UNIT 2: SCIENCE AND MATER

IALS FOR CONSTRUCTION AN

D THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Eng. A.C.M. Suhoothi, BSc. Eng.
(Hons)
Department of Civil Engineering
School of Engineering
BCAS

Lo 1.1_Describe the
properties of construction
materials

Topic to be covered
Materials
Properties of materials
Uses of materials

Construction Materials
The materials used in the constructio
n of Engineering Structures such as b
uildings, bridges and roads are called
Engineering Materials or Building Ma
terials.
Eg: Bricks, Timber, Cement, Steel and
Plastic.

Building Material
Used for Construction purpose
Many naturally occurring substances
E.g.: Clay, Sand, Woods and Rocks

Man made products

Some more and some less synthetic

Production of this material is segmen

ted into specific.
E.g.: carpentry, plumbing, roofing and i
nsulation work

Uses of Building Materials

Metal and Alloys
E.g.:
Iron & Steel
Building Frame

Uses of Building Materials

Reinforcement

Uses of Building Materials

Roof

Uses of Building Materials

Ironmongeries

Lo_1.2- evaluate the properties

and uses of construction materi
als

Properties of Material
Group

Properties
Shape, Size, Density, Specific
Physical
Gravity
Strength, Elasticity, Plasticity,
Hardness, Toughness, Ductility,
Mechanical
Brittleness, Creep, Stiffness,
Fatigue, Impact Strength
Thermal conductivity, Thermal
Thermal
resistivity, Thermal capacity
Corrosion resistance, Chemical
Chemical
composition, Acidity, Alkalinity
Colour, Light reflection, Light
Optical
transmission
Sound absorption, Transmission and
Acoustical
Reflection.
Physiochemic Shrinkage and Swell due to

Definitions
Density: It is defined as mass per unit volume. I
t is expressed as kg/m3 (kN/m3)
Specific gravity: It is the ratio of density of a m
aterial to density of water.
Porosity: The term porosity is used to indicate t
he degree by which the volume of a material is o
ccupied by pores. It is expressed as a ratio of vol
ume of pores to that of the specimen.
Strength: Strength of a material has been defin
ed as its ability to resist the action of an external
force without breaking.

Continue.
Elasticity: It is the property of a material which enables
it to regain its original shape and size after the removal
of external load.
Plasticity: It is the property of the material which enabl
es the formation of permanent deformation.
Hardness: It is the property of the material which enabl
es it to resist abrasion, indentation, machining and scrat
ching.
Ductility: It is the property of a material which enables
it to be drawn out or elongated to an appreciable extent
before rupture occurs.
Brittleness: It is the property of a material, which is op
posite to ductility. Material, having very little property o
f deformation, either elastic or plastic is called Brittle.

Continue
Creep: It is the property of the material which enables i
t under constant load to deform slowly but progressivel
y over a certain period.
Stiffness: It is the property of a material which enables
it to resist deformation.
Fatigue: The term fatigue is generally referred to the eff
ect of cyclically repeated stress. A material has a tenden
cy to fail at lesser stress level when subjected to repeate
d loading.
Impact strength: The impact strength of a material is t
he quantity of work required to cause its failure per its
unit volume. It thus indicates the toughness of a materi
al.

Steel material properties

It is result from both its chemical composition a
nd its method of manufacture.
The properties that need to be considered by d
esigners for structural building
Strength
Toughness
Ductility
Weld-ability
Durability.

Continue.
Toughness: It is the property of a material which enabl
es it to be twisted, bent or stretched under a high stress
before rupture.
Thermal Conductivity: It is the property of a material
which allows conduction of heat through its body. It is d
efined as the amount of heat in kilocalories that will flo
w through unit area of the material with unit thickness i
n unit time when difference of temperature on its faces
is also unity.
Corrosion Resistance: It is the property of a material t
o withstand the action of acids, alkalis gases etc., which
tend to corrode (or oxidize).

CONCRETE

Concrete
Portland cement concrete is a composite material made b
y combining cement, supplementary cementing materials,
aggregates, water, and chemical admixtures in suitable pr
oportions and allowing the resulting mixture to set and h
arden over time.
Advantage of concrete is that when it is fresh it is a plasti
c mass which can be poured into moulds called forms and
set on standing into hard solid mass.

Concrete
Because hardened concrete is a relatively brittle material
with a low tensile strength, steel reinforcing bars and so
metimes discontinuous fibers are used in structural concr
ete
to provide some tensile load-bearing capacity and to incr
ease the toughness of the material.

CONCRETE MATERIALS

Concrete Materials
Constituent materials of concrete:
Portland cement
Sand Fine Aggregate
Coarse Aggregate
Water

Portland Cement
Produced by heating limestone (calcium carbonate) with
small quantities of other materials (such as clay) to 1450
C in a kiln, in a process known as calcination, whereby a
molecule of carbon dioxide is liberated from the calcium
carbonate to form calcium oxide, or quicklime, which is t
hen blended with the other materials that have been incl
uded in the mix. The resulting hard substance, called 'cli
nker', is then ground with a small amount of gypsum (Ca
SO 4.2H 2O) into a powder to make 'Ordinary Portland Cem
ent.
When mixed with water a chemical reaction (hydration) o
ccurs producing a hardened paste after about 45 minutes
(initial setting time).
Final setting about 10 hours after mixing.
Compound gains further strength until about 28 days.

Cement Manufacturing Process

Cement Types
Ordinary Portland Cement OPC a basic cement used f
or general concrete.
Rapid Hardening Portland Cement a finer cement used
to give high early strength.
Low heat Portland Cement used for massive concrete p
ours such as dams to reduce the heat of hydration genera
ted during the chemical reaction.
Sulphate resisting Portland Cement less affected by aci
d waters and other injurious salts.
Coloured, blast furnace, pozzolanic, masonry, waterproof,
hydrophobic, high alumina and oil well cements

Main Components of Ordinary Portl

and Cement

Hydration of Portland Cement

The hydration reactions that take place between finely gr
ound Portland cement and water are highly complex, bec
ause the individual cement grains vary in size and compo
sition.
In the presence of water, silicates and aluminates form pr
oducts of hydration which, over time, produce a firm and
hard mass.

Hydration of Portland Cement

The basic characteristics of the hydration of Portland cem
ent may be described as follows:
As long as the individual cement grains remain separate
d from each other by water, the cement paste remains f
luid.
The products of the hydration reactions occupy a greate
r volume than that occupied by the original cement grai
ns.
As the hydration products begin to intergrow, setting oc
curs.
As the hydration reactions continue, additional bonds a
re formed between the cement grains, leading to streng
thening of the system.

Aggregates
Occupy about 75% of the volume of concrete and are ob
tained either from naturally occurring deposits of sands
and gravels or are produced by crushing quarried rock.
Fine Aggregate (Less than 4.75mm in size) Sand.
Coarse Aggregate Generally crushed from rocks of gr
anite, basalt and the harder types of limestone and sa
ndstone.

Water

Although water itself is often not considered when dealing

with materials that go into the production of concrete, it is
an important ingredient. Typically, 150 to 200 kg/m 3 of wat
er is used.
The old rule of thumb for water quality is If you can drink
it, you can use it in concrete, although good-quality concr
ete can be made with water that is not really potable. Inde
ed, more bad concrete is made by using too much drinkabl
e water than by using the right amount of undrinkable wat
er.
When in question, the suitability of the water is determine
d by comparing the strength of concrete made with the sus
pect water to the strength of concrete made with a known
acceptable water.

PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE

Strength
Strength is the most valuable property of concrete.
Compressive strength Very high This is the advant
age of concrete. Typical values range from 20 50 N/
mm 2
Tensile strength Very low and usually neglected in s
tructural designs.

Design Stress Strain Curve for

Concrete BS8110

32

Design Stress Strain Curve for

Reinforcement BS8110

Compressive Strength
Compressive Strength - is defined as the measured ma
ximum resistance of a concrete specimen to an axial lo
ad at an age of 28-days.

Compressive Strength
High compressive strength is the most valuable proper
ty. Strength primarily depends on two factors.
Water / cement ratio
Degree of compaction

Workability of Concrete
Workability describes the degree of stiffness (ease of pl
acing, consolidating, and finishing freshly mixed concret
e) of the mix and can be directly altered by changing the
water / cement ratio. The shape, size and texture of the
aggregates also have some effect. For example sea-dred
ged rounded stones generally produce more workable
mixes than crushed angular material.
Workability of concrete can be increased without adding
more water by using admixtures.

Workability of Concrete
Tests for workability
Slump Test
Compacting Factor Test
Vebe Test

Slump Test
A conical mould is filled in t
hree equal layers and comp
acted twenty five times per l
ayer. The top surface is leve
led flush with the top edge
of the mould and the mould
is slowly removed. On the re
moval of the cone, the differ
ence in height between the
uppermost part of the slum
ped concrete and the uptur
ned cone is recorded in mm
as the slump.

Slump Test

Segregation
Segregation separation of the constituents of a heter
ogeneous mixture so that their distribution is no longe
r uniform.
Higher viscosity of fresh cement paste component pre
vents the downward movement of the heavier aggrega
te particles Mixes with low water/cement ratios are
less prone to segregation

Segregation
There are two forms of segregation separation.
1. Coarser particles tend to separate out because they t
end to travel further along a slope or to settle more
than finer particles.
2. Separation of grout from the mix in wet mixes.
To avoid segregation, transfer concrete directly from the
skip to the final position do not allow to travel or dro
p.
Over vibration facilitates segregation.

Conditions Favourable for Segregati

on

Badly proportioned mix where sufficient matri

x is not there to bind and contain the aggrega
tes.
Insufficiently mixed concrete with excess wat
er content.
Dropping of concrete from heights as in the c
ase of placing concrete in column concreting.
When concrete is discharged from a badly des
igned mixer, or from a mixer with worn out bl
ades.
Conveyance of concrete by conveyor belts, wh
eel barrow, long distance haul by dumper, lon

Bleeding
Bleeding is the development of a layer of water at the to
p of freshly placed concrete that is caused by settlemen
t of solid particles of cement and aggregate and the sim
ultaneous upward migration of water.
As water moves up water/cement ratio in the lower part
of the element is reduced. This results in a higher water
/cement ratio in the upper part resulting in reduced stre
ngth.

Bleeding

Permeability

Concretes durability, corrosion resistance, and resistance

to chemical attack are directly related to permeability. If a
substance cannot enter concrete, it cannot damage it. Con
crete permeability is a function of the permeability of the
paste and aggregate. Decreased permeability improves con
cretes resistance to saturation, sulfate attack, chemical att
ack and chloride penetration. Paste permeability
has the greatest influence on concrete permeability. Paste
permeability is directly related to the water/
cement ratio and the degree of hydration or length of mois
t-curing. A low water/cement ratio and an
adequate moist curing period result in concrete with low p
ermeability.

Abrasion Resistance
Structures such as pavements and bridge decks are subje
cted to constant abrasion; therefore, concrete in these ap
plications must have a high degree of abrasion resistanc
e. Abrasion resistance is directly related to the compressi
ve strength of the concrete. The type of aggregate and sur
face finish also have a strong influence on abrasion resist
ance. A hard aggregate, such as a granite, provides more
abrasion resistance than a soft limestone aggregate.

Deformation and Creep

Concrete deforms a small amount at initial loading. When
concrete is loaded, the deformation caused
by the load can be divided into two parts: a deformation t
hat occurs immediately, such as elastic strain, and a timedependent deformation that begins immediately but conti
nues at a decreasing rate for as long as the concrete is lo
aded. This latter is called creep. The amount of creep is d
ependent on the magnitude of the stress, the age and str
ength of the concrete when the stress is applied, and the l
ength of time the concrete is stressed.