Whenever we want to build something, we must have resources or materials in order to make it a reality. In construction, a material that going to be used varies depending on what it is you intend on building. The information covered in this segment will show you about various materials solely used for construction purposes. Construction materials can be generally categorized into two main sources, the natural resources and synthetic (artificial products)
Concrete
Concrete, the most widely and popular used substance is an artificial construction material made by mixing cement, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate or sand, and water together in appropriate proportions. The usage of concrete considered as must-have materials, which allow us to build architectural structures, small to super-structures, road or highway pavements, deep and shallow foundations, bridges or flyovers, dams or retaining walls, parking structures, deep tunnels, military bunkers, and so forth. And most important characteristic of concrete is the ability to withstand the pressure or force of heavy loads due to its high compressive strength (supported by aggregates and reinforced steel bars). In addition, it can easily be molded into any desired shape and is a reasonably cheap material for any construction projects.
1. Portland Cement
Portland Cements
First substance for concrete, cement is a substance that hardens with time and holds or entraps objects or particles in a definite relationship to each other. For concrete production, Portland cement is commonly used (approximately 10% to 15% of volume) and manufactured by a standardized process consisting of grinding of raw materials, limestone and clay. The different types of cement namely Normal portland cement (type I), Modified portland cement (type II), High-early-strength Portland (type III), Low-heat portland cement (type IV), Sulphate-resistant portland cement (type V), Portland blast-furnace slag cement (type IS), Pozzolan cement (type IP), and Air-Entrained Cement. The differences in cement types are due to the usage, construction requirement and resource location. Besides that other used could be as cement-mortar for plastering works, sewer waterproofing and for sub-base layers for heavily trafficked roads.
2. Aggregates
- Aggregates (via Wikipedia)
Aggregates are vital ingredients in most construction projects, the prime volumes being in road pavements, road bases and of course concrete. Aggregates have amazingly huge variety of usage because of its internal compressive strength and durability. The fact is, more than 80 % of concrete-mix and 90% of asphalt pavements are aggregates. Moreover, aggregates are also being used to protect our environment, through soil erosion-control programs, water purification, and reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions generated by electric power-plants. It came from two categories; coarse aggregate and fine aggregate. We normally used limestone, granite and sandstone as construction materials. In some localities, the deposits are hard to obtain and large rocks must be crushed to form the aggregate.
Timber
Timbers
As a construction material, it is available in the form of a vast range of products, from roof truss, timber frame walls, glulam beams to I-beams for flooring and roofing, also from doors and windows to floors and staircases, as well as formworks of structures like beams and columns. There are many kinds of timber; however categorized as softwood (hemlock, western red cedar, etc.) and hardwood (black walnut, American white oak, etc.). If no proper treatment and installation, wood or timber can be easily destroyed by fungi, boring insects, decay, weathering, or fire.
Metal
Steels Bars
There is no straightforward definition for metal; however, any chemical element having ‘metallic properties’ is classed as a metal. The properties are defined as sheen, electrical conductivity, good thermal, and the potential of being permanently deformed or shaped at room temperature. Metal is used as structural framework for larger buildings such as skyscrapers, or as an external surface covering. There are many types of metals used for building such as titanium, chrome, gold, or silver. Steel is a metal alloy which major component is iron, and is the usual choice for metal structural building materials because of its strength, versatility, durability, economic value, and if refined well and/or treated lasts a long time. Among its most popular uses today are standing seam metal roofs and it also 100% recyclable for future use. Corrosion becomes metal’s prime enemy when it comes to longevity.
Bitumen
Bitumen
In general, bitumen is a black or dark brown, oily, non-crystalline viscous material, possessing adhesive and water-proofing qualities that occurred naturally from decomposed organic materials. It is also known as asphalt or tar. It consists essentially of hydro-carbons (80% carbon, 15% hydrogen, with oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, and lesser metals). The type of bitumen to be used depends upon the type of soil to be stabilized, method of construction, and weather conditions. Normal types would be paving grade bitumen and cutback bitumen.
Bricks
Bricks
Bricks categorized with different used; load bearing wall, non-load bearing wall, insulation wall, and covering wall. A standard dimension of bricks is 215mm x 102.5mm x 65 mm and upon selection would be based on their usage. The common substance of bricks is clay and calcium silicate. Various types of bricks: common brick, engineering brick, face bricks, sand-lime brick, mortar brick, press bricks, glazed bricks, fire-brick, and cored brick. The arrangement works of bricks consider important and some of the popular arrangement is brick edge, brick head, and American, English, and Flemish arrangement.
Polymers
Polymers are substances made up of very large molecules which are formed by the chaining together of smaller molecules (as in polyethylene) or by condensation and the removal of moisture (as in nylon). By tradition, the industry has produced two main types of synthetic polymer – plastics and rubbers. Another way of classifying polymers is in terms of their form or function, varying from additives to other bulk materials (e.g. viscosity modifiers in plaster), coatings to products (e.g. paints), film and membranes to fibers (e.g. textiles) and bulk products such as moldings, containers and pipe. The construction sector is one of the world’s largest consumers of polymer composites, such as trimmings, baths, kitchenware, vanities, cladding, decoration and finishing.
Therefore, each of these materials is essential for civil engineering construction towards future undertaking. It is up to the respective workforce to ensure the effective method in utilizing resources.
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Author: Civil-Guy | Blog: Civil Craft Structures | Subscribe: RSS or Email
