A Complete Guide To Concreting
Concrete has been a trendy building material for thousands of years.
Concrete is a composite material consisting of fine aggregate and coarse aggregate, and fluid cement (cement slurry) that hardens (solidifies) over time.
Concrete is a pourable mixture of cement, water, sand, and gravel that can harden into a super-strong building material. The sidewalks, foundations, and highways are all made of concrete.
We answered the most regularly asked questions about concreting from Indian users.
About Concreting
What Is Concreting In Construction?
In construction, concrete, structural material consisting of a complex, chemically inert particulate substance, known as aggregate (usually sand and gravel), is bonded together by cement and water.
How Is Concreting Done?
The Following are the main steps involved in the concreting process:
Steps In Concreting:
- Batching: The method of measuring different concrete materials (such as cement, coarse aggregate, sand, water) used to make concrete is called batching.
- Mixing: During this process, all materials are thoroughly mixed in the required proportions until the paste shows a uniform color and consistency. Manual mixing and machine mixing are two different mixing methods.
- Transportation: After mixing correctly, transport the freshly mixed concrete to the construction site. This process is called transportation. After that, place the concrete on the formwork correctly. There are two ways to transport concrete to the site.
- Compaction: Compaction is the process of removing air bubbles from freshly poured concrete. It is necessary to improve the ultimate strength of concrete by enhancing the bond with reinforcement.
- Curing: Curing is how concrete retains moisture for a certain period to complete the hydration process. It should be adequately cured to increase the strength of the concrete.
Is Concreting Hard Work?
Concrete work is one of the most challenging tasks. You will work for a long time and prepare to work in the rain. The best advice is not to stand. Try and do your best. Provide help where possible. Ask questions often.
What Is Underwater Concreting?
Underwater concrete was developed to enhance constructability and performance in water environments. The resistance of concrete to washout, segregation, and bleeding is determined by mix proportioning, aggregate form and gradation, admixtures, vibration, and placement conditions. The differential velocity at the boundary between freshly poured concrete and the surrounding water can erode some cement and other fine particles. Such erosion can increase turbidity and contamination of the surrounding water, degrade strength and durability, and bond to the reinforcing steel and existing surfaces.
What Are The Main Properties Of Concrete?
Hardened Concrete's Characteristics
- Mechanical strength, especially compressive strength. The strength of ordinary concrete varies between 25 and 40 MPa. Above 50 MPa, the term high-performance concrete will be used (50 MPa corresponds to 50 tons of force acting on a square with a side of 10 cm).
- Durability. Concrete is highly resistant to the physicochemical attack emanating from the environment (frost, rain, atmospheric pollution, etc.) It is particularly suitable for structures exposed to harsh and extreme conditions.
- Porosity and density. These attributes are responsible for the first two. The denser the concrete (or the fewer holes), the better its performance and the more potent its durability. By optimizing the size and accumulation of aggregates and reducing the water content, can increase concrete density.
What Are The Advantages Of Concrete?
The Benefits of Concrete
- The lowest carbon footprint for a pavement or structure over its lifecycle.
- Unparalleled strength, longevity, durability, and elasticity.
- Maximize energy efficiency through thermal mass.
- Durability in any environment.
- A building material that will not burn, rust, or rot.
- Safety and security.
- versatility – it can be molded into any shape, color, or pattern imaginable, no off-gas
- excellent vibration and sound insulating
- low maintenance costs
- 100% recyclability, coupled with the materials needed to make concrete, is very abundant in almost every place on earth
What Is Stronger Cement Or Concrete?
Although the names "cement" and "concrete" are often used interchangeably, cement is really a concrete component. Concrete is made up of a mixture of aggregate and paste. The aggregate is sand, gravel, or crushed stone. Water and Portland cement make up the paste. Concrete gets stronger as it gets older. Portland cement is a common term for cement used in almost all concrete, similar to how stainless steel is a type of steel and sterling silver is a type of silver. Cement contains from 10 to 15 percent of the concrete mix by volume. Through the hydration process, the cement and water harden, bonding the aggregate into a rock-like substance. This hardening process lasts for several years, which means that the concrete becomes stronger with age.
What Is The Minimum Curing Time?
Curing time and temperature
The curing time depends on the kind of cement used, the mixing ratio, the required strength, the shape and size of the component, the environmental weather, the future exposure conditions, and the curing method. Since all required properties will improve after curing, the cycle should be as long as possible. For most concrete structures, the curing time at a temperature higher than 5ºC (40ºF) should be at least seven days or until it reaches 70% of the specified compressive strength or flexural strength. If high-strength early concrete is used and the temperature is higher than 10ºC (50ºF), it can reduce to 3 days.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Concrete?
Limitations of Concrete or Disadvantages of Concrete are:
- Concrete is a quasi-brittle material. The three main failure modes of materials are brittle, quasi-brittle failure, and tensile failure.
- Low Tensile Strength. The tensile strength and compressive
Strengths of concrete are different. The tensile strength of concrete is 1/10 of its compressive strength. Fibers and other polymers are introduced into concrete to increase its tensile strength.
- Concrete has Low Toughness. The ability of a material to consume impact energy is called toughness. It is the area under the load-displacement curve. Another limitation of concrete is that compared with steel, concrete has significantly lower toughness.
- Concrete has Low specific strength. The ratio of strength to density is termed specific strength. The specific strength of standard grade concrete is half that of steel, which is 20. The specific strength is controlled by decreasing the density and increasing the strength.
- Formwork is Required. Fresh concrete is liquid. The formwork is necessary to form it in shape and support its own weight. The formwork can be made of plastic, steel, or wood. The formwork is expensive to install and purchase.
- Long curing time. The concrete reaches the specified compressive strength within 28 days after casting and curing. Full strength, it is necessary to control the appropriate ambient temperature within a month. This is another disadvantage of concrete.
- Working with cracks. The tension face of concrete has a cover to protect the reinforcing steel bars. If tensile stress at extreme fiber exceeds the concrete's tensile capacity, it cracks and leads to reinforcements.
- Strict quality control is required. Strict quality control is required. In mixing, placing, and curing concrete, concrete requires strict quality control and skilled labor. This is important for the excellent quality of concrete. Otherwise, concrete may suffer from strength, durability, and performance issues.
What Are The Fresh Properties Of Concrete?
Following are the properties of fresh concrete.
- Workability.
- Segregation.
- Bleeding.
- Plastic shrinkage.
- Setting.
- Temperature.
- Water Cement Ratio.
Is The Concrete House Safe?
Compared with traditional frame houses, concrete houses are less likely to be damaged by debris. A greater degree of built-in security makes ICF buildings the quality choice for your new home.
What Additives Can Be Added To Concrete?
There are five different chemical admixtures: air-entraining, water-reducing, retarding, accelerating, and plasticizers (superplasticizers). All other varieties of admixtures fall into the specialty category, whose functions include corrosion inhibition, shrinkage reduction, alkali-silica reactivity reduction, workability enhancement, bonding, damp proofing, and coloring. Air-entraining admixtures are used to place microscopic air bubbles into the concrete purposely.
References & Citation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_slab
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready-mix_concrete
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_in_place_concrete