In the spirit of spring cleaning, I'd like to share a quick roundup of some noteworthy concrete industry events that I've gathered over the last few months.
A Few Strange Concrete Occurrences
Whereas your job entails Concrete work San Marcos, part of mine entails keeping a finger on the pulse of interesting developments in—and adjacent to—the concrete construction industry. I'm always looking for good stories, no matter where I can find them.
I, like you, use my phone for most of my social media and wander through the internet's maze of content. I'll occasionally come across a post and save it as an open tab hoping to return to it later.
This does not always happen. I thought I'd share them with you and include links to them online in the spirit of spring cleaning.
(Who knows, my phone might even run faster.)
Scientists at the University of Manchester figured out how to erect structures in other worlds.
AstroCrete, a concrete created from human fluids like blood, urine, sweat, and tears, is said to be 300 percent stronger than standard concrete.
Houses on Mars could be built with concrete created from space dust and astronauts' “blood” – Daily Mail Online.
Engineers in the United Kingdom have asked the government to prevent (but mean limit) demolishing buildings to reduce the country's carbon footprint in concrete construction, recommending that structures and substantial infrastructure be reused as feasible.
They point to concrete's natural carbonation qualities, which allow it to absorb CO2.
However, I would argue that they are only talking about refurbishing structurally sound structures.
Construction firms have been instructed to cease demolishing buildings due to climate change – BBC News.
Using “mass timber” in building construction also helps reduce carbon emissions.
Mass timber is made of perpendicularly aligned wood boards 6 inches thick.
According to the paper, it can reduce the quantity of steel and concrete used in buildings.
Opponents of the plan argue that it will raise demand for wood products and lead to increased deforestation.
The environmentally beneficial building material “mass wood” is gaining popularity (yahoo.com)
TRANS is a transparent concrete manufactured with resin-based 3D printed reinforcement that costs 80 percent less than handcrafted translucent concrete, according to researchers from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Spain).
Professor Jose Ramon Albiol, quoted in the release, believes it might be employed in creating decorative components, furniture, countertops, floors, and more.
Translucent concrete allows for the creation of custom-designed facades at a minimal cost
An inquiry is ongoing to “examine the electrochemical corrosion degrading science of concrete as it applies to high-level nuclear waste,” thanks to funding from the Department of Energy.
The goal is to develop a new cement-based substance that will protect the environment from waste contamination.
The goal is to understand concrete corrosion better and “avoid corrosion over thousands to potentially millions of years,” according to Juan Pablo Gevaudan, the project's chief investigator.
Start searching on social media, and you'll find a plethora of content from and about the concrete building sector.
And, even though it appears full of strange dances that I don't understand, TikTok isn't immune.
One developer wrote an article describing hempcrete and sustainable construction to their audience.
This interests me because it's a perfect example of how people are interested in construction in general.
Despite concrete's many fascinating features and capacities, I believe the physics underlying concrete is one of those mysterious realms of which the general public isn't all that aware.
A video of an excavator operator breaking a concrete slab is also available on TikTok.
It's quite rhythmic, and one brilliant inventor took it upon themself to perform “The Excavator Chantey,” a witty song.
There's nothing revolutionary about this (ha!)
But it's well worth a listen, and it's a terrific example of the construction industry having a good time.
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