| At first blush, the scenario seems surreal, | | | | At the forefront of research is Dr. Victor C. Li,the E. |
| counter-intuitive and altogether impossible. A 70-ton | | | | Benjamin Wylie Collegiate Professor of Civil and |
| U.S. Army M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank crossing a | | | | Environmental Engineering and professor of Materials |
| bridge constructed entirely of composite plastic | | | | Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, |
| seems both sheer folly and a recipe for disaster. | | | | whose work dates back to 1990. He delivered |
| The reality is, unlikely though it seems, the world's | | | | keynote addresses on ECC at conferences in South |
| first such bridge exists at Fort Bragg, NC and the M1 | | | | Africa last November and Chicago last June. |
| first rolled over it during a demonstration last | | | | "Because ECC maintains all the advantageous |
| summer. The bridge built of material developed by | | | | properties of normal concrete, but also incorporates |
| Axion International of New Providence, NJ flexed as | | | | metal-like ductility and self-healing functionality, the |
| designed and returned to its original position after the | | | | range of applications can be greatly expanded too |
| tank crossed. The long-term implications and | | | | much beyond what concrete has traditionally been |
| applications of such technology seem boundless. | | | | used for," says Dr. Li, also a senior partner in a small |
| Proprietary technology developed in consort with | | | | consulting company (LFL & Associates) working to |
| scientists from Rutgers University is applied to | | | | bring the technology to market. "The technology is |
| non-biodegradable items such as milk jugs, electronics | | | | ripe for a variety of commercial applications and |
| housing and shampoo bottles that usually wind up | | | | some government agencies can help accelerate the |
| choking landfills. The process involves blending the | | | | process." |
| plastics, melting them in an extruder and molding | | | | Under the watchful eye of the Michigan Department |
| functional building shapes. The result is an inert, | | | | of Transportation, ECC was tested on a patch repair |
| thermoplastic material that is structurally stronger | | | | of a bridge deck in Ann Arbor in 2002 and a link-slab |
| than other non-structural plastic lumber. | | | | for a bridge deck in Ypsilanti in 2005. A 60-story |
| "By taking plastic that would otherwise wind up in | | | | residential tower completed in Osaka, Japan in 2008 |
| landfills and recycling it into next-generation building | | | | used ECC in the coupling beams throughout the |
| materials, Axion is helping to save the environment | | | | building's core. |
| while creating infrastructure products for bridges that | | | | OTHER PRODUCTS OF NOTE |
| are strong enough to drive a tank over," proclaims | | | | Paint based on the human skin's healing abilities is |
| Axion CEO James Kerstein on the corporate website. | | | | being developed by researchers from the Fraunhofer |
| The product resists rot and corrosion, resulting in | | | | Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and |
| significant maintenance savings, and is both 100 | | | | Automation IPA in Stuttgart, Germany together with |
| percent recycled and 100 percent | | | | colleagues from Duisburg-EssenUniversity. |
| infrastructure-ready. Though not yet code listed by | | | | Researchers there are working to perfect |
| the International Code Council (ICC), the | | | | electroplated layers with embedded nano-capsules |
| thermoplastics have undergone testing by the | | | | filled with liquid that ruptures when a scratch occurs |
| American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) | | | | to spill healing agents into the damaged area. |
| and can replace wood, steel and concrete in bridge | | | | Celanese Emulsion Polymers rolled out low VOC |
| structures. Fort Bragg's bridge has a 73-ton rating for | | | | (Volatile Organic Compounds), eco-friendly, |
| tracked vehicles, like tanks, and an 88-ton rating for | | | | waterborne interior paints at Paint India held in |
| wheeled vehicles. | | | | Mumbai in early March. The water-based paint retains |
| The product is lab and field tested by the U.S. Army | | | | high-performance characteristics such as superior wet |
| Corps of Engineers, military purchasing departments, | | | | scrub resistance. |
| Rutgers, the University of Illinois and the American | | | | As green building moves from trend to mainstream, |
| Association of Railroading Test Track. Axion's | | | | designers and contractors continue to develop |
| technology has already resulted in the installation of | | | | innovative ways to do more with the materials at |
| more than 200,000 railroad crossties across the | | | | hand. Rather than being burned, rubber tires are now |
| United States and can also be used for marine pilings. | | | | recycled and used in a variety of ways ranging from |
| ENGINEERED CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITE | | | | backyard mulch to kitchen floor tiles. Demolition |
| Development of Engineered Cementitious Composite | | | | waste is regularly re-purposed and re-used on |
| (ECC) - bendable concrete with self-healing properties | | | | construction sites. |
| - has come in response to concrete's brittleness, lack | | | | It's a brave new world and, as OMNIBUILD LLC |
| of durability and failure under strain. Initially used to | | | | founder John Mingione told Construction Digital nearly |
| enhance the safety of buildings in active seismic | | | | two years ago: "It's simple - if you don't get ahead |
| zones, ECC has applications across the design | | | | of this, if you're not in it now, then you're going to |
| spectrum. | | | | get lost in this business. |