"Empowering Minds, Engineering the Future
Reinforced cement concrete is a topic you will need to familiarize at some point, if you are into civil engineering field. The category explicitly presents it. Reinforced cement concrete (RCC), a composite material has been accepted worldwide as a construction material, bridges, retaining walls, docks and harbour, airfield pavements, flyovers,multi-storey building,complexes and simple houses etc., Concrete is good in resisting compression but is very weak in resisting tension. Hence reinforcement is provided in the concrete wherever tensile stress is expected. The best reinforcement is steel since the tensile strength of steel is quite high and the bond between steel and concrete is good. As the elastic modulus of steel is high, for the same extension the force resisted by steel is high compared to concrete. However in tensile zone, hair cracks in concrete are unavoidable. Reinforcements are usually in the form of mild steel or ribbed steel bars of 6 mm to 32 mm diameter. A cage of reinforcements is prepared as per the design requirements, kept in a formwork and then green concrete is poured. After the concrete hardens, the formwork is removed. The composite material of steel and concrete now called R.C.C. acts as a structural member and can resist tensile as well as compressive stresses very well. Aggregates are the inert or chemically inactive materials which form the bulk of cement concrete. These aggregates are bound together by means of a cement. They can be classified into two. The selection of aggregate is based on the purpose and its maximum size.
As a construction material, concrete should be able to withstand heavy loads. The concrete material beneath compression tends to reduce its size. Concrete gains its strength over time. The compressive strength depends on cement strength, water-cement ratio, concrete quality etc. The test gives an idea of the overall strength and above-mentioned factors.
Stones are the form of rocks from the earth’s crust. They find their application in the construction of residential and public buildings, dams, harbours, face-work of structures, road metal, and railway ballast. Besides stones possess good strength and durability.
Kelly ball test is a simple test also known as a ball penetration test. This test determines the workability of fresh concrete. It is an alternative to the slump cone test and is an effortless field test of concrete.
Vee Bee consistometer test determines the workability of concrete. Workability depends on the compactability, stability, finishing ability of the concrete. Vee- Bee test is for finding workability of concrete.
Compaction factor test is conducted to determine the workability of the concrete. Compaction factor test is a lab test and is generally conducted on concrete samples having very low workability.
Pervious concrete pavements (PCP) are advancement of innovative materials that contribute to the construction of better structures. We will find out the basic and technical details, design considerations, factors affecting the performance and limitations of PCP in the blog. Pervious concrete is a special form of concrete with a high porosity used for concrete flatwork applications that allows direct passage of precipitation water and other sources, thereby reducing the runoff from a site and allowing groundwater recharge.
Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) is a type of Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC). The main constituents are cement, sand, silica fume, steel fiber and quartz powder with minimal water to binder ratio, without coarse aggregate. In RPC, water- binder ratio is very low, CA is absent- reduce the heterogeneity of concrete mix and optimize microstructure. Precise gradation of particles yields compact, well-arranged and high strength hydrates of maximum density.
Shotcrete is a method of placing concrete where concrete/mortar is sprayed at high velocity to an overhead or vertical surface. Concrete is conventionally placed on the ground or to the formwork and compacted using appropriate vibration methods.
Self healing concrete is a mind-blowing innovation in civil engineering. It can potentially contribute to ensure a longer lifespan of a structure. In this article, we will find out the details about bacterial concrete. A bacterial concrete is most effective in this category.
Water to cement ratio is the ratio between the weight of water to the cement weight used in a concrete design mix. The water to cement ratio can significantly impact the workability and strength of the concrete.