2. Building Construction Materials
⢠Building materials have an important role
to play in this modern age of technology.
Although their most important use is in
construction activities, no field of engineering
is conceivable without their use. Also, the
building materials industry is an important
contributor in our national economy as its
output governs both the rate and the quality
of construction work.
4. Building Construction Materials
⢠There are certain general factors which
affect the choice of materials for a
particular scheme. Perhaps the most
important of these is the climatic background.
Obviously, different materials and forms of
construction have developed in different
parts of the world as a result of climatic
differences.
6. Building Construction Materials
⢠Another factor is the economic aspect of the
choice of materials.
⢠The rapid advance of constructional
methods, the increasing introduction of
mechanical tools and plants, and changes in
the organisation of the building industry
may appreciably influence the choice of
materials
7. Building Construction Materials
⢠Due to the great diversity in the usage of
buildings and installations and the various
processes of production, a great variety of
requirements are placed upon building
materials calling for a very wide range of their
properties: strength at low and high
temperatures, resistance to ordinary water
and sea water, acids and alkalis etc.
9. Building Construction Materials
⢠Also, materials for interior decoration of
residential and public buildings, gardens
and parks, etc. should be, by their very
purpose, pleasant to the eye, durable and
strong. Specific properties of building
materials serve as a basis for subdividing them
into separate groups. For example, mineral
binding materials are subdivided into air
and hydraulic-setting varieties
11. Building Construction Materials
⢠The principal properties of building
materials predetermine their applications.
Only a comprehensive knowledge of the
properties of materials allows a rational choice
of materials for specific service conditions.
13. Building Construction Materials
⢠The importance of standardisation cannot be
over emphasised. It requires the quality of
materials and manufactured items to be not
below a specific standard level.
⢠However, the importance of standardisation is
not limited to this factor alone, since each
revised standard places higher requirements
upon the products than the preceding one, with
the effect that the industry concerned has to keep
up with the standards and improved production
techniques.
15. Building Construction Materials
⢠Thus, the industry of building materials gains
both in quantity and quality, so that new, more
efficient products are manufactured and the
output of conventional materials is increased.
To develop products of greater economic
efficiency, it is important to compare the
performance of similar kinds of materials under
specific service conditions. Expenditures for
running an installation can be minimised by
improving the quality of building materials
and products.
17. Building Construction Materials
⢠Building industry economists are thus required to
have a good working knowledge,
⢠first, of the building materials,
⢠second, of their optimum applications on the basis of
their principal properties, and,
⢠third, of their manufacturing techniques, in order
that the buildings and installations may have optimum
engineering, economic performance and efficiency.
Having acquired adequate knowledge, an economist
specialising in construction becomes an active
participant in the development of the building
industry and the manufacture of building materials.
19. Physical Properties Of Materials
⢠To finalize the material for an engineering
product or application, we should have the
knowledge of physical properties of
materials. The physical properties of a
material are those which can be observed
without change of the identity of material.
Some of these typical properties of a material
are listed below
20. Density of Materials
⢠Density of a material or substance is defined
as âthe mass per unit volumeâ. It is represented
as the ratio of mass with volume of a material.
It is denoted by âĎâ. Its unit in SI system is
Kg/m3.
If, m is the mass of material in Kg, V is the
volume of materiel in meter3
34. Weathering Resistance
Weathering Resistance
⢠Is the ability of a material to endure alternate
wet and dry conditions for a long period
without considerable deformation and loss of
mechanical strength.
35. Water Permeability
Water Permeability
The capacity of a material to allow water to penetrate under
pressure.
Materials like glass, steel and bitumen are impervious.
37. Frost Action
⢠Frost Action denotes the ability of a water-
saturated material to endure repeated
freezing and thawing with considerable
decrease of mechanical strength.
⢠Under such conditions the water contained by
the pores increases in volume even up to 9 per
cent on freezing. Thus the walls of the pores
experience considerable stresses and may even
fail.
39. Thermal Conductivity of Materials
⢠It is the property of a material which
represents that how easily the heat can be
conducted by material.
⢠The thermal conductivity of a material can be
defined as âthe amount of heat transmitted by
unit thickness of material normal to the unit
area surface in unit time when the temperature
gradient across the material piece is unity in
steady state condition. Its unit in SI system is
watts per meter per oK.
40. Specific Heat of Materials
⢠Is the property of a material to absorb heat
described by its specific heat.
⢠Thermal capacity is of concern in the
calculation of thermal stability of walls of
heated buildings and heating of a material, e.g.
for concrete laying in winter.
⢠Specific heat of a material is defined as the
amount of heat required to increase the
temperature of unit mass of material by 1°C. It
is denoted by âSâ.
41. Specific Heat of Materials
⢠Where, m is the mass of material in Kg. Q is
the amount of heat given to material in Joule.
Ît is rise in temperature. Unit of specific heat
in SI system is, Joule/Kg o C.
42. State Change Temperatures
Generally a substance is having three
states called â solid state, liquid state,
gaseous state. State change temperature is
the temperature at which the substance
changes from one state to another state.
43. State change temperature are of
following types
Melting point- It is the temperature (in oC or K)
at which the substance changes from solid state to
liquid state.
Boiling point- It is the temperature (in oC or K) at
which the substance changes from liquid state to
gaseous state.
Freezing point- It is the temperature (in oC or K)
at which a liquid changes from liquid to solid
state. Theoretically it is equal to the melting point.
However, practically there may observed some
difference.
45. Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
⢠When a material is heated, it expends, due to
which its dimensions change. Coefficient of
thermal expansion, represents the expansion in
material with increase of temperature.
46. Electrical Conductivity of Materials
⢠It is the property of material which
represents that how easily the electricity can
be conducted by the material. It is denoted
by âĎâ. It is the reciprocal of resistivity of
material. It unit is mho/meter.
47. Fire Resistance
⢠Is the ability of a material to resist the action of
high temperature without any appreciable
deformation and substantial loss of strength.
⢠Fire resistive materials are those which char,
smoulder, and ignite with difficulty when
subjected to fire or high temperatures for long
period but continue to burn or smoulder only
in the presence of flame, e.g. Wood impregnated
with fire proofing chemicals.
49. Fire Resistance
⢠Non-combustible materials neither
smoulder nor char under the action of
temperature.
⢠Some of the materials neither crack nor lose
shape such as clay bricks, whereas some others
like steel suffer considerable deformation
under the action of high temperature.
51. Refractoriness
⢠Denotes the ability of a material to withstand
prolonged action of high temperature without
melting or losing shape. Materials resisting
prolonged temperatures of 1580 0C or more are
known as refractory.
⢠High-melting materials can withstand
temperature from 1350 0C - 1580 0C, whereas
low-melting materials withstand temperature
below 1350 0C.
53. Chemical Resistance
⢠Chemical Resistance is the ability of a
material to withstand the action of acids,
alkalis, sea water and gases.
⢠Natural stone materials, e.g. limestone, marble
and dolomite are eroded even by weak acids,
wood has low resistance to acids and alkalis,
bitumen disintegrates under the action of alkali
liquors.
56. Weld ability
⢠It is the property of a material which
presents that how easily the two pieces of
material can be welded together by applying
pressure or heat or both.
57. Mechanical Properties
⢠To finalize the material for an engineering application, knowledge of
Mechanical properties of materials is essential. The mechanical
properties of a material are those which effect the mechanical
strength and ability of material to be molded in suitable shape. Some
of the typical mechanical properties of a material are listed below
⢠Strength
⢠Toughness
⢠Hardness
⢠Elasticity
⢠Plasticity
⢠Brittleness
⢠Malleability
⢠Ductility
⢠Creep and Slip
⢠Resilience
⢠Fatigue
58. Strength
⢠It is the property of material which opposes
the deformation or breakdown of material in
presence of external forces or load. Material
which we finalize for our engineering product,
must have suitable mechanical strength to be
capable to work under different mechanical
forces or loads.
59. Strength
⢠Strength is the ability of the material to
resist failure under the action of stresses
caused by loads, the most common being
compression, tension, bending and impact.
The importance of studying the various
strengths will be highlighted from the fact that
materials such as stones and concrete have
high compressive strength but a low tensile,
bending and impact strengths.
61. Strength
⢠Compressive Strength is found from tests on
standard cylinders, prisms and cube smaller
for homogeneous materials and larger for
less homogeneous ones.
62. Strength
⢠Bending Strength tests are performed on
small bars (beams) supported at their ends
and subjected to one or two concentrated
loads which are gradually increased until
failure takes place.
63. Toughness
⢠It is the ability of material to absorb the energy and
gets plastically deformed without fracturing. Its
numerical value is determined by the amount of
energy per unit volume. It unit is Joule/ m3. Value of
toughness of a material can be determines by stress-
strain characteristics of material.
⢠For good toughness material should have good
strength as well as ductility. For example: brittle
materials, having good strength but limited ductility
are not tough enough. Conversely, materials having
good ductility but low strength are also not tough
enough. Therefore, to be tough, material should be
capable to withstand with both high stress and strain.
65. Hardness
Hardness
⢠It is the ability of material to resist to permanent
shape change due to external stress. There are various
measure of hardness â Scratch Hardness, Indentation
Hardness and Rebound Hardness.
⢠Scratch Hardness
Scratch Hardness is the ability of material to oppose
the scratch to outer surface layer due to external
force.
66. Hardness
⢠Indentation Hardness
It is ability of material to oppose the dent due
to punch of external had and sharp object.
⢠Rebound Hardness
Rebound hardness is also called as dynamic
hardness. It is determined by the height of
âbounceâ of a diamond tipped hammer
dropped from a fixed height on the material
68. Brittleness
⢠Brittleness of a material indicates that how
easily it gets fractured when it is subjected to a
force or load.
⢠When a brittle material is subjected to a stress is
observes very less energy and gets fractures
without significant strain. Brittleness is converse
to ductility of material.
⢠Brittleness of material is temperature
depended. Some metals which are ductile at
normal temperature become brittle at low
temperature.
70. Malleability
Malleability
⢠Malleability is property of solid material which
indicates that how easily a materials gets
deformed under compressive stress.
⢠Malleability is often categorized by the ability
of material to be formed in the form of a thin
sheet by hammering or rolling.
⢠This mechanical property is an aspect of plasticity
of material. Malleability of material is
temperature dependent. With rise of temperature,
the malleability of material
72. Ductility
⢠Ductility is a property of a solid material
which indicates that how easily a materials
gets deformed under tensile stress.
⢠Ductility is often categorized by the ability of
material to get stretched into a wire by pulling
or drawing. This mechanical property is also
an aspect of plasticity of material and
temperature dependent. With rise of
temperature, the ductility of material increases.
74. Elasticity of Materials
⢠It is the property of a material by which it
regains its original dimensions on removal of
load or force.
75. Plasticity of Materials
⢠When we keep on increasing the load beyond
limit of elasticity material retains it molded
state. This property of material is called
plasticity.
76. Creep
⢠Creep is the property of material which
indicates the tendency of material to move
slowly and deform permanently under the
influence of external mechanical stress.
⢠It results due to long time exposure to large
external mechanical stress with in limit of
yielding. Creep is more severe in material that
are subjected to heat for long time.
78. Resilience
⢠Resilience is the ability of material to absorb
the energy when it is deformed elastically by
applying stress and release the energy when
stress is removed.
⢠Proof resilience is defined as the maximum
energy that can be absorbed without permanent
deformation. The modulus of resilience is defined
as the maximum energy that can be absorbed per
unit volume without permanent deformation. It
can be determined by integrating the stress-strain
cure from zero to elastic limit. Its unit is joule/m3.
80. Fatigue
⢠Fatigue is the weakening of material caused by the
repeated loading of material. When a material is
subjected to cyclic loading, and loading greater than
certain threshold value but much below the strength
of material (ultimate tensile strength limit or yield
stress limit, microscopic cracks begin to form at grain
boundaries and interfaces. Eventually the crack reached
to a critical size.
⢠This crack propagates suddenly and the structure
gets fractured. The shape of structure effects the
fatigue very much. Square holes and sharp corners
lead to elevated stresses where the fatigue crack
initiates.