Questions 1,2,4,5 and 6 from book.

Q#3

Efflorescence in concrete simply means appearance of white colored powdered material on the concrete
surface. Efflorescence is the formation of salt deposits, usually white, on or near the surface of concrete
after it has been finished and causing a change in the appearance.

Causes:

 concrete may contain salts

 High water-cement ratio
 Inadequate curing
 Exposure to rain or other water sources
 Slow rate of evaporation of water allowing time for salts to permeate to the surface

Prevention:

 Use ingredients containing as little soluble salt as possible.

 Use waterproofing admixtures to reduce permeability of concrete/mortar.
 Use a denser concrete, again to reduce permeability.
 Avoid premature drying.
 Apply curing compounds or same-day sealers to reduce exposure to wetting.
 Lime should be hydrated lime free from calcium sulphate.

Q#7

The cement paste can affect the aggregate by causing a chemical reaction between the highly alkaline
pore solutions and reactive silica in the aggregate. The presence of the aggregate also affects the cement
paste. The cement particles in fresh concrete, which are suspended in the mix water, cannot pack together
as efficiently when they are in the close vicinity of a much larger solid object, such an aggregate particle.
This is actually a general phenomenon associated with particle packing, known as the "wall effect." In the
case of concrete, this is effect is magnified by the shearing stresses exerted on the cement paste by the
aggregate particles during mixing, which tend to cause the water to separate from the cement particles.
The result is a narrow region around the aggregate particles with fewer cement particles, and thus more
water. This is called the interfacial transition zone, abbreviated ITZ.
The ITZ is a region with a higher w/c, and thus a higher porosity, than the bulk paste. It is not uniform,
but varies from point to point along each aggregate particle, with an average thickness of 20-40 £gm.
Because of the larger pores, the ITZ is characterized by the presence of larger crystals, particularly of
calcium hydroxide, than are found in the bulk paste. The ITZ tends to be larger around larger aggregate
particles. The ITZ has important effects on the properties of concrete, because it tends to act as the "weak
link in the chain" when compared to the bulk cement paste and the aggregate particles.

The factors effecting the transition zone is the size of aggregate,w/c ratio and the use of admixtures in the
mix.
Transition zone can be improved by using small size aggregates, also finer particles like pozzolanas can
be used to make the concrete structure more compact, and also using other admixtures to increase strength
of concrete.

Q#8

Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is concrete containing fibrous material which increases its structural
integrity. It contains short discrete fibers that are uniformly distributed and randomly oriented. Fibers
include steel fibers, glass fibers, synthetic fibers and natural fibers – each of which lends varying
properties to the concrete.

Benefits:

Fibers are usually used in concrete to control cracking due to plastic shrinkage and to drying shrinkage.

They also reduce the permeability of concrete and thus reduce bleeding of water.

Some types of fibers produce greater impact–, abrasion–, and shatter–resistance in concrete.

 Improve mix cohesion, improving pumpability over long distances

 Improve freeze-thaw resistance
 Improve resistance to explosive spalling in case of a severe fire
 Improve impact resistance– and abrasion–resistance
 Increase resistance to plastic shrinkage during curing
 Improve structural strength
 Reduce steel reinforcement requirements
 Improve ductility
 Reduce crack widths and control the crack widths tightly, thus improving durability

Q#9

Perform NDT on existing structures these tests include:

Concrete core test:

Cylindrical cores are cut from the finished structure with a rotary cutting tool. The core is soaked, capped
and tested in compression to give a measure of the concrete strength in the actual structure. The ratio of
core height to diameter and the location where the core is taken affect the strength. The strength is lowest
at the top surface and increases with depth through the element. A ratio of core height-to-diameter of 2
gives a standard cylinder test.

Rebound hammer (hardness) test

The Schmidt hammer is used in the rebound hardness test in which a metal hammer held against the
concrete is struck by another spring-driven metal mass and rebounds. The amount of rebound is recorded
on a scale and this gives an indication of the concrete strength. The larger the rebound number is, the
higher is the concrete strength.

Ultrasonic pulse velocity test

In the ultrasonic pulse velocity test the velocity of ultrasonic pulses that pass through a concrete section
from a transmitter to a receiver is measured. The pulse velocity is correlated against strength. The higher
the velocity is, the stronger is the concrete.

Other non-destructive tests

Penetration resistance test

Pull out test

Post installed tests

If the desired strength of concrete is not achieved in the existing building then we should go retrofitting
and jacketing of the structure in order to increase the strength of the structure.

Q#10

The temperature range for concrete according to ACI upto 35 c. while the lower limit is the temperature
below which water will freeze and concrete will not gain its strength it’s value is 5 c.

Measures:

Precautionary Measures for concrete in cold weather

1. Using hot water

2. Providing enclosures i.e. covered area
3. Using air entraining agents
4. Scheduling concreting
5. Using admixtures accelerators
6. Type III or high early strength cement
7. Using large amount of cement

Precautions in hot weather concreting:

To control the high concrete temperature following steps may be taken:

1. Schedule concreting. The concrete can be scheduled to time when the temperature is not high e.g.
in summer it can be schedule to night or early morning
2. Material and mix proportions: use material and mix design proportion having good weather
resistance e.g. select sand having low specific heat.
3. Covered environment: The concrete can be done in a covered environment.
4. Chilling: The chilling of aggregate can be done by watering or keeping them covered.
5. Efficient work force: employ efficient workforce and machinery to improve the handling.
6. Use of low heat cement: Use low heat cement.

Q#11a

Concrete is something you make out of naturally occurring raw materials (sand and aggregate) and
cement. The cement reacts and makes a tobermorite gel which is sort of adhesive and binds the materials.
Now when you apply compressive force the particles literally need to be crushed. There is aggregate
interlocking and friction one needs to overcome. But when tension is applied all that is not available.
Only the binding action of adhesive is available which is a weaker source of strength.

Q#11b

Reasons for concrete cube to have greater compressive strength as compared to cylinder is

 Contact area of a standard cube mould with the upper platen in the testing machine is more which
results in more confinement .
 More confinement resist against specimen expansion resulting in more compressive strength

The ratio between cube strength and cylinder strength is commonly assumed to be 1.20.

Q#11c

As the size of the specimen is increased the strength of concrete decreases,this may be due to hetrogenity
of the specimen. Smaller size specimen is more likely to contain elements of homogenous composition
which shows similar properties in strength and chances of having an element of extreme (low) strength is
less, while as the size of specimen increases the specimen becomes more hetrogenous which results in
weaker elements thus decreasing the strength of concrete.

Q#12

Go for Hammer test.

If hammer test is also as per failed cube result then go for core cutter and test it to get actual strength of
laid concrete.

Find ways to strengthen the slab.

If not then he has to get the slab recast.