New Construction Technology

[kernals12]

You throw out terms like "revolutionary"  and "ground breaking"  pretty much on everything you post. It's a neat bridge in the link but come get me when 3D printers start constructing even 5% of new spans.

Citation needed.

Also, I think that bridges that are completely immune to rust are a pretty big deal, but what do I know?

[Max Rockatansky]

You throw out terms like "revolutionary"  and "ground breaking"  pretty much on everything you post. It's a neat bridge in the link but come get me when 3D printers start constructing even 5% of new spans.

Citation needed.

Easy, check your own post history.

[Roadgeekteen]

Could railroad bridges be built with this material? 

[kernals12]

You throw out terms like "revolutionary"  and "ground breaking"  pretty much on everything you post. It's a neat bridge in the link but come get me when 3D printers start constructing even 5% of new spans.

Citation needed.

Easy, check your own post history.

I just did, did not find a single other use of "revolutionary" or "groundbreaking"

[kernals12]

Could railroad bridges be built with this material? 

Probably, but who cares?

[kphoger]

Since I did the hard work here, this is an ACTUAL story discussing the bridge in question.

https://www.tidc-utc.org/2021/02/24/the-grist-mill-bridge-in-hampden-maine-now-open/

(Also kudos to my alma mater on this one)

This results in a bridge that is lightweight, easy to install, and best of all, immune to rust. I'm guessing this bridge will be the first of tens of thousands. And I'm sure they're working on flyover ramps made out of this stuff.

I'm sure they aren't "working on flyover ramps made out of this stuff".

Since January, a handful of motorists in the town of Hampden, Maine have been experiencing a revolution right under their wheels.

Could railroad bridges be built with this material? 

Probably, but who cares?

The link in your post takes me to a page that doesn't include the word "Maine" or "Hampden" anywhere on it.  Yet, curiously, the article linked to says, "In a UK first, on-site 3D reinforced concrete printing is set to deliver environmental, cost and community benefits for Britain's new high-speed rail network."

[HighwayStar]

Only people inside the US matter?

US policy is made for the benefit of US constituents, not foreign nationals. Russian policy is made for the benefit of Russian constituents, not foreign nationals. Chinese policy is made for the benefit of Chinese constituents, not foreign nationals. Indian policy.....

Lame-ass nationalism. Got it.

Nationalism is how the world actually works, I did not write the rules, but if you seriously think the politicians running the show in Russia, China, India, or any other major player care about the Florida Keys you are delusional.

[ET21]

Could railroad bridges be built with this material? 

Probably, but who cares?

Transportation cares, businesses care, a good chunk of our economy cares.

[Max Rockatansky]

Could railroad bridges be built with this material? 

Probably, but who cares?

Transportation cares, businesses care, a good chunk of our economy cares.

Don't forget, the OP is a car centric Urbanist.  You say things like "train"  or "bus"  and they are instantly dismissed as falsehoods.

[vdeane]

Don't forget, the OP is a car centric Urbanist.  You say things like "train"  or "bus"  and they are instantly dismissed as falsehoods.

I think anti-Urbanist might be more like it.

[jakeroot]

Don't forget, the OP is a car centric Urbanist.  You say things like "train"  or "bus"  and they are instantly dismissed as falsehoods.

I think anti-Urbanist might be more like it.

He seems to be an urbanist apart from his strong dislike of public transportation.

[hotdogPi]

Don't forget, the OP is a car centric Urbanist.  You say things like "train"  or "bus"  and they are instantly dismissed as falsehoods.

I think anti-Urbanist might be more like it.

He seems to be an urbanist apart from his strong dislike of public transportation.

He isn't. Remember the single family home vs. apartment debate?

[jakeroot]

Don't forget, the OP is a car centric Urbanist.  You say things like "train"  or "bus"  and they are instantly dismissed as falsehoods.

I think anti-Urbanist might be more like it.

He seems to be an urbanist apart from his strong dislike of public transportation.

He isn't. Remember the single family home vs. apartment debate?

Yeah, I do now. I must be thinking of someone else. I definitely recall him indicating that he liked to walk. Does that make him an urbanist?

[skluth]

It looks like they built the bridge out of the same basic material that composes the plastic 2X4s in Home Depot or Lowe's. I'm not sure it's revolutionary, but it's definitely the logical progression for construction based on current known technology and it's good that they built it. What would make it revolutionary would be making it out of all that plastic we hardly recycle and ends up in landfills after we've gone through all the effort of separating it.

[kernals12]

Local officials were on hand to watch a bridge withstand 180,000 pounds of pressure in a small area before finally breaking. The demonstration was at a lab at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan. The bridge in question was reinforced with carbon fiber strands that are .7 inches in diameter, instead of traditional steel rebar.

Carbon fiber is incredibly strong and doesn't rust, making it able to withstand all the road salt they use during Michigan's harsh winters. They predict the bridge will last 100 years, 25 more than conventional ones, and that it will require far less maintenance during that time. It's more expensive upfront but over time, it will be cheaper. Plans are to build 2 such bridges as part of a reconstruction project of I-94 in Detroit.

[SkyPesos]

We know about carbon fiber on transportation infrastructure already. See the Boeing 787.

[sparker]

We know about carbon fiber on transportation infrastructure already. See the Boeing 787.

It's non-resonant either, so consistent shaking or vibration won't affect the concrete around it (rebar is very good at transmitting sonic waves!).  Been used for speaker cones, tonearms, and other structural purposes in the audio industry for over three decades now.  Better to shred/granulate all that coal underground and process it into fiber than burn it these days! 

[kernals12]

The inventor emailed me, saying he hopes this stuff can be on the market soon enough to benefit from the infrastructure bill.

[kernals12]

Highways England is using asphalt enhanced with graphene, layers of carbon atoms only one atom thick, to resurface part of the A1. This is the first time pure graphene has been used in asphalt, one Italian company is selling graphene asphalt, but it's mixed with waste plastic.

Graphene is 200 times stronger than steel on a pound per pound basis and offers extremely high thermal conductivity. Both of those things offer obvious advantage for pavement durability.

[kernals12]

Nationwide Engineering Group of England has used concrete enhanced with graphene (a 2d material consisting of carbon atoms in a hexagonal lattice just one atom thick) on a new residential subdivision to form the building's foundation.

They claim it makes the concrete 30% stronger, reduces water penetration, and most interestingly of all: eliminates the need for rebar. Steel rebar is very troublesome. Over time it corrodes and expands, damaging the concrete. That's what led to the collapse of the Surfside Condo Complex in Miami. So getting rid of it is a massive advance.

What matters here most is that this is a real commercial application, not a laboratory experiment. This could soon be the go-to material in construction.

[jakeroot]

If you ever go back to school, I have a suggestion for a term paper...

"Innovative Construction Solutions for the 21st Century"

...since you seem to have a lock on the topic.

[kernals12]

If you ever go back to school, I have a suggestion for a term paper...

"Innovative Construction Solutions for the 21st Century"

...since you seem to have a lock on the topic.

Are you being snarky or serious?

[jakeroot]

If you ever go back to school, I have a suggestion for a term paper...

"Innovative Construction Solutions for the 21st Century"

...since you seem to have a lock on the topic.

Are you being snarky or serious?

Nah, not snarky. I'm not like other posters who make fun of you for your topics. I don't mind it at all since I don't see anyone else talking about this stuff.

On the other hand, it is most of your posts, so it would be cool to culminate everything into some paper.

[Road Hog]

Graphenes are cute, but the holy grail is mass production of diamond (hardest-known substance) at scale. That will make space elevators possible.

[kernals12]

Graphenes are cute, but the holy grail is mass production of diamond (hardest-known substance) at scale. That will make space elevators possible.

We already had a discussion about using diamond as an asphalt aggregate. People were skeptical although I imagine that diamond's extremely high thermal conductivity would be a big deal.