Breaking News
Are America's Youth Really Embracing Socialism?
Are We About to See a Foreclosure WAVE Hit the US Housing Market?
They Rolled Out the Relics - Then Cut the Working-Lands Money
AI May Be the Next Dot-Com Bust - But Energy Could Be the Big Winner
Top Tech News
World's smallest CT scanner fits in the palm of your hand
The Tesla Roadster will blow people's minds
Peter Thiel-Funded Company Anduril to Triple the Number of Autonomous Surveillance Towers...
Quantum computing may soon become part of the microscope itself.
Volkswagen Just Unveiled The Most Efficient EV Ever Tested
NASA Super Light Solar Sail Project Will Be 12-40 Times Lighter and Faster
Space Telescope Interferometer to Image Exoplanet Continents
Twenty-five years of "temporary": how 9/11 built a surveillance state Americans never vote
I'll Never Buy Another WALMART Battery!
Shoei GT-Air 3 Smart helmet drops with built-in AR for $1,500
Next-gen reinforced concrete is said to be lighter and more eco-friendly
Now, scientists are claiming that a new type of fiber-reinforced concrete could soon serve as a lighter and greener alternative.
The experimental building material was developed by Amir Hajiesmaeili, a PhD student working in the Structural Maintenance and Safety Laboratory of Switzerland's EPFL research institute.
In place of the usual steel fibers, it incorporates fibers made of a very stiff type of polyethylene. These not only provide the same amount of structural support as steel fibers, but they also adhere very well to the cement. As a result, approximately half as much cement is required, with readily-available limestone making up the difference.
This is quite noteworthy, as the production of traditional Portland cement is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, Hajiesmaeili claims that the manufacturing of his ultra high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) releases 60 to 70 percent less CO2 than that of regular steel-fiber equivalents. And as an added bonus, the material is also reportedly 10 percent lighter.