Bendable Concrete

Posted by Miss Cellania in Science & Tech on May 6, 2009 at 11:23 pm



Traditional concrete will only take so much pressure before it breaks. A team led by Victor Li of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor has developed a new type of concrete that bends under such pressure and can repair itself! The self-healing concrete develops many hairline fractures when bent, distributing the pressure over its area. The tiny cracks will seal themselves with calcium carbonate when exposed to rainwater and carbon dioxide. With this new material, bridges can be constructed without expansion joints. Buildings made of it will also be safer during earthquakes. Link -via Unique Daily


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COMMENT

17 comments to "Bendable Concrete"

  1. DOJ
    May 6th, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    potholes?

  2. nickolas_warner
    May 6th, 2009 at 11:54 pm

    This is amazing. Them foreigners come up with the darndest things. First it was bendable combs, now concrete!

  3. Robolasse
    May 7th, 2009 at 2:46 am

    I for one welcome over new self healing bendable concrete overlords.

  4. su.wei
    May 7th, 2009 at 4:09 am

    we need this up here in alaska for the permafrost :s

  5. neatoman
    May 7th, 2009 at 7:23 am

    @Robolasse

    Where does that quote come from? Why have I seen that same exact statement about welcoming the whatever overlords on neatorama several times before? Is there a pop culture reference I'm missing out on?

  6. BlessedBlogger
    May 7th, 2009 at 8:15 am

    It's an interesting product but how environmentally sound is it?

  7. Gauldar
    May 7th, 2009 at 10:15 am

    @neatoman

    http://shop.neatorama.com/product-info.php?welcome-overlord-tshirt-pid 77.html

  8. OddNumber
    May 7th, 2009 at 10:46 am

    There are a lot of really novel concrete products out there. The biggest problems are cost and construction method. I'm very skeptical of the material properties of the "repaired" concrete and think that repeated loading by the environment might be a huge problem. Sealed cracks, although better than unsealed cracks, are still imperfections in the material.

    Advanced concrete materials mixes are highly sensitive and usually can not be made with local ingredients and may require highly specialized and expensive curing and pouring methods. I wouldn't count on seeing these materials in very many "everyday" applications anytime soon.

  9. neatoman
    May 7th, 2009 at 10:47 am

    @Gauldar

    Thank you! Now I don't have to say "wtf does that mean" every time I read that reference.

  10. Byrd Brain
    May 7th, 2009 at 10:50 am

    nickolas_warner, we're not foreigners- you are!

  11. kuchroo
    May 7th, 2009 at 11:08 am

    some mention must ...about raw material or a lead on chem composition

  12. Ajan
    May 7th, 2009 at 1:21 pm

    My dad's gonna be happy.. :)

  13. CheeseDuck
    May 7th, 2009 at 4:33 pm

    It's actually from The Simpsons.

    http://www.videosift.com/video/I-for-one-welcome-our-new-insect-overlo rds

  14. Joseph Francis
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:25 am

    Bendableoncrete? Incredible. Now if they could just make it easy to crumble and dissolvable at the first hint of water that would be a hell of a thing.

  15. Video Game Dork
    May 9th, 2009 at 7:02 am

    Nonliving matter than heals is pretty fun.

  16. Video Game Dork
    May 9th, 2009 at 7:02 am

    that*

  17. amit
    July 31st, 2009 at 7:39 am

    i am BE final(Govt college of engg, karad, maharashtra , india) year student , i want to do a project work on same, please help me(mainly PVA fibers)


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