Science of Concrete

Concrete is everywhere from bridges to skyscrapers.

For 9000 years concrete consisted of stone mixed with water and limestone.

In the 1800s Portland Cement or hydraulic cement, was perfected using Calcium, Iron, Silica, Alumina, & Sulfate. And has remained largely unchanged as the base for all concrete today.

Concrete structures are created from a mixture consisting of cement paste, water and typically 60 to 75 percent aggregate.

During a chemical reaction called hydration. Water causes cement compounds to bond and form new compounds that are infrastructures of the rock like mass we know as concrete.

In some mixtures these same reactions can cause Irreversible alkali silica reactions or (ASR) to occur. This causes expansive Sodium Silicate to form cracking the bonds within the concrete limiting the life of the structure.

New Concrete technology adds healing agents designed to increase the life of the structure and mitigate normal wear and tear.

When a crack forms in this self-healing “bioconcrete”, water seeps in activating bacteria capsules that feed on calcium lactate. As a result, the bacteria excrete a hard limestone filler which repairs damage and blocks any further moister from threatening the life of the structure.

With ever expanding applications and innovations concrete has a solid future…