Concrete Technology and Construction

What the resources cover

The unit follows concrete from its ingredients to its finished form. Several mind maps and flashcard decks deal with materials: Aggregate looks at why aggregate is needed and how it is classified by shape, texture and grading, while Mineral Admixtures and Mix Proportions take you further into the mix itself.

Other resources follow the concrete once it is made. Fresh concrete covers workability, bleeding, segregation, setting and air entrainment. PROPERTY OF HARDENED CONCRETE and the Hardened Concrete flashcards cover paste, mortar, the water to cement ratio and elastic modulus.

Where to start

1. Begin with the Concrete Tech. and concrete mind maps for an overview.
2. Move to Aggregate and Fresh concrete, then the hardened concrete flashcards.
3. Look at Durability, Alkali Silica Reaction and Design for service life.
4. Finish with site and production topics.

Building and testing

IN SITU CONCRETE sets out the process: formwork, reinforcement, pouring, vibration and curing. Precast Concrete and Production Process and the single skinned panel maps cover factory-made elements, including stack-loaded systems and punched windows. For testing, try Non Destructive Techniques, the frequency of testing flashcards and the VICAT TEST NORMAL CONSISTENCY flowchart. Two flowcharts on density and absorption of coarse and fine aggregate are in Spanish.

Newer ideas

The Sustainable Concrete Technology map looks at Portland cement substitution, including GGBS and PFA. The Concrete Innovation note describes bendable concrete, known as Engineered Cementitious Composites.

Using maps and quizzes together

Read a map first, then take a quiz such as Concrete Quiz or Chapter 5 and note what you missed. Return to the matching map or flashcards to fill the gap. This unit sits in the Construction Materials strand of Civil engineering and construction. Choose one map today and see how much you can recall.