Bendable Concrete
Written by Beth Flanagan
The future of earthquake proofing has arrived. Its name? Bendable concrete. Professor Victor Li at the University of Michigan developed a self-healing, fiber-reinforced bendable concrete that is 500 times more resistant to cracking than the regular variety.
And it’s 40% lighter in weight. This revolutionary material, known as ECC concrete, is designed with maximum flexibility due to the tiny fibers that take up about 2% of the mixture’s volume. All it needs is a little water, CO2, and tender loving care to heal breakages after stress.
The performance of ECC has been measured via an October 2002 patch repair on the Curtis Road Bridge in Ann Arbor. Seven years of freezing and thawing cycles later, you can see the difference between the ECC patch and the concrete patch placed next to it; the ECC patch proves to have much better crack control.
No, concrete is not really eco-friendly, but think of all the demolished concrete that ends up in our landfills because of its lack of durability and sustainability - this material will hold up under severe loading and won’t need to be demolished. Plus it’s 37% cheaper and produces 39% less carbon dioxide than regular concrete.
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