Preface
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PREFACE
Indeed, we are in the age of concrete, Stephen L. Sass indicates in the introduction of his book, The Substance of Civilization: Materials and Human History from the Stone Age to the Age of Silicon. I quote: “Materials not only affect the destinies of nations but define the periods within which they rise and fall. Materials and the story of human civilization are intertwined, as the naming of eras after materials –the Stone age, the Bronze age, the Iron age– remind us.”1 If we consider the number of ordinary people that use, rely on, live on or in it, concrete is the most widely known material in the world with an annual consumption estimated at between 21 and 31 billion tons. Concrete is an artificial stone in which natural gravel stones of well-graded sizes are bound together by a cement matrix, thus providing strength. Although this principle of manufacturing building materials can be traced back at least to the Roman Empire, it was later neglected for centuries. Concrete regained importance in the 1800s when methods for large-scale production of modern cement were developed; since then its use has expanded tremendously. Concrete is a brittle material, but reinforcing with steel bars (reinforced concrete) or with pre-stressed tendons (pre-stressed concrete) has greatly expanded its applicability. Furthermore, its importance as a building material is due to its structural, physical, and chemical properties, and its economics. In one’s hands, concrete is a living creature, capable of creating amazing forms while providing the most resistant structures. It is a material that has been able to remain throughout the modern history of mankind. To craft good concrete, one needs to study hard, get out to the field, get dirt in one’s shoes, and treat it with love and respect; this is the only language that this wonderful material understands. Concrete may seem an awkward material for an age with today’s scientific advances. In fact, all concrete may seem the same. Certainly, the basic product remains the same and has remained unchanged since its invention. Nonetheless, concrete properties depend largely on the quantity and quality of components, including Portland cement. The selection, use, and constituents of components are important to design appropriately, and as economically as possible, the desired characteristics of any particular type of concrete. These proceedings are an effort to achieve this through the use of smart additives and supplementary cementitious materials. Luis Emilio Rendon Diaz Miron Mexican Institute of Water Technology November 2014 1
S.L. Sass, The Substance of Civilization: Materials and Human History from the Stone Age to the Age of Silicon (Arcade Publishing, New York, 1998).
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