Concrete
hideConcrete is a construction material composed of cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as 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. The word concrete comes from the Latin word "concretus" (meaning compact or condensed), the past participle of "concresco", from "com-" (together) and "cresco" (to grow).
Concrete solidifies and hardens after mixing with water and placement due to a chemical process known as hydration. The water reacts with the cement, which bonds the other components together, eventually creating a stone-like material. Concrete is used to make pavements, architectural structures, foundations, motorways/roads, bridges/overpasses, parking structures, brick/block walls and footings for gates, fences and poles.
Concrete is used more than any other man-made material in the world. As of 2006, about 7.5 cubic kilometres of concrete are made each year—more than one cubic metre for every person on Earth. Concrete powers a US $35-billion industry which employs more than two million workers in the United States alone.[citation needed] More than 55,000 miles (89,000 km) of highways in the United States are paved with this material. Reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete are the most widely used modern kinds of concrete functional extensions.
For more information about Concrete, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with concrete
Icebreaker: Scientist brings out big gun to explore behavior of ice in planetary collisions
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 29, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Every month, Sarah Stewart-Mukhopadhyay fires her 20-foot gun in the basement of Harvard's Hoffman Lab, sending shivers through the concrete and steel structure that can be picked up by seismometers ...
Long carbon fibers could improve blast resistance of concrete structures
Oct 20, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Dr. Jeffery Volz, assistant professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and his team have received $567,000 to explore ...
New research brings 'invisible' into view (w/ Video)
Oct 06, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology has developed a handheld camera that uses microwave signals to non-destructively peek inside materials and structures ...
'Green' research results in new geopolymer concrete technology
Sep 29, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (15) |
1
Dr. Erez Allouche, assistant professor of civil engineering at Louisiana Tech University and associate director of the Trenchless Technology Center, is conducting innovative research on geopolymer concrete ...
Retrofitted Historic Building Survives Strong Simulated Jolts During UCSD Test (w/ Video)
Aug 25, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- When a series of rigorous simulated earthquakes - measuring up to a 7.5 magnitude - jolted the three-story, 1920s era reinforced concrete structure, UC San Diego engineers were not quite sure ...
New eco-friendly self-cleaning material tough on stains, light on effort
Aug 16, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
Cleaning oily smears from kitchen countertops, mirrors, garage floors, and other surfaces with plain water — rather than strong detergents or smelly solvents — may seem like pure fantasy. But scientists in ...
Green Ideas: Making Concrete from Rice
Jul 21, 2009 |
3.1 / 5 (13) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- Concrete accounts for about 5% of all human-related CO2 emissions. The fact that we use so much cement in building could mean that the issue becomes even more pronounced in the future. Bu ...
Concrete columns with internal bars made of glass fibers can make a building sturdier
Jul 14, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
0
Conventional means of internal reinforcement for concrete member in buildings involve steel bars. Yet for structures that function in harsh environments like coastal regions, or for structures that support ...
MIT slows concrete creep to a crawl
Jun 16, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (12) |
3
MIT civil engineers have for the first time identified what causes the most frequently used building material on earth — concrete — to gradually deform, decreasing its durability and shortening the lifespan of infrastructures ...
Concrete experiment may eliminate storm drains
Jun 15, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (12) |
6
Shoreview, Minn., is betting on a new "green" concrete paving method that lets rainwater pass right through the street surface to prevent damaging runoff.
How Solid Is Concrete's Carbon Footprint?
May 18, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (4) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Many scientists currently think at least 5 percent of humanity's carbon footprint comes from the concrete industry, both from energy use and the carbon dioxide (CO2) byproduct from the produc ...
Self-healing concrete for safer, more durable infrastructure (w/Video)
Apr 22, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (15) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- A concrete material developed at the University of Michigan can heal itself when it cracks. No human intervention is necessary--just water and carbon dioxide.
One-story masonry building survives strong jolts during seismic tests (w/Video)
Apr 14, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
A one-story masonry structure survived two days of intense earthquake jolts after engineering researchers at the University of California, San Diego put it to the test. The series of tests, performed at UC ...
A full-sized California-style home made of bamboo
Apr 08, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (9) |
1
A new type of eco-friendly residential house made of bamboo now stands in Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
New design means cheaper, more sustainable construction
Mar 03, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (5) |
0
People are always looking for ways to make something less expensive and more environmentally friendly - and a team of researchers from North Carolina State University has figured out how to do both of those ...
