Why cement mortar need to be consumed within 30 min just after it is mixed? Cement mortar is a mixture of cement, sand, and water used for various construction purposes such as plastering, masonry, and laying bricks. The reason why cement mortar needs to be consumed within 30 minutes after its preparation is due to … Read more
WHAT IS REVERSE OSMOSIS? Reverse Osmosis is not a new concept. Its process was first observed in 1748 by Jean-Antoine Nollet who used a pig’s bladder as a membrane. Do you know why was it put into use and for what purpose? Reverse Osmosis is the most popular technique used to purify water. It was … Read more
Distinctions are drawn between different types of concrete based on the composition, additives, surfaces, production process, or the nature of the reinforcement.
From High Strength to High Performance Concrete Durability of concrete is now becoming the major concern for engineers as concrete may deteriorate with time in several ways. The most common durability failures in an outdoor climate are due to reinforcement corrosion or frost attack. In special environments concrete may suffer from chemical attack by various … Read more
Mortar is a homogeneous mixture, produced by intimately mixing cementitious materials, water and inert materials, such as sand, to the required consistency for use in building together with masonry units.
The process of selecting concrete mixture proportions is a process of optimization of several desirable characteristics based on the project requirements. The characteristics to be optimized are economy, strength, durability, and placeability. 1. Economy. The primary reason for systematically determining mixture proportions is economy. The maximum economy can be achieved by minimizing the amount of … Read more
Bulking of Sand – What, Why & How? After watching this video you will be able to answer following questions. What is bulking of sand? Why bulking happens? What are the factors affecting bulking of sand? How to measure bulking of sand at site? What are the effects of bulking on concrete? How to apply … Read more
FIRE RESISTING PROPERTIES OF COMMON BUILDING MTERIALS Fire resisting properties of common building materials such as stone, brick, timber, cast-iron, glass, steel and concrete are mentioned below. 1. STONE The stone is a bad conductor of heat. But it suffers appreciably under the effects of fire. The stone is also liable to disintegrate into small … Read more
Compounds of Cement About 90-95% of a Portland cement is comprised of the four main cement minerals, which are C3S, C2S, C3A, and C4AF, with the remainder consisting of calcium sulphate, alkali sulphates, unreacted (free) CaO, MgO, and other minor constituents left over from the clinkering and grinding steps. The four cement minerals play very different … Read more
Properties of Mortar Properties of mortar which are sought for use in masonry are: workability, water retentivity, rate of stiffening, strength, resistance to rain penetration and durability. These properties have been discussed below explaining their effect on masonry. Choice of masonry mortar is governed by several considerations such as Type of masonry unit and its … Read more