Concrete’s past, present, and future innovation to the construction world

Concrete has been in the past, is still in the present, and will always be in the future. Concrete has been the
pillars of all the infrastructures and constructions that had been made. Before even engineers, designers,
scientist were properly introduced, Concrete was already found by self-hardworking builders.

The research’s objective is based on an historical approach of the science of concrete and reinforced concrete
in particular, its objective is to call for the exploration of radical changes in three key aspects of concrete
use: reinforcement, binder content, and implementation methods. More precisely, it is suggested that, in
parallel to the introduction of robotic fabrication methods, digital technologies may be key for the
introduction several innovations like rebar-free reinforcement using non-convex granular media,
compression-optimized concrete structures, using topology optimization, architectural geometry, and 3D-
printing or origami-patterned formworks; truly digital concrete through the coupling of massive data
collection and deep learning. Two priority objectives have been identified in this paper. The first, with the
purpose of improved durability, is the need to reinvent reinforcement and in particular to abandon or, at the
least, minimize passive reinforcement with steel rebars. Going in this direction could also significantly
improve productivity. The second objective, with the urpose of improved strength, workability, durability,
and carbon footprint is the optimization of the granular formulation and, concomitantly, the decrease of the
binder content.

In gathering their data, the authors intensively relate the past, present and the future of concrete. They
discussed the data how rapid concrete is needed to cope up with the advancement of the world, showing
different kinds of reinforced concrete with their properties, concrete formulation, and Toward radical
changes. The authors have used many references in their process of gathering data to formulate their own
opinion and fuse them with either showing pros and cons of their ideas.

With the objective of this research paper to improve the concrete properties, this research helps us
understand more deeply on what concrete with the mixture of historical periods, future events, and
scientifical methods. One of the most interesting approach of the paper is the digital concrete. This is where
the coupling with high-throughput experimentation and with data harvesting at the global scale comes in.
The combinatorial space of the cement-SCM-filler-aggregate-admixture-water curing-ageing system is
virtually infinite and cannot be explored completely in a single laboratory or consortium. But millions of
concrete mixes are prepared daily all over the world and could – provided a well defined protocol is
established – deliver millions of useful data sets. By complementing this with high-throughput
experimentation in a network of selected laboratories, an unprecedented big data-type amount of
information could be collected, covering a parameter space could go well beyond simple proportioning ratios
of concrete. Father time isn’t going to wait for us and neither are we. With this as a step for radical changes
in concrete, we could be in fact be looking at a much more plausible concrete that well exceeds the current
properties of concrete. This research is a step for every field of construction to think rationally, to think to
improve, and to think to advance.