Concrete
23 Types of Concrete and Their Applications
Different types of concrete are:
- Normal Strength Concrete
- Plain or Ordinary Concrete
- Reinforced Concrete
- Prestressed Concrete
- Precast Concrete
- Light – Weight Concrete
- High-Density Concrete
- Air Entrained Concrete
- Ready Mix Concrete
- Polymer Concrete
- Polymer concrete
- Polymer cement concrete
- Polymer impregnated concrete
- High-Strength Concrete
- High-Performance Concrete
- Self – Consolidated Concrete
- Shotcrete Concrete
- Pervious Concrete
- Vacuum Concrete
- Pumped Concrete
- Stamped Concrete
- Limecrete
- Asphalt Concrete
- Roller Compacted Concrete
- Rapid Strength Concrete
- Glass Concrete
Properties and uses of different types of concrete mentioned above are explained briefly:
1. Normal Strength Concrete
The strength of these type of concrete will vary from 10 MPa to 40MPa. The normal strength concrete has an initial setting time of 30 to 90 minutes that is dependent on the cement properties and the weather conditions of the construction site.
2. Plain Concrete
The plain concrete will have no reinforcement in it. The main constituents are the cement, aggregates, and water. Most commonly used mix design is 1:2:4 which is the normal mix design. The density of the plain concrete will vary between 2200 and 2500 Kg/meter cube. The compressive strength is 200 to 500 kg/cm2. The durability given by these type of concrete is satisfactory to high extent.
3. Reinforced Concret
The reinforced cement concrete is defined as the concrete to which reinforcement is introduced to bear the tensile strength. Plain concrete is weak in tension and good in compression. Hence the placement of reinforcement will take up the responsibility of bearing the tensile stresses. R.C.C works with the combined action of the plain concrete and the reinforcement. The steel reinforcement used in the concrete can be in the form of rods, bars or in the form of meshes. 
Fiber reinforced concrete are concrete that use fibers (steel fibers) as reinforcement for the concrete. Use of meshes in concrete will give ferrocement. This bond will control the strength and the durability factors of the concrete
4. Prestressed Concrete
The process of prestressing will require heavy equipment and labor skill (jacks and equipment for tensioning).
5. Precast Concrete
Various structural elements can be made and cast in the factory as per the specifications and bought to the site at the time of assembly. The examples of precast concrete units are concrete blocks, the staircase units, precast walls and poles, concrete lintels and many other elements. These units have the advantage of acquiring speedy construction as only assemblage is necessary. The only precaution taken is for their transportation.
6. Lightweight Concrete
Concrete that have a density lesser than 1920kg/m3 will be categorized as lightweight concrete. The use of lightweight aggregates in concrete design will give us lightweight aggregates. Aggregates are the important element that contributes to the density of the concrete. The examples of light weight aggregates are the pumice, perlites, and scoria.
7. High-Density Concrete
The concretes that have densities ranging between 3000 to 4000 kg/m3 can be called as the heavyweight concrete. The most commonly used heavy weight aggregates is Barytes. The heavy weight aggregate will help the structure to resist all possible type of radiations.
8. Air Entrained Concrete
These are concrete types into which air is intentionally entrained for an amount of 3 to 6% of the concrete. Some examples of air entraining agents are resins, alcohols, and fatty acids.
9. Ready Mix Concrete
The manufacture of these concrete will require a centralized mixing plant. These plants will be located at an adjustable distance from the construction site. If the transportation is too long then it will result in setting of concrete. Such issues of time delay are cope up with the use retarding agents that delays the setting.
10. Polymer Concrete
The production of polymer concrete will help in the reduction of volume of voids in the aggregate. This will hence reduce the amount of polymer that is necessary to bind the aggregates used. This type of concrete has different categories:
- Polymer Impregnated Concrete
- Polymer cement concrete
- Partially Impregnated
11. High-Strength Concrete
The concretes that have strength greater than 40MPa can be termed as high strength concrete. The calcium hydroxide crystals that are the major concern product during hydration for the strength properties is reduced by the incorporation of silica fume. In terms of performance, the high strength concrete ought to be less performing in terms of workability which is an issue.
12. High-Performance Concrete
These concretes conform to a particular standard but in no case, will be limited to strength. But not all high-performance concrete (HPC) are high strength concrete. Standards that conform to the high-performance concrete are enlisted below:
- Strength gain in early age
- Easy placement of the concrete
- Permeability and density factors
- Heat of hydration
- Long life and durability
- Toughness and life term mechanical properties
- Environmental concerns
13. Self – Consolidated Concrete
No vibration must be provided for the same separately. This mix has a higher workability. The slump value will be between 650 and 750. The areas where there is thick reinforcement, self – consolidating concrete works best.
14. Shotcrete Concrete
Here the concrete type differs in the way it is applied on the area to be cast.
15. Pervious Concrete
Pervious or permeable concrete are concrete that are designed such a way that it allows the water to pass through it. The storm water will pass through these pervious concrete pavements and reach the groundwater. Hence most of the drainage issues is solved.
16. Vacuum Concrete
Concrete with water content more than required quantity is poured into the formwork. Hence the concrete structure or the platform will be ready to use earlier when compared with normal construction technique.
17. Pumped Concrete
One of the main property of the concrete used in large mega construction especially for the high-rise construction is the conveyance of the concrete to heights. Hence one such property of concrete to easily pump will result in the design of pumpable concrete. The pipe used will be rigid or a flexible hose that will discharge the concrete to the desired area. The concrete used must be fluid in nature with enough fine material as well as water to fill up the voids. The grading of the coarse aggregate used must be continuous in nature.
18. Stamped Concrete
Stamped concrete is an architectural concrete where realistic patterns similar to natural stones, granites, and tiles can be obtained by placing impression of professional stamping pads.
19. Limecrete
The main application of this product is in floors, domes as well as vaults. These unlike cements have many environmental and health benefits. These products are renewable and easily cleaned.
20. Asphalt Concrete
Asphalt concrete is a composite material, mixture of aggregates and asphalts commonly used to surface roads, parking lots, airports, as well as the core of embankment dams.
21. Roller Compacted Concrete
These concretes have cement content in lesser amount and filled for the area necessary. After compaction, these concretes provide high density and finally cures into a strong monolithic block.
22.Rapid Strength Concrete
As the name implies these concretes will acquire strength with few hours after its manufacture. Hence the formwork removal is made easy and hence the building construction is covered fastly.
23. Glass Concrete
Concrete of modern times, the glass concrete. This concrete will increase the aesthetic appeal of the concrete. They also provide long-term strength and better thermal insulation also.