How do concrete blocks handle load without reinforcement in the blocks?
The compressive strength of concrete is primarily determined by the ratio of its components. Its flexural strength depends on the size and positioning of the reinforcement. The dead weight of timber structures is not very high. The largest loads occur as live loads from furniture and people, as well as from snow loads.
Okay.
Yes, of course, the Romans built quite a bit with unreinforced concrete and it still holds, having lasted for many hundreds of years.
Isn't it standard, for example, for ready-mixed concrete bags to have fiber reinforcement? This way the constructions would be safer, even without reinforcement. Reinforcement is, after all, a disadvantage as it damages the concrete construction over time due to rust.
Yes, of course, the Romans built quite a bit with unreinforced concrete and it still holds, having lasted for many hundreds of years.
Isn't it standard, for example, for ready-mixed concrete bags to have fiber reinforcement? This way the constructions would be safer, even without reinforcement. Reinforcement is, after all, a disadvantage as it damages the concrete construction over time due to rust.
Normal concrete mix can withstand about 40 MPa? And that's slightly over 400kg / square centimeter.J justusandersson said:
So a pillar 20 x 20 cm, with say 70 cm height as in the previous examples, should be able to handle 160 tons. (20 x 20 = 400 cm2 x 0.4 tons = 160 tons).
So for example, 10 of such unreinforced concrete pillars should be able to support a structure that weighs 1600 tons before the concrete construction fails...
I guess a whole house might weigh 100-150 tons, so it should actually hold up by a large margin.
And then the real question is how long such a construction could stand on unreinforced concrete before it collapses (under normal ground conditions).
The Pantheon is built with unreinforced concrete and it still stands...
