[sudo-discuss] Yo Biohackers: civil engineering apps incl. self-repairing concrete

[Patrik D'haeseleer]

Yep, lots of interesting application for biomineralization processes,
including some interest from NASA for making bricks out of lunar or martian
regolith! Some of these ideas have been explored in the IGEM competition.

Lots more details here:

BacillaFilla: Fixing Cracks in Concrete<http://2010.igem.org/Team:Newcastle>

REGObricks <http://2011.igem.org/Team:Brown-Stanford>

Patrik


On Fri, May 31, 2013 at 7:47 PM, GtwoG PublicOhOne <g2g-public01 at att.net>wrote:

>
>
> YOs-
>
> Biohackers take note:
>
>
> http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130520-greening-the-cities-of-tomorrow/all
>
> One of the applications that could go online sooner than later is
> self-repairing concrete.  This makes use of bacteria and a food source,
> mixed into the concrete, to catalyze reactions that seal and bond cracks
> in the concrete over the lifespan of the structure:
>
>
> http://www.raeng.org.uk/international/activities/pdf/frontiers_engineering_symposium/Henk_Jonkers.pdf
>
> The above PDF is a power-point presentation and doesn't include the
> details of the types of bacteria and food sources used, but a keyword
> search of the author may yield results.  This stuff is probably patented
> like crazy, but last I checked, it's OK for people to experiment with
> patented tech on their own, so long as they aren't selling it to others.
>
> Self-repairing concrete could be highly useful in the Bay Area, as it
> would seal small cracks formed during smaller earthquakes, maintaining
> structural integrity of buildings against larger quakes that we know are
> coming (e.g. 30% of a 7.0 on the Hayward Fault over the next couple of
> decades).
>
> Biohackers could get involved in the process of getting these new
> materials approved in CA, performing independent tests, and advising
> building owners of their options for new construction, foundation
> replacement, etc.  This also has potential for do-it-yourself projects
> for home improvement, such as walkways, where the main advantage is
> improved longevity of the work.
>
> -G
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