No-fines concrete
No-fines concrete is obtained by eliminating the fine material sand, from the normal concrete mix. The single-sized coarse aggregates are surrounded and held together by a thin layer of cement paste giving strength of concrete.
The advantages of this type of concrete are:
- Lower density.
- Lower cost due to lower cement content.
- Lower thermal conductivity relatively low drying shrinkage.
- No segregation and capillary movement of water.
- Better insulating characteristics than conventional concrete because of the presence of large voids.
No-fines concrete is not suitable for use in reinforced concrete.