Why do we need Concrete?
There are many reasons why we have to use concrete in our day-to-day life. The concrete can be used for the purpose of roads, driveway, bridge and the like. These days we hardly find any household structure, which does not require a concrete floor or concrete driveway. Let’s explore some of the reasons that justify the use of concrete.
- The concrete is considered one of the strongest building materials, which is available in the market.
- Concrete is mainly used for the construction of buildings and pavements, where extremely high strength isn’t required. It’s also widely used in the building of dams.
- These dams are made up of concrete for the purpose of strength, because they are meant to last for many years.
Concrete is basically made up of cement, sand and water, mixed with natural minerals and elements like iron, aluminum, manganese and magnesium. The basic ingredients of concrete are cement, sand and water, with the inclusion of other elements as per the need. The most important addition that are made to concrete is the sand and the water. Sand helps in increasing the workability of the material, while water increases its heat resistance, due to the presence of large amounts of vapor. The larger the size of the particles in the mixture, the more heat resistant the material becomes.
- The concrete can be either coarse or fine-grained. Coarse concrete is generally used for the purpose of road construction. Fine-grained concrete, on the other hand, is used for purposes of embankment or for walls and slabs. Concrete is commonly used for the purpose of reinforcement in buildings. For example, you may find concrete at the edge of a pond, pool, trench, railroad track, sloping ground, embankments, retaining walls and many other places where it becomes necessary to reinforce the soil for strength of structure.
Some of the most common materials used in construction projects include cement, sand and water. The cement is the main ingredient in making the material strong and durable. It is mixed with water so as to make the mixture hard enough to bear the load that is being placed upon it. On the other hand, sand is mixed with water to make the material easy to move and portable. Both these substances are widely used by many people across the world in order to make their home durable and strong.
If you study engineering and architecture, then you will come to know that the strength and durability of a building largely depends on the materials that are used for construction.
- For instance, if you construct a house consisting of bricks, stones and cement, then you will have greater chances of maintaining its structure and staying intact for a longer period of time.
- On the other hand, if you use concrete strength products like concrete, steel and timbers, then you will be able to build your house with greater efficiency and you will also have lesser chances of getting damages and cracks. On the other hand, it has been seen that natural stones do not have the strength and durability that concrete provides and they are also not portable.
- Therefore, it can be said that concrete plays an important role in increasing the efficiency of a house by providing greater tensile strength to it.