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An ancient battle between environment and concrete

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The collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in South Florida shocked the world. Many families lost loved ones or are still holding their breath. The question remains: what was the cause of this catastrophic failure?

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Fig. 1: Concrete has desirable properties but is prone to degradation.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Y. Xi, G. Urgessa and R. Selinger for their invaluable feedback and discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Pania Newell

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Pania Newell

  3. School of Computing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Pania Newell

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  1. Pania Newell
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Correspondence to Pania Newell.

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Newell, P. An ancient battle between environment and concrete. Nat Rev Chem 5, 513–514 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-021-00315-z

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