BASIC CIVIL OR QUALITY

ENGINEER NOTES

By,
Sr. Quality Engineer (QA/QC)

Nagnath Garad
BUILDING MATERIALS

 STONES

 BRICKS

 CEMENT

 CONCRETE

 STEEL
STONES
 Stone is a naturally available material of construction and is
obtained from rocks.

Classification of Rocks
Rocks are classified in following three ways
1. Geological Classification
2. Physical Classification
3. Chemical Classification
Geological Classification

Based on the mode of formation,

the rocks are classified as:

i. Igneous Rocks:
 These rocks are formed by the cooling of molten rocky
material called magma which is inside the earth's surface.
eg. Granite.
 If the magma cools at a relatively shallow depth from
earth's surface then it is called Hyperbyssal rocks.
eg. Dolerite.
 Geological Classification
 If the magma cools at earth's surface
 then it is called volcanic rocks.
eg. Basalt.

ii. Sedimentary Rocks:

 Sedimentary rocks are formed by the deposition of products of
weathering on the pre-existing rock.
 All the products of weathering are u1timately carried away
from their place of origin by the agents of wind, rain, frost, etc.
eg. Sandstone, Limestone, Gypsum, Gravel etc
 Geological Classification

iii. Metamorphic Rocks: When the pre-existing rocks (i.e.

Igneous and Sedimentary rocks) are subject to great heat and
pressure, they are changed in character and forms
metamorphic rocks.
eg. Slate, Marble, Gneisses
 Physical Classification
 Stratified Rocks: These rocks possess
planes of stratification and such rocks can easily be
split up along these planes.
eg. Sedimentary Rocks.
 Unstratified Rocks: These rocks do not exhibit any definite
layers or strata.
eg. Igneous rocks.

 Foliated Rocks:These rocks have a

tendency to be split up in a definite direction only.
eg. Metamorphic Rocks.
Chemical Classification
 Silicious Rocks: In these rocks, Silica is the main
constituent.
eg. Granite, Quartzites etc

 Argillaceous Rocks: In these rocks, clay or argil is the main

constituent.
eg. Slates, Laterites etc.

 iii) Calcareous Rocks: In these rocks, Calcium Carbonate is

the main constituent
eg. Lime stones, Marbles etc.
Tests for Stones
The following are the tests conducted on stones to decide
construction work

1. Impact test
2. Crushing strength test
3. Attrition test
4. Hardness Test
5. Water absorption test
6. Freezing and thawing test
7. Microscopic test
8. Smith's test
 Impact test:
In this test, a cylinder of diameter 25 mm and height 25 mm is
taken out from the sample of stone.
A steel hammer of wt 2 Kg is allowed to fall axially on the
cylinder from 1cm height for first blow, 2 cm height for
second blow etc.
Blow at which the specimen breaks is noted.
If it is nth blow, n represents the toughness index of stone.
Crushing Strength test:
 In this test, a cube of stone is tested in a compression testing
machine.
 The rate of loading is 4.0 N / mm2 per minute.
 The maximum load at which the stone crushes is noted.
 Crushing Strength of the stone =
Max load / Area of bearing face of the stone
 Attrition test:
 In this test, some known weight of stone pieces are taken and
put in the Deval's attrition test cylinder.
 The cylinder is rotated about its horizontal axis for 5 hrs at the
rate of 30 RPM. Then the contents in the cylinder are sieved
by 1.5 mm sieve.
Hardness Test:
 In this test, a cylinder of stone diameter 25 mm and height 25
mm is placed in Dorry’s testing machine and pressed with a
pressure of 12.5 N.
 The annular steel disc of the machine is rotated at a speed of
28 RPM.
 During rotation coarse sand of standard specification is
sprinkled on the top of disc.
 After 1000 revolutions, the specimen is taken out and
weighed
.

-
Water absorption test:
 In this test, a stone of known weight is immersed in water for
24 hrs.
 Then it is weighed again after 24 hrs and the percentage
absorption of water should not exceed 0.6
Freezing and thawing test:
 In this test specimen of stone is placed in freezing mixture
at12°c for 24 hours and it is then warmed at atmospheric
temperature. The procedure is repeated for several times and
the behavior of stone is noted.
Microscopic test:
 In this test, thin sections of stone are taken and they are examined
in a microscope to study various properties like grain size,
mineral constituents etc.
Smith’s test:
 In this test, clear water is taken in a test and pieces of stones are
placed in it.
 The tube is vigorously stirred.
If the water becomes dirty it indicates the stone contains earthy
matter.
 Qualities of Good Building Stone
A good building stone should have the following qualities:

 The crushing strength of stone should be greater than 100

N/mm2.

 Stones must be decent in appearance and be of uniform colour.

 Stones must be durable.

 Fracture should be sharp and clear.

 For a good building stone, co-efficient of hardness should not

be below 14.
 It must have a wear less than 3 percent.

 It must have a SG of greater than 2.7.

 It must have a compact, fine, crystalline structure, strong and

durable.

 The toughness index must not be less than 13.

 It must be acid resistant and free form any soluble matter.

 When a stone is immersed in water for 24 hrs, the percentage

absorption by weight should not exceed 0.6
Uses of Stones
 Stones are used as basic material for concrete, moorum of
roads, calcareous cements etc.

 Stones are adopted to form paving of roads and foot paths.

 Stones are converted to form basic materials for concrete,

moorum of roads, artificial stones, hollow blocks, etc.

 Stones are also used as ballast for railway track.

 Stone blocks are used in the construction of bridges, abutments

retaining wall, dams etc.
Use of stones

Paving road
Railway track Ballast
Retaining walls
Dams construction
 BRICKS
 Bricks are artificial blocks manufactured from
tempered clay into standard sizes.
 Bricks are manufactured from Earth containing
 alumina (20 to 30%)
 Silica (50 to 60%),
 Iron Oxide (5 to 6%) and small quantities of
lime and magnesia.
 Manufacture of Bricks
Manufacture of bricks involves the following operations

1. Preparation of brick earth

2. Moulding
3. Drying
4. Burnings
Preparation of Brick Earth
This includes the following operations:

 Removal of loose soil: The top layer of loose soil should be

removed for a depth of 20 cm. It should not be used for
preparation of bricks as it contains lot of impurities.

 Digging, spreading and cleaning: The earth removed from

below 20 cm is spread on a level ground. All undesirable
materials like grass, roots, gravel etc are removed.
 Preparation of Brick Earth
 Weathering: The spread earth is left as such for a few weeks
to allow the clay to mellow
 Blending: This consists of mixing the clay with suitable
ingredients by turning up and down many times
 Tempering: This is done to make the whole mass of clay,
homogenous and plastic.
This is done by trampling under feet by men or cattle in a Pug
mill when bricks are required on large scale.
Moulding
 The pugged brick earth is then moulded into shape in moulds.
 Moulding can be done on the ground or on top of a table,
either by hand or machine.
Drying
 Bricks are dried for a period of 7 to 14 days. During drying
this must be protected from wind, rain and direct sun.
 Burning

 After drying the bricks area burned in kilns of clamps to make

them harder, stronger, denser, less absorbent and more durable
Burning in Clamps:
 A clamp is an arrangement where the bricks and fuel are
arranged in alternate layers.
 A floor is prepared and the fuel is first spread at slope of 15°.
The fuel consists of wooden piece, cow dung, straw, waste
paper etc., On top of this layer the raw bricks are placed.
 Then another layer, of 75cm. thick fuel is spread. Thus
alternate layer of brick and fuel are arranged to a height of 3 to
4 cm.

 Then entire clamp is plastered on all the sides and top and
filled with earth cover to conserve the heat.

 The bricks are burnt for a period of one or two months and
then cooled for the same period.
Burning in Kilns:
 When large number of bricks have to be burnt Kilns are
adopted.
 Kilns are of two types
 Intermittent Kilns and
 Continuous Kilns
 In intermittent Kilns the loading firing cooling and unloading
are done one after the other and not simultaneously
 whereas in continuous these operations are carried out without
any interruptions.
 Merits and demerits of Clamp and Kiln
burning of Bricks
Clamp Burning:

1. It is a temporary structure

2. Initial cost is low

3. Amount of fuel used is low and hence economical

4. Continuous supervision is not necessary

5. Quality of bricks is poor. Only 60% is of First Class variety.

6. Firing cannot be regulated

7. It takes a long time for burning and cooling the bricks (3 to 6

months).

8. There is large amount of wastage of heat from the hot gases.

Kiln Burning:

1. It is a permanent structure

2. Initial cost is higher

3. Fuel cost is higher

4. Constant supervision is necessary

5. Quality of bricks turned out is good. 90% first class bricks

6. Time of firing is only 24 hours and cooling is 12 days.

7. It is yielding about 25,000 bricks per clay

8. Heat of hot gases is utilized in heating bricks to be burnt.

Size and Weight of Bricks

 The Indian Standards Institution, New Delhi has specified,

standard bricks of 19cm x 9cm x 9cm with 1cm thick mortar
joints.

 This standard brick weight is 3kg.

 Classification of Bricks
1. First class bricks: Table moulded edges are clear, square
straight. Used for superior works.
2. Second class bricks: Ground moulded burnt in kilns surface
not smooth and edges not regular used where the bricks work
will be plastered.
3. Third c1ass bricks: Ground moulded not hard rough surface
and edges are also not sharp and regular. Used for unimportant
and temporary constructions.
4. Fourth class bricks: These are over burnt bricks dark in
colour and irregular. Used as aggregates for concrete
foundations, floors, roads etc.
Characteristics of Good Bricks
 A good brick should satisfy the following essential qualities

 The bricks should have even surfaces free from flaw or cracks
and should have sharp well defined edges.

 These should be so hard that no impression should be left

when scratched with finger nails.

 These should produce clear ringing sound when struck against

each other.

 No brick should absorb more than 15% of its weight of water.

Characteristics of Good Bricks
 No brick should have a crushing strength less than 3.5 N/mm2.

 On breaking the surface it should show a bright homogeneous and

compact surface free from voids

 A brick soaked in water should not show any deposit of white salts
on drying in shade.

 When dropped flat from a height of 1m ,the brick should not break.

 Bricks should not conduct most heat and they should be sound
proof.
Testing of Bricks
1. Crushing strength test: Minimum crushing strength of
bricks is 3.5 N/mm2and for superior bricks; it may vary
from
7.0 to 14.0 N/mm2

2. Soundness test: In this test, two bricks are taken and they
are struck with each other. Bricks should not break and a
clear ringing sound should be produced.

3.Hardness test: In this test, a scratch is made on brick surface

with the help of a finger nail. If no impression is left on the
surface then the brick is treated to be sufficiently hard.
 Testing of Bricks
4. Test for presence of soluble salts
 For finding out the presence of soluble salts in a brick, it is
immersed in water for 24 hours.
 It is then taken out and allowed to dry in shade.
 Absence of grey or white deposits cover about 10 percent
surface, the efflorescence is said to be slight and it is
considered as moderate, when the white deposits cover about
50 percent of surface, the efflorescence becomes heavy and it
is treated as serious, when such deposits are converted into
powdery mass.
4.Absorption test : It should not, in any case, exceed 20 percent
of weight of dry brick.
CEMENT
 It is the product which is obtained by burning and
crushing to powder a well proportioned mixture of
calcareous and argillaceous materials.
 It was introduced in 1824 by Joseph Asp Din a
brick layer of Leeds, England.
 After hardening it resembles in colour to the stone
quarried near Portland in England, so it is named
after that as Portland cement.
 It is available in different varieties and the selection
of variety depends upon the condition, strength and
the type of structure.
Raw materials required for
manufacture of cement are

 Calcareous Materials: Calcareous materials are

those materials which contain calcium or lime as
their main constituents such as lime stone, chalk
etc.

 Argillaceous Materials: Argillaceous materials are

those materials which contain alumina as their main
constituents such as shale, laterite etc. It provides
the required proportion of silica, clay, oxide of iron
to the cement.
Proportion of mixing
 The ingredients are generally mixed in the ratio of two parts of
Calcareous materials and one part argillaceous material.

 Limestone and shale are first crushed and then they are mixed either
in wet state or in dry state by grounding them together.

 The mixture is then burnt in a rotary kiln at a temperature between

1400°C and l500°C.

 Pulverized coal, gas or oil being used as the fuel.

 The clinker so obtained is first cooled and then gypsum (3 to 4%) is

added and it is grounded to the required fineness.
Main chemical Ingredients of Cement
(Raw Stage)
Sl. No. Ingredient Composition Percentage

1 Lime CaO 60 to 67
2 Silica Sio2 17 to 25
3 Iron Oxide Fe2O3 0.5 to 6
4 Alumina Al2O3 3 to 8
5 Gypsum or CaSO4 3 to 4
Calcium Sulphate
6 Magenisum Oxide MgO 0.1 to 4
7 Sulphur Trioxide SO3 1 to 3
8 Alkalies such as NaOK2O 0.1 to 1
soda
Functions and Effects of Various Ingredients

 Lime: It makes the cement sound and provides

strength to the cement. Excess of it in original form
causes the cement to expand and disintegrate.

 Silica: It provides strength to the cement. In excess

it slows down the setting of cement.

 Alumina: It provides quick setting property to the

cement. In excess it weakens the strength of
cement.
 Calcium Sulphate (Gypsum): It helps in increasing the initial
setting time of cement.

 Iron Oxide: It provides colour, hardness and strength to the

cement.

 Magnesium Oxide: It provides colour and hardness to the

cement. Excess of it in free state makes the cement unsound.

 Sulphur Trioxide: In small quantity it makes the cement

sound and in excess it makes the cement unsound.

 Alkalies: In excess it causes efflorescence.

Final compounds of Cement

Sl. No. Compound Formula Abbreviation Range

1 Dicalcium 2(CaO)SiO2 C2S 21 to 45%
silicate
2 Tricalcium 3(CaO)SiO2 C3S 25 to 50%
silicate
3 Tricalcium 3(CaO)Al2O3 C3A 5 to 11%
Aluminate
4 Tetra Calcium 4(CaO)Al2O3 C4AF 9 to 14%
Aluminum Fe2O3
Ferrite
5 Other - - 8%
Constituents
and Gypsum
Final compounds of Cement
 C2S
▶ It hydrates slowly.
▶ It hardens more slowly
▶ It provides ultimate strength to the cement.
▶ It has more resistance to chemica1 attack.
 C3S
▶ It hydrates more rapidly.
▶ It develops early strength.
▶ It generates heat more rapidly and has less resistance to
chemical attack.
Final compounds of Cement

 C3A
▶ It is fast reacting with large amount of heat
generation.
▶ It causes initial setting of cement.
▶ It is weak against sulphate attack.
 C4AF
▶ It is comparatively inactive.
▶ It has poor cementing value.
▶ It is slow in reaction with small heat generation.
 Properties of Cement
1. Fineness:
 It is the degree of grinding of cement.
 The rate of reaction depends upon the fineness of grinding .
 For accurate measurement it is measured by surface area, air
permeability method and the unit is cm2/gram of cement.
2. Setting Time:
 Setting of cement is the phenomenon by virtue of which the
green cement changes into hard mass.
 Initial setting is a stage in the process of hardening after which
any crack that may appear will not reunite and the completion of
this process is, known as final setting time.
 The time between water is added in cement and initial setting
takes place is known as Initial Setting Time.
 Cement should not loose its plasticity till the various
operations of mixing, transporting and placing are complete.
Hence this time is generally kept not less than 30 minutes.

3. Strength:
 The quality of concrete and cement is always judged by
strength and that is only by compressive strength because
cement is weak in tension and for it steel reinforcement is
always provided.
 For this purpose cement and standard sand are mixed in the
ratio of 1:3
3. Soundness:
 Free lime and magnesia present in cement makes the cement
unsound by increasing the volume after setting.
 It is generally measured by Le-Chatelier method or by
Autoclave method.
4. Heat of Hydration:
 Setting of cement is due to chemical reactions between
cement and water and this process is known as Hydration.
 As, this reaction is exothermal process, so sufficient heat is
generated and this process continues for an indefinite period at
a diminishing rate.
 It is always measured in calories/gram unit.
Different Types of Cement

1. Ordinary Portland cement.

2. Rapid Hardening Portland cement
3. Low Heat Portland cement
4. Portland Blast Furnace slag cement
5. Portland Sulphate resistant cement
6. Air entraining portland cement
7. White and coloured cement
8. High Alumina cement
9. Pozzoana cement
10. Oil well cement
11. Quick setting cement
1. Ordinary Portland Cement:
 It is also known as Normal setting cement.
 It is used in Road pavements, buildings, culverts, water pipes
etc.
 Out of the total consumption of different types of cement
90% of this type is used.

2. Rapid Hardening Cement:

 It contains less quantity of C2S and more quantity of C3S.
 It is generally used where high early strength is required.
 It is used by concrete product manufactures, highway
pavements which are to be opened early for road traffic and in
cold weather concreting due to its high heat of hydration
development.
3. Low Heat Portland Cement:
 This cement is so called because it develops low heat at the time
of hydration.
 It contains C3A and; C3S in less quantity because they develop
early heat.
 It develops strength quite late and It is generally used in
massive concrete structures such as dams, bridge, abutments,
retaining walls etc.
4. Blast Furnace Slag Cement:
 Percentage of slag varies from 25 to 65%.
 It is cheaper as compared to ordinary cement because waste
product is used in it.
 It can also be used in massive concrete such as dams, bridges
etc.
5. Sulphate Resistant Portland Cement:

 It contains very low percentage of C3A and C4AF.

 It is used in canal lining, construction of pipe lines and
culverts etc.
6. Air Entraining Portland Cement:
 It is ordinary Portland cement mixed with small quantities or
air entertaining materials during grinding.
 The diameter of air bubbles varies from 0.075 mm and 1.25
mm. On account of air bubbles the strength of cement is
reduced.
 Air bubbles are permitted only up to 3 to 4 percentage, as
these reduce 10 to 15% strength of cement.
 This cement is more plastic and workable causing less
segregation and bleeding in concrete.
 It also reduces the water requirement and has high resistance
to weather.
7. White and Coloured Cement:

 In it white chalk and china clay are used instead of lime stone
and clay as these are having low percentage of Iron Oxide
i.e.1 %.

 Oil is used as fuel to avoid contamination o£ coal ash. It is 3

to 4 times costlier than ordinary cement.

 It is used for decorative floorings.

 For coloured cement suitable pigments varying from 5 to 10%

free from soluble salts are added during grinding.
8. High Alumina Cement:
 It contains 35% to 45% of aluminates Bauxite and chalk or
lime stone are mixed dry and heated till they melt and on
cooling they form clinkers.
 It is dark in colour and initial setting time varies from 3 to 6
hrs and final setting takes place with in 2 hours of the Initial
set.
 It gives high heat of hydration and, is also costlier than
ordinary Portland cement.
 It is used in structures subjected to the action of sea water,
chemical and sulphate bearing water. It
9. Pozzolana Cement:

 Pozzolana is a naturally occurring material

such as volcanic ash or Pumice stone or an
artificial product such as burnt clay or shale
containing siliceous and aluminous mineral
substances.
 As per BIS 1489-1967, the proportion of
pozzolana material varies from 10 to 25% by
weight of cement.
 It increases the workability, reduces heat of
hydration, and increases the water tightness.
 It also offers greater resistance against
10. Oil Well Cement:
 As the name indicates, it is used for cementing; oil wells.
 It is used at greeter depth under high temperature and pressure.
 Iron Oxide is so adjusted that all the alumina is converted into
C4AF and sc proportion of C3A is very small, high increases
the setting time of cement and also hardens quickly after
setting.
 It protects the oil well causing from corrosion and also help in
supporting the oil well casing and thus reduce the tension, in
steel pipes.

11. Quick Setting Cement:

 It has less proportion of CaSO4 (Gypsum) or a small % of

aluminium sulphate is added at the time of grinding.
 Its initial setting time is 5 minutes and final setting time is 30
12. Expanding Cement:

 As per the name, its volume increases on

hardening.
 It takes about 15 days-for the expansion to occur
fully but the time can be controlled by curing.
 The upper limit of expansion is 1%.
 The agent which causes expansion is Calcium
Sulpho Aluminate (3CaOA12O33CaSO4) which is
formed by the presence of calcium sulphate with
Calcium Oxide present in cement in sufficient
quantity.
Field Tests on Cement:
 The colour of cement should be uniform gray with light
greenish shade.
 Cement should feel smooth when touched.
 If hand is inserted in a bag of cement it should feel cool not
warm.
 If a small quantity of cement is thrown in a bucket of water, it
should sink and should not float on the surface.
 Cement should be free from any hard lumps.

 A sample meant for testing shall be drawn from at least 12

different bags or barrels or containers or from 12 different
positions in a heap if cement is loose. Chemical composition
of cement should be checked for B. I. S. specifications.
 Laboratory Tests on Cement:
1. Fineness of Cement:
 100 gm of cement is weighed accurately and placed on IS:
sieve No. 9 (90 micron).
 The residue left is weighed. This shall not exceed 10% by
weight of the sample.
 This is estimated in terms of the specific surface, i.e., the
surface area per unit weight.
 2. Consistency:
 This is a test conducted to estimate the quantity of water to be
mixed in cement to form a paste of normal consistency for use
in other tests.
 Let W1 = Weight of cement taken for the test.
 W2 = Weight of water added corresponding to the condition of
the stipulated extent of penetration of the plunger.
percentage of water=Pa=(W2/w1)*100
3. Test for Setting Time:

 The object of this test is to make a distinction between normal setting

and quick setting types of cement end also to detect deterioration due to
storage.

 Weigh 300 gm of cement and add Pa percentage of water (which is the

percentage of water required to have normal consistency. See test for
consistency.)
 The paste obtained after mixing is filled in the mould.1. In the Vicat
apparatus, attach the needle of square section, i.e. 1 mm X 1 mm to the
Vicat rod. Lower the system so that the needle just touches the surface of
the paste and gently release.
 Find out if the needle pierces into the paste fully. If it does, again release
the needle on the paste after a few seconds and again observe whether
the needle pierces fully into the paste
 This is repeated till the needle does not pierce into the paste
completely. Now the interval of time between this instant and
the instant at which water was added to the cement is called
the initial setting time.
 Now change the needle to the third one which has a projecting
sharp point in the centre with an annular attachment.
 Now release this needle as before on the same paste. The
needle as well as the attachment will make their impressions
on the paste.
 Repeat this process till only the needle makes the impression
but not the attachment.
 The interval of time between this instant and the instant at
which the water was added is called the final setting time.
Vicat Apparatus
 CONCRETE
 Concrete is the most versatile material for all types of
construction works and has been used for innumerable
construction works, either as plain concrete or as reinforced
cement concrete or as precast concrete, or prestressed concrete
or in many other forms.
 The various constituents of concrete are cement, water, fine
aggregate, and coarse, aggregates. In Reinforced Cement
Concrete Steel is also used.

Cement: Properties and various types of cement have already

been discussed previously
Aggregate:

 These are the inert or chemically inactive materials which

form the bulk of cement concrete.
 These aggregates are bound together by means of cement. The
aggregates are classified into two categories, Fine and coarse.
 The material which is passed through 4.75mm size sieve is
termed as fine Aggregate. Usually natural river sand, issued as
a fine aggregate.
 The material which is retained on 4.75 mm size B. S. test sieve
termed as a coarse aggregate. Broken stone is generally used
as a coarse aggregate.
Water:

 Water which is used for making concrete

should be clean and free from harmful
impurities such as oil, alkali, acid etc.
 In general water which is fit for drinking
should be used for making concrete.
Grades of Concrete
 Concrete as per IS 456 2000 is classified into three groups as
ordinary concrete, Standard concrete and High strength
concrete.
 M10, M15 and M20 are ordinary concrete, M25, M30, M35,
M40, M45, M50 and M55 are grouped as Standard concrete
and M60, M70, M75 and M80 are grouped under High
strength concrete.
 The letter ‘M’ refers to the mix and the number indicates the
specified compressive strength of that mix at 28 days
expressed in N/mm2.
 For lean concrete bases and simple foundations for masonry
walls M5 and M7.5 grades of concrete may be used. These
mixes need not be designed
Grades of Concrete

 Grades of concrete lesser than M20 are not to be used in RCC

work.
 For general guidance, the nominal mix proportions (volume ratio)
correspond approximately to the different grades as follows:

 M 5 - 1:5:10
 M 7.5- 1:4:8
 M 10 - 1:3:6
 M 15 - 1:2:4
 M 20 - 1:1.5:3
 M 25 - 1:1:2
Gain of strength with age
Gain of strength with age
 The concrete develops strength with continued hydration.
 The rate of gain of strength is faster to start with and the rate
gets reduced with age.
 It is customary to assume the 28 days strength as the full
strength of concrete. Actually concrete develops strength
beyond 28 days also. The variation of strength with age is
shown
Minimum Age of member with full age
design stress is expected (months) factor
1 1.00
3 1.10
6 1.15
12 1.20
Strength of Concrete
 Strength of concrete is its resistance to
rupture.

 It may be measured in number of ways,

such as strength in compression, in
tension, in shear or in flexure.

 The compressive strength of concrete is

generally determined by testing cubes or
cylinders made in laboratory or field. The
size of the mould should be 150mm
x150mm x 150mm.
Strength of Concrete

The strength of the concrete is mainly depend on the following

factors:
 Quality of materials and grading of the aggregates
 Water
 Water cement ratio
 Cement content
 Age of concrete; and
 Methods of mixing, placing, compacting and curing.
Workability of concrete

 The workability of concrete indicates the ease with which it

can be mixed, placed and compacted.

Slump Test

 Slump test is the most commonly used method of measuring

workability of concrete which can be employed either in the
laboratory or at site of work.
Slump Test
 Durability of Concrete
 The concrete possesses a high durability value, it is not much
affected by atmospheric actions.
 On the contrary, with the age, the concrete goes on hardening,
there by increasing in strength.
Water Cement Ratio

 The strength of concrete depends upon the quantity and quality

of its ingredients i.e. cement, aggregate and water.
 General assumption is that strength of concrete directly
depends up on the quantity of cement.
 If cement is more, strength will be more but this assumption is
not correct because strength of concrete also depends upon
water cement ration.
The relation between strength and water/ cement ratio of concrete
 Operations in Concreting
The following processes are involved in making concrete to
achieve desired strength and durability.

1. Storing of material (Cement, aggregate)

2. Batching of material (By volume, by weight)
3. Mixing of concrete (By hand, by machine)
4. Transportation of concrete.
5. Placing of concrete.
6. Curing of concrete
Operations in Concreting
1. Storing of Material
Cement:
 It is a fine powder and also hygroscopic in nature i.e. it
absorbs moisture from air or free water and starts setting.
 Hence the water houses constructed for its storage must fulfill
the basic requirements.
 Cement stored for long time should be checked before its use.
Aggregates:
 It is essential that aggregate should be free from deleterious
materials, organic matters such as tree leaves, vegetable
wastes, animal refuse etc.
 It should have uniform moisture content and proper grading of
aggregates.
Operations in Concreting

2. Batching of Materials
 Batching means measurement of ingredients of
concrete for proper mixing.
 Normally such a quantity is mixed in one batch,
which can be transported, placed and compacted
with in time i.e. before initial set takes place.
 Batching is of two types.
 Volume Batching.
 Weight Batching.
2. Batching of Materials
Measurement of Cement:
 Cement is always measured by weight.
 A batch of concrete should always consume full number of
bags. For this purpose weight, of cement bag is taken as 50 kg.
Measurement of Water:
 Water is generally measured by volume because its weight can
not be easily calculated.
Measurement of Aggregate by Volume:
 For these purpose generally wooden boxes of capacity
equivalent or part of one cement bag i.e. 35 liters are used.
These boxes are known as Petties or Farmas or Gauge Box.
2. Batching of Materials

Weigh Batching:
 As per the name, ingredients of concrete are
measured by weight.
 This is more accurate and is generally used
where high quality concrete is required.
 As described earlier generally one cement bag
or its multiple is the basic unit.
 In this system allowance for water present in
aggregate is made, but bulking has no effect.
Operations in Concreting
3. Mixing of Concrete:
i) Hand Mixing
ii) Machine Mixing.
i) Hand Mixing: It is adopted for small works where quantity of
concrete required is small. In it various ingredients of concrete
are mixed by hand.

ii) Machine Mixing: For producing large quantity of concrete at

a faster rate and at lesser cost, machine mixing is adopted.

A. Continuous mixer
B. Batch type mixer.
 3. Mixing of Concrete

A. Continuous mixer:
 It mixes and delivers concrete just as a steady stream of
concrete, till it is in operation.
 This type of mixers is not so common in use in India.

B. Batch type mixer:

Mixes and discharge each loads of material separately. These
are of two types.
Tilting mixers.
Non-Tilting or Rotary Mixers.
3. Mixing of Concrete
a. Tilting Mixer:
 It has a conical drum which revolves about an inclined axis
of 50o with horizontal.
 The drum can be brought into different positions for
charging, mixing and discharging.
 In small mixers the materials are charged directly and in
mixers of large capacities loading skips are used.
 The mixed concrete is generally discharged on iron sheets.
Blades are fixed, in the internal surface of the rotating drum.
3. Mixing of Concrete
b. Non-Tilting Type:
 It is also known as rotary type mixer.
 It has a drum revolving about horizontal axis
and cylindrical in shape.
 It has an opening on both sides one for
charging and other for discharging.
 For charging loading skip is used which is fed
with the help of wire ropes and for
discharging chutes are used.
Operations in Concreting
4. Transportation of concrete:
 As the initial setting time of cement is generally 30 minutes,
hence mixing, transportation, placing and compaction should
be completed with in this time.
 In no case this time should not exceed one hour after initial
setting time.
5. Placing of Concrete:
 As for as possible concrete should be placed in single
thickness.
 In case of deep sections, concrete should be placed in
successive horizontal layers and proper care should be taken to
develop enough bond between successive layers.
Operations in Concreting
6. Curing of Concrete:
 Concrete surfaces are kept wet for a certain period after
placing the concrete.
 The period of curing depends on the type of cement and nature
of work.
 For ordinary Portland cement, the curing period is 7 to 14
days. If rapid hardening cement is used, curing period can be
considerably reduced.
It can be done by spraying and ponding of water or covering
the concrete with moist earth, sand, or wet gunny bags.
 Types of Concrete
The following are the various types of concrete in use.

1. Plain Cement Concrete

2. Reinforced Cement Concrete

3. Pre Stressed Concrete

4. Light Weight Concrete

5. No-Fines Concrete

6. Pre-Cast Concrete

7. Fiber Reinforced Concrete

 1. Plain Cement Concrete
 It is a mixture of cement, sand pebbles or crushed rock and
water. It possesses the following important properties.
 It is free from corrosion
 It has a high compressive strength
 It blinds rapidly with steel
 It has a tendency to be porous.
2. Reinforced Cement Concrete

 Plain cement concrete is strong in compression but weak in

tension.
 To make this efficiency better steel bars known as
reinforcement are embedded in concrete.
3. Pre-stressed Concrete
 In this type of concrete, high tensile steel wires are used as
reinforcement instead of mild steel bars.
 There are two types of prestressing namely

i) Pre-tensioning and
ii) Post tensioning.

i) Pre-tensioning:
 In pre-tensioning method, the wires are initially stressed and
the concrete is cast in the moulds built around the wires.
 The wires released after the concrete attain its strength.
3. Pre-stressed Concrete

 The tendency of the wires to return to their original

length sets up a compression in concrete, which
helps the concrete to resists more tensile stress.

ii) Post-tensioning:
 In post tensioning the wires are placed inside the
concrete and then stressed.
 The use of prestressed concrete results in saving of
concrete and steel to the extent of 50% and 80%
respectively compared to RCC.
4. Light Weight Concrete
 They are produced from a wide variety of both natural earth
substance and fly ash.
 It mainly consists of cement, aggregates of loose porosity, steel
and water.
 The bulk density of this concrete varies from 500 to 1800
kg/m3 whereas the bulk density of ordinary concrete is about
2300 kg/m3.
 Advantages:
▶ Its weight is less
▶ It has better insulating and fire resisting properties
▶ It saves the cost of material handling because of its lightness.
▶ Local industrial waste can be economically utilized to prepare
this type of concrete.
5. No-fines Concrete
 It consists of cement, coarse aggregate and water. Thus fine
aggregate or sand is eliminated.
 This concrete has been adopted for cast-in-situ external load
bearing walls of single and multi storey houses, small retaining
walls etc.,
 The advantages are It possesses better insulating properties
▶ The unit weight of no-fines concrete is
about 2/3 of the unit weight of conventional concrete.
▶ The drying shrinkage is low
6. Precast Concrete
 Precast concrete is manufactured in a factory and the
transmitted to the site.
 The advantages are:
▶ The pre-cast articles may be given the desired shape and finish
with accuracy.
▶ The labour required in the manufacturing process of pre-cast
units can be easily trained.
▶ Concrete of superior quality is produced
▶ The pre-cast structures can be dismantled when required and
they can then be suitably used elsewhere.
▶ The work can be completed in short time.
7. Fiber Reinforced Concrete
(FRC)
 It mainly consists of cement, fiber, sand and water.
Asbestos, glass, nylon or coconut fibers have been
tried as alternative to steel.
 The advantages are:
• It has thin sections
• Production rate is less
• More durable
• Less maintenance cost
STEEL
 Steel is probably the most versatile commonly used structural
material.
 Steel is used to a large extent in modern multi-storied
buildings.
 Steel is used as reinforcing bars/wires for concrete since
concrete is weak in tension.
 Structural steel is available in various forms and shapes and it
is being used for various structural components.
▶
 Physical Properties of Mild Steel
 Mass density = 7850 Kg/m3
 Young’s Modulus = 2.04 x 105 N/mm2
 Modulus of Rigidity = 0.785 x 105 N/mm2
 Poisson’s Ratio = 0.25 – 0.3
 Coefficient of thermal expansion = 12 x 10-6 per º c
Reinforcement Steel
 Steel reinforcement is of following types

 Mild Steel bars (MS)

 High strength deformed bars / rolled twisted
bars (HSD / RTS)
 High tensile bars

 Normally in all types of structural elements

High Strength Deformed bars are used as main
reinforcement.
 For distribution bars mild steel is being used.
Reinforcement Steel
 Reinforcement bars are available in various nominal sizes.
Mild steel (Grade I) and (Grade II) are available in the
following nominal sizes 5,6,8,10,12,16,20 mm diameter which
has the yield stress of 250 N/mm2 and minimum ultimate
tensile stress as 410 N/mm2.
 Diameters 22, 25,28,32,36,40,45,50 are also available which
has yield stress as 240 N/mm2.
 High strength deformed bars / wires are available in the
following nominal sizes:
6,8,10,12,16,18,20,22,25,28,32,36,40,45,&50 with the
characteristic strength 415 N/mm2 and 500 N/mm2.
Structural Steel

Various shapes and sections are used for building

works are:
Plates:
 Plates may be of any size or thickness.
 Common uses of plates in building construction are
as webs and flanges of deep beams, column flanges,
column base, etc.

Flats:
These are rolled as in the case of plate but are much longer in
lengths and have shorter widths.
The widths vary form 18mm to 50 mm. The minimum and
maximum thickness vary from 3mm to 80 mm.
Flat section may have one rounded side with greater thickness
than the remaining section and this is called bulb ball. T
Angles:
 Angle sections are widely used in steel trusses. Most common
types are angles with equal legs and with unequal legs and are
designated by ISA width and height of legs of angles.
 The equal angles vary form 20 mm x 20mm to 200mm x
200mm in size and 3mm to 5mm in thickness.
 The term 20mm x 20mm denotes that the width of legs is
20mm overall. Unequal angles vary in size from 20mm x
30mm to 220mm x 100mm and thickness from 4mm to 20mm.
Special angles with a square toe, round backed, acute, square
root and bulb types are also available.
T-Sections:
 These are used for roof trusses and for certain built up
columns.
 They are designated by the width of the stem, width of the
table and by the thickness.
 The standard sizes vary form 40mm x 40mm to 150mm x
150mm with thickness from 6mm to 8mm.
 Special T-Sections with bulbs etc. are also used to some
extent.

Channels:
 Channels are mainly used for beams, columns and top and
bottom chord members of truss.
 They are designated by the depth, flange width and weight per
Channels
 The size varies form 50mm x 75mm x 3kg to 420mm x
100mm x 30kg.
 Whenever stronger channels of lesser depth are required,
these are specially cast with greater thickness than given by
the standards.

▶ Indian Standard Junior Channels (ISJC)

▶ Indian Standard Light Channels (ISLC)
▶ Indian Standard Medium Weight Channels (ISMC)
▶ Indian Standard Special Channels (ISSC)
Joists:

 Rolled Steel Joists or I-Sections are most commonly used for

beams and columns.
 The British Standard Joists Section varies in size form 7 cm x
4cm to 60 cm x 17 cm. In U.S.A. I-sections have vary wide
flanges are used.
 ISI handbook gives the following five series of Beam Sections.
▶ Indian Standard Junior Beams (ISJB)
▶ Indian Standard Light Beams (ISLB)
▶ Indian Standard Medium Weight Beams (ISMB)
▶ Indian Standard Wide Flange Beams (ISWB)
▶ Indian Standard H Beams (ISHB)
Miscellaneous Sections:

 Z-Sections, rail-sections, troughs, bars etc. are

used to a limited extent in steel work for a
building.
 My basic notes will help to crack an interview 70%.

Almost all interview questions will be asked from these notes. so read

Carefully.

Sr. Quality Engineer(QA/QC)

Nagnath Garad

THANK YOU