Nanotechnology and Construction

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 is very important because at the length scale of the nanometre, 10-9 m, the properties of the material actually become affected. The precise size at which these changes are manifested varies between materials, but is usually in the order

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of 100 nm or less. 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. A nanometre is a billionth of a metre. The recent developments in the study and manipulation of materials and processes at the nanoscale offer the tantalizing prospect of producing new macro materials, properties and products.

The construction business will inevitably be a beneficiary of this nanotechnology; in fact it is already 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. This is achieved both prior to the construction process by a reduction in pollution during the production of materials (e.g. cement) and also in service through efficient use of energy due to advancements in insulation.

Two nano-sized particles that stand out in their application to construction materials are titanium dioxide (Ti02) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The former is being used for its ability to break down dirt or pollution and then allow it to be washed off by rain water on everything from concrete to glass and the latter is being used to strengthen and monitor concrete. CNTs have many more properties, apart from exceptional strength, that are being researched in computing, aerospace and other areas and the construction industry will benefit directly or indirectly from those advancements as well.

Cost and the relatively small number of practical applications for now hold back much of the prospects for nanotechnology. However, construction also tends to be a fragmented, low research oriented and conservative endeavour and this plays against its adoption of new technologies, especially ones that appear so far removed from its core business. Materials are construction core

business and the prospects for more changes are significant in the not too distant future. In fact, the researchers surveyed and predicted that many advances would arrive within five years. The sheer size and scope of the construction industry means that the accompanying economic impact will be huge. In order to capitalize on the effects of nanotechnology on the business, however, much more funding for construction related research, increased interdisciplinary working between researchers and communication between those researchers and industry is needed.

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SECTION 4 LISTENING AND SPEAKING

23. Listen to the Text "The Elastic Theory of Structures".

a) Answer the questions that follow.

1. What was a significant achievement of the first industrial age?

2. What was it used for?

3. The names of some famous scientists are mentioned in the text:L. Euler, Th. Young, L. Navier, S. Whipple, A Ritter, J.C. Maxwell, and O. Mohr. What contributions did they make to the elastic theory of structures?

4. What were the structures of the 19th century designed and fabricated with?

5. Why did the elastic theory form the basis of the structural analysis until World War II?

b) Check your answers with your groupmates and Tapescript
6A of the Text. Look up the words you do not know in the
dictionary.

c) Retell the Text about the elastic theory of structures.

142 J Английский язык для студентов строительных специальностей

d) Give some examples of the use of the elastic theory of structures from your own experience.

24. Listen to the Text "Nanotechnology's for Real in the Building Industry".

a) Complete the sentences according to the Text.

1. Nanotechnology is sometimes______ as all_______,

with little real-world_____.

2. Take the______ that we live and_______ in, for instance.

3. You will find _______ used to create stronger steel,

_______ glass, solar-collecting fabrics, and even _______

concrete.

4. Solar-collecting_______ is the first of a new wave of

building components that. solar radiation into_____.

5._________ steel is more corrosion___________ than

conventional steel, and can reduce_____ costs by up to 50%.

6. Smog-eating concrete is produced by____ a nanolayer

of titanium dioxide to____, which triggers a catalytic reaction

that_______ many pollutants in contact with the____.

7. At the very least, these materials_________ building

_______ costs, leaving more money for other___, and they

can help clean up the_____.

8. And for every nanomaterial_______ today, there are

_______ seventy more in______ and development, meaning

that building_______ and architecture are in for some big

_______ thanks to small technology.

c) Retell the Text about nanotechnology.

b) Check your answers with your groupmates and Tapescript 6B of the Text. Look up the words you do not know in the dictionary.

UNIT 7

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

Ш

SECTION 1 VOCABULARY AND WORD STUDY

1. Read and memorize the active vocabulary to the text "Structural Systems" and translate the given sentences.

1. cladding n — облицовка, обшивка (стен здания)
exterior cladding [ik'stiana] — наружная обшивка

These angles provide a space to fix the top of the cladding. There are many different styles and materials in exterior cladding.

2. laminated veneer lumber ['laemmeitid уэ'шз] — ЛВЛ-брус,
конструкционный материал, изготовленный по техно­
логии склейки нескольких слоев шпона

plywood ['plaiwud] n — фанера, клееная фанера

Laminated veneer lumber (L VL) offers several advantages over typical milled lumber: it is stronger, straighter, and more uniform. The base is made from top quality plywood with a rounded edge.

3. span n v — пролет; перекрывать

In this building steel beams have been used because long spans are involved. The precast concrete panels span between the beams.

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4. joist ['d3oist] n — опорная балка, перекладина, ригель
I-joist n — двутавр, двутавровый профиль

floor joist — балка пола, балка междуэтажного пере­крытия

open web joist — балочная ферма wood joist — деревянная балка

The walls support the joists which carry the floor. I-joists are known for their value when it comes to size, strength, and reliability. The spaces for the floor joists can be clearly seen. The main function of an open web joist is to provide direct support for a roof or a floor deck and to transfer the load imposed on the deck to the beams and columns. Wood joists should not be built into separating walls.

5. align [э'1ат] v — выравнивать, центровать
alignment n — выравнивание, центровка

The result of these shearing strains is that the fibers become aligned at right angles to the shear stress. Fine I-beam alignment in high-rise building construction was required.

6. glue [glu:] n v — клей; клеить

glued laminated beam — клеёный брус, многослойный клеёный брус, клеёный профилированный брус The force on one sheet of wood is transmitted through the glue to another sheet of wood. The thin sheets of wood are glued together.

7. fabricate ['fa?bnkeit] v — производить, изготовлять
prefabricate v — изготавливать заводским способом
prefabrication n — заводское изготовление
prefabricated adj — сборный, готовый

The new cement makes it possible to fabricate reinforced concrete products of high strength. Industrialised building means a high degree of prefabrication applied to domestic or other construction so as to reduce site work to minimum. Cranes are used for assembling large-size prefabricated elements.

8. roof truss — стропильная ферма

This is a high sloping ceiling attached directly to the roof trusses and rising all the way to the top of the house.

9. strut n — стойка, распорка, сжатый элемент (конст­
рукции)

lumber strut — деревянная стойка

The formwork is put on the strut and the whole is concreted.

10. purlin ['рэ: lm] n — прогон, обрешетина The helicopter was used to hoist and place in position prestressed concrete purlins.

1.1. brace ['breis] n v — растяжка, скоба, перекладина, стой­ка, распорная балка; скреплять, связывать, придавать жесткость

bracing n — связи жесткости, система связей, креп­ление The paper describes the economical placing of braces in the walls of a rectangular building. We had to brace the walls when we put the new roof on. During this phase the bracings fixed.

12. shape ['feip] n — профиль, форма
T shape n — тавровый профиль

channel [ЧГазп1] и — швеллер, швеллерный профиль angle ['aerjl] n — уголковый профиль, уголок It is climate which determines the shape and construction of most buildings. The roof and floor frames are made up of beams and channels. Steel angles are fixed across the ends of the beams.

13. weld v — сваривать, варить
welding «— сварка

The bottom of each column is welded to a base plate. Welding can be done in many different environments, including open air, under water and in outer space.

Английский язык для студентов строительных специальностей

UNIT 7. STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

lif!

 

14. rod n — стержень, прут, рейка

The rods are placed near the bottom of the concrete beam.

15. in-situ concrete [in'sitju:] — бетон, уложенный на строй­
площадке; монолитный бетон

precast reinforced concrete — сборный железобетон A brick is not fabricated on the site as in-situ concrete, but is prefabricated. It is precast reinforced concrete that provided the high scale of construction in this country.

16. exceed [ik'sird] v — превышать, превосходить The garage must not exceed 30 ml in the floor area.

17. slab n — плита, панель

concrete slab — бетонная плита, бетонная панель floor slab — плита (панель) перекрытия, плита настила пола

hollow slab ['holauj — пустотная плита The slabs act as permanent formwork and provide very good insulation. A few weeks later, the concrete slabs were laid across the tunnel to form the roof. The floor slabs measure 3 x 5 m and they have been mounted simultaneously with the main structure of the building.

18. framing ['freimirjj — каркас, рама, деревянная конст­рукция

frame (framing) construction — каркасная конструкция, рамная конструкция

balloon framing [bs'lu.n] — деревянный балочно-стоеч-ный каркас (здания)

Since the early 1920s, almost all homes have been built using wood framing construction. Balloon framing was employed in many two-storey houses before 1930.

19. bolt ['bault] n v — болт; скреплять, стягивать болтами
anchor bolt ['агпкэ] — анкерный болт

bolted connection — болтовое соединение

Each base plate is fixed to a concrete column base by two bolts. The beams are bolted to steel columns.

20. girder ['ga:d9] n — главная балка, балочная ферма
The girders support smaller beams.

2. Read and translate the following international words. Look
up their transcriptions in the dictionary if necessary. Mind the
part of speech.

Standard n, base n v, constant adj, economical adj, profile n, catastrophic adj, configuration n, dominant adj, horizontal adj, universal adj, radius n, moment n, result n v, condition n, distribution n, neutral adj, cylindrical adj, position n v, accuracy n, stable adj, exclusively adv, stable adj, resistance n, platform n, section n, double v, barrier n.

В

3. Match the pairs of synonyms from A and В and translate
them.

A

1. manufacture ^a- ^sP^an

2. bar b. prefabrication

3. facing c. fabricate

4. framework d. bolt

5. form e. welding

6. vault ^f- alignment

 

7. screw S- framing

8. line arrangement h. shape

9. preassembly i- ^r°d

10. soldering J, cladding

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Строительных специальностей

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