Part 2 - Historical Development of Cement and Concrete

Early forms of concrete can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Rome. The earliest cement was mud, used to bind sun-dried bricks together. A problem in other climates is that clay has no resistance to water. Therefore, other forms of binders needed to be developed.

Non-hydraulic cements - hardening will not take place under water. For example: mud (clay), early lime (calcareous) mortars of the Greeks and Romans. The production of these mortars involves burning off the water in a gypsum or lime based material. Some of these cements were very good, evidence being the surviving structures of the civilizations.

Hydraulic cements - Hardening will occur under water. Romans and Greeks produced this form of cement by calcining limestones containing clayey impurities. The clay component gives the cement its hydraulic characteristic.

The quality and development of concrete, like most things, declined during the Middle ages. High quality mortar was rediscovered during the 14th century. However, it was not until the 18th century that study into the nature of cements really began. In 1796, John Smeaton, the first self-proclaimed "civil engineer", was involved in the construction of a lighthouse that required cements that could withstand the action of sea water. This lead to a series of experiments on cements of different compositions. He found the best mortars were limestones with a high clay content.

Development in cement and concrete technology continued at a rapid pace after Smeaton's experiments. James Parker patented a natural hydraulic cement in 1796. In 1813 in France, Vicat developed an artificial hydraulic cement. James Frost introduced the same procedure in England in 1822. In 1824, Joseph Aspdin patented "Portland" cement using a limestone and clay mixture burned in a kiln and then finely ground into a powder. It was named because of similarities to a naturally occurring building stone located in Portland, England. The first American patent for Portland cement was given to David Saylor in 1871. By the turn of the century, local Portland cement displaced imports and other natural cement products.

The introduction of admixtures occurred at the beginning of cement production. Romans used animal fats, milk, and blood to improve the workability of the concrete. The blood was also an effective air-entraining agent to improve durability and help with the effects of freezing and thawing.

This website was originally developed by Charles Camp for his CIVL 1101 class.
This site is maintained by the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Memphis.
Your comments and questions are more than welcome.