Civil Engineering News

June 13, 2025

Top Headlines

Discovery Could Boost Solid-State Battery Performance

June 2, 2025 — Researchers have discovered that the mixing of small particles between two solid electrolytes can generate an effect called a 'space charge layer,' an accumulation of electric charge at the interface between the two materials. The finding could aid ...

Predicting Underwater Landslides Before They Strike

May 30, 2025 — A new method for predicting underwater landslides may improve the resilience of offshore ...

Waste to Foundation: Transforming Construction Waste Into High-Performance Material

May 29, 2025 — In a major advancement for sustainable construction, scientists have created a cement-free soil solidifier from industrial waste. By combining Siding Cut Powder and activated by Earth Silica, an ...

Physical Cloaking Works Like a Disappearing Act for Structural Defects

May 5, 2025 — A new technique maintains structural integrity by essentially hiding openings in materials from surrounding forces. Rather than reinforcing an opening, such as a hole or a window, to protect against a few select forces, the new approach reorganizes ...

Individual Layers of Synthetic Materials Can Collaborate for Greater Impact

May 16, 2025 — Millions of years of evolution have enabled some marine animals to grow complex protective shells composed of multiple layers that work together to dissipate physical stress. In a new study, engineers have found a way to mimic the behavior of this ...

UCF's 'Bridge Doctor' Combines Imaging, Neural Network to Efficiently Evaluate Concrete Bridges' Safety

May 16, 2025 — New research details how infrared thermography, high-definition imaging and neural network analysis can combine to make concrete bridge inspections more efficient. Researchers are hopeful that their ...

Researchers Develop New Metallic Materials Using Data-Driven Frameworks and Explainable AI

May 15, 2025 — Found in knee replacements and bone plates, aircraft components, and catalytic converters, the exceptionally strong metals known as multiple principal element alloys (MPEA) are about to get even ...

Tapping a New Toolbox, Engineers Buck Tradition in New High-Performing Heat Exchanger

May 12, 2025 — A team engineers created a twisty high-temperature heat exchanger that outperformed a traditional straight channel design in heat transfer, power density and effectiveness and used an innovative ...

New Roadmap Advances Catalytic Solutions to Destroy 'Forever Chemicals'

May 7, 2025 — Researchers have outlined a bold new roadmap for harnessing heterogeneous catalysis to destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the so-called 'forever chemicals' that have contaminated water supplies ...

Cracking the Code: Deciphering How Concrete Can Heal Itself

May 7, 2025 — Lichen is an understated presence in our everyday world, often found clinging to trees and rocks. Its true beauty lies in its unique symbiotic system of fungi and algae, or cyanobacteria, that form a self-sustaining partnership, allowing it to ...

A Neuro-Quantum Leap in Finding Optimal Solutions

Apr. 28, 2025 — Scientists have developed a problem-solving architecture modeled on neurobiology that leverages quantum mechanical behavior to guarantee optimal solutions to complex ...

Model Governing Deformation of Materials Under Stress Challenged

May 1, 2025 — Scientists have expanded on a longstanding model governing the mechanics behind slip banding, a process that produces strain marks in metals under compression, gaining a new understanding of the behavior of advanced materials critical to energy ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:43pm EDT

Learning as an Adventure: The Lecture Theater in the Spaceship

May 15, 2025 — In Project Chimera, a game lab combines a VR computer game with educational problems in order to convey scientific content in a motivating ...

Synchrotron in a Closet: Bringing Powerful 3D X-Ray Microscopy to Smaller Labs

Apr. 29, 2025 — For the first time, researchers can study the microstructures inside metals, ceramics and rocks with X-rays in a standard laboratory without needing ...

'Wood You Believe It?' Engineers Fortify Wood With Eco-Friendly Nano-Iron

Apr. 28, 2025 — With more than 181.5 billion tons of wood produced globally each year, a new method could revolutionize how we build sustainably. By infusing red oak with ferrihydrite using a simple, low-cost ...

Flying Robots Unlock New Horizons in Construction

Apr. 24, 2025 — An international team has explored how in future aerial robots could process construction materials precisely in the air -- an approach with great potential for difficult-to-access locations or work ...

Engineer Reinvents Ceramics With Origami-Inspired 3D Printing

Apr. 23, 2025 — In a breakthrough that blends ancient design with modern materials science, researchers have developed a new class of ceramic structures that can bend under pressure -- without ...

A New Super Metal Stands Strong, No Matter the Temperature

Apr. 16, 2025 — A research team develops a new alloy that maintains tensile properties from -196 degrees Celsius to 600 degrees ...

Novel Machine Learning Model Can Predict Material Failure Before It Happens

Apr. 16, 2025 — A team of researchers has successfully predicted abnormal grain growth in simulated polycrystalline materials for the first time -- a development that could lead to the creation of stronger, more ...

New Research Examines How Nanoscopic Ripples Affect Material Properties

Apr. 10, 2025 — When materials are created on a nanometer scale -- just a handful of atoms thick -- even the thermal energy present at room temperature can cause structural ripples. How these ripples affect the ...

Cooler Faster Better: Engineers Uncover a New Way to Stop Electronics from Overheating

Apr. 14, 2025 — Engineers discovered a way to move heat ultrafast using crystal waves, offering a breakthrough in cooling advanced ...

Mechanistic Understanding Could Enable Better Fast-Charging Batteries

Apr. 4, 2025 — An innovative new computational model developed by an engineer could lead to fast-charging lithium-ion batteries that are safer and ...

Reducing Risk of Embankment Slope Failures Along Roads

Apr. 2, 2025 — Based on their findings, the researchers noted there are practical solutions that could have prevented collapse of the embankment slope investigated in this study. Their recommendations include using ...

Researchers Explore Using Soil for Heat Storage

Apr. 2, 2025 — When spring arrives and the heating season comes to an end, keeping warm becomes less of an issue. However, scientists remind us that it is not just a seasonal necessity -- heat is also a valuable ...

Breakthrough Copper Alloy Achieves Unprecedented High-Temperature Performance

Mar. 27, 2025 — A team of researchers has developed a groundbreaking high-temperature copper alloy with exceptional thermal stability and mechanical strength. The research team's findings on the new copper ...

These Electronics-Free Robots Can Walk Right Off the 3D-Printer

Mar. 25, 2025 — This a robot can walk, without electronics, and only with the addition of a cartridge of compressed gas, right off the 3D-printer. It can also be printed in one go, from one ...

Recycled Cements Drive Down Emissions Without Slacking on Strength

Mar. 20, 2025 — Engineers have developed an approach for recycling cement waste into a sustainable, low-carbon alternative that is comparable in performance to the industry ...

New Carbon-Negative Material Could Make Concrete and Cement More Sustainable

Mar. 19, 2025 — Researchers injected CO2 gas into seawater while applying an electrical current. The process transformed dissolved ions, minerals in seawater into clusters of solid particles. The clusters hold over ...

New Platform Lets Anyone Rapidly Prototype Large, Sturdy Interactive Structures

Mar. 18, 2025 — A rapid prototyping platform called VIK (Voxel Invention Kit) enables makers without engineering expertise to create large-scale interactive devices using a series of reconfigurable electromechanical ...

To Overcome Antibiotic Resistance, New Research Says to Let It Flow

Mar. 18, 2025 — Some notoriously difficult to treat infections may not be as resistant to antibiotics as has been thought, according to new research using a microfluidic device that more closely duplicates the fluid ...

Building a Safer Future: Strengthen Haiti's Earthquake Resilience

Mar. 18, 2025 — Over the past two decades, Haiti has endured the devastation of two catastrophic earthquakes -- first in 2010 and again in 2021. Each disaster left behind widespread destruction: buildings reduced to ...

Breakthrough Nano-Spring Technology Boosts Battery Durability and Energy Density

Mar. 13, 2025 — Scientists improved battery durability and energy density with a nano-spring ...

Stretching Spider Silk Makes It Stronger

Mar. 7, 2025 — When they weave their webs, spiders pull their silk threads. New simulations show stretching during spinning causes the protein chains within the fibers to align and the number of hydrogen bonds ...

Scientists Develop Open-Source Software for Modeling Soft Materials

Mar. 5, 2025 — A team of researchers created Morpho, an open-source programmable environment that enables researchers and engineers to conduct shape optimization and design for soft materials. Applications can be ...

Packets of Freeze-Dried Bacteria Grow Biocement on Demand

Mar. 5, 2025 — Cement manufacturing and repair could be significantly improved by using biocement-producing bacteria, but growing the microbes at construction sites remains a challenge. Now, researchers report a ...

Concrete Evidence: Japanese Buildings Absorb 14% of Cement Production's Carbon Footprint

Mar. 5, 2025 — Concrete structures in Japan capture and store about 14% of the CO2 emissions released during cement production, according to a new study. Their findings provide crucial insights for offsetting CO2 ...

New Discovery Could 'Revolutionize Carbon Fiber Industry'

Mar. 5, 2025 — A research team has developed a groundbreaking new method of producing carbon fiber while drastically reducing its energy ...

A Clear Game-Changer: Water-Repellent Glass Breaks New Ground

Feb. 27, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new technique to make glass water-repellent, a feature that could improve safety in vehicles, reduce cleaning costs for buildings and enhance filtration systems. The ...

From Waste to Wonder: Revolutionary Green Grout for Sustainable Construction Practices

Feb. 25, 2025 — Grouting is a widely used construction technique that involves injecting stabilizing materials into soil to ensure structural stability, which is especially beneficial in earthquake-prone regions. ...

New Environmentally-Friendly Mortar Reduces Heat Loss

Feb. 19, 2025 — A mortar made from recycled plastic and silica aerogel which improves insulation and reduces plastic waste has been ...

Novel Carbon-Based Materials to Remove Hazardous 'Forever Chemicals' in Water

Feb. 19, 2025 — New research has emerged on the development of a novel membrane distillation system and an adsorbent (a substance that can trap chemicals on its surface) for the removal of hazardous perfluoroalkyl ...

Breaking the Pattern: How Disorder Toughens Materials

Feb. 17, 2025 — Researchers have found that adding just the right amount of disorder to the structure of certain materials can make them more than twice as resistant to ...