Innovation in prestressed concrete patented
Swiss researchers have patented a process that could help lower the cost and environmental footprint of the world’s most widely used building material, reports Construction Dive in the US.
A team from Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, was recently granted European and U.S. patents for the technology that helps make concrete elements leaner and easier to work with, yet durable and stable.
The new process uses carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) to produce a type of self-prestressed concrete. In laboratory tests, the researchers were able to show that their concrete could bear loads comparable to those that were conventionally prestressed — around three times more than a non-prestressed CFRP concrete element.