In news– Engineers are developing CO2-infused concrete that locks up the greenhouse gas and can be stronger and even bendable.
What is Bendable Concrete?
- It is a special type of concrete that can take the bending stresses. It consist of special type of materials that makes it flexible.
- It is filled with small fibers, generally polymer-derived, organized into a microstructure that helps give the material increased ductility in comparison to traditional concrete, which is prone to cracking and failure under strain and long-term use.
- The CO2-based bendable concrete can be used for general buildings, water and energy infrastructure, as well as transportation infrastructure.
- Where standard cement only has a strain capacity of around .01 percent, bendable concrete’s can be as much as 7 percent, meaning it is hundreds of times more flexible.
- Its fibrous structure also means it breaks in a safer, slower way—generating many “microcracks” instead of the large cracks seen in traditional concrete.
- This means wear leads to smaller deformations, rather than full-on shattering or structural failure.
Note:
The production of cement, the binding element in concrete, accounted for 7% of total global carbon dioxide emissions in 2018. Concrete is one of the most-used resources on Earth, with an estimated 26 billion tons produced annually worldwide.