Concrete Composites Lab
Each group makes two concrete samples in silicone ice molds. Once the sample has cured they can be easily removed from the molds.Copyright 2022 Aerielle Rodriguez, University of Houston RET
Materials engineering allows for the design and testing of a variety of different properties so engineers can make decisions on the types of materials to use in a particular structure. In this activity, students create an assigned composite of cement by mixing the concrete with different percentages of black carbon and other material. They then test the physical and chemical properties of their composite to see what properties are improved by the addition of the black carbon. After the class data is collected and all the composites tested are compared to each other, the groups can improve their concrete composite by looking at the group data and re-testing to see if their changes resulted in improvements.
Engineers must determine what the best material is to use for a given design. Many materials we use are composites of materials, meaning they are made up of more than one type of material (wood, glass, metal, etc.), and the percentages of the materials affect its performance. Material engineering is all about experimenting with and creating new types of materials that we can use to improve functionality of the things around us. In this lab just like the material engineers, students will be able to create composites of their own and go through the engineering process of testing their concrete composites and analyzing their data to see what improvements can be made.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe the difference between pure substances and mixtures.
- Discuss what makes a change physical and chemical.
- Test a material for density, wettability, and strength.
- Think and outline a design for improving composite compositions.