2020 Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Undergraduate major in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Concrete Engineering
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Mitsuyasu Iwanami
- Class Format
- Lecture (Zoom)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 1-2 Tue (M114) / 1-2 Fri (M114)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- CVE.E201
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2020
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course focuses on the material characteristics of concrete as one of important construction materials, and also provides fundamental knowledge essential to design and construction of infrastructure. This course covers the fundamental knowledge on constituent materials of concrete and their characteristics, properties of fresh concrete, properties of hardened concrete including durability, the concept of mixture design of concrete and the standard method, and production and execution of concrete on site.
While there are many kinds of construction materials, concrete is used the most in construction project of infrastructure. Concrete is a kind of composite materials, consisting of water, cement, fine aggregate (sand), coarse aggregate (gravel), and etc. It is quite important to understand the characteristics of these constituent materials. We have to know the properties of hardened concrete as well as fresh concrete, which is not hardened yet. Civil engineers should have the ability of designing the mixture proportion of concrete to satisfy the requirement.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand the characteristics of constituent materials of concrete as one of major construction materials.
2) Understand the properties of fresh and hardened concrete.
3) Conduct basic design of mixture proportion of concrete.
4) Apply practical knowledge on production and durability of concrete to design and construction of infrastructure.
Student learning outcomes
実務経験と講義内容との関連 (又は実践的教育内容)
The practical problems in the field of concrete engineering that the lecturer have experienced at the national research institute will be explained, and the lecturer will show that it is important to acquire the fundamental knowledge to solve the problems.
Keywords
Concrete, construction material, mixture proportion design, cement, aggregate, additive, fresh concrete, hardened concrete, strength, production, execution, ready-mixed concrete, durability
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The content of the assigned textbook is explained according to the course schedule. As necessary, exercises are imposed to grasp students' understanding during the class. Students are required to prepare and review every class by at least reading the textbook.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction of construction materials, Properties of concrete | Textbook, Chapters 1 and 2 |
| Class 2 | Cement | Textbook, Chapter 3, (1) |
| Class 3 | Aggregate (physical properties, water absorption, particle size distribution) | Textbook, Chapter 3, (3) |
| Class 4 | Aggregate (type, purpose of use) | Textbook, Chapter 3, (3) |
| Class 5 | Additives | Textbook, Chapter 3, (4) |
| Class 6 | Fresh concrete (workability, consistency) | Textbook, Chapter 4 |
| Class 7 | Fresh concrete (slump, air content) | Textbook, Chapter 4 |
| Class 8 | Hardened concrete (strength, deformability, stress-strain relationship) | Textbook, Chapter 5, (2) |
| Class 9 | Hardened concrete (creep, drying shrinkage) | Textbook, Chapter 5, (3) |
| Class 10 | Mixture proportion design (basic principles and procedure, mixture condition) | Textbook, Chapter 6 |
| Class 11 | Mixture proportion design (exercises) | Textbook, Chapter 6 |
| Class 12 | Production and execution | Textbook, Chapters 7 and 8 |
| Class 13 | Durabililty | Textbook, Chapter 9 |
| Class 14 | Evaluation |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
"Concrete Material," by Nobuaki Otsuki and Shin-ichi Miyazato, ISBN4-254-26501-8 (in Japanese)
Reference books, course materials, etc.
None required.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Exercises during the classes: 20%, Final examination: 80%
Related courses
- CVE.A201 ： Mechanics of Materials and Members
- CVE.E301 ： Structural Concrete
- CVE.N231 ： Concrete and Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory I
- CVE.N331 ： Concrete and Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory II
Prerequisites
None required.