What is concrete?Concrete is a composite material widely used in the construction industry. Concrete is essentially a mixture of cement, water, aggregates and admixtures (sometimes). Cement is a fine gray powder composed of oxidized calcium, silicon and aluminum. The aggregate used is normally gravel, crushed stone or sand. An admixture is a solid or liquid substance that gives certain characteristics to concrete. Cement reacts chemically with water and binds the aggregates together through a process called hydration during the curing or curing of concrete. This means that the water helps harden the concrete while the cement binds the aggregates together and also reacts with the water to form a solid mass. Concrete is one of the most used construction materials in the world. The reason is that concrete is strong, easy to manufacture, and can be molded into different shapes and sizes. On top of that, concrete is cheap, affordable, and mixes easily. Concrete also has its advantages. Concrete does not corrode, so concrete structures require less maintenance. In addition, concrete is fire resistant and therefore safer than wooden structure. Concrete also has resistance to cyclic loading.IntroductionIn this report, we will introduce and illustrate in detail precast concrete, prestressed concrete, ready-mix concrete, reinforced concrete, terrazzo and Urbanite.In this introduction , we will briefly introduce the sub-topic or types of concrete. Reinforced concrete is stronger than basic concrete. Steel reinforcing bars, known as rebar, are embedded in the concrete structure to act together to resist the force. Steel reinforcing bars absorb tension and compression because raw concrete...... middle of paper ......sed concrete: a fundamental approach / Edward G. Nawy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2012.4) Marotta, T. W. (2011). Basic building materials / Theodore W. Marotta ... [et al.]. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2011.5) Bhatt, P.P. (nd). Prestressed concrete design according to Eurocodes / Prabhakara Bhatt. London; New York: Spon Press, 2011.6) Jester, Thomas C. Twentieth-Century Building Materials: History and Conservation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995.7) Fanella, D. (2011). Reinforced concrete structures: analysis and design / David A. Fanella. New York: McGraw-Hill, c2011.8) Levitt, M. M. (2008). Precast concrete: materials, manufacturing, properties and use / M. Levitt. London: Taylor & Francis, 2008.9) Bachmann, H. and Steinle, A. (2011). Prefabricated concrete structures / Hubert Bachmann, Alfred Steinle. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn, c.2011.10)