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Re:Why No Roman Industrial Revolution? by matt3210 on Friday July 28, 2023 @07:12PM (#36914648)
Modern concrete is way better. It supports 80+ tons all day everyday. If you put an 80+ ton truck on brand new Roman concrete it wouldn’t last the weekend.
Re:Why No Roman Industrial Revolution? by worik on Friday July 28, 2023 @07:23PM (#36914748)
Steel reinforcement (tension strength) and Portland cement.

Pure concrete can only be used for dome like structures as it only has compression strength.

Re:Why No Roman Industrial Revolution? by SAI_Peregrinus on Saturday July 29, 2023 @09:39AM (#36920196)
And that steel reinforcement is why modern Portland cement concrete doesn't last as long. Eventually the steel rusts, which means it expands and cracks the concrete.

We also use a lot of asphalt concrete. Even less durable than Portland cement concrete, but really fast for making roads, and extremely recyclable. Just melt the asphalt, maybe add some new aggregates, and lay down a new road surface.

Re:Why No Roman Industrial Revolution? by worik on Saturday July 29, 2023 @05:00PM (#36924513)
I am not a chemist, I may have this completely wrong, but:

Steel does not rust without cause.

It needs something like a drip on to a part of it to wash away the layer of oxide and create more. Electrical effects then spread the decay.

There are a lot of steel reinforced structures around from the 1920s that are doing very well with no visible signs of structural decay.

Here is one close to me form the nineteenth century. Everything else decayed. It burnt at least once. And it stands, still.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargill's_Castle

It will be interesting to see if continues for another few hundred years....