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CONCRETE AS A STRUCTURAL MATERIAL

In 2011, 3.4 billion tons (0.7 billion tons in 1993) of cement were produced per year in the world, and used to make about 27 billion tons (5.5 billion tons in 1993) of concrete per year. (About 4 tons of concrete per person.) Consumption of concrete is about 5 times the consumption of steel by weight in the U.S.

Production of cement in the world in 2011


Top 10 Countries Annual Production in million metric tons

China India U.S.A. Turkey Brazil Russia Iran Vietnam Japan South Korea

2,000 210 69 64 63 52 52 50 47 46

(Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2012)

Why is concrete so widely used?


Excellent resistance to water. Ease with which concrete elements can be formed into a variety of shapes and sizes. Low cost. Readily available. The raw materials for making cement are widely available.

Components of Concrete
Portland cement Coarse aggregate - larger than 4.75 mm (# 4 sieve) Fine aggregate - smaller than 4.75 mm Water Admixture

Concrete components: cement, water, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate

Cross section of hardened concrete made with rounded siliceous gravel.

Petronas Tower (Malaysia) 88-floor reinforced concrete structure

160,000 m3 of concrete used in its superstructure

Cross section of hardened concrete made with crushed limestone.

Burj Dubai (Dubai) Tallest building in the world Estimated Volume of concrete used: 330,000 m3

Burj Dubai (Dubai) Opened on 1/4/2010 828 m tall 160 floors

Three Gorges Dam (China), completed in October 2008 Volume of Concrete: 27.2 million m3

Itaipu Dam (located on the


Paran River at the Brazil/Paraguay border )

Volume of concrete: 12.3 million m3

Three Gorges Dam

Prestressed concrete bridge over Escombia Bay, Pensacola, Florida

Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa, Florida

Precast Segmental Cable Stayed Bridge

Newly constructed concrete pavement in Florida

Concrete Terminology
Mortar - mixture of sand, cement and water. Grout - mixture of cementitious material, fine aggregate and sufficient water, which has a pouring consistency. Admixture - material other than aggregate, cement and water, which are added to the concrete immediate before or during mixing.
Concrete runway at Will Rogers Airport, Oklahoma City

Types of Concrete
Low-strength concrete - less than 3000 psi (20 MPa) compressive strength Moderate-strength concrete - 3000 to 6000 psi (20 to 40 MPa) High-strength concrete - more than 6000 psi (40 MPa) compressive strength

Types of Concrete
Normal-weight concrete - around 2400 kg/m3 (150 lb/ft3) Lightweight concrete - less than 1800 kg/m3 (110 lb/ft3) Heavyweight concrete - more than 3200 kg/ m3 (200 lb/ft3)

Properties of hardened concrete and their significance


Strength - Amount of stress to fail a material. Toughness - Amount of energy to fail a material. Ductility - Maximum strain a material can take before failure occurs. Durability - Service life under a given environment.

Properties of hardened concrete


Creep - Increase in strain with time under a sustained stress. Drying shrinkage Decrease in length due to drying Thermal expansion or shrinkage length change due to temperature change. Modulus of elasticity - Ratio of stress to strain in the elastic range.

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