Concrete is a versatile building material that has found its place in the construction of buildings, bridges and roads. Its properties such as strength, workability, cost effectiveness and durability have made it popular among architects and engineers. Here are some interesting facts about concrete.
Concrete is the most used man-made material on earth.
The largest concrete structure in the world is the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River, China. It is 2,335 metres long and 185 metres high.
The first permanent concrete street was laid in Bellefontaine, Ohio in 1891.
Concrete was first used by the Romans who made it by mixing volcanic ash with lime. They called it “Opus Caementicium.” The Pantheon in Rome is an example of ancient Roman concrete construction.
When crushed to fine particles, cement can be burned and mixed with water to form a glue-like substance which will harden into concrete over time. In other words, it acts as its own glue!
One cubic yard of concrete weighs around 4,000 pounds (1.814 metric tons). That’s equal to 2-3 African elephants!
In theory, 1kg of cement mixed with 1kg of sand should yield approximately 1
Your guide to all things concrete. An educational site for the cement industry, concrete contractors and manufacturers of ready mix concrete.
Concrete is stronger than it appears!
Concrete has a compressive strength ranging from 2500 psi (17 MPa) for residential concrete to 4000 psi (28 MPa) and higher in commercial structures. Higher strengths up to and exceeding 10,000 psi (70 MPa) are specified for certain applications.
Concrete’s high compressive strength is the reason it is used in dams, buildings, bridges, and tunnels. Concrete’s strength is also why we use it for streets and highways. Concrete does not have a significantly high tensile strength, which is why reinforcing steel bars are embedded in it to increase its tensile strength.
Concrete can be made into almost any shape.
Remember, however, that concrete’s low tensile strength limits the shapes that can be made with plain concrete; reinforced concrete allows much more complex shapes. Also, don’t forget that fresh concrete is very plastic and can be easily shaped into many different forms before it hardens; so forming is not exactly the same as shaping.
Sometimes concrete gets stronger over time!
While most concretes get stronger as they cure, some concret
Concrete is a mixture of cement, aggregate and water. It is used in the construction of buildings, bridges and roads. Portland cement is the most commonly used cement for the production of concrete.
There are various types of aggregates that can be used in concrete depending upon the end use. These are sand, gravel, crushed stone and slag.
Concrete itself has many different applications which include buildings, bridges, roads and even as a support to structures like lighthouses and offshore wind turbines.
The following are some interesting facts about concrete:
What is Concrete?
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement (commonly Portland cement) and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate (generally a coarse aggregate such as gravel, limestone, or granite, plus a fine aggregate such as sand), water, and chemical admixtures.
Concrete is often used in the construction of homes, dams, bridges and roads. It can also be used to make sculptures, statues and fountains.
The term concrete comes from the Latin word “concretus” (meaning compact or condensed). Its widespread use in many Roman structures inspired the phrase “Opus caementicium”. “Cementum”, “cement”, and “chymist” are all derived from the Latin verb “caedere,” meaning “to cut”. Traces of compounds similar to concrete have been found around 6500 BC in Syria and 6000 BC in Catal Huyuk in modern-day Turkey. These finds have been attributed to natural geological processes which occurred in the region at that time. No large-scale usage of concrete technology has been found either in ancient Greece or Rome. However, there are reports of kilns for the production of pozzolana mortars
Waterproof Concrete
Concrete is a mixture of sand or aggregate, cement and water. Water acts as a catalyst for the chemical reaction between cement and aggregates to produce concrete. Because of this, water has to be used with caution in the concrete mix design. Excess water in the mix can lead to segregation of materials, weaker strength and honeycombing.
One of the major issues with concrete is its permeability to water and various gases. When water penetrates through pores in the concrete it causes internal corrosion of steel reinforcement which in time leads to structural failure. However, waterproofing concrete is not easy because it needs to remain porous enough to allow movement of gases such as carbon dioxide and water vapor which are essential for cement hydration during the curing process.
Waterproofing concrete can be done by using a variety of techniques such as: Using waterproofing admixtures, coating the surface with impermeable paint or membrane etc.
Waterproof concrete is a type of concrete that can be used under water. It is also called marine concrete or underwater concrete. Concrete has been used in the construction industry for more than 2000 years. The Romans built their structures with hydrated lime, which was a mixture of quicklime and water. The hydrated lime was strong but not durable as it would react with carbon dioxide from the air.
Roman engineers discovered that mixing volcanic ash with lime would create a stronger and more durable concrete. The ash contained silica, which reacted with the lime to form cement and bind the ingredients together. The Romans used this new concrete to build many structures, including the Pantheon, which still stands today after nearly 2,000 years!
The modern day concrete mix uses Portland cement. This is made by heating limestone and clay in a kiln at a very high temperature (up to 2192 ºF). This produces a clinker that is then ground into powder and mixed with other materials to make cement.
Concrete is the world’s most used construction material. It is a versatile and relatively cheap building material, with a long list of applications. Concrete floors, walls and ceilings are popular because they require little maintenance and they can be formed into any shape required. Concrete is waterproof and resistant to many chemicals that would corrode other types of building materials. However, concrete also has some disadvantages that should be considered before using it in an application.
Concrete is a composite material which consists of cement, sand and aggregate bonded with water. The cement paste in concrete serves as the glue binding the entire mixture together. It also hardens over time through a process called hydration. During this process, the cement paste reacts with water to form new crystalline structures within itself. This reaction causes the paste to thicken, solidify and harden into concrete. The more water added to concrete during mixing, the weaker it becomes during hydration.
Anns is a contributor at PanyamCements. We are committed to providing well-researched, accurate, and valuable content to our readers.