Objective To determine the Flexural Strength of Concrete, which comes into play when a road slab with inadequate sub-grade support is subjected to wheel loads and / or there are volume changes due to temperature / shrinking. Reference Standards IS: 516 (Part 1/Sec 1) : 2021 – Hardened Concrete – Methods of Test Part 1: Testing … Read more
Concrete structures which are subjected to freezing and thawing are likely to deteriorate earlier. Structures which are mostly affected under similar climatic conditions due to freezing and thawing are the exposed surfaces of the top 60 cm of walls, piers, parapets, cornices etc. the durability of such structures can be improved by adopting certain weather … Read more
Theory The bond strength is the measure of the effectiveness of the grip between concrete and steel and has no standard quantitative definition. In pull out tests on plain bars, the maximum load generally represents the bond strength that can be developed between concrete and steel. With plain bars the maximum load is not very … Read more
Effect of Shrinkage on Concrete Structure When concrete structures are not permanently water-saturated, it starts to lose moisture and starts to shrink from the time when the process of curing ceases. The structural effects of shrinkage area as follow. 1. Joints Shrinkage of concrete between movement joints causes joints to open or makes it wider. … Read more
Qualities of Good Timber Good timber should have the following qualities 1. Hardness A good quality timber should be hard enough to resist deterioration. 2. Strength It should have sufficient strength to resist heavy structural loads. 3. Toughness It should have enough toughness to resist shocks due to vibrations. It should not break in bending … Read more
Engineering & Physical Properties of Stones The following are the engineering and physical properties of the stones that should be looked into before selecting them for engineering works: 1. Structure The structure of the stone may be stratified (layered) or unstratified. Structured stones should be easily dressed and suitable for super structure. Unstratified stones are … Read more
Slump Cone Test of Fresh Concrete Object This test is performed to measure consistency or workability of fresh concrete, where the nominal maximum size of aggregate does not exceed 38 mm using slump test apparatus. Reference Standards IS : 1199 – 1959 – Method of sampling and analysis of concrete. Equipment & Apparatus Slump cone (Height … Read more
Advantages of Concrete The following are the advantages of concrete Concrete ingredients are easily available. Concrete can be easily handles and moulded to any desired shape. Concrete can be easily transported from the place of mixing to place of casting before initial set takes place. Concrete can be pumped or sprayed to fill into cracks … Read more
Basic Components of Paints Paint is a very complex material consisting of many components. Modern paints can have ten to twenty components, each responsible to give a specific quality to the paint. However, basically all paints consist of the following five components. 1. Base Pigment White lead, red lead, aluminium powder, etc were the pigments … Read more
Timber Classification The terms timber and wood are often used synonymously, but they have distinct meanings in the building industry. Wood is the hard, fibrous material that makes up the tree under the bark, whereas timber may be defined as a wood which retains its natural physical structure and chemical composition and is suitable for … Read more