ENG C292 Concrete Engineering & Durability of Concrete( Curriculum Essay

ENG C292 Concrete Engineering & Durability of Concrete( Curriculum BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN CIVIL) - Essay Example (www.cowi.com, 20-). Since the concrete is fundamentally a man-made material, it is quite possible to control its characteristics and behavior by altering its mix design specifications and adding admixtures to it. Hence, by the careful selection of appropriate materials for preparing the concrete, and close monitoring of its curing once it has been cast, the qualities of concrete can be significantly enhanced to meet the requirements of a particular structure. There are certain design requirements associated with every location and type of a structure. If the structure is made of concrete, the concrete needs to be customized in order to combat the challenges brought to the structure by the weather conditions and temperature of a particular location. This needs an appropriate evaluation of the required properties of concrete by studying the literature for the history of challenges associated with a particular climate. Also, the achievement of required results requires monitoring the w hole process right from the start that involves concrete making, casting and finally the curing. Of these, the last two processes are majorly field-specific and require careful supervision from the workers in the construction site. The first part i.e. preparation of the mix design is the most influential process in achieving the desired durability in the concrete. This paper discusses the common methodologies used for the achievement of durability in concrete structures. Concrete has long been in use as a construction material for a large variety of structures including bridges. A number of long-lived concrete bridges have been constructed in the past. They include the Shakh Isa bin Salam Bridge in Bahrain and the bridge over the Lerez River at Pontevedra in Spain shown in the figure-1 and figure-2 below: In his report, (Paeglitis, n.d.: 1) has mentioned that more