混凝土中缺陷可以增加它的强度
By optimizing the imperfections in concrete, manufacturers could make the material tougher and stronger-allowing builders to use less of it. Christopher Intagliata reports.
通过优化混凝土，建材可以变得更坚韧，从而减少混凝土用量。克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔报道。
撰文/播音：克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔（Christopher Intagliata）
翻译：郭鑫鹏
审校：丁可含
Concrete is one of the most widely used materials on the planet. “And this consumption comes with a heavy ecological price.” Rouzbeh Shahsavari, a materials scientist at Rice University. “Around 5 to 10 percent of total CO2 emissions comes from concrete production.”
混凝土是我们广泛使用的材料之一。“混凝土的使用也伴随着巨大的生态代价。”莱斯大学材料科学家鲁兹贝赫·夏萨瓦瑞说，“〖CO〗_2排放的5%到10%来源于混凝土生产。”
One way to reduce those emissions, he says, would be to increase the strength and toughness of concrete. So you need less of it in construction. But to make something stronger, you need to understand its weaknesses.
他认为，可以通过增加混凝土的强度，减少用量，来实现减排。但是为了让一件事变得更强，你需要理解它的弱点。
So Shahsavari and his team studied the defects in a rock called tobermorite. (TO-ber-MOR-ite) The rock is an analog for wet cement, the main ingredient in concrete. And they found that certain defects in the rock actually made the rock tougher, if they were aligned in a specific configuration. Sounds counterintuitive: Defects a good thing?
夏萨瓦瑞和他的团队研究了一种被称作“雪硅钙石”的岩石的弱点。这种岩石的性质很像混凝土的主要原料——湿水泥。他们发现，如果将这种岩石的弱点以某种方式组合起来，实际上反而会使它变得更坚固。听起来和直觉不符：弱点也有好处？
“Defects are typically considered a bad feature of material. But when it comes to complex systems, like cement or concrete, it’s not the case. It may actually be an opportunity to introduce toughness, or get something better out of it.” The study is in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. [Ning Zhang, Philippe Carrez, and Rouzbeh Shahsavari, Screw Dislocation-Induced Strengthening-Toughening Mechanisms in Complex, Layered Materials: The Case Study of Tobermorite]
“弱点通常被认为是材料的一个不好的特性。但是在水泥和混凝土这样复杂的系统中，弱点带来的效应就不一样了。 弱点也有可能会增加材料的韧性，或者有其他一些好处。”研究发表在期刊《ACS应用材料和界面》上。
Next step, Shahsavari says, would be to optimize concrete recipes-to use these defects in their favor. Play with manufacturing temperatures, or alter the ratios of impurities in the mix. “Since we’re using it pretty much in every building, every bridge, every highway in all parts of the world, even a slight impact in the performance could have a huge consequence in terms of energy consumption, CO2 footprint, and all those things.” And take a little concrete out of the concrete jungle.
夏萨瓦瑞说，研究的下一步是优化混凝土的配方，想办法有利地利用这些缺陷。调整一下加工温度上，或者改变混合时杂质的比例。“在世界上几乎每一座建筑、桥梁以及每一条高速路都在使用它，所以很微小的性能差异都会对能量损耗、〖CO〗_2排放等等，造成巨大的后果。 ”所以我们通过优化混凝土来减少用量吧。
-Christopher Intagliata
京ICP备11000850号-1 
京公网安备11010502039775号
信息网络传播视听节目许可证0111611号
国家科技基础条件平台
© 2011- 版权所有：中国数字科技馆 未经书面许可任何人不得复制或镜像
未经书面许可任何人不得复制或镜像
京ICP备11000850号-1
京公网安备11010502039775号 信息网络传播视听节目许可证0111611号
国家科技基础条件平台