Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ductility. The reinforcement is usually, though not necessarily, steel bars (rebar) and is usually embedded passively in the concrete before the concrete sets. However, post-tensioning is also employed as a technique to reinforce the concrete. In terms of volume used annually, it is one of the most common engineering materials. In corrosion engineering terms, when designed correctly, the alkalinity of the concrete protects the steel rebar from corrosion.
Pier Luigi Nervi was an Italian engineer and architect. He studied at the University of Bologna graduating in 1913. Nervi taught as a professor of engineering at Rome University from 1946 to 1961 and is known worldwide as a structural engineer and architect and for his innovative use of reinforced concrete, especially with numerous notable thin shell structures worldwide.
Notre-Dame du Haut is a Roman Catholic chapel in Ronchamp, France. Built in 1955, it is one of the finest examples of the architecture of Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier. The chapel is a working religious building and is under the guardianship of the private foundation Association de l’Œuvre de Notre-Dame du Haut. It attracts 80,000 visitors each year. In 2016, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in along with sixteen other works by Le Corbusier, because of its importance to the development of modernist architecture.
The Guastavino tile arch system is a version of Catalan vault introduced to the United States in 1885 by Spanish architect and builder Rafael Guastavino (1842–1908). It was patented in the United States by Guastavino in 1892.
A monolithic dome is a thin-shell structure cast in a one-piece form. The form may be permanent or temporary and may or may not remain part of the finished structure. Monolithic domes are a form of monolithic architecture.
A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings, consisting of a flat, horizontal surface made of cast concrete. Steel-reinforced slabs, typically between 100 and 500 mm thick, are most often used to construct floors and ceilings, while thinner mud slabs may be used for exterior paving (see below).
Formwork is molds into which concrete or similar materials are either precast or cast-in-place. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering molds. In specialty applications formwork may be permanently incorporated into the final structure, adding insulation or helping reinforce the finished structure.
Hyperboloid structures are architectural structures designed using a hyperboloid in one sheet. Often these are tall structures, such as towers, where the hyperboloid geometry's structural strength is used to support an object high above the ground. Hyperboloid geometry is often used for decorative effect as well as structural economy. The first hyperboloid structures were built by Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov (1853–1939), including the Shukhov Tower in Polibino, Dankovsky District, Lipetsk Oblast, Russia.
Federation University Australia Gippsland Campus is an Australian university campus located in the town of Churchill 142 km east of Melbourne. Its main neighbouring towns in the region are Morwell and Traralgon. Formerly a branch of Monash University, on 1 January 2014 it became part of Federation University Australia. Study areas at the campus include Arts ; Business; Education; Information Technology; Nursing; Midwifery; Sport, Outdoor and Physical Education; Psychology; Science; Engineering and Visual Arts.
Béton brut is a French term that translates in English to “raw concrete”. The term is used to describe concrete that is left unfinished after being cast, displaying the patterns and seams imprinted on it by the formwork. Béton brut is not a material itself, but rather an architectural expression of concrete.
The history of construction embraces many other fields, including structural engineering, civil engineering, city growth and population growth, which are relatives to branches of technology, science, history, and architecture. The fields permit allow both modern and ancient construction to be analyzed, as well as the structures, building materials, and tools used.
The history of structural engineering dates back to at least 2700 BC when the step pyramid for Pharaoh Djoser was built by Imhotep, the first architect in history known by name. Pyramids were the most common major structures built by ancient civilizations because it is a structural form which is inherently stable and can be almost infinitely scaled.
Binishells are reinforced concrete thin-shell structures that are lifted and shaped by air pressure. They were invented in the 1960s by Dante Bini, who built 1,600 of them in 23 countries.
Structural clay tile describes a category of burned-clay building materials used to construct roofing, walls, and flooring for structural and non-structural purposes, especially in fireproofing applications. Also called building tile, structural terra cotta, hollow tile, and clay block, the material is an extruded clay shape with substantial depth that allows it to be laid in the same manner as other clay or concrete masonry. In North America it was chiefly used during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reaching peak popularity at the turn of the century and declining around the 1950s. Structural clay tile grew in popularity in the end of the nineteenth-century because it could be constructed faster, was lighter, and required simpler flat falsework than earlier brick vaulting construction. Each unit is generally made of clay or terra-cotta with hollow cavities, or cells, inside it. The material is commonly used in floor arches, fireproofing, partition walls, and furring. It continues to be used in Europe to build fire-resistant walls and partitions. In North America the material has largely been replaced by concrete masonry units.
Construction 3D Printing (c3Dp) or 3D construction Printing (3DCP) refers to various technologies that use 3D printing as a core method to fabricate buildings or construction components. Alternative terms for this process include "additive construction." "3D Concrete" refers to concrete extrusion technologies whereas Autonomous Robotic Construction System (ARCS), large-scale additive manufacturing (LSAM), or freeform construction (FC) refer to other sub-groups.
Smithfield Poultry Market was constructed in 1961–1963 to replace a Victorian market building in Smithfield, London, which was destroyed by fire in 1958. Its roof is claimed to be the largest concrete shell structure ever built, and the largest clear spanning dome roof in Europe.
Domes were a characteristic element of the architecture of Ancient Rome and of its medieval continuation, the Byzantine Empire. They had widespread influence on contemporary and later styles, from Russian and Ottoman architecture to the Italian Renaissance and modern revivals. The domes were customarily hemispherical, although octagonal and segmented shapes are also known, and they developed in form, use, and structure over the centuries. Early examples rested directly on the rotunda walls of round rooms and featured a central oculus for ventilation and light. Pendentives became common in the Byzantine period, provided support for domes over square spaces.
Domes built in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries benefited from more efficient techniques for producing iron and steel as well as advances in structural analysis.
The reinforcement of 3D printed concrete is a mechanism where the ductility and tensile strength of printed concrete are improved using various reinforcing techniques, including reinforcing bars, meshes, fibers, or cables. The reinforcement of 3D printed concrete is important for the large-scale use of the new technology, like in the case of ordinary concrete. With a multitude of additive manufacturing application in the concrete construction industry—specifically the use of additively constructed concrete in the manufacture of structural concrete elements—the reinforcement and anchorage technologies vary significantly. Even for non-structural elements, the use of non-structural reinforcement such as fiber reinforcement is not uncommon. The lack of formwork in most 3D printed concrete makes the installation of reinforcement complicated. Early phases of research in concrete 3D printing primarily focused on developing the material technologies of the cementitious/concrete mixes. These causes combined with the non-existence of codal provisions on reinforcement and anchorage for printed elements speak for the limited awareness and the usage of the various reinforcement techniques in additive manufacturing. The material extrusion-based printing of concrete is currently favorable both in terms of availability of technology and of the cost-effectiveness. Therefore, most of the reinforcement techniques developed or currently under development are suitable to the extrusion-based 3D printing technology.
3D concrete printing, sometimes called simply concrete printing, refers to digital fabrication processes for cementitious materials based on one of several different 3D printing technologies. These processes have applications in the construction industry, for the production of building blocks, building elements, civil infrastructure, or street furniture.
