Roman engineering

It is uncertain where it was first discovered that a combination of hydrated non-hydraulic lime and a pozzolan produces a hydraulic mixture (see also Pozzolanic reaction), but concrete made Irom such mixtures was first used by the Ancient Macedonians and three centuries later on a large scale by Roman engineers. They used both natural pozzolans (trass or pumice) and artificial pozzolans (groimd brick or pottery) in these concretes. Many excellent examples of structures made from these concretes are still standing, notably the huge... 

The variety of sites encountered by Roman engineers across the empire required the exploitation of all types of indigenous materials, and construction techniques were adjusted to meet as-found characteristics, exploiting strengths and suppressing weaknesses. Rapid weathering revealed defects more quickly and encouraged innovation and evolutionary development. 

Some prehistoric peoples had taken to living over water for defence. The pile-dwellers of the Italian and German lakes stood within the wide invasion route south of the Alps. Their use of timber baulks driven through sediments into the grip of firmer strata or onto hardpan was appropriated by Roman engineers to deal with the concentrated loads of bridge piers and abutments built over water. 

Scholars divide Roman history into two main periods (2) the Republic, which extended from 535 b.c., the legendary date of Rome s founding, until 24 B.C. and [2] the Empire, which extended from 24 b.c. until a.d. 476 (22). The Republic was an age of conquest and exploitation of Rome s extensive colonial possessions, a time when Roman engineering achievements were confined largely to Italy. The Empire was a relatively peaceful period in which public works were extended into the colonies remains of some of these engineering facilities can be found today in Spain, France, North Africa, and the Near East (22). 

Some of the most famous of Roman engineering works are briefly described below ... 

WaterwaH furnaces were employed by the ancient Greeks and Romans for household services. A water boHet, found in Pompeii, was constmcted of cast bton2e and incorporated the water-tube principle (2). The earhest recorded instance of boHets performing mechanical work (130 Bc) was Hero s engine... 

Petrifix A process for solidifying aqueous wastes, converting them to a solid form suitable for landfill. Cementitious additives are used, based on the compositions used by the Romans for making Pozzolanic cements. Developed by Pec-Engineering, Paris, France. In 1979 it had been used in France and Germany. 

Because of the recent rash of hurricanes like Katrina and tsunamis, we have become more aware of the need for protection against their violence. Geotextiles play a major role in this protection. Reinforced soil was used by Babylonians 3000 years ago in the construction of their pyramid-like tower, ziggurats. One of these famous towers, the Tower of Babel, collapsed. For thousands of years, the Chinese used wood, straw, and bamboo for soil reinforcement including the construction of the Great Wall. In fact, the Chinese symbol for civil engineering can be translated as earth and wood. The Dutch have made extensive use of natural fibrous materials in their age-old battle with the sea. The Romans employed wood and reed for foundation reinforcement. By the 1920s, cotton fabrics were tested as a... 

The notion of a broad liberal arts education goes back to the Greeks and Romans and has been at the center of the modem secular university. Engineering education has a somewhat shorter history, but the perception that engineering education is extremely narrow by comparison misses several key points ... 

Samaniego, H., San Roman, M.F. and Ortiz, I. (2007) Kinetics of zinc recovery from spent pickling effluents. Industrial el Engineering Chemistry Research, 46, 907. 

Reis, R. L. San Roman, J. Biodegradable Systems in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, CRC Press 2004. 

Steijsiger, C., Lankhorst, C. M., and Roman, Y. R Influence of gas phase reactions of the deposition rate of silicon carbide from the precursors methyltrichlorosilane and hydrogen. In Numerical Methods in Engineering 92 (C. Hirsch and O. C. Zienkiewicz, eds.). Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1992, p. 857. 

Figure 18.1. The reductive TCA cycle (bold roman font) as an engine of synthesis of the major classes of biomolecules (bold italic). Synthesis of categories usually begins with a specific molecule (lightface).

Ortiz, I., Fresnedo San Roman, M., Corvalan, S., Eliceche, A. M. (2003). Modeling and optimization of an Emulsion Pertraction Process for Removal and Concentration ofCr(VI). Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research 42 5891-5899. 

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