Applications of Nanotechnology in Civil Engineering

APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
Nano technology has several applications in the engineering field, especially in the area
of civil engineering. A enormous number of materials can be enhanced by the use of
nanotechnology, some of which include glass, concrete, and steel. Nanoparticles can also
be used in coatings such as paints to give the coating, self-healing capabilities and
corrosion protection under insulation. Since these coatings are hydrophobic and repel
water from the metal pipe and can also protect metal from salt water attack.”
Application of Nanotechnology in Concrete

The most frequent and beneficial uses of nanotechnology in terms of civil
engineering, is the use of it in concrete. Concrete “is a nanostructured, multi-phase,
composite material that ages over time. It is composed of an amorphous phase,
nanometer to micrometer size crystals, and bound water,”. It is used in almost all
construction, from roads, to bridges, to buildings. Concrete can be modified in
numerous ways; one of which is to add nanoparticles to it.
Nanotechnology In Steel
Steel is one of the most important building materials used today. The major
problems of using steel however, is dealing with fatigue. “exhaustion is one of the
significant issues that can lead to the structural failure of steel subject to cyclic loading,”
Fatigue can occur at stresses that are lower than the yield stress of the steel and leads
to a shortening of the steel’s life. The best way to reduce the fatigue is to add copper
nanoparticles to the steel. The copper nanoparticles can help reduce the unevenness in
the surface of the steel, which in turn reduces the amount of stress risers
Nanotechnology Wood, And Other Areas

Nanotechnology is used in many different materials, including wood and glass.
Wood is made of nanotubes or nanofibrils, primarily “lignocellulosic (woody tissue)
elements,” [5] that are twice as strong as steel. Being able to use these nanofibrils would
“...lead to a new paradigm in sustainable construction,” [5] since the creation and use of
the material would be a part of a renewable cycle. Using these lignocellulosic could open
up the possibility of “self-sterilizing surfaces, internal self-repair and electronic
lignocellulosic devices,”
Glass
Glass also makes use of nanotechnology. Nano-Titanium dioxide is used to coat glass
can give the glass a self-cleaning property. Titanium dioxide breaks down organic wastes
and compounds, and because it also attracts water, the glass can attract rain water and
use that to clean the dirt off of itself. Another use of nanotechnology in glass is to make
it fire-protective. This can be done when a layer of silica nanoparticles is placed between
glass panels. This layer turns into a fire-shield when heated.
Nanosensors
Sensors have been developed and used in construction to monitor and/or control the environment
condition and the materials/structure performance. One advantage of these sensors is their dimension
(10 -9m to 10-5m). These sensors could be embedded into the structure during the construction process.
Smart aggregate, a low cost piezoceramic-based multi-functional device, has been applied to monitor
early age concrete properties such as moisture, temperature, relative humidity and early age strength
development. The sensors can also be used to monitor concrete corrosion and cracking.
HOW THE NANOTECHNOLOGY BECOMES USEFUL IN THE FIELD OF MEDICINE
Nanotechnology is accepted as a very useful new technology at present. The impact of new
nanotechnology on health is very interesting. Indeed, several usefulness of nanotechnology on animal and
human health can be expected. The use of nanotechnology in medicine offers some exciting possibilities.
Some techniques are only imagined, while others are at various stages of testing, or actually being used
today. Nanotechnology is designed to provide a novel and improved approach to cancer diagnosis and
treatment. Nanoscale devices can interact with large biological molecules on both the surface and inside
cells involved in cancer. Since biological processes, including events that lead to the development of
cancer, occur on a nanoscale at the surface of and inside cells, nanotechnology offers many tools. In the
fight against cancer, winning half the battle is based on early detection. Nanotechnology is contributing
new molecular agents and methods to enable earlier and more accurate diagnoses and treatment
monitoring. Current imaging methods can detect cancers only once they have made visible changes to a
tissue. This often takes many years: by this time thousands of cells have proliferated and perhaps
metastasized. Even when visible, the nature of a tumor-malignant or benign-and the characteristics that
might make it responsive to a particular treatment must be assessed through often invasive biopsies.
magine instead if cancerous or even precancerous cells could somehow be tagged for detection by
conventional scanning devices. Two things would be necessary: Something that specifically identifies a
cancerous cell and Something that enables it to be seen Both can be achieved through nanotechnology.
For example, antibodies that identify specific receptors found to be over-expressed in cancerous cells can
be coated on to nanoparticles that then produce a high contrast signal when Magnetic Resonance Images
(MRI) or Computed Tomography (CT) scans are used. Diagnostic screening for biomarkers in tissues and
fluids could also be enhanced and potentially revolutionized by nanotechnology. Individual cancers differ
from each other and from normal cells by changes in the expression and distribution of tens to hundreds
of molecules.
As therapeutics advance, it may require the simultaneous detection of several biomarkers may be
required to identify a cancer for treatment selection. Nanoscale cantilevers and nanowire sensors can
detect biomarkers of cancer from a single cell. Nanoparticles such as quantum dots, which emit light of
different colors depending on their size, could enable the simultaneous detection of multiple markers,
particularly of nanoparticles and nanotubes for periodontal management, the materials developed from
such as the hollow nanospheres, core shell structures, nanocomposites, nanoporous materials, and
nanomembranes will play a growing role in materials development for the medicine industry.

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APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

Application of Nanotechnology in Concrete

Nanotechnology Wood, And Other Areas

HOW THE NANOTECHNOLOGY BECOMES USEFUL IN THE FIELD OF MEDICINE

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