Concrete Construction Essay

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Neil Patel Professor O’ Keefe Con - 162 20 April 2012 Concrete Construction Throughout the course of time we have seen many changes occur in the construction industry. The industry has changed completely in its construction methods and one such field which is very important in learning about in the construction industry is concrete construction. The history of concrete is very important to know as well as understanding the process of making and placing concrete. Also, the introduction of steel reinforcing bars in concrete has definitely changed the game of the construction industry in concrete construction. Concrete is the most widely used material on earth after water, thus showing how important it is in the construction industry. Although concrete is highly used today, it is important to know what concrete is, the history of concrete and the people in the past who used this material during their time period. The word concrete comes from the Latin word "concretus" (meaning compact or condensed). Concrete is a material used in building construction, consisting of a hard substances known as an aggregate (usually made from different types of sand and gravel), that is bonded together by cement and water. Concrete was used for construction in many ancient structures. At the time of the Roman Empire, Roman concrete was made from Quicklime (Burnt Lime), Pozzolana (Sandy volcanic ash), and an aggregate of pumice (volcanic rock). The use of these materials to create Roman concrete was a key stage in the history of Roman architecture. Modern test show that the Roman concrete used back in time had as much compressive strength as to modern day Portland-cement concrete. This comes to show how smart these Romans were by creating an effective type of concrete during their time period which had almost the same strength of the concrete we use today. The history of concrete

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