The first reinforced concrete product was a boat. It was built by the Frenchman Joseph-Louis Lambo and patented in 1855. Such boats are still in use today. Regattas of the engineering and construction departments of the German higher schools are held there. The second patent for modern reinforced concrete was obtained for the plant tub by Joseph Monier in 1867. It is not surprising that containers that are in contact with water are still made from this material, for example well bottoms . Reinforced concrete was then called monieconcrete for a long time. The word reinforced concrete is used only in Russian and Bulgarian, in other languages they say “steel concrete”.
Modern fittings are made of steel. Numerous patents are devoted to the principle of load distribution due to its various types. The bottom line, however, is that concrete works well in compression and steel in tension.
The main types of reinforcement are meshes welded from rods of different diameters, embedded parts through which structures are welded. For better adhesion to concrete, the steel is usually corrugated. The structure can also contain various profile connections. Reinforced concrete structures work well not only for compression, but also for tension and bending.
Another principle is that by prestressing the reinforcement, for example by heating, a prestressed structure can be obtained. The bottom line is that the reinforcement, being compressed, simply compresses the structure and thereby increases its strength and compression. Sometimes the strength of steel elements is also increased by creating surface stress on the element itself, for example, by sandblasting.
The most important separate topic is the protection of steel elements inside the structure from corrosion. In exceptional cases, the protruding parts of the fittings can also perform decorative functions. Concrete reinforcement is a fascinating field of engineering.
