Concrete is great under compression but not nearly as good under tension.
A concrete beam would make a lousy support for hanging structures.
Here the president of the Concrete Countertop Institute (really? is there an industry group for every possible subindustry?) uses a Simpsons still to help us understand the issues that exist with a concrete 'beam' like a countertop.
He then brings out a great illustration (at 2:30) of the tension/compression forces that occur on a beam when the beam bends and goes on to explain where the different tension issues occur when a beam is supported on the ends or cantilevered away from the support.
The video is a little long (nearly 10:00 in total length) but does a very good job explaining how and why reinforcement measures have to be used in concrete countertops.
If only it came with a great medallion like this one.
By the way, is that guy to the right in the picture the same one speaking throughout the video?
No comments:
Post a Comment