Researchers from the university of British Columbia have developed a new fiber-reinforced concrete treatment that can “dramatically [enhance] the earthquake resistance of seismically vulnerable [structures].”
Called EDCC (eco-friendly ductile cementitious composite), the material is engineered at the molecular level to react similarly to steel – with high strength, ductility and malleability. When sprayed onto the surface of traditionally poured interior concrete walls, it reinforces against seismic intensities as high as the magnitude 9.0-9.1 earthquake that hit Tohoku, Japan in 2011.
