Free online courseConstruction Materials Engineering: Concrete, Metals, Polymers and more
Duration of the online course: 23 hours and 41 minutes
New
Free NPTEL course on construction materials engineering: cement, metals, polymers, pavements, wood and glass, with key materials concepts for practice.
In this free course, learn about
Course Introduction and Objectives
Materials Engineering Concepts
Nature of Materials (Bonding, Structure, Defects, Polymers Basics)
Masonry Materials: Stone, Brick, and Mortar
Cement and Concrete Materials
Metals for Construction
Polymers and Composites for Construction
Pavement Materials (Asphalt and Concrete Pavements)
Timber and Glass as Construction Materials
Course Description
Construction Materials Engineering: Concrete, Metals, Polymers and more is a free online course from NPTEL in the Professional Skills category, designed for learners who want a solid foundation in construction materials used across buildings and infrastructure.
Build practical understanding of how materials behave, why specific materials are selected for specific applications, and how engineering concepts connect material properties to performance in real projects. The course develops core materials engineering thinking, helping you interpret material characteristics and relate them to durability, safety, and service conditions.
Explore essential construction materials including stone and brick, cement and concrete-related fundamentals, metals used in structural and construction contexts, polymers and composites for modern applications, pavement materials for transportation systems, and commonly used building materials such as wood and glass.
Ideal for students, early-career engineers, and construction professionals looking to strengthen their knowledge of material types, properties, and selection for construction and civil engineering work.
Course content
Video class: #1 Introduction to Construction Materials | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials26m
Exercise: According to the course outline, which set of materials is stated as the primary focus?
Video class: #2 Introduction to Construction Materials | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials19m
Exercise: Why were arches and domes in historic structures well-suited for materials like concrete or stone?
Video class: #3 Introduction to Construction Materials | Part 3 | Basic Construction Materials38m
Exercise: Which option best describes the main objectives of studying construction materials in this course?
Video class: #4 Materials Engineering Concepts | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials24m
Exercise: Why is a characteristic strength value used in structural design instead of the mean strength?
Video class: #5 Materials Engineering Concepts | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials35m
Exercise: In a tensile test of a metal, what distinguishes engineering stress from true stress?
Video class: #6 Materials Engineering Concepts | Part 3 | Basic Construction Materials26m
Video class: #7 Materials Engineering Concepts | Part 4 | Basic Construction Materials27m
Exercise: In relaxation behavior of a viscoelastic material, what happens when strain is held constant over time?
Video class: #8 Materials Engineering Concepts | Part 5 | Basic Construction Materials16m
Exercise: What does the area under a stress–strain curve represent in material behavior?
Video class: #9 Materials Engineering Concepts | Part 6 | Basic Construction Materials29m
Exercise: In fatigue design using an S–N curve, what does the endurance limit (fatigue limit) represent for some ferrous/titanium alloys?
Video class: #10 Materials Engineering Concepts | Part 7 | Basic Construction Materials19m
Exercise: Which set correctly represents the 4S design concepts for selecting construction materials?
Video class: #11 Nature of Materials | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials30m
Exercise: Why is graphite suitable for writing in a pencil, while diamond is not, even though both are made of carbon?
Video class: #12 Nature of Materials | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials20m
Exercise: Which statement correctly distinguishes ionic and covalent bonding?
Video class: #13 Nature of Materials | Part 3 | Basic Construction Materials20m
Exercise: Which lattice structures are most commonly observed in metals?
Video class: #14 Nature of Materials | Part 4 | Basic Construction Materials30m
Exercise: How are lattice defects commonly categorized based on dimensionality?
Video class: #15 Nature of Materials | Part 5 | Basic Construction Materials20m
Video class: #16 Nature of Materials | Part 6 | Basic Construction Materials46m
Video class: #17 Nature of Materials | Part 7 | Basic Construction Materials44m
Exercise: Which statement best describes thermoplastics in terms of polymer chain structure and behavior on heating?
Video class: #18 Stone, Brick26m
Exercise: Approximately how many standard modular bricks are needed to fill 1 m³ of wall volume (ignoring mortar)?
Video class: #19 Stone, Brick28m
Exercise: Which property is most critical when designing bricks specifically for flooring or paving applications?
Video class: #20 Stone, Brick25m
Exercise: Which statement best explains why lime mortar can have relatively low net CO2 emissions compared to cement-based binders?
Video class: #21 Stone, Brick25m
Exercise: Why is mortar typically designed to be the weakest part of a masonry wall?
Video class: #22 Stone, Brick30m
Exercise: Why should masonry units (bricks/stones/blocks) generally be placed in a wet condition during construction?
Video class: #23 Stone, Brick39m
Exercise: Why are expansion joints provided in long masonry walls?
Video class: #24 Cement29m
Exercise: Why is steel commonly used as reinforcement in concrete instead of a metal like aluminium?
Video class: #25 Cement31m
Exercise: Why is gypsum added during Portland cement manufacture?
Video class: #26 Cement31m
Exercise: Which changes are commonly used to produce ASTM Type 3 (high early strength) cement compared with Type 1?
Video class: #27 Cement32m
Exercise: Why are aggregates used in concrete instead of using only cement paste?
Video class: #28 Cement36m
Video class: #29 Cement35m
Exercise: Why is weigh batching preferred over volume batching in controlled concrete production?
Video class: #30 Cement39m
Exercise: Why is the drum of a ready-mix concrete (RMC) truck rotated slowly while traveling to the job site?
Video class: #31 Cement26m
Exercise: How is the setting time of concrete typically determined in practice?
Video class: #32 Cement20m
Exercise: Which statement best describes why concrete durability is closely linked to permeability?
Video class: #33 Metals 1 | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials24m
Exercise: Why is ductile iron less brittle than grey cast iron?
Video class: #34 Metals 1 | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials22m
Exercise: How does increasing carbon content in steel generally affect hardness and ductility?
Video class: #35 Metals 2 | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials19m
Exercise: What is the main reason cold twisted deformed (CTD) rebars tend to have poorer corrosion resistance?
Video class: #36 Metals 2 | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials20m
Video class: #37 Metals 3 | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials25m
Exercise: What is the main protection mechanism of fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) coated reinforcing bars in concrete?
Video class: #38 Metals 3 | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials32m
Video class: #39 Metals 4 | Basic Construction Materials38m
Exercise: In a steel–concrete composite floor system, what is the primary function of shear studs/connectors?
Video class: #40 Metals - 5 | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials22m
Exercise: Why is aluminum generally not preferred for major structural members compared with steel?
Video class: #41 Metals - 5 | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials24m
Video class: #42 Polymers and Composites | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials29m
Video class: #43 Polymers and Composites | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials31m
Exercise: In a stress relaxation test for a viscoelastic polymer, which quantity is held constant and what happens over time?
Video class: #44 Polymers and Composites | Part 3 | Basic Construction Materials24m
Exercise: In fiber-reinforced composites, how does fiber orientation affect the factor K used in the longitudinal modulus rule-of-mixtures?
Video class: #45 Pavement Materials 1 | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials24m
Exercise: Which statement best describes a flexible pavement in terms of material and load transfer?
Video class: #46 Pavement Materials 1 | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials18m
Exercise: In asphalt (bitumen), which component acts as the dispersed phase and primarily contributes to strength and stiffness?
Video class: #47 Pavement Materials 2 | Part 1 | Basic Construction Materials29m
Exercise: In jointed concrete pavements, what is the primary purpose of providing dowel rods at the joints?
Video class: #48 Pavement Materials 2 | Part 2 | Basic Construction Materials15m
Exercise: In rigid concrete pavements, why are dowel bars provided at joints between adjacent slabs?
Video class: #49 Wood34m
Exercise: Which statement correctly describes fiber saturation point (FSP) in wood?
Video class: #50 Wood36m
Exercise: What best describes seasoning of wood?
Video class: #51 Glass | Basic Construction Materials12m
Exercise: Which stated advantage of glass most directly reduces foundation and structural demand in tall buildings?
This free course includes:
23 hours and 41 minutes of online video course
Digital certificate of course completion (Free)
Exercises to train your knowledge
100% free, from content to certificate
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