What can concrete made during the Roman Empire help modern engineering develop more efficient concrete? This is what a recent study published in iScience hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated the benefits of using construction materials and processes from Roman Empire concrete. This study has the potential to help engineers develop more efficient construction methods, specifically methods that are thousands of years old.
For the study, the researchers compared Roman concrete/mortars to modern concrete samples with the goal of ascertaining the construction materials, especially given how they’ve literally held up for thousands of years after the fall of the Roman Empire. The inspiration behind this study is due to the large energy demands, specifically CO2 emissions, that are required to construct concrete worldwide. In the end, the researchers found that Roman concrete required similar, and often more, CO2 emissions compared to constructing today’s concrete.
“Contrary to our initial expectations, adopting Roman formulations with current technology may not yield substantial reductions in emissions or energy demand,” said Dr. Daniela Martinez, who is an assistant professor at the Universidad del Norte in Colombia and lead author of the study. “Using biomass and other alternative fuels to fire kilns may prove more effective in decarbonizing modern cement production than implementing Roman concrete formulations.”
The team notes how modern concrete has only been around for approximately 200 years, therefore creating a conundrum regrading durability data. Going forward, the researchers aspire to conduct further research into Roman concrete, specifically regarding various scenarios as to how it was made and withstood the test of time.
How will Roman Empire concrete help engineers better understand how to construct concrete in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: iScience, EurekAlert!
