Bendable, Green, and Cement-Free Concrete Created to Better Withstand Earthquakes

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Bendable, Green, and Cement-Free Concrete Created to Better Withstand Earthquakes


March 05, 2020

By Loukia Papadopoulos

Read More: https://interestingengineering.com/b...d-earthquakes?

Researchers at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne have created a new kind of concrete that is both eco-friendly and better at withstanding earthquakes. The bendable concrete is also made out of waste material.

- The product is a major improvement on conventional concrete that is not only very rigid but also very polluting. Traditional concrete shatters when being stretched or bent and has a high carbon footprint due to the calcination of limestone to produce its key ingredient, cement. --- Production of this novel concrete requires about 36% less energy and emits up to 76% less carbon dioxide as compared to conventional bendable concrete made of cement.

- The novel material is made of industrial waste products such as fly ash, a by-product of coal-fired power stations. The researchers have also included short polymeric fibers in order to ensure that the concrete can bend but not break. --- This makes it ideal for use in areas where natural disasters such as earthquakes are common. “Building in areas vulnerable to that sort of natural disaster is one of the main uses that we can see for this material. --- Test results showed that this novel concrete is about 400-times more bendable than normal concrete, yet has similar strength.

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It is enough to combine the fly ash produced by burning coal with a small portion of chemicals to get a strong and eco-friendly concrete. This conclusion was reached in the course of experiments by scientists from Rice University (USA). They published their research in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society. And this, by the way, is a well-known fact. I also used concrete sealwithease.com with a sealer. The basis of concrete mixes in most countries is Portland cement - a binder based on silicates. Usually, during production, a small amount of fly ash containing silicon and aluminum is added to it.