Concrete is one of the essential materials in the world and the world’s most commercially traded substance other than water. Concrete is so essential that over 70% of the world’s population lives in a structure that contains at least some concrete, according to Time Magazine. With this information in mind, the commercial supply of concrete is one of the world’s most important businesses and there are over 100 types of concrete in common use. But of those 100 types, only about 20 are used commonly in construction, including rapid-set concrete mixes.
Plain and Reinforced Cement Concrete
Cement concrete is the most basic type of concrete, composed of cement, fine aggregate (sand or dust), and large aggregate (rock gravel) and comes in several forms: Plain cement concrete, which is simply poured in a mold and allowed to set while exposed to air, reinforced and prestressed, which have reinforcing bars shot through them to increase their strength. Lightweight, high-density, air-entrained, or ready-mix, cement concrete takes many forms. Cement concretes are a widely varied group of types with rapid-set concrete mixes being in especially high demand.
Dry Lean Concrete
A special type of concrete is dry lean or roller-compacted concrete. The roller-compacted concrete alters the standard 1:2:4 ratio with a lower amount of cement, using the weight of earth-moving equipment to compact it down into a solid, cured mass. Roller-compacted concrete is used for excavations and filling.
Asphalt Concrete
Asphalt concrete, or asphalt, is like dry lean concrete in that it is poured into place and rolled to cure. Asphalt is both stiff and flexible, allowing it to withstand great temperature and pressure variations and keep up its strength, though drivers in colder regions are well used to the tendency of asphalt to crack and pit in the winter months, leading to dangerous potholes developing in the spring.
Asphalt comes in cold, hot, and warm mixes. These rapid-set concrete mixes are used for different traffic requirements and require different types of protective clothing to work with. Asphalts are used most often for roadways and play surfaces that require high durability in a wide range of environmental conditions. They are also used for surfaces that need to cure quickly, as an asphalt surface can cure in a matter of hours.
These are just a handful of the types of concrete available. If you have further questions, contact our team at GFP Mobile Mix today for answers!