Top Modern Construction Materials Boosting the Sector’s Growth
Traditional concrete can develop cracks through recurring freeze-thaw cycles over time. Cracks expand as it freezes, potentially letting water seep in further pulling it apart. Just as concrete deteriorates, steel structures do too due to inevitable corrosion. The rusted steel eventually wears the entire structure, threatening a crash if not inspected by a safety engineer. Innovations in building materials are rapidly disarming hazards posed by old materials—a British steel company patented a new form of colour-coated steel, galvanized steel, being used as additional protection against adverse environmental factors. Read more
here.
Researchers have pondered whether materials could be made as such to bounce back from harsh conditions and vulnerabilities. How about self-healing concrete? Or recycled waste used in insulation works? The construction industry can shave off billions in reworks and repairs of faulty building work while cutting down greenhouse gas emissions. Day by day, the industry is marching toward a progressive era of reusable construction materials and nullifying options that serve no one.
Modern construction materials breed modern construction methods. They will bring more strength, safety, and cost-efficiency to structures of tomorrow that’ll enhance their longevity and usability.
Here are five new materials boosting the construction sector’s growth.
Self-Healing Concrete
One of the first scientists to create self-healing concrete, Dr. Schlangen of Delft University has demonstrated that the material can be joined back if its half-sliced pieces are put together and heated in a microwave. This technology innovation can save companies $90 million annually.
Self-healing concrete will help build structures that last—from small shops to skyline-expanding high-rises. These structures will carry minimal repairs and would facilitate easier maintenance. Project owners want to ensure their build not only stays functional in its lifetime but offers incremental benefits to end users, for this to become a widespread reality, builders will have to consider self-healing concrete more aggressively since construction costs are higher with regular concrete that also poses durability threats as the climate worsens.
Using the right materials is only half the battle, making decisive shifts on jobsite is the other half. New building materials will need the consensus of all stakeholders down to the last subcontractor on the project. Without it, flaws in construction processes emerge faster than realized which leads to reworks. Contractors are pressed to extend timelines lest quality suffers and to ensure they’re on track, they use punch lists.
Get more info on how best can punch lists be optimized for maximum results.
Eco-Friendly Bricks
Studying the effect of built environments on occupants, safety and environment specialists are closer to home with their understanding of indoor air quality. Many indoor air cleansing solutions have been introduced but none as efficient to recognize as a permanent fix to continuing air contamination affecting respiratory health. With traditional solutions, more carbon is emitted into the atmosphere, deteriorating outdoor air as well.
Thanks to Cal Poly School of Architecture’s assistant professor, Carmen Trudell, who invented a passive air-cleaning system that puts bricks used on the building’s exterior to filter out toxins and pollutants in the air as it lives inside the space. The air will get funnelled into an internal cyclone filtration section separating heavy elements and dropping them down a hopper at the wall’s base. This pulls clean air into the building with maintenance being only to the extent of removing and emptying the hopper periodically.
Energy-Efficient Cement
Building energy-efficient structures will never go out of style—and, the industry is evolving at breakneck speed to accommodate environmental costs into the build process. One such endeavour is to make cement perform as an energy-saving agent through the process of polycondensation of raw materials including industrial waste, silica, water, alkali, and river sand. Conducted at room temperature, the process uses less energy.
As is popularly echoed, the future is in part influenced by the past—so when researchers look to
eco-friendly new construction materials, they need to grasp what didn’t work with old alternatives. A surge in interest in Roman concrete has thus been stumbled upon as it embodies less energy than the popularly used Portland cement while being much more durable beyond the traditional lifespan of modern architecture. Unexpected weather incidents endanger our infrastructure and buildings for which stronger and energy-efficient materials are important to ensure projects endure the coming times.
Laminated Timber
Widely used 50 years ago, timber’s use is declining today. But cutting-edge engineering has made timber stronger and durable to support heavy structures.
Researchers have developed laminated timber, also called glulam, to create a more water-resistant and durable replacement for wood. This has made timber highly cost-efficient with its current use in projects saving wood usage. Wooden structures absorb a ton of energy and this development couldn’t have been more opportune. Substituting wood with laminated timber would cut down about 3,000 tons of carbon emissions gradually increasing as more builders adopt it.
Reprocessed Scrap Material
Turns out the trash isn’t trash, after all, recycling can make the worst material beneficial. Builders have pioneered the use of recycled scrap such as cardboard, plastics, leftover metal to build structures registering minimal carbon footprints.
When cardboard’s recycled, it’s used for high-quality cellulose insulation that outperforms traditional insulation. Replacing dry processes that generated incalculable filth and dust, cellulose insulation renders air clean. Another scrap material recycled is plastic—from small bags to large containers, recycled plastic can last a few times that cuts new plastic production by a significant number. An unprecedented innovation, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) carpets have given a new lease of life to plastics, turning them into fibrous soft reusable carpets with no expiry date that can be used in insulation.
Closing Comments
Making materials sustainable isn’t a fad. It’s here to stay. It has been having a big impact on construction in multiple ways beyond direct construction activities. It has helped construction companies expand engineering teams for R&D and safety implementation as these new building materials require periodic upgrades like any new technology.
As the industry opens up to eco-friendly substitutes, construction projects would gradually substantially reduce harmful environmental effects. Conscientious builders will get in on the fun early on, leverage competitive edge, and win more bids and public goodwill as they seek to improve the economic status of the sector through redefining how materials are made and used.
6 Types of Industrial Robots
Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, we are gonna have a look at
6 Types of Industrial Robots. Industrial and commercial robots make work easier and increase efficiency and accuracy. This of course means more profits for the industries that employ these robots. The modern robots are nothing like the robots of yesteryear. These older robots were bulky and took too long to program. Today’s robots are collaborative robots (cobots), designed to work alongside humans in a shared work area.
These robots are easily programmed, are flexible and they are a much-needed supplement to skilled workers.
Cobots have highly sophisticated sensors that allow them to work near humans. Once they sense a human presence, they either slow down or shut down accordingly. They are very useful in situations where high accuracy is needed, or jobs that involve repetitive movement.
There are many types of industrial robots, with the main ones being:
#1. Articulated
The articulated robot design has rotational joints which can be anything between a simple two jointed structure to complex ones with 10 joints that interact, or more. The arms are connected to a base which has a twistable joint. The arm links are connected to each other by rotary joints. Each joint is known as an axis and it provides the robot with an extra degree of freedom to swivel. Industrial robots mostly have about four or six axes.
The articulated
commercial robots are powered by different means, which includes, but is not limited to electric motors. Most robots used in industries worldwide are articulated robots. Articulated robots can be utilized in material handling and removal among others.
#2. Cartesian
These also go by the name gantry or rectilinear robots. They consist of three linear joints that make use of X, Y and Z or
Cartesian coordinate system. These robots have a wrist attached, which allows rotational movement. These three joints in the form of a prism give a linear movement on the axis.
#3. Cylindrical
This type of robot has at the very least, a single rotary joint at its base, and one slider which connects the joints. Rotational motion is used by the rotary joint along the axis joint, and the slider joint moves in a straight motion. Cylindrical robots work within a cylindrical work envelope.
#4. Polar
These are
also known as spherical robots. Their arms are joined to the base with a joint that twists, and two rotary joints combined with a single linear joint. The axes make a polar co-ordinate and thereby create a spherical-like work envelope.
#5. SCARA
The SCARA acronym means Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm or Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm. This type of robot is normally used in assemblies. This robotic arm is cylindrical in shape and features two joints that are parallel to each other and that give compliance in one chosen plane.
The SCARA is a manipulator that has 4 freedom degrees. It is used to improve repetitiveness and speed in pick and place jobs, or to improve steps in assembly.
#6. Delta
These robots are
spider-like and consist of three arms that join to universal base joints. Delta robots are mostly used in situations where the robot has to pick products in batches and put them in a container or a pattern. Delta robots have added vision capabilities that allow them to distinguish between colors, sizes and shapes. They then pick and place the objects based on a pattern that is pre-programmed.
By design, the Delta robots move at very high speeds and carry out repetitive tasks with speed and consistency. The robots remove the issue of employee fatigue, caused by repetitive movements. They also remove the problem of injuries caused by repetitive motion caused by reaching overhead, bending or working in uncomfortable positions.
Conclusion
Robots are here to stay, and they will only become more sophisticated in the years to come. 10 years ago, robotics was a whole different ball game from today. A lot of research is being conducted every day and improvements made on existing models. Will we be fully dependent on robots for everything in the next century? Only time will tell.