A
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
ON
CONCRETE BLOCKS
SUBMITTED TO:
SHIVRAO SIR & KAUSHAL SIR
PREPARED BY:
BHUMI AGHERA
TRUSHALI DESAI
TWINKAL JAMBU
NIRAV AVAIYA
B'ARCH, GCPIAFJATIN BHINGRADIYA
VNSGU,SURAT
INTRODUCTION
A concrete block is primarily used as a building
material in the construction of walls.
It is sometimes called a concrete masonry unit (CMU)
A concrete block is one of several precast concrete
products used in construction. The term precast refers
to the fact that the blocks are formed and hardened
before they are brought to the job site.
Most concrete blocks have one or more hollow
cavities, and their sides may be cast smooth or with a
design. In use, concrete blocks are stacked one at a
time and held together with fresh concrete mortar to
form the desired length
and
height of the wall.
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Continued
The first hollow concrete block was designed in
1890 by Harmon S. Palmer in the United States.
After 10 years of experimenting, Palmer
patented the design in 1900. Palmer's blocks
were 20.3 cm by 25.4 cm by 76.2 cm, and they
were so heavy they had to be lifted into place
with a small crane. By 1905, an estimated 1,500
companies were manufacturing concrete blocks
in the United States.
These early blocks were usually cast by hand,
and the average output was about 10 blocks per
person per hour. Today, concrete block
manufacturing B'ARCH,
is aGCPIAF-VNSGU,SURAT
highly automated process
Technical Specifications of
Concrete Blocks
Parameter
Description
Typical size
300 x 200 x 150 mm
Average compressive strength 50-110 kg/[Link]
at 28 days
Mix Proportion
1:12-14 (1 part cement : 12-14
parts sum graded aggregates)
Water absorption in 24 hours
Less than 10% by weight of block
Weight of a concrete block
about 18-19 Kgs
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History
Concrete blocks were first used in the United
States as a substitute for stone or wood in the
building of homes. The earliest known example of
a house built in this country entirely of concrete
block was in 1837 on Staten Island, New York. The
homes built of concrete blocks showed a creative
use of common inexpensive materials made to
look like the more expensive and traditional
wood-framed stone masonry building.
While many houses used the concrete blocks as
the structure as well as the outer wall surface,
other houses used stucco or other coatings over
the block structure. Hundreds of thousands of
these houses were built especially in the
midwestern states, probably because the raw
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materials needed to make concrete blocks were
Raw Materials
The basic raw material is cement, fine
aggregate and coarse [Link] little
water is used.
This is possible only with mechanized
compaction and vibration and gives the block
high quality in spite of the lean mix, which
uses very little cement.
Concrete blocks can be surface engineered by
using pieces of stone or ceramic waste on
their face.
Another common type is hollow concrete
blocks. They are made with a richer mix, but
offer a numberB'ARCH,
of advantages,
such as lighter
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Design
The shapes and sizes of most common
concrete blocks have been standardized to
ensure uniform building construction. The
most common block size in the United States
is referred with the nominal measurements
of 20.3 cm high ,20.3 cm deep ,40.6 cm wide.
This nominal measurement includes room for
a bead of mortar, and the block itself actually
measures 19.4 cm high ,19.4 cm deep ,38.8
cm wide.
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The
ManufacturingProcess:
1. Raw materials mixing
2. Brick/block moulding
3. Vibrating & compacting
4. Curing/drying
5. Brick/block packing
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Mixing
The sand and gravel are stored outside in piles and are transferred
into storage bins in the plant by a conveyor belt as they are needed.
The portland cement is stored outside in large vertical silos to protect
it from moisture.
As a production run starts, the required amounts of sand, gravel, and
cement are transferred by gravity or by mechanical means to a weigh
batcher which measures the proper amounts of each material.
The dry materials then flow into a stationary mixer where they are
blended together for several minutes. There are two types of mixers
commonly used. One type, called a planetary or pan mixer,
resembles a shallow pan with a lid. Mixing blades are attached to a
vertical rotating shaft inside the mixer. The other type is called a
horizontal drum mixer. It resembles a coffee can turned on its side
and has mixing blades attached to a horizontal rotating shaft inside
the mixer.
After the dry materials are blended, a small amount of water is added
to the mixer. If the plant is located in a climate subject to
temperature extremes, the water may first pass through a heater or
chiller to regulate its temperature. Admixture chemicals and coloring
pigments may also be added at this time. The concrete is then mixed
for six to eight minutes.B'ARCH, GCPIAF-VNSGU,SURAT
Molding
Once the load of concrete is thoroughly mixed, it is dumped into an
inclinedbucket conveyor and transported to an elevated hopper. The
mixing cycle begins again for the next load.
The liners determine the outer shape of the block and the inner shape of
the block cavities. As many as 15 blocks may be molded at one time.
When the molds are full, the concrete is compacted by the weight of the
upper mold head coming down on the mold cavities. This compaction
may be supplemented by air or hydraulic pressure cylinders acting on
the mold head. Most block machines also use a short burst of
mechanical vibration to further aid compaction.
The compacted blocks are pushed down and out of the molds onto a
flat steel pallet. The pallet and blocks are pushed out of the machine
and onto a chain conveyor. In some operations the blocks then pass
under a rotating brush which removes loose material from the top of the
blocks.
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Curing
The pallets of blocks are conveyed to an automated stacker
or loader which places them in a curing rack. Each rack
holds several hundred blocks. When a rack is full, it is
rolled onto a set of rails and moved into a curing kiln.
The kiln is an enclosed room with the capacity to hold
several racks of blocks at a time. There are two basic types
of curing kilns. The most common type is a low-pressure
steam kiln. In this type, the blocks are held in the kiln for
one to three hours at room temperature to allow them to
harden slightly. Steam is then gradually introduced to raise
the temperature at a controlled rate of not more than16C
per hour.
When the curing temperature has been reached, the steam
is shut off, and the blocks are allowed to soak in the hot,
moist air for 12-18 hours. After soaking, the blocks are
dried by exhausting the moist air and further raising the
temperature in the kiln. The whole curing cycle takes about
24 hours
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Cubing
The racks of cured blocks are rolled out of the kiln, and
the pallets of blocks are unstacked and placed on a chain
conveyor. The blocks are pushed off the steel pallets,
and the empty pallets are fed back into the block
machine to receive a new set of molded blocks.
If the blocks are to be made into split-face blocks, they
are first molded as two blocks joined together. Once
these double blocks are cured, they pass through a
splitter, which strikes them with a heavy blade along the
section between the two halves. This causes the double
block to fracture and form a rough, stone-like texture on
one face of each piece.
The blocks pass through a cuber which aligns each block
and then stacks them into a cube three blocks across by
six blocks deep by three or four blocks high. These cubes
are carried outside with
a forklift and placed in storage.
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FINAL PRODUCT: BLOCKS
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CONCRETE BLOCK: PAVERS
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THANK YOU
B'ARCH, GCPIAFVNSGU,SURAT
