mineral / Cementitious / Cast Concrete
Reinforced concrete wall, various finishes (150mm, 200mm, 250mm, 300mm, 400mm)
Normal-weight reinforced concrete wall systems with typical compressive strengths 20-50 MPa and density around 2500 kg/m3.
Atlas code
MIN-CEM-CC-008
At-a-glance signals
Normal-weight reinforced concrete wall systems with typical compressive strengths 20-50 MPa and density around 2500 kg/m3.
Overview
Executive summary
Reinforced concrete walls are cast-in-place or precast structural elements designed to resist gravity, lateral loads, and earth pressures. Wall thickness typically ranges from 150 to 400 mm depending on structural requirements.
Best when…
- Excellent fire resistance (up to 4 hours FRL)
- High acoustic performance (Rw 52-62 dB)
- Superior structural strength and durability
- Thermal mass for temperature regulation
- Termite and pest resistant
- Low maintenance requirements
- Cyclone and earthquake resistant
- Versatile finishing options
- 100+ year service life
- Local material availability
Top advantages
- 01 Excellent fire resistance (up to 4 hours FRL)
- 02 High acoustic performance (Rw 52-62 dB)
- 03 Superior structural strength and durability
- 04 Thermal mass for temperature regulation
- 05 Termite and pest resistant
Top limitations
- 01 High embodied carbon (340-450 kg CO2e/m³)
- 02 Thermal bridging without insulation
- 03 Labour-intensive construction
- 04 Long curing time (28 days full strength)
- 05 Formwork requirements increase cost
Technical
Physical ·9
- Density
- 2500 kg/m3 Typical density for normal-weight concrete classes.
- Specific gravity
- 2.4
- Porosity
- 12 %
- Water absorption
- 5 %
- Hardness
- 7
- UV resistance
- Excellent // No degradation
- Chemical resistance
- Good // Resistant to most chemicals
- pH tolerance
- 4-13
- Surface roughness
- 3.5 µm
Mechanical ·7
- Tensile strength
- 2.2-4.1 MPa Tensile strength for normal-weight concrete classes.
- Compressive strength
- 20-50 MPa Typical compressive strength classes for structural concrete.
- Flexural strength
- 5 MPa
- Shear strength
- 0.8 MPa
- Poisson's ratio
- 0.2
- Impact resistance
- High // Classification
- Creep resistance
- Moderate // Long-term deformation
Sustainability & Health
Embodied carbon & energy ·7
- Embodied carbon
- 395 kgCO2e/m³ Cradle-to-gate for reinforced wall. Value is per m³ of concrete; per-kg ≈ 0.16 kgCO2e/kg (density 2500 kg/m³).
- Carbon footprint
- 395
- Embodied energy
- 2.5 MJ/kg
- Water footprint
- 180 L/kg
- Recycled content
- 15 %
- Renewable content
- 0 %
- Circular score
- 6
Compliance & Fire
Fire performance ·6
- Combustibility class
- Non-combustible // AS 1530.1
- Fire resistance level
- 180/180/180 // FRL for 250mm wall
- Ignition temp
- 1000 °C
- Flame spread index
- 0
- Smoke dev. index
- 0
- Heat release rate
- 0
Cost & Lifecycle
Capex & lead time ·6
- Material cost (range)
- 180-350 // AUD/m³ - Varies by strength
- Material cost (per unit)
- 265
- Lead time
- 1-2 days // Ready-mix delivery
- Lifecycle cost
- 450
- Annual maintenance
- 2
- Market availability
- Excellent // Ready-mix widely available
Service life & durability ·3
- Expected lifespan
- 100
- Maintenance interval
- 5
- Warranty period
- 10
Layer D
Where it's used
Multi-storey residential and commercial buildings
Fire-rated compartment walls (FRL 90/90/90 to 240/240/240)
Acoustic separation walls between dwellings
Basement and retaining walls
Lift and stair cores
Industrial structures and warehouses
Infrastructure projects (bridges, tunnels)
Cyclone and earthquake resistant structures
Thermal mass walls for passive solar design
Blast-resistant structures