History of Reinforced Concrete

Concrete is essentially an artificially made rock, and is one of the most important and long
lasting building materials.

Historical proof of concrete’s importance and durability can be found in the Pantheon at Rome
which was built about 117-124 B.C., over 2,000 years ago. This ancient structure was built with
circular walls about 20-feet thick and a hemispherical dome spanning 142-feet. The concrete
used was a mixture of lime, an aggregate of soft volcanic rock, and a local earth or clay called
“puzzolana” found in the vicinity of Rome.

A timeline of interesting facts about concrete and reinforcing steel:

1756 (approx.) — English engineer John Smeaton makes the first true hydraulic cementing
material (a material that hardens under water). Today this product is known as “hydraulic lime”.

1824 — Portland cement patented by Joseph Aspdin of Leeds, England. The name Portland was
chosen due to the remarkable resemblance of the hardened cement to the building stone quarried
on the Isle of Portland.

1850 — A Frenchman named Lambot constructs a small boat using reinforced concrete.

1854 — W.B. Willkinson of England patents a true reinforced concrete floor slab.

1861 — Joseph Monier, a Parisian gardener, employs the use of metal wires as reinforcement for
garden tubs and pots. He never adapts his method to construction of buildings.

In 1852 Francis Coignat builds one of the first reinforced concrete roofs. It is 12 inches
deep and has a span of 20 feet. In 1861 Coignat publishes a statement of the principals of this
new construction method in which he coins the composite material “Armoured Concrete”.
He receives a patent for his method in 1869.

In 1897 two German engineers, Wayss and Bauschinger, investigate a report on the “Monier
System”. Prior to this time, there was relatively little construction of this type.

By the 1890’s Austrian Engineers were making great developments in the theory and use of
structural steel shapes as concrete reinforcement. During the same period of time, François
Hennebique of France and Ernest L. Ransome of the United States had begun to use reinforced
concrete in building construction. In his early experiments, Ransome began using square steel
bars. Eventually these bars evolved into twisted square steel bars and finally into the numerous
patterns of deformed bars we know today . The success of these two men encouraged further
study on the subject, resulting in several methods of reinforcement being introduced both in
Europe and North America.

MM/BCIT
A.P. Turner of Minneapolis devised a girder less (flat slab) called the “Mushroom Slab” in 1906.
By that time the use of reinforced concrete was becoming quite prominent and has increased
from year to year up until the present day.

Today we make concrete by thoroughly mixing Portland Cement (a heavy dense gray powder
made mainly from ground clinker and Calcium Sulfate) with a fine aggregate, such as sand or
finely crushed stone, and a course aggregate such as gravel or slag, together with the proper
amount of potable water. By varying the proportions of this mixture, we can obtain different
strengths to suit many applications. Concrete is plastic in the wet form, will harden or set-up in
24 hours (or less), and will attain its designed strength in 28 days.

Concrete on its own has very little tensile strength. Therefore, it must be reinforced in some
manner that will ensure against rupture or breakage. When the construction is such that tension
can occur, reinforcing steel is embedded into the concrete to withstand that tension. The use of
concrete and steel together constitutes what is called “Reinforced Concrete.” Reinforced
Concrete is a combination of both steel and concrete using the best properties of each, namely
the crush resistant strength of concrete and the tension, or pull resistance of steel.

Combination structural members of concrete and reinforced by steel bars, placed so as to carry
the tensile stresses are sturdy and reliable. The concrete, besides supplying compressive strength,
also supplies the steel with protection from corrosion and fire. Qualified Engineers design
reinforced concrete structures, and drawings are made to show the size and location of the
reinforcing steel.

As the demand for more buildings grew, and construction increased throughout the United States
and Canada, so did the demand for more skilled ironworkers. Although many buildings were
constructed of steel, many others were of reinforced concrete. The number of skilled workers in
this branch of the ironworking trade has increased and today, many buildings, structures and
bridges are designed, not only to withstand tremendous weight, but also to conform to modern
day Architecture.

Building technology is constantly evolving. With longer spans, thinner members, lighter and
stronger materials such as the invention of Post-Tensioning and GFRP and the advancement of
concrete strength, we require more skilled Ironworkers to do the placement of reinforcing
materials than in the past.

MM/BCIT