Resilience of Roman analog marine concrete measured by arc-shaped bending test experiments
Abstract
Microfractures in Roman marine concrete structures are partially filled with silicate and carbonate mineral cements. Surface permeability measurements of the ancient concrete, ranging from 10−11 to 10−15 m2, indicate a heterogeneous structure, which may facilitate beneficial seawater interactions with the reactive fabric. To gain insights into the early age resilience of the ancient marine concrete, arc-shaped specimens of a Roman analog marine concrete fabricated with glassy volcanic reactive aggregate are assessed with iterative fracture-mechanical tests, permeability measurements, and microstructural investigations. A baseline arc-shaped bending test followed by two repeat tests during nearly three years hydration in synthetic seawater reveals 115–382% improvement of load carrying capacity relative to the baseline, computed through an index of load recovery, despite initiation and propagation of microfractures. Arc specimens of a blended Portland cement concrete with the same proportion of volcanic reactive aggregate show no effective recovery; damage is localized along a macrofracture with elevated permeability, 10−11 – 10−14 m2, relative to the cementing matrix, 10−15 m2. The Roman analog has lower initial carrying capacity yet a ductile specimen response produced discontinuous arrays of echelon microfractures and stable post-fracture permeability, 10−15 m2. The iterative arc-shaped bending tests provide insights into the mechanical resilience of an early age Roman marine concrete prototype.
Related
- Tolerance measured at one developmental stage mispredicts climate resilience in an animal with a complex life cycle
- Cracking of unsaturated clays using a newly developed small-beam bending apparatus and analysis by digital image correlation
- Critical fracture behavior and instability precursors of limestone under three-point bending
- High-resolution laboratory study of the ν₂/ν₄ bending motion of CH3+ and assignment of its astronomically observed lines
- On CO2 sequestration in concrete aggregate via carbonation: simulation and experimental verification
BibTeX
@article{jackson2026resilience,
title = {{Resilience of Roman analog marine concrete measured by arc-shaped bending test experiments}},
author = {Marie Jackson and Philip Brune and Michael Czabaj and Jeffrey Kessler and Michael Heap and Charles Weiss and Jedadiah Burroughs},
journal = {Journal of Archaeological Science},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.jas.2026.106684},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05747840v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Resilience of Roman analog marine concrete measured by arc-shaped bending test experiments
AU - Marie Jackson
AU - Philip Brune
AU - Michael Czabaj
AU - Jeffrey Kessler
AU - Michael Heap
AU - Charles Weiss
AU - Jedadiah Burroughs
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/18
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science
DO - 10.1016/j.jas.2026.106684
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05747840v1
AB - Microfractures in Roman marine concrete structures are partially filled with silicate and carbonate mineral cements. Surface permeability measurements of the ancient concrete, ranging from 10−11 to 10−15 m2, indicate a heterogeneous structure, which may facilitate beneficial seawater interactions with the reactive fabric. To gain insights into the early age resilience of the ancient marine concrete, arc-shaped specimens of a Roman analog marine concrete fabricated with glassy volcanic reactive aggregate are assessed with iterative fracture-mechanical tests, permeability measurements, and microstructural investigations. A baseline arc-shaped bending test followed by two repeat tests during nearly three years hydration in synthetic seawater reveals 115–382% improvement of load carrying capacity relative to the baseline, computed through an index of load recovery, despite initiation and propagation of microfractures. Arc specimens of a blended Portland cement concrete with the same proportion of volcanic reactive aggregate show no effective recovery; damage is localized along a macrofracture with elevated permeability, 10−11 – 10−14 m2, relative to the cementing matrix, 10−15 m2. The Roman analog has lower initial carrying capacity yet a ductile specimen response produced discontinuous arrays of echelon microfractures and stable post-fracture permeability, 10−15 m2. The iterative arc-shaped bending tests provide insights into the mechanical resilience of an early age Roman marine concrete prototype.
SN - 0305-4403
SN - 1095-9238
ER -