Cement -some facts

2.  The built structure has always been the most
physical of all manifestations of human endeavour.
Each building, each structure & each space built
holds within it countless innovations & a bounty of
creativiity. Cement & the cement industry are vital to
the process of design & construction.
 Spanning the entire industry from quality to quantity
of creation & production, ”101 Facts about Cement”
exposes the cement industry in a manner that is
unique in both its perspective & format of
presentation. This content takes a closer look at the
cement industry and translates it into 101 most
incredible facts that set apart the various endeavours
and achievements in the field.

3. 1. The first evidence of existence of concrete dates back
to 12 million years, when natural deposits of cement
compounds were said to have formed in Israel due to
reactions between limestone & oil shale, employing
spontaneous combustion.
2. The oldest known surviving concrete is found in
former Yugoslavia and thought to have been laid in
5600 BC using red lime as the cement.
3. The Egyptians were using early forms of concrete
over 5000 years ago to build pyramids. They mixed
mud and straw to bind dried bricks & used gypsum
mortars and mortars of lime in the pyramids.

4. 4. In 300 BC the Romans employed slaked lime and
volcanic ash called it Pozzuolana. This hydraulic
cement hardened with the addition of water. They
also added animal fat, milk and blood as admixtures
to improve strength.
5. Pozzuolana was used for aqueducts and for the still-
standing Roman Coliseum, built by Emperior
Vespasian.They referred to concrete as Liquid Stone.
6. Nero’s golden House is built in Rome with concrete
walls, domes and vaults. The Pantheon is the oldest
habitable building, made of concrete.

5. 7. Concrete was used in the construction of the
vaults and arches on the lower levels of St.
Sophia in Constantinople.
8. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the art of
concrete was all but lost. The quality of
cementing materials deteriorated. The use of
burning lime and pozzolan (admixture) was
reintroduced in the 1300s.
9. The manuscripts of Pollio Vitruvius, were
discovered in 1414 in a Swiss monastery which
revived general interest in concrete.

6. 10. The first recorded use of concrete (since Roman
times) occurred in Paris, France in 1499. Fra
Giocondo used pozzolanic mortar in the pier of
the Pont De Notre Dame in Paris.
11. John Smeaton, an English engineer looking for
a building material that would not be adversely
affected by water, discovered in 1774 that
quicklime made a harder cement.
12. In 1793, he took that discovery a step forward
when he realised that the calcination of
limestone that contained clay produced
hydraulic lime, a lime that hardens under water.

7. 13. Smeaton’s work led to a more widespread use
of concrete throughout England and further
advances in technology.
14. James Parker patented a natural hydraulic
cement in 1796 that was made by calcinating
pieces of pure limestone that contained clay.
15. William Jessop used the technique of making
hydraulic cement to create the West India Dock
in Great Britain. It was one of the first structures
to use concrete on such a large scale.

8. 16. Louis Vicat of France developed an artificial
hydraulic lime composed of synthetic
limestone & clay in 1812. This technology was
used in 1816 to build the world’s first
unreinforced concrete bridge in Souillac,
France.
17. Joseph Aspdin of England is credited with the
invention of modern Portland cement in 1824.
He named his cement Portland, after a rock
quarry that produced very strong stone.
18. I.K.Brunel is credited with the first
engineering application of Portland cement in
1828. It was used to fill a breach in the Thames
Tunnel.

9. 19. The density of concrete varies, but is around
2400 kg/m3 , water is 1000 kg/m3 .
20. The “Achilles heel” of concrete is its relatively
low tensile strength : only about one tenth of its
compressive strength .
21. As concrete is a porus material it can get
saturated with water. In such a case when
cooled to below 0°C, it cracks internally. Upon
repeated freezing & thawing , the cracks grow,
interact, and eventually lead to macroscopic
degradation, termed as ice damage.

10. 22. Concrete has a very low coefficient of thermal
expansion. However if there is no provision for
expansion, very large forces can be created
causing cracks in parts of the structure not
capable of withstanding the force or the
repeated cycles of expansion and contraction.
23. Concrete is continuously shrinking for years
after it is initially placed. It is accepted that
under thermal loading it will never expand to
its originally volume.
24. Concrete’s light-reflective properties mean less
electricity is needed for pavement illumination
compared to what is required for other
pavement materials.

11. 25. Concrete highways improve the fuel efficiency
of trucking fleets.
26. Concrete has acoustic properties that help in
sound insulation. These are measured in Sound
Transmission Class. Depending on the wall
thickness, concrete walls reduce sound
transmission by more than two-thirds over
timber frame construction.
27. Concrete’s thermal mass provides energy
savings for the lifetime of a structure.
28. The natural colour of concrete reflects more
light, reducing heat gain in urban areas.

12. 29. In the 1930s, air entraining agents were
introduced to improve concrete’s resistance to
freeze/thaw damage.
30. In 1849, Joseph Monier, of France, reinforced
William Wand’s (USA) flowerpots with wire
ushering in the idea of iron reinforcing bars (re-
bar). He received a patent for his creation in
1867.
31. In 1902, August Perret designed and built an
apartment building in Paris that used what
came to be known as “a system for reinforced
concrete”. This structure deeply influenced
architecture and concrete construction for
decades since it was built without load-bearing
walls using instead columns, beams and slabs.

13. 32. In 1970s Fiber Reinforcement was introduced
as a way to strengthen concrete.
33. Glass, carbon or aramid fibres set in a suitable
resin to form a rod or grid, provide highly
durable concrete reinforcement.
34. FRP rods have low compressive strengths in
comparison to their tensile capacities, so the
traditional design approaches for columns will
have to be reconsidered.
35. Concrete reinforced with polypropylene fibers
instead of steel, yields equivalent strength with
a fraction of the thickness.

14. 36. The new fiber-reinforced bendable concrete
uses microscale cellulose fiber reinforcements
in addition to the existing ingredients in the
concrete that is designed to provide more
flexibility.
37. In 1825, construction of the Erie Canal, New
York, USA created the first great demand for
cement in the country.
38. The first recorded shipment of cement to the
United States was in 1868, when European
manufacturers began shipping cement as
ballast in tramp steamers at very low freight
rates.

15. 39. The first rotary kiln was introduced in
England in 1886, which allowed for continuous
production of cement. It replaced the vertical
shaft kilns.
40. In 1891, George Bartholomew placed the first
concrete street in the USA in Bellefontaine,
Ohio. It still exists today.
41. The Alvord Lake Bridge built in 1889 in San
Francisco, was the first concrete reinforced
bridge. It still exists today, over a hundred
years after construction.

16. 42. The Ingallas Building built in 1903 in
Cincinnati, Ohio,was first the concrete high
rise. Standing sixteen stories tall it was a great
engineering feat of its time.
43. Polymer reinforced cement concrete is
reinforced with polyacrylic acid as an
admixture.
44. The tallest reinforced concrete building in the
world was constructed at 311 S.Wacker Drive,
Chicago, Illinois.
45. The first concrete domed sports structure, The
University of Illinois’ Assembly Hall, was
constructed at Champaign-Urbana in 1967.

17. 46. The dome of the IAH, was placed on a ring
beam. This beam was prestressed by wrapping
988 km of 31mm steel wire under high tension
around it. This made the dome self-supporting.
The dome was the first of its kind and at one
time it was one of the only two edge supported
domes in existence.
47. Assembly Hall is considered an engineering
marvel because contractors used prestressed
concrete in a way it had never been used before.

18. 48. In 1936, Hoover Dam, Arizona, US the highest
concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere used
2.5 million cubic-metres of concrete, all of
which was poured continuously during a two
year period.
49. During the construction of the Hoover Dam,
chemical heat caused by the setting cement was
dissipated by embedding 936 km of 25 mm
steel pipe in the concrete and circulating ice
water through it from a refrigeration plant that
could produce 1000 tons of ice in 24 hours.

19. 50. In 1951, about 9 million cubic-metres of cement
concrete made the Grand Coulee Dam,
Washington, USA the largest concrete structure
ever built.
51. In 1994, construction began on the Three
Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China and
when completed in 2009, it will be the world’s
largest concrete structure.
52. The first installation of a polished concrete floor
in the US was a 3716 sqmt warehouse floor for
the Bellagio in Las Vegas in 1999.

20. 53. The oldest known concrete ship was a dingy
built by Joseph Louis Lambot in Southern
France in 1848.
54. In the 1850s Jean-Louis Lambot was the first
to use reinforcing in boats.
55. In 1914, the Panama Canal was completed
with three pairs of concrete locks having floors
up to 20 feet thick and walls up to 60 feet thick
at the base. The Panama Canal locks were built
with reinforced concrete and this led to the
first hydroelectric dams construction of the
reinforced steel and concrete.

21. 56. In India, the first cement plant was
commissioned in 1914 at Porbandar with a
production level of 1000 tonnes per annum.
57. In 1898, the first public natatorium built with
reinforced concrete was erected in Gebweiler,
France.
58. The most influential structure on the
development of large, enclosed public space of
reinforced concrete was the Jahrhunderthalle
(Centennial Hall) of Breslau, Germany. This
structural icon lead the way in design of large
span public building.

22. 59. When completed, Burj Dubai’s construction
will have used 330000 m3 of concrete & 39000
tonnes of steel rebar (enough to extend over a
quarter of the way around the world if laid
end-to-end ).
60. The Burj Dubai sets the record for vertical
concrete pumping on any building at 601 m
surpassing the 449.2 m to which concrete was
pumped during the construction of Taipei 101.
61. The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial
Bridge with a total length of 580m & a span of
332m will be the largest concrete arch-bridge in
North America when it is completed around
2010

23. 62. The useful life of a concrete road is 40 years.
When it is replaced, the old surface can be
crushed and used in the new road. Modern
concrete roads are smooth-riding,energy-
saving, cooler and quiet.
63. Reinforced concrete was improved by the
development of prestressed concrete.
64. Eugene Freyssinet, a French engineer,
developed pre-stressed concrete that is,
concrete containing cables that are placed under
tension opposite to the expected compression
load before or after the concrete hardens.

24. 65. Although prestressed concrete was patented
by a San Francisco engineer in 1886, it did not
emerge as an accepted building material until
half a century later.
66. The shortage of steel in Europe after World
War II coupled with technological
advancements in high strength concrete &
steel, made prestressed concrete the building
material of choice during European post-war
reconstruction.
67. In 1948 prestressed concrete was introduced
and first used in airport pavements. The King
Dome in the US uses pre-stressed concrete for a
dome diameter of 202 m.

25. 68. Prestressing removes a number of design
limitations which conventional concrete places
on span and load. It permits the building of
roofs, floors, bridges and walls with longer
unsupported spans.
69. The new P.O.S.T.(Pre-stressed Open Space
Truss)provides a solution for long-spans, while
maintaining the shallow floor depth of a flat
plate system. This system works well for hotel
& condominium applications, especially with
coveted parking spaces in the lower levels.

26. 70. Ultralite panels are being manufactured with
Carbon Cast, a grid of carbon fiber reinforcing.
The resulting weight reduction generates
savings in shipping, erection and substructure
costs.
71. Concrete, produced at an estimated rate of 5
billion cubic-metres per year, is the second
most widely consumed substance on Earth,
after Water.
72. The United States uses 404 kg of cement per
person each year. California uses 390 kg and
Nevada uses 984 kg per person each year.
(Source: US Census 2000 )

27. 73. The United States uses 70 million tonnes of
cement every year-approximately one fifth of
the cement used throughout the world
annually.
74. The United States ranks third in cement
production, behind China-the world’s leading
producer & India whose 2007 industry output
was 160 million metric tons.
75. The market for cement in India is projected to
rise at 8.6% annually through 2012 to 233
million metric tons. This is among the fastest
growth rates in the world.

28. 76. In India per capita consumption has increased
from 28 kg in 1980-81 to 110 kg in 2003-04. In
relative term, India’s average consumption is
still low & the process of catching up with
international averages will drive future
growth.
77. The cement industry is one of the most capital
intensive industries, the cost of a new cement
plant can be equivalent to about 3 years of
revenue.
78. Modern cement plants have capacities well in
excess of 1 million tonnes per year which once
built, may last for 50 years.

29. 79. It requires the equivalent of 60 to 130 kg of
fuel oil and 110 kWh of electricity to produce
one tonne of cement.
80. The cement industry is the world’s third
largest consumer of energy and typically uses
12 tons of fuel each hour.
81. Waste fuels that can be used in cement kilns
include used motor oil, spent solvents, printing
inks, paint residues & cleaning fluids.
82. Concrete is used very successfully in boat
building. The weight of a well-made concrete
boat compares favourably with that of a
wooden boat of the same capacity.

30. 83. Shotcrete uses compressed air to concrete a
frame or structure. It is frequently used against
vertical soil or rock surfaces, as it eliminates the
need for formwork. It is sometimes used for
rock support, especially in tunnelling.
84. TX Active is the new photocatalytic cement
technology for self-cleaning & pollution-
reducing concrete. It utilises a hydraulic binder
with photocatalytic properties that render
concrete self-cleaning and/or pollution-
mitigating.

31. 85. Thin-shell construction takes advantage of the
inherent structural strength of certain
geometric shapes, such as hemisphere and
elliptical domes. In thin-shell construction large
distances are spanned with little material.
86. Glass concrete was developed for the
Lillehammer Winter Olympics. The material
contained more than 70% recycled crushed
glass to replace the gravel used in ordinary
concrete.

32. 87. Adding optical fibers to a concrete mix
generates translucent concrete. This “see-
through” development is changing the
perception of concrete opaque mass.
88. Reactive powder concrete is extremely
workable, durable & yields ultra high
strengths without using coarse aggregates.
Reaching compressive strengths of 30000 psi,
this new age concrete also has tensile strength
inclusion of steel and synthetic fibers.
89. Self Consolidating Concrete (SCC) eliminates
the need for mechanical consolidation and
yields a smooth surface finish without mix
segregation.

33. 90. Pervious concrete is a mixture of coarse
aggregate, Portland cement, water and little to
no sand. A typical pervious concrete pavement
has a 15-25% void structure and allows 13-36
litres of water per minute to pass through each
square foot.
91. Lightweight Masonary takes the form of
Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (AAC) block.
With sufficient structural capacity to be used as
low-rise bearing walls, AAC block greatly
reduces masonary partition wall weights for
elevated slab construction.

34. 92. Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) walls are
gaining popularity in the US residential and
commercial markets. These are rigid foam
forms filled with concrete. In addition to rapid
construction, energy savings and increased
durability, one also gains a healthier and
quieter environment.
93. In sound transmission tests, ICF walls allowed
less than one-third of the sound to pass through
as compared with an ordinary frame wall filled
with fibreglass.
94. A Japanese company has patented a technique
for producing moulded cement incorporating
vegetable fibres that reaches its full strength by
the addition of a nitrate.

35. 95. Geopolymer concrete is a greener alternative to
ordinary Portland cement. It is made from
inorganic aluminosilicate polymer compounds
that can utilise 100% recycled industrial waste
(e.g. fly ash & slag)as the manufacturing inputs
resulting in up to 80% lower carbon dioxide
emissions.
96. Two British Engineers, William Crawford and
Peter Brewin , have developed an inflatable
concrete building. The dome is designed such
that it integrates plastic to inflate the structure
& double up as the inner skin while an external
resin of concrete holds the structure together.

36. 97. Auguste Perret, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le
Corbusier were amongst the first architects to
popularise concrete as a building material in
the early twentieth century.
98. The style of architecture followed by
Corbusier came to be known as Brutalism. This
originates from the French beton brut, or “raw
concrete”, a term he used to describe his choice
of material.

37. 99. For the Millau Viaduct, a bridge spanning a
broad & deep valley in southern France, British
architect Lord Norman Foster specified high-
strength concrete to create remarkably svelte
support piers, the largest of which are taller
than Eiffel Tower.
100. A new study has underlined why reinforced
concrete is the best solution for hospital
construction highlighting its ability to meet
stringent vibration criteria at minimal or no
extra cost.
101. The use of a machine to bend the steel
reinforcing bars first began during the
construction (1907-1915) of the Hauptbahnhof
(Main Train Station) in Leipzig, Germany.

38. “Concrete is a true structural
material that represents its own
time . When constructed and
maintained properly nothing can
surpass concrete “.
TADAO ANDO , ARCHITECT

39.  Indian Architect & Builder
 HNTB Architects Engineers Planners
 Docklands Light Railway
 Masjid Negeri Petra Jaya Foundation
 Jorn Utzon Foundation
 Tadao Ando, Mitsuo Matsuoka, Shigeo Ogawa
 Makoto Yamamori, Hiroshi Ueda, ZHA,
I-Structure
 Ambuja Cement