I’ve been watching documentaries since I was kid that do the same thing every few years. At least we’ve finally given up the were 10 years away from living forever.
mitthrowaway2 · 3h ago
Interesting. It's not just the absence of rebar, and it's not survivorship bias. It's a hot-mixing method that results in both rapid curing times, and self-healing of cracks. A lost technology, rediscovered.
nielsbot · 2h ago
Is it reasonable to build concrete structures today without using rebar? And is it true that rebar actually makes concrete structures less durable over longer time scales?
I've long been attracted to the idea of building a building with Roman concrete and no rebar that would last centuries... Guess it's a sort of vanity project. :)
mitthrowaway2 · 1h ago
I think the problem is the kinds of structures we want to build. The Romans built everything supported by arches, where the loads are all distributed in compression. But to make a glass-walled multistory apartment building with overhanging balconies you definitely need rebar to handle those tensile loads.
chmod775 · 3h ago
> The team is now working on commercializing their concrete as a more environmentally friendly alternative to current concretes.
That may be rough, given they won't be able to patent it due to prior art...
nielsbot · 2h ago
There might be something patented in the modern production process. Or, alternatively, they could release the recipe as something "open source" and also potentially provide "pre-mixed concrete as a service"...
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I've long been attracted to the idea of building a building with Roman concrete and no rebar that would last centuries... Guess it's a sort of vanity project. :)
That may be rough, given they won't be able to patent it due to prior art...