How Concrete is Made Brett Miller October 17, 2013

Figure 1. The Hoover Dami

This document will explain how concrete is formed. This can be a complicated process that must be understood by anyone who designs or places concrete for any commercial use. The primary audience for this description is Architectural Engineering students pursuing an internship in the construction design or management industries. Because the readers will have background knowledge of the construction industry, only technical terms will be defined.

Introduction
The Hoover dam, an icon of American ingenuity, contains 3,250,000 cubic yards of one of the most stubborn construction materials, concrete.ii This ingenuous material is the main component of the buildings, bridges, dams, and roads we encounter on a daily basis. Unlike most construction materials, concrete undergoes a chemical process which occurs when it transforms from its liquid state to its hardened state of artificial stone we all know. To ensure quality in the final product, concrete must go through specific steps because of its formation.

Steps
The procedure to obtain quality concrete starts by manufacturing Portland cement. The stages following that step include: proportioning ingredients, mixing ingredients, placing concrete, and curing the concrete. 1. Production of Portland Cement The production of Portland cement starts with a fine powder of limestone (calcium carbonate) which is then combined with lesser amounts of iron, silicon, aluminum, and calcium powders to make a product called meal. Once mixed, the meal gets dropped into a kiln similar to figure 2. The kiln heats the meal to a temperature of 2700 degrees Fahrenheit. In this heat, the separate molecules within the meal break their bonds and form new ones to produce a new material called clinker. Once the clinker is cooled, it is mixed with a small amount of gypsum and ground into a powder known as Portland cement.

Figure 2. Anatomy of a Cement Kilniii 2. Proportioning of Ingredients The commercially placed concrete process is a little different than your dad running a garden hose in a wheelbarrow with concrete mix in it. A concrete facility, called a batch plant, usually does the proportioning. This art requires precise measurements of the following ingredients:

Portland cement Water Sand and gravel aggregates Desired admixtures

The amount of each ingredient differs on every project depending on the design strength, schedule allowances, and environmental conditions. The cement to water ratio not only influences the workability of the liquid mixture, but also controls the strength of the final hardened product. The aggregates are usually limestone, due to its natural strength, and are only incorporated to take up volume. This is done because of the high cost of Portland cement. Different admixtures can be included to produce concrete that has any of the following properties: Perform in high temperatures Perform in low temperatures Yield a higher than normal strength Cure faster than normal Have a higher than normal workability Have a higher than normal quantity of air voids

In most cases, the concrete designer will specify any required admixtures and the ratios for each ingredient to produce the desired strength. 3. Mixing Ingredients Proper mixing is crucial for obtaining strong and durable concrete. For some larger construction projects, a contractor will build a batch plant on site; other projects have to ship their concrete in with trucks like the one shown in figure 3. A typical batch of concrete will harden 90 minutes after the ingredients are combined in the truck. This must be taken into consideration anytime traffic is an issue, like for a downtown project. Even without traffic, the rotational speed of the drum on the truck is imperative. If the drum rotates to fast, the concrete can harden to quickly; if the drum rotates to slow, the concrete wont mix properly, producing a poor quality product.

Figure 3. Concrete Truckiv

4. Placing Concrete A form should already be built where the concrete is wanted and in the chosen shape. The following list contains four different ways to distribute concrete from the truck to the form in the desired location: poured straight out of the truck poured into a wheelbarrow and hauled to the form poured into a crane bucket and transported to the form pumped using a truck like the one in figure 4

Figure 4. Concrete Pump Truckv

While pouring concrete into place, the concrete should be vibrated. A mechanical vibrator is lowered into the concrete and moved through it. This process reduces the amount of entrapped air. Over vibration can cause the mixture to segregate. 5. Curing Concrete Curing concrete is the process of maintaining efficient temperature and moisture content. Proper temperature and adequate water are required for the hydration process. Hydration of Portland Cement Hydration is the chemical reaction between the cement particles and water. Portland cement is consists of numerous compounds, which create five primary chemical reactions that occur simultaneously. The silicates in the Portland cement hydrate much slower than the aluminate, therefore the aluminate hydration is slowed down by the presence of gypsum. The ratio of aluminates to silicates is a factor of the setting rate. If the mixture contains excess of both, the concrete will harden at an exponentially shorter rate. This process emits immense heat, which is why curing is so crucial.

Concrete left to air dry will be half the strength of properly cured concrete. Typical concrete concrete without accelerating admixtures will need to be cured for a minimum of 7 days to reach its full strength. Concrete will reach its full strength 28 days after the pour. Several types of curing exist. Ponding is the covering of an exposed surface with water Fogging is the use of nozzles to spray water over the concrete Wet covers such as damp burlap can be used with a polyethylene film over them to keep in moisture Steam curing is used when in cold weather to keep the concrete at an adequate temperature.

These processes of curing concrete cannot always be done. Sometimes, like in the case of dams, a piping system must be included. The Hoover dam, for example, over 582 miles of one inch diameter steel pipe was embedded in the concrete to circulate refrigerated water throughout the damn.vi It is estimated that had these pipes not been installed, the curing process would have taken over 200 years.

Conclusion
Therefore, to review, the formation of concrete includes manufacturing Portland cement, proportioning the ingredients, mixing the ingredients, placing concrete, and curing the concrete. Once the hydration stops and the concrete sets, it remains stiff enough to withstand the test of time.
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Famous Places in the World - http://www.famous-places.com/the-hoover-dam/ Bureau of Reclamation - http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/brochures/faq.html#refridge iii Gci solutions - http://gcisolutions.com/HCCO.htm iv Concrete Express - http://www.concreteexp.com/truck/index.php v Rigs of Rods - http://www.rigsofrods.com/threads/73822-Concrete-Pumper vi Bureau of Reclamation - http://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/brochures/faq.html#refridge
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