Historic Concrete: The background to appraisal

by James Sutherland, Dawn Humm, Mike Chrimes

Overview

In the last 100 years concrete has had a greater impact on our surroundings and indirectly on our way of life than any other material. This historical overview of the structural use of concrete will provide a valuable source of information for those dealing with this legacy.

Britain has a vast number of concrete structures of varying ages. While these often need to be appraised, repaired or altered, the opacity of concrete as a material presents unique problems with the assessment of the existing structure. It may be difficult to determine whether the concrete in question is mass concrete, reinforced or prestressed or perhaps not structural at all, but only masking a steel frame. As the best starting point for appraisal is some knowledge of what is likely to be found at different dates and with different types of structure, this book will provide vital information for engineers who find themselves facing these challenges.

Historic Concrete deals predominantly with concrete in Britain, but makes reference to discoveries and works in other countries where these have influenced practice in Britain. It examines the history of reinforced and prestressed concrete and also includes chapters covering military applications of concrete and its use in tunnels, roads and pavements, water-retaining structures and dams.

With an extensive list of references as well as an appendix with proprietary reinforcement systems, this book will be useful for all structural engineers and will also interest architects, surveyors, historians of construction and general readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780727728753
Publisher:	Emerald Publishing Limited
Publication date:	12/14/2001
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.90(h) x 1.20(d)

Table of Contents

1	Introduction	1
2	The innovative uses of concrete by engineers and architects	11
3	Concrete and the structural use of cements in England before 1890	45
4	The era of proprietary systems	68
5	The development of reinforced concrete design and practice	83
6	Cement and concrete as materials: changes in properties, production and performance	105
7	Concrete foundations and substructures: a historical review	117
8	The early development of reinforced concrete shells	165
9	Concrete shell roofs, 1945-65	177
10	Prestressing	191
11	The development of concrete bridges in the British Isles prior to 1940	211
12	UK concrete bridges since 1940	251
13	Reinforced and prestressed concrete in maritime structures	275
14	The Concrete Institute 1908-23, precursor of the Institution of Structural Engineers	303
15	Concrete in tunnels	315
16	Water-retaining structures in Britain before 1920	323
17	Historic concrete in dams	343
18	Concrete roads	359
19	Military	371
Appendix I	Sources of Furtherinformation on Historic Concrete	383
Appendix II	19th Century Proprietary Floor Systems	401
Appendix III	Proprietary Reinforcing and Flooring Systems	407
Appendix IV	Assessing Ancient Mortars	425
	Index	429

Editorial Reviews

The UK has many structures of varying ages that need to be appraised, repaired, and altered. This book recounts the development of reinforced and prestressed concrete in the UK from 1850 up though the 1970s to aid in evaluating historic structures. Some topics include concrete foundations and substructures, UK concrete bridges since 1940, reinforced and prestressed concrete in maritime structures, and concrete in tunnels. B&w photos of historical structures and plans are included on every page. Much of the material has been expanded from papers accompanying a 1996 exhibition and meeting. The book is distributed by ASCE. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR