INTERACTION BETWEEN ATMOSPHERE AND CONCRETE

Submitted to Professor: Dr. Mohamed Ismail

Department of Civil Engineering

Submitted by:
Atique Ahmed ID # 989056528
Date: March 30, 2011

Outline
Introduction of Concrete Properties of Concrete Types of Concrete Admixtures of Concrete Hot Weather Concrete Cold Weather Concrete Precaution Measures in Cold Weather Conclusion Case Studies

Introduction
What is Concrete?
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement (commonly Portland cement) and other cementitious materials. When concrete structure provides required strength, serviceability, weathering resistance, expected service life and maintained engineering properties is call durable concrete. However, the French Canal du Midi was built using concrete in 1670. Portland cement was first used in concrete in the early 1840s.

Properties of concrete
Following are considered important properties of fresh concrete 1. Setting of Concrete

2. Workability of Concrete
3. Avoid Bleeding and Segregation

4. Hydration Process
5. Air Entrainment

Properties of concrete..
Setting of concrete The hardening of concrete before its hydration is known as setting of concrete. Following factors affect the setting of concrete: 1. 3. 5. 7. Water Cement ratio 2. Suitable Temperature Cement content 4. Type of Cement Fineness of Cement 6. Relative Humidity Admixtures 8. Type and amount of Aggregate

Properties of concrete..
Workability of concrete Workability is often referred to as the ease with which a concrete can be transported, placed, and consolidated without excessive bleeding or segregation.
Factors affecting concrete workability: i. Water-Cement ratio ii. Amount and type of Aggregate iii. Amount and type of Cement iv. Atmospheric conditions (Temperature and Wind)

Properties of concrete..
Bleeding and Segregation..

Concrete Bleeding

Bleeding in concrete is sometimes referred as water gain. Bleeding is predominantly observed in a highly wet mix, badly proportioned, and insufficiently mixed concrete. In thin members like roof slab or road slabs and when concrete is placed in sunny weather show excessive bleeding.

Properties of concrete..

Bleeding and Segregation..

Segregation can be defined as the separation of the constituent materials of concrete.

Segregation in Concrete

Properties of concrete..

Hydration in Concrete

Concrete derives its strength by the hydration of cement particles. The hydration of cement is not a momentary action but a process continuing for long time. The desirable conditions are a suitable temperature and ample moisture. Concrete, while hydrating, releases high heat of hydration. This heat is harmful from the point of view of volume stability. Heat of hydration of concrete may also shrinkage in concrete, thus producing cracks.

Properties of concrete..

Air Entrainment

Air entrainment is intentional creation of tiny air bubbles in concrete. Air entrainment reduces the density of concrete. Air entrainment is used to produce a number of effects in both the plastic and the hardened concrete. These include: 1. Resistance to freezethaw action in hardened concrete. 2. Increased cohesion, reducing the tendency to bleed and segregation in the plastic concrete. 3. Compaction of low workability mixes including semi-dry concrete. 4. Stability of extruded concrete. 5. Cohesion and handling properties in bedding mortars

Type of Concretes

Types of concrete
1. Normal Concrete 2. High Strength Concrete

Some common and main types of concrete are:

3. High Performance Concrete 4. Air Entrained Concrete (F&T) 5. Light Weight Concrete 6. Self-Compacting Concrete (reduce DL) 7. Shotcrete Concrete 8. Pervious Concrete (Flatwork
9. Roller Compacted Concrete (Rd) 9. and many more

Admixture of Concrete
Admixtures A material other than water, aggregates, or cement that is used as an ingredient of concrete or mortar to control setting and early hardening, workability, or to provide additional cementing properties is called Admixture. Types of Admixtures Chemical admixtures - Accelerators, Retarders, Waterreducing agents, Super plasticizers, Air entraining agents etc. Mineral admixtures - Fly-ash Blast-furnace slag, Silica fume, and Rice husk Ash etc.

Hot Weather of Concrete

ACI - American Concrete Institutes rules out ACI 305 Hot Weather Concreting defines hot weathers as any combination of the following conditions that tends to impair the quality of the freshly mixed or hardened concrete: High ambient temperature High concrete temperature Low relative humidity Wind speed Solar radiation

Hot Weather of Concrete.

Hot-weather slow the cement hydration reactions within the concrete and to minimize the rate of evaporation of moisture from the freshly mixed concrete. High temperatures accelerate the hardening of concrete and more water is required to maintain workability. If the water-cement ratio is not maintained by adding additional cement, strength, durability will be reduced and other properties of concrete are adversely affected.

High water contents also mean greater drying shrinkage. Furthermore, setting is accelerated which shortens the time within which the concrete can be handled and finished.

Hot Weather of Concrete.

Potential concrete problems in hot weather are likely to include:

Increased water demand

Increased rate of slump loss Increased rate of setting Increased tendency for plastic-shrinkage cracking Increased difficulty in controlling entrained air content Decreased 28-day and later strengths Increased tendency for differential thermal cracking

Hot Weather of Concrete.

When concrete is to place under hot weather conditions, the following steps must be considered: Use cooled concrete, chilled mixing water, ice in the mixture, the use of liquid nitrogen to cool the mixing water or the concrete mixture, or the cooling of the coarse aggregate. Use concrete consistency allowing rapid placement and effective consolidation at high temperatures Use day and night placement schedule when the weather conditions are favorable Minimize the time to transport, place, consolidate, and finish the concrete Protect the concrete from moisture loss at all times during placement and during its curing period.

Cold Weather of Concrete

Cold Weather Concreting
The cold temperature in your refrigerator speeds up the transition of the liquid mixture into a semi-solid material. With concrete, cold temperature slows this transition, but if this is not the case in your concrete, then it is disastrous for the project. In my opinion, concrete is probably one of most fascinating building materials; however it appears to be a very basic material. High quality concrete doesn't happen by accident. It is a highly sophisticated chemical compound.

Cold Weather of Concrete

What Happens When Concrete Freezes?
Pore water in concrete starts to freeze around -1C (30F) As some water freezes the ion concentration in the unfrozen water goes up, further depressing the freezing point. At around -3 to -4C (25 to 27F), enough of the pore water will freeze so that hydration will completely stop, and depending on the extent of hydration, and thus the strength of the concrete, the forces generated by the expansion of ice (ice occupies ~9% more volume than water) may be detrimental to the long term integrity of the concrete.

Cold Weather of Concrete

Handling Concrete in Freezing
Obviously some chemical reactions require heat to complete, while other reactions create heat. The chemical reaction of concrete creates heat; called the heat of hydration. This heat can be trapped and used to fight off the threat of ice. To achieve that goal, cover the fresh concrete with insulated blankets. For every 10C (18F) reduction in concrete temperature, the times of setting of the concrete double, thus increasing the amount of time that the concrete is vulnerable to damage due to freezing. Concrete that is protected from freezing until it has attained a compressive strength of at least 3.45 Mpa (500 psi) will not be damaged by exposure to a single freezing cycle.

Cold Weather Concrete

Precautionary Measures for concrete in cold weather 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Using hot water Providing enclosures i.e. covered area Using air entraining agents Scheduling concreting Using admixtures Accelerators Type III or high early strength cement Using extra proportional amount of cement for early strength gain in heated mixed environment

Conclusion
Concrete is a strong material because of its chemistry. When water mixes with the cement powder, it starts an irreversible chemical reaction. Tiny crystals begin to grow. These crystals

attach to one another with the sand and the gravel in the
mixture. When everything goes right, basically created a compound hard as a rock. Most concrete chemists and

engineers agree that if the concrete can attain a minimum

strength of 500 pounds per square inch (PSI), it can resist damages.

Case Study
In final report includes Case Studies for the following:
Case Study Bridge Deck

Title : Early age cracking and Corrosion in High Performance Concrete

Location: Vachon Bridge in Laval Quebec Built: During 2006

Thanks for Your Attention

Questions?