GUC Finds Possibility of Economic Use of Water in Construction

Dr. Bakr Rabiee, Professor in the Department of Materials Engineering at the German University in Cairo "GUC"  and his research team succeeded in improving the properties of concrete materials needed for building construction.

It is an unremitting attempt by Egyptian scientists to find solutions to the issue of water scarcity, rationalizing its consumption and preventing the depletion of one of the state's natural resources.

They offered a scientific approach to managing the water affairs and finding alternative solutions to preserve it because the water is a vital component for human life and other creatures.

This achievement came in line with the state's policy to reduce the future water scarcity crisis, which will leave its negative impact on the next generation.

This mission aimed at reducing the water used in its preparation by introducing self-treatment factors that make it more protective of emitted nuclear radiation and high temperature.

It will save the amount of water that is poured into the current concrete. It is also for the purpose of completing the necessary chemical reactions to reach its final hardening shape, which was previously required to add 3 cubic meters of water per 1 cubic meter of concrete.

The team tried to use both water-soluble polymers "polyethylene glycol" as a self-treatment agent. It works as a capsule containing the small amount of primary water that was used in concrete formation.

By such way, Egypt will be able to reduce the rate of evaporation of water from its surface, in addition to the introduction of a boron compound to the concrete due to its effectiveness in raising the degrees of thermal and radiation tolerance to it.

Rabiee pointed out that the team conducted all thermal, microscopic, mechanical and radiological tests inside the university "GUC" laboratories with the latest technologies that conform to international standards.

They reached the possibility of building a house that provides water and resources with low environmental impact.

In the same context, Rabiee noted that the concrete that includes self-treatment factors has become a new trend in concrete construction in line with the call to preserve water, which people are suffering from its shortage in many countries of the world with the beginning of the new millennium.

He pointed out that this successful experiment was derived from a Japanese executive initiative during which the construction of an integrated building with a height of 238 meters was constructed at a high speed that took nine months in the Japanese capital Tokyo in 2003.

He stressed the need to expand the localization of this technology in construction operations in barren desert regions.

Noteworthy, the research team is consisting of Dr. Ahmed Maher in the Department of Civil Engineering and the student Sarah Ahmed Abdel Moneim in the Department of Materials Engineering at GUC.

Contributed by Ahmad El-Assasy