It is the type of concrete which undergoes compaction on its own, no manual and mechanical measures are required for compaction.
It offers following advantages
- Faster construction
- Reduction in site manpower
- Better surface finish
- Easier placing
- Improved durability
- Thinner concrete structure
- Reduction in noise level
This concrete is produced by use of OPC 43,53 aggregates having maximum size limited 20mm & chemical, mineral admixture.
As conventional concrete structure are too heavy, brittle cannot be repaired easily, undergoes corrosion in reinforcement, develops cracks hence new material are required to overcome these drawbacks.
Ferrocement consists of wire meshes & cement mortar which offers all above advantage. The wire mesh is of 0.5-1mm size, have 5-10mm spacing, cement mortar used is 1:2-1:3 with w/c=0.4 to 0.45.
It is defined as mortar conveyed by mechanically or pneumatically applied over the surface. There is not much difference between grunting & Short concreting.
W/C ratio in concrete controls both strength & Workability. Low W/C ratio gives more strength but workability. Low W/C ratio gives more strength but less workability.
Plain Concrete posses very low tensile strength limited durability & little resistance to cracking. To overcome these drawbacks reinforcement of concrete is done with the help of the fibres like steel, halon, asbestos, glass, carbon, polyproline etc.
