Monday, June 2, 2008
Emerging Technology 4
Fiber Reinforced Plastics
The construction industry is advancing very fast and new materials are needed over the traditional and heavy structural materials. Fiber reinforced Plastic is lighter, stronger and more resistant to corrosion, impacts, parasites and chemicals, therefore it could possibly be a substitute for steel, concrete, masonry and wood.
Fiber Reinforced Plastic has already been introduced into the construction market on a smal scale in structural shapes such as cross-sections, w0sections and tube sections as any combination of shape can be manifactured.
Concrete Reinforcement is another application of FRP as it is as strong as steel but doesnt have all the weaknesses of steel, weaving mat fibers impregnated by resin and then curing the resin is the main method used for this application.
Other applications include prestressing and Post-tensioning Tendons and Pre-Engineered Structural Systems.
FRP has many advantages in that it is low weight, high strength, easy to erect and corrosion resistant, it also leads to lower construction and material costs and higher life cycle period conpared to traditional buildings.
The only barrier at the moment is presented by the lack of acceptance into building codes around the world so it has been limited to smaller applications.
The construction industry is advancing very fast and new materials are needed over the traditional and heavy structural materials. Fiber reinforced Plastic is lighter, stronger and more resistant to corrosion, impacts, parasites and chemicals, therefore it could possibly be a substitute for steel, concrete, masonry and wood.
Fiber Reinforced Plastic has already been introduced into the construction market on a smal scale in structural shapes such as cross-sections, w0sections and tube sections as any combination of shape can be manifactured.
Concrete Reinforcement is another application of FRP as it is as strong as steel but doesnt have all the weaknesses of steel, weaving mat fibers impregnated by resin and then curing the resin is the main method used for this application.
Other applications include prestressing and Post-tensioning Tendons and Pre-Engineered Structural Systems.
FRP has many advantages in that it is low weight, high strength, easy to erect and corrosion resistant, it also leads to lower construction and material costs and higher life cycle period conpared to traditional buildings.
The only barrier at the moment is presented by the lack of acceptance into building codes around the world so it has been limited to smaller applications.
Emerging Technology 4
Precast Hybrid Moment Resistant Frames
earthquake disasters around the globe have prompted research into structural elements that can remain structural integrity after seismic activity.
A new framing system has been developed by Pankow Builders that can absord seismic energy independant of the structural members and delivers a superior post elastic response.
The PMHR Frame consists of a column and beam connection that joins in a both elestic and non-elastic method, this way the seismic energy is concentrated in the connection and not throughout the structural members. Throughout testing the connection remained minimally damaged and no such damage to the actual structure in a 4% shift.
The concept isolates and separates the strength and energy absorption components of the joint, whilst steel within the joint is able to resist the live, dead and seismic loads of the building.
This provides much more security and peace of mind to people living in earthquake prone areas and very minimal damage would occur to the structure leaving it inhabitable after a disaster and possibly with very little to no repairs.
Throughout research the technology has been so succesful that it has been used in many projects throughout the United States including a 40-storey apartment high-rise in san Francisco.
Emerging Technology 3
Recycled Tyre Rubber in Concrete
Used as an aggregate in concrete mixes recycled tyre rubber provides many advantages to the environment and to the construction industry.
There are more 250 million scrap tyres disposed of every year in the United States alone, this is a huge environmental factor which can be offset by the use of tyre rubber particles in concrete mixes as aggregate. Concrete has low tensile strength, low ductility, low energy absorbtion and is prone to shrinking and cracking throuhgout the curing process. Research has found that the use of tyre rubber helps improve these weaknesses.
In application the rubber would have to replace small quantities of the course and fine aggregates at a time as full replacement would hinder the concretes strength properties. Overall the rubber should not exceed 20% of the overall aggregates used in the concrete cement mix.
research conducted in laboratory conditions suggested that the use of rubber overall greatly reduced drying shrinkage, brittleness and elastic modulus, which in turn improves durability and serviceability of concrete cement.
the main setbacks at the moment in furthering its applications are the high cost in producing the rubber particles and the large variation in strengths and affects to concrete based on ration and creation methods.
Used as an aggregate in concrete mixes recycled tyre rubber provides many advantages to the environment and to the construction industry.
There are more 250 million scrap tyres disposed of every year in the United States alone, this is a huge environmental factor which can be offset by the use of tyre rubber particles in concrete mixes as aggregate. Concrete has low tensile strength, low ductility, low energy absorbtion and is prone to shrinking and cracking throuhgout the curing process. Research has found that the use of tyre rubber helps improve these weaknesses.
In application the rubber would have to replace small quantities of the course and fine aggregates at a time as full replacement would hinder the concretes strength properties. Overall the rubber should not exceed 20% of the overall aggregates used in the concrete cement mix.
research conducted in laboratory conditions suggested that the use of rubber overall greatly reduced drying shrinkage, brittleness and elastic modulus, which in turn improves durability and serviceability of concrete cement.
the main setbacks at the moment in furthering its applications are the high cost in producing the rubber particles and the large variation in strengths and affects to concrete based on ration and creation methods.
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