Ten Discoveries in Building Materials
The building products industry is one of the world’s most fragmented and least digitized industries. This makes it vulnerable to price volatility and short-term supply disruptions.
Scientists are working on construction materials that perform better or tread more lightly on the planet. From light-emitting concrete to 3D-printed mushroom columns, here are ten discoveries that could change the game.
1. Light-Emitting Concrete
Light-Emitting Concrete is a groundbreaking material that blends the tensile strength of traditional concrete with the ability to transmit light. Also known as translucent concrete, it features embedded optical fibers that emit a soft glow when powered by solar energy during the day.
Light-emitting concrete can enhance the aesthetics of buildings and structures with a unique glow that’s perfect for enhancing architectural designs. It can also save energy by reducing the need for artificial lighting, contributing to a greener building environment.
The development of this innovative cement technology is helping to revolutionize green construction and energy-efficient designs. The sustainable nature of this material can be enhanced with ongoing research to improve its durability and incorporating recycled materials in production. With continued advancements, this technology could be used to build homes, office buildings and other elements of infrastructure in Houston and across the world.
2. Bio-Based Concrete
Although a few pioneering construction projects have been realized with bio-based materials, this new technology has not yet made a significant impact in mainstream construction. Despite their functional performance and long-term operational cost savings, these materials have not been able to break through barriers within the industry.
Bio-based concrete admixtures are derived from renewable sources, such as plant extracts and agricultural waste products. Incorporating these admixtures into concrete can significantly improve its strength, while reducing the amount of petroleum-based chemicals that are used in traditional construction processes.
Additionally, concrete based on natural aggregates is an effective moisture regulator. This means less sand will be mined and fewer resources will need to be spent on maintenance and repairs. These innovations will allow builders to construct buildings with a reduced environmental footprint. It will also reduce energy costs and help them meet their sustainability goals.
3. Hexagonal Concrete
Hexagonal concrete is a type of concrete in which the concrete blocks are arranged in a hexagonal pattern. This technique allows for a more seamless look on the exterior of a building and is more environmentally friendly than traditional forms of concrete.
The concrete-encased hexagonal CFST column has become a popular choice for high-rise buildings due to its enhanced strength and stiffness. However, the seismic behavior of these columns needs to be further investigated.
Static compression with accompanying biaxial bending is the most common loading condition for column bases in earthquakes. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of major parameters on the failure mode and internal force distribution of a concrete-encased hexagonal CFST core under combined compression and biaxial bending. Additionally, the effect of different fiber content on peak stress and strain of foam concrete specimens was also studied.
4. Carbon Concrete
Scientists have developed a strong, energy-efficient building material. Called carbon concrete, it replaces steel rebar with carbon fiber rods and mats. It is much lighter and can be formed into more fanciful shapes, according to research from the Technical University of Dresden, Germany.
It also has a lower water footprint than conventional concrete, which uses more than a cubic meter of weighted water during production. However, it is not yet carbon negative because the capture, transport and storage of CO2 for its use in concrete still requires significant amounts of energy.
Read more about the embodied carbon of concrete in our guide Specifying Sustainable Concrete. The guide helps designers optimize the green credentials of concrete through careful specification. It includes a section on using secondary and recycled materials and on assessing whole-life carbon performance. A carbon concrete building can save 20 percent of energy compared to a similar conventional structure.
5. 3D-Printed Mushroom Columns
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London practice Blast Studio used an algorithmically designed mushroom-shaped form to create a 3D printed column that can grow its own roots into a load-bearing architectural element. The ridged Tree Column—as it is called—is made from a combination of paper coffee cups, mycelium (a network of underground fungal threads), and waste wood chips, which are combined with a paper pulp feedstock to be injected into a cold extrusion printer similar to those used for printing with clay.
The resulting biomass paste is then pushed through an extruder layer by layer to produce ten individual module sections. The generatively designed geometry of each section includes a series of sheltered microclimate pockets that trap moisture, encouraging mycelium to grow down the length of the structure and eventually turn it into a self-supporting tree trunk.
6. Hemp Rebar
Steel is the dominant material for reinforcing bars in concrete construction, but a team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed an alternative made from hemp. This hemp-based rebar is said to match steel pound for pound in strength and durability, but also reduces environmental impact. It will not corrode, which could extend the lifespan of buildings, bridges, seawalls and roads.
The researchers used a technique called pultrusion to pull together hemp fibres with thermoplastics and a heated die into a solid bar, which they call rebar. They are currently developing a machine that can make it on demand at the construction site.
The project leaders, Daniel Walczyk and Alexandros Tsamis, say their new rebar will lower the carbon footprint of construction and help decarbonize the industry by extending the life of structures. They are already in talks with large construction companies to bring the technology into use.
7. Bio-Plastic
A wide range of everyday and specialized plastic products—from eating utensils to synthetic fabrics to park benches—are made from polymers, which are assemblies of identical chemical subunits called monomers linked together in long chains. Monomers can be derived from petroleum or from non-petroleum sources, such as sugars, cornstarch, plant oils and algae.
Plastics that use a significant amount of renewable resources, are biodegradable or are based on biological processes are commonly referred to as ‘bioplastics’1. Several labelling schemes exist to certify the bio-based content of a particular plastic product, such as DIN biobased (panel e), OK biobased (panel f) and GreenScreen (panel g). To be truly 'circular', however, existing bioplastic identification standards and life cycle assessments need to be improved and consistent. Also, reprocessing first-generation biowaste to make second-generation bioplastics requires establishing robust recycling streams and overcoming barriers to sustainable feedstock production.
8. Carbon-Fibre Reinforced Concrete
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world, but it's brittle and can fail in situations of tension and shear. Carbon fibres can add strength and ductility to existing buildings, and they won't corrode like steel.
A company called Hitexbau produces carbon fiber mats that can be incorporated into concrete structures to strengthen them. These mats are very thin net structures made of woven fibre strands with different densities.
Munich-based architecture firm HENN has designed a building that showcases these materials. Their twisted roof and wall show how carbon-reinforced concrete can be formed into a variety of shapes. It's lighter and more flexible than concrete, which offers designers new possibilities. The structure also suggests a future for architecture that merges environmental consciousness and formal freedom.
9. Biodegradable Concrete
Concrete is an immensely useful building material but when it’s being extracted and applied to construction sites, it can cause a lot of pollution. This is because concrete requires a lot of water, which in turn can pollute the natural environment if it ends up in groundwater or river systems.
Luckily, various innovations are being tested that can make concrete eco friendly again. One such innovation is Ferrock, which uses waste steel dust to create an environmentally friendly concrete that’s also sturdier than normal concrete. This alternative also absorbs carbon dioxide as it hardens, making it carbon negative.
Another innovation is using graphene in concrete. This will reduce the amount of materials needed in concrete, minimizing CO2 emissions. Another way to reduce the environmental impact of concrete is by using recycled aggregates. This can include utilizing paper/fiber, glass, or even plastic waste that would otherwise be dumped in landfills.
10. Wood-Based Composites
Wood-based composites (WBCs) encompass a wide range of products in which wood is bonded together with other wooden or non-wooden materials, usually using natural or synthetic resins. These materials are often used to replace solid wood in construction and furniture applications.
Wood elements such as fibers, chips, flakes, strands and sawdust are incorporated into the matrix of many WBCs. Because these elements are smaller than solid wood and exposed to a larger surface area, they tend to absorb moisture more readily and can cause rapid deterioration.
The ALS’s x-ray tomography scans allow researchers to see the depth and distribution of adhesive penetration in WBCs, helping them to improve product performance by designing the adhesive type to match the specific material, saving significant material costs. The results also offer new ways to prevent or remedy damage and deterioration.
