Concrete Degradation - How Durable Is Concrete?
Although the discovery and use of concrete - defined as a hardened mixture of aggregate, water, and a binder of some kind - can be traced all the way back to the Roman era, there are some distinct differences between ancient concrete and today's modern concrete. The two major differences in favor of modern concrete are the use of tensile reinforcement and the ability to pour it into formwork - as opposed to layering it by hand.
Tensile reinforcement in the form of steel reinforcement bars - or rebar - plays a vital role in the strength and versatility of concrete structures today. Ancient Roman builders were limited in their use of concrete due to their inability to overcome this weakness. Having said that, even today's more advanced concrete structures are some of the first to fall in large earthquakes.
As amazing and versatile a structural element concrete is, there are situations and conditions in which it is more likely to fail or exhibit structural defects. Needless to say, the durability of concrete is largely dependent on mixture and application, with service conditions often being a secondary cause of failure. Let's cover some of the basic and most important steps in concrete installation to ensure maximum service life and durability:
Proper mixture.The idea is to get a homogenous and uniform mixture with as little water as possible. Concrete obviously needs water to hydrate, but after a sufficient amount is added to begin the chemical reaction, the less water there is the stronger the concrete will turn out. This needs to be balanced with workability as the drier the mixture is the harder it will be to spread and give shape. The amount of larger aggregate other than sand will vary significantly depending on whether the application is large or small. Smaller applications such as post stumps and fill-ins are best done with a 1:3:1 ratio - cement, sand, gravel, respectively. Larger applications such as foundations and structural elements are best done with larger gravel ratios - 1:3:5, cement, sand, gravel respectively.
artificial grass installers San Diego Sufficient and properly installed steel reinforcement. Steel rebar adds critical tensile strength to concrete without which it would not be very practical as a construction material. But equally as important is the correct placement of this rebar. If the rebar is too close to the surface, there's risk of premature corrosion and spalling. Small cracks will always form to a certain