In a quest to make concrete more durable and sustainable, an international team of geologists and engineers has found inspiration in the ancient Romans, whose massive concrete structures have withstood the elements for more than 2,000 years. The discovery could help improve the durability of modern concrete, which within 50 years often shows signs of… »
Sunflower seed and oil sector is the one the main industries in Turkey, so it is not surprising that a team of researchers at the Namik Kemal University in Turkey decided to devise ways to use sunflower seed husks – a huge byproduct of the vegetable oil and food industry. They found ways to turn… »
A group of researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and BarcelonaTech (UPC), Spain, have developed a type of biological concrete that supports the natural, accelerated growth of pigmented organisms. The material has been designed for Mediterranean climates, and it is adapted to offer environmental, thermal and aesthetic advantages over other similar construction solutions. Unified… »
Two separate research groups have applied two different approaches to improve cement in order to make it more durable and greener. Researchers from the Michigan State University have found that mixing ground waste glass into the cement makes resulting concrete stronger, more durable and more resistant to water, while Drexel University researchers found a way… »
Unlike other researchers who are developing self-repairing materials, civil engineers at MIT cooperated with physicists at the University of Potsdam, Germany, went in a different direction and developed a flexible skin-like fabric with electrical properties which could be applied to areas of structures where cracks are likely to appear and be used to detect cracks… »
A bacteria that can knit together cracks in concrete structures by producing a special ‘glue’ has been developed by a team of students at Newcastle University. The genetically-modified microbe has been programmed to swim down fine cracks in the concrete. Once at the bottom, BacillaFilla produces a mixture of calcium carbonate and a bacterial glue… »
A concrete material developed at the University of Michigan can heal itself when it cracks. No human intervention is necessary—just water and carbon dioxide. New substance could make infrastructure safer and more durable. Self-healing is possible because the material is designed to bend and crack in narrow hairlines rather than break and split in wide… »
