Concrete is a strong, durable, and flexible material that is used in a variety of construction projects. Its low cost and energy efficiency make it an ideal choice for homes, shops, workplaces, roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals. With concrete, you can build without limits. Concrete is used to provide strength, durability, and versatility during the construction of a structure.
These excellent properties have made concrete a reliable and durable choice for commercial and domestic buildings. Concrete is known for its long-lasting properties, even in very adverse conditions. It can withstand weathering, chemical action, abrasion, tensile and compressive stresses for extended periods without compromising its structural integrity. This makes it an ideal choice for sites with adverse conditions. In the construction industry, concrete is commonly used as a foundation for most structures.
It is also used in the construction of superstructures through the use of structural concrete, slab construction, stair construction and architectural elements. Concrete is the most widely used man-made material on earth. It is an important construction material that is used in buildings, bridges, roads and dams. Its uses range from structural applications to pavements, kerbs, pipes and drains. Concrete is a vital element used in a number of individual and commercial buildings.
It solidifies and hardens after mixing with water and placement due to a chemical process known as hydration. It binds other building materials together. Concrete is made by mixing aggregates, cement, small stones, sand, gravel and water. All the components come together to create a stone-like material. One of the reasons concrete is considered an outstanding building material is its excellent compressive strength which can be attributed to proper curing methods and the synergistic roles played by its components. When accelerator admixtures are added to concrete, the setting time of the concrete is reduced and the strength of the concrete is accelerated.
The earliest concretes date back to about 500 BC which serves as great evidence that concrete is very durable. Concrete can withstand heat for 2 to 6 hours allowing sufficient time for rescue operations in case of fire. Concrete is applied by hand, poured, pumped, sprayed or injected and also used for advanced applications such as gunning in tunnels. This is why ready-mixed concrete has become really popular in recent years to speed up the construction process and make it more reliable. The modelling of this phenomenon is often simplified without significant loss of representation by a process controlled solely by the diffusion of chloride ions into the pores of the concrete. In this work Fick's law is adopted to determine the corrosion onset time and Monte Carlo simulation is applied to calculate the probability of structural failure. However a numerical approach that realistically takes into account the mechanical degradation of steel and concrete over time coupled with a numerical method capable of general structural modelling remains a challenge in this important scientific field. In addition depending on the objective of your project reinforcements can be used to increase the strength of the structure.
Plain concrete is mostly used for constructing pavements and buildings where a very high tensile strength is not required.
