Concrete bending - this kind of material can create revolution in the construction industry

Researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore are developing a type of concrete capable of bending. Does this material have the potential to create revolution in construction?

Concrete and materials are formed by combining cement, aggregate such as gravel, sand and water. Since ancient Roman times, people have known to use natural concrete (a type of concrete with an additive of volcanic lava) to build buildings for their empire.

Concrete has been widely used in construction since 1870, in the form of reinforced concrete . However, over more than a century, concrete has shown disadvantages such as large weight, poor elasticity and causing many problems of environmental pollution.

Buildings of reinforced concrete and glass are symbols of the 20th century economic development.

However, the use of concrete as a key material has caused serious environmental pollution.On the picture is Beijing, the world's largest construction site, the fog screen is not only formed by smoke from transport vehicles, but also from construction sites in the city.

The creation of fiberglass reinforced concrete as a turning point, but this type of concrete is only light and easy to shape by formwork, bearing capacity and environmental friendliness has not been improved.

In that context, researchers from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) have successfully studied concrete named ConFlexPave with superior bending force and minimizing emissions to the surrounding environment.

The process of testing this particular concrete.

With components including small crushed cement, sand and gravel, some additives such as superplasticizer, support additive accelerate hardening time, Conflexpave is added to the polymer to increase tolerance. force but at the same time more flexible than conventional concrete.

Not only "flexible" but also more resistant to traditional concrete.

"The newly formed concrete is able to withstand four times the impact of conventional concrete. Thanks to its mobility, facilities can be fabricated in accordance with the construction form. grafting, reducing labor costs and reducing the impact on the environment On the other hand, due to small crushed materials such as gravel and sand supporting micro fiber polymer, this concrete has a much thinner thickness with ordinary concrete " - According to Professor Chu Jan, the project leader said.

Experiment on extremely good bearing capacity of ConFlexPave.

It takes some time for this type of concrete to be put into use, however, its preeminent feature is a great promise for the future of construction and architecture.