Advanced Construction Technology

(CL622)

Term Assignment - 4

Advance Construction Material

By

Vivek Makhecha (15BCL061)

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NIRMA UNIVERSITY
AHMEDABAD – 382481
GUJARAT

APRIL-2018
❖ Cobiax
It is the innovative sustainable material that is used in the slab to reduce the slab weight. It is
made up of recycled plastic waste materials.
It is a lightweight void former used in place of the solid concrete within a reinforced slab. This
not only saves valuable materials and energy, but also offers several advantages.
At the center of the Cobiax system is a void former made from plastic, which takes the place of
the solid concrete within the slab. This not only reduces the weight and the amount of concrete
used, but also makes it possible to construct buildings using thinner slabs and significantly larger
span lengths.

The practical modules are available in two versions: Eco-Line and Slim-Line.
the Eco-Line system, the void formers are spherical in shape and boast slab thicknesses ranging
from 40 cm to 70 cm. In the Slim-Line system is ideally suited for slab thicknesses ranging from
20 cm and 45 cm.
The installation is carried out on-site by the contractor at no additional cost. In accordance with
the Cobiax installation plan, the void former modules will be installed between the upper and
lower reinforcement layers. This can be done using pure in-situ concrete or a prefabricated
construction method.

Application:
• offering the best slab construction methods for sustainable building structures. more than
10 million square metres of Cobiax voided flat slabs have been implemented to date,
saving over 1.5 million tonnes of concrete. This also resulted in a reduction in CO2
emissions to the tune of about 130,000 tonnes.
• Cobiax technology can also be easily combined with pre-stressing technology.
Advantages:
• Efficient: Due to their efcient use of materials, Cobiax voided flat slabs are up to 35
percent lighter than reinforced solid concrete slabs. This makes thinner slab thicknesses
and larger span lengths, resulting in maximisation of space. There is also a decreased risk
of deformations and cracks.
• Economic: In contrast to conventional reinforced concrete slabs, Cobiax voided flat slabs
are more cost effective due to less material useage. the dimensions for the foundations
and the entire supporting structure are reduced due to load reduction, saving additional
costs and increasing the available area
• Sustainable: The material-efcient construction process can lead to savings of up to 35
percent for concrete and 20 percent for reinforcing steel. Emissions of toxic pollutants,
such as CO2, are reduced by up to 20 percent. The void formers are made entirely from
recycled plastics and disposal can be avoided.

❖ Graphene
Graphene is a carbon allotrope, on the atomic level shape is 2-D hexagonal lattice, a sheet-like
layer of graphite. It is the fundamental building block of other carbon allotropes such as graphite
and charcoal. Graphene is about 200 times stronger than the high-grade steel.
Graphene has density as low as 1.5-2.0 g/cc, high modulus of elasticity (Young’s modulus: ~1.10
TPa, Tensile strength: ~130 GPa), good resistance to deformation, stretchable by 20-30 %. Also,
graphene is thermally and chemically stable up to 600-degree temperature at ordinary
atmospheric pressure.
An application of this material is that the addition of graphene to cement creates a stronger and
greener environmentally friendly concrete.

❖ Application of graphene oxide (GO):

➢ Researchers from Australia have developed a graphene-cement matrix with enhanced
strength and durability through the incorporation of graphene oxide (GO). They mixed 0.05
to 0.07 wt.% of GO with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and tested various parameters as
highlighted.
➢ Tested results showed improvement flexural strength of an OPC matrix from 41% to 59%
and compressive strength from 15% to 33%. The addition of GO also increases ductility
while decreases the probability of abrupt failure of the concrete.
➢ The research group also have mentioned that adding GO improves pore structure and
decreases total porosity from 32.6% to 28.2%, resulting in superior compressive strength and
greater durability in the finished product.
➢ The addition of GO provides proper hydration of the cement paste and increases the density
of the cement matrix, which toughens the concrete.

❖ Application of functionalized graphene nanosheets (FGN)

➢ functionalized graphene nanosheets (FGN)-Cement composites playing a role in the
composition of mortars. They have studied flow properties, mechanical properties and
microstructure of the cement material.
➢ FGN’s decrease in the fluidity of the composite mixture, as well as a significant
improvement in its mechanical properties. Researchers have optimized for maximum
strength by setting FGN content at 0.02%, resulting in the flexural and compressive strength
at 28 days of 12.917 MPa and 52.42 MPa, respectively.

❖ Advantages:
➢ The addition of graphene also shortens curing times; decreases the amount of cement mixture
required during construction, provides superior performance, prevents premature failure and
can withstand the great stresses caused by explosions and earthquakes.
➢ It also increases the density of the cement matrix, which toughens the concrete.
➢ It is being noted by present research that the compressive strength is increased up to 120%
times than conventional concrete and flexural strength is increased by 30%.