What is concrete?
Concrete is a composite material used widely in the construction industry. Concrete is basically a mixture of cement, water, aggregates and admixture (sometimes). Cement is a fine gray powder that consists of oxidizes calcium, silicon and aluminum. The aggregate used is normally gravel, crushed stone or sand. Admixture is a solid or liquid substance that gives a certain characteristics of the concrete. The cement reacts with water chemically and binds the aggregates together through a process called hydration during hardening or curing of concrete. It means that water helps in the hardening of the concrete while the cement bind the aggregate and also react with water to form a solid mass.
Concrete is one of the most widely used construction material in the world. The reason for this is because concrete is strong, easy to make and can be molded into various shapes and sizes. Besides that, concrete is cheap, affordable and is readily mix.
Concrete also has its advantages. Concrete does not corrode, therefore concrete structures require less maintenance. Besides that, concrete has resistance to fire, therefore it is safer compare to the timber structure. Concrete has also resistance to cyclic loading.
Introduction
In this report, we will introduce and illustrate on precast concrete, pre-stressed concrete, ready-mix concrete, reinforced concrete, terrazzo and Urbanite in details.
In this introduction, we will briefly introduce the sub-topic or types of concrete.
Reinforced concrete is stronger than basic concrete. Steel reinforcing bars known as rebar is incorporated in the concrete structure to act together in resisting the force. The steel reinforcing bars absorbs tensile and compression because plain conc...
... middle of paper ...
...sed concrete: a fundamental approach / Edward G. Nawy. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, 2012.
4) Marotta, T. W. (2011). Basic construction materials / Theodore W. Marotta ... [et al.]. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2011.
5) Bhatt, P. P. (n.d). Prestressed concrete design to Eurocodes / Prabhakara Bhatt. London; New York: Spon Press, 2011.
6) Jester, Thomas C. Twentieth-century Building Materials: History and Conservation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995.
7) Fanella, D. (2011). Reinforced concrete structures: analysis and design / David A. Fanella. New York: McGraw-Hill, c2011.
8) Levitt, M. M. (2008). Precast concrete: materials, manufacture, properties and usage / M. Levitt. London: Taylor & Francis, 2008.
9) Bachmann, H., & Steinle, A. (2011). Precast concrete structures / Hubert Bachmann, Alfred Steinle. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn, c2011.
10)
If the ancient Roman innovation of concrete, were to not have been significant, it would not have continued to be used across the globe. In fact, ancient Roman hydraulic cement-based concrete was so notable that modern day scientists are trying to, “replicate the exact formula for which ancient Roman concrete was made.” This is due to ancient Roman concrete being so sturdy and strong that aspects of it have lasted over 2000 years without deterioration. Without the innovation of Roman concrete, many of the modern world’s infrastructure would not be stable, causing havoc across the globe. Also, advancements in construction, health, and even safety areas would not be possible, as almost every piece of infrastructure, from sewerage and water pipes, to building and security walls, would not be able to remain as safe to use. This is because the modern world relies so heavily on concrete, with around five billion tonnes of concrete being used around the world each year,becoming the single most widely used material in the construction industry. In fact, around 76% of all first-world infrastructure is reinforced with concrete. Without this substance, much of the modern-world's infrastructure would not be as tall or sturdy as what it currently is, as it would simply deteriorate or break. Hydraulic cement-based concrete is certainly the most significant Roman
The Pantheon was a Roman concrete structure. Roman concrete is a mixture of lime and volcanic ash (pozzolana, found near modern-day town Pozzouli). Roman concrete is also called hydraulic cement-based concrete. It is known for curing relatively rapidly, even in damp condition, thus it could be used for massive construction. The most daring thing about the use of Roman concrete in the Pantheon is that Portland cement needs steel reinforcement due to tendency of cracking caused by tension forces, meanwhile the Pantheon did not. The Pantheon still stands today is because of its special structure.
One special subset is called architectural and decorative concrete, which refers to a substance that provides an aesthetic finish and structural capabilities in one. This material is made to be seen. Whether creating broad expanses or minute details, concrete permanently captures the chosen look. Achieving an architectural or decorative appearance usually requires that something different be done to the concrete. Whether that involves special forms, special finishing techniques, or special ingredients, the variety of effects is almost unlimited.
Buildings such as Packard Motor Car Company Building Number Ten (1), Pacific Coast Borax, and the Weavers flour mill all used Hennebique’s (2) method of reinforced concrete construction. This method combined the column and the floor into one single structure. With reinforced concrete being a better load bearing construction material than any stone that could have been used otherwise, these building all had large, open, and efficient interiors that afforded for all kind of different programs. This large unobstructed floor plan design thus became the defacto design for industrial buildings since the building could be fitted with all different kinds of machinery to fit the needs of the owner and his
Works Cited Journal articles: • Lane, Thomas. “Crazy Angles, Soaring Steel.” Building vol. 274 no. 8588 (28) 2009, July 17, pp. 40-46.
Concrete The term concrete is derived from the Latin word “concretus”, which means to grow together (National Institute of Standards and Technology, n.d.). Opus caementicium or the Roman concrete was developed in the 2nd BCE. Mortar was a mixture
Special attention is required for precast segments as they have joints. An epoxy agent is used to the joint before putting it in the superstructure.
Concrete in the other hand provided the ability to produce massive structures when judiciously used with bricks. It enable the Romans to utilize stone shapes of different types during their
middle of paper ... ... //articles.architectjaved.com/ earthquake_resistant_structures/energy-dissipation-devices-for-earthquake-resistant-building-design/ Earthquake Resistant Structures. (n.d.). Earthquake Resistant Structures RSS.
Concrete: This consists of a solid slab of concrete which caps the top of a structure or building
Opus caementicium or Roman concrete is a synthetic construction substance that’s composed of an aggregate, a binding agent, and water. In Rome’s case, as discovered by UC Berkley with the extensive analysis of a sample of Roman concrete taken from a breakwater in Italy’s Pozzuoli Bay it was developed by using lime and volcanic rock which formed a mortar, the mortar and volcanic rock were then packed into wooden forms and when seawater was added a chemical reaction occurred, bonding everything together to create concrete (History, 2013). It is uncertain when Roman concrete was developed, but it was clearly in widespread and customary use from about 150 BC; some scholars believe it was developed a century before that.
The usage of concrete was explored by the Early Christian and Roman architects but fell out of use throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance period. The material was only fully explored again in the later half of the 19th century but only for mundane purposes where the material was cheap, easy to work with, and versatile, but most importantly it’s fireproof characteristic. In 1870, the idea of reinforcing the concrete was born; steel rods were to be inserted to increase its strength. Taking this principle, Ernest Ransome (America) and Francois Hennebique (France) both developed frame systems. From this, open plan workspaces with large windows were created and it was proved to be well accommodated where fire had previously been a danger. Hennebique’s system used slim vertical posts, thin parallel beams on brackets and floor slabs; this resulted somewhat like a timber frame. Concrete was one of the most flexible materials and one with a least determining form. Concrete relied on its mould and the intelligence of its designer to give it aesthetic qualities for one to appreciate it. This became much more obvious when the architects of the last 19th century attempted to discover a style based on this material.
The proto type performed satisfactorily with regard to drying and hardening shrinkage, heat of hydration, denseness after hardening, and other properties. This concrete was named “High Performance Concrete” and was defined as follows at the three stages of concrete:
Sustainable concrete materials and sustainable steel reinforcement have been introduced to civil engineers to get closer to the sustainable development. Sustainable buildings constructed with use of these materials have shown an increased service life and the final cost has been reduced due to them.
Chua, Ian Y. H. Civil and Structural Engineering Resource Web. 29 Jan. 2000. 2 Mar.