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Space age concrete4/9/2023 The steel takes care of the tensile load and allows for some flexibility. Concrete handles the compressive load, the weight of a structure. “What fails is the steel.”Ĭoncrete and steel are used together to provide two kinds of strength. “Concrete lasts a long time,” Ferraro says. When you see cracks in reinforced concrete, Ferraro says, it’s often attributed to the expanding steel underneath. The expansion pushes against the concrete, which results in spalling, or cracking. Then, the iron oxide expands, up to seven times its original measurement. Aging Wellįerraro points out that many of the failures that are attributed to concrete aren’t because of concrete at all, but concrete’s near-constant companion: steel.Īs a professional engineer and frequent expert witness on all matters concrete from New York to Florida, Ferraro says he has seen his share of concrete, and 95 percent of all repairs to reinforced concrete structures are due to degradation of the steel encased within. ![]() China, for instance, used as much concrete between 20 as the United States did in the whole 20th century.Īnd while it’s not likely that any other material will displace concrete any time soon, the science of concrete seeks to make the world’s favorite building material stronger, more durable and more sustainable. Still, Ferraro says, the United States today has a pretty good track record compared to other industrializing countries. ![]() The climate crisis, too, focuses attention on concrete, which is a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
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