5th YEAR - 2021/22
BAR 503
ADVANCED BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
Lecture 4
Concrete
Concrete
Introduction
Is one of the most widely used construction material.
§Used in construction of buildings (Low rise to high rise/
residential to commercial) and civil works (roads to bridges)
§Concrete = binder + fine aggregate + coarse aggregate + water +
admixture [optional]
§ Bidder = Cement or lime
§ Fine aggregate = Sand
§ Coarse aggregate = gravel/Ballast ( 10mm – 30mm)
§Addition of water to a mixture of cement and aggregate
triggers a chemical reaction process between the water and
cement. The cement becomes a paste and binds together the
aggregates
Concrete
Introduction
§Types of Cement
§ Commonly known as Portland cement
§ 3 grades -32.5, 42.5 and 52.5
§ 32.5 low binding strength, 42.5 medium binding strength
and 52.5 high binding strength
§Aggregate
§ Crashed granite stones
§ Washed to remove loose particles
§Water
§ Free of salt and suspended impurities
Concrete
§Setting
§ A chemical process (reaction of water and cement) that
results to gradual development of rigidity of concrete
§ Setting time starts immediately water is added to the
mixture and would last 24 -48 hours
§ Walking on fully set concrete will not leave footprint marks
§Hardening
§ A physical process of gaining strength.
§ A long process last to a year or so.
§ This is what eventually determines the strength of the final
product
Concrete
properties
§strength.
§ Compression
§ Tensile
§ Shear
§ Flexural
§Flexibility
§Density
§Durability
Concrete
properties
§strength.
§ Compression:
§ Also referred to a crashing strength
§ very good. This property is the one makes it an
attractive material
§ It attains 70 -75% strength in 28 days and 100% in a
year’s period
§ The crashing strength is determined by the mixture
ratio of the bidder to aggregate and the bidder grade.
§ The various mixtures are commonly referred to as
“classes”
Concrete
Classs Crashing Mix ratio Application
Strenth in Cement: Fine
28 days aggregate: Coarse
aggregate
15 15N/mm2 1:3:6 Non-structural. Used for blinding
foundations.
Also known as lean concrete
20 20N/mm2 1:2:4 General use, construction of slabs, beams,
columns of low to medium rise buildings (3
floors)
25 25N/mm2 1:1.5:3 Stuctural elements for medium rise building
30 30N/mm2 Mix Design Stuctures that need high compression
strength., eg high rise buildings and bridges
35 35N/mm2 Mix Design AS ABOVE
40 40N/mm2 Mix Design AS ABOVE
Concrete
properties
§strength.
§ Mix Design
§ For concrete class 30 and above the mix ratios are
determined by way of laboratory testing. Various mixes
are prepared and tested in a lab to establish their
strength.
§ The strength is depended on on water (amount, chemical
composition) cement (quantity, grade) and aggregate (
size, shape, etc)
§ Contamination especially by foreign materials like silt or
timber tend to compromise the strength.
Concrete
properties
§strength.
§ Tension:
§ Weak
§ Normally about 7 - 10% of the compression strength
§ Hence the need for steel reinforcement
§ Shear
§ moderate
§ Normally about 50% of the compression strength
Concrete
properties
§strength.
§ Flexural
§ bending strength
§ Amount of stress and force that unreinforced concrete beam
or slab or other elements can withstand against bending forces.
§ This is thus depended on the tensile strength. Its hence Weak
Concrete
properties
§Flexibility
§ Both flexible and rigid
§ At preparation stage it is a malleable material. It can be
made into any shape and size depending on the formwork
§ Once dry it becomes rigid. (common saying “rigid like
concrete”)
Concrete
properties
§Density
§ Two types of concrete:-
§ Normal – high density - 2400kg/m3 and above
§ Light weight – low density. Made using light weight aggregate like
pumice. Density below 1920kg/m3
Concrete
properties
§Durability
§ Very durable can last full life of the
structure.
§ However, this is contingent on workmanship,
and the environmental factors (moisture,
temperature etc.)
§ Poor workmanship may lead to ingression of
moisture and air leading to corrosion of
reinforcement steel.
Concrete
properties
Durability contd.
§ Fatigue: A phenomena of
rapture that occurs due
to repeatedly stress or
compression or torsion
or bending or combination
of these.
This leads to exposure of reinforcement steel
and its eventual corrosion. When this happens, its
strength is compromised.
Concrete
Concrete Fatigue:
Concrete
Preparations
1. All ingredients mixed on site
2. Ingredients mixed off site and delivered on site ready
to use or near ready to use
§ Dry mix - Mixed cement, fine aggregate and coarse
aggregate and packed in paper bags. Popular with
homeowners for minor repair works. Water is added on site
at time of use.
§ Bulky dry mix – as dry mix but delivered on site by trucks
with intermixture drums. Water is added on site at time of
use.
§ Ready mix - as bulky dry mix but delivered with water
already added. In this case time between the mixing and
placing it is important to ensure quality
Concrete
QUALITY
This is depended on
1. Workability
2. Compaction
3. Formwork
4. Handling
5. Curing
Concrete
QUALITY
1. Workability
§ Consistence of mixture such that it can be
transported, placed and finished sufficiently easy
without segregation.
§ The easiness of how a materials can be molded and
shaped
Concrete
QUALITY
1. Workability contd.
§ Workability depends on mix proportions:
§ Too little water makes the paste inflexible and difficult to penetrate
the cavities between the aggregate particles. Too much water leads
leads to bleeding.
§ Large sizes of coarse aggregate have the same effect on the final
product.
§ Too much small sizes of aggregate needs more cement to improve on
workability
§ Cement –more cement more workability
§ Time – with time concrete stiffens , mainly due to loss of water, and
losses workability
§ Temperature – High temperature tend to compromise workability.
Concrete
QUALITY
1. Workability contd.
§ Bleeding :
§ The tendency of water, of freshly laid concrete, to rise to
the surface or seep through formwork gaps
§ The water carries with it, particles of fine aggregate and
cement leading to lose of strength
§ This is avoided by use of proper mix design, optimum
quantity of water and good quality of formwork
§ Bleeding compromises the strength of final product.
§ Symptoms of Bleeding are honey combing of columns or
beams or soffits of slabs and or formation of slime layer on
the surface of slabs
Concrete
QUALITY
2. Compaction
§ The degree of compaction has a bearing on the final
quality.
§ Proper compaction ensure all cavities are filled with
the cement paste and all coarse aggregate are
bonded together.
§ There should be no air spaces if the required
strength is to be achieved
§ Compaction is done by
§ Vibration of building elements; columns, beams &
slabs
§ Roller - civil works - roads
Concrete
QUALITY
3. Formwork
§ The quality of formwork is very important first by
determining the final shape, surface texture and
strength
§ Poor formwork leads to concrete bleeding
Concrete
QUALITY
4. Handling
§ Time
§ The time taken to place concrete once mixed should
be minimal.
§ Delayed placing leading to poor quality. Delay allows
to the setting process to get into advanced stage
reducing the workability.
Concrete
QUALITY
4. Handling
§ segregation:
§ The separation of coarse aggregates grains from
the concrete mass
§ Occurs when
§ The mixture is lean and has too much water
§ When large and rough-textured aggregate is used
§ When concrete is poured to fall from high height
§ when concrete is thrown with shovel a long
distance
Concrete
QUALITY
5. Curing
§ The process of maintaining adequate moisture in
concrete within the proper temperature range in
order to aid cement hydration at early stages
§ Proper curing ensure that the concrete sets and
hardens well
§ Rule of thumb has it that the minimum curing period
is 7 days.
Precast Concrete
Introduction
§A method of construction that uses concrete elements cast at a
yard or warehouse as compared to being cast in situ (on site).
§Concrete was the was first material to be used in the
prefabricated construction technology
§It has been in use for several decades though it is yet to gain
traction in the local building construction market.
§In recent years it has become common in construction of
highway bridges.
§It is mainly used in construction of medium-rise buildings of up
to 15 floors.
§For structures beyond 15 floors the cost of hoisting becomes
prohibitive.
Precast Concrete structures
Types of Precast concrete structures:
Precast concrete structures can be classified into two classes
§ Low rise structure and
§ High rise/framed structures
Low Rise Structures
§ Under this category the precast concrete is used in
construction of walls and suspended floor slabs
§ The substructure is constructected of strip foundation/
masonry walling and concrete slab on hardcore base.
§ The roof is constructed out of timber or steel members and
covered with sheets/tiles etc
Precast Concrete Panels
§ Used for construction of walls and suspended floor
slabs.
§ The panels may either be custom made or standard
product.
§ The sizes vary depending of the building design.
§ They could either be reinforced or just mass concrete.
§ Panels can be be frabicated with texture and/or colour
depending on designer’s choice.
§ They a cast on formworks and vibrated to compaction on
a vibration table.
Concrete Vibration Table
Precast Concrete wall Panels
The custom wall pannels:
§ Cast for a specific project and cannot be used in
another project.
§ The form work is not re-used and therefore they
tend to be more expensive than the standard ones.
§ The pannels are cast to the required dimensions and
with provision of openings for windows and doors.
§ They are cast with provision (hooks) for lifting to
placce
Precast Concrete Wall Panels
custom made
Precast Concrete Wall Pannels
Precast Concrete Wall Panels
§ The standard wall pannels:
§ Cast for general use and come
in standard sizes. Width
being 600mm and heights of
2100, 2400, 2700 and
3000mm.
§ Where different heights are
required , especially for
pannesl below window openings
they are cut to size on site.
§ They are also used to act as
lintels to span across openings.
Precast Concrete Wall Panels
Floor Anchorage
§ Mild steel U-channel or Rebars are used to anchor the
pannels to the ground floor slab.
§ U-channel is bolted onto the floor slab and the pannel
inserted.
§ An inverted U–channel is fixed at the top to conect the
various pannels together. The top channel also acts as a
wall plate on which the roofing structure is anchored.
§ Vertically they can be anchored by concrete or steel
columns.
§ Vertical tongue and groove (t&g) joints are used to
connect the pannels. The joints are then cemented.
Precast Concrete walls
Wall pannels being put in place.
To be anchored by concrete columns
Wall panel
Precast Concrete Walls
Precast Concrete Wall Pannels
Re-bars Anchorage.
§ Mild steel bars are hammered into the floor slab and the
pannels placed leaving a gap of about 100mm from the
floor. The gap is the filled with concrete.
Precast Concrete panels
Application:
§ Single story building (Residential,Stores,
construction site structures), where they act as
both structtural elements and skin.
§ Large span buildings (Whare houses) as infill
between concrete/steel columns where they act as
skin.
§ Interior partitioning
§ Their use in double storey building lead to the
challenges parallel wall construction and small rooms.
§ Fencing
Precast Concrete structures
Precast Concrete Wall Pannels
Advantages:
§ They are easly be demounted and re-used in a new site.
§ Cost saving as a result of the need of minimum finshes on
site.
§ Difficult to intall services; electrical conduits and
plumbing pipes.
Disadvantages:
§ High transportation and on site handling costs due to
their weight. On site they requires hoisting machinery or
a lot man power
§ Brittle and tend to be easly damaged during
transportation or site handling. Their handling need more
care since it is difficult to repair once damaged.
Precast Concrete Construction
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