-By Suhel Gavandi

Nanotechnology ?

“ Technology

Manipulating

At

Range Billionth

Of

A

Meter”

“Level Of Nature”

What is mean by Nanotechnology?

Nano, which comes from the Greek word for dwarf, indicates a billionth. One nanometer is a billionth of a meter. Definitions of ‘nanotechnology’ vary, but it generally refers to understanding and manipulation of matter on the Nano scale, say, from 0.1 run to 100 nm.

The significance and importance of controlling matter at the Nano scale is that at this scale different laws of physics come into play.

Civil Engineering ?

Coastal Engineering

Construction Engineering

Earthquake Engineering

Environmental Engineering

Geotechnical Engineering

Water Resource Engineering

Materials Engineering

Structural Engineering

Transportation Engineering

Construction

Design

Maintenance

Nanotechnology in Civil Engineering

Nanotechnology can be used for design and construction processes in many areas since nanotechnology generated products have many unique characteristics.

These characteristics can, again, significantly fix current construction problems, and may change the requirement and organization of construction process.

To enhance properties of material used in construction.

To satisfy the general aspect of people i.e. of quality,control & reliability.

To reduce cost of constructing structures.

Nanomaterial's

CNT (Carbon Nano Tubes)

TiO2(Titanium Oxide)

SiO2(Nano Silica)

Vanadium Nano Particle

Copper Nano Particle

CNT:- TiO2:-

Cylindrical Alignment White substance, Hydrophilic

of carbon. 5 times YM, Sterilizing, anti-fouling

8 times strength.

Application Materials

Concrete

Steel

Glass

Coatings

Nanosensors

Plastics

Bulk Insulating Materials

Plastic Solar Cell

Nanotechnology in Fire Protection

Concrete

Concrete is one of the most common and widely usedconstruction materials. Nanotechnology is widely used instudying its properties like hydration reaction, alkalisilicate reaction (ASR) and fly ash reactivity.

With the addition of nano-SiO2 part of the cement isreplaced but the density and strength of the fly-ashconcrete improves particularly in the early stages.

Fiber wrapping of concrete is quite common today forincreasing the strength of pre-existing concrete structuralelements.

It is evident from the Figure that the SCCNFC (selfconsolidating concrete Nano fibre concrete) column failedat higher loads and with larger deflection than the SCRC(steel confined reinforced concrete) column.

Steel

Steel is a major construction material.

MMFX2 is nanostructure-modified steel, produced by MFXSteel Corp, USA. Compared with the conventional steel, ithas a fundamentally different microstructure- laminatedlath structure resembling “plywood” as shown in Fig.2. Dueto the modified nanostructure, MMFX steel has superiormechanical properties, e.g. higher strength, ductility andfatigue resistance, over other high-strength steels.

Coating

The coatings incorporating certain Nano particles or Nanolayers have been developed for certain purpose including:protective or anti-corrosion coatings for components; self-cleaning, thermal control, energy saving, anti-reflectioncoatings for glass/windows; easy-to-clean, antibacterialcoatings for work surfaces; and more durable paints andanti-graffiti coating for buildings and structures.

Special coatings can also make the applied surface bothhydrophobic and oleo phobic at the same time.

Glass

Fire-protective glass is another application ofnanotechnology. This is achieved by using a clearintumescent layer sandwiched between glass panels (aninterlayer) formed of fumed silica (SiO2) nanoparticleswhich turns into a rigid and opaque fire shield whenheated.

The hydrophobic properties of TiO2, it can be applied inantifogging coatings or in self-cleaning windows.

Nano-TiO2 coatings can also be applied to buildingexteriors to prevent sticking of pollutants, and thus reducea facility’s maintenance costs.

Nanosensors Nanotechnology enabled sensors/devices also offer great

potential for developing smart materials and structureswhich have ‘self-sensing’ and ‘self-actuating’ capability.

Nano and Micro electrical mechanical systems (NEMS &MEMS) sensors have been developed and used inconstruction to monitor and/or control the environmentconditions (e.g. temperature, moisture, smoke, noise, etc.)and the materials/structure performance (e.g. stress, strain,vibration, cracking, corrosion, etc.) during the structure’slife.

Nano sensor ranges from 10-9m to 10-5 m which could beembedded into the structure during the constructionprocess.

Plastics The carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) being light

weight material does not exhibit good electrical properties.CNTs are among the stiffest and strongest fibers known,and have high electrical conductivity.

Plasma technology in order to transfer their properties toCFRPs since these micro- or nanoparticles must be highlyhomogeneous, and sometimes very closely bound to thepolymer.

Plastic Solar Cell

The most promising application in the areas of energy andenvironment leading to the sustainable building is thedevelopment of fuel cells and photovoltaic.

In the last few years, considerable efforts have been madeto develop plastic solar cells in Figure, much simpler andcheaper to produce than that of conventional siliconsemiconductor solar cells.

Nanotechnology In Fire Protection Fire resistance of steel structures is often provided by a

coating of spray on cementitious process which is no morepopular because they need to be thick, tend to be brittleand polymer additions are needed to improve adhesion.

Research into nano-cement made of nano-sized particleshas the potential to create a new paradigm in this area ofapplication.

Polypropylene fibres are also being considered as a methodof increasing fire resistance and this is a cheaper optionthan conventional insulation.

CNTs can also be used to produce protective clothingmaterials because of their flame retardant property.

Disadvantages

Because of their small particle size, Nano particles have the potential to negatively affect the respiratory and digestive tracks and the skin or eye surface, thus exposes workers to hazards.

Small production volumes and high cost remain the main barriers to the use of nanotechnology.

The time for commercializing a product is long.

Future Projection of Nanotechnology in Construction

There is substantial money flowing into nano-related research from multinational corporations and venture capital investments.

Many of the world’s largest companies such as IBM, Intel, Motorola, Lucent, Boeing, Hitachi, etc. have all had significant Nano-related research projects goingon, or launched their own nanotech initiatives.

MY OPINION

FIRM CONSTRUCTION

INNOVATIVE DESIGNING

AND

SMART MAINTAINANCE

Conclusion

Research in nanotechnology that is related to constructionis still in its infancy; however the main benefits andbarriers that allow the effect of nanotechnology onconstruction to be defined.

Recent years of R&D have shown massive investmentsNano-construction.

HIGH COST

OF

MANUPULATION AND RESEARCH

Thank You