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Bendable Concrete

Posted May 07, 2009 10:22 AM

From Neatorama:

Traditional concrete will only take so much pressure before it breaks. A team led by Victor Li of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor has developed a new type of concrete that bends under such pressure and can repair itself! The self-healing concrete develops many hairline fractures when bent, distributing the pressure over its area. The tiny cracks will seal themselves with calcium carbonate when exposed to rainwater and carbon dioxide. With this new material, bridges can be constructed without expansion joints. Buildings made of it will also be safer during earthquakes.

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edignan
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#1

Re: Bendable Concrete

05/07/2009 10:33 AM

Entrapping carbon by watering my drive to seal the cracks

So many things to love about this!

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Tippycanoe
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Re: Bendable Concrete

05/07/2009 1:03 PM

Kudos to Victor Li !! On a smaller scale, 'soil cement ' is quite flexible, about 5" in 6 feet observed personally, no cracks. 6/7 parts clay type subsoil to 1 part Portland cement, thoroughly mixed dry, and just enough water added to make a firm ball. Ram it into a slip form. It takes about 2 months to set up enough to build on, but is too hard to drive a nail into after about 8 months. It's not practical for commercial use, but great for a DIY project.

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edignan
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#3
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Re: Bendable Concrete

05/07/2009 1:07 PM

I have personal experience with soil cement - amazing stuff.

on the side of a wall, a brick of the same material "attached" with nothing but a bit of mud "slip" - 5 years prior. we all used the attached brick to climb upon the wall.

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#4

Re: Bendable Concrete

05/08/2009 3:09 AM

Cement springs can be made by passing the mix through a homogeniser.

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Re: Bendable Concrete

05/09/2009 5:01 PM

http://www.rudimentsofwisdom.com/pages/cement.htm

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