Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


New building material “memory steel” reinforces concrete structures without hydraulic prestressing
By Edsel Cook // Jan 27, 2019

Swiss researchers have pioneered a new type of steel for the construction industry. Called "memory steel," the alloy eschews the need for the complex process of hydraulic prestressing, stated a Newswise article.

Brighteon.TV

Concrete buildings rely on steel reinforcements to stiffen their frames. The metal used in these structures are usually prestressed through hydraulic means.

A complicated network of devices apply the hydraulic stress needed by steel reinforcement. The tension cables are directed by ducts, anchors transfer the force to the right places, and hydraulic jacks support heavy loads.

These devices need a lot of room in order to work properly. Modern prestressed concrete structures are designed with the space to accommodate this hydraulic network.

Older structures may not have enough room for some or even all of these devices. They are much more difficult to reinforce, so efforts to improve their structural integrity are more likely to fail.

The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and building materials company re-fer AG have come up with a better alternative. They spent the last 15 years developing a selection of iron-based shape memory alloys.

From carbon fiber to nickel-titanium alloy to "memory steel"

Shape memory metals shrink when they are heated. This can be done by running an electric current through the material or bathing them with heat from infrared radiators.

After they are "cooked," the shape memory steel will prestress a concrete structure on a permanent basis. There is therefore no need to build and install hydraulic prestressing apparatuses that require so much room.

Empa and re-fer AG have secured the name "memory steel" for their new product. They also reported successful results for early projects using the shape memory alloy. One of the pilot programs used the new metal to reinforce different kinds of concrete slabs.

Memory steel is the culmination of developmental efforts that date back to the 2000s. Empa started out by creating carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) that could also be used to prestressing concrete.

They used their work with CFRPs as a stepping stone to develop shape memory alloys capable of reinforcing concrete. Their initial alloy was made up of nickel and titanium. While effective, it was also too costly for mass production.

By 2009, Empa researchers created a new shape memory alloy that used much cheaper iron. Three years later, several of these researchers founded re-fer AG to produce and commercialized the alloy.

Taking some of the load off old concrete structures

Every new door, lift shaft, and window that gets added to a building also weakens the load-bearing structure. There are also industrial buildings that needed to strengthen their existing suspended slabs. These older structures will have limited space to fit conventional reinforcement methods.

This is where memory steel comes in. One proposed method calls for a strip of the shape alloy steel to be attached to the bottom of the ceiling. The strip is heated so that it shrinks to the right size.

Another method sets the metal inside the concrete. For this method, construction workers will mill a groove into the surface of the slab that can fit a ribbed reinforcement bar of memory steel. The groove is packed with mortar and the profile is heated with electricity. Or the bar can also be embedded in a new layer of shotcrete instead.

Empa researchers believe their memory steel could be used to make precast concrete parts in previously impossible shapes. Hydraulic prestressing causes severe friction in highly curved surfaces, but the shape memory alloy can eliminate the friction.

FutureScienceNews.com has more articles about new alloys that can revolutionize the way we build structures.

Sources include:

Newswise.com

Phys.org



Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.