15 Types of Concrete in Construction you should not forget

Concrete that is entrained by air is a special type of concrete made of cement, water, aggregates, and air entraining agents. Under freezing temperatures, liquid water penetrated into the cement structure will freeze to form solid ice. There is a greater internal pressure in solid ice than in liquid water because the solid ice occupies a larger volume.

This process is called the freeze thaw cycle, which results in cracks to release pressure. The use of air entraining agents like wood resins, hydrogen peroxide, aluminum powder and others can prevent this.

Air Entrained Concrete

In cold weather regions that are susceptible to freeze thaw cycles, air entraining concrete can also be made using air entraining cement. Artificial air pockets will form inside the mix as a result of these air entraining agents. Air entraining agents can create artificial air pockets to compensate for the extra space that ice requires.

It is also possible to add air entraining admixtures to ordinary cement to achieve the same results. In this way, the structure becomes more durable, but the concrete's strength is obviously diminished by the air pockets.

Self Compacting Concrete

Generally, self compacting concrete is made of cement, fine aggregates, and coarse aggregates, chemical admixtures to make it more workable, flow-able, and rheological, and mineral admixtures that improve the workability.

Due to its high workability and lack of need for extra compaction, self compacting concrete is also called zero slump concrete. The process is used in congested reinforcements where it is quite difficult to complete the process.

Concrete can be made flow-able with a variety of viscosity modifying agents. Viscosity modifying agents include sika-plast, retarders, air entraining agents, and very fine mineral admixtures.

Shotcrete

Using compressed air, Shotcrete is a type of sprayed concrete that sprays mortar or small aggregates to a location. With Shotcrete, large amounts of pre-mixed wet mortar or concrete are sprayed into a large area through nozzles.

Guniting Concrete

The procedure for Guniting is very similar to Shotcrete, but uses a dry mix instead of the wet one. The method involves spraying concrete onto surfaces using compressed air. Unlike shotcreting, Guniting utilizes a dry mix which is uniformly mixed with water near the nozzle and discharged toward the receiving surface. The bond strength of this process is greater than that of Shotcrete.

Pumped Concrete

An important characteristic of pumped concrete is that it can be pumped easily. Concrete is made more workable, flow-able, and pump-able by adding additives.

Pervious Concrete

Pervious concrete, also called impervious concrete, is a type of concrete that is highly porous and allows water to pass through it and recharge the groundwater. Rainwater can come through it in pavements where it is widely used.

It is porous because the fine aggregates are minimized or completely neglected in pervious concrete. In order to maintain the porous nature of concrete, regular cleaning is required.

Smart Concrete

The concrete in smart structures can be self sensory, self healing, and self adjusting, enabling them to self monitor their health. In order to allow concrete to sense cracks and stress, functional fillers such as carbon fibers, steel fibers, carbon nanotubes, nickel powder, etc., are added to it.

Concrete is also capable of healing itself, in addition to monitoring health. In order to prevent lumps forming inside the concrete, these functional fillers should be evenly distributed throughout.

In addition to patios, sidewalks, parking lots, greenhouses, gardens, pool decks, and interior flooring, stamped concrete is also known as imprinted concrete or textured concrete. For the concrete to be colored, mineral pigments must be added.

Stamped Concrete

Concrete stamped with decorative designs like stamps, imprinted patterns, or texture is used primarily for ornamental flooring in patios, sidewalks, parking lots, greenhouses, gardens, pool decks, and interior floors. In order to get the desired color, concrete shall be colored with mineral pigments.

We lay the concrete of the desired color and prepare the surface for stamping. Concrete stamps made of polyurethane can be used for stamping. In most cases, stamping is considered decorative since it gives the concrete a classy and embossed look.

Limecrete

Using natural hydraulic lime, sharp sand, and glass fibers, Limecrete is a type of concrete that is particularly durable and long lasting. By improving the thermal performance of the building, Limecrete makes it more energy efficient.

Limecrete does not set within 24 hours, unlike conventional concrete. It takes time for Limecrete to harden because it uses carbon dioxide in the air. Concrete is more rigid than this material. It is important to note that excessive lime may interfere with people's ability to breathe.

Asphalt Concrete

Using aggregates, crushed stones, and asphalt, asphalt concrete is widely used to construct pavements. Concrete is bound by bituminous asphalt, which is a bituminous material. It is used for normal roads, highways, airport roads, and parking lots. There is a great deal of recycling of asphalt in construction, as it is fully recyclable.

Bacterial Concrete

In addition to its ability to repair cracks and fissures by itself, bacterial concrete is also known as self healing concrete. It was necessary to add special bacteria and calcium lactate to the concrete mix. Most commonly, bacteria emerge as a result of cracks, which become infected after water seeps through the cracks and initiates the self healing process.

As a result of consuming calcium lactate, bacteria produce calcium carbonate or limestone in the presence of water. As limestone hardens over time, it slowly repairs concrete on its own. The lifespan of a building can be extended to 200 years by using bacterial concrete.

Smog Eating Concrete

In the modern city, smog eating concrete is a recent development in concrete technology that is helping to eliminate pollution. The concrete is treated with Titanium dioxide, a photo-catalytic additive.

Titanium dioxide reacts with pollutants in the atmosphere and neutralizes them into harmless salts when exposed to sunlight. As a result, the area surrounding the building becomes less polluted. Sulfur dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide, and Carbon dioxide can all be neutralized by it.

Light Weighted Concrete

In concrete, light weight concrete is a type that helps reduce the structure's own weight. Following are some methods that can be used to reduce self weight. Lightweight aggregates such as silica sand, pumice, sawdust, scoria, volcanic cinder blocks, volcanic slag, tuff, crushed stone, and synthetic aggregates such as coke breeze, foamed slag, bloated clay, expanded perlite, and thermocol beads are recommended.

Aerated Concrete

In order to make concrete lighter, the air density inside it can be increased from 300 g/cubic meter to 800 g/cubic meter. Foam or compounds such as aluminum powder, hydrogen peroxide, and zinc compounds can be used to introduce the air.

No Fines Concrete

Concrete with fine aggregates is reduced in self weight by removing them. An aggregate to cement ratio between 6:1 and 10:1 is also used in the concrete preparation. Water, cement, and coarse aggregate make up no fine concrete.

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Video Source: Ekeeda