No-fines concrete is a type of concrete from which the fine aggregate
is totally omitted and single-sized coarse aggregates are held togethe
r by a binder consisting of a paste of hydraulic cement and water. The
earliest application of no-fines concrete dates back to 1852 when two
houses and a seagroin of 61 m (200 ft) long and 2.15 m (7 ft) high we
re constructed in the United Kingdom. Its extensive use came about aft
er World War II when nearly the whole of Europe was in vast housing ne
ed. The unprecedented demand for bricks, and the subsequent inability
of the brick-making industry to provide bricks in sufficient quantity,
led to the adoption of no-fines concrete as a construction material s
ince it required considerably less cement per volume than conventional
concrete. Earlier use of no-fines concrete was confined to building c
onstruction and other nonpavement applications. The present paper cite
s the use of no-fines concrete for pavement applications in the United
States and Europe.