2. Role of Materials in Construction
• In simple terms, building materials are the raw
ingredients used to build, renovate, or
enhance any physical structure. These
materials serve as the building blocks of our
built environment, playing a crucial role in
shaping its strength, durability, and overall
appearance.
3.
4. Classification of Building Materials
• The comprehensive list of common construction materials encompasses Cement,
Steel, Concrete, binding wires, aggregates, stones, bricks, tiles, damp-proof
materials, paints, varnishes, etc. In addition, various eco-friendly construction
materials are also used in building construction.
• Building materials can be classified based on different criteria, which include the
following:
• Classification based on Source
• Classification based on Composition
• Classification based on Sustainability
• Classification based on Use
5. Classification based on Source
Natural Materials:
• Natural materials can also be defined as building materials that are easily accessible in the natural world
and can be utilised as building materials with little modification. Wood, mud, stone, and sand are some
typical examples of natural materials.
• These basic materials don't need to have their chemical makeup changed and have every attribute needed to
be used in the construction industry.
Synthetic Materials:
• Synthetic materials are made from different types of raw materials through rigorous physical and chemical
procedures. The process of manufacturing synthetic building materials results in significant alterations to
the original material and the final product shows a remarkable variation from the originally used raw
materials.
• Such materials are much stronger and more adaptable to adverse conditions.
Classification based on Composition
Inorganic Materials:
• Inorganic materials are those that have undergone processing by adding additional components.
Processing these materials improves their performance. Examples include cement, lime, gypsum, steel,
etc.
Organic Materials:
• These constitute raw materials that have undergone only minor chemical changes. Some common organic
materials used as building materials are biomass, dirt, and wood.
6. Classification based on Sustainability
Sustainable Materials
• Sustainable materials are those materials that are produced, installed, and maintained in a way that poses
little impact on the environment.
• Most sustainable building materials encompass natural building materials like soil, wood, cork, bamboo,
straw, sawdust, etc.
Non-Sustainable Materials
• Non-sustainable materials form part of those materials that are made through intense physical and
chemical modifications, posing a derogatory and hazardous impact on the environment.
• Some common non-sustainable building materials include Asbestos, Glass, Aluminum, Steel, Reinforced
Concrete, and others.
Classification based on Use
Structural Properties
• Structural materials are building materials that support the weight of the structure, like a building. These
materials construct the building's structural framework and are typically made of steel, wood, concrete, or
even load-bearing stone or bricks.
• Finishing Materials
• Finishing materials are substances applied as final finishes to the construction project. Finishing materials
include paints and polishes as well as plasters comprised of cement, lime, gypsum, and other elements.
• Typically, finishing materials are applied in the form of coating and serve a wide range of applications.
7. ECONOMICALAND DURABLE BUILDING
MATERIALS
• Dome made of Compressed Earth Bricks.
• Mud Brick Construction Underway.
• Hollow Concrete Block Exterior Wall.
• Fly Ash Bricks.
• AAC Block Construction.
• Shipment Containers used as Units of a Design.
• Pre-Fabricated Houses on a Site.
8. The History of Concrete
• The time period during which concrete was first invented depends on how one interprets the term
“concrete.” Ancient materials were crude cements made by crushing and burning gypsum or limestone.
Lime also refers to crushed, burned limestone.
• When sand and water were added to these cements, they became mortar, which was a plaster-like
material used to adhere stones to each other. Over thousands of years, these materials were improved
upon, combined with other materials and, ultimately, morphed into modern concrete.
• Today’s concrete is made using Portland cement, coarse and fine aggregates of stone and sand, and water.
• Admixtures are chemicals added to the concrete mix to control its setting properties and are used
primarily when placing concrete during environmental extremes, such as high or low temperatures, windy
conditions, etc.
• The precursor to concrete was invented in about 1300 BC when Middle Eastern builders found that when
they coated the outsides of their pounded-clay fortresses and home walls with a thin, damp coating of
burned limestone, it reacted chemically with gases in the air to form a hard, protective surface.
• This wasn’t concrete, but it was the beginning of the development of cement.
9. Necessity of concrete
• Concrete provides the necessary foundation for a safe and resilient built environment, as well
as solutions to societal challenges such as those induced by increasing urbanization.
Limitations of concrete
• Concrete has a very low tensile strength and requires the use of reinforcing bars in concrete
tensile zone.
• Expensive formwork is required for casting and molding and to hold the concrete in place
until it hardens sufficiently.
10. Disadvantages of concrete
• The tensile strength of concrete is very low i.e. the tensile strength is only 10% of
the compressive strength.
• Cement concrete is not completely impermeable
• Concrete is a heavy material and due to which its self-weight becomes very high.
• Fresh name concrete shrinks on drying and expands when it comes in contact with
moisture, due to which it starts cracking and to prevent this, provision of
contraction joints has to be made.
• Hardened concrete is a hard material, it expands due to temperature changes, due to
which there is a possibility of cracks in it. To prevent this, a provision for expansion
joint has to be made in it.
11. Advantages of concrete
• Concrete that has just been compacted may be shaped into any shape needed.
• Environments like sunshine, rain, moisture, wind, etc. have no effect on concrete.
• Pests like termites, dampness, and rust have no effect on it.
• Concrete has a very high compressive strength.
• Concrete is strong and brittle.
• When all of its attributes are considered, it is a frugal one.
• Because extremely high workability concrete can be pumped very simply, it can be
installed in places where concrete cannot be.
• Concrete is a man-made building material that may be shaped to suit its purpose.
