A COMPLETE MANUAL ON CIVIL ENGINEERING MATERIALS

Chapter: 1

INTRODUCTION TO CIVIL ENGINEERING MATERIAL(3 marks)

Civil Engineering Material: It deals with the study of materials that are extensively used in the civil
engineering design and construction processes. Civil Engineering materials are bricks, building stones,
cement, lime, mortar, timber, metal etc.

Civil Engineering materials basically deals with the study of construction materials with respect to
a) Physical and chemical composition
b) Different properties like physical, Mechanical, chemical, Thermal etc.
c) Method of their Manufacture and testing of quality
d) Usage
e) Selection of appropriate Construction materials for efficient, economical and long lasting
Methodology

The main objective of this subject is to give information on the structure, manufacturing, quality testing,
and properties of materials used in civil engineering design. It also presents guidelines to assist the
designer in the selection of the appropriate material for a given job and proper handling of the material as
well.

1.1) Scope of subject:

While talking about the scope of the civil engineering materials, it will be better to recall the history of
development of human civilization. Use of engineering materials was started from the beginning of the
Neolithic period when man learned to make weapons of stones, metal ore, arrows etc to kill the animals
for food. Those early men of Stone Age used to live in the natural caves. Due to the increase in the
population they feel the scarce of the food. By learning the process of growth of the plants, they tried to
plant the seeds of the plants. For digging the land those early men used pointed stones, tree trunks and
entered in the agricultural age.

Regular attacks of the wild animals lead those early men to think about their own shelter as the cave
became quite unsafe. They used stone walls, wooden and grass roof to make the shelter. Now, after about 15
thousand years, we live in the jungle of the concrete. We have developed thousands of such materials,
which made our lives easy. Introduction of semiconductor in the field of electronics heavily reduced the
size of the computer. Use of the fiberglass and other composites made the revolution in the field of
aerospace. Ceramics such as tiles, bricks, sanitary tiles, mosaic tiles etc increase the aesthetic value of the
buildings.

Rapid growth in the use of such material and increase in their development in quality was essentially
possible due to the diagnostic study of the different properties to the materials. So the subject civil
engineering material is an essential part of the science and technology.

Selection of the appropriate material in the construction activity depends upon the knowledge of the
properties of the materials, physical and chemical composition, method of manufacture, durability and

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 A COMPLETE MANUAL ON CIVIL ENGINEERING MATERIALS

handling methodology. So, a successful civil engineer is that who possess the in-depth knowledge of the
engineering materials.

I. This subject introduces us to a wide range of construction material, their physical, mechanical,
chemical and thermal properties.
II. Also deals with the fundamentals of material science.
III. It also gives information on the strength on stress strain relationship, hardness, ductility of
construction materials and also incorporates the effect of the time and Environment on the
properties of these materials.

1.2) Selection Criteria of Civil Engineering Materials:

Selection of the civil engineering material is very important aspect in the design process of any civil
engineering structures. Depending upon the various properties of the materials suitable selection should
be done considering technical, social and economical aspects. Selection of the material may not remain
constant. At the instant, material may seem best but after sometime they may not be the best one. Thus,
the best material today would be light, strong and durable. Such a selection of material is possible if the
designer has an understanding of various material systems and their advantages and disadvantages and
can call upon this knowledge to make a material selection.

The Selection Process:

The material selection process involves the following major steps:

i. Analysis of the material application problems.

ii. Translation of the materials application requirements to material property values.
iii. Selection of the candidate materials
iv. Evaluation of the candidate materials.

Factors affecting the selection of the materials :

i. Properties of the material: Properties of material defines special characteristics of the materials
and form a basis for predicting behaviour of the materials under different condition. The
important properties of materials are Physical Properties, Mechanical Properties, Thermal
Properties, Chemical Properties, Electrical Properties, Magnetic Properties etc.
ii. Performance Requirements: The material of which a part is composed must be capable of
performing the part's function without failure. For eg. A component part to be used in the furnace
must be of the material which can withstand high temperature.
iii. Material Reliability: The material must be reliable. It should remain stable enough to function in
service for the intended life of the product without failure. Safety: A material must safely perform
iv. its function.
v. Physical Attributes: Physical attributes such as configuration, size, weight and appearance
sometime also serve as a functional requirement.
vi. Environmental Condition: The material needs to be selected as per the environment condition.

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vii. Availability: Materials must be readily available and available in large amount for the intended
application.
viii. Disposability and Recyclability: Most of the materials need to be disposable and recyclable.
ix. Economic Factors: Cost, is perhaps one of the important factor in controlling the given material
application. The material selected should be within the limit.

1.3) Classification of Civil Engineering Materials:

Types of building material

Depending upon Depending upon the Depending upon Depending upon

the existence in usage of materials in the metallurgy Composition
nature construction

Natural construction Structural materials: Metals: (ferrous -iron) Metals

Materials: wood, clay, Cement, Stone, Brick, steel etc (Non-ferrous-A1, Cu) Ceramics

Marbles, stones etc Aesthetic materials: Non Metals: bricks, Polymers

Artificial construction paint, marbles etc Wood, stone Composites

Materials: Cement, Plastics, Special Purpose materials:

Fiberglass etc Sanitary, Furniture pipe etc

Fig: Types of Building Material

1) Metals
As per chemistry, metal is defined as an element with a valency of 1, 2 or 3 and metals are composed of
elements, which readily give up electrons to provide metallic bond and electrically conductive material.
Generally, metal possesses the following characteristics.
1) Metallic luster
2) Hardness
3) Opacity. (Reflection of light)
4) Conductivity
5) Malleability and Ductility
6) Stiffness and Rigidity
7) Dimension ability

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 A COMPLETE MANUAL ON CIVIL ENGINEERING MATERIALS

2) Ceramics
Ceramic can be defined as a combination of one or more metals and non-metal with a non-metallic
element. Hence metal oxides, carbides, Nitrides and silicates are considered as ceramics. Generally they
are following characterized.

Brittle in nature.
Rock like appearance
Hardness
Good insulator
Corrosion resistance
High temp strength
Opaque to light
Primarily exhibit ionic bond.

Type of Ceramics:
a) Traditional Ceramics:-
They were made from crude naturally occurring mixtures having inconsistent purity. They have been used
essentially in the manufacture of porcelain, tiles, silicate glasses etc.

b) New Generation Ceramics.

They possess exceptional electrical, magnetic, chemical, structural and thermal properties of material.
Such ceramics are now extensively used in the electronic control devices like, computers, Nuclear
Engineering, Geo space field etc.

3) Polymers
Polymers are the organic compounds of the carbon and hydrogen as basic constituent. These are the long
chains of carbon and hydrogen. Fundamental unit of the polymer is called monomer.

They are generally two types.

I. Natural organic polymers; - Natural wood, Natural rubber etc.
II. Artificial organic polymers;- Plastics, Synthetics, Paints, nylon, leather

They have following characteristics

I. Light weight.
II. Non Corrosive
III. Ductile
IV. Softness, malleability
V. Poor conductor of heat and electricity.
VI. Poor resistance to temperature.

4) Composites
Two types of materials while combines with each other may constitute third materials with some different
properties as that of the parent materials known as composites. These combinations may be metal and
ceramics or ceramics with polymers. Improvements in quality with respect to strength, flexibility etc are
the attraction of the composites.

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 A COMPLETE MANUAL ON CIVIL ENGINEERING MATERIALS

Metal, Alloy + ceramics =Reinforced Concrete,

Ceramics + Organic Polymers =Fiberglass.
Metal, Alloy + Organic Polymers=Vinyl coated

They have following characteristics

I. Stiffness
II. High corrosion Resistance.
III. High strength (Highly Compressive Strength)

1.4) Properties of Civil Engineering Materials:

Appropriate selection of engineering materials is very essential for the proper functioning of any
engineering design. The selection criteria are governed by the properties of engineering material which
are mentioned below.

1.4.1) Physical Properties:

Physical properties are the characteristics of materials that are determined by nature i.e. physical
properties are employed to describe a material under the condition in which external forces are not
considered.

i. Dimension of material:
This gives the superficial evaluation of the material i.e. shape and size.

ii. Density:
The term density is the mass per unit volume of material in its natural state. The properties of
material such as strength, stress and other mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of
material etc are greatly influenced by its density. Simply, it is defined as the mass per unit
volume.
g/cm3

The term density is sometimes also used for the unit weight. So, Bulk unit weight (γ) is defined as
the total weight per unit .
γ = w/v

iii. Specific Gravity:

It is the ratio of the weight of a given material per unit volume to the weight of water per unit
volume (or equal volume) at the given physical condition.
At 40C = 1g/cc or 9.8 KN/m3

It is also defined as the ratio of density of material to the density of water at same physical condition.
Cement =3.5
Sand=2.6 to 2.9
Steel=7.8to 7.9

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iv. Porosity:
It is the ratio of volume of voids in the material to the total volume of the material.

It depends upon the texture and type of material. Porosity is measure of the denseness or
looseness of material. It is expressed in percentage. The porosity of the material is indicative of
its various properties such as strength, bulk density, water absorption, permeability, durability etc.

v. Water Absorption Capacity:

It is defined as the ratio of absorbed water to the dry weight of same material in the specific time
period. It is measured as in percentage. It depends on the volume, shape, and size of porous
present in the material and type of material.

Weight of absorbed water

Water Absorption capacity =
Dry Weight of material

vi. Permeability:
The property of a material, which permits flow of water through it, is called permeability. It is
measures of water passing across the material per unit surface area perpendicular to the direction
of flow. It depends upon type of material, size of material and porosity of the material.

vii. Soundness:
It is the physical property of material, which deals with the resistance of the material against the
effect of heat and moisture attacks. It also defined as resistance of the material against the effect of
heat, alternate freezing and thawing moisture attack etc.

viii. Frost Resistance:

It is the resistance of material to resist against repeated action of freezing and thawing without
considerably decreasing the mechanical strength in saturated condition. The frost resistance of a
material depends upon the density of material and degree of saturation with water. The dense
materials are generally frost resistant.

ix. Fire Resistance: It is the ability of the material to resist the action of high temperature without
any appreciable deformation and substantial loss of strength.

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1.4.2) Mechanical Properties:

Mechanical properties are the characteristics of a material that are displayed under the account of an
external force applied to the material. These properties are most important in selecting the material for
structural components because they lead to determine the load resisting capacity, durability and flexibility of
material.

i. Strength:
It is defined as the ability of material to sustain loads without destruction or failure. External load
per unit-applied area is termed as strength. The loads to which a material is generally subjected to
are tension, compression, bending and shear. The corresponding stress is obtained by dividing the
ultimate load with the cross sectional area of the specimen. Strength or Stress is categorized into
three types.

Compressive strength compressive stress

Tensile strength tensile stress

Shear strength shear stress.

ii. Hardness:
Hardness is the ability of material to resist plastic deformation usually by indentation. It is also
expressed as the ability to resist against stretching, abrasion, cutting and penetration. It is not the
fundamental properties but it is due to combination of compressive, elastic and plastic properties.
This property is the major factor in deciding the workability and the use of a material for various
applications. Tests such as Vickers test, Rockwell test, Brined test etc. are generally carried out to
test the hardness of material.

iii. Toughness or (Tenacity):

It is the ability of material to withstand bending or application of shear without fracture. It is also
defined as the ability of material to absorb energy during plastic deformation. It is also expressed
as energy absorbed per unit volume of material within the plastic region. It is the ability of
material to resist the maximum external force without fracture within the plastic deformation. It is
determined by impact test. The area under the stress strain curve indicates the toughness.
, where rupture strain
= yield and ultimate stress

iv. Resilience:
It is the property of material to store the energy (When deformed elastically and to retain when
unloaded) to resist the impact or stock. In other words, it is defined as the ability of material to
absorb energy in elastic range. It resists the springing effect of material. It is also defined as the

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property of material or ability of material to resist the maximum external force without fracture
within the elastic deformation. Modulus of resilience is measured by area under stress strain
curve.
2
R= ( * /2 = /(2E) ,where, =yield stress, =yield strain,
E=young's modulus of elasticity

v. Ductility:
Capacity of material to go large plastic deformation under tensile load without rupture is called
ductility. Due to this property, metallic item like C.G.I, Bonding wires, Reinforcements etc are
made. The material shows a considerable amount of plasticity during the ductile extension.

vi. Malleability:
Property of material to be beaten into thin sheets or foils is called malleability. In fact, thin is the
capacity of a material to withstand deformation under compression without rupture. These
properties generally increase with the increase of temperature.

vii. Elasticity:
When a load is applied to a material there is change in its dimensions and shape. The properties
of material in which the material can regain its original shape after going through deformation,
after the removal of applied load is termed as elasticity. Elastic limit is the limit up to which
material can regain its original shape. After elastic limit material becomes plastic.
Young's modulus of elasticity is defined as the ratio of stress and strain

viii. Plasticity:
It is the property of material to undergo a permanent deformation even after the removal of
applied load. It is because of this property that certain synthetic materials are given the name
plastics. These materials can be changed into required shape easily.

ix. Creep:
Creep can be defined as the slow and progressive deformation of a material with time under a
constant stress mostly at high temperature. The creep behavior of material is primary important in
the design of steel beam, IC Engine, boiler, turbines etc.
The creep at room temperature is known slow temperature creep and can occur in load pipes,
roofing, and glass as well as in white metal bearing. The creep at high temperature is known as
high temperature creep. It mainly depends upon the metal, service temperature to be encountered
and stress involved.

x. Fatigue:
This can be defined as the stress which material can withstand repeatedly. For a large number of
cycles, when subjected to reverse, fluctuating or repeated loads, material tend to develop a

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characteristic behavior, which is different from that under steady load. Fatigue is the phenomenon
that leads to fracture under such condition. Fatigue failure starts at the point of highest stress.
Fatigue fracture is progressive which begin as minor cracks that grow under the action of
repeated alternating fluctuating loads. It can be considered for design of pump, turbines,
compressor, automobiles etc.

xi. Impact Strength:

Strength to resist sudden shock or impact over the material is known as impact strength. Impact
strength of a material indicates the toughness of material. Impact strength machine is used to
determine the impact strength of material. Impact strength is a complex characteristic which takes
into account both the toughness and strength of a material.

xii. Abrasive resistance:

It is the property of material to resist the wearing of the surface of material due to friction
between one another which are most important properties in road construction material.

xiii. Brittleness: When a body breaks without significant deformation it is known as brittleness. Lack of
ductility is brittleness.

1.4.3) Thermal Properties The characteristics of material which are governed by the temperature are
known as thermal properties.

i. Specific Heat Capacity:

It is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of the unit mass of the
material by 1oc .

1 dE
C= Call / kg oc where, M=mass; dT= Temperature; E= Energy
M dT

Steel = 0.11 k call /kg oc

ii. Thermal Conductivity:
It is the rate at which heat can flow through a material under the influence of temperature
gradient.

T1
T2
L

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, where = rate of heat flow

A= area through which heat flow
L= distance separating the surfaces of temperature T2 and T1
iii. Thermal Resistivity:
It is opposite of thermal conductivity.
iv. Thermal Stability:
It is the ability of material to resist the deformation due to thermal change. For eg. Asbestos, fire
clay etc.
v. Thermal Expansion:
When thermal energy is added to a material it change its dimension. Such phenomenon is called
thermal expansion. And the property of material which governs this phenomenon is known as
coefficient of thermal expansion.
Mathematically, α =(1/L)*(dL/dT) = /dT where, =(dL/L)=strain
vi. Melting point:
The temperature of which a pure metal compound changes from solid to liquid is the melting
point of that material compound.
Copper= 10800c, Mild steel= 15000c

1.4.3)Electrical Properties: Related to transfer of electric current.

i. Resistivity : It is the electric property of a material due to which it resists the flow of
electricity through it.
ii. Conductivity ( : It is reciprocal of electrical resistivity. It is electrical property of material due to
which electric current flow easily through the material.
iii. Dielectric Strength: It is the insulating capacity of a material against high voltage. A material
having high dielectric strength can withstand high voltage field across it before it will breakdown
and conducts.

1.4.4)Magnetic Properties:

i. Absolute Permeability: It is the ratio of flux density to the magnetising force producing that flux
density.
ii. Magnetic Hysteresis: At rising temperature material becomes less magnetic and at low
temperature it becomes magnetic. This phenomenon is called magnetic hysteresis.

1.4.4)Optical Properties:

I. Refractive Index
II. Absorptivity and absorption coefficient
III. Reflection

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