Civil Engineering | Science Daily
New guide for research on multiblock polymers emerges
Thu, 26/04/2012 - 2:39pmThanks to advances in polymer chemistry and a wide variety of monomer constituents to choose from, the world of multiblock polymers is wide open. These polymers can result in an astonishing array of materials, customizable to almost any specification.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Self-healing concrete?
Thu, 26/04/2012 - 10:50am‘Self-healing’ concrete is being developed. Researchers are using a ground-borne bacteria – bacilli megaterium - to create calcite, a crystalline form of natural calcium carbonate. This can then be used to block the concrete’s pores, keeping out water and other damaging substances to prolong the life of the concrete.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Creating nano-structures from the bottom up
Tue, 24/04/2012 - 12:07pmMicroscopic particles are being coaxed by engineers to assemble themselves into larger crystalline structures by the use of varying concentrations of microscopic particles and magnetic fields.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Ultra lightweight construction is based on hydraulics
Tue, 17/04/2012 - 8:03amMaximum load capacity with minimal consumption of materials – this is how supporting structures in construction should be today. Researchers have now come a great deal closer to achieving this goal. They have constructed a wooden shell which is much thinner than anything deemed possible up to now. With a mere four centimeter thickness the shell spans a surface of over 100 square meters.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
3D planning tool for the city of tomorrow
Fri, 13/04/2012 - 10:11amNoise levels, fine particulate matter, traffic volumes – these data are of interest to urban planners and residents alike. A three-dimensional presentation will soon make it easier to handle them: as the user virtually moves through his city, the corresponding data are displayed as green, yellow or red dots.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Engineers put five-story building on seismic shake table to test earthquake and fire readiness
Fri, 13/04/2012 - 10:09amWhat happens when you put a fully equipped five-story building, which includes an intensive care unit, a surgery suite, piping and air conditioning, fire barriers and even a working elevator, through series of high-intensity earthquakes?
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Power without the cord for small devices
Wed, 11/04/2012 - 8:40amCell phones and flashlights operate by battery without trouble. Yet because of the limited lifespan, battery power is not a feasible option for many applications in the fields of medicine or test engineering, such as implants or probes. Researchers have now developed a process that supplies these systems with power and without the power cord.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
In 1990s, researchers studied secrets of Titanic steel
Tue, 10/04/2012 - 1:06pmEighty-five years after the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic Ocean, scientists have answered one of maritime sleuths’ burning questions about the disaster: Was the steel used to build the ship at fault?
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of notorious pathogens
Wed, 04/04/2012 - 9:00pmScientists have developed a handheld, battery-powered plasma-producing device that can rid skin of bacteria in an instant.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Titanic disaster 'unlikely to happen again'
Wed, 04/04/2012 - 12:51pmA ship science expert says that a seafaring tragedy on the scale of the Titanic disaster is unlikely to happen again. He believes this is due to the many lessons that have been learned as a result of the tragedy 100 years ago.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Oscillating gel acts like artificial skin, giving robots potential ability to 'feel'
Thu, 29/03/2012 - 5:16pmSooner than later, robots may have the ability to "feel." Scientists have now demonstrated that a non-oscillating gel can be resuscitated in a fashion similar to a medical cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Research: 'Buckliball' opens new avenue in design of foldable engineering structures
Mon, 26/03/2012 - 4:08pmInspired by a toy, the 'buckliball' -- a collapsible structure fabricated from a single piece of material -- represents a new class of 3-D, origami-like structures.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Controlling light at will: Metamaterials will change optics
Sun, 18/03/2012 - 2:39pmEngineers believe that continued advances in creating ever-more exotic and sophisticated human-made materials will greatly improve their ability to control light at will.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
NASA sub-scale solid-rocket motor tests material for Space Launch System
Thu, 15/03/2012 - 9:42amA sub-scale solid rocket motor designed to mimic NASA's Space Launch System, or SLS, booster design successfully was tested today by engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The 20-second firing tested new insulation materials on the 24-inch-diameter, 109-inch-long motor. The motor is a scaled down, low-cost replica of the solid rocket motors that will boost SLS off the launch pad.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Potentially game-changing advances in energy materials
Tue, 06/03/2012 - 3:25pmSpecific advances in materials and manufacturing can deliver significant energy, environmental, and economic impacts to U.S. businesses in as soon as two to ten years, according to a new study.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Advancing understanding of energy storage mechanisms
Mon, 05/03/2012 - 4:07pmMaterials researchers have given the engineering world a better look at the inner functions of the electrodes of supercapacitors -- the low-cost, lightweight energy storage devices used in many electronics, transportation and many other applications.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Spider silk conducts heat as well as metals
Mon, 05/03/2012 - 2:26pmResearchers have discovered that spider silk is surprisingly good at transferring heat. Spider silk, in fact, conducts heat as well or better than most metals.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
In space and on Earth, why build it, when a robot can build it for you?
Thu, 01/03/2012 - 12:32pmLike something straight out of “Star Wars,” armies of robots could nimbly be crawling up towers and skyscrapers to make repairs in the not-so-distant future, so humans don’t have to.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
'Miracle material' graphene is thinnest known anti-corrosion coating
Wed, 22/02/2012 - 2:31pmNew research has established the "miracle material" called graphene as the world's thinnest known coating for protecting metals against corrosion.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering
Virtual reality supports planning by architects
Wed, 15/02/2012 - 9:28amEven the most exact construction plan lacks many details and design options. The building owner needs imagination to obtain an idea of the constructed building. Now, new 3D video glasses provide a true representation in virtual reality. With the help of integrated high-resolution motion sensors, the virtual environment adapts to the natural movement of the head in real time.
Categories: Computing in Civil Engineering