You are probably browsing this website on your smart phone. In fact, most Internet users now. You unplugged the charger this morning. Juice all day long. Hopefully tomorrow your device will continue to work as well as it does today. However, at 3 months, you may notice that the battery life starts to decline. I got a scratch on my screen. Nothing to write home about. yet. Maybe the volume buttons get stuck sometimes. Just like you, your device ages. And, for the same reason, the principle of entropy, where the energy available in the system decreases with each conversion. Okay, it might also be related to planned obsolescence, but above all, it boils down to the second law of thermodynamics. Like a teenager’s bedroom.
The materials used in our civilization are doomed to the same irreversible deterioration over time.Concrete starts to crack and roads start to pit. So the holy grail of infrastructure is self-healing material It can stand the test of time. A bit like how our own organism heals its own tissues. This problem is especially pronounced on roads that can withstand the movement of thousands of vehicles each day and drastic changes in ambient temperature that cause the asphalt to expand and contract. Fortunately, Swiss and Dutch researchers are working to develop a new type of asphalt that can prevent itself from decaying.
road of the future
Delft University of Technology is currently engaged in a unique kind of research. self-healing asphaltA conductive material with fibers and fillers that act as a closed circuit. When the first cracks start to appear, instead of sending steam rollers and lorries carrying asphalt, they run an electric current through the area. The heat generated by the electricity melts the bitumen and seals the crack instantly.
Meanwhile, researchers at ETH University (Switzerland), in collaboration with Empa, chose to use electromagnetics and nanotechnology to address the same problem.their smart road The system is based on the addition of magnetic nanoparticles to the asphalt mixture during the manufacturing stage. When exposed to an electromagnetic field, the particles heat up and melt the bitumen, sealing cracks that develop over time. Of course, this system can’t fix large dents, but it can help combat the first symptoms of corruption.
They are self-healing material now more expensive, smart road Solved. Currently, analysis of video footage from miles of asphalt is often required to assess the actual condition of the road, and detecting and correcting potholes in the road is costly and cumbersome. can be a process. That’s why Kansas City’s chief innovation officer, Bob Bennett, has created a system that combines sensors and predictive algorithms to predict potentially problematic locations. Bennett believes the new system can predict potholes with a success rate of about 85%.
C.Concrete has its own say
Recently, we talked about Rosenis. self-healing concrete Designed to withstand extreme conditions such as those found in offshore wind farms. Similarly, scientists at Binghamton University (NY, EEUU) and Rutgers University have proposed solutions to tackle the country’s aging infrastructure. When it comes to reinforced concrete, the main problem arises from cracks that allow water to reach the metal mesh, which rusts over time.
But this time, the research team chose not to use advanced nanotechnology. Instead, they tapped into one of the oldest and most fascinating creatures ever recorded. Mushrooms, in case you didn’t guess it. Professor Kongrui Jin, who leads the research, said that when mixed with wet concrete, Trichoderma reesei Spores act as powerful allies for repairing the initial cracks in materials. These spores are normally dormant. But as the first cracks begin to open, water and oxygen enter the concrete, activating fungal spores, causing them to germinate and precipitate calcium carbonate to seal the cracks. may follow.this smart material However, the system is still in the very early stages of development, and researchers are still working on adapting the fungus to hostile environments like concrete.
Source: Architect Magazine, Techxplore
