Fiber-reinforced Concrete - Historical Perspective

Historical Perspective

The concept of using fibers as reinforcement is not new. Fibers have been used as reinforcement since ancient times. Historically, horsehair was used in mortar and straw in mud bricks. In the early 1900s, asbestos fibers were used in concrete. In the 1950s, the concept of composite materials came into being and fiber-reinforced concrete was one of the topics of interest. Once the health risks associated with asbestos were discovered, there was a need to find a replacement for the substance in concrete and other building materials. By the 1960s, steel, glass (GFRC), and synthetic fibers such as polypropylene fibers were used in concrete. Research into new fiber-reinforced concretes continues today.

Read more about this topic:  Fiber-reinforced Concrete

Famous quotes containing the words historical perspective, historical and/or perspective:

    Reason, progress, unselfishness, a wide historical perspective, expansiveness, generosity, enlightened self-interest. I had heard it all my life, and it filled me with despair.
    Katherine Tait (b. 1923)

    Some of us still get all weepy when we think about the Gaia Hypothesis, the idea that earth is a big furry goddess-creature who resembles everybody’s mom in that she knows what’s best for us. But if you look at the historical record—Krakatoa, Mt. Vesuvius, Hurricane Charley, poison ivy, and so forth down the ages—you have to ask yourself: Whose side is she on, anyway?
    Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)

    Egoism is the law of perspective as it applies to feelings, according to which what is closest to us appears to be large and weighty, while size and weight decrease with our distance from things.
    Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)