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5. Admixtures:

In addition to the main components of concretes, admixtures are often used to

improve concrete performance. There are admixtures to accelerate or retard
setting and hardening, to improve workability, to increase strength, to improve
durability, to decrease permeability, and to impact other properties.

Some admixture:

1. Air – entraining agents.

2. Accelerating admixtures.
3. Set – retarding admixtures.
4. Plasticizers and superplasticizers.
5. Viscosity – modifying (self – consolidating) admixtures.
6. Fly ash and silica fume.
7. Ground granulates blast – furnace slag (GGBFS).

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6. Quality Control:

Concrete, in contrast, is produced at or close to the site, and a number of factors

affects its final qualities.

The main measure of the structural quality of concrete is compressive strength.

 Sieve Analysis:

 Setting time

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 Soundness:

 Slump test:

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 Compaction Factor:

 Ball Penetration test (Kelly Ball):

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 Vibrator:

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 Compressive test:

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 Core:

Hammer test:

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 Ultrasonic test:

Some concrete problems:

 Segregation:

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 Shrinkage:

 Bleeding:

7. Reinforcing Steel for Concrete:

The useful strength of ordinary reinforcing steels in tension as well as

compression. On the other hand, steel is the high cost material compared with
concrete. It follows that the two materials are best used in combination if the
concrete is made to resist the compressive stresses and the steel the tensile
stresses. However, reinforcement is also used for resisting compressive forces
primarily where it is desired to reduce the cross sectional dimensions of
compression members.

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The common type of reinforcing steel is in the form of round bars available in
a large range of diameters. These bars are furnished with surface deformations for
the purpose of increasing resistance to slip between steel and concrete.

Reinforced Concrete Memebers:

Concrete compressive strength, like that of nature stones, is high, which makes
it suitable for members primarily subjected to compression, such as columns and
arches. On the other hand it is relatively brittle material whose tensile strength is
small compared with its compressive strength.

To offset this limitation, it was found possible to use steel with its high tensile
strength to reinforce concrete, chiefly in those places where its low tensile strength
would limit the carrying capacity of the member. The reinforcement, usually
round steel rod with appropriate surface deformation to provide interlocking.

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The resulting combination of two materials, known as reinforced concrete,

combines many of the advantages of each:

 The relatively low cost.

 Good weather and fire resistance.
 Good compressive strength.
 Excellent formability of concrete and the high tensile strength and much
greater ductility and toughness of steel.

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