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Roman Concrete

2024-10-14

Emitido en Onda Cero el 18 de agosto de 2023

The technology of ancient Rome has always surprised me and continues to do so. I don't think I'm mistaken when I say that we are all amazed to see concrete constructions from the 20th century that have crumbled, yet there are many Roman works that not only remain standing but continue to serve the purpose for which they were created. For example, some of the aqueducts built during the Empire continue to supply water to cities in many parts of the world. For a long time, it was thought that the reason for their exceptional durability lay in the fact that volcanic ashes were used in the manufacture of concrete. One of the first that was used was the ash obtained from the town of Pozzuoli, which is on the slopes of Vesuvius. That is why these ashes are called Puzzolanas. In a recent article published in Science Advances, with Azmir Masik as the lead author, a different and surprising conclusion is reached. It has been observed that in Roman concretes there are tiny mineral grains that have been named lime clasts. They thought they were due to careless manufacturing, but they turned out to be the key to the durability of Roman concretes. When the concretes start to deteriorate, the clasts provide a source of calcium that allows the concrete to self-repair. That is, the Roman Empire was already using concretes that self-repaired. When they began to get damaged, they healed themselves. It is surprising that two thousand years later, Rome still has things to teach us. That's all, until next time.

Enviado por flexarorion a las 07:38 | 0 Comentarios | Enlace

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