Concrete

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the construction material. For other uses, see Concrete (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with cement.

Exterior of the Roman Pantheon, finished 128 AD, still the largest unreinforced solid concrete
dome.[1]

Interior of the Pantheon dome, seen from beneath. The concrete for the coffered dome was laid
on moulds, probably mounted on temporary scaffolding.

Opus caementicium exposed in a characteristic Roman arch. In contrast to modern concrete

structures, the concrete used in Roman buildings was usually covered with brick or stone.

Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement
which hardens over time. Most use of the term "concrete" refers to Portland cement concrete or
to concretes made with other hydraulic cements, such as ciment fondu. However, road surfaces
are also a type of concrete, "asphaltic concrete", where the cement material is bitumen.
In Portland cement concrete (and other hydraulic cement concretes), when the aggregate is
mixed together with the dry cement and water, they form a fluid mass that is easily molded into
shape. The cement reacts chemically with the water and other ingredients to form a hard matrix
which binds all the materials together into a durable stone-like material that has many uses.[2]
Often, additives (such as pozzolans or superplasticizers) are included in the mixture to improve
the physical properties of the wet mix or the finished material. Most concrete is poured with
reinforcing materials (such as rebar) embedded to provide tensile strength, yielding reinforced
concrete.
Famous concrete structures include the Hoover Dam, the Panama Canal and the Roman
Pantheon. The earliest large-scale users of concrete technology were the ancient Romans, and
concrete was widely used in the Roman Empire. The Colosseum in Rome was built largely of
concrete, and the concrete dome of the Pantheon is the world's largest unreinforced concrete
dome.[3] Today, large concrete structures (for example, dams and multi-storey car parks) are
usually made with reinforced concrete.
After the Roman Empire collapsed, use of concrete became rare until the technology was
redeveloped in the mid-18th century. Today, concrete is the most widely used man-made material
(measured by tonnage).

Contents

1 History
o 1.1 Prehistory
o 1.2 Classical era
o 1.3 Middle Ages
o 1.4 Industrial era

2 Composition of concrete
o 2.1 Cement
o 2.2 Water
o 2.3 Aggregates

o 2.4 Reinforcement
o 2.5 Chemical admixtures
o 2.6 Mineral admixtures and blended cements

3 Concrete production
o 3.1 Mixing concrete
o 3.2 Workability
o 3.3 Curing

3.3.1 Curing techniques

o 3.4 Specialty concretes

3.4.1 Pervious concrete

3.4.2 Nano concrete

3.4.3 Microbial concrete

4 Properties

5 Building with concrete

o 5.1 Mass concrete structures
o 5.2 Prestressed concrete structures
o 5.3 Concrete roads
o 5.4 Energy efficiency
o 5.5 Fire safety
o 5.6 Earthquake safety

6 Concrete degradation
o 6.1 Useful life

7 Effect of modern concrete use

o 7.1 Environmental and health
o 7.2 Concrete recycling

8 World records

9 See also

10 References
o 10.1 Notes
o 10.2 Bibliography

11 External links

History
The word concrete comes from the Latin word "concretus" (meaning compact or condensed),[4]
the perfect passive participle of "concrescere", from "con-" (together) and "crescere" (to grow).

Prehistory
Perhaps the earliest known occurrence of cement was twelve million years ago. A deposit of
cement was formed after an occurrence of oil shale located adjacent to a bed of limestone burned
due to natural causes. These ancient deposits were investigated in the 1960s and 1970s.[5]
On a human timescale, small usages of concrete go back for thousands of years. Concrete-like
materials were used since 6500BC by the Nabataea traders or Bedouins who occupied and
controlled a series of oases and developed a small empire in the regions of southern Syria and
northern Jordan. They discovered the advantages of hydraulic lime, with some self-cementing
properties, by 700 BC. They built kilns to supply mortar for the construction of rubble-wall
houses, concrete floors, and underground waterproof cisterns. The cisterns were kept secret and
were one of the reasons the Nabataea were able to thrive in the desert.[6] Some of these structures
survive to this day.[6]

Classical era
In both Roman and Egyptian times it was re-discovered that adding volcanic ash to the mix
allowed it to set underwater. Similarly, the Romans knew that adding horse hair made concrete
less liable to crack while it hardened, and adding blood made it more frost-resistant.[7]
Crystallization of strtlingite and the introduction of pyro-clastic clays creates further fracture
resistance.[8][9]

German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann found concrete floors, which were made of lime and
pebbles, in the royal palace of Tiryns, Greece, which dates roughly to 1400-1200 BC.[10][11] Lime
mortars were used in Greece, Crete, and Cyprus in 800 BC. The Assyrian Jerwan Aqueduct (688
BC) made use of waterproof concrete.[12] Concrete was used for construction in many ancient
structures.[13]
The Romans used concrete extensively from 300 BC to 476 AD, a span of more than seven
hundred years.[5] During the Roman Empire, Roman concrete (or opus caementicium) was made
from quicklime, pozzolana and an aggregate of pumice. Its widespread use in many Roman
structures, a key event in the history of architecture termed the Roman Architectural Revolution,
freed Roman construction from the restrictions of stone and brick material and allowed for
revolutionary new designs in terms of both structural complexity and dimension.[14]
Concrete, as the Romans knew it, was a new and revolutionary material. Laid in the shape of
arches, vaults and domes, it quickly hardened into a rigid mass, free from many of the internal
thrusts and strains that troubled the builders of similar structures in stone or brick.[15]
Modern tests show that opus caementicium had as much compressive strength as modern
Portland-cement concrete (ca. 200 kilograms per square centimetre (20 MPa; 2,800 psi)).[16]
However, due to the absence of reinforcement, its tensile strength was far lower than modern
reinforced concrete, and its mode of application was also different:[17]
Modern structural concrete differs from Roman concrete in two important details. First, its mix
consistency is fluid and homogeneous, allowing it to be poured into forms rather than requiring
hand-layering together with the placement of aggregate, which, in Roman practice, often
consisted of rubble. Second, integral reinforcing steel gives modern concrete assemblies great
strength in tension, whereas Roman concrete could depend only upon the strength of the concrete
bonding to resist tension.[18]

Smeaton's Tower

The widespread use of concrete in many Roman structures ensured that many survive to the
present day. The Baths of Caracalla in Rome are just one example. Many Roman aqueducts and
bridges such as the magnificent Pont du Gard have masonry cladding on a concrete core, as does
the dome of the Pantheon.

Middle Ages
After the Roman Empire, the use of burned lime and pozzolana was greatly reduced until the
technique was all but forgotten between 500 and the 14th century. From the 14th century to the
mid-18th century, the use of cement gradually returned. The Canal du Midi was built using
concrete in 1670,[19] and there are concrete structures in Finland that date from the 16th century.
[citation needed]

Industrial era
Perhaps the greatest driver behind the modern usage of concrete was Smeaton's Tower, the third
Eddystone Lighthouse in Devon, England. To create this structure, between 1756 and 1759,
British engineer John Smeaton pioneered the use of hydraulic lime in concrete, using pebbles
and powdered brick as aggregate.[20]
A method for producing Portland cement was patented by Joseph Aspdin on 1824.[21]
Reinforced concrete was invented in 1849 by Joseph Monier.[22] In 1889 the first concrete
reinforced bridge was built, and the first large concrete dams were built in 1936, Hoover Dam
and Grand Coulee Dam.[23]

Composition of concrete
There are many types of concrete available, created by varying the proportions of the main
ingredients below. In this way or by substitution for the cementitious and aggregate phases, the
finished product can be tailored to its application with varying strength, density, or chemical and
thermal resistance properties.
Aggregate consists of large chunks of material in a concrete mix, generally a coarse gravel or
crushed rocks such as limestone, or granite, along with finer materials such as sand.
Cement, most commonly Portland cement, is associated with the general term "concrete." A
range of materials can be used as the cement in concrete. One of the most familiar of these
alternative cements is asphalt concrete. Other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag
cement, are sometimes added as mineral admixtures (see below) - either pre-blended with the
cement or directly as a concrete component - and become a part of the binder for the aggregate.
To produce concrete from most cements (excluding asphalt), water is mixed with the dry powder
and aggregate, which produces a semi-liquid that workers can shape, typically by pouring it into
a form. The concrete solidifies and hardens through a chemical process called hydration. The

water reacts with the cement, which bonds the other components together, creating a robust
stone-like material.
Chemical admixtures are added to achieve varied properties. These ingredients may accelerate or
slow down the rate at which the concrete hardens, and impart many other useful properties
including increased tensile strength, entrainment of air, and/or water resistance.
Reinforcement is often included in concrete. Concrete can be formulated with high compressive
strength, but always has lower tensile strength. For this reason it is usually reinforced with
materials that are strong in tension, often steel.
Mineral admixtures are becoming more popular in recent decades. The use of recycled materials
as concrete ingredients has been gaining popularity because of increasingly stringent
environmental legislation, and the discovery that such materials often have complementary and
valuable properties. The most conspicuous of these are fly ash, a by-product of coal-fired power
plants, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and silica fume, a byproduct of industrial electric
arc furnaces. The use of these materials in concrete reduces the amount of resources required, as
the mineral admixtures act as a partial cement replacement. This displaces some cement
production, an energetically expensive and environmentally problematic process, while reducing
the amount of industrial waste that must be disposed of. Mineral admixtures can be pre-blended
with the cement during its production for sale and use as a blended cement, or mixed directly
with other components when the concrete is produced.
The mix design depends on the type of structure being built, how the concrete is mixed and
delivered, and how it is placed to form the structure.

Cement
Main article: Cement

A few tons of bagged cement. This amount represents about two minutes of output from a 10,000
ton per day cement kiln.
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general usage. It is a basic ingredient of
concrete, mortar and many plasters. English masonry worker Joseph Aspdin patented Portland
cement in 1824. It was named because of the similarity of its color to Portland limestone,
quarried from the English Isle of Portland and used extensively in London architecture. It
consists of a mixture of calcium silicates (alite, belite), aluminates and ferrites - compounds

which combine calcium, silicon, aluminium and iron in forms which will react with water.
Portland cement and similar materials are made by heating limestone (a source of calcium) with
clay and/or shale (a source of silicon, aluminium and iron) and grinding this product (called
clinker) with a source of sulfate (most commonly gypsum).
In modern cement kilns many advanced features are used to lower the fuel consumption per ton
of clinker produced. Cement kilns are extremely large, complex, and inherently dusty industrial
installations, and have emissions which must be controlled. Of the various ingredients used to
produce a given quantity of concrete, the cement is the most energetically expensive. Even
complex and efficient kilns require 3.3 to 3.6 gigajoules of energy to produce a ton of clinker and
then grind it into cement. Many kilns can be fueled with difficult-to-dispose-of wastes, the most
common being used tires. The extremely high temperatures and long periods of time at those
temperatures allows cement kilns to efficiently and completely burn even difficult-to-use fuels.[24]

Water
Combining water with a cementitious material forms a cement paste by the process of hydration.
The cement paste glues the aggregate together, fills voids within it, and makes it flow more
freely.[25]
A lower water-to-cement ratio yields a stronger, more durable concrete, whereas more water
gives a freer-flowing concrete with a higher slump.[26] Impure water used to make concrete can
cause problems when setting or in causing premature failure of the structure.[27]
Hydration involves many different reactions, often occurring at the same time. As the reactions
proceed, the products of the cement hydration process gradually bond together the individual
sand and gravel particles and other components of the concrete to form a solid mass.[28]
Reaction:[28]
Cement chemist notation: C3S + H C-S-H + CH
Standard notation: Ca3SiO5 + H2O (CaO)(SiO2)(H2O)(gel) + Ca(OH)2
Balanced: 2Ca3SiO5 + 7H2O 3(CaO)2(SiO2)4(H2O)(gel) + 3Ca(OH)2 (approximately;
the exact ratios of the CaO, SiO2 and H2O in C-S-H can vary)

Aggregates

Crushed stone aggregate

Main article: Construction aggregate
Fine and coarse aggregates make up the bulk of a concrete mixture. Sand, natural gravel, and
crushed stone are used mainly for this purpose. Recycled aggregates (from construction,
demolition, and excavation waste) are increasingly used as partial replacements for natural
aggregates, while a number of manufactured aggregates, including air-cooled blast furnace slag
and bottom ash are also permitted.
The presence of aggregate greatly increases the durability of concrete above that of cement,
which is a brittle material in its pure state, and also reduces cost and controls cracking caused by
temperature changes. Thus concrete is a true composite material.[29]
Redistribution of aggregates after compaction often creates inhomogeneity due to the influence
of vibration. This can lead to strength gradients.[30]
Decorative stones such as quartzite, small river stones or crushed glass are sometimes added to
the surface of concrete for a decorative "exposed aggregate" finish, popular among landscape
designers.
In addition to being decorative, exposed aggregate may add robustness to a concrete.[31]

Reinforcement

Constructing a rebar cage. This cage will be permanently embedded in poured concrete to create
a reinforced concrete structure.
Main article: reinforced concrete
Concrete is strong in compression, as the aggregate efficiently carries the compression load.
However, it is weak in tension as the cement holding the aggregate in place can crack, allowing
the structure to fail. Reinforced concrete adds either steel reinforcing bars, steel fibers, glass
fibers, or plastic fibers to carry tensile loads.

Chemical admixtures

Chemical admixtures are materials in the form of powder or fluids that are added to the concrete
to give it certain characteristics not obtainable with plain concrete mixes. In normal use,
admixture dosages are less than 5% by mass of cement and are added to the concrete at the time
of batching/mixing.[32] (See the section on Concrete Production, below.)The common types of
admixtures[33] are as follows.

Accelerators speed up the hydration (hardening) of the concrete. Typical materials used
are CaCl
2, Ca(NO3)2 and NaNO3. However, use of chlorides may cause corrosion in steel
reinforcing and is prohibited in some countries, so that nitrates may be favored.
Accelerating admixtures are especially useful for modifying the properties of concrete in
cold weather.

Retarders slow the hydration of concrete and are used in large or difficult pours where
partial setting before the pour is complete is undesirable. Typical polyol retarders are
sugar, sucrose, sodium gluconate, glucose, citric acid, and tartaric acid.

Air entraining agents add and entrain tiny air bubbles in the concrete, which reduces
damage during freeze-thaw cycles, increasing durability. However, entrained air entails a
trade off with strength, as each 1% of air may decrease compressive strength 5%.[citation
needed]
If too much air becomes trapped in the concrete as a result of the mixing process,
Defoamers can be used to encourage the air bubble to agglomerate, rise to the surface of
the wet concrete and then disperse.

Plasticizers increase the workability of plastic or "fresh" concrete, allowing it be placed

more easily, with less consolidating effort. A typical plasticizer is lignosulfonate.
Plasticizers can be used to reduce the water content of a concrete while maintaining
workability and are sometimes called water-reducers due to this use. Such treatment
improves its strength and durability characteristics. Superplasticizers (also called highrange water-reducers) are a class of plasticizers that have fewer deleterious effects and
can be used to increase workability more than is practical with traditional plasticizers.
Compounds used as superplasticizers include sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde
condensate, sulfonated melamine formaldehyde condensate, acetone formaldehyde
condensate and polycarboxylate ethers.

Pigments can be used to change the color of concrete, for aesthetics.

Corrosion inhibitors are used to minimize the corrosion of steel and steel bars in concrete.

Bonding agents are used to create a bond between old and new concrete (typically a type
of polymer) with wide temperature tolerance and corrosion resistance.

Pumping aids improve pumpability, thicken the paste and reduce separation and bleeding.

Mineral admixtures and blended cements

Components of Cement
Comparison of Chemical and Physical Characteristicsa[34][35][36]
Siliceous
Calcareous
Portland (ASTM C618 Class (ASTM C618 Class
Cement
F)
C)
Fly Ash
Fly Ash

Property
SiO2 content (%)

Slag
Cement

Silica
Fume

21.9

52

35

35

8597

Al2O3 content
(%)

6.9

23

18

12

Fe2O3 content
(%)

11

CaO content (%)

63

21

40

<1

MgO content
(%)

2.5

1.7

370

420

420

400

15,000
30,000

3.15

2.38

2.65

2.94

2.22

SO3 content (%)

Specific surface
(m2/kg)
Specific gravity
General use
in concrete

Primary
binder

Cement
replacement

Cement
replacement

Cement Property
replacement enhancer

Values shown are approximate: those of a specific material may vary.

Specific surface measurements for silica fume by nitrogen adsorption (BET) method,
others by air permeability method (Blaine).
Inorganic materials that have pozzolanic or latent hydraulic properties, these very fine-grained
materials are added to the concrete mix to improve the properties of concrete (mineral
admixtures),[32] or as a replacement for Portland cement (blended cements).[37] Products which
incorporate limestone, fly ash, blast furnace slag, and other useful materials with pozzolanic
properties into the mix, are being tested and used. This development is due to cement production
being one of the largest producers (at about 5 to 10%) of global greenhouse gas emissions,[38] as
well as lowering costs, improving concrete properties, and recycling wastes.

Fly ash: A by-product of coal-fired electric generating plants, it is used to partially

replace Portland cement (by up to 60% by mass). The properties of fly ash depend on the
type of coal burnt. In general, siliceous fly ash is pozzolanic, while calcareous fly ash has
latent hydraulic properties.[39]

Ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS or GGBS): A by-product of steel

production is used to partially replace Portland cement (by up to 80% by mass). It has
latent hydraulic properties.[40]

Silica fume: A byproduct of the production of silicon and ferrosilicon alloys. Silica fume
is similar to fly ash, but has a particle size 100 times smaller. This results in a higher
surface-to-volume ratio and a much faster pozzolanic reaction. Silica fume is used to
increase strength and durability of concrete, but generally requires the use of
superplasticizers for workability.[41]

High reactivity Metakaolin (HRM): Metakaolin produces concrete with strength and
durability similar to concrete made with silica fume. While silica fume is usually dark
gray or black in color, high-reactivity metakaolin is usually bright white in color, making
it the preferred choice for architectural concrete where appearance is important.

Carbon nanofibres can be added to concrete to enhance compressive strength and higher
Youngs modulus, and also to improve the electrical properties required for strain
monitoring, damage evaluation and self-health monitoring of concrete. has many
advantages in terms of mechanical and electrical properties (e.g. higher strength ) and
self-monitoring behavior due to the high tensile strength and high conductivity.[42]

Carbon products have been added to make concrete electrically conductive, for deicing
purposes.[43]

Concrete production

Concrete plant facility showing a Concrete mixer being filled from the ingredient silos.
Concrete production is the process of mixing together the various ingredientswater, aggregate,
cement, and any additivesto produce concrete. Concrete production is time-sensitive. Once the
ingredients are mixed, workers must put the concrete in place before it hardens. In modern usage,
most concrete production takes place in a large type of industrial facility called a concrete plant,
or often a batch plant.
In general usage, concrete plants come in two main types, ready mix plants and central mix
plants. A ready mix plant mixes all the ingredients except water, while a central mix plant mixes

all the ingredients including water. A central mix plant offers more accurate control of the
concrete quality through better measurements of the amount of water added, but must be placed
closer to the work site where the concrete will be used, since hydration begins at the plant.
A concrete plant consists of large storage hoppers for various reactive ingredients like cement,
storage for bulk ingredients like aggregate and water, mechanisms for the addition of various
additives and amendments, machinery to accurately weigh, move, and mix some or all of those
ingredients, and facilities to dispense the mixed concrete, often to a concrete mixer truck.
Modern concrete is usually prepared as a viscous fluid, so that it may be poured into forms,
which are containers erected in the field to give the concrete its desired shape. There are many
different ways in which concrete formwork can be prepared, such as Slip forming and Steel plate
construction. Alternatively, concrete can be mixed into dryer, non-fluid forms and used in factory
settings to manufacture Precast concrete products.
There is a wide variety of equipment for processing concrete, from hand tools to heavy industrial
machinery. Whichever equipment builders use, however, the objective is to produce the desired
building material; ingredients must be properly mixed, placed, shaped, and retained within time
constraints. Any interruption in pouring the concrete can cause the initially placed material to
begin to set before the next batch is added on top. This creates a horizontal plane of weakness
called a cold joint between the two batches.[44] Once the mix is where it should be, the curing
process must be controlled to ensure that the concrete attains the desired attributes. During
concrete preparation, various technical details may affect the quality and nature of the product.
When initially mixed, Portland cement and water rapidly form a gel of tangled chains of
interlocking crystals, and components of the gel continue to react over time. Initially the gel is
fluid, which improves workability and aids in placement of the material, but as the concrete sets,
the chains of crystals join into a rigid structure, counteracting the fluidity of the gel and fixing
the particles of aggregate in place. During curing, the cement continues to react with the residual
water in a process of hydration. In properly formulated concrete, once this curing process has
terminated the product has the desired physical and chemical properties. Among the qualities
typically desired, are mechanical strength, low moisture permeability, and chemical and
volumetric stability.

Mixing concrete
See also: Volumetric concrete mixer and Concrete mixer
Thorough mixing is essential for the production of uniform, high-quality concrete. For this
reason equipment and methods should be capable of effectively mixing concrete materials
containing the largest specified aggregate to produce uniform mixtures of the lowest slump
practical for the work.
Separate paste mixing has shown that the mixing of cement and water into a paste before
combining these materials with aggregates can increase the compressive strength of the resulting
concrete.[45] The paste is generally mixed in a high-speed, shear-type mixer at a w/cm (water to

cement ratio) of 0.30 to 0.45 by mass. The cement paste premix may include admixtures such as
accelerators or retarders, superplasticizers, pigments, or silica fume. The premixed paste is then
blended with aggregates and any remaining batch water and final mixing is completed in
conventional concrete mixing equipment.[46]

Decorative plate made of Nano concrete with High-Energy Mixing (HEM)

Workability

Pouring and smoothing out concrete at Palisades Park in Washington DC.

Main article: Concrete slump test
Workability is the ability of a fresh (plastic) concrete mix to fill the form/mold properly with the
desired work (vibration) and without reducing the concrete's quality. Workability depends on
water content, aggregate (shape and size distribution), cementitious content and age (level of
hydration) and can be modified by adding chemical admixtures, like superplasticizer. Raising the
water content or adding chemical admixtures increases concrete workability. Excessive water
leads to increased bleeding and/or segregation of aggregates (when the cement and aggregates
start to separate), with the resulting concrete having reduced quality. The use of an aggregate
with an undesirable gradation[clarification needed] can result in a very harsh mix design with a very low
slump, which cannot readily be made more workable by addition of reasonable amounts of water.
Workability can be measured by the concrete slump test, a simplistic measure of the plasticity of
a fresh batch of concrete following the ASTM C 143 or EN 12350-2 test standards. Slump is
normally measured by filling an "Abrams cone" with a sample from a fresh batch of concrete.
The cone is placed with the wide end down onto a level, non-absorptive surface. It is then filled
in three layers of equal volume, with each layer being tamped with a steel rod to consolidate the
layer. When the cone is carefully lifted off, the enclosed material slumps a certain amount, owing

to gravity. A relatively dry sample slumps very little, having a slump value of one or two inches
(25 or 50 mm) out of one foot (305 mm). A relatively wet concrete sample may slump as much
as eight inches. Workability can also be measured by the flow table test.
Slump can be increased by addition of chemical admixtures such as plasticizer or
superplasticizer without changing the water-cement ratio.[47] Some other admixtures, especially
air-entraining admixture, can increase the slump of a mix.
High-flow concrete, like self-consolidating concrete, is tested by other flow-measuring methods.
One of these methods includes placing the cone on the narrow end and observing how the mix
flows through the cone while it is gradually lifted.
After mixing, concrete is a fluid and can be pumped to the location where needed.

Curing

A concrete slab ponded while curing.

A common misconception is that concrete dries as it sets, but the opposite is true - damp concrete
sets better than dry concrete. In other words, cement is "hydraulic": water allows it to gain
strength. Too much water is counterproductive, but too little water is deleterious. Curing allows
concrete to achieve optimal strength and hardness.[48] Curing is the hydration process that occurs
after the concrete has been placed. In chemical terms, curing allows calcium-silicate hydrate (CS-H) to form. To gain strength and harden fully, concrete curing requires time. In around 4
weeks, typically over 90% of the final strength is reached, although strengthening may continue
for decades.[49] The conversion of calcium hydroxide in the concrete into calcium carbonate from
absorption of CO2 over several decades further strengthens the concrete and makes it more
resistant to damage. This carbonation reaction, however, lowers the pH of the cement pore
solution and can corrode the reinforcement bars.
Hydration and hardening of concrete during the first three days is critical. Abnormally fast
drying and shrinkage due to factors such as evaporation from wind during placement may lead to
increased tensile stresses at a time when it has not yet gained sufficient strength, resulting in
greater shrinkage cracking. The early strength of the concrete can be increased if it is kept damp
during the curing process. Minimizing stress prior to curing minimizes cracking. High-earlystrength concrete is designed to hydrate faster, often by increased use of cement that increases

shrinkage and cracking. The strength of concrete changes (increases) for up to three years. It
depends on cross-section dimension of elements and conditions of structure exploitation.[50]
Properly curing concrete leads to increased strength and lower permeability and avoids cracking
where the surface dries out prematurely. Care must also be taken to avoid freezing or overheating
due to the exothermic setting of cement. Improper curing can cause scaling, reduced strength,
poor abrasion resistance and cracking.
Curing techniques
During the curing period, concrete is ideally maintained at controlled temperature and humidity.
To ensure full hydration during curing, concrete slabs are often sprayed with "curing
compounds" that create a water-retaining film over the concrete. Typical films are made of wax
or related hydrophobic compounds. After the concrete is sufficiently cured, the film is allowed to
abrade from the concrete through normal use.[51]
Traditional conditions for curing involve by spraying or ponding the concrete surface with water.
The picture to the right shows one of many ways to achieve this, ponding submerging setting
concrete in water and wrapping in plastic to prevent dehydration. Additional common curing
methods include wet burlap and/or plastic sheeting covering the fresh concrete.

Specialty concretes
Pervious concrete
Main article: Pervious concrete
Pervious concrete is a mix of specially graded coarse aggregate, cement, water and little-to-no
fine aggregates. This concrete is also known as "no-fines" or porous concrete. Mixing the
ingredients in a carefully controlled process creates a paste that coats and bonds the aggregate
particles. The hardened concrete contains interconnected air voids totalling approximately 15 to
25 percent. Water runs through the voids in the pavement to the soil underneath. Air entrainment
admixtures are often used in freezethaw climates to minimize the possibility of frost damage.
Nano concrete
Nano concrete is created by High-energy mixing (HEM) of cement, sand and water using a
specific consumed power of 30 - 600 watt/kg for a net specific energy consumption of at least 5
kJ/kg of the mix.[52] A plasticizer or a superplasticizer is then added to the activated mixture
which can later be mixed with aggregates in a conventional concrete mixer. In the HEM process
sand provides dissipation of energy and increases shear stresses on the surface of cement
particles. The quasi-laminar flow of the mixture characterized with Reynolds number less than
800 [53] is necessary to provide more effective energy absorption. This results in the increased
volume of water interacting with cement and acceleration of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H)
colloid creation. The initial natural process of cement hydration with formation of colloidal
globules about 5 nm in diameter[54] after 3-5 min of HEM spreads out over the entire volume of

cement water matrix. HEM is the "bottom-up" approach in Nanotechnology of concrete. The
liquid activated mixture is used by itself for casting small architectural details and decorative
items, or foamed (expanded) for lightweight concrete. HEM Nano concrete hardens in low and
subzero temperature conditions and possesses an increased volume of gel, which drastically
reduces capillarity in solid and porous materials.
Microbial concrete
Bacteria such as Bacillus pasteurii, Bacillus pseudofirmus, Bacillus cohnii, Sporosarcina
pasteuri, and Arthrobacter crystallopoietes increase the compression strength of concrete
through their biomass. Not all bacteria increase the strength of concrete significantly with their
biomass.[55]:143 Bacillus sp. CT-5. can reduce corrosion of reinforcement in reinforced concrete by
up to four times. Sporosarcina pasteurii reduces water and chloride permeability. B. pasteurii
increases resistance to acid.[55]:146 Bacillus pasteurii and B. sphaericuscan induce calcium
carbonate precipitation in the surface of cracks, adding compression strength.[55]:147

Properties
Main article: Properties of concrete
Concrete has relatively high compressive strength, but much lower tensile strength. For this
reason it is usually reinforced with materials that are strong in tension (often steel). The elasticity
of concrete is relatively constant at low stress levels but starts decreasing at higher stress levels
as matrix cracking develops. Concrete has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion and
shrinks as it matures. All concrete structures crack to some extent, due to shrinkage and tension.
Concrete that is subjected to long-duration forces is prone to creep.
Tests can be performed to ensure that the properties of concrete correspond to specifications for
the application.

Compression testing of a concrete cylinder

Different mixes of concrete ingredients produce different strengths. Concrete strength values are
usually specified as the compressive strength of either a cylindrical or cubic specimen, where
these values usually differ by around 20% for the same concrete mix.
Different strengths of concrete are used for different purposes. Very low-strength - 14 MPa
(2,000 psi) or less - concrete may be used when the concrete must be lightweight.[56] Lightweight
concrete is often achieved by adding air, foams, or lightweight aggregates, with the side effect
that the strength is reduced. For most routine uses, 20 MPa (2,900 psi) to 32 MPa (4,600 psi)
concrete is often used. 40 MPa (5,800 psi) concrete is readily commercially available as a more
durable, although more expensive, option. Higher-strength concrete is often used for larger civil
projects.[57] Strengths above 40 MPa (5,800 psi) are often used for specific building elements. For
example, the lower floor columns of high-rise concrete buildings may use concrete of 80 MPa
(11,600 psi) or more, to keep the size of the columns small. Bridges may use long beams of highstrength concrete to lower the number of spans required.[58][59] Occasionally, other structural
needs may require high-strength concrete. If a structure must be very rigid, concrete of very high
strength may be specified, even much stronger than is required to bear the service loads.
Strengths as high as 130 MPa (18,900 psi) have been used commercially for these reasons.[58]

Building with concrete

The Buffalo City Court Building in Buffalo, NY.

Concrete is one of the most durable building materials. It provides superior fire resistance
compared with wooden construction and gains strength over time. Structures made of concrete
can have a long service life. Concrete is used more than any other manmade material in the
world.[60] As of 2006, about 7.5 billion cubic meters of concrete are made each year, more than
one cubic meter for every person on Earth.[61]

Mass concrete structures

Main article: Mass concrete

Aerial photo of reconstruction at Taum Sauk (Missouri) pumped storage facility in late
November, 2009. After the original reservoir failed, the new reservoir was made of rollercompacted concrete.
Large concrete structures such as dams, navigation locks, large mat foundations, and large
breakwaters generate excessive heat during cement hydration and associated expansion. To
mitigate these effects post-cooling[62] is commonly applied during construction. An early example
at Hoover Dam, installed a network of pipes between vertical concrete placements to circulate
cooling water during the curing process to avoid damaging overheating. Similar systems are still
used; depending on volume of the pour, the concrete mix used, and ambient air temperature, the
cooling process may last for many months after the concrete is placed. Various methods also are
used to pre-cool the concrete mix in mass concrete structures.[62]
Another approach to mass concrete structures that is becoming more widespread is the use of
roller-compacted concrete, which uses much lower amounts of cement and water than
conventional concrete mixtures and is generally not poured into place. Instead it is placed in
thick layers as a semi-dry material and compacted into a dense, strong mass with rolling
compactors. Because it uses less cementitious material, roller-compacted concrete has a much
lower cooling requirement than conventional concrete.

Prestressed concrete structures

40-foot cacti decorate a sound/retaining wall in Scottsdale, Arizona

Main article: Prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete is a form of reinforced concrete that builds in compressive stresses during
construction to oppose those experienced in use. This can greatly reduce the weight of beams or
slabs, by better distributing the stresses in the structure to make optimal use of the reinforcement.
For example, a horizontal beam tends to sag. Prestressed reinforcement along the bottom of the

beam counteracts this. In pre-tensioned concrete, the prestressing is achieved by using steel or
polymer tendons or bars that are subjected to a tensile force prior to casting, or for post-tensioned
concrete, after casting.
More than 55,000 miles (89,000 km) of highways in the United States are paved with this
material. Reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete and precast concrete are the most widely
used types of concrete functional extensions in modern days. See Brutalism.

Concrete roads
Concrete roads are more fuel efficient to drive on,[63] more reflective and last significantly longer
than other paving surfaces, yet have a much smaller market share than other paving solutions.
Modern paving methods and design practices have changed the economics of concrete paving, so
that a well designed and placed concrete pavement will be less expensive on initial costs and
significantly less expensive over the life cycle. Another major benefit is that pervious concrete
can be used, which eliminates the need to place storm drains near the road, and reducing the need
for slightly sloped roadway to help rainwater to run off. No longer requiring to discard the
rainwater using drains also means that less electricity is needed (more pumping is otherwise
needed in the water distribution system), and no rainwater gets polluted as it no longer mixes
with polluted water; rather it is immediately absorbed by the ground.

Energy efficiency
Energy requirements for transportation of concrete are low because it is produced locally from
local resources, typically manufactured within 100 kilometers of the job site. Similarly, relatively
little energy is used in producing and combining the raw materials (although large amounts of
CO2 are produced by the chemical reactions in cement manufacture).[citation needed] The overall
embodied energy of concrete is therefore lower than for most structural materials other than
wood.[citation needed]
Once in place, concrete offers great energy efficiency over the lifetime of a building.[64] Concrete
walls leak air far less than those made of wood frames.[65] Air leakage accounts for a large
percentage of energy loss from a home. The thermal mass properties of concrete increase the
efficiency of both residential and commercial buildings. By storing and releasing the energy
needed for heating or cooling, concrete's thermal mass delivers year-round benefits by reducing
temperature swings inside and minimizing heating and cooling costs.[66] While insulation reduces
energy loss through the building envelope, thermal mass uses walls to store and release energy.
Modern concrete wall systems use both external insulation and thermal mass to create an energyefficient building. Insulating concrete forms (ICFs) are hollow blocks or panels made of either
insulating foam or rastra that are stacked to form the shape of the walls of a building and then
filled with reinforced concrete to create the structure.

Fire safety

A modern building: Boston City Hall (completed 1968) is constructed largely of concrete, both
precast and poured in place. Of Brutalist architecture, it was voted "The World's Ugliest
Building" in 2008.
Concrete buildings are more resistant to fire than those constructed using steel frames, since
concrete has lower heat conductivity than steel and can thus last longer under the same fire
conditions. Concrete is sometimes used as a fire protection for steel frames, for the same effect
as above. Concrete as a fire shield, for example Fondu fyre, can also be used in extreme
environments like a missile launch pad.
Options for non-combustible construction include floors, ceilings and roofs made of cast-in-place
and hollow-core precast concrete. For walls, concrete masonry technology and Insulating
Concrete Forms (ICFs) are additional options. ICFs are hollow blocks or panels made of
fireproof insulating foam that are stacked to form the shape of the walls of a building and then
filled with reinforced concrete to create the structure.
Concrete also provides good resistance against externally applied forces such as high winds,
hurricanes, and tornadoes owing to its lateral stiffness, which results in minimal horizontal
movement. However this stiffness can work against certain types of concrete structures,
particularly where a relatively higher flexing structure is require to resist more extreme forces.

Earthquake safety
As discussed above, concrete is very strong in compression, but weak in tension. Larger
earthquakes can generate very large shear loads on structures. These shear loads subject the
structure to both tensile and compressional loads. Concrete structures without reinforcement, like
other unreinforced masonry structures, can fail during severe earthquake shaking. Unreinforced
masonry structures constitute one of the largest earthquake risks globally.[67] These risks can be
reduced through seismic retrofitting of at-risk buildings, (e.g. school buildings in Istanbul,
Turkey[68]).

Concrete degradation

Concrete spalling caused by the corrosion of rebar

Main article: Concrete degradation
Concrete can be damaged by many processes, such as the expansion of corrosion products of the
steel reinforcement bars, freezing of trapped water, fire or radiant heat, aggregate expansion, sea
water effects, bacterial corrosion, leaching, erosion by fast-flowing water, physical damage and
chemical damage (from carbonatation, chlorides, sulfates and distillate water).[citation needed] The
micro fungi Aspergillus Alternaria and Cladosporium were able to grow on samples of concrete
used as a radioactive waste barrier in the Chernobyl reactor; leaching aluminium, iron, calcium
and silicon.[69]

Useful life

The Tunkhannock Viaduct was begun in 1912 and is still in regular service as of 2014.
Concrete can be viewed as a form of artificial sedimentary rock. As a type of mineral, the
compounds of which it is composed are extremely stable.[70] Many concrete structures are built
with an expected lifetime of approximately 100 years,[71] but researchers have suggested that
adding silica fume could extend the useful life of bridges and other concrete uses to as long as
16,000 years.[72] Coatings are also available to protect concrete from damage, and extend the
useful life. Epoxy coatings may be applied only to interior surfaces, though, as they would
otherwise trap moisture in the concrete.[73]
A self-healing concrete has been developed that can also last longer than conventional concrete.
[74]

Effect of modern concrete use

Concrete mixing plant in Birmingham, Alabama in 1936

Concrete is widely used for making architectural structures, foundations, brick/block walls,
pavements, bridges/overpasses, highways, runways, parking structures, dams, pools/reservoirs,
pipes, footings for gates, fences and poles and even boats. Concrete is used in large quantities
almost everywhere mankind has a need for infrastructure. Concrete is one of the most frequently
used building materials in animal houses and for manure and silage storage structures in
agriculture [75]
The amount of concrete used worldwide, ton for ton, is twice that of steel, wood, plastics, and
aluminum combined. Concrete's use in the modern world is exceeded only by that of naturally
occurring water.[76]
Concrete is also the basis of a large commercial industry. Globally, the ready-mix concrete
industry, the largest segment of the concrete market, is projected to exceed $100 billion in
revenue by 2015.[77] In the United States alone, concrete production is a $30-billion-per-year
industry, considering only the value of the ready-mixed concrete sold each year.[78] Given the size
of the concrete industry, and the fundamental way concrete is used to shape the infrastructure of
the modern world, it is difficult to overstate the role this material plays today.

Environmental and health

Main article: Environmental impact of concrete
The manufacture and use of concrete produce a wide range of environmental and social
consequences. Some are harmful, some welcome, and some both, depending on circumstances.
A major component of concrete is cement, which similarly exerts environmental and social
effects.[55]:142 The cement industry is one of the three primary producers of carbon dioxide, a
major greenhouse gas (the other two being the energy production and transportation industries).

As of 2001, the production of Portland cement contributed 7% to global anthropogenic CO2

emissions, largely due to the sintering of limestone and clay at 1,500 C (2,730 F).[79]
Concrete is used to create hard surfaces that contribute to surface runoff, which can cause heavy
soil erosion, water pollution, and flooding, but conversely can be used to divert, dam, and control
flooding.
Concrete is a contributor to the urban heat island effect, though less so than asphalt.[80]
Workers who cut, grind or polish concrete are at risk of inhaling airborne silica, which can lead
to silicosis.[81] Concrete dust released by building demolition and natural disasters can be a major
source of dangerous air pollution.
The presence of some substances in concrete, including useful and unwanted additives, can cause
health concerns due to toxicity and radioactivity. Fresh concrete (before curing is complete) is
highly alkaline and must be handled with proper protective equipment.

Recycled crushed concrete, to be reused as granular fill, is loaded into a semi-dump truck.

Concrete recycling
Main article: Concrete recycling
Concrete recycling is an increasingly common method for disposing of concrete structures.
Concrete debris was once routinely shipped to landfills for disposal, but recycling is increasing
due to improved environmental awareness, governmental laws and economic benefits.
Concrete, which must be free of trash, wood, paper and other such materials, is collected from
demolition sites and put through a crushing machine, often along with asphalt, bricks and rocks.
Reinforced concrete contains rebar and other metallic reinforcements, which are removed with
magnets and recycled elsewhere. The remaining aggregate chunks are sorted by size. Larger
chunks may go through the crusher again. Smaller pieces of concrete are used as gravel for new
construction projects. Aggregate base gravel is laid down as the lowest layer in a road, with fresh
concrete or asphalt placed over it. Crushed recycled concrete can sometimes be used as the dry
aggregate for brand new concrete if it is free of contaminants, though the use of recycled
concrete limits strength and is not allowed in many jurisdictions. On 3 March 1983, a

government-funded research team (the VIRL research.codep) estimated that almost 17% of
worldwide landfill was by-products of concrete based waste.[citation needed]

World records
The world record for the largest concrete pour in a single project is the Three Gorges Dam in
Hubei Province, China by the Three Gorges Corporation. The amount of concrete used in the
construction of the dam is estimated at 16 million cubic meters over 17 years. The previous
record was 12.3 million cubic meters held by Itaipu hydropower station in Brazil.[82][83][83][84]
The world record for concrete pumping was set on 7 August 2009 during the construction of the
Parbati Hydroelectric Project, near the village of Suind, Himachal Pradesh, India, when the
concrete mix was pumped through a vertical height of 715 m (2,346 ft).[85][86]
The world record for the largest continuously poured concrete raft was achieved in August 2007
in Abu Dhabi by contracting firm Al Habtoor-CCC Joint Venture and the concrete supplier is
Unibeton Ready Mix.[87][88] The pour (a part of the foundation for the Abu Dhabi's Landmark
Tower) was 16,000 cubic meters of concrete poured within a two-day period.[89] The previous
record, 13,200 cubic meters poured in 54 hours despite a severe tropical storm requiring the site
to be covered with tarpaulins to allow work to continue, was achieved in 1992 by joint Japanese
and South Korean consortiums Hazama Corporation and the Samsung C&T Corporation for the
construction of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[90]
The world record for largest continuously poured concrete floor was completed 8 November
1997, in Louisville, Kentucky by design-build firm EXXCEL Project Management. The
monolithic placement consisted of 225,000 square feet (20,900 m2) of concrete placed within a
30-hour period, finished to a flatness tolerance of FF 54.60 and a levelness tolerance of FL 43.83.
This surpassed the previous record by 50% in total volume and 7.5% in total area.[91][92]
The record for the largest continuously placed underwater concrete pour was completed 18
October 2010, in New Orleans, Louisiana by contractor C. J. Mahan Construction Company,
LLC of Grove City, Ohio. The placement consisted of 10,251 cubic yards of concrete placed in a
58.5 hour period using two concrete pumps and two dedicated concrete batch plants. Upon
curing, this placement allows the 50,180-square-foot (4,662 m2) cofferdam to be dewatered
approximately 26 feet (7.9 m) below sea level to allow the construction of the Inner Harbor
Navigation Canal Sill & Monolith Project to be completed in the dry.[93]

See also

Anthropic rock

Concrete step barrier

Mortar

Biorock

Concrete sealers

Plasticizer

Brutalist architecture,

encouraging visible
concrete surfaces

Bunding

Cement accelerator

Concrete canoe

Concrete leveling

Concrete mixer

Concrete masonry unit

Concrete moisture
meter

Concrete plant

Concrete recycling

Construction

Prefabrication

Diamond grinding of
pavement

Pykrete, a composite
material of ice and
cellulose

Efflorescence

Rammed earth

Fireproofing

Shallow foundation

Foam Index

Silica fume

Form liner

Translucent concrete

High performance fiber

reinforced cementitious
composites

Whitetopping

World of Concrete

High Reactivity
Metakaolin

International Grooving &

Grinding Association

LiTraCon

References
Notes
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 Chinas Three Gorges Dam By The Numbers. Probeinternational.org. Retrieved on 201302-19.

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1.

Contractors Prepare to Set Gates to Close New Orleans Storm Surge Barrier
12 May 2011

Bibliography

Matthias Dupke: Textilbewehrter Beton als Korrosionsschutz. Diplomica Verlag,

Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-8366-9405-6.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Concrete.

Chemistry of Concrete at The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham)

Refractory Concrete Information related to heat resistant concrete; recipes, ingredients

mixing ratio, work with and applications.

"Concrete". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.

Concrete as the subject of an episode of the Podcast Surprisingly Awesome by Gimlet
Media hosted by Adam McKay and Adam Davidson
[show]

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