma that erupted on the ground surface and then hardened. Good properties of granite make it the
most popular building material.
In terms of its technical characteristics granite is solid (grades 800-1200) and highly solid (grades 1,400-1,600), frost
resistant (grades 300-400), with low flakiness index (5-23%), of the 1st class in terms of radionuclidity (A (eff)
<370nBq/kg). The radionuclide content, harmful components and additives indicators are either absent or do not
exceed norms, the fact of which is proven by corresponding certificates and conclusions issued after conducted
researches.
It is the best aggregate for high-grade concrete. Granite is also used as a decorative stone. It can be grey, red, or
pink and has a lot of shades. After polishing it acquires a beautiful smooth surface. Granite is mostly composed of
feldspar, quartz and mica crystals, the content of which influences the color and shades of the stone.

Fractions of granite aggregate and their applications

0-2 mm, 0-5mm (granite sand): the smallest granite aggregates fractions are used, besides the road construction,
for decoration and paving paths, for covering sports grounds and children's playgrounds. Such aggregates are used
for making various reinforced concrete structures. They are used for deicing (decrease the slip coefficient). Granite
sand is successfully used in landscape architecture (for gardening).

2-5 mm: aggregates of this fraction are mainly used to produce paving slab and other similar construction products
where such fraction is crucial.

3-10 mm: this small fraction, like the popular 5-10 fraction, is used for road construction and production of concrete.

5-10 mm: this is the most popular aggregates fraction. Aggregates of this fraction are used in production of concrete
and concrete structures, construction of roads, buildings and bridges as well as for different types of fillings,
drainages, etc. However, the main application of aggregates of this fraction is road surfacing. When producing
concrete, its main strength factor is the fullness of aggregates. The more aggregates are in the mixture, the stronger
the concrete. The quality of round or cubic aggregates creates the highest compaction, while the presence of needle
shapes leads to the creation of voids and increases in binding component volumes and thus reduces the concrete
strength. For this reason small aggregates fractions, one of which is the 5-10 fraction, are used in production of
quality concretes.

5-20 mm: small fraction. Aggregates of this fraction are mainly used in road concrete mixes. This size provides the
most adhesion in the mixture, which subsequently makes the most solid type of concrete and also provides surface
evenness of concrete blocks. This minimizes the preparation of walls, floors and ceilings of buildings for the final
stage of treatment - putting up wallpaper, laying tiles, etc. This given fraction is the most used, percentage wise, in all
construction work.

10-20 mm: small fraction. This given aggregates fraction is in the most demand in road construction. Aggregates of
this fraction are used for laying both asphalt and concrete roads. It is used as filler for garretting -sub-base
preparation for the road surface

20-40 mm: a medium fraction. It is used for road construction as a lower layer beneath the asphalt surface. Currently
this fraction is the most commonly used in Ukraine's construction industry. It is used both for small private
construction and for construction of large industrial spaces. Aggregates of this fraction are used as sub-bases in
construction of highways and railways and in production of concrete and massive structures from reinforced concrete.
It is used as filler for parking areas and bases for foundations when building work areas for the operation for heavy
construction machinery and as filler for increased strength concretes.

0-20 mm, 0-40 mm: a road subbase that is used for road building and maintenance operations.

5-8 mm, 8-11 mm and 11-16 mm (Euro fractions): used for production of high-quality concrete and conforming to
European standards.

5-250 mm: a large fraction of aggregates (processed after primary crushing) that is used as a basis for road surface.

20-70 mm, 40-70 mm: a large fraction that is used in production of concrete and solid concrete structures and in
works with large volumes of concrete. It is also used in road construction within residential areas and in building of
industrial spaces and premises.

70-120 mm, 120-150 mm, 150-300 mm (quarry stone): rarely used. It is used for decorative purposes, usually
reveting of catchment areas, reservoirs, and basins.

2. Gravel aggregates
Gravel aggregates are aggregates acquired as the result of sifting quarried rock and by crushing natural stone rock.
In strength, gravel aggregates are inferior to granite aggregates, but they also have their advantages: their
radioactive background is usually very low and they are cheaper than granite aggregates.
Gravel aggregates are used for foundations and concretes and in products made of reinforced concrete and in road
construction.

There are two types of gravel aggregates:

Scabbled stone- - regular natural or crushed,
Gravel - rounded pebbles usually of river or sea origin.
Fractions of gravel aggregates are as follows: 3-10 mm, 5-20 mm, 5-40 mm, 20-40 mm.

3. Limestone aggregates
Limestone aggregates are a product of the crushing of sedimentary rock - limestone, which is composed mainly of
calcite (calcium carbonate - 3).

Limestone aggregates (sometimes called lime or dolomite aggregate) is one of the main types of aggregates that
besides the gravel and the granite types is used in road construction and in production of reinforced concrete objects.

4. Secondary aggregates
Secondary aggregate comes from crushing construction waste - concrete, bricks, and asphalt. This type of aggregate
is made with the same equipment as other types of aggregates.
The main benefit of secondary aggregate is its low cost: on average, it is two times cheaper than the granite type.
Power input for its production in comparison to other types of aggregates can be up to 8 times lower. The prime cost
of concrete in which secondary aggregate is used as a large filler is a quarter lower.
In terms of strength, frost resistance, and certain other characteristics secondary aggregate is inferior to aggregates
made of natural stones; nonetheless it has wide application:
As a large-scale filler for concretes with strength 5 ... 20 MPa;
In road construction (filler for roads and ramps, use as a lower layer for roads that do not have state importance);
In maintenance works (filler under asphalted areas and sidewalks);
For reinforcing the weak soils (trenches for utility network and bottoms of construction pits).

5. Slag aggregates
Slag aggregates are obtained by crushing of smelter slag or by special treatment of fire-liquid slag melt (molten slag
aggregates). Currently there are many types of concretes that are developed and used in construction that include
metallurgical slags both as a binding component and as fillers. The cost of products from slag concretes is 20-30%
lower than traditional ones.

Sand is an extremely needful material for the construction but this important material must be purchased
with all care and vigilance. Sand which is used in the construction purpose must be clean, free from waste
stones and impurities. It is important to know what type of sand is beneficial for construction purpose as
sand is also classified into three different forms that make it suitable for specific type of construction.
Sand is classified as: Fine Sand (0.075 to 0.425 mm), Medium Sand (0.425 to 2 mm) and Coarse Sand
(2.0 to4.75 mm). However this classification of sand is further has types of sand in particular and on that
basis only they are being incorporated in the construction. Read out the detailing of the types of sand:
Pit Sand (Coarse sand)
Pit sand is classified under coarse sand which is also called badarpur in common language. This type of
coarse sand is procured from deep pits of abundant supply and it is generally in red-orange colour. The
coarse grain is sharp, angular and certainly free from salts etc which is mostly employed in concreting.
River Sand
River sand is procured from river streams and banks and is fine in quality unlike pit sand. This type of
sand has rounded grains generally in white-grey colour. River sand has many uses in the construction
purpose such as plastering.
Sea Sand
As the name suggest, sea sand is taken from seas shores and it is generally in distinct brown colour with
fine circular grains. Sea sand is avoided for the purpose construction of concrete structure and in
engineering techniques because it contains salt which tends to absorb moisture from atmosphere and
brings dampness. Eventually cement also loses its action when mixed with sea sand that is why it is only
used for the local purpose instead of structural construction.

There are different standards for the construction purpose which must be checked and considered for the
better construction. The requirement according to which sand is chosen should
be like:

For plastering purpose the overall fine sand used must not be less than
1.5 while silt is preferred to not less than 4 percent.

For brick work fine sand used must not be less than 1.2 to 1.5 and silt
is preferred is 4 percent generally.

Concreting work require coarse sand in modulus of 2.5 to 3.5 with not less than 4 percent silt
content.

Crushed stone or angular rock is a form of construction aggregate, typically produced by mining a
suitable rock deposit and breaking the removed rock down to the desired size using crushers. It is
distinct from gravel which is produced by natural processes of weathering and erosion, and typically
has a more rounded shape.
Contents
[hide]

1 Uses

2 Background

3 United States statistical data

4 Landscape use

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

Uses[edit]
Angular crushed stone is the key material for macadam road construction which depends on the
interlocking of the individual stones' angular faces for its strength. [1] Crushed natural stone is also
used similarly without a binder for riprap, railroad track ballast, and filter stone. It may also be used
with a binder in a composite material such as concrete,tarmac, or asphalt concrete.[2]

Cinder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For material that results from incomplete combustion of coal or wood, see Ember.
For other uses, see Cinder (disambiguation).
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged
and removed. (October 2008)

Example of a cinder, found atAmboy Crater

Volcanic eruptions such as this one can create cinders

Volcanic cinder in the Mount Cayley volcanic field, British Columbia, Canada

A cinder is a pyroclastic material. Cinders are extrusive igneous rocks. Cinders are similar
to pumice, which has so many cavities and is such low-density that it can float on water. Cinder is
typically brown, black, or red depending on its chemical content. A more modern name for cinder
is Scoria.

Characteristics[edit]
The following geologic characteristics define a cinder:

Uncemented

Vitric

Having bubble-like cavities, called vesicles

Measuring not less than 2.0 millimeters in at least one dimension

Apparent specific gravity between 1.0 and 2.0

Typical cinders are red or black in color.

Contain numerous gas bubbles "frozen" into place as magma exploded into the air and then
cooled quickly.

Uses[edit]
Cinders have been used on track surfaces and roads to provide additional traction in winter
conditions. Cinders are also employed as inorganic mulch in xeriscaping, because of excellent
drainage properties and erosion resistance. In this context, they are referred to frequently with the
name "lava rock". This is why cinder is used in roads.
Structural clay tile describes a category of burned-clay building materials used to construct the
walls of buildings and in structural fireproofing. Also called building tile, structural terra
cotta, hollow tile, and clay block, the material is an extruded clay shape with substantial depth that
allows it to be laid in the same manner as other clay or concrete masonry. In North America it was
chiefly used during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and continues to be used in Europe to
build fire-resistant walls and partitions. While most such units were intended to be covered with
plaster or a similar finish material, structural glazed facing tiles (SGFT) have a glazed finish on
one or more sides and are used as finish materials. In North America the material has largely been
replaced by concrete masonry units.

Perlite and vermiculite have been used for years as an aggregate in lightweight,
insulating concrete and plaster, and as a loose fill insulation material for concrete
masonry blocks, cavity walls, and in residential homes. They also are used in a variety
of specialty applications ranging from fireproofing sprays, chimney fills, interstitial floors,
acoustical sprays, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_aggregate
http://www.lafarge.ua/wps/portal/ua/3_5_2-Types_of_Aggregates_and_Aplications
http://www.sereneinteriors.com/building-construction/types-of-sand-construction.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crushed_stone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinder