#concrete

#concrete

Calcium Carbonate Concrete: A New Kind of Concrete Made From Waste Material and Carbon Dioxide PollutantConcrete is a dominant material in the construction industry. In order to produce this, companies release carbon dioxide into our atmosphere that can further accelerate climate change. Researchers are now proposing a new way to reduce emissions caused by concrete by introducing a sustainable and environmentally-friendly material, the calcium carbonate concrete.The future construction material is made from waste concrete and carbon dioxide from the air or industrial exhaust gases. Its functionality was proven to work by Professor Ippei Maruyama and C4S (Calcium Carbonate Circulation System for Construction) project manager Professor Takafumi Noguchi from the Department of Architecture at the University of Tokyo.  Image credit: Maruyama et al.#concrete #carbondioxide #globalwarming #climatechange #calciumcarbonate

The Persistence of Bacteria In ConcreteConcrete is the most common building material in the world because of its great durability. However, just like all materials, concrete structures deteriorate in quality through time, and because many structures all over the world are made of concrete, there is a growing need for concrete maintenance and repair.Bacteria thrive best in a warm and moist environment. Knowing this, it would be extremely difficult for bacteria to thrive in concrete. In fact, it might just be the worst possible environment for bacteria, as concrete is hard, dry, and salty. Yet, there are bacteria which can survive inside concrete. Some could even provide “biorepair” to the concrete. Scientists hope to use bacteria someday as a new method for providing concrete maintenance.#Concrete #Bacteria #ConcreteMaintenance #Biorepair(Image Credit: Kathy F. Atkinson and Anders Kiledal/ University of Delaware)

Food Scraps Recycled Into Materials Stronger Than Concrete (But Strangely Remained Edible)The option for food waste is quite limited - either throw it away or compost it - but there may soon be a third option: make it into a new and robust construction material.Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo first turned fruit and vegetable scraps such as seaweed, cabbage leaves as well as orange, onion, pumpkin, and banana peels into powder. Then, they mixed the powder with some water, poured the resulting mixture into a mold and pressed it at high temperature.When they tested the newly molded material, the researchers discovered that they were quite strong. "With the exception of the specimen derived from pumpkin, all of the materials exceeded our bending strength target," said Kota Machida in a statement, "We also found that Chinese cabbage leaves, which produced a material over three times stronger than concrete, could be mixed with the weaker pumpkin-based material to provide effective reinforcement."Surprisingly, the materials remained edible. They were also more resistant to rotting, fungus and insect infestations and didn't change in appearance or taste after being exposed to air for up to four months.#food #recycling #concrete #ConstructionMaterial #MaterialScience

Lightweight LEGO-Like 3D-Printed Alternative to Reinforced Concrete BeamsReinforced concrete beams, a staple in civil engineering, are strong ... but they are also very, very heavy.Thanks to 3D printing, a team of researchers at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) in Spain has developed a lightweight alternative. The 3D printed plastic pieces are snapped together onsite, just like LEGO pieces. Then the structure is concreted into place, with no metal reinforcement required.The resulting beam is just as strong as reinforced concrete beam, but weighs up to 80% less.How did the researchers achieve the required rigidity from plastic? By studying human bones:"It is an alveolar structure, which makes it possible to decrease the amount of plastic used – and therefore its weight – while maintaining structural rigidity," said Jose Ramon Albiol of the Higher Technical School of Construction Engineering of the UPV, "This is what we have transferred to these revolutionary beams, specifically to their profiles. It is a very intelligent natural system and its reproduction in these beams awards them, with the low structural weight, very high mechanical capabilities."via AlphaGalileo#3DPrinting #concrete #CivilEngineering #LEGO #plastic #materialscience