CONCRETE

TECHNOLOGY
MODULE Dr. Khaldoon Shehab

SEMESTER 1 – WEEK
REFERENCES
Main Reference
Advanced concrete technology by Zongjin Li
Other references
Concrete technology by Dr. Moaid Nory
Concrete Technology -2dn Ed by A.M. NEVILLE
LECTURE CONTENTS
1. Concrete Definition and Historical Development
2. Concrete as a Structural Material
3. Characteristics of Concrete
4. Introduction to Concrete related Tests
5. Types of Concrete
6. Factors Influencing Concrete Properties
 1. CONCRETE DEFINITION AND
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Concrete is a manmade building material that looks like stone.
The word “concrete” is derived from the Latin concretus,
meaning “to grow together.”

It can be said that the concrete is a composite material that consists

essentially of a binding medium in which are embedded particles
or fragments of aggregates Limitations.
The simplest definition:
concrete = filler + binder
Depending on what kind of binder is used, concrete can be named
in different ways:
Nonhydraulic cement concrete: Typical examples
of nonhydraulic cement are: gypsum and lime.
- Hydraulic cement concrete
Examples of hydraulic cement include:
hydraulic lime, pozzolan cement, and Portland cement

asphalt concrete

polymer concrete
Nonhydraulic cement concretes are the oldest used in human
history
The nonhydraulic cements used at that time were gypsum and lime
The Romans made concrete by mixing small pieces of gravel and
coarse sand mixed with hot lime and water, and sometimes even
animal blood.
Assyrians and Babylonians used clay as the bonding material.
The Egyptians used gypsum mortar in construction
The Chinese also used lime mortar to build the Great Wall in the
Qin dynasty
In 1756, John Smeaton was commissioned to rebuild the Eddystone
Light house off the coast of Cornwall, England
Smeaton used a mortar prepared from a hydraulic lime mixed with
pozzolan imported from Italy
James Parker of England filed a patent in 1796 for a natural hydraulic
cement made by calcining nodules of impure limestone containing clay.
Vicat of France produced artificial hydraulic lime by calcining synthetic
mixtures of limestone and clay
Portland cement was invented by Joseph Aspdin of England in 1824.
Portland cement was prepared by calcining finely ground limestone,
mixing it with finely divided clay, and calcining the mixture again in a
kiln until the CO2 was driven off. This mixture was then finely ground
and used as cement.
Isaac Johnson who first burned the raw materials to the clinkering
temperature in 1845 to produce modern Portland cement
Aggregates are another main ingredient of concrete, and which
include sand, crushed stone, clay, gravel, slag, and shale.
First generation of concrete = Plain concrete made of
Portland cement and aggregate
Joseph Aspdin 1824
Second generation of concrete = steel bar-reinforced
concrete
Invented by Joseph Monier on 16 July 1867
Third generation of concrete = Prestressed concrete
first patented by a San Francisco engineer P. H. Jackson in
1886.
As a structural material, the compressive strength at an age of 28 days
is the main design index for concrete.
There are several reasons for choosing compressive strength as the
representative index.
First, concrete is used in a structure mainly to resist the compression
force.
Second, the measurement of compressive strength is relatively easier.
Finally, it is thought that other properties of concrete can be related to
its compressive strength through the microstructure.
As early as 1918, it was found that the compressive strength of a
concrete was inversely proportional to the water-to-cement ratio.
Since the 1960s, the development of high-strength concrete has made
significant progress due to two main factors: the invention of water-
reducing admixtures and the incorporation of mineral
admixtures, such as silica fume, fly ash, and slag.
Concrete produced after the 1980s usually contains a sufficient amount
of fly ash, slag, or silica fume as well as many different chemical
admixtures

Contemporary concretes
Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC)
It is defined as a concrete that can meet special performance and
uniformity requirements, which cannot always be achieved
routinely by using only conventional materials and normal mixing,
placing or curing practices.
self-compacting concrete (SCC)
Initially developed by Professor Okamura and his students in Japan
in the late 1980s

Ultra-high-strength (performance) concrete (UHSC)

200 mpa +
footbridge built in Sherbrooke, Canada
[Link] AS A
STRUCTURAL MATERIAL
At this stage, if not specified, the term concrete usually refers to Portland cement
concrete. For this kind of concrete, the compositions can be listed as follows:

Admixtures are almost always used in modern practice and essential component of
contemporary concrete.
Admixtures are defined as materials other than aggregate (fine and coarse), water,
and cement that are added into a concrete batch immediately before or during
mixing. Its benefits include:
For instance, chemical admixtures can modify the setting and hardening
characteristics of cement paste by influencing the rate of cement hydration.
Water-reducing admixtures can plasticize fresh concrete mixtures by reducing surface
tension of the water.
Air-entraining admixtures can improve the durability of concrete, and
Mineral admixtures such as pozzolans (materials containing reactive silica) can reduce
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the
world, and its popularity can be attributed to two aspects.
First, concrete is used for many different structures, such as dams,
pavements, building frames, or bridges, much more than any other
construction material.
Second, the amount of concrete used is much more than any other
material.
Its worldwide production exceeds that of steel by a factor
of 10 in tonnage and by more than a factor of 30 in volume.
As of now, the annual world consumption of concrete has reached a
value such that if concrete were edible, every person on earth
would have 2000 kg per year to “eat.” You may wonder why
concrete has become so popular.
In a concrete structure, there are two commonly used structural
materials:
concrete and steel.
A structural material is a material that carries not only its self-
weight, but also the load passing from other members.

Steel is manufactured under carefully controlled conditions, always

in a highly sophisticated plant; the properties of every type of steel
are determined in a laboratory and described in a manufacturer’s
certificate.
However, the quality of concrete is hardly guaranteed because of
many other factors, such as aggregates, mixing procedures, and
skills of the operators of concrete production, placement, and
consolidation.
3. CHARACTERISTICS OF
CONCRETE
Advantages of concrete
Economical:
Ambient temperature-hardened material
Ability to be cast
 Energy efficient
Excellent resistance to water
High-temperature resistance
Ability to consume waste
Ability to work with reinforcing steel
Less maintenance required
Limitations
Quasi-brittle failure mode

Low tensile strength

Low toughness (ductility):

Low specific strength (strength/density ratio):

Formwork is needed:
Long curing time
Working with cracks
TYPES OF CONCRETE
[Link] in accordance with unit weight
According to the unit weight of concretes, they can be classified
into four categories:
Ultra-lightweight concrete: used to build up non-structural
members
Lightweight concrete: used to build up both non-structural and
structural members
Normal-weight concrete: used to build up most of the structural
members
Heavyweight concrete: used to build up special type of
members, such as radiation proofing
Lightweight concrete:
 Structural lightweight concrete is defined as a concrete having compressive
strength in excess 17 MPa up to 60 Mpa with a bulk density less than 1950
kg/m3.
 To make lightweight concrete, light weight aggregate has to be used, such as
expanded shale, clay or some kind of slate

 Structural lightweight concrete has shown enhanced durability in chemical

resistance, frost resistance, fire resistance, and permeability reduction.
 The improved fire resistance of structural lightweight concrete can be
attributed to a lower expansion coefficient and a lower reduction of
strength at elevated temperatures.
Heavyweight concrete
Heavyweight concrete is used to build some special structures,
such as laboratories, hospital examination rooms, and nuclear
plant, where radioactive protection is needed to minimize its
influence on people’s health.
It is made from MagnaDense (aggregates)
2. Classification in Accordance with Compressive Strength
3. Classification in accordance with additives

Densified with Small Particles (DSP) has incorporated a large amount of

silica fume, a mineral admixture with very small particles. DSP has
excellent abrasion resistance and is mainly used to produce machine
tools and industrial molds.
 Fiber Reinforced Concrete (MDF) =
Macro Defect free

3. FACTORS INFLUENCING
CONCRETE PROPERTIES
1. w/c ratio (or w/b or w/p ratio)
2 Cement content
Cement paste has three functions in concrete: binding, coating, and lubricating.
The cement content influences concrete workability in the fresh stage, heat release rate in
the fast hydration stage, and volume stabilities in the hardened stage.
The range of the amount of cement content in mass concrete is 160–200 kg/m3, in normal
strength concrete it is less than 400 kg/m3, and in high strength concrete it is 400–600
kg/m3.
3 Aggregate
(a) Maximum aggregate size:
For normal-strength concrete, at the same w/c ratio and with the same cement content, the
larger the maximum sizes, the better the workability; at the same workability, the
larger the maximum sizes, the higher the strength.
However, a larger aggregate size has some drawbacks. First, a larger aggregate size may
make the concrete appear nonhomogeneous. Second, a larger aggregate size may lead to a
large interface that can influence the concrete transport properties and the mechanical
properties.
Generally, the maximum size of coarse aggregate should be the largest that is economically
available and consistent with the dimensions of the structure.
In choosing the maximum aggregate size, the structural member size and spacing of
reinforcing steel in a member have to be taken into consideration.
In no event should the maximum size exceed one-fifth of the narrowest dimension in
the sizes of the forms, one-third of the depth of slabs, or three-quarters of the
minimum clear spacing between reinforcing bars.
(b) Aggregate grading
Aggregate grading refers to the size distribution of the
aggregate.
The grading mainly influences the space filling or particle
packing. The classical idea of particle packing is based on the
Apollonian (order) concept, in which the smaller particles fit
into the interstices left by the large particles.
Well-defined grading with an ideal size distribution of
aggregate will decrease the voids in the concrete and hence
the cement content.
As the price of the aggregate is usually only one-tenth that of
cement, well-defined grading not only will lead to a better
compressive strength and low permeability, but also is
more economical at lower cost.
(c) Aggregate shape and texture
The aggregate shape and texture can influence the workability,
bonding, and compressive strength of concrete.
At the same w/c ratio and with the same cement content,
aggregates with angular shape and rough surface texture result in
lower workability, but lead to a better bond and better mechanical
properties.
On the other hand, aggregates with spherical shape and smooth
surface texture result in higher workability, but lead to a lower
bond and lower mechanical properties.
(d) Sand/coarse aggregate ratio
The fine/coarse aggregate ratio will influence the packing of
concrete.
It also influences the workability of concrete in the fresh stage.
Increase of the sand to coarse aggregate ratio can lead to
an increase of cohesiveness, but reduces the consistency.
Of all the measures for improving the cohesiveness of concrete,
increasing the sand/coarse aggregate ratio has been proven to be
the most effective one.
(e) Aggregate/cement ratio
The aggregate/cement ratio has an effect on the concrete cost,
workability, mechanical properties, and volume stability.
Due to the price difference between the aggregate and cement,
increasing the aggregate/cement ratio will decrease the cost of
concrete.
From a workability point of view, an increase of the aggregate to
cement ratio results in a lower consistency because of less cement
paste for lubrication.
As for mechanical properties, increase of the aggregate/cement
ratio can lead to a high stiffness and compressive strength if proper
compaction can be guaranteed.
Increasing the aggregate/cement ratio will definitely improve
concrete’s dimension stability due to reduction of shrinkage and
creep.
4 Admixtures
The concrete properties, both in fresh and hardened states, can be
modified or improved by admixtures.
For instance, concrete workability can be affected by air
entraining agents, water reducers, and fly ash.
Concrete strength can be improved by silica fume.
5 Mixing procedures
Mixing procedures refer to the sequence of putting raw materials
into a mixer and the mixing time required for each step.
Mixing procedures directly influence the workability of fresh
concrete and indirectly influence some mature properties of
concrete.
The following mixing procedure can be used to obtain a very good
workability with a good coating on the coarse aggregate to protect
alkali aggregate reaction.
Step 1: Coarse aggregate + 50% water + 50% cement: mixing for
30 sec to 1 min.
Step 2: Adding 50% cement + 25% water + superplasticizer + fine
aggregate: mixing for 2 min.
Step 3: Adding 25% water: mixing for 3 min.
6 Curing
Curing is defined as the measures for taking care of fresh concrete right after
casting.
The main principle of curing is to keep favourable moist conditions under a
suitable temperature range during the fast hydration process for concrete.
It is a very important stage for the development of concrete strength and in
controlling early volume changes.
Fresh concrete requires considerable care, just like a baby.
Careful curing will ensure that the concrete is hydrated properly, with good
microstructure, proper strength, and good volume stability.
On the other hand, careless curing always leads to improper hydration with
defects in the microstructure, insufficient strength, and unstable dimensions.
One of the common phenomena of careless curing is plastic shrinkage, which
usually leads to an early age crack that provides a path for harmful ions and
agents to get into the concrete body easily and causes durability problems.
Curing is a simple measure to achieve a good quality of concrete. However, it is
often ignored on construction sites.
Some methods could be helpful in curing:
(a) Moisten the subgrade and forms
(b) Moisten the aggregate
(c) Erect windbreaks and sunshades
(d) Cool the aggregate and mixing water
(e) Fog spray
(f) Cover
(g) High temperature (70–80◦C) steam curing
(h) Use shrinkage compensating concrete
(i) Curing Compounds
DISCUSSION TOPICS
Why is concrete so popular?
What are the weaknesses of concrete?
What are the factors influencing concrete properties?
Give some examples for concrete applications.
When you do a structural design, which failure mode should be applied?
How would you like to improve concrete workability (fluidity or cohesiveness)?
How can you enhance concrete compressive strength?