damage resistance of hollow concrete increased by 5.6 times
2024-10-04
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inspired by the hard outer structure of human bones, engineers at princeton university in the united states have developed a new type of concrete that can resist cracking and sudden damage, and its damage resistance is 5.6 times higher than ordinary concrete. relevant papers were published in the new issue of advanced materials.
in developing this new type of concrete, researchers took inspiration from human compact bone. the dense shell of the human femur is made up of oval tubular structures called osteons. its shape and arrangement disperse cracks around these bone units, preventing them from breaking upon impact.
to pour the bionic concrete, the researchers 3d printed a tubular formwork mold using polyvinyl alcohol. they then poured rubber into the mold to create a negative of the template. finally, they dissolved the rubber to form a polyurethane silicon mold and used it to pour the concrete.
thanks to a clever bionic design, the new concrete's hollow tubes "trap" cracks and stop them from spreading further. this is in contrast to adding materials such as fibers, plastics, etc. to concrete to increase its strength. the new method can control the growth of each crack so that the material does not break all at once and can withstand progressive damage, making the material stronger.
the researchers conducted three-point bending tests and one-sided notch bending tests. they used a 2-millimeter-thick diamond saw blade and a razor to cut notches in the concrete and repeated the process multiple times to collect data on the material's fracture toughness. the results show that the damage resistance of the new concrete is more than 5 times higher than that of ordinary concrete. not only does this mean safer buildings, it also reduces concrete production, which is a huge benefit to the environment.
