Concrete may have found it's killer app in graphene. Concrete is an amazing material. Since ancient times, it has been used to build and construct just about everything. In most cases, it is considered a superior building material, much stronger and longer lasting than anything humans could have invented or constructed at the time. Even better, it does not require much in the way of materials to do so. All that is necessary is aggregate (materials that mix with water and cement to produce concrete), water, and carbon, along with a mix of chemicals to make up the rest of the parts (but that does not include carbon - carbon by itself is insufficient). So why is concrete stronger than, say, steel? Well, for one thing, it is more resilient to the forces applied to it. As a building material, it does not deform nearly as much as, say, wood or plastics. Additionally, it can be molded, baked, dried, and even hardened by controlling the exact mixture of the contents. For the last part, concrete is hardened using chemicals called "cementing agents," a process that cures concrete into a highly-resistant form. Aging and hydration, these reactions occur when the cementing agents come into contact with water, ultimately giving concrete its physical properties. It was not exactly that long ago that research at Rice University showed the possibility of making concrete using graphene, a carbon form that is only one atom thick and is stronger than steel. As you might expect, many people immediately thought that graphene might be an incredible substitute for our common building material. Alas, while this does work in practice, concrete is not as strong as people had originally hoped, and now is being studied for practical improvements. Concrete is not only used to make large buildings, bridges, and dams, but it is also commonly used in other facets of engineering. There are hundreds of uses of concrete in our world, from a road to a toothpick. For those interested in the full list, there are over 1,000 applications listed here, so the possibilities of graphene are endless. The primary application area for this technology is building construction, as there are many different elements that need to be created and processed. While concrete is typically considered more costly than any other option, it is extremely durable and long lasting. And since construction companies would rather have one material to work with than many different combinations, graphene is not typically considered a viable alternative. With recent advances in the field of Graphene, we might be seeing concrete making a grand comeback. New breakthroughs, such as graphene in concrete, could be the start of a paradigm shift for our economy, especially in construction. A good example is the work done by the Japanese company called Oji Paper, which has recently begun working with graphene to improve the strength of its paper products. Of course, they are doing so not for the benefit of anyone other than themselves. According to Professor Hideki Shiratani of Tohoku University, there is a great deal of hope for graphene to replace common components used in the production of daily items, including food packaging, electronics, and other materials. It's not like the material could not be improved. In fact, we are already seeing major breakthroughs in this area. As described in an MIT press release, there are a lot of improvements possible that may be a stepping stone to a stronger concrete that can handle more stress and is able to provide more comfort and functionality. For example, newer products might use more polymers and materials, like calcium carbonate, instead of just cement. In fact, one company called Geopolymer Concrete, Inc. has already taken an ambitious approach to the problem by launching a project named 'GeoCinder'. According to their website, they have already developed 3 different products using a Geopolymer binding system. New, improved concrete is not all that many people can ask for. As it has proven over and over, concrete has a lot of benefits when used in most facets of construction. While there are many options to choose from, there are also a lot of people who would be glad to have a stronger form that can last longer than it usually does. So what do you think? Is it time for graphene to be used in our concrete? While the idea of using carbon in place of silicon, which we are familiar with, may still be a bit distant from reality, it is getting closer. The more concrete we see using graphene-like structures, the closer it gets to the idea of being a strong, non-deformable material. Researchers have already been testing these types of materials for some time, and are already getting positive results. In its most basic form, graphene is made from a single-layer of carbon atoms. Some companies, such as Geopolymer, are already producing products that combine it with other materials to provide a better concrete alternative. At Geopolymer, Inc., they are currently working with their new construction material, GeoCinder. It is a combination of concrete, cement, and graphene. According to the project's website, they create this material in a more affordable, convenient form of material production, which allows for high-quality materials at a lower price point. In all, they are looking to create a stronger, more efficient cement that can be used in the production of concrete. Of course, this type of technology has not been proven in real world applications. In actual practice, there is a good chance that it might be a lot more difficult to produce an effective product, especially when it comes to handling materials that will be poured into buildings, bridges, and other structures. The use of graphene in concrete and other traditional structures is a long-term project. According to one of the developers behind the new material, Dr. Takao Someya, he has been working in the field of designing stronger materials since 2006. From that, he developed GeoCinder, which he says is the best material to-date with his original design. We might be closer to graphene concrete than you think. While concrete is one of the most durable materials in the world, it is not perfect. With over 1,000 uses in architecture, it is not hard to find an example of a concrete structure that has failed, whether from fire or from normal stresses applied to a structure. While these problems with concrete are relatively easy to spot in large structures like buildings and bridges, they are harder to find in small structures, like a wall or a staircase. The problem that leads to concrete failure is often due to water, as the moisture levels and the volume of any structure can eventually lead to issues. These issues become even more common in certain applications like in the case of parking lots. With an increase in temperature and rainfall, parking lots can become damaged very quickly, especially when it is used in large areas and around parking garages. When this happens, the result is the complete and total loss of any functional concrete materials, such as those used to make the parking structure. A recent report at Forbes details some exciting new research that could help to solve this problem. The engineers have noticed that water does not simply go anywhere. Instead, it accumulates on the surface of the concrete, acting as a protective barrier to protect the concrete from any major damage. This can be especially useful if there is a threat of a possible rain storm or some other source of moisture. It does not matter if the building is small or large, since the water will still be able to reach any part of the structure at any given time. In an urban or rural area, this type of situation can create various problems. The goal of this project was to use a super-absorbent material to replace water in the concrete, and in the process, create a tougher material. While the material they tested was not the ultimate solution, there is certainly a reason to believe this could be an option down the road. After all, any extra money or effort spent on a material that will save the structure from a disaster is always a win for the project. As the researchers pointed out, any method that can keep water off of a structure is a good thing. In order to determine if this would work in any application, a new class of composite was created called hydrogel. This new composite combines concrete and water for a composite structure that adds much needed durability and strength. In testing and trials, the researchers discovered that the water would not flow through the hydrogel, but instead, would soak into it, forming a composite material. Of course, the initial experiments do not mean that this process is ready to be adopted by some of the world's largest construction companies. However, it does give us a reason to believe that this process is worth the effort. While concrete has many uses in our world, from foundations to parking lots, many of the uses it is most commonly known for in other areas has to do with building. From roads to bridges and dams, concrete has proven to be an incredibly useful material to have in our world. Unfortunately, there is a large number of different ways that concrete can fail. One of the most common is through cracking, which often occurs because of poor designs or careless management of a structure. These cracks can take up a lot of the structural integrity of the structure, and even lead to complete failure of the building. It is not easy to understand how concrete forms. The best way to explain this phenomenon is to understand the components and the way it works. According