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Researchers at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom have developed a cement mixture consisting of fly ash waste and an alkaline solution, which also has electrical conductivity. Existing smart cement usually relies on graphene and carbon nanotubes, but this new type of cement is different. It does not contain any expensive materials and its manufacturing cost is even lower than traditional portland cement.
The project chief, Mohamed Saafi, a professor in the Department of Engineering at Lancaster University, said that this mixture is called KGP composite material. Inside this mixture, current is transferred through potassium ions in the crystal structure. He claimed: "In order to make cement, you have to mix fly ash with an alkaline solution. In this study we used potassium hydroxide and potassium silicate solutions. When you mix them together, They form a cement material that contains potassium ions that can act as electrolytes. "
This mixture can eventually achieve 200-500W per square meter of storage and release power. Houses built with KGP materials for exterior walls and partition walls can store electricity with solar panels during the day and release them at night. The panels created with KGP can also be reinstalled in houses and other buildings. A six-meter high lamppost made of KGP material can store enough renewable energy for the streetlight to illuminate at night, and the storage power is about 700W.
At the same time, curbstones can also provide electricity for the sensors to monitor traffic, drainage and pollution. A large number of KGP material buildings can also be used to balance the electricity of the grid, store excess renewable energy when the electricity is surplus, and release it when the demand for electricity is high. Saafi said: "We are trying to convert buildings and bridges into batteries, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing costs. At present, we have many renewable energy sources, but we do not have large-scale storage systems for these energy sources."
This smart cement mixture can also be used to sense mechanical stress in buildings. For example, the pressure changes caused by cracks will change the movement path of potassium ions in the cement crystal structure, which will cause the conductivity of the material to change. By measuring the electrical conductivity of the material, changes in building stability can be automatically measured in real time, and no additional sensors are required.
The researchers are now conducting further research to optimize the performance of the KGP mixture, and are also investigating the possibility of using 3D printing technology to make this smart cement into different shapes. This research has been funded by the European Commission ’s Horizon 2020 project, which is also part of the SAFERUP (abbreviation for sustainable, easy to use, safe, resilient and smart urban roads) project conducted by the University of Bologna.
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