Who Invented Concrete

An article by Peter Pierce    Comments Off

The material that is being used in construction of building is called as concrete. It is a hard substance usually made from different types of sand or other components that are bonded together with the mixture of water and cement. Cement and aggregates forms part of the concrete. Aggregate may be the combination of sand, gravel, crushed stone, ashes, slag, burned clay, etc., Fine aggregate is used in making smooth concrete surfaces and coarse aggregate is used in making massive sections.

Clay was used as the bonding material by Babylonians and Assyrians. Later, clay was replaced by gypsum and lime by Egyptians. First modern concrete was invented by a British engineer named John Smeaton in the year 1756. He created the concrete by adding pebbles and powdered brick with cement.

Followed by the modern concrete, in the year 1824, Joseph Aspdin from England invented the Portland cement. Portland cement is considered the dominant cement that is being used in construction.

The other type of concrete called reinforced concrete was developed with imbedded metal like steel and it was introduced by Joseph Monier in the year 1849. But he received the patent rights only in the year 1867. Reinforced concretes were used in pipes, floors, railway ties and bridges.