This document discusses the various properties of building materials that are important for their use in construction. It describes physical properties like bulk density, porosity, and durability. It also outlines mechanical properties such as strength, hardness, elasticity and plasticity. Additionally, it covers chemical properties including chemical resistance and corrosion resistance. Thermal properties like thermal capacity and conductivity are examined as well. A variety of common building materials are referenced to demonstrate examples of these different properties.

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ASSIGNMENT TOPIC
PROPERTIES OF BUILDING MATERIALS.
Submitted To:
Engr: Fahad Ijaz.
Submitted By:
Junaid Iqbal
Roll No.20
Class:
B.Sc. CivilEngineering
1st Semester
INSTITITE OF SOUTHERN PUNJAB, MULTAN.

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PROPERTIESOFBUILDINGMATERIALS
For a material to be considered as building material, it should have
required engineering properties suitable for construction works. These
properties of building materialsare responsible foritsquality andcapacity
and helps to decide applications of these material.
Suchpropertiesof buildingmaterials are categorized as follows.
• Physical properties
• Mechanical properties
• Chemical properties
• Electrical properties
• Magnetic properties
• Thermal properties
Physical Properties of Building Materials.
These are the properties required to estimate the quality and condition of
the material without any external force. The physical properties of
engineering materials are as follows.
• Bulkdensity
• Porosity
• Durability
• Density
• Density index
• Specific gravity
• Fireresistance
• Frost resistance
• Weathering resistance

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• Weathering resistance
• Spalling resistance
• Water absorption
• Water permeability
• Hygroscopicity
• Coefficientofsoftening
• Refractoriness
Bulk Density of Building Materials.
Bulkdensityistheratio ofmassto thevolumeof thematerialin its natural
state that is including voids and pores. It is expressed in kg/m3. Bulk
densityinfluencesthemechanical properties ofmaterials like strength, heat
and conductivity etc. bulk density values of some of the engineering
materials aregiven below.
Building Material Bulk Density (kg/m3)
Brick 1600 —1800
Sand 1450 —1650
Steel 7850
Heavyconcrete 1800 — 2500
Lightconcrete 500—1800
Granite 2500 — 2700

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Porosity of Building Materials.
Porosity givesthe volumeof the material occupiedby pores. It isthe ratio
of volume of pores to the volume of material. Porosity influences many
properties like thermal conductivity, strength, bulk density, durability
etc.
Durability of Building Materials.
The property of a material to withstand against the combined action of
atmospheric and other factors is known as durability of material. If the
material ismoredurable,itwillbe usefulfor longer life. Maintenancecost
of material is dependent of durability.
Density ofBuilding Materials.
Density is theratioofmass of thematerialto its volume in homogeneous
state. Almostall the physical propertiesof materials are influenced by its
density values. Density valuesofsomebuildingmaterialsare given below.
Material Density (kg/m3)
Steel 78OO— 7 900
Brick 25OO— 2800
Granite 26OO— 2900
Density Index.
Ratio ofbulk densityofmaterial to its density is termed as density index.
Hence it gives the volumeof solid matter in the material. In nature,fully
densematerialisnotavailable so, density index is always less than 1 for
any building material.

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SpecificGravityof Building Materials.
Specific gravity isthe ratio of massof given substance to themassofwater
at4oC forthe equal volumes. Specific gravity of some materials are listed
below.
Material Specific gravity
Steel 7.82
Cast Iron 7.20
Aluminum 2.72
Fire Resistance of Building Materials.
The ability to withstand against firewithout changing its shapeandother
properties.Fireresistance of a material is rested by the combined actions
ofwater andfire.Fireproof materialsshouldprovidemoresafetyincase of
fire.
Frost Resistance.
The ability of a material to resist freezing or thawing is called frost
resistance. Ii is depends upon the densityand bulk densityof material.
Denser materials will have more frost resistance. Moist material have low
frost resistance and they lose their strength in freezing and become
brittle.

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Weathering Resistance.
The property of a material to withstand against all atmospheric actions
withoutlosingits strength andshape. Weatheringeffects the durabilityof
material. For example, corrosion occurs in iron due to weathering. To
resistthis paint layer is provided.
Spalling Resistance.
The ability of a material to undergo certain number of cycles of sharp
temperature variations without failing isknown asspalling resistance. It is
the dependent ofcoefficient of linear expansion.
Water Absorption.
The capacityof a material to absorb and retain water in it is knownas
water absorption. It is expressed in % of weight of dry material. It
dependsuponthesize,shapeandnumberof pores of material.
Water Permeability.
The ability of a material to permit water through it is called water
permeability.Densematerialslike glass metals etc. are called impervious
materials which cannot & low water through it.
Hygroscopicity.
Hygroseopiciyisthepropertyofamaterialto absorb water vapor fromthe
air.It depends on the relative humidity, porosity, temperatureetc.
Coefficient of Softening.
Coefficientof softeningof amaterial is the ration of compressivestrength
of a saturated material to its compressivestrength in dry state. It affects
the strength of water absorbent materials like soil.

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Refractoriness.
The property of a material which cannot melts or lose its shape at
prolonged high temperatures (1580oC or more).
Example: fire clay is high refractory material.
Mechanical Properties ofBuilding Materials.
Mechanical propertiesof the materials are find out by applyingexternal
forces on them. These are very important properties which are
responsible for behavior of a material in its job. The mechanical
properties are,
 Strength
 Hardness
 Elasticity
 Plasticity
 Brittleness
 Fatigue
 Impact strength
 Abrasion resistance
 Creep
Strengthof Building Materials.
The capacity of a material to resist failure caused by loads acting on it is
called as strength. The load may be compressive, tensile or bending. It is
determined by dividing the ultimate load taken by the material with its
cross sectional area. Strength is an important property for any
construction materials. So, to providemaximum safety in strength, factor
of safety is provided for materials and it is selected dependingon nature
of work, quality of material, economic conditions etc.
Hardness of Building Materials.
The property of a materials to resist scratching by a herder body. MOHS
scale is used to determine the hardness of a materials. Hardnessis most
important to decide the usage of particular aggregate. It also influences
the workability.

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Elasticity ofBuilding Materials.
The capacity of a materialto regain its initial shapeandsize after removal
of load is known aselasticity and the material is called as elastic material.
Ideally elastic materials obey Hooke’s law in which stress is directly
proportional to strain. Which gives modulus of elasticity as the ratio of
unit stress to unit deformation. Higher the valueof modulusof elasticity
lower the deformations.
Plasticity.
When the load is applied on the material, if it will undergo permanent
deformation without cracking and retain this shape after the removalof
load then it is said to be plastic material and this property is called as
plasticity. They give resistance against bending, impact etc.
Examples: steel, hot bitumen etc.
Brittleness.
Whenthe materialis subjected to load, if it fails suddenlywithoutcausing
any deformation then it is called brittle material and this property is
called as brittleness.
Examples: concrete, cast-iron etc.
Fatigue.
If amaterialis subjectedto repeatedloads, then the failureoccursatsome
point which is lower than the failure point caused by steady loads. This
behavior is known as fatigue.
Impact Strength.
If a material is subjected to sudden loads and it will undergo some
deformation without causing ruptureis known as its impact strength. It
designates the toughness of material.
AbrasionResistance.
The loss of material due to rubbing of particles while working is called
abrasion. The abrasion resistance for a material makes it durable and
provided long life.

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Creep.
Creep the deformation caused by constant loads for long periods. It is
time dependent and occurs at very slow rate. It is almost negligible in
normal conditions. But at high temperature conditions creep occur
rapidly.
Chemical Properties ofBuilding Materials.
The properties of materials against the chemical actions or chemical
combinations are termed as chemical properties. And they are
 Chemical resistance
 Corrosion resistance
Chemical Resistance of Building Materials.
The ability of a construction materials to resist the effects by chemicals
like acids, salts and alkalis is knownaschemical resistance. Underground
installations, constructions near sea etc. should be built with great
chemical resistance.
CorrosionResistance.
Formation of rust (iron oxide) in metals, when they are subjected to
atmosphere is called as corrosion. So, the metals should be corrosive
resistant. To increase the corrosion resistance proper measures should
be considered. Otherwise it will damage the whole structure.
Electrical Properties ofBuilding Materials.
The properties of a material to conduct or to resist electricity through
them are electrical propertiesof material. For example, wood have great
electric resistance and stainless steel is a good conductor of electricity.

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Magnetic Properties ofBuilding Materials.
The magneticpropertiesof materialslikepermeability, hysteresisetc. are
required in the case of generators etc. iron is magnetic material and
aluminum is non-magnetic material.
Thermal Properties ofBuilding Materials.
 Thermal capacity
 Thermal conductivity
 Thermal resistivity
 Specific heat
Thermal Capacity of Building Materials.
Thermal capacity is the property of a material to absorb heat and it is
required to design proper ventilation. It influences the thermal stability
of walls. It is expressed in J/N oC and it is calculated by below formula.
Thermal capacity, T = [H/(M(T2 – T1))]
Where H = quantity of heat required to increase the temperature from
T1 to T2
T1 = Initial temperature
T2 = Final temperature
M = Massof material in N.
Thermal Conductivity.
The amountof heat transferred through unit area of specimen with unit
thickness in unit time is termed as thermal conductivity. It is measured
in kelvins. It depends on material structure, porosity, density and
moisture content. High porous materials, moist materials have more
thermal conductivity.

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Thermal Resistivity.
It isthe ability to resistheat conduction.Anditisthe reciprocalofthermal
conductivity. When it is multiplied by thickness of material it gives
thermal resistance. Thermal resistivity of soil varies from 30 to 500 0C-
cm/W.
Specific Heat.
Specific heat is the quantity of heat required to heat 1 N of material by
1oC. Specific heat is usefulwhen we usethe material in high temperature
areas. Specific heat valuesof someengineeringmaterialsaregiven below.
Material Specific heat J/N o C
Steel 0.046 x 103
Wood 0.239 to 0.27 x 103
Stone 0.075 to 0.09 X 103
References:-
https://theconstructor.org