The Chemistry of Cement Haley Graham

cement composition

Cement bonded composites are made of hydrated cement paste that binds wood or alike particles or fibers to make pre-cast building components. Various fiberous materials including paper and fiberglass have been used as binders.

Wood and natural fibres are composed of various soluble organic compounds like carbohydrates, glycosides and phenolics.

These compounds are known to retard cement setting.

Therefore, before using a wood in making cement boned composites, its compatibility with cement is assessed.

Wood-cement compatibility is the ratio of a parameter related to the property of a wood-cement composite to that of a neat cement paste.

The compatibility is often expressed as a percentage value.

Through the Looking Glass (2010) - Materials Documentary

Plastic

The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers.

Their name is derived from the fact that in their semi-liquid state they are malleable, or have the property of plasticity.

Plastics vary immensely in heat tolerance, hardness, and resiliency.

Combined with this adaptability, the general uniformity of composition and lightness of plastics ensures their use in almost all industrial applications today.

plastic product

Glass

Glassmaking is considered an art form as well as an industrial process or material.

Clear windows have been used since the invention of glass to cover small openings in a building.

They provided humans with the ability to both let light into rooms while at the same time keeping inclement weather outside.

Glass is generally made from mixtures of sand and silicates, in a very hot fire stove called a kiln and is very brittle.

Very often additives are added to the mixture when making to produce glass with shades of colors or various characteristics (such as bulletproof glass, or light emittance).

The use of glass in architectural buildings has become very popular in the modern culture.

Glass "curtain walls" can be used to cover the entire facade of a building, or it can be used to span over a wide roof structure in a "space frame".

glass staircase

These uses though require some sort of frame to hold sections of glass together, as glass by itself is too brittle and would require an overly large kiln to be used to span such large areas by itself.

Metal

Metal is used as structural framework for larger buildings such as skyscrapers, or as an external surface covering.

There are many types of metals used for building.
Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, and is the usual choice for metal structural building materials. It is strong, flexible, and if refined well and/or treated lasts a long time. Corrosion is metal's prime enemy when it comes to longevity.

steel

iron ore

iron rod

The lower density and better corrosion resistance of aluminium alloys and tin sometimes overcome their greater cost.

aluminium alloy

tin ore

tin product

tin plating product

Brass was more common in the past, but is usually restricted to specific uses or specialty items today.

brass rod

Metal figures quite prominently in prefabricated structures such as the Quonset hut, and can be seen used in most cosmopolitan cities.

It requires a great deal of human labor to produce metal, especially in the large amounts needed for the building industries.

 Quonset hut

Other metals used include titanium, chrome, gold, silver. Titanium can be used for structural purposes, but it is much more expensive than steel. Chrome, gold, and silver are used as decoration, because these materials are expensive and lack structural qualities such as tensile strength or hardness.

gold

chrome

silver

titanium

Metal Properties