CONCRETE AND WEAR.

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1426, 13 November 1923, Page 7

CONCRETE AND WEAR.

STRENGTH AFFECTED BY THE WATER USED.

In the concrete itself, and in its manufacture, for floors in buildings or for road surfaces, there are many controllable factors wfhich influence the resistance of the material to wear (declares a writer in Engineering). The road engineer from the start hae realised the need of obtaining good resisting qualities, but it Is probable that in the case of many factory floors little heed has been paid during construction to points other than those relating to the strength of the monolithic structure, and a conventional top finish. In most circumstances the quality of, a good concrete is appraised by its strength, whether strength is the actual quality required for some particular work or not. In appears that those factors which, when suitably regulated, are in concrete conducive to high strength, are generally also favourable to high resistance to wear. Thus the importance, if strength is required, of restricting the water used in mixing just the amount required to produce the proper consistency of mixture, hae long been recognised in England, though in the United States it was common to use much wetter mixtures than were actually necessary. This factor is found to affect the wear of concrete in a parallel manner. Again, the increase of strength with time has long been recognised. Similarly, the resistance to wear is improved by curing.