Concrete is a sturdy, green, and economic building material. And, believe it or not, scientists have figured out how to add strength and green sustainability to an already incredible product. How did they do it? Scientists have discovered how to add a material called graphene to the concrete. Graphene is one of the strongest materials ever discovered, and, amazingly, it’s only one-atom thick, and entirely two dimensional. It’s a hexagonal structure removed from graphite. (The science behind its structure is complicated).
The only downside to graphene? It’s incredibly expensive (unlike shotcrete), and it’s in experimental forms, not widely used. But, let’s imagine that graphene could be used, economically, in both traditional and shotcrete products. Here’s what would happen. Graphene makes concrete considerably stronger (although concrete is already an incredibly durable and strong building material), four times as strong. The addition of it to concrete makes it a Superman-type concrete. It also makes the concrete considerably more water resistant, and, when you consider the damage that both hurricanes and other natural disasters have on our coastal communities today, a Superman-durable building material might be incredibly important for the future. Also, when concrete is composed super strong, it may better resist the earth-shaking and damage to be done after an earthquake.
Luckily, however, even though Graphene may be a positive addition to the future of concrete composition, we have shotcrete and the concrete experts at Shotcrete Montana to do quality work. Shotcrete still remains a greener and more viable way to do many of the concrete jobs of today, including commercial infrastructure, irrigation, erosion control, the reinforcement of crumbling foundations, and the like. Shotcrete is greener and more viable simply because it takes less man power to put in place. Jobs can be done considerably faster than with traditional form-building methods.
And if you have any questions as to how Shotcrete can be used in your next project, or if you are in need of the experience and expertise that only the shotcrete experts at Shotcrete Montana can provide, then call today.
