Construction

Video of the week: How ceramic tiles are made

By / October 8, 2008

This video is part of our ongoing efforts to collect videos that document some of the basic methods used in industrial ceramics. This video is produced by the Discovery Channel…

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Solar bricks?

By / September 25, 2008

My neighbor recently picked up a couple of “solar” outdoor planters/urns at a discount center. What’s a solar urn? Turns out that each urn has about six tiny LEDs around…

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What? You haven’t registered for MS&T’08 yet?

By / September 24, 2008

Researchers, entrepreneurs, students, professors, business people – MS&T is the place for the latest buzz on materials applications, innovation, supplies and production. Seriously. The dates are Oct 5-9 and the…

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Mechanical strength standards set for honeycomb ceramics

By / September 20, 2008

ASTM International has issued a new global standard to address the use of honeycomb ceramics in automotive catalytic converters, diesel particulate filters and combustion burner plates. The standard, ASTM C1674, Test…

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Double-duty windows harvest solar energy

By / September 17, 2008

What if your house’s windows offered double-duty performance by not only letting in sunlight but also harvesting its energy to efficiently and cost-effectively power your home? That’s the concept behind the organic solar…

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Sancon feeds China’s raw-material hunger with recycled glass

By / September 10, 2008

Shanghai-based Sancon Resources Recovery Inc. is a fast growing environmental services firm with operations in Australia and China. In 2007, the firm reportedly sold more than 25,000 tons of industrial waste – largely…

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Better method for detecting tile defects

By / September 10, 2008

Researchers at the University of the West of England say they have developed an automatic system for detecting surface defects invisible to the naked eye in ceramic tiles. Their system…

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Collecting solar energy via asphalt roads

By / September 10, 2008

Can asphalt roads and parking lots be used as a ubiquitous and inexpensive means for collecting and utilizing solar energy? Researchers at Massachusetts’ Worcester Polytechnic Institute say: Yes. Led by…

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Concrete solutions to pollution

By / September 5, 2008

Every year, concrete accounts for more than five percent of human-created, pollution-causing carbon dioxide emissions, reports Technology Review, an online news source published by MIT. Most of these emissions are…

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