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IN CONCRETE
TECHNOLOGY

Merits of concrete
Ingredients of concrete are easily available in most of the places.
Unlike natural stones Concrete is free from defects and flaws.
Concrete can be manufactured to desired strength with economy.
Thedurability of concreteis very high.
It can be cast to any desired shape.
Casting of concrete can be done in working site which makes it economical.
Maintenance cost of concrete is almost negligible.
The deterioration of concrete is not appreciable with age.
Concrete makes a building fire-safe due to its non-combustible nature.
Concrete can withstand high temperatures.
Concrete is resistant to wind and water. Therefore, it is a very useful in storm shelters.
As a sound proofing material cinder concrete could be used.

Demerits
Compared to other binding materials, the tensile
strength of concreter is relatively low.
Concrete is less ductile.
The weight of concrete is high compared to its strength.
Concrete may contain soluble salts. Soluble salts cause
efflorescence.

Types of Concrete
Light weight concrete
High density concrete
Ready-mix Concrete
SCC
High strength concrete
Ultra-high strength concrete
Heavy weight concrete
Shrinkage compensating concrete
Roller compacted concrete.
Fiber reinforced concrete
Pozzocrete
Shotcrete
Polymer concrete-Polymer impregnated concrete
-Polymer cement concrete

Properties of Fresh concrete

Consistency
Workability
Settlement & Bleeding
Plastic shrinkage
Loss of consistency

CONSISTENCY
Consistency of a concrete mix is a measure of the stiffness or
sloppiness or fluidity of the mix.
For effective handling, placing and compacting the concrete,
consistency must be the same for each batch.
It is therefore necessary to measure consistency of concrete at
regular intervals.
Slump testis commonly used to measure consistency of concrete.

WORKABILITY
The workability of a concrete mix is the relative ease with
which concrete can be placed, compacted and finished
without separation or segregation of the individual materials.
Workability is not the same thing as consistency. Mixes with
the same consistency can have different workabilities, if they
are made with different sizes of stone the smaller the stone
the more workable the concrete.
It is not possible to measure workability but the slump test,
together with an assessment of properties like stone content,
cohesiveness and plasticity, gives a useful indication.

SETTLEMENT AND BLEEDING

Cement and aggregate particles have densities about
three times that of water. In fresh concrete they
consequently tend to settle and displace mixing water
which migrates upward and may collect on the top
surface of the concrete. This upward movement of
mixing water is known as bleeding; water that
separates from the rest of the concrete is called bleed
water.

PLASTIC SHRINKAGE
If water is removed from the compacted concrete before
it sets, the volume of the concrete is reduced by the
amount of water removed. This volume reduction is
called plastic shrinkage.
Water may be removed from the plastic concrete by
evaporation or by being absorbed by dry surfaces such
as soil or old concrete or by the dry wooden form work.

SLUMP LOSS
From the time of mixing, fresh concrete gradually loses
consistency. This gives rise to the problems only if the concrete
becomes too stiff to handle, place and compact properly.
Slump loss in concrete is caused due to the following reasons.
Hydration of cement (generating more heat)
Loss of water by evaporation
Absorption of water by dry aggregates
Absorption of water by surfaces in contact with the concrete.
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Properties of hardened concrete

Mechanical strength, in particular compressive
strength.
The strength of normal concrete varies between 25 and
40 MPa. Above 50 MPa, the term High Performance
Concrete is used (50 MPa corresponds to a force of 50
tonnes acting on a square with sides of ten
centimetres).

Durability

Concrete is extremely resistant to the physico-chemical

attack emanating from the environment (frost, rain
atmospheric pollution, etc...) It is particularly well-suited
for structures exposed to demanding and extreme
conditions.

Porosity and density.

These properties are responsible for the first two. The

denser (or the less porous) the concrete the better its
performance and the greater its durability.
The density of concrete is increased by optimizing the
dimensions and packing of the aggregate and reducing
the water content.

Properties of Hardened concrete

Fire resistance.
Thermal and acoustic insulation properties.
Impact resistance.

Advantages of Ready mix

Concrete over Site mix Concrete
A centralised concrete batching plant can serve a wide area.
The plants are located in areas zoned for industrial use, and yet the
delivery trucks can service residential districts or inner cities.
Better quality concrete is produced.
Elimination of storage space for basic materials at site.
Elimination of procurement / hiring of plant and machinery
Wastage of basic materials is avoided.
Labor associated with production of concrete is eliminated.
Time required is greatly reduced.
Noise and dust pollution at site is reduced.

Disadvantages of Ready-Mix
Concrete
The materials are batched at a central plant, and the mixing begins at
that plant, so the traveling time from the plant to the site is critical over
longer distances. Some sites are just too far away, though this is usually
a commercial rather than technical issue.
Access roads and site access have to be able to carry the weight of the
truck and load. Concrete is approx. 2.5tonne per m. This problem can
be overcome by utilizing so-called minimix companies, using smaller
4m capacity mixers able to access more restricted sites.
Concretes limited time span between mixing and going-off means that
ready-mix should be placed within 2 hours of batching at the plant.
Concrete is still usable after this point but may not conform to relevant
specifications.