Timeline of Concrete

Page 1

Historical Timeline of Concrete

12,000,000 BC Reactions between limestone and oil shale during spontaneous combustion occurred in Israel to form a natural deposit of cement compounds.

3000 BC

Egyptians used mud mixed with straw to bind dried bricks. Also furthered the discovery of lime and gypsum mortar as a binding agent for building the Pyramids

3000 BC

Used cementitious materials to hold bamboo together in their boats and in the Great Wall.

300 BC

Romans used slaked lime a volcanic ash called pozzuolana, found near Pozzouli by the bay of Naples. They used lime as a cementitious material. Pliny reported a mortar mixture of 1 part lime to 4 parts sand. Vitruvius reported a 2 parts pozzolana to 1 part lime. Animal fat, milk, and blood were used as admixtures

193 BC

of PorticuHouse s Aemelia made of bound stones to form concrete

200 AD

The Pantheon

After 400 AD

The art of Concrete was lost after the fall of the Roman Empire

1678

Joseph Moxon wrote about a hidden fire in heated lime that appears upon the addition of water.

1756

John Smeaton, British Engineer, rediscovered hydraulic cement through repeated testing of mortar in both fresh and salt water

1779

Bry Higgins was issued a patent for hydraulic cement (stucco) for exterior plastering use.

1796

James Parker from England patented a natural hydraulic cement by calcining nodules of impure limestone containing clay, called Parker s Cement or Roman Cement.

1812 -1813

Louis Vicat of France prepared artificial hydraulic lime by calcining synthetic mixtures of limestone and clay.

1818

Maurice St. Leger was issued patents for hydraulic cement.

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/architecture/bsc/classes/bsc314/timeline/timeline.htm

19-09-2013 01:42:47

Timeline of Concrete

Page 2

1818

Canvass White, American Engineer, found rock deposits in Madison, County, New York, that made hydraulic cement with little processing

1820-1821

John Tickell and Abraham Chambers were issued more hydraulic cement patents.

1822

James Frost of England prepared artificial hydraulic lime like Vicat s and called it British Cement.

1824

Joseph Aspdin, bricklayer and mason in Leeds, England, patented what he called portland cement, since it resembled the stone quarried on the Isle of Portland off the British coast.

1825

Erie Canal created the first great demand for cement in the US I. K. Brunel is credited with the first engineering application of portland cement, which was used to fill a breach in the Thames Tunnel.

1828

1850s

Jean-Louis Lambot was the first to use reinforcing in boats

1854

William B. Wilkinson erected a reinforced concrete servants cottage

1859-1867

Portland cement used in the construction of the London sewer system

1867

Joseph Monier patented a design for reinforces garden tubs, beams and posts

1868

The fist recorded shipment of portland cement to the US

1850-1880

Francois Coignet, a builder in France, responsible for the first widespread use of concrete in buildings

1871

David O. Saylor established the first portland-cement plant in the US in Coplay, PA

1871-1875

William E. Ward builds the first landmark building in reinforced concrete in Port Chester, NY. Designed by Architect Robert Mook

1883

Ward delivered a paper on the house to the Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Earnest L. Ransom patented a reinforcing system using twisted rods. 1884

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/architecture/bsc/classes/bsc314/timeline/timeline.htm

19-09-2013 01:42:47

Timeline of Concrete

Page 3

1885

F. Ransome patented a slightly tilted horizontal kiln which could be rotated so the material moved gradually form one end to the other

1887

Henri Le Chatelier of France established oxide ratios to prepare the proper amount of lime to produce portland cement. He named the components: Alite (tricalcium silicate), Belite (dicalcium silicate), and Celite (tetracalcium aluminoferrite). He proposed that hardening is caused by the formation of crystalline products of the reaction between cement and water.

1889

The first concrete reinforced bridge is built.

1891

George Bartholomew placed the first concrete street in the USA in Bellefontaine, OH. which still exists.

1904

Ingalls bldg. using the Ransome system, was the first concrete

skyscraper. 1870s Francois Hennebique patented the Hennebique system. He was responsible for the widespread acceptance of reinforced concrete.

1902

Thomas Edison was a pioneer in the further development of the rotary kiln.

1903

August Perre makes concrete an acceptable architectural material Perre builds 25 bis Rue Franklin and the Theatre Champs Elysee

1904

Ingalls building, probably the beginning of high-rise concrete const.

1916

Portland Cement Association founded

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/architecture/bsc/classes/bsc314/timeline/timeline.htm

19-09-2013 01:42:47

Timeline of Concrete

Page 4

1917

The US Bureau of Standards and the American Society for testing Materials established a standard formula for portland cement

1919

Meis van der Rohe proposes concrete high-rises The tallest concrete building was built bldg., Dallas 230 ft., the Medical Arts

1922

1922

Notre Dame du Raincy

1927

Eugene Freyssinet develops successful pre-stressed concrete

1930

Eduardo Torroja, designed the first thin shelled roof at Algeciras

1935

Eduardo Torroja, designed the Madrid Hippodrome.

1936

The first major concrete dams, Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam, were built.

1935

Pier Luigi Nervi built the hangers for the Italian Air Force using thin shell construction

1931

Le Corbusier builds Villa Savoye

1936

Frank Lloyd Wright was the one of the first to exploit the cantilever at Fallingwater.

1940s

Portland Cement Laboratories perfect air-entrained concrete

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/architecture/bsc/classes/bsc314/timeline/timeline.htm

19-09-2013 01:42:47

Timeline of Concrete

Page 5

1947

FLLW builds on Meis

ideas at the Johnson wax tower

1956

FLLW builds the Guggenheim made of reinforced concrete

1957

Le Corbusier builds Ronchamp

~1958

Felix Candela masters the concrete shell

1958

Felix Candela builds the restaurant at Xochimilco

1958

Executive House Hotel, Chicago, exceeds the Medical Arts record at 371 ft.

1959

Le Corbusier builds La Tourette

1960

Bank of Georgia Building in Atlanta beats Executive House at 391 ft.

1961

Le Corbusier builds the government complex at Chandigara India

1962

Bertrand Goldberg s twin towers at Marina City marked the beginning of the use of reinforced concrete in modern skyscrapers and set the height record to 588 ft.

1964

1000 Lake Shore Drive beats Marina City at 640 ft. 6000 psi concrete in the lower columns was used for the first time.

1964

Place Victoria in Montreal, ht 624 ft. using 6000psi concrete columns

1967

First concrete domed sport structure, the Assembly Hall, was constructed at The University of Illinois, at Urbana-Champaign.

1968

Lake Point Towers, 70 stories, 645 ft. 7500 psi concrete

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/architecture/bsc/classes/bsc314/timeline/timeline.htm

19-09-2013 01:42:47

Timeline of Concrete

Page 6

1970

One Shell Plaza, Houston, ht 714 ft., using 6000 psi concrete

1970s

Fiber reinforcement in concrete was introduced.

1975

Water Tower Place, 859 ft., 9000psi conc. using superplasticizers

1985

Peak shipment of portland cement to the US increased to nearly 3 million barrels

1985

The "highest strength" concrete was used in building the Union Plaza constructed in Seattle, Washington.

1989

Scotia Plaza Building, Toronto, 907 ft.

1990

311S Wacker and Two Prudential Plaza in Chicago sets new height record at 920 ft.

1996

Petronas Twin Towers, 1476 ft.

References: Reinforced Concrete, Preliminary design for Architects and Builders; R.E. Schaeffer, 1992 McGraw-Hill Inc. Handout on Skyscrapers World Book Encyclopedia World Wide Web page: The Portland Cement Association Online, http://www.portcement.org

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/architecture/bsc/classes/bsc314/timeline/timeline.htm

19-09-2013 01:42:47