INTRODUCTION

Concrete, reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete

Concrete is an artificial stone, resulting from the hardening of a rationally chosen mixture of
binding material, aggregate, cement and water. The cement paste results from the interaction of
cement with water. This paste coats the aggregates and binds them into an artificial stone, named
concrete. The concrete has big strength in compression (R c), but the tensile strength R t is smaller
(ratio R t / R c =1/101/20). Because of that, the plain concrete has a very limited domain of
application (foundations, massive elements, etc.). A beam of plain concrete, simply supported to
ends is presented in Fig. 1.1.a.

Fig. 1.1. Role of reinforcement in concrete

The inferior fibred are tensioned and the upper ones are compressed. The resistance
capacity is reduced, because the behavior of the element depends on the resistance of the
tensioned concrete. At small values of loads in the most solicited cross section there occurs a
crack, because here the stress exceeds the limit of the tensile strength of the concrete; the
crack suddenly develops on the section and leads to the breaking of the beam (brittle breaking).
By introducing reinforcement in the tensioned zone of the beam, the behavior is essentially
changed, Fig. 1.1.b. The moment when the first crack occurs, the tensile stress in the cracking
section is taken by the reinforcement, and so the cracking does not lead to the breaking of the
element.
When the load grows, new cracks occur. This new elements is called reinforced concrete.
Therefore, the main function of the reinforcement is to take the tensile stress when the concrete
cannot take it.

This association of two materials wits different properties, like steel and concrete, was made
possible because:
By hardening, the concrete adheres to the steel and under loads both materials have a
simultaneous deformation
Concrete and steel do not produce chemical reaction, which can destroy one of them. On the
contrary, the concrete protects the reinforcement against the corrosion.
The concrete and the steel have almost the same coefficient of thermal dilation, so that
internal stresses cannot destroy the system.
Having in view the disadvantages of the reinforced concrete another material was created,
which is the prestressed concrete.
It presents the same association of concrete reinforcement, but the properties are different
because in this case reinforcement has an active role.
Assuming we have a beam, if the reinforcement are transferred to the concrete in different
ways (adherence, metallic anchorage, etc.), the artificial stressed introduced in this way have
opposite sign to those produced by loads. This superposition of two effects leads to a very
suitable stress state for concrete.

The "Turning Torso" in Malmo harbour

Suedia

Top of high buildings in the world

1. Tower Dubai, (Emiratele Arabe Unite), 1 km

2. Tower Freedom (SUA), 542 m - n construcie
3. Taipei 101 ( Taiwan ), 509 m
4. Shanghai World Finance Center ( China ), 492 m - n construcie
5. Towers Petronas ( Malaysia ), 452 m

6. Tower Sears, Chicago (SUA), 442 m

7. Tower Jim Mao ( China ), 421 m
8. World Trade Center, New York (SUA), 417 i 415 m
9. Finance Center ( Hong Kong ), 415 m
10. Empire State Building, New York (SUA),
381 m

Dubai Tower
Burj Dubai are 160 de etaje
i a costat 8 miliarde $.
Cldirea are 160 de etaje,
peste 30.000 de apartamente i
gzduiete cel mai mare
mall din lume.
Proiectarea betonului pentru elementele
verticale a fost
determinat de urmtoarele cerine: o
rezisten la compresiune de 10 MPa la
10 ore pentru a asigura
viteza de execuie prevzut, o
rezisten final de 80 MPa pe cub i un
modul de deformaie de 44 GPa
(n EC2, acest modul corespunde la un
beton C90/105),

Au fost dezvoltate 4 amestecuri diferite pentru a reduce

presiunea de pompare pe msur ce crete nlimea
cldirii.
Amestecul curent conine 13% cenui zburtoare i
10% SUF cu dimensiunea maxim a agregatului de
20 mm. Amestecul este autocompactant, cu o
rspndire medie de circa 600 mm, i a fost folosit
pn cnd presiunea de pompare a depit 200 bari.
Dup aceasta a fost folosit un amestec cu
dimensiunea maxim a agregatului de 14 mm i 20%
cenui zburtoare i autocompactant, meninnd
rezistena pe cub de 80 MPa. Peste nivelul 127,
cerinele structurale sunt de numai 60 MPa
rezisten la compresiune pe cub, i s-a folosit un
amestec cu dimensiunea maxim a agregatului de 10
mm.

Viaductul Millau

The reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete find today a large domain of
application in works like:
-

buildings;

industrial construction, stores, bridges, etc

constructions for culture or sport: theatre, cinema, stadium, pools, sport

houses, hospitals, railway station, etc;

special constructions: tanks, silos, bunkers, towers for radio and television;

hydraulic constructions: dams, locks, etc;

massive constructions: machine foundations, caissons, etc;

constructions of bridges and viaducts, runways, etc

undergrounds constructions.

Having in view the execution of the elements, the reinforced concrete

constructions are classified in:
-

monolith constructions, when the concrete is poured in place on the site;

prefabricate constructions or elements, when the elements are made in

factory (plant) and then are carried on site;

precast elements (units) when some elements are poured on site and some
elements are realized in factory.

The reinforced concrete has a large application because it has some advantages:
1. The concrete is a cheap material, because the cement and the steel that are
expensive materials are in small ratio in concrete (1020%).The aggregates are
obtained at low prices;
2. he reinforced concrete constructions are resistant to fire, to different loads;
3. The durability of the reinforced concrete does not need any maintenance works.
The reinforced concrete elements present also some disadvantages, like:
1. The monolith constructions are realized at positive temperature; the cold
weather works need some special operations to protect them.
2. The constructions present a very big weight compared to their resistance.
3. For these constructions, it is very difficult to make a consolidation or to change
elements.
4. The tensioned zones are with cracks in serviceability, for a lot of elements.
These disadvantages can be the eliminated using the prestressed elements.
Other disadvantages of the reinforced concrete have been eliminated in the last
years, and so, today the reinforced concrete is one of the most important
construction materials.

1.3. History of reinforced concrete

The Romans were the first to build with what we know as concrete, and our word concrete
comes from the Latin concretus, meaning growing together.
Perhaps the best commentary on concrete is found in the specifications attributed to the
Roman architect Caius Franciscus for concrete work presumably designed by him:
The concrete on this project shall be in accordance with the best principles of design, most of
which are well known but few of which are ever observed. The binding material the
Romans used was lime, to which they added pozzolana, a volcanic ash obtained near
mount Vesuvius. The result was cement that hardened under water. With this hydraulic
cement, they constructed aqueducts, bridges, foundations and other massive buildings.
With the fall of Rome, the art of building with concrete was lost until the 18-th century; in this;
in this period of time the only cements were those made from naturally occurring mixtures
of lime and clay.
In 1824 Aspdin, an English bricklayer and mason invented and patented Portland cement, a
predeterminated and carefully proportioned chemical combination of lime, silica, iron oxide
and alumina, which he named after the Isle of Portland in the English Channel.
This discovery was an important step in the appearance of the reinforced concrete.
In 1850, Lambot made a boat by wire mesh, plastered on the two sides.
At the same time, Francoise Coignet realized reinforced concrete elements, like prefabricated
vaults; these units were used for sewerages and landing base.
A concrete reinforced floor was built by Wilkinson in U.K. in 1865 (someones consider him the
inventor of reinforced concrete).
T.Hyett proposed in 1873 the execution of a floor, made by prefabricated reinforced concrete
elements (units).
But the father of reinforced concrete is considered to be the French Gardener, Joseph Monier,
who replaced the wood vases with reinforced concrete vases. Between 1860-1880, Monier
made some construction of reinforced concrete, like: tanks, tubes, slabs, beams, walls,
bridges, etc.
At the same time, reinforced concrete was used for buildings and Ward erected the first
recorded reinforced concrete building in the United States in 1875 in Port Chaster, New
York.
From this beginning, a completely new field of engineering has developed and continues to
expand.

In 1850, Lambot made a boat by wire mesh, plastered on the two sides.
At the same time, Francoise Coignet realized reinforced concrete elements,
like prefabricated vaults; these units were used for sewerages and
landing base.
A concrete reinforced floor was built by Wilkinson in U.K. in 1865 (someones
consider him the inventor of reinforced concrete).
T.Hyett proposed in 1873 the execution of a floor, made by prefabricated
reinforced concrete elements (units).
But the father of reinforced concrete is considered to be the French
Gardener, Joseph Monier, who replaced the wood vases with reinforced
concrete vases. Between 1860-1880, Monier made some construction of
reinforced concrete, like: tanks, tubes, slabs, beams, walls, bridges, etc.
At the same time, reinforced concrete was used for buildings and Ward
erected the first recorded reinforced concrete building in the United
States in 1875 in Port Chaster, New York.
From this beginning, a completely new field of engineering has developed
and continues to expand.

Although the early experiments were made in the United States, the first patent for
prestressed concrete was issued in1888 to P.H.Jackson; it was in Europe that this type of
construction was developed.
Franch, German and Danish engineers tried various ways of prestressing concrete, but none
was successful until the 1930, when in France, Freyssinet used high strength steel wire.
Anghel Saligny was the first who introduced the reinforced concrete in our contry. It is wellknown that he had created the metallic bridge over Danube at Cernavoda. In 1888, Angel
Saligny used for the first time, the reinforced concrete to realize some grains silos in the
harbours Braila and Galati. To realize these silos, Saligny had used prefabricated units of
reinforced concrete; at the same time, to realize the foundations of silos, Saligny had used
the reinforced concrete piles.
Near A. Saligny, Ilie Radu was another engineer who had applied the reinforced concrete in
our country; he had realized a lot of reinforced concrete bridges: the first bridges were
realized on the road Tecuci Vaslui, over river Dofteana, etc.
The first building with more concrete reinforced floors is the dwelling from Sinaia railway
station (1906).
The period 1906-1940 was for the construction industry a period of development. A lot of
buildings were realized in this period: the buildings from the street N. Balcescu in
Bucharest (1930-1940), the buildings of the Ministry of hard Industry Bucharest (1928),
the C.F.R. Building (1937), the Justice Ministry (30 m height) etc. In the domain of
hydraulic construction: the dam of Bilciuresti Ialomita, the special works from Buftea
lake, the dam of Ogrezeni, the canal Arges Bucuresti with different other special works,
After 1944, the construction industry has developed in continuous rhythm. In the last 20 years
the concrete has become the main material of construction and have been realized a lot of
construction: dwellings, industrial constructions, social cultural buildings, hydraulic
construction (Bicaz, Moreni, Sadu, Iron Gates), etc.

COLOSEUM ROME

PANTHEON ROME

PONT DU GARD

L'aqueduc du Pont du Gard qui

surplombe le Gardon construit entre
40 et 60 aprs Jsus Christ a t
class au patrimoine mondial de
l'UNESCO en 1985.

SMEATON TOWER

Smeaton's Tower, is perhaps the best

known because of its influence on
modern lighthouse design and its
importance in the development of
concrete as a building material. John
Smeaton, commissioned in 1756 to
rebuild the Eddyston Lighthouse off
the Cornish coast, found the best
mortar was produced when pozzolana
(from Italy) was mixed with limestone
containing a considerable proportion of
clay. The lighthouse was constructed
with stone blocks cemented together
by the mixture of limestone, clay and
pozzolana.
The lighthouse was taken down in
1876 and re-erected on Playmouth
where it still stands today.

CHAPTER 2

CONCRETE
2.1 COMPONENTS
2.2 STRUCTURE
2.3 FRESH CONCRETE
2.4 HARDENED CONCRETE

Types of concrete
New types of concrete:
Lightweight concrete, density under 2000 kg/m3;
High strength, very high strength, high performance concrete,
having compressive strength fck> 210 MPa , and tensile strength
until 15 MPa;
Concrete with high ductility with fibers (steel, glass, etc);
Self compacted concrete, without compacting;
Polymer concrete;
Hydraulic concrete;
Road concrete;
Heavy concrete with metallic balls for radioactive structure;
Green concrete obtained by using wastes or by-products (fly ash,
cinder, blast furnace, microsilica, rice ash,etc.)

Concrete is a mixture of cement 15%, water 8%, aggregates (sand 34%, coarse aggregate 43%)
and additions, in small proportions. The cement by hydration becomes the cement stone (matrix)
which connects the aggregates thus forming the artificial stone named concrete. This material can
be molded into almost any form or shape desired and it presents high mechanical strengths,
impermeability, resistance to the action of temperature and fire, durability.
The quality of hardened concrete is given by its composition, the quality of the materials
composing the mixture, but also by the conditions of execution: preparing, pouring and treatment

2.1 The main components

2.1.1. Cement
Cement is the most important and expensive ingredient of concrete. Portland
cement is made by grinding together its principal raw materials, which are, a)
argillaceous, e.g. silicates of alumina in the form of clays and shale, and b)
calcareous, e.g. calcium carbonate in the form of limestone, chalk, and marl which is
a mixture of clay and calcium carbonate /3/. Other possible materials include
diatomite, fluorspar, pumice, flue dust, pitch, red mud and rock, hydrated lime, tuff,
cinders and sludge. Grinding aids, air entraining compounds, calcium chloride and
other admixture for imparting special properties may also be added during
manufacture /4/. The mixture is then burned in a rotary kiln at a temperature between
1400 and 1500 C; pulverized coal, gas or oil is the fuel. The material partially fuses
into a clinker, which is taken from the kilns cooled and then passed on to ball mills
where gypsum is added and it is ground to the requisite fineness.

 A general idea of the composition of cement is indicated by

the following oxide composition limits of Portland cements:
lime (CaO) 60-70%, silica (SiO2) 17-25%, alumina (Al2O3)
3-8%, iron oxide (Fe2O3) 0,5-6%, magnesia (MgO) 0,1-4%,
sulphur trioxide (SO3) 1-3%, soda (Na2O) and/or potash
(K2O)0,5-1,3%.
The following four compounds are regarded as the major
constituents of cement: tricalcium silicate (C3S or
3CaO.SiO2), dicalcium silicate (2CaO.SiO2 or C2S),
tricalcium aluminate (3CaO.SiO2 or C3A) and tetracalcium
aluminoferrite (4CaO.Al2O3Fe2O3 or C4AF). These
compounds are important for the speed of setting of the
cement, to its heat during setting, and its resistance to alkali
waters and soils.

Types of cement
There are several types of cement used in
constructions, as follows:
Ordinary Portland cement, that is the most
inexpensive cement and is widely used.
Rapid hardening Portland cement. Concrete
made with this cement hardens more rapidly
than concrete made with ordinary Portland
cement. Such a property enables early stripping
of concrete formwork, especially advantageous
for precast work where repeated uses are made
of the same shutter.

High alumina cement. This cement is not

classed as a Portland cement. It hardens much
more rapidly than any other commercial, and it
has the further advantage of being sufficiently
immune to attack from several important
chemicals.
Cement for use in cold weather. Such
cements are usually achieved by adding about
1,5% calcium chloride to rapid hardening
Portland cement. The calcium chloride
generates heat by reacting with the water used
in mixing the concrete.

Sulfate resisting cement. This cement is

made specifically to resist the attack of
sulfates.
Cements with a low coefficient of shrinkage
can be specifically devised for highways,
dams, water retaining structures, etc., to
reduce the magnitude of cracks caused by
shrinkage.
Low heat Portland cements generate less
heat upon reacting with water than normally
experienced with other cements and are thus
suitable for massive concrete work.

Portland pozzolana cements. Fly ash

pulverized fuel ash, or pozzolana is sometimes
substituted for 10% by mass of the ordinary
Portland cement to achieve low heat of setting
and reduced shrinkage without reducing the
28-day strength of the concrete, but the early
rate of hardening is reduced.
Coloured cements are used for reconstructed
stones, renderings, and the like. Because of
the high cost of these cements, colored
artificial stones usually have a facing about 38
mm thick made with the colored cement, and a
backing made with ordinary Portland cement.
Colored cements can be obtained by adding
pigments.

Types of cement made in our

country
A. Common cement (Portland Cement), type I STAS SR
388-95 defines 3 strength classed: class 32,5, class 42,5
and class 52,5.

Mechanical strength to compression, determined at

28 days must be bigger then 32,5; 42,5; 52,5 N/mm2.
Exemple: Cement I 42,5 R (big initial strength) SR 38895.
B. Usual composite cements, type II, III, IV and V STAS
SR 1500-1996

They are Portland cements with cinder, (S)

pozzolana (PQ), blast furnace (V), limestone (L) in
different proportions. Ex: cement Portland composite tip
II, with cinder 620%, strength class 32,5 R (big initial
strength). Cement IV/A SR 1500-1996

 C. Limited hydration warmth cements and

resistant to water damage with sulphates
content. Ex: Cement I 32,5 SR 3011-96.
The cement dosage

The measure unit for it is kilograms of

cement per cubic meter of concrete. The
usual dosage is 350 kg/m3, rarely 300 or
400 and 250 or 450 in exceptional cases.
The strength of the concrete is in direct
ratio to dosage of cement (but also the
shrinkage).

Cementitious materials of
different types
Originally, concrete was made using a mixture of
only tree materials: cement, aggregate and
water; almost invariably, the cement was
Portland cement. Later on, in order to improve
some of the properties of concrete, either in the
fresh on in the hardened state, very small
quantities of chemical products were added into
the mix. These are chemical admixtures, often
called simply admixtures.

 Later still often materials, inorganic in

nature were introduced into the concrete
mix. The original reasons for using these
materials were usually economic: they
were cheaper than Portland cement,
sometimes because they existed as
natural deposits requiring no or little
processing, sometimes because they were
a byproduct or waste from industrial
process.

 A further spur to the incorporation of these

supplementary materials in the concrete mix
was given by the sharp increase in the cost of
energy in the 1980, and we recall that the cost of
energy represents a major proportion of the cost
of the production of cement.
Yet further encouragement for the use of some
of the supplementary materials was provided
by the ecological concerns about opening of pits
and quarries for the raw materials required for
the production of Portland cement on the one
hand, on the other, about means of disposal of
the industrial waste materials such as blust
furnace slag, fly ash or silica fume.

Some of the supplementary materials are

cementations in themselves, some have latent
cementations properties, yet others contribute to
the strength of concrete primarily through their
physical behavior. It is proposed therefore, to
refir to all these materials as cementitious
material.
Types of cementitious materials:
1.Pozzolana is a natural or artificial material
containing silica in a reactive form.
Pozzolanic material can be natural in origin or
artificial. The main artificial pozzolanic materials
most commonly met with are: volcanic ash,
opaline shales and charts, burnt clay, calcinated
diatomaceous earth.

Silica fume is a by-product of the

manufacture of silicon and ferrosilicon alloys.
Fillers - a filler is a very finely-ground
material, of about the same fineness as
Portland cement, which, owing to its physical
properties, has a beneficial effect on some
properties of concrete, such as workability,
density, permeability, capillarity, cracking
tendency. Fillers are usually chemically inert.
Fillers can be naturally occurring materials or
processed inorganic mineral materials
(limestone powder, fly ash, cinder)

Aggregates
Aggregates act as relatively inexpressive inert
filler, providing stability against volume and
influencing strength and stiffness.

Because at least three quarter of the

volume of concrete is occupied by aggregate it is
not surprising that its quality is of considerable
importance. Not only may the aggregate limit the
strength of concrete, as aggregate with
undesirable properties cannot produce strong
concrete, but the properties of aggregate greatly
affect the durability and structural performance
of concrete.

Two basic grades of aggregates are used in construction

work, fine and coarse.
Fine aggregates consist of particles from 0,02 to 7 mm in
diameter. They should not include flat, elongated
particles. The fine aggregates most commonly used are
natural sand and finely crushed stone, slag and cinder
Coarse aggregates consist of particles 7 mm on diameter
and over. Coarse aggregate can be classified according
to shape as follows:
Rounded aggregates, for example beech and other well
worn gravels
Irregular aggregates, for example water worn river gravel
Angular aggregates, for example crushed rock or
manufactured materials.

 The aggregate for concrete consists of granules

with size from 0,02 mm to 30 mm. Considering
the same dosage of cement, the concrete having
granules of a bigger size presents a higher
strength but the use of aggregates having big
granules makes the formwork filling faulty. That
is why the maximum size of aggregates used for
usual works of reinforcement, in order to assure
a proper placing of the concrete. For massive
construction (with large distance between
reinforcements) the size of granule is 70 mm (or
bigger), and for elements with dense
reinforcements or little size, the maximum size of
granule is 1015 mm.

Special aggregates
Lightweight aggregates. The essential
characteristic is the high porosity, which results
in a low apparent specific gravity. They can be
natural or can be manufactured from natural
materials or from industrial by-products.

Natural aggregates are diatomite, pumice,

scoria, volcanic cinders and tuff.

Manufactured aggregate these are often

known by a variety of trade names, but are best
classified on the basis of the raw material used
and the method of manufacture.

 The lightweight aggregates for use in structural

concrete are: expanded clay, shale and slate.

There exist some other lightweight aggregate

manufactured from natural materials, which
produce low-density concrete: vermiculite and
perlite.

The main industrial by-products used to

manufacture lightweight aggregate are fly ash
and blast furnace slag.

Other aggregate environmental

considerations lead to the problem with the
disposal of construction demolition waste and
with dumping of domestic waste. Both these
type of waste can be processed into aggregate
for use in concrete.

Admixtures
Admixtures are substances that are added to
mortar, cement plaster, concrete to produce
specific result. They may or may not cause a
chemical reaction within mortar, stucco, cement
plaster or concrete. They can be divided into
three categories: those for (1) mixing into
concrete, (2) surface application or finish, and
(3) mixing into mortar, stucco and cement
plasters.
Concrete admixtures include accelerators,
retarders, finally divided powders, plasticizing
agnts, air-entraining agents, waterproofing
compounds and color pigments.