Known to be the most used engineering materials of today’s times, concrete finds its use in residential, commercial as well as industrial construction projects. Many of us, who are not related to engineering construction in any way aren’t aware of the fact that concrete and cement are two different entities and have distinct properties of their own. Concrete comes in a liquid state. Just like water occupies the shape of the container in which it is kept, concrete also needs forms made from metal, wood or other material to stay in shape. Concrete can be poured in enclosed spaces to create the desirable shape after consolidating it. Here is a sneak peak into the use of concrete at Basic and advanced level of engineering.
BASIC CONCEPTS
Concrete is used in construction projects and it being in a liquid form needs to be poured in an enclosed space and consolidated in order to keep it in the desired shape. Shuttering, also known as form-work has to be provided and professional erectors need to be deployed to carry out the work properly considering all the safety guidelines.
FORMWORK
Timber formwork for concrete – The form-work that is primarily used is timber shuttering type. Care needs to be taken that the form-work is strong enough to resist the load of wet concrete and vibrators and prevent leaking also while curing and using vibrating equipment’s.
Roadform for Concrete – This is a permanent type of formwork and is preferred over the timber formwork due to its capacity to bear variable load, permanent arrangement, its strength and above all cost effectiveness. The roadform is made from channel shaped steel sections, brackets for binding and arrangement for linking adjacent sections.
CURING
The process of drying and hardening of concrete is called curing. Curing is an important process as it prevents the concrete from drying rapidly. This way the concrete gains 75 to 95 % more strength as compared to uncured concrete. Also, if the concrete is allowed to dry rapidly there are high chances of it getting cracks and not being able to withstand the structural loads that are applied to it. The main objective of curing is to maintain adequate quantity of water in the mix for a particular period of time. This not only helps in maintaining the temperature but also helps in retaining the mechanical and chemical properties of it.
ADVANCED CONCEPTS
Advanced building concepts includes residential projects that are build on slab foundations. The slabs are not just on the perimeter of the house but cover the complete base of the house. Expansion joints come in use here. Another alternative is using precast method so as to achieve greater strength as well as insulation.
Ways to strengthen concrete – Concrete by itself is strong but in order for it to be able to resist external loads and pressures, both natural and man-made, it has to be strengthened further. Concrete is reinforced with different types of materials to make it stronger. The reinforced concrete types include fibre reinforced concrete, glass reinforced concrete, steel reinforced concrete, just to name a few.
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