Construction News

December 24, 2024

Top Headlines

The Physics of Random Stacking: Perspectives on Stability and Chaos

Dec. 17, 2024 — Pile up blocks until the tower collapses. But why does the tower always end up collapsing? Is it possible that it can be built ad infinitum? A new study explores the fascinating and complex dynamics of the stacking of blocks subjected to ...

Scientists Develop 3D Concrete Printing Method That Captures Carbon Dioxide

Dec. 16, 2024 — Scientists have developed a 3D concrete printing method that captures carbon, demonstrating a new pathway to reduce the environmental impact of the construction ...

ODS FeCrAl Alloys Endure Liquid Metal Flow at 600 °C Resembling a Fusion Blanket Environment

Nov. 25, 2024 — Researchers explored protective coatings to resist corrosion in fusion reactors. They tested -Al2O3 oxide layers on ODS alloys in a high-temperature, flowing lithium-lead environment. Even bare ODS ...

Carpet Fibers Stop Concrete Cracking

Nov. 11, 2024 — Engineers have found a way to make stronger and crack-resistant concrete with scrap carpet fibers, rolling out the red carpet for sustainability in the construction ...

Latest Headlines

updated 8:09pm EST

Building Safer Cities With AI: Machine Learning Model Enhances Urban Resilience Against Liquefaction

Oct. 28, 2024 — In earthquake-prone areas like Japan, there is a need for better prediction of soil stability to mitigate liquefaction risks. Towards this end, ...

Advancement in 3D-Printed Concrete Promises Strength, Durability and Lower Carbon Emissions

Oct. 25, 2024 — Researchers have created a graphene-enhanced, 3D-printable concrete that improves strength and reduces carbon emissions by 31%, advancing sustainable ...

New Origami-Inspired System Turns Flat-Pack Tubes Into Strong Building Materials

Sep. 23, 2024 — Engineers have designed an innovative tubular structural system that can be packed flat for easier transport and pop up into strong building ...

Engineers 3D Print Sturdy Glass Bricks for Building Structures

Sep. 19, 2024 — Engineers developed a new kind of reconfigurable masonry made from 3D-printed, recycled glass. The bricks could be reused many times over in building facades and internal ...

Tougher Concrete, Inspired by Bone

Sep. 16, 2024 — Researchers used robotics and additive manufacturing to toughen cement-based material with precisely placed hollow tubes. The result is more than 5 times tougher than ...

Strongest Battery Paves Way for Light, Energy-Efficient Vehicles

Sep. 10, 2024 — When cars, planes, ships or computers are built from a material that functions as both a battery and a load-bearing structure, the weight and energy consumption are radically reduced. A research ...

New Tool to Analyze Embodied Carbon in More Than 1 Million Buildings in Chicago

Sep. 4, 2024 — The impact of embodied carbon in the built environment has been difficult to assess, due to a lack of data. To address that knowledge gap civil and ...

A Double Twist Makes Cracking Easier to Resist

Sep. 3, 2024 — Additive manufacturing, precision robotics and architected design markedly increase crack resistance in ...

Used Concrete Transformed Into New Bricks While Trapping CO2

Aug. 7, 2024 — Researchers have turned concrete from a demolished school building and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air into new blocks strong enough to build a house with. The process involved grinding the old ...

A Blueprint for Building the Future: Eco-Friendly 3D Concrete Printing

Aug. 2, 2024 — Scientists are improving 3D concrete printing construction technology with rigorous research to make printable materials stronger, more sustainable and better ...

Molecular Sponge for the Electronics of the Future

June 17, 2024 — An international research team has succeeded in developing a new type of material in the rather young research field of covalent organic frameworks. The new two-dimensional polymer is characterized ...

From Seashells to Cement, Nature Inspires Tougher Building Material

June 11, 2024 — Inspired by the material that makes up oyster and abalone shells, engineers have created a new cement composite that is 17 times more crack-resistant than standard cement and 19 times more able to ...

Wind Farms Are Cheaper Than You Think -- And Could Have Prevented Fukushima, Says Global Review

May 28, 2024 — Offshore wind could have prevented the Fukushima disaster, according to a review of wind ...

Innovative Material for Sustainable Building

May 24, 2024 — Researchers introduce a polymer-based material with unique properties. This material allows sunlight to enter, maintains a more comfortable indoor climate without additional energy, and cleans itself ...

What Is the Carbon Footprint of a House in Japan?

May 15, 2024 — Researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis on the carbon footprint of constructing a wooden house in Japan. The team found that the estimated carbon footprint of a house in Japan is 38 tons of ...

Innovation Promises to Prevent Power Pole-Top Fires

Apr. 30, 2024 — Engineers in Australia have found a new way to make power-pole insulators resistant to fire and electrical sparking, promising to prevent dangerous pole-top fires and reduce blackouts. Pole-top fires ...

Bridge in a Box: Unlocking Origami's Power to Produce Load-Bearing Structures

Mar. 18, 2024 — Load-bearing structures like bridges and shelters can be made with origami modules -- versatile components that can fold compactly and adapt into different shapes -- engineers have ...

UBC Okanagan Researchers Look to the Past to Improve Construction Sustainability

Feb. 23, 2024 — Researchers are revisiting old building practices -- the use of by-products and cast-offs -- as a way to improve building materials and sustainability of the trade. A technique known as rammed earth ...

Physicists Develop More Efficient Solar Cell

Feb. 20, 2024 — Physicists have used complex computer simulations to develop a new design for significantly more efficient solar cells than previously available. A thin layer of organic material, known as tetracene, ...

3D Printed Nanocellulose Upscaled for Green Architectural Applications

Feb. 7, 2024 — For the first time, a hydrogel material made of nanocellulose and algae has been tested as an alternative, greener architectural material. The study shows how the abundant sustainable material can be ...

Improving Fuel Cell Durability With Fatigue-Resistant Membranes

Feb. 6, 2024 — In hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyte membranes frequently undergo deformation and develop cracks during operation. A research team has recently introduced a fatigue-resistant polymer electrolyte ...

Researchers Propose AI-Guided System for Robotic Inspection of Buildings, Roads and Bridges

Jan. 30, 2024 — Our built environment is aging and failing faster than we can maintain it. Recent building collapses and structural failures of roads and bridges are indicators of a problem that's likely to get ...

How Does Corrosion Happen? New Research Examines Process on Atomic Level

Jan. 3, 2024 — New research reveals how corrosion happens on the atomic ...

Computational Method Discovers Hundreds of New Ceramics for Extreme Environments

Jan. 3, 2024 — If you have a deep-seated, nagging worry over dropping your phone in molten lava, you're in luck. Materials scientists have developed a method for rapidly discovering a new class of materials ...

Veins of Bacteria Could Form a Self-Healing System for Concrete Infrastructure

Dec. 8, 2023 — In hopes of producing concrete structures that can repair their cracks, researchers are putting a new twist on an old trick for improving the durability of concrete. Fiber reinforcement has been ...

Recycling Concrete Using Carbon Can Reduce Emissions and Waste

Dec. 4, 2023 — Amid the rubble of large-sale earthquake, war or other disaster -- and as ageing buildings and infrastructure are replaced -- mountains of concrete are often taken to landfill or pounded into rubble ...

Autonomous Excavator Constructs a 6-Meter-High Dry-Stone Wall

Nov. 22, 2023 — Researchers taught an autonomous excavator to construct dry stone walls itself using boulders weighing several tons and demolition ...

New Ultra Stainless Steel for Hydrogen Production

Nov. 17, 2023 — A research project has made a brand-new breakthrough over conventional stainless steel and the development of stainless steel for hydrogen ...

AI Trained to Identify Least Green Homes

Nov. 2, 2023 — First of its kind AI-model can help policy-makers efficiently identify and prioritize houses for retrofitting and other decarbonizing ...

Preventing Catastrophes With Next-Generation Sensors

Oct. 18, 2023 — As the wind and rain pound the blades of a wind turbine, researchers carefully monitor screens, hundreds of kilometers away analyzing if the blade's coatings can withstand the onslaught. While ...