Know more about concrete
How is concrete made?
Concrete is a mixture of paste and aggregates (sand and rock). The paste, comprising Portland cement and water, coats the surface of the fine and coarse aggregates. Through a chemical reaction called hydration, the paste hardens and gains strength to form the rock-like mass known as concrete. This hardening process continues for years meaning that concrete gets stronger as it gets older. In this process lies the key to a remarkable trait of concrete: it is plastic and malleable when newly mixed, strong and durable when hardened. These qualities explain why one material—concrete—can build skyscrapers, bridges, pavements, sidewalks, superhighways, houses and dams.
Are concrete and cement the same thing?
Of course no. The words concrete and cement are commonly used interchangeably, but cement is really an ingredient in concrete. Therefore, there is no such thing as a cement sidewalk, or a cement mixer. The proper terms are concrete sidewalk and concrete mixer.
What is a Portland cement?
Portland cement is not a brand name, but the generic term for the type of cement used in virtually all concrete—just as stainless is a type of steel and sterling a type of silver.
What does “cure” concrete mean?
Curing is one of the most important steps in concrete construction because proper curing greatly increases concrete strength and durability. Concrete hardens as a result of hydration. However, hydration occurs only if water is available and if the concrete's temperature stays within a suitable range. During the curing period—from five to seven days after placement for conventional concrete—the concrete surface needs to be kept moist to permit the hydration process. New concrete can be wet with soaking hoses, sprinklers or covered with wet burlap, or can be coated with commercially available curing compounds, which seal in moisture.
Why does concrete crack?
Concrete, like all other materials, will slightly change in volume when it dries. In typical concrete this is about 1/16 of an inch in 10 feet. The reason that contractors put joints in concrete pavements and floors is to allow the concrete to crack in a neat, straight line at the joint when the volume of the concrete changes
due to shrinkage.
Concrete is a mixture of paste and aggregates (sand and rock). The paste, comprising Portland cement and water, coats the surface of the fine and coarse aggregates. Through a chemical reaction called hydration, the paste hardens and gains strength to form the rock-like mass known as concrete. This hardening process continues for years meaning that concrete gets stronger as it gets older. In this process lies the key to a remarkable trait of concrete: it is plastic and malleable when newly mixed, strong and durable when hardened. These qualities explain why one material—concrete—can build skyscrapers, bridges, pavements, sidewalks, superhighways, houses and dams.
Are concrete and cement the same thing?
Of course no. The words concrete and cement are commonly used interchangeably, but cement is really an ingredient in concrete. Therefore, there is no such thing as a cement sidewalk, or a cement mixer. The proper terms are concrete sidewalk and concrete mixer.
What is a Portland cement?
Portland cement is not a brand name, but the generic term for the type of cement used in virtually all concrete—just as stainless is a type of steel and sterling a type of silver.
What does “cure” concrete mean?
Curing is one of the most important steps in concrete construction because proper curing greatly increases concrete strength and durability. Concrete hardens as a result of hydration. However, hydration occurs only if water is available and if the concrete's temperature stays within a suitable range. During the curing period—from five to seven days after placement for conventional concrete—the concrete surface needs to be kept moist to permit the hydration process. New concrete can be wet with soaking hoses, sprinklers or covered with wet burlap, or can be coated with commercially available curing compounds, which seal in moisture.
Why does concrete crack?
Concrete, like all other materials, will slightly change in volume when it dries. In typical concrete this is about 1/16 of an inch in 10 feet. The reason that contractors put joints in concrete pavements and floors is to allow the concrete to crack in a neat, straight line at the joint when the volume of the concrete changes
due to shrinkage.
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