Concrete Beams Key Terms

Understand technical terms related to concrete beams

Whether it’s a residential building, commercial complex or industrial plant, concrete beams are an essential part of any construction project. Concrete beams provide better strength and durability than wooden or metal beams. Concrete beams offer other benefits, such as thermal and acoustical insulation and fire resistance.

While searching for information about concrete beams, you will hear various technical terms from concrete industry professionals. This guide intends to familiarize you with some of those terms.

 

Curing

Curing is the process of maintaining satisfactory moisture content and temperature in a concrete form. It is a very important step in the construction process to ensures strength and durability of the concrete form. The time required for this process is known as curing time.
Try: The Concrete Network, an education resource for the concrete industry, offers a glossary of concrete terms, including curing. For detailed description about the curing process, read through the concrete glossary at dee Concrete Accessories, a supplier of metal forms and nail stakes to the construction industry.

Cast-in-place concrete

As the name indicates, cast-in-place concrete forms are cast at the site of construction. If you want to use cast-in-place concrete forms, you will need to wait until the concrete is cured
Try: HBG Constructors, a reputable bridge building company, offers a glossary of terms, including cast-in-place concrete.

Pre-cast concrete

Sometimes, construction companies do not have enough time to cure the concrete forms or are unable to pour the concrete forms at the construction site. In such cases, concrete forms are cast in a factory and assembled at the site. Concrete forms that are manufactured in a specialized factory and used on-site such as this are known as pre-cast concrete forms.
Try: You can read through the glossary of concrete terms at Gould

Reinforced concrete

To provide additional strength to a concrete beam, steel bars are incorporated or contained in the concrete beam. These beams have better tensile strength than other concrete beams.
Try: Moxie International, a reputable chemical manufacturer, offers explanation on various concrete terms, such as reinforced concrete. You can also browse through Contractor School Online

Pre-stressed concrete beams

A reinforced concrete beam may buckle or crack at a tension zone. To avoid this problem, compressive stresses are induced in this tension zone before assembling the concrete beam.
Try: For detailed description on pre-stressed concrete beams, read through information by David Childs, a civil engineering consultancy firm.

Insulated concrete form (ICF)

For some applications, a concrete structure needs to provide thermal or acoustical insulation. In such cases, construction companies prefer to use ICFs, which are rigid plastic foam forms that hold concrete in place during curing and serve as thermal insulation for concrete walls.
Try: The Insulating Concrete Form Association (ICFA) provides basic information about ICFs. You can also refer to ICF facts at ICF Homes, an informative resource for the ICF industry professionals.

Copyright © 2011 Business.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

---