A131CPM: Concrete Properties, Testing & Installation in Construction

This report provides a detailed analysis of concrete as a building material, covering its manufacturing processes, on-site installation, and testing methods to verify quality and conformance with relevant codes like BCA structural safety and SCDF fire safety. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages ...Read More

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 Introduction
 Concrete refers to a hardened material usually created by combining a chemically inert
aggregate ,a binder usually synthetic or natural cement, water and chemical additives.
 Due to its strength concrete is ideal for constructing bridges, roads, sewage systems,
waterways, airports, factories, railroad, mass transit systems, buildings among other structures.
 The raw materials that are used for the manufacture of concrete include; Portland cement,
aggregates, admixtures ,water and other chemical components

The manufacturing process of concrete
 the process of manufacturing concrete involves.
 Preparation of Portland cement
 Addition of other aggregates such as sand or broken stones
 Addition of admixtures and water
 Mixing them together to produce concrete.

 The manufacturing process of concrete
cont..

 Onsite installation of concrete
 The onsite installation of concrete involves
 placing,
 compacting
 curing
 The placing must be done so that the segregation of various ingredients is avoided.
 compaction which is aimed at removing all the air bubbles
 Curing is to ensure that once the concrete has been placed does not dry quickly in order to achieve the desired
strength and other qualities.

 Tests on the fresh concrete
 To carry out the tests on fresh concrete is to establish some essential properties to ensure proper
application of the concrete on site, such as workability, consistency, density and air content of the
fresh concrete.
 The tests which are carried out on the fresh concrete ensure proper fluidity without the separation of
the various constituents’ materials and to establish parameters which are premonitory on the quality
of the same after hardening concrete

 Tests on the hardened concrete
 The tests which are carried out on the hardened
concrete are aimed at the behavior the concrete
will have on the service condition
 Both the physical and mechanical tests are
aimed at determining the structural
characteristics of the materials that are used and
at the same time to analyze the structural
behavior of the concrete

 Test of durability
 The durability testing usually establish the
characteristics of the materials and
structures.
 Durability determines the characteristics of
the material and the structure which might
cause malfunctioning in long term.

 Advantages of use of concrete
 Concrete can be manufactured with varied strength or other qualities depending on the use.
 Concrete has a very high durability
 With the use of solid work, the concrete can be cast into any shape.
 The casting of concrete can be done in the working place which makes it very economical
 Concrete has very low maintenance costs. Concrete has ability to withstand high temperatures

 Disadvantages of use of concrete
 Concrete is usually less ductile
 The weight of concrete is very high compared to its strength.
 The constituents of concrete can contain soluble salts which may cause efflorescence
 Compared to other construction materials, the tensile strength of concrete is very low.