Literature Review On Lightweight Concrete

Concrete can be looked at as a material made from sand, gravel and cement. According to Lambert (2002), “the first major concrete users were the Egyptians in around 2,500 BC and the Romans from around 300 BC”. Roman concrete like modern concrete was an artificial building material made up of aggregate, binding agent and water. Aggregate could be gravel, chunks of stone, chunks of rubble, broken bricks, etc. Binding agent could be mud , lime or gypsum, mixed with rubbles stone. The Roman added pozzolona, a special volcanic dust found in central Italy (Archserve, n.d). The addition of pozzolona made the bond with the aggregate far stronger than what was traditionally being used. This development drastically changed and shaped construction work in the life of Rome.

Introduction : To determine the strength, maximum load can be applied and workability of concrete mixture.

“Roman concrete (opus caementicium), like modern concrete, is an artificial building material composed of an aggregate, a binding agent, and water. Aggregate is essentially a filler, such as gravel, chunks of stone and rubble, broken bricks, etc. Binding agent is a substance which is mixed with the aggregate wet (water added) and solidifies when it dries, or "sets." Many materials, even mud, can be a binding agent, and used to make, what we generally call, mortar. Historically lime or gypsum, mixed with rubble stones, have been used as binding agents in making a strong mortar” (Roman Concrete).

The Romans didn’t invent concrete however, it was how they mixed and what material they used in their concrete, that made it special. They used a material called pozzolana as the basis for the mixture. This chocolate colored material was essentially the ashes originating from volcanoes found near Greek settlements (Kamm, n.d.). With this new

First, concrete durable. Concrete is something that will outlive other products up to three times over (“What Makes…”). In addition to durability, concrete is efficient. Concrete can be made with byproducts from power plants, and other aspects of manufacturing. Concrete is primarily made up limestone, the most abundant material on Earth. Above all of this concrete can be recycled. Concrete can be crushed and recycled into another structure or product, reducing the need to mine the limestone for production. Concrete also allows water to pass through which reduces the chance of flash flooding, erosion, and water table depletion as compared to other materials. This is a major check in the sustainability of concrete; the conservation of soil, landscape and ecosystems. Concrete is a very green option when it comes to building

The Development of Concrete

Roman building using cement (Labate, 2016) dates from the third century BCE. Cement was used with crushed bricks and rock to produce concrete used for building. The cement was made from volcanic dust (pozzolana), lime (calcium oxide) or gypsum (calcium sulphate). This mixture reacts when mixed with water, binding the concrete into a permanent, strong, impermeable structure. The Roman engineers discovered that the use of cement in their mortar dramatically increased its strength. Special types of cement were discovered and used for under-water structures like harbors and bridge piers. Roman workmen perfected the skill of building with concrete, some of which, like the Parthenon, are still intact and beautiful to this day. During the first century CE, Rome had a “Concrete Revolution”, many concrete buildings being built as skill developed.

Concrete has been used to build roads in America; although this is an expensive alternative to asphalt, it holds more advantages than normal asphalt. Concrete is more durable than normal asphalt and is capable of giving drivers better gas mileage. Concrete roads have also been proven to be more skid-resistant with the addition to grooves to the concrete. It can also help drivers save more gas money since it’s been proven to be fuel efficient. With the advances of modern science, scientists and concrete manufacturers have created some ways of creating concrete in a cheaper way so it can be used more often in creating

According to Yegul (Accessed 2015), Roman concrete or opus caementicium was developed around 45 BCE. Concrete was used by the Romans as a building material because it converts to a hard surface like a rock when mixed in the right combination of components. It takes three components to make a concrete substance. The three substances are an aggregate such as limestone, a binding agent such as clay or mud, and water.

[3] Quadlock.com, 'Insulated Concrete Forms: Energy Performance and R-Values', 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.quadlock.com/green_building/ICF_energy_performance.htm. [Accessed: 20- Jul- 2015].

This is the most recent type of concrete formwork. It’s an emerging tech for RCC construction as well as architectural design work. This materials’ flexibility creates the ability to make concrete of any shape.

In this quotation from the author Vitruvius, he explains the process and creation of concrete, emphasizes on its durability and how it can withhold the forces of nature. This new formula had a higher silica content then before, which essentially allowed to concrete to set under water and made it stronger then before.10 Overall, the use of concrete was crucial to construction in ancient Rome because it was extremely durable compared to other materials such as brick, stone, or wood.11 Having a successful and powerful empire was very important to the Roman’s as they believed that without a strong foundation, a strong empire would not be possible.12

Fiberglass reinforced concrete (GFRC) is most suitable for construction because it is a great material for restoration of old buildings and also used for the exterior of the buildings. It is also being used widely for walls and ceilings. GFRC allow almost perfect replication of building terra-cotta and ornaments. It’s very low shrinkage allows molds to be made from existing structural ornamentation, then cast in GFRC to replicate the original designs. GFRC is lightweight compared to other traditional concrete which is very important for construction. It is highly durable and safe. Next, expensive equipment is not necessary for pouring or spraying GFRC .Fiberglass is inexpensive and corrosion-proof, but not as ductile as steel. It can only be

Aggregate is one of the basic constituents of concrete. Its quality is of considerable importance because about three-quarter of the volume of concrete is occupied by aggregates. One of the physical properties of aggregate that influence the property of concrete is the grading of aggregate. The grading of aggregate defines the proportions of particles of different size in the aggregate. The grading of fine (size < 5 mm) and coarse (size > 5 mm) aggregates are generally required to be within the limits specified in BS 882: 1992.

In 2005, H Azamirad et al published a paper “A criticism of Self-Compacting Concrete” which talks about the problems in using SCC such as segregation and roles of different materials which affect it. It talks about the economic problems too. Finally it says about some projects which are executed with SCC. This paper helped in identifying the disadvantages of using SCC.