What is Reinforced Cement Concrete?
Reinforced Cement Concrete
When a structural concrete is reinforced with a reinforcing material such as steel it forms a composite building material called the Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC). Due to its complementary properties steel is mostly used as the reinforcement. It is called steel reinforced cement concrete or simply Reinforced Cement Concrete.
Reinforcing bars or reinforcements are the steel bars which are used in concrete. Two major grades in which reinforcement bars are found are mild steel and high yield strength steel.
Concrete
For every living human being about one ton of structural concrete is used as it the most common constructional material. Other than water no other material is used in such high quantity. It is so commonly used as it can be molded into different shapes using suitable frameworks. A heterogeneous mixture of cement, fine aggregate (sand), coarse aggregate (boulders or gravels) and water is used to form the concrete.
The concrete then solidifies into a strong mass as a result of hydration of cement. A number of additives are also used to enhance the properties of concrete, properties such a workability, durability, time of setting etc.
Reason why Reinforced Concrete is better than Concrete
Even though the plain concrete is strong in compression, it is weak in bending. Cracks or ruptures develop when it is subjected to bending. It is because of this reason that plain concrete is not used when bending takes place. When steel is added to plain concrete the tensile strength increases as steel is hundred times stronger than concrete in tension, therefore, the bending capacity of plain concrete increases.
Uses of reinforced concrete
Structural members which might be subjected to bending is where reinforced concrete is used. Reinforced concretes are used for building simple components such as beam, columns, slabs, shear walls and foundations to heavy components such as bridge piers, girders and dams. Reinforced cement concrete can be both insitu concreted or precast concrete.
Advantages of reinforced concrete in construction of structure
Concrete and steel bars: Since both the advantages of strong compression and a good tensile strength is presence in RCC it is advantageous for all cases.
Casted into any shape: To caste concrete into the desired shape, it is important to use fresh concrete which is in the fluid form.
Resistant to fire and weather: With proper cover RCC can withstand fire for three to four hours. With proper quality control and durability considerations RCC will be able to manage through every kind of weather.
Maintenance: Concrete structures requires low maintenance after completion of work as compared to structures made of steel and timber.
Availability: Since steel and concrete are common materials for construction, they are easily available and can be used for the preparation of reinforced cement concrete.
Economical: Compared to other material such as steel structures it is an economic option.
Rigidity: As Reinforced concrete are stiff; they provide good rigidity.
