Construction Materials (CE 0504351)
Fareh Abudawaba, Ph.D.
Civil Engineering Department
Chapter 1
Introduction to construction materials
Introduction
The term “material” referes to a substance or thing
from which something else can be made. Cloth,
cement, sugar, brick, aluminum, soil, and water are all
examples of materials.
In engineering, materials are employed to design and build
structures, elements, or products.
Classification of Construction Materials
Introduction
Construction Materials is any material which is used
for construction purposes. Many naturally occurring
substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, and wood have been used
to construct buildings. Apart from naturally occurring
materials, many man-made products are in use, some more
and some less synthetic.
Construction Materials industry
contributes effectively to the
development of any civilization.
It is very simple:
Great constructions requires
great materials!
Building Material Selection
Materials engineers are responsible for the selection,
specification, and quality control of materials to be
used in a job. These materials must meet certain classes of
criteria or materials properties. These classes of criteria include:
• Economic factors
• Mechanical properties
• Nonmechanical properties
• Production/construction considerations
• Aesthetic properties
Building Material Selection
Materials engineers are responsible for the selection,
specification, and quality control of materials to be
used in a job. These materials must meet certain classes of
criteria or materials properties. These classes of criteria include:
• Economic factors
• Mechanical properties
• Nonmechanical properties
• Production/construction considerations
• Aesthetic properties
Cost of materials,
manufacturing,
transportation,
placing,
maintenance
Economic
Texture,
color, factors
interaction
with light Yield stress
and strain,
ductility,
stiffness,
fatigue
Aesthetic Mechanical
properties properties
Building
Material
Type and size of
Selection Density, porosity,
building for durability,
durability and fire absorption, fire
protection and chemical
requirements resistance
Non
Production/
mechanical
construction
properties
Examples of Choosing of Proper Material
for a Structure
Strength, rigidity & durability Requirements
Permanent loading Creep Strength
Repeated loading Fatique Strength
Impact loading Toughness & Resilience
Surface loading Hardness & Resis. to abrasion
Examples of Choosing of Proper Material
for a Structure
Environmental Requirements
Temperature change coefficient of thermal expansion
Moisture movement permeability
Chemical effects chemical composition
Examples of Choosing of Proper Material
for a Structure
Economy. Choose the cheaper & available
materials considering
Initial cost
Useful life
Frequency of maintenance
Cost of maintenance
Salvage value
Example: Comparison of concrete pavement
vs. asphalt pavement for economy
Concrete Asphalt
Initial Cost – +
Useful Life + –
Frequency of Repair + –
Cost of Repair – +
Salvage Value + +
Properties of Building Materials
For a material to be considered as building material, it should have
required engineering properties suitable for construction works. These
properties of building materials are responsible for its quality and
capacity and helps to decide applications of these material. Such
properties of building materials are categorized as follows.
• Physical properties **
• Mechanical properties **
• Chemical properties * ** Most CE Applications focus on
• Thermal properties physical & mechanical properties
• Electrical properties * Sometimes
• Magnetic properties
Physical Properties
Physical Properties are the properties required to estimate the quality and
condition of the material without any external force. The physical
properties of engineering materials are as follows.
• Bulk density • Frost resistance
• Density • Water absorption
• Density index • Water permeability
• Specific gravity • Hygroscopicity
• Porosity • Coefficient of softening
• Durability • Refractoriness
• Fire resistance
Physical Properties
Bulk density is the ratio of mass to the volume of the material in its natural
state that is including voids and pores. It is expressed in kg/m3. Bulk density
influences the mechanical properties of materials like strength, heat and
conductivity, etc.
Building material Bulk density (kg/m3)
Brick 1600 - 1800
Sand 1450 - 1650
Steel 7850
Heavy concrete Light concrete
1800 – 2500 500 - 1800
Granite 2500 – 2700
Physical Properties
Density is the ratio of mass of the material to its volume in homogeneous
state. Almost all the physical properties of materials are influenced by its
density values.
Building material Density (kg/m3)
Brick 2500 -2800
Steel 7800 – 7900
Granite 2600 – 2900
Density Index is the ratio of bulk density of
material to its density.
In nature, fully dense material is not
available so, density index is always less
than 1 for any building material.
Physical Properties
Specific gravity is the ratio of mass of given substance to the mass of water
at 4⁰C for the equal volumes.
Material Specific gravity
Cast iron 7.20
Steel 7.82
Aluminum 2.72
Physical Properties
Fire Resistance of Building Material is the ability to withstand against fire
without changing its shape and other properties.
Physical Properties
Frost Resistance is the ability to to resist freezing or thawing is called frost
resistance. It depends upon the density and bulk density of material.
Denser materials will have more frost resistance. Moist material have low
frost resistance, and they lose their strength in freezing and become brittle.
Physical Properties
Water Absorption is the capacity of a material to absorb and retain water. It
is expressed in % of weight of dry material.
Physical Properties
Water Permeability is the ability of a material to permit water through it.
Dense materials like glass metals etc. are called impervious materials
which cannot allow water through it
Physical Properties
Porosity It is the ratio of volume of pores to the volume of material. Porosity
influences many properties like thermal conductivity, strength, bulk density,
durability etc.
Durability is property of a material to withstand against the combined
action of atmospheric and other factors. If the material is more durable, it
will be useful for longer life with less maintenance.
Physical Properties
Hygroscopicity is the property of a material to absorb water vapor from the
air. It depends on the relative humidity, porosity, air temperature etc.
Coefficient of softening of a material is the ratio of compressive strength
of a saturated material to its compressive strength in dry state. It affects the
strength of water absorbent materials like soil.
Refractoriness is the property of a material which cannot melts or lose its
shape at prolonged high temperatures (1580oC or more). Example: fire clay
is high refractory material.
Properties of Building Materials
Mechanical Properties are found out by applying external forces on
them. These are very important properties which are responsible for
behavior of a material in its job. The mechanical properties are,.
• Strength • Hardness
• Toughness (impact resistance) • Rigidity (stiffness)
• Elasticity • Fatigue
• Plasticity • Abrasion resistance
• Ductility • Creep
Mechanical Properties
Tensile Strength - This is the ability of a material to withstand tensile
(stretching) loads without breaking.
Compressive Strength - This is the ability of a material to withstand
compressive (squeezing) loads without being crushed or broken.
Shear Strength - This is the ability of a material to withstand offset loads, or
transverse cutting (shearing actions)
Toughness (impact resistance) - This is the ability of a material to
withstand shatter. If a material shatters, it is brittle, e.g. glass, rubbers and
most plastic materials do not shatter.
Elasticity - This is the ability of a material to deform under load and to
return to its original size and shape when the load is removed.
Mechanical Properties
Plasticity - This property is the exact opposite of Elasticity. It is the state of
a material which has been loaded beyond its Elastic limit.
Ductility - This is the term used when plastic deformation occurs as the
result of applying a tensile load, e.g. a ductile material is required for such
processes as wire drawing.
Hardness - This is defined as the ability of a material to withstand
scratching (abrasion) or indentation by another hard material. It is an
indication of the wear resistance of the material.
Rigidity (stiffness) - This is a materials ability not to deflect under an
applied load. e.g. although steel is very much stronger than cast iron, the
latter material is preferred for machine beds and frames because it is more
rigid and less likely to deflect.
Mechanical Properties
Fatigue: If a material is subjected to repeated loads, then the failure occurs
at some point which is lower than the failure point caused by steady loads.
Abrasion Resistance: The loss of material due to rubbing of particles while
working is called abrasion.
Creep: the deformation caused by constant loads for long periods.
Chemical Properties
The properties of materials against the chemical actions or chemical
combinations are termed as chemical properties. And they are:
Chemical Resistance
The ability of a construction materials to resist the effects by chemicals
like acids, salts and alkalis. Underground installations, constructions
near sea etc. should be built with great chemical resistance.
Corrosion Resistance.
Formation of rust (iron oxide) in metals, when they are subjected to
atmosphere. So, the metals should be corrosive resistant. To increase
the corrosion resistance proper measures should be considered.
Otherwise, it will damage the whole structure.
Thermal Properties
Thermal Conductivity
It is the ability of a material to allow heat energy to spontaneously flow from
a hot area to a cold area.
Thermal Resistivity
It is the ability to resist heat conduction. And it is the reciprocal of thermal
conductivity.
Specific Heat
Specific heat is the quantity of heat required to heat 1 N of material by 1⁰ C.
Material Specific heat J/N oC
Steel 0.046 x 103
Wood 0.239 to 0.27 x 103
Stone 0.075 to 0.09 X 103
Properties of Building Materials
Electrical Properties of Building Materials
The properties of a material to conduct or to resist electricity through them
are electrical properties of material. For example, wood have great electric
resistance and stainless steel is a good conductor of electricity.
Magnetic Properties of Building Materials
The magnetic properties of materials like permeability, hysteresis etc. are
required in the case of generators etc. iron is magnetic material and
aluminum is non-magnetic material.
Determining the Properties of Civil
Engineering Materials
Properties of materials are determined by:
• Laboratory testing
• Field testing
And those can be conducted as a:
• Destructive Testing, which aims to deform or destroy a
material to analyze its point of failure
• Non-Destructive Testing, which uses inspection methods that
do not damage a material or asset in any way.
Determining the Properties of Civil
Engineering Materials
To avoid inconsistencies in test results STANDARDS were adopted to
describe the test apparatus and the procedure.
Items that are usually standardized in a test are:
• Obtaining test specimens and number of specimens
• Size and shape of the specimen
• Preparation of specimens for testing
• Temperature & moisture during preparation & testing
• Type of machinery
• Rate of loading
• Interpretation of test results
• Writing a report
Standardization Institutes
• U.S. - American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
• England - British Standards Institute (BSI)
• Germany - Deutsche Institute Norm (DIN)
• Europe - European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
• Turkey - Turkish Standards Institute (TSE)
Engineer means smart leader!
A Civil Engineer may not always have the facility of laboratory at
the site for the testing of materials. OR, OR, OR!!!. So a civil
engineer should be able to judge the quality of the basic
construction materials such as Brick, Cement, Sand, and
Coarse Aggregate by means of Visual Inspection ONLY!. Here is
some examples:
How To Check If A Brick Is Good?
1. A good brick should be of proper shape and
standard specified size, the edges of it should be
sharp, without any cracks.
2. The color of a good brick should be copper red
color. A yellowish tint on brick indicates that it is
under burnt and dark blackish blue color
indicates an over burning.
Engineer means smart leader!
3. When a brick is struck by a hammer or against another brick, it should
emit a clear metallic ringing sound, it should not be dull.
4. A freshly fractured brick should show a homogeneous compact structure
without any lumps.
5. If a brick is dropped from about a height of 1m on a hard ground or on
another brick, it should not break.
6. When a brick is scratched with finger nail it should not leave any
impression on the brick.
7. A good brick (1st Class) should not absorb water by not more than 20% of
its own Dry weight when immersed in water for a period of 24 Hours.
Engineer means smart leader!
How To Check If Cement Is Good?
1. The cement should be of Greenish Gray color for
Ordinary Portland Cement.
2. There should not be any hard lumps on cement,
the cement should be finely powdered. If cement
contains hard lumps, then it must be rejected.
3. The cement when rubbed between fingers should feel smooth, if it is
granular then it has sand.
4. A cement paste should feel sticky in between fingers.
5. When hand is dipped into a bag of cement, it should feel cool, not warm.
6. If a hand full of cement is thrown into a bucket of water, the cement should
sink, not float.
7. Thick cement paste made on a glass and immersed in water should set,
not crack.
Engineer means smart leader!
How To Check If Coarse Aggregate Is Good?
1. The coarse aggregate are to be well graded to increase the mechanical
interlocking between them.
2. Coarse aggregate should be angular as far as possible and be porous.
3. The coarse aggregate should not be flaky and elongated.
4. The coarse aggregate should not contain organic and other impurities, as
only 5% clay content in concrete can reduce the strength of the concrete as
much as 20%.