The World of Concrete 2015 Exposition is only four days away and Giatec Scientific is excited about being able to represent our concrete testing devices and meet the other exhibitors. Concrete impacts the average person more than one would think. Without it, transportation methods would be much different if we didn’t have concrete made highway systems and roads. Large cities such as, Toronto, New York and Shanghai would look much different than they do today. If there was no concrete, what would the 3.2 million annual visitors see the Statue of Liberty standing on?
To celebrate concrete and everything it has helped engineers and architects accomplish, here are ten interesting facts about the infamous building material.
1. The annual global production of concrete is 5 billion cubic yards.
2. In order to make 1 tonne of cement, two tonnes of raw material are required
3. Ready mixed concrete produced by the concrete industry is valued at approximately $30 billion.
4. In the United States of America, the ready mixed concrete industry uses around 75% of the cement shipped there before allowing other industries to have any.
5. The original use of concrete dates all the way back to ancient Egyptian times when the pyramids were being built in 3 000 BC.
6. Concrete is the most used building material in the construction industry, being used two times more than any other.
7. Romans used a concrete mixture in their architecture, including the work done on the Coliseum. They also used animal products as admixtures to achieve durability.
8. The first concrete high rise building was in 1903 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
9. This year marks the 100th anniversary of when Lynn Mason Scofield founded the first company to produce color for concrete using colorwax, integral color, sealers and chemical stains.
10. There is a myth that the more water added to a concrete mix the easier it will be to place and finish. This is incorrect. Many contractors will attempt to convince clients of this to keep prices low, however, this concrete will be more prone to cracks and corrosion in the future.
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