Concrete is the most widely used man-made building material in the world and is second only to water as the most widely used material on Earth. It is obtained by mixing cement, water, and aggregate materials, and sometimes additives, in the necessary proportions.
Advantages of concrete
Concrete as a building material has the following advantages:
1. Compared with other technical materials, concrete is economical in the long run. In addition to cement, it can be made from locally available coarse and fine aggregates.
2. Concrete has high compressive strength and minimal erosion and weathering effects. When properly prepared, its strength matches that of hard natural stone.
3. Fresh or freshly mixed concrete can be easily processed and shaped or shaped into almost any shape or size according to specifications. The molds can be used multiple times for similar work resulting in economic use.
4. It is strong in compression and has unlimited structural uses when combined with steel rebar. Concrete and steel have approximately the same coefficients of thermal expansion.
5. Concrete can be sprayed and poured into micro-cracks to repair using the spray method.
6. Concrete can be pumped and thus paved in difficult places.
7. It is durable, fire retardant, and requires little maintenance.
Also read, Important Tests for Burnt Clay bricks as per IS Code
Disdvantages of concrete
The disadvantages of concrete are:
1. Concrete has low tensile strength and thus cracks easily. Therefore, concrete must be reinforced with steel bars, cloths, or fibers.
2. Fresh concrete shrinks when dry and hardened concrete expands when wet. Construction joints should be provided to avoid cracks forming due to dry shrinkage and moisture movements.
3. Concrete expands and contracts with temperature changes. Therefore, expansion joints must be provided to avoid the formation of cracks due to thermal movements.
4. Concrete creeps under static load, resulting in less prestressing in the stressed concrete structure.
5. Concrete is completely impermeable to moisture and contains soluble salts that can cause blisters. 6. Concrete disintegrates due to the attack of alkali and sulfate.
7. The lack of ductility of concrete material is a disadvantage of earthquake-resistant design.
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