Why is MEGASLAB the modern day Roman concrete?

If you’re in the #concrete industry or are just fascinated with Roman architecture and the second most used substance on the planet, then you have seen the articles swirling around this week regarding how scientists have discovered the “why” in Roman concrete durability. This article is my attempt to provide a high level view on why MEGASLAB® is the modern day Roman concrete. The history of innovation has shown us that with the proper technological advancements, materials can become better, stronger and more durable.

Our mission from the very beginning was to create the strongest and most durable concrete possible while working with the locally available materials, and, our patented process utilizing various nano particles and fibers. I am proud to say that we have done just that, and our slabs are down in 14 U.S. states and counting.

I took MEGASLAB® to the harshest environment I could find to prove the concept – steel track heavy equipment CAT® dealers, which is a stark contrast to the Rome environment. I quickly learned through following our process that we could successfully provide a revolutionary product that was stronger, more durable, and with higher abrasion resistance than any concrete those dealers had ever seen.

One of the stories that I like to tell is when I took a 92,000 lb D8 bulldozer and did zero radius turns on an 11 day old MEGASLAB® to prove its durability, which left the dealer speechless. That was over (4) years ago, and today that same dealer has intelligently awarded us over a million square feet more.

I have heard various opinions on the real “why” behind Roman concrete durability, and that it is in one of the best environments for concrete. I’m not here to argue either of those points, rather than to say that the most dangerous phrase in our language is “we’ve always done it this way” and that has got to change if we want real sustainable solutions that will last generations.

Pozzolanic reactivity is very important for Portland lime based cement composites. Portland cement based concrete has been the backbone of our entire civilization since the mid 1800s.  The pozzolans that the Romans used pale in comparison to those that can be scientifically engineered and produced down to single digit nanometer sizes with nearly perfect spherical shapes while utilizing  the technologies of today.

Also, fiber technology has improved dramatically in the past few decades and there has been an emergence of nano sized 2D particles to increase the cement binding structure. In addition, over the past century we have learned a great deal about particle packing and making concrete as dense as possible to increase its strength, and reduce its permeability.

The self healing characteristics of #romanconcrete may be true, but what if water and chlorides were unable to penetrate the pore space of concrete to cause the attack to begin with? What if concrete could be converted from a rigid porous sponge to a slab of quartz? 

Before I took MEGASLAB® into the harshest environment I could find, my team and I tested it extensively – we tried to force water through it under high pressure, we beat it with jackhammers and sledge hammers, we shot it with the largest civilian rifle available, and submerged it in acid to name a few (all of these tests can be found on our YouTube channel, by the way). After all of that, it was time to prove the concept in the real world  by giving CAT® dealers a solution to a problem that was unfixable and that most quite frankly gave up on trying to fix. Now that we have successfully served multiple CAT® dealers across the country, it’s time to increase and broaden our focus to all concrete applications where durability and longer life is not only needed, but it’s our duty in order to provide a truly sustainable planet that we all can flourish in.  Learn how MEGASLAB®’s concrete technology is revolutionizing automated storage and retrieval systems in modern logistics.”

I have said for years – durability equals sustainability. And 2023 will be the year for us to prove this in more ways than one. What the Romans did with concrete was truly remarkable, and as a species we’ve barely altered the design of concrete since the Romans. MEGASLAB® however, is the turning point; not doing it the way “we’ve always done it,” to build a better and more sustainable future for our planet. Stay tuned as we Build A Revolution®. To understand the full journey of concrete’s evolution, explore the history of concrete and its transformation over centuries.

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