Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 13.2:
Concrete mixes, their properties, and areas of use
Type of concrete
Materials and parts by
Properties
Areas of use
volume in the mix
Lime sandstone
Lime: 1
Quartz sand: 9
Lime: 1/1
Sand: 2/4
Aggregate: 4/6
Lime/pozzolana: 3
Sand: 1
Aggregate: 2
Cement: 2/1
Sand: 6/3
Aggregate: 5/3
Cement/pozzolana: 1
Sand: 3
Aggregate: 3
Gypsum: 1
Sand: 1
Aggregate: 2
Sulphur: 1
Sand/Aggregate: 3
Durable, sensitive to
moisture
Elastic, not very resistant
to water and frost
Internal and external
structures, cladding
Internal light structures,
regulating of moisture
Lime concrete
Lime pozzolana
concrete
Medium strength, elastic,
frost and moisture
resistant
Strong, durable, not
particularly elastic, frost
and moisture resistant
Strong durable, little to
moderate elasticity, frost
and moisture resistant
Not very resistant to
water and frost
Internal and external
structures
Portland concrete
Internal and external
structures, foundations
Portland-pozzolana
concrete
Internal and external
structures, foundations
Gypsum concrete
Light internal
structures, moisture
regulating
Internal and external
structures, foundations
Sulphur concrete
Being researched
jobs has reached ten times the scrap value. Old railway lines have been used in
the structure of office buildings in Sweden. When re-using structural elements in
metal, one should be aware of the risk of material fatigue. Load-bearing capaci-
ties should therefore not be optimized without extensive tests.
Concrete structures
Concrete is produced from cement, aggregate, water, and additives, when
required. It is cast on site in shuttering, or as blocks or concrete elements. With
few exceptions, the products are reinforced.
Concrete's important properties are compressive strength, fire resistance and a
high heat capacity. Pure concrete structures are relatively rare in early building
history, when cement was used mostly as a mortar to bind bricks or stones.
Exceptions exist in the Roman Empire where the coffers in the ceiling vault of the
Pantheon are cast in concrete using pumice as aggregate. In the 1930s, and again
after the Second World War, the use of concrete in building became widespread.
Today it is the leading building material for larger buildings in foundations,
retaining walls, walls, roof and floor construction.
