The way we construct building and lay down our structures has evolved greatly over the years. We can say that since the Greeks introduced the concept of cement mixing by mixing water with asphalt and other compounds, construction has become revolutionized ans we have seen better and safer structures. But one of the general misconceptions that exists is that concerning "concrete" and "cement". The two are not the same contrary to what many assume. Concrete is the one used to make sidewalks and building foundations and not cement. This is not to discount cement. Cement is an important and vital component of concrete. Other ingredients may also be added and these include gravel or crushed stone commonly known as aggregate, sand, water which enhances its qualities. Many of the trucks that have the classic swirling containers are actually concrete mixers and not cement mixers as most people deduce.
Cement can be added in concrete and this is commonly known as Portland cement owing to its inventor, Joseph Aspdin, bricklayer who noticed that its color was almost similar to that of the limestone extracted from the isle on Portland. Way back in 1824, Aspdin got the patent for the cement that we know today. Aspdin acheived the task of mixing cement by heating limestone and clay until the mixture was compleelt joined chemically and then he dried it. Afterwards the resulting compound was ground into a fine powder. If water was added to the powder it produced a white paste which was a result of a process called hydration, in which the water bonded with compounds such as calcium, silicon, aluminum and iron, and resulting in a rigid mass that could be used for construction. This type of "portland" cement did not merely dry, but over a period of time was actually transformed to a distinct component which was extremely strong.
One advantage that concrete has is that although it isactually very hard to crush, it's very easy to rip apart. This is very ideal especially where repairs need to be done. Because concrete can easily rip apart or crack, one way to strengthen it is to use steel rods as reinforcements and this is what we see in many road constructions. This process is known as rebarring and it what the holds the concrete in place lest it cracks with time. Although cracks are inevitable,the challenge is to keep these cracks small enough to where they do not cause overall structural collapse.
There is another way to reinforce the cement and this is by adding fibers, usually threadlike made of steel, polypropylene, and polyolefin samples. This causes the concrete to become stronger and can reduce the risk of structural failures. This works well because in intense heat the fibers tend tomelt thus leaving open voids that act steam valves to release the steam pressure.
Thus we see the technology behind concrete and cement mixture and maintenance. No doubt technology is still advancing and we will see more compounds added to make the two stronger.
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