1.2.
1 Plastic concrete
Freshly mixed concrete should be plastic or semifluid and generally capable of being molded by hand. A very
wet concrete mixture can be molded in the sense that it can be casted in a moulds but this is not within the
definition of “plastic” – that which is pliable and capable of being molded or shaped like a lump of modeling
clay.
In a plastic concrete mixture all grains of sand and pieces of gravel or stone are encased and held in
suspension. The ingredients are not apt to segregation during transport; and when the concrete hardens, it
becomes a homogeneous of all the components. During placing concrete of plastic consistency does not
crumble but flows sluggishly without segregation.
In construction practice, thin concrete members and heavily reinforced concrete members require workable,
but never soupy, mixes for ease of placement. A plastic mixture is required for strength and for maintaining
homogeneity during handling and placement. While a plastic mixture is suitable for most concrete work,
plasticizing admixtures may be used to make concrete more flowable in thin or heavily reinforced concrete
members or in concrete placement by pumping concrete at high altitudes or at long distances.
1.3 Ingredients of Concrete
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world, used as the basic
ingredient of concrete. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in early 19 th century and
usually originates from limestone.
Aggregates are inert (not always) granular materials such as sand, gravel, crushed stone that, along with water
and Portland cement, are essential ingredients of concrete. Aggregates comprise 60 to 80 percent of the total
volume of concrete. The type and size of aggregate used depends on the thickness and purpose of the final
concrete product.
Almost any natural water that is drinkable and has no pronounced taste or odor may be used as mixing water
for concrete. Excessive impurities in mixing water not only may affect setting time and concrete strength, but
can also cause efflorescence, staining, corrosion of reinforcement, volume instability, and reduced durability.
Concrete mixture specifications usually set limits on chlorides, sulfates, alkalis, and solids in mixing water
unless tests can be performed to determine the effect the impurity has on the final concrete.
For any particular set of materials and conditions of curing, the quality of hardened concrete is strongly
influenced by the amount of water used in relation to the amount of cement. Unnecessarily high water
content dilutes the cement paste (the glue of concrete). Following are some advantages of reducing water
content:
Increased compressive and flexural strength,
Lower permeability, thus lower absorption and increased watertightness,
Increased resistance to weathering,
Better bond between concrete and reinforcement,
Reduced drying shrinkage and cracking,
Less volume changes from wetting and drying.
1
Fig.1.1 Ten cement-paste cylinders with water-cement ratios from 0.25 to 0.70 (PCA)
The band in Fig 1.1 indicates that each cylinder contains the same amount of cement. Increase water dilutes
the effect of the cement paste, increasing volume, reducing density, and lower strength.
The freshly mixed (plastic) and hardened properties of concrete may be changed by adding chemical
admixtures to the concrete, usually in liquid form, during batching. Chemical admixtures are commonly used
to:
Adjust setting time or hardening,
Reduce water demand,
Increased workability,
Adjust other fresh or hardened concrete properties like corrosion, shrinkages, color, damp proof etc.,
Intentionally entrain air in case of freezing and thawing which is not applicable for Bangladesh.
After completion of proper proportioning, batching, mixing, placing, consolidating, finishing, and curing,
concrete hardens into a strong, noncombustible, durable, abrasion-resistant and water–tight building material
that requires little or no maintenance. Furthermore, concrete is an excellent building material because it can
be formed into a wide variety of shapes, color, and texture for use in an unlimited number of applications.
