From small kid to aged person everyone knows the meaning of concrete and the simple reason to know what is concrete is everyone in this modern world wants to live in a house which is built with the concrete. Concrete is the second most material used in the world only behind water and the most used construction material in the world. Basically Concrete is the composite material which is made up of Cement, Sand (Fine Aggregates), Coarse Aggregates and Water, these four are the basic materials to form a simple normal concrete and for normal construction it is more than sufficient. Concrete is considered more versatile compared to other building materials because it can take any form or shape required for the end user, raw materials required to produce concrete are easily available in most parts of the world and also it is very easy to prepare on site. The applications of concrete varies from structure to structure, some may require normal concrete and some special structures may need high strength concrete, every type of concrete can be made available to the end user depending upon the requirement. The concrete specialist will design the concrete which varies with environmental conditions and hence any type of concrete can be prepared provided all the guidelines given by the concrete expert are followed on site, nowadays Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) is used for the major concreting works so that all the precautions are taken care in all respects while preparing and mixing the concrete. Durability of concrete makes it more versatile than any other building material because of many reasons, concrete is more durable in most of the conditions ranging from mild climate to very extreme climatic conditions. Bridges, Harbors, Chemical Plants, Pavements etc need to sustain long life and for these types of structures concrete will be the solution provided all steps are followed to produce the special concrete which will have greater durability. In short in modern world concrete has become irreplaceable material even though many other materials have been developed to replace concrete, in years to come concrete will remain as undisputed leader in the construction industry.
Prof. Abhijeet Baikerikar
Founder, All About Civil Engineering