History of Concrete - A Timeless Material

Look at the world around you and notice the substantial building materials used in our every day lives. Wood, brick and concrete make up the natural materials that construct our homes, our schools, public buildings and endless highways that take us places.

Concrete is the timeless material that holds our world together.

Concrete is made from cement combined with fine aggregates and coarse aggregates to give it a binding texture that only gets harder with age.

Many people use the terms cement and concrete interchangeably but cement is only a portion of the total ingredients in concrete.

Discovery of Cement

Although a pyramid is built entirely of stone, a type of "glue" had to be used to hold the large boulders perfectly in place. It is believed that the Egyptians used limestone and natron that were placed in pools of water to create a paste.

The act of evaporation then turned the mixture into a wet clay-like substance.

Portland Cement Invented

By heating a mixture of clay and ground limestone, that had been finely ground, with water, a quick hardening occurred that had never been seen before.

Aspdin named his new patent Portland cement in honor of the stone found on the Isle of Portland off of the British Coast.

This was great news to replace the existing hydraulic lime material that had previously been created by John Smeaton in 1756.

Concrete Discovery

Henri Le Chatelier from France explored the chemical reactions of oxide ratios that made up the elements of Portland cement in 1887.

Knowing the fundamentals of what made the components in Portland cement act as they did, he went one step further and concrete was born.

Concrete Historical Advances

The 1980s continued improving concrete with new additives of superplasticizers that gave flexibility and more certainty to a molded form.

Today, we see concrete in homes for countertops, patio pavers, and walls and even complete homes that have a lifelong duration. The history of concrete shows that evolving a great product such as Portland cement can be improved through innovative minds.

It is amazing to watch the developments of concrete than began thousands of years ago that favor natural substances designed to shelter and protect us.

Not only that, but concrete can be recycled time and time again, introducing it to an even newer and better climate to help us all.

History of Concrete Relevant Reading

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