Nano-cement could make concrete piles intelligent
Concrete piles could, in the future, provide feedback about the condition of the ground around them, or the building that they support.
We have looked several times at how changing soil conditions can be bad news for pile foundations, as shifts in density and hidden underground cracks can affect their ability to bear a load.
However, engineering research at the University of Houston could soon make nano-cement – a cementitious substance that contains piezomaterials – a reality in the years to come.
The research is currently looking at options for using the material in the drilling of offshore oil wells, but the same principles could also be applied to concrete piles.
By adding nanoscale fragments of iron, calcium and silica to cement, it can be made to change electrically when it undergoes a change of temperature or is exposed to mechanical stress.
“It’s sort of like your skin – when someone touches your skin, you can feel it; you can feel the pressure,” says the developer, Cumaraswamy Vipulanandan.
By using this to provide feedback to the builders above, oil drills – and perhaps ultimately piling rigs too – can alert the workmen to any unusual conditions below, and allow construction to halt if a crack or leak occurs.