If there is a key material in the development of infrastructures, that is concrete. This material, used in viaducts, dams and buildings (some as old as Agrippa’s Pantheon) is truly versatile. But it has a problem, its huge carbon footprint, which accounts for 8% of global emissions. The engineers have begun to give coconut to replace them with new materials and also to achieve different more ecological mixtures
Sometimes engineers want to go a step further, taking things to a more futuristic level than we even imagined before. This is the case of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, with an adaptable, multifunctional and lightweight intelligent infrastructure project, which can be adapted to different constructions and even generates its own electrical charge.
“Modern society has been using concrete in construction for hundreds of years, following its original creation by the ancient Romans,” says Amir Alavi, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. And it is that with the massive use of concrete in infrastructures, comes the need to develop a new generation, more economical and environmentally sustainable, with advanced functionalities. “We believe that we can achieve all of these goals by introducing metamaterials into the development of building materials,” concludes Alavi.
The metamaterial with which they work is formed by networks of auxetic polymers (they get fat if they are stretched and thin if they are compressed), reinforced within a matrix of conductive cement. This cement, enhanced with graphite powder, forms the electrode, and a mechanical trigger can generate electricity by contact between the layers…not enough energy to send to the electrical grid, but can monitor damage to fabricated structures, for example.
We have been very surprised that the metamaterial can be adjusted to adapt to construction needs, changing its flexibility, shape… in tests it has managed to compress it up to 15% while maintaining its structural integrity. What could this be for? Well, to create shock absorption materials, for example. They assure that it is “scalable and profitable”.
In the far future, this cleverly engineered product could even power embedded chips on roads to help self-driving cars. Granted, for that it would be a long time, before it is necessary, as the scientists indicate, to carry out large-scale tests and more research on how to isolate the material from factors such as humidity or temperature variations.
Via: Advanced Materials
