Portland cement concrete is presently the most widely used manufactured material in civil engineering projects throughout the world.  It is used all around us in buildings, bridges, dams, runways, pavements, and many other applications.  The successful use of concrete depends on the intelligent application of its properties in design, and the supply of a uniform high quality product.

The professional engineer should understand concrete and its behavior to support his design so that his objectives are fully achieved.  Concrete’s properties can be altered to meet a wide variety of needs.  Special use concretes are becoming more readily available, and knowledge of their use could provide you with an edge on future projects.  Mineral and chemical admixtures have also rapidly improved during the last decade and their appropriate use could improve the long term performance of concrete structures.

The course objectives are to provide students with a strong background in the area of  portland cement concrete technology.  The latest advances in concrete technology will  be incorporated into the course.  More specifically, the following topics will be covered:

v         Cement and aggregate properties,

v         Cement hydration and microstructure formation,

v         Mixture proportioning,

v         Fresh and hardened concrete properties,

v         Admixtures,

v         Durability issues,

v         Concrete construction, and

v         Special concretes.

Textbook:

Mehta, P.K., and Monteiro, P.J.M., “Concrete: Structure, Properties, and Materials,” 3rd Edition,

The McGraw Hill  Companies, Inc., New York, 2006. (ISBN: 0-07-146289-9)