Editor’s Letter

Spring Cleaning: The 5 Tabs Open On My Phone

Where yours is working with concrete, part of my job consists of attempting to keep a cursor over the pulse of interesting findings of (and adjacent to) the industry. Like most, I use my phone for most of my personal social media and to wander through the maze of internet JONATHAN KOZLOWSKI, content. I’ll find a post and leave it as an open tab EDITOR in hopes of returning to it later. Sometimes that

JKOZLOWSKI@ ACBUSINESSMEDIA.COM doesn’t happen. In the interest of spring cleaning, I thought I’d share those here. ➊ Scientists from the University of Manchester set their minds to figure out how construction on other planets could work. Their proposal included AstroCrete–a concrete 300% stronger than ordinary concrete (so they say) made from human fluids from the astronauts themselves. Now, ask yourself, how much water did you need to use on your last placement? ➋ In efforts to reduce the carbon footprint, engineers in Britain urged the government to avoid (but they really mean limit) demolishing buildings. Citing concrete’s natural ability to absorb CO2, they suggested to reuse structures and any concrete infrastructure as much as possible. ➌ Also addressing reducing carbon emissions is the use of “mass timber” in building construction. At 6-in. thick, mass timber is made of planks of wood placed perpendicularly to each other and according to the report, using it in construction can reduce the amount of steel and concrete. Opponents to the concept say that it would more demand for wood products and increase deforestation. ➍ Aimed at use in decorative, countertops, flooring, and more, researchers from Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Spain) have designed and patented HTRANS—a “translucent concrete” made with resin-based 3D printed reinforcement, reducing the production cost by 80% vs. traditional methods. ➎ With a grant from the Department of Energy, an investigation is underway to “explore the electrochemical corrosion degradation science of concrete as it applies to high-level nuclear waste.” The goal is to create a new cement-based material to protect against contamination. The hope is to better understand corrosion in concrete and “prevent corrosion over thousands to, potentially, millions of years.”

Now maybe my phone will run better. Stay safe out there.

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