The new Innovative Materials (2023 volume 4) has just been released
Energy-efficient and customisable inorganic membranes for a cleaner future
A team of researchers of the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a revolutionary technique for producing ultrathin inorganic membranes that are energy-efficient and highly customisable for different applications.
Also metals can heal themselves
Scientists of Sandia National Laboratories for the first time have witnessed how cracks in metal fuse back together without any human intervention, overturning fundamental scientific theories in the process. If the newly discovered phenomenon can be harnessed, it could usher in an engineering revolution – one in which selfhealing engines, bridges and airplanes could reverse damage caused by wear and tear, making them safer and longer-lasting. The research team from Sandia National Laboratories and Texas A&M University described their findings today in the journal Nature (Autonomous healing of fatigue cracks via cold welding).
Robotically manufactured timber construction as a model for resource-efficient construction
As the world’s population continues to grow, the construction industry faces the challenge of using fewer resources and switching to sustainable materials. Scientists from the Universities of Stuttgart and Freiburg are developing new interdisciplinary approaches to construction for the future. In a joint project, the researchers have built a lightweight timber construction pavilion at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Freiburg, where they are testing and researching new materials and construction methods.
HydroSKIN: Textile facade elements absorb rainwater and cool buildings and urban space
Climate change is not just causing one heat record after another; it also causes more torrential downpours. Flooding and urban heat islands cause damage to buildings and infrastructure. Scientists are therefore trying to develop methods to deal with such problems. For example, the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK, University of Stuttgart) developed HydroSKIN: a lightweight, textile facade element that absorbs and releases rainwater during hot periods, cooling the interior of buildings and urban spaces through evaporation.
Sugarcrete
Last May, various media paid attention to Sugarcrete, a materials research project of the University of East London (UEL). The aim of the project is to develop ultra-low carbon building components using sugarcane bio-waste (bagasse), allowing the storage of biogenic carbon from fast-growing plants in construction materials as an effective strategy to delay carbon emissions. Sugarcane is the world’s largest crop by production volume. The processing of sugarcane to produce sugar, generates in theoretically enough products to entirely replace high energy-demanding construction systems such as concrete or brick. Sugarcane growth provides one of the fastest CO2-to-biomass conversion mediums available, up to fifty times more efficient than forestry.
Aerogel Architecture Award 2023
On 2 June, the Aerogel Architecture Award was presented for the third time on the Empa campus in Dübendorf. A total of six projects were awarded in the categories Realized Projects and Student Projects. All of them show innovative applications of aerogel in construction projects – be it in new buildings or in historical structures. The winning student project comes from the Czech Republic, the winning realized project from Zurich.