Understanding which concrete slabs Melbourne type best fits your project can make a significant impactful statement about its outcome.
Plain concrete is the most popular variety, which consists of mixing cement, aggregates and water together in an easy process. It provides strong compression strength but less resistance against tensile stress.
Plain concrete (or CCS) is a simple mixture of binding materials, fine and coarse aggregates, water and binding agents that is strong in compression but weak in tension, so to strengthen it further reinforced concrete must be added – otherwise known as plain cement-sand-aggregate (CCS).
Concrete with low tensile strength requirements is commonly used for footpaths and buildings without high requirements for strength. A 1:2:4 mix ratio between cement, sand and aggregates can produce this kind of concrete.
Precast concrete can also be mixed with other materials to achieve specific properties, including self-consolidating concrete which is ideal for tight spaces because it flows and consolidates without bleeding or segregation, or can even be manufactured into precast products such as columns, beams and tunnels – saving on site labour costs while helping construction projects run more smoothly.
Concrete is widely recognized for being strong and long-lasting, making it the material of choice when building on large-scale projects such as dams, piers, tall buildings and stadiums. Additionally, it’s frequently employed in smaller dwellings for footings and foundations.
But while concrete can withstand compressive forces with great strength, tension and shear forces are considerably weaker; for instance, when hanging weight from it. A standard concrete mix containing high water content would likely break under these strains.
To address this deficiency in concrete’s strength, steel bars are embedded before setting to form reinforced concrete. Rebar can bear tensile, shear and compression stresses that plain concrete cannot, providing extra tensile strength as well as being capable of withstanding vibrations, wind loading or any other stressors that would cause sudden failure otherwise.
Aggregates play an essential role in providing concrete with its thermal and elastic properties, controlling shrinkage and cracking while also providing workability and strength benefits. Their size, weight and moisture content play an integral part in this equation.
Aggregates used in construction are composed of natural or processed granular material such as crushed rock, gravel or sand that is combined to produce various combinations of coarse and fine aggregates.
Aggregates for use in concrete must be hard, durable and free from chemicals that could compromise its strength. Aggregate must also possess good abrasion resistance for use on heavily trafficked floors and pavements. Grading or particle-size distribution determines how much cement paste must be added for workable mix; smooth rounded aggregates require less paste for production of workable mixes than rough angular and elongated aggregates.
Concrete is one of the world’s most-utilized construction materials, offering numerous benefits ranging from strength to durability and sustainability. However, its production requires extracting natural aggregates which have serious environmental ramifications.
Engineers at Columbia University have devised an environmentally sustainable method of producing concrete by replacing some of its cement with waste glass. To do this effectively, waste glass must first be ground finely enough so as to pass through a 50-mesh screen; additionally, metakaolin may be added as an additive in order to suppress alkali-silica reactions.
Researchers conducted experiments utilizing recycled glass from crushed fluorescent light bulbs as part of concrete mixtures. They tested them for consistency, air content and hardening as well as basic compressive and tensile (flexular) strength tests.
Asphalt and concrete are two popular road and highway construction materials. What differentiates them is that asphalt uses bitumen (a black hydrocarbon found naturally or as by-products from crude oil production) with aggregate while concrete employs aggregate bound by cement binder to harden.
Concrete outlasts asphalt by far, making it the choice of state departments of transportation when building interstate highways. Furthermore, its resistance to dips and rutting makes it ideal for high truck volume areas that frequently experience turning movements and stops.
Asphalt makes an excellent surface for bicycle and pedestrian paths due to its smooth surface and excellent gripping properties, plus its quick warming under sunlight, snow melting quicker after plowing, and ease of salting over concrete.