Does Bendable Concrete Exist?
Since we use “concrete” colloquially to mean fixed, well defined, or inflexible, it may seem unbelievable that bendable concrete exists. However, in 2005, some civil engineers at the University of Michigan developed this innovative material, that will doubtless change the face of construction. Bendable concrete, with the help of interlocking fibers, actually flexes to absorb pressure, changes in temperature, and movement. Ordinary concrete is made from a slurry of large aggregate rocks, smaller aggregate, and the inflexible mortar that bonds them together. Once it sets and dries, though, it becomes a stiff slab that will crack and buckle in cycles of freezing and thawing, earthquakes, or when a heavy truck drives over it. Therefore, it was a goal of civil engineers to figure out how to extend the life of roads, as well as make them better able to withstand environmental factors. Constantly replacing roads, bridges, and parking lots is very expensive, time-consuming, and inconvenient fo
