2024-05-05T01:50:10-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150167981/has-a-cure-for-concrete-cancer-been-found-in-australia Antonio Pacheco 2019-11-04T00:01:00-05:00 >2019-11-05T12:34:08-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/7a/7acb71fdcfea7c75ff48f958814429dd.jpeg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Next year, if all goes well, a pair of footbridges intended to be cancer-proof will open in Geelong, a town 75km south-west of Melbourne, Australia. These bridges, which will act as prototypes for more than 150 others planned for the expanding city, will be constructed using a novel approach that combines glass-fibre and carbon-fibre rebars. They will, though, cost about the same as equivalent conventional bridges.</p></em><br /><br /><p>The potentially ground-breaking construction approach has been developed by Australian university Deakin and Austeng, an engineering firm. The structural system selectively deploys pricey carbon fiber rebar to strengthen the construction assembly where necessary, while glass fiber rebar members are used round out precast concrete frames that are then used as a base upon which the remainder of the bridge is assembled.&nbsp;</p> <p>According to <em>The Economist</em>, a three-meter section of the bridge was recently tested and has passed inspection; The design team is moving forward with a 10-meter-long section to be installed in the field. The publication reports that the bridge&rsquo;s carrying capacity has increased by 20-percent while its cross-section area has fallen by 15-percent.&nbsp;</p> <p>To boot, the bridge&rsquo;s concrete mixture is made from a low-carbon &nbsp;&ldquo;geopolymer concrete&rdquo; blend that includes fly-ash and other alternatives to carbon-intensive Portland cement.&nbsp;</p>