Construction Industry Gets a Breakthrough Solution for Building Quake – Resistant Houses

Researchers from the Univesidad Politécnica de Madrid have succeeded in testing a new system that would contribute to building the earthquake resistant houses which are of high interest to third world countries, often suffering from such natural disasters.
The scientists have conducted some research resulting in the development of a brand new construction system: the Integral Masonry System (IMS). The tests proved that if a house is built with that stable permanent system that prevents cracking, the building can resist even the most severe earthquakes.
Nowadays, many buildings that have been erected within the seismic areas lacking the natural resources tend to be built with the use of the adobe, hollow bricks or concrete blocks. Those materials simply are not going to last when the earthquake occurs. The IMS is the alternative construction solution as it uses prefabricated trusses made with light and easy to install steel rods, that intersect in three directions thus forming walls and floors, then filled with mud, debris or blocks for walls.
The safety of the house prototype has been verified at the Antiseismic Structures Laboratory and at the Pontificia Católica Universidad del Perú in Lima. The results have proved that the developed system has high potential as it provides easy system of house building with typologies adapted to local residential construction that could be applied at a minimum cost.

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New Compound Likely to Become “Cool Blue” for Energy Efficiency in Construction Industry

The new type of durable, environmentally – friendly blue pigment that has been discovered at Oregon State University proved to possess the unusual feature of reflecting heat: a true “cool blue” compound, able to become essential in new approaches towards saving energy in buildings.
The discovery of the above - mentioned compound (which has recently received patent approval)  was a coincidence as it occurred while OSU scientists were studying some materials for their electrical properties. Its potential use to help reduce heat absorption on the roof and the walls of the potential building enhances the idea of creating the new material, considered for a number of commercial applications in construction industry.
The newly discovered pigment has infrared heat reflectivity of about 40 per cent, which is reasonably higher than most blue pigments characterize of. What is more important, the new pigment is durable, safe and quite easy to produce. It has also become an important trend in so-called “green construction” and raises the issue of energy efficiency. Last, but not least, such reflective coatings are more aesthetic than the ones used so far, have less thermal degradation and cut down on the “heat island” effect in cities and air contamination, owing to the lower energy use and power plant emissions.

The Bigger Wind Turbines The Greener Electricity

The study on the gigantic windmills, conducted by the scientists proved that the larger the wind turbine, the greener electricity it provides. The relevant report has been published in ACS’ journal Environmetal Science & Technology. In the article, scientists emphasize the fact, that wind power is becoming more and more popular source of electricity as it provides almost 2% of global energy. What is more, by 2020 the figure is expected to reach 10 %.
The size if turbines is also increasing : they have grown 10 fold in the last three decades , from 50 to 500 feet in diameter. And that is not all, as the engineers are planning to build super-giant turbines, 1,000 feet in diameter!
The study shows clearly that larger turbines produce greener electricity and it happens for two reasons. First, the manufacturers are able to use the know-how and experience to create extremely efficient, big wind turbines. Second, the advanced materials and design allow the turbine’s blades to harness more wind. It means cleaner power without the significant increase in the amount of material that is required for construction or fuel needed for transportation.