GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
CE 3020 Materials of Construction
Course Syllabus
Spring 2007
Lecture:
Classroom:
Laboratory:
M,W 10-11
142 Mason
508B Mason, with the exception of the concrete mixing lab
Instructors:
Office:
Office Hours:
E-mail:
Dr. Roberto Leon
308 Mason
M 1-3
roberto.leon@ce.gatech.edu
Teaching Assistants
Preston Humphries
Shane Johnson
Lisa Lindquist
Walter Yang
Office Hours
F 10-12
W 10-12
Th 10-12
TBA
Dr. Kimberly Kurtis
315 Mason
M,W 2-3
kkurtis@ce.gatech.edu
Office
508B Mason
117 Mason
508B Mason
308 Mason
Email
gtg837y@mail.gatech.edu
Shane.Johnson@gatech.edu
lisa.lindquist@gatech.edu
gtg189c@mail.gatech.edu
Phone
--4-385-2525
--4-385-0778
Course Objectives
 To develop a vocabulary describing the structure, properties, and behavior of civil engineering materials
 To understand relationships between nano/microstructure and macroscale material behavior (mechanical
properties and durability)
 To build an awareness of material strength, durability, and cost to promote effective material selection,
material design, and structural design
 To develop an intuitive sense of material behavior under loading through a series of laboratory
experiments.
 To improve written technical communication skills
Honor Code:
This course will be conducted under the guidelines of the Georgia Tech Academic Honor Code. A copy of
the code can be found at http://www.honor.gatech.edu/honorcode/honorcode.html
Special Circumstances:
Notify the instructor AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and by email if circumstances exist which require special
coordination between the student and instructor for fulfillment of course objectives. Such circumstances may
include absences during exams or lab periods or where tests are to be administered at ADAPTS. Notification
which occurs AFTER the fact will result in a 0 for that assignment, laboratory, or exam. The student is
responsible for retaining a copy of the email correspondence.
Grading:
Grading will reflect performance on 3 exams (none are cumulative) and 6 laboratory reports:
Exam I (metals)
25% February 7
Exam II (wood, polymers, aggregate) 25% March 14
Exam III (concrete, asphalt)
25% April 30 (2:50-5:40 pm, location TBA)
Laboratory Reports*
25%
* Each report is worth 4% of the final grade, with the exception of the Concrete Report for Labs 6 & 7, worth 5%.
Approximate grading scale:
90-100%=A
80-89%=B
70-79%=C
60-69%=D
Less than 60%=F
Homework:
Homework will be assigned but not graded. However, all students are encouraged to do the homework, as
these topics are generally covered on exams. Homework can be found at the course web page.
Required course materials:
 J.F. Young, S. Mindess, R.J. Gray, A. Bentur, The Science and Technology of Civil Engineering Materials,
Prentice-Hall, NJ, 1998. (Young)
 S.H. Kosmatka, B. Kerkhoff, and W.C. Panarese, Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, 14th Ed., Portland
Cement Association, Skokie, IL, 2002. (electronic version provided free of charge to CEE 3020 students) (PCA)
 The course website: http://www.ce.gatech.edu/~kkurtis/3020.html which includes supplementary course
notes, the online laboratory manual, homework, and homework solutions.
Additional materials on library reserve:
 McCrum; Buckley; and Bucknall, Principles of Polymer Engineering, Oxford, 1997. (McCrum)
 Wilcox; Botsai; and Kubler, Wood as a Building Material, John Wiley & Sons, 1991. (Wilcox)
 Lewis; Reynolds; Gagg, Forensic Materials Engineering: Case Studies, CRC Press, 2004. (Lewis)
TOPICS COVERED
Introduction/Review
Chemical bonding
Stress, strain, and E
Metals
Atomic structure
Alloys and phase diagrams
Classification
Elastic and plastic behavior
Hardness
Effect of elevated temperatures
Corrosion
Fracture
Fatigue
MIDTERM 1
REQUIRED READING
OTHER READING
Chapters 1&5
Ch. 1 Young (p. 1-9)
Ch. 5 Young (p. 85-95)
Chapters 2, 3, 5-8, & 13; Class Notes
Sec. 2.1 Young
Ch. 3 & Ch. 13 Young; Notes
Ch. 13 Young
Secs. 2.2 & 5.1Young; Ch. 13 Young
Sec. 5.7 Young
Sec. 4.5 Lewis
Ch. 7 Young; Notes
Ch. 13 Young
Ch. 2 Lewis
Secs. 6.2 & 6.4 Young
Ch. 2 Lewis
Ch. 8 Young
Ch. 2 Lewis
Wood
Structure and properties of wood
Structure and properties of wood products
Durability of wood
Polymers and FRP
Structure and properties of polymers
Structure and properties of FRP
Chapter 14; Class Notes
Ch. 14 and Sec. 5.3 Young
Chs. 3 & 4 Wilcox
Sec. 14.8 Young; Notes
Chs. 5 & 6 Wilcox
Sec. 14.9 Young; Notes
Chs. 8 Wilcox
Chapters 2, 15 & 16; Class Notes
Sec. 2.4 & Ch. 15 Young
Secs. 2.5, 9.1, 9.2
Ch.6 McCrum
& Ch. 16 Young
Ch. 10 Young
Ch. 5 PCA
Aggregates
MIDTERM 2
Portland Cement Concrete
Portland cement manufacture
Hydration
Hydrated cement paste structure and properties
Supplementary cementitious materials
Properties of fresh concrete
ACI mixture design
Chapters 9-11; Class Notes
Class notes
Ch. 11 Young
Chs. 9 & 11 Young; Notes
Chs. 9 & 11 Young; Notes
Ch. 11 Young
Class notes
Ch. 2 PCA
Ch. 2 PCA
Ch. 3 PCA
Chs.1, 16 PCA
Ch.9 PCA
Admixtures
Hardened concrete properties
Durability of concrete
Advances in concrete technology
Asphalt and Asphalt Concrete
Binder composition and properties
Properties of asphalt concrete
Test methods
Mixture design methods
FINAL
Ch. 11; Sec. 4.5 Young; Notes Ch.6 PCA
Chs. 9 & 11 & Sec. 5.2 Young; Chs.1, 16 PCA
Notes
Ch. 11 Young; Notes
Ch.16 PCA
Class notes
Chapters 9 & 12; Class Notes
Ch. 9 Young
Chs. 9 & 12 Young; Notes
Ch. 9 Young
Ch. 9 Young; Notes