The Use of Reinforced Concrete in Modernism

Early Christians and Roman architects investigated the use of concrete, but did not use it during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This material was fully investigated in the second half of the nineteenth century, but limited to general use, the material was cheap, easy to use and versatile, but most importantly it is refractory did. In 1870, the idea of ​​strengthening concrete was born, and reinforced bars were inserted to increase strength. Using this principle, both Ernest Ransome (USA) and Francois Hennebique (France) developed a framework system.

The four main materials used for bridges are wood, stone, iron, and concrete. Among them, iron has the greatest influence on modern bridges. It is made of iron used for the manufacture of iron, steel, reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete. The modern bridge is almost completely made of steel, reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete. Wood is relatively weak compression and elasticity, but almost always is widely available and inexpensive. Trees have been used effectively to carry lightly stacked small bridges like pedestrian bridges. Engineers are now combining laminated wooden beams and arches with several modern bridges

Prestressed concrete is a reinforced concrete used to overcome the natural weakness of concrete tension. It can be applied to beams, floors or bridges and its spans are more practical than regular reinforced concrete. Prestressed tensioning materials (usually made of high strength steel cords or rods) are used to provide a clamping load that creates a compressive stress that counteracts the tensile stress that the concrete compression member will undergo due to bending load. In order to prevent catastrophic collapse of earthquakes (for safety of life) traditional reinforced concrete frames should have a strong joint. Depending on the method being used and the seismic force being applied, these buildings can be used immediately, a large repair may be necessary, or may need to be deleted

Reinforced concrete is one of the most widely used contemporary building materials. Concrete is an "artificial stone" obtained by mixing cement, sand and aggregate with water. Fresh concrete can be molded into almost any shape, which is an inherent advantage of other materials. After inventing Portland cement in the 19th century concrete became very popular. However, its limited tensile strength prevents its widespread use in its construction. To overcome this disadvantage, reinforcing bars are embedded in concrete to form a composite material called reinforced concrete. In the late nineteenth century, European engineers pioneered the development of contemporary design and construction practice of reinforced concrete. Currently, reinforced concrete is widely used for various engineering applications.