Innovative Experimentation on Ancient Material: Exploring the Fracture of Imperial Roman Concrete

The highly developed concrete composites used to realize the monumental structures of Imperial Rome are remarkable engineering materials. Their mechanical properties are attested to by the numerous constructions still intact after millennia of usage. The assessment of these mechanical properties — particularly in tension and fracture — is the objective of the present work. We begin with a brief overview of the current knowledge of the mechanical properties, obtained from other testing programs, and then describe our own testing program, which will fracture test both re-fabricated and authentic materials. The varying morphologies and compositions of the ancient samples require a unique experimental design, the fundamental aspects of which are described, along with details of the re-fabrication process of an Imperial mortar for initial testing.