Buildings that can “self-heal” before cracks spread or concrete runways that can fill bomb craters to allow planes to continue landing and taking off are being researched and produced by the US military.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the US Department of Defense, is working on a project to produce self-healing concrete for use in military facilities.
In literature and film, concrete is often portrayed as the antithesis of life. However, the BRACE project actually incorporates biological organisms to create a vascular system within concrete.
The BRACE project is expected to last 4.5 years, involving multiple laboratories and military contractors with different approaches to developing the technology.
This circulatory system can heal cracks from the inside before they reach the surface of a structure, allowing concrete to “heal” like living organisms. It can also be used to diagnose why concrete is deteriorating.
“ The central premise of BRACE is that concrete can be infused with the self-repair capabilities commonly found in living organisms, inspired by the human vascular system and vast networks of filamentous fungi that can span large areas similar to buildings, ” DARPA said in a press release, “such systems could provide a healing transport network within the material to repair cracks before they reach the surface and cause damage.”
Scientists will be testing a number of biological approaches inspired by fungi and bacteria, Matthew Pava, program manager in DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, told Popular Mechanics. Enzyme-based approaches and ceramic materials are also being considered. The ultimate goal is to introduce BRACE “into cracks and voids in old concrete to initiate repair, and then remain present to heal additional cracks that appear over time.”
Concrete is a challenging biological environment. It is highly alkaline, “like drain cleaner,” Pava says, and has very few organic compounds, such as proteins, to sustain life. On the other hand, concrete also has its own unique microbiome.
While it's too early to say whether the new concrete could be used in combat zones, DARPA says large structures such as missile silos, naval piers, and tactical roads could benefit from the new technology.
The BRACE project is expected to last 4.5 years, involving multiple laboratories and military contractors with different approaches to developing new concrete production technologies.
The Viet (Source: PopMech)
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