Researchers at MIT have found that natural materials like bones, shells, and sea sponges are as strong microscopically as they are to the touch.
The construction industry can learn from this.
According to the National Post, a recently published paper in the journal Construction and Building Materials examines a tough and long-lasting substance called nacre. Found inside of mollusks, nacre has a brick-like arrangement of minerals, forming a strong bond between layers.
The molecular organization of nacre contrasts from Portland concrete, a staple of construction across the world. Made of crushed rocks bounded by cement paste, concrete strength is largely based on guesswork, researchers say.
Considering this, more attention is being paid to biomimetics, the study of materials that mimic nature.
“There is a wide range of techniques that are well established for studying the complexities of biological and biomimetic materials, which can be easily translated into the cement community,” Admir Masic, an MIT professor and co-author of the study, told MIT News.
Related Stories
| May 31, 2012
2011 Reconstruction Awards Profile: Ka Makani Community Center
An abandoned historic structure gains a new life as the focal point of a legendary military district in Hawaii.
| May 31, 2012
5 military construction trends
Defense spending may be down somewhat, but there’s still plenty of project dollars out there if you know where to look.
| May 31, 2012
Day & Zimmermann taps Jobe for ECM VP
Ken Jobe, a senior executive with 30+ years of industry-related experience, joins Day & Zimmermann to expand footprint in the process & industrial markets.
| May 31, 2012
Perkins+Will-designed engineering building at University of Buffalo opens
Clad in glass and copper-colored panels, the three-story building thrusts outward from the core of the campus to establish a new identity for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the campus at large.
| May 30, 2012
Construction milestone reached for $1B expansion of San Diego International Airport
Components of the $9-million structural concrete construction phase included a 700-foot-long, below-grade baggage-handling tunnel; metal decks covered in poured-in-place concrete; slab-on-grade for the new terminal; and 10 exterior architectural columns––each 56-feet tall and erected at a 14-degree angle.
| May 30, 2012
Boral Bricks announces winners of “Live.Work.Learn” student architecture contest
Eun Grace Ko, a student at the Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, named winner of annual contest.
| May 30, 2012
Hill International to manage construction of Al Risafa Stadium in Iraq
The three-year contract has an estimated value to Hill of approximately $3.3 million.
| May 29, 2012
Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s pediatric burn patients create their version of new Patient Tower using Legos
McCarthy workers joined the patients, donning construction gear and hard hats, to help with their building efforts.
| May 29, 2012
Reconstruction Awards Entry Information
Download a PDF of the Entry Information at the bottom of this page.
| May 29, 2012
Legrand achieves over 20% energy-intensity reduction in Presidential Challenge
West Hartford headquarters announced as Better Buildings, Better Plants “Showcase” site.
