Concrete

Concrete

Concrete is composed of cement, water and small rocks, this material is economical. the advantages of this material is that is resistant to fire and water, can be molded in any way and is resistant to compression, but has the disadvantage that cannot withstand tension. This material was used for the arches of the bridges and domes.

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Reinforced Concrete

This material is composed of steel bars hidden in concrete, the advantages of this material is that it is economical, can be molded in any way, and resists compression and tension. This material is used to construction of bridges, beams and columns of building and skyscrapers.

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Cement and Concrete: History and development

Concrete is a mixture of cement, water, stone and sand aggregates, such the concrete can be poured into any shape, when is in liquid state, the concrete allowed the expansion and development of new methods of architectures, such domes and vaults. Concrete was used in ancient Egypt but it was the Romans who developed it and applied it more broadly. the manufacturing techniques of concrete fell in the middle ages but then in the 18th century with the invention reinforced concrete of Joseph Monier, were made new manufacturing techniques, as the reinforced concrete could be used for foundations, walls, floors, columns and competed economically with the steel frame because the reinforced concrete using a steel mesh consisting of metal rods.  Then in the 20th century three events occur in this concrete production, are the concrete-shell that allows the construction of vaults and domes with little steel content, the construction of prefabricated concrete elements such as bricks and tiles to reduce the time and the cost of construction and finally the pre-stressed concrete that can withstand a certain load specified.



 Concrete is a material with many important properties for construction as its resistecia water and fire, and strength, these properties have allowed man to develop new construction methods. Architecture has benefited from these methods to create different shapes such as domes and vaults, buildings taller and more resilient.