Properties of Reinforced Concrete in Civil Engineering
Concrete properties comprise of three elementary constituents like water, aggregate (rocks and sand), and portland cement. Normally, cement remains in powder form and performs as a binding agent if blended with water and aggregates.
This amalgamation or mixture, when poured, gets solidified into this long-lasting material known as concrete.
The following are the major constituents of concrete :-
Portland Cement
The cement and water develop a paste that creates a coating to the aggregates and sand in the mix. The paste gets solidified and combines the aggregates and sand jointly.
Water
The purpose of the water is to produce a chemical reaction with the cement (hydration) for developing heat to begin the drying and solidification process. Water is also employed to make concrete workable.
The amount of water provided in the mix in pounds in comparison to the amount of cement is known as the water/cement ratio. As the w/c ratio is reduced, the strength of the concrete is increased.
Aggregates
Sand stands for the fine aggregate and crushed stone and gravel for the coarse aggregate. The strength of the concrete is mainly dependent on these two materials.
Also read : GEOPOLYMER CONCRETE - USES AND BENEFITS
The following properties should be included in a good concrete :-
- An executable mix that can be easily arranged and compacted.
- The quality concrete becomes superior with the probable lowest water-cement ratio as well as employing the correct size coarse aggregate practical for the job and retaining the optimal ratio of fine to coarse aggregate.
- For solidified concrete, there should resistance capacity to freezing and thawing, deforsting chemicals, wear resistance, strength, and low penetration (water tightness).
These are the fundamentals of concrete properties to form a concrete mix. Different types of other admixtures are also added to make the workability, stability, and set times.
