Concrete Archives

Portland Cement Hydration

In a previous post about cement and its components, we mentioned that there are four compounds of cement. They are: Silicates Alite, C3S Belite, C2S Aluminates Tricalcium aluminate, C3A Calcium alumino ferrite, C4AF Portland Cement Hydration

How Concrete is Made

TeamCivil Concrete, Materials

This post gives a basic outline on how the concrete is made. Simply, concrete is a mix of paste and aggregates. The paste, which consists of portland cement and water, coats the surface of the

Freezing and Thawing Damage to Concrete

TeamCivil Concrete, Durability

In this article, the damage caused by freezing and thawing cycles to concrete is described. Freezing-thawing damage results from the fact that when water freezes to ice, it expands by about 9 percent. When the water in

Compressive Strength Test of Concrete

TeamCivil Concrete, Tests

This test is considered as the most popular test performed on concrete in construction as it gives a general idea on the all the characteristics of concrete. Based on this test, one can either accept

Effect of Water-to-cement Ratio on Concrete

TeamCivil Concrete, Durability

The concept of water-to-cement ratio (w/c) of concrete is a universally fundamental concept and is considered as the oldest law in the concrete technology. The water/cement ratio influences the durability properties of concrete in a

Structural Damage Caused By Reinforcement Corrosion

TeamCivil Concrete, Durability

Corrosion of steel in concrete may cause structural damage and early failure of Reinforced Concrete structures. Besides the volume increase and cover spalling due to corrosion (Figure 1), it negatively influences, the flexural, shear, and

Corrosion Damage Stages During Service Life

TeamCivil Concrete, Durability

In 1982, Tuutti proposed that deterioration due to steel reinforcement corrosion can be represented by a two stage model (Figure 1). The first stage is associated with corrosion initiation, in which detrimental substances (such as

Permeability of Concrete

TeamCivil Concrete, Durability

In general, permeability is defined as “the property that controls the rate of flow of a fluid into the porous solid”. Regarding concrete, the difficulty of the migration of the liquid and gas through the concrete