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Introduction to Concrete Technology

Research · April 2015

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3219.9201

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 Introduction to Concrete Technology
Department of Civil Engineering, Fahad Bin Sultan University March 2015
Hasan M. Y. Tantawi
Department of Civil Engineering
Fahad Bin Sultan University
Tabouk, Saudi Arabia
Email: htantawi@fbsu.edu.sa

I. Introduction: o Type II cements: used for concrete that may

be exposed to a low sulphate content such as
Concrete is one of the oldest and most common soils that contain a low concentration of sulfate.
construction materials in the world, mainly due to o Type III cements: used for applications that
its low cost, availability, its long durability, and require strength at an early age.
ability to sustain extreme weather environments. o Type IV cements: used for applications that
The world wide production of concrete is 10 times require a fast setting time, such as in dams and
that of steel by tonnage [1]. On the other hand, places that require large amounts of concrete.
other construction materials such as steel and o Type V cements: these are the high sulphate-
polymers are more expensive and less common resistant Portland cements, there are used in
than concrete materials. Concrete is a brittle applications where concrete is exposed to a
material that has a high compressive strength, but high concentration of sulphate, such as sewer
a low tensile strength. Thus reinforcement of water.
concrete is required to allow it to handle tensile
stresses [2] [3]. Such reinforcement is usually Water: The higher the content of water in
done using steel. concrete, the higher the concrete workability, as
water makes the concrete thinner. When water is
II. Concrete Components: added to concrete, it results in concrete hydration
reaction, and hardening subsequently. Water
Concrete is a heterogeneous mixture that consists
of the following components: should have a pH value in the range 6-8. Water
should not contain salt in it if used for reinforced
Aggregate: forms about 75% of the concrete concrete, because it can cause the reinforcement
volume. Aggregates can be sand or crushed rock steel material to corrode.
[4] or recycled concrete rubbles [5], or other
materials. Additives: many additives are used to increase
concrete workability. They are added in ratios that
Cement: comprises about 7-14 % of concrete [6]. do not exceed 2% of cement content, usually 1-
The purpose of cement is to bind the concrete. 2%. It must be noted that as the additive content
The American Society for Testing and Materials increases, concrete strength decreases. There are
(ASTM) classifies Portland cement into five types. many types of additives.

o Type I cement: this is the standard general o Superplasticizer additives: used to improve
purpose Portland cement, and the most concrete workability and reduce the amount of
common type of cement. It is used when water required for the concrete mixture.
sulphate exposure is minimal.
o Accelerator additives: these additives are used Properties of Hardened concrete:
to shorten the setting time and increase early
concrete strength [6]. Accelerator additives are 1. Compressive strength of Concrete: One
used in cold weather environments that cause of the most common methods to evaluate
the concrete setting time to be delayed. concrete performance is by measuring the
Calsium chloride (CaCl2) is the most compressive strength of hardened concrete (𝑓𝑐′ ) at
commonly used material as an accelerator an age of 28 days. This test can be done by
additive. A disadvantage of these additives is breaking a concrete specimen in a compression-
that they can cause corrosion of reinforcing testing machine. The specimens can be a
steel (the chloride additives in particular), and standard cube specimen of 150 ×150 × 150 mm3
reduce concrete strength. or a standard cylindrical concrete specimen of
o Retarding additives: these additives are added 150 mm × 300 mm. Strength of cylinder is
to concrete to delay the concrete setting time. roughly 80% of the strength of the cube.
They are used in hot weather environments, or
There are other tests that can be used to find the
when concrete has to be transported for a
compressive strength of in-place concrete such as
construction site that is far from the mixing
the hammer test and the coring test, the coring test
site. Retarding additives also improve concrete
is more expensive to perform than the hammer
workability. One of the most common retarders
test. In practice, f'c at an age of 7 days is about
is sugar.
75% of 𝑓𝑐′ at the age of 28 days. 𝑓𝑐′ 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 is
approximately 0.2 - 0.25 of 𝑓𝑐′ at an age of 28
III. Hardened Concrete
days.
One of the main fields of research in civil
The long time span needed for the 28 day test,
engineering is improving the durability of concrete
makes it more advantageous to use other tests that
structures. In 2013, it was estimated by the
predict the strength of hardened concrete.
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) that
Methods for early estimation of concrete strength
$3.6 trillion should be invested in the United
are presented by Tantawi and Gharaibeh [9].
States infrastructure to bring it to a “good
condition” [7] [8]. With an average grade of D+, 2. Elasticity of Concrete: Three types of
the study highlights the importance of improving moduli are found from the stress strain diagram of
durability of concrete in infrastructure. The concrete:
infrastructure conditions in some categories are a. Initial tangent modulus E1 = tanө1
displayed in the table below: b. Tangent to stress strain curve:
σ = 0.5 σ' where (σ ' is maximum stress) E2 =
Infrastructure Letter Grade
tanө2
category Ref. [8]
Aviation D c. Secant modulus E3 = tanө3 where the ө3 is
Bridges C+ the angle of secant to point on the stress
Dams D+ strain curve at σ = 0.5 σ'
Energy D+
Schools D In general, the modulus of elasticity of concrete in
Roads D compression (Ec) is calculated from several
formulas.

The empirical formula provided by the American

Concrete Institute (ACI) code is given by:
𝐸𝑐 = 33𝑤 1.5 √𝑓𝑐′ where 𝑓𝑐′ is in Psi and w is the cement content increases in the concrete
concrete weight density in lb/ft3 mixture. For this reason, one common method to
reduce creep in concrete is to use Roller-
The weight density w of concrete depends on the compacted concrete [6] which needs less water
mixture ratio and the type of aggregate used. If w and cement than standard concrete mixtures.
is taken to be 144 lb/ft3 then: There are many methods deployed to reduce
shrinkage in concrete, such as using a special type
𝐸𝑐 = 57,000 √𝑓𝑐′ where 𝑓𝑐′ is again in Psi of concrete that is shrinkage compensating, or
using reinforced concrete, or using a shrinkage-
𝐸𝑐 = 0.043𝑤 √𝑓𝑐′ where 𝑓𝑐′ is in MPa and w is reducing chemical additive [1].
taken to be 2400 kg/m3.
Creep and shrinkage must be taken into
𝐸𝑐 = 4,700 √𝑓𝑐′ where 𝑓𝑐′ is in MPa consideration in the design process of structures.
As an example, creep and shrinking resulted in
3. Tensile Strength of Concrete: tensile shortening in the Lake Shore Towers in Chicago
strength of concrete is significantly smaller than by 2.5 mm per floor [12].
its compressive strength. It is usually negligible in
the design of reinforced concrete, however, in IV. Concrete Reinforcement:
some cases, it must be considered. Tensile
strength of concrete is given as: Although concrete can withstand high
compressive stresses, its ability to withstand
𝑓𝑡 = 6 𝑡𝑜 7 times the value of √𝑓𝑐′ if 𝑓𝑐′ is given tensile stresses is small compared to that of
in psi compressive stresses. Thus, tensile reinforcement
𝑓𝑡 = 50 − 60% of √𝑓𝑐′ if 𝑓𝑐′ is given in MPa is required. Steel bars or steel wires are used to
reinforce concrete to increase its ability to handle
Modulus of Rupture: One method to describe the tensile stresses. Generally, in structures, concrete
tensile strength of concrete, is to use the modulus carries the compressive and shear loads, and the
of rupture. Modulus of rupture depends on the reinforcing steel carries the tensile load [1].
size of concrete beams [10]. If concrete is
subjected to a tensile stress that is equal to its The reinforcing steel is found in several types
modulus of rupture, cracks develop in the according to the percentage of carbon as:
concrete. Tensile strength of concrete may also be 1. Mild steel: has a low carbon content, less than
characterized using the splitting tensile strength,
0.15%. Its yield stress: Fyeild ≈ 240-280 MPa
which is equal to about 50-80% of the modulus of 2. medium steel: Fyeild ≈ 280 – 350 MPa
rupture [11]. Modulus of rupture is given by the 3. high strength steel: Fyeild ≈ 350 – 600 MPa
formula:
As the percentage of carbon increases in steel, the
𝑓𝑟 = 7.5 √𝑓𝑐′ strength increases.
where 𝑓𝑟 is the concrete modulus of rupture.
In Jordan, reinforcing steel is identified as 12020,
4. Creep and Shrinkage of Concrete which corresponds to 12 bar 20mm diameter [13].
European sizes are given as 12R20, where R
Creep in concrete is the change of the shape of the stands for regular steel. If high strength steel is
structure that results from a stress that is sustained used then R is replaced by the letter T.
for a long duration of time. Creep increases as
 In the United States, The American Concrete of Structural Engineering, vol. 121, no. 4, pp. 739-746,
Institute (ACI) sizes are given in increments of 1/8 1995.
inch, for example, #6 corresponds to a 12 bar with
[11] A. O. Olanike, "A Comparative Analysis of Modulus of
a 6/8 in diameter. Rupture and Splitting Tensile Strength of Recycled
Aggregate Concrete," American Journal of Engineering
The reinforcement steel must be free of dust, rust, Research, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 141-147, 2014.
or oil, or any organic materials. High strength
[12] S. Mindess, J. F. Young and D. Darwin, Concrete,
steel is generally not used in the stirrups due to its
Prentice Hall, 2003.
lack of the needed ductility.
[13] M. Hiyassat and H. M. Tantawi, "Analysis of
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