NANOTECHNOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

Civil engineering is always restricted to cement, sand and stones…but it is something beyond that. It deals with innovations in each and every step of constructing a structure. This paper deals with the “nanological treatment” in civil engineering. Nanotechnology is the use of very small particles of material either by themselves or by their manipulation to create new large scale materials. The size of the particles, though, is very important because at the length scale of the nanometer, 10-9m, the properties of the material actually become affected. Nanotechnology is not a new science and it is not a new technology. It is rather an extension of the sciences and technologies that have already been in development for many years and it is the logical progression of the work that has been done to examine the nature of our world at an ever smaller scale.

The construction business will inevitably be a beneficiary of this nanotechnology; in fact it already is in the fields of concrete, steel and glass. Concrete is stronger, more durable and more easily placed, steel tougher and glass self-cleaning. Increased strength and durability are also a part of the drive to reduce the environmental footprint of the built environment by the efficient use of resources.

“At this moment the main limitation is the high costs of nanotechnology. Also concerns with the environmental effects”

The waves of change being propagated by progress at the nanoscale will therefore be felt far and wide and nowhere more so than in construction due its large economic and social presence.