Syllabus

This syllabus assumes a working knowledge of the Intermediate Level syllabus Concrete Technology and Construction - General Principles and Practical Applications.

1. Cements.
   Review of cements including blended cements, manufacture, chemical composition, chemical and physical processes of hydration, modern methods of analysis.

2. Additions to concrete.
   Review of types, covering pulverised fuel ash, ground granulated blastfurnace slag and silica fume; origins and manufacture; chemical composition; physical characteristics; chemical and physical processes of hydration and interaction; effects on properties of concretes, mortars and grouts; methods of test; applications; mixer blends and blended cements.

3. Admixtures.
   Review of types and classification; chemical composition; origin and manufacture; actions and interactions; usage; effects on properties of concretes, mortars and grouts; methods of test; applications.

4. Aggregates.
   Review of types; elementary mineralogy and petrology; aggregate prospecting; quarrying and gravel-winning practice; production of artificial aggregates; sampling and testing; effects on properties of concretes, mortars and grouts.

5. Fresh concrete.
   Rheology of concentrated suspensions, pastes, mortars and concretes; workability, segregation and bleeding. Theory and principles governing the correct placing and compaction of concrete.

6. Setting and hardening concrete.
   Plastic settlement and plastic shrinkage; exothermic characteristics; early age thermal movements; strength development; maturity, accelerated curing; assessment of safe stripping times; hot and cold weather concreting.

7. Properties of hardened concrete.
   Strength; deformation under load; elasticity; creep; drying shrinkage and other volume changes. Thermal properties.

8. Durability of concrete and concrete construction.
   Durability concept; pore structure and transport processes; reinforcement corrosion; fire resistance; frost damage; sulfate attack; alkali silica reaction; delayed ettringite formation; methods of providing durable concrete; short-term tests to assess long-term behaviour.

9. Mix design.
   Review of methods and philosophies; mix design for special purposes.

10. Special concretes.
    Lightweight concrete: autoclaved aerated concrete, no-fines concrete, lightweight aggregate concrete and foamed concrete. High strength concrete; refractory concrete; high density and radiation-shielding concrete; polymer concrete; fibre-reinforced concrete; mortars; renders; recycled concrete.

11. Special processes and technology for particular types of structure.
    Sprayed concrete; underwater concrete; grouts, grouting and grouted concrete; mass concrete; slipform construction; pumped concrete; concrete for liquid retaining structures; vacuum process; concrete coatings and surface treatments.

12. Ready-mixed concrete.
    Types of plant; truck-mixer efficiency; effects of prolonged agitation; quality control: acceptance and compliance.

13. Exposed concrete finishes.
    Types of surface finish; methods of production; weathering.

14. Repairing concrete.
    Diagnosis, materials and techniques.

15. Formwork.
    Principles of design; concrete pressures; linings; release agents; formwork for exposed concrete finishes; tolerances.

16. Concrete plant.
    Batching plant and ancillary equipment for improving accuracy; mixers; distributing plant; vibrators.

17. Precast concrete.
    Review of types of small and large products; methods of compaction other than vibration; mix design and curing; special formwork requirements; masonry.

18. Concrete roads.
    Methods and materials for pavements; cement-bound materials; testing materials.

19. Industrial floors.
    Materials and construction procedures; screeds and toppings; testing.

20. Principles of reinforced and prestressed concrete.
    Stress/strain distributions; simple beam behaviour; limit state concepts; reinforcement and prestressing.

21. Test methods and equipment.
    Types, characteristics, calibration and maintenance. Reference testing. Analysis of fresh concrete. Accelerated testing methods. Analysis of hardened concrete. Core drilling and testing. Partially destructive testing. Non-destructive testing. Load testing. Assessment of reinforcement condition.

22. Quality concepts.
    Definitions; principles and Standards; quality schemes; third party capability assessment; QA schemes for materials, ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete; QA in concrete construction; product conformity.

23. Quality control.
    Quality of mixed concrete: outline of problems involved; control techniques; selection of control procedures. Quality of finished product.

24. Statistics.
    Measures of dispersion, probability and sampling theory, tests of significance, curve fitting and regression, repeatability and reproducibility, control charts. The role and limitations of statistics in concrete technology.

25. Standards, Specifications and Codes of Practice.
    Review of existing documents relevant to preceding items and discussion of their relevance in the light of recent research and practice.

26. Assessment of concrete construction.
    Inspection of concrete and investigation of failures; assessment of concrete strength in structures; surface blemishes - causes and remedies.

27. Sources of information

NB this syllabus is subject to review and minor revisions