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Tutorial 1
1) What is concrete?
Concrete consists of a mix of ingredients, including Portland cement, pozzolans, water, coarse
aggregates, fine aggregates, and additives. Concrete may also contain mineral colors,
granulated blast-furnace slag, and blended cements. When fresh, cement can be molded hours
after it is produced. Once the initial set time is reached, the concrete continues to gain
strength.
4) My concrete is cracking after only a short period. Is there something wrong with
it and can it be repaired?
All concrete cracks. It has to crack because it contracts during the drying, curing, hardening
process, and the bond between the cement paste and the aggregates is not strong enough to
withstand that stress. The best way to prevent unsightly cracking is to put joints in your
concrete at regular intervals. A good formula is to measure the depth of your structure and
multiply the number by three. Use this number to determine the approximate number of feet
between joints.
-Ready-mixed concrete, which in Malaysia accounts for almost 50% of all concrete, is
batched at local plants by specialist manufacturers for delivery in the familiar trucks with
revolving drums. This allows more space to be made available on site (important in many
urban projects); the supplier takes responsibility for quality control of the concrete and also
has the resources and technical expertise to provide a wide range of mixes.
-Precast concrete products are cast in a factory setting. These products benefit from tight
quality control achievable at a production plant. Precast products range from concrete bricks
and paving stones to bridge girders, structural components, and panels for cladding.
22) Why should concrete be protected from loss of moisture from its surface after
placement, compaction and finishing?
The most crucial time for strength gain of concrete is immediately following placement. In
field conditions, heat and wind can suck out the moisture from the placed mixture. Concrete
that is allowed to dry in air will gain less strength compared continuously moist-cured
concrete.
Rapid evaporation also causes the concrete to shrink, which leads to tensile stresses within the
concrete. As a result, surface cracking may occur, especially if the stresses develop before the
concrete attains adequate tensile strength.
Selecting an appropriate curing process also helps in temperature control in the concrete and
to prevent moisture loss to the external environment.
23) Why does concrete crack only a short time after placing?
This is referred to as plastic cracking and can take two forms shrinkage and settlement. The
principal cause of plastic shrinkage cracking is the rapid removal of water from the concrete.
Water loss is mainly from the exposed surface of the concrete (e.g. concrete slabs). When the
evaporation rate exceeds he rate of bleeding, the surface concrete loses water and decreases in
volume. Tensile stresses are induced in the because of restraint by the non-shrinking inner
concrete. Plastic cracking can be minimised or avoided through proper mix design and
effective early curing.
The surface is struck off by rolling the tampering rod across the top edge of the mould. After
careful removal of the mould, the slump of the concrete present is measured to the nearest 5
mm. The slump as measured is the distance between the top of the inverted mould and the
highest point of the concrete.