CONCRETE

 Is the universal material of construction

 Raw ingredients are readily available in every part of the world
 Does not rot or burn; relatively low in cost; and it can be used for every building purpose
 Has no form of its own and has no useful tensile strength
 Must be combined skillfully with steel to bring out the best characteristics of each material and to
mold and shape it to forms appropriate to its qualities
 History
­ The ancient Romans, while quarrying limestone for mortar, accidentally discovered a
silica- and alumina-bearing mineral on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius that, when mixed
with limestone and burned, produced a cement that exhibited a unique property: When
mixed with water and sand, it produced a mortar that could harden underwater as well as
in the air.
­ In fact, it was stronger when it hardened underwater
­ The mortar was also harder, stronger, and cured much more quickly than the ordinary lime
to which they were accustomed
­ It became the preferred mortar for use
­ This mortar contained all the essential ingredients for modern Portland cement and that
the Romans were the inventors of concrete construction
­ Knowledge of concrete construction was lost with the fall of the Roman Empire
­ Joseph Aspdin
o In 1824, he patented an artificial cement that he named Portland Cement, after
English Portland limestone, whose durability as a building stone was legendary
­ Joseph Monier,
o a gardener, obtained a patent for reinforced concrete flower pots in 1867 and went
on to build concrete water tanks and bridges of the new materials.
 Cement & Concrete
­ Concrete
o Is a rocklike materials produced by mixing coarse and fine aggregates, Portland
cement, and water and allowing the mixture to harden
o Coarse aggregate
• Normally gravel or crushed stone
o Fine aggregate
• Sand
o Cement
• Fine gray powder

 Cement
­ Portland Cement
o May be manufactured from any of a number of raw materials
• Lime is commonly furnished by limestone, marble, marl, or seashells.
• Iron, silical, and alumina may be provided by clay or shale
• Clinker
∙ Ingredients are crushed, ground, proportioned, and blended and are
conducted through a long rotating kiln at temperatures 1400 -1650
Celsius
∙ Clinker is pulverized to a powder finer than flour
∙ Small amount of gypsum is added to act as retardant during the
eventual concrete curing process.