Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) – An Overview

What is RCC?

We know, concrete is strong in compression but it is relatively weak in tension. Concrete's tension resistant capacity is so low that it only can be used in compression member. Steel, on the other hand, extremely strong in tension. So steel and concrete combination is ideal where we need both tension and compression resisting member. Such combination of steel and concrete is called reinforced cement concrete. In short, RCC. When concrete is gained its strength, RCC member works as a single part of structure. Unit weight of RCC is 2400 kg/cu.m.

RCC Materials

RCC composed of mainly two materials. One is concrete and another is steel.

Concrete in RCC: Concrete is an artificial stone produced from mixing cement, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate. In RCC, it provides compressive strength to structure and protect steel from weathering impact.

Steel in RCC: Different grade of steel is used in RCC as per design calculation of structure. Using deformed mild steel bar increase bonding between concrete and steel.

Advantage of RCC

Strength: It has high compressive and tensile strength.

Shape and Size: RCC can be made in any desired shape. Since RCC has steel inside it, the size of RCC member (cross-sectional dimension) can be reduced.

Cost: RCC is more economical than steel.

Fire resistant: As steel of RCC member has concrete cover, it doesn't contact directly with fire, that is why RCC structure is more fire resistant than steel.

Maintenance: It has low maintenance cost with long service life.

Disadvantage of RCC

Concrete takes time for developing its strength. That is why RCC structure needs more time to build than steel structure. It also needs formwork for casting that is also time-consuming.

Producing RCC member involves various operation such as mixing, placing, vibrating and curing. If these operations aren't handled properly, poor quality structure can be produced.

RCC member contains steel inside it. It can hamper the structure quality if not placed properly.

If concrete cover around steel is not sufficient it can be affected by corrosion. Read “ Cover for RCC Member”.

Uses of RCC

If you ask me where RCC isn't used, it'll be far easier to me to explain than where RCC is used. However, now-a-days, RCC is used almost any civil structure - from building to bridge and from road to drainage system.