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1. Introduction: Recently, we have witnessed the evolution of the information age and modern technology. Everything around us becomes computerized and automated. Wants of people had greatly changed and become more complicated than before. For example, in the past, the only man? s need was to have a simple building to shelter him and protect his family from the environment. But today, the man? s want is to have a complicated structural building supported with air conditioning systems, lighting systems, and electromechanical systems.
And all of these systems are accompanied with some problems that can be summarized in three points; highly required energy problems, environmental problems and high costs. By time and with the great revolution in modern technology and minimization processes, these problems disappear gradually with the appearance of new modern technologies and leading these technologies is nanotechnology and its applications on buildings. Accordingly, there is no doubt that nanotechnology is going to make a revolution for architecture industry.
The future success of this technology depends on the development of different items concerning energy saving technology and enhancing the properties of building materials that achieve human comfort. This report is composed entirely of five main sections. The first section will help readers to know more about some definitions to be aware of the new terminologies used in this field of study. Moreover, it will support them with a sufficient knowledge of background history of 1 nanotechnology and its development throughout the years.
The second section will discuss the materials and its new properties as it? s the most influenced part in architecture. The third section will talk about new techniques of saving energy in architecture and its importance. The forth section will show the impact of nanotechnology on architectural designs as a result of the great evolution in terms of materials and energy savings. Finally, the fifth section will be the conclusion that includes our expectations and suggestions for the future architecture all around the world and hoping that nano architecture to be applied in Egypt.
Here is a diagram to clearly describe how we thought of classifying the report? s sections. Nanoarchitecture Changed the way of thinking Generating new forms Implementation in buildings Nano materials New energy techniques Fig. 1. 1. shows our point of view in classifying the report sections. 2 2. Background information Nanotechnology is an area of science that deals with manipulation of materials on scale of nanometers. “This technology uses a basic unit of measure called a nanometer which is derived from the Greek word “dwarf”, nano which indicates a billionth part (10-9)”(ElSamny ,2010).
The size of nano particles is really important because at a specific size 10-9, properties of materials become affected. Changes that happen in properties vary between materials. Nanoscience is somehow similar to nanotechnology; it refers to the study of objects that are very small and are in range of ten to hundred nanometers. Nanoparticles are the first generation products of nanotechnology. They are extremely tiny particles that measure few nanometers; they consist of an atom or thousand of atoms. 2. 1. History of Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is neither a new technology nor a new science; it is just development of sciences and technologies over many years. Nanomaterials have been present for centuries. Scientific discussion started on 1959 by the physicist Richard Feynman. (ElSamny,2010) Richard did not name this technology nanotechnology from the beginning; he only discussed the possibilities of a new type of science at very small scale. The first observations and size measurements of Nanoparticles were made during the first decade of the 20th century. Nanometer, which is the beginning of the history of nanotechnology, was discovered in 1960.
In the late 1974, Nanotechnology was defined by Norio Taniguchi. He defined it as the process of separation and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule. (ElSamny, 2010) After that a well known scientist named Eric Drexler began to invent what would become 3 manufacturing. He discovered that molecular machines could control the chemical manufacture of complex products. Fig. 2. 1. (Nanotechnology started its biological history with DNA’s discovery and its general technology history with Feynman in 1959) (ELSAMNY, 2010) 2. 2 Boost of Nanotechnology
In the early 1980s, Nanotechnology and Nanoscience got a boost with two major developments: the birth of cluster science and the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope. This development led to the discovery of fullerenes in 1985 . According to Ul Hassan in 1986, Eric Drexler applied the concept of nanotechnology to engineering through the concept of molecular manufacturing for the first time. He expressed that if 4 atoms were viewed like marbles then molecules would be tight collections of these marbles. These molecules became normal scaled tools like motors when put together. UL Hassan, 2010). Despite the size of nanoscale, these tools operated in the same way as their large counterparts did. The moving parts of the nano machines were formed by atoms held together by the strength of their own bonds. After that Drexler discovered that these nano bots would be used as assemblers for the purpose of putting together atoms into any shape Dexler introduced the term nanotechnology in his three books. First one was Molecular Engineering which discussed an approach to the development of general capabilities for molecular manipulation in 1981.
Second one was Engines of Creation which discussed The Coming Era of Nanotechnology in 1986, and Finally Un bounding the Future which discussed the Nanotechnology Revolution in 1991 . After this period , Nanotechnology became an accepted concept which lead the National Nanotechnology initiative to fund it In 1991 Sumio lijima discovered the nanotubes which were demonstrated using single electron transistor after 10 years . (ElSamny , 2010) For all the foregoing history, it shows how that nanotechnology is really a fast developing technology and that in the near future it will change vision into reality. 3. Nano Materials: 3. 1 Nano materials types: Nano materials have made a great revolution in our life and they have many applications besides building industries, such as , medicine , chemistry, electronic device industry, spacecrafts industry, and so on. Nano materials can be classified according to their dimensions, as shown in table 3. 1. The first type is one dimensional and is called nano layers or thin films. The second type is two dimensional and is called nanotubes, the third one is three dimensional and is called nano particles.
With these new materials, we expect to have new magnificent properties in building materials and concrete. Table 3. 1 Nano materials are classified according to its dimensions. (Hemeida, 2010) 3. 1. 1 Carbon nano tubes: Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are one of the most important areas of research in nanotechnology. CNT are very small hollow tubular channels their diameters varied between 10 to 50 nm while their lengths varies between 100 and 1000 nm. CNT can be either single walled nanotube (SWNT) like single sheet rolled up, or multi walled (MWNT) nested together s in Fig. 3. 2. CNT can be seen as a very fine black powder. 6 Fig. 3. 1 shows the shape of the Multi walled nanotubes (MWNT). (Zhao et al. , 2004) (CNT) have some high mechanical and physical properties. Experimental results showed that the CNT? s moduli of elasticity exceed 1T Pa value which is very high value compared to that of the steel which is nearly 150 GPa. Figure 3. 3 shows how the moduli of elasticity are high according to the slope of the red line. In addition, the yield strength reached 63 GPa at a yield strain of 6%.
And concerning tensile strength, it varies from 10 to 63 G Pa at the maximum strain 12%, while the tensile strength of steel is nearly 200 M Pa. This means that the tensile strength of CNT is more than that of the steel by nearly 240 %. For all these magnificent properties, CNT will be more conventional and commonly used in building industries and huge structural applications requiring high strength. the Red line represents the modulus of elasticity of CNT Fig. 3. 2 shows Stress-strain relationships of nanotubes. (Balaguru & Chnog, 2004) 7 3. 1. Nano particles: They are a three dimensional nano material sized between 1and 100 nanometer . They have high mechanical and physical properties because they have agreater surface area per weight than that of the greater particles. Accordingly, they are used in cement composites for higher mechanical properties amd more rapid of hydration. They are used also in coatings of concrete to get a very strong coat with new properties, such as self cleaning and tempreature resistance. 3. 1. 3 Nano layers and thin films : They are one dimentional nano material in the form of layers. heir applications in architecture and building industries are limited. They can be used in coating of concrete for several purposes; for self-cleaning , self-healing, abrasion resistance, friction resistance,and high temperature resistance, and for aesthetical improvements. 3. 2 Functions of nano materials: 3. 2. 1 In structural applications and building industry: And accordingly, with all these mechanical and physical properties of CNT and nano particles mentioned before, it is expected for cement? s composites and concrete to have new magnificent properties in their strengths.
It is mentioned experimentally that The CNT can increase the compressive strength of concrete by nearly 150%. And these property can be useful in highrise buildings especially in foundations where high strength concrete is required. Figure 3. 4 shows a comparison in compressive strengths concrete before and after adding these CNT where (PCC) refers to the Portland cement composites, while (PCNT) refers to Portland carbon nano tubes. 8 Fig. 3. 3 mentions the difference in compressive strengths in two cases related to their displacements (Zhao et al. , 2004).
In addition, the CNT add some other properties to concrete such as, decreasing segregation and porosity of concrete, and increasing its toughness and hardness. In addition, the harden concrete acquires higher resistance to fires. 3. 2. 2 New Coatings for concrete: The main function of Coatings is protecting the concrete from abrasion, chemical attack, hydro-thermal variations and improving aesthetics. With nano materials, all these properties have been improved, besides adding some new magnificent properties. Coatings, using these nano layers, could be self-cleaning and self-healing time by time.
Figure 3. 6 compares between two roofs, one was coated using nano materials, and the other was coated without using any nano materials. Furthermore, these coatings are high temperature resistant and can be used in hot weather instead of air conditioning; if the temperature outside is 100 c, it will be reduced to 40c. And accordingly it save costs and electricity resulting from air conditioning. 9 Coated using higher ratio of nano materials Coated without using nano materials Fig. 3. 4 the effect of self cleaning property on a roof of the house. (El-Samny, 2008) 4. Techniques for energy Conservation . 1 Conservation of energy through three phases in design process According to the revolution of nano materials that arise from nanotechnology, scientists consider the nanotechnology as one of the clean technologies that can reduce environmental risks associated with the industrial manufacturing. Now architects are thinking of replacing the conventional materials with new nano materials as they cooperate in solving environmental problems by being environmentally friendly. Saving the environmental energy can be attempted in three phases in designing buildings. (Hemeida, 2010). Fig. . 1. the three phases of design that can save energy. (Hemeida, 2010). 10 There are a lot of features that contribute in the pre-building phase to save energy. These features can be summarized in waste reduction, pollution prevention, recycled content, usage of natural materials and energy reduction. Focusing on the reduction of energy, it refers to the overall energy needed to collect raw materials and produce new ones. So even in the traditional design and construction techniques the conventional materials can be changed from high to low embodied energy content. (Hemeida, 2010).
There are a lot of new installed materials to save energy in the design phase. Saving energy can be achieved by insuladd paints. The insuladd is a mix of microscopic hollow ceramic spheres that is added to ordinary paints. The insuladd additive has a unique energy saving property that helps in reflecting radiant heat energy which affects the warming phenomenon “Mean Radiant Temperature”. It can be applied on ceilings, roofs, interior and exterior surfaces. When the paint dries, the tiny spheres produce a tight layer by compacting together resulting with more reflective property.
Experiments showed that insuladd can reduce solar heat gain through walls by 20% during summer which is more compared to winter savings. Another new method for energy conservation is the Nano Vent Skin. The nano vent skin is a new approach that covers objects to generate energy and supply electricity from abundant natural energy like wind and sunlight. It can be installed on road barriers to power on the street lights. Also it covers the traditional wind turbines to maximize the wind energy absorption. It? s a skin like structure that consists of micro wind turbines. Each one is 25 mm long by 10. 8 mm wide.
It consists of two layers; the outer one is to absorb sunlight through photovoltaic cells 11 which transfers it to storage units by nano fibers and the inner layer absorbs carbon dioxide as wind passes through it. See figure 3. 2 for more illustration of the structure and function of each component. (Hemeida, 2010). Inner membrane (Gathers and transfers energy to nano wires) Inner skin (Absorbs carbon dioxide) Outer photovoltaic skin (Absorbs sunlight) Nano wires (Acts as an axis for the turbine) Nano fibers (Acts as data transmitters) Fig. 4. 2 shows the structure and function of each component. Hemeida, 2010). Nano vent skin is mixed with different types of micro-organisms that work together in absorbing and transforming natural energy derived from the environment like wind and sunlight. The existence of micro-organisms has a great direct impact on the environment as they absorb carbon dioxide from the air which directly reduces the green house effect and global warming. (Hemeida, 2010). 12 There are three main characteristics of the materials that contribute in saving energy in the post building stage. The first characteristic is reusability. It shows how the material is durable and long lasting.
Also, if they are implemented in a building that was withdrawn out of service; the materials can then be extracted and reused in a new building. The second characteristic is recyclability. It? s the ability of the material to be used as a resource in a new product such as: steel and glass. Finally the third characteristic is biodegradability. It? s the tendency of the material to decompose naturally when removed. (Hemeida, 2010). A little tip we would like to pass on is that there is a common misconception that says that these new ways of saving energy are much more expensive.
Therefore, few countries think of not applying this concept. But actually it? s a total distortion of the truth as all these technologies are extremely economical on the long run as the future savings will definitely compensate and over seed the initial cost of the materials and their implementation costs. 4. 2 Importance of conserving energy No one can deny the fact that conserving energy has a great importance and impact on the whole world. Therefore, many countries are now concerned about saving energy as they are designing for the future.
Sooner or later resources will vanish one day due to the existence of limited resources and unlimited needs. As a result, we have to start generating energy from renewable resources such as: solar panels. Installing high tech equipments that generate energy will provide ongoing benefits to the environment and guarantee a clean unpolluted atmosphere. Facing the fact that relates the emission of carbon dioxide gas that result from burning coal for releasing energy to increasing the Green House Effect can be a strong reason to drive the world to think of saving energy.
The whole globe is aware of the dangerous effect concerning carbon 13 dioxide emission. It increases the temperature of the earth which can lead some islands to be drawn because of melting ice caps that raise the sea level. It? s expected that by the year 2100 the temperature will rise by three to four degrees. So with the demand of increasing energy it? s essential to be conserved. 5. 3 The effect of nanomaterials on design In this section, we are going to discuss the effects of nanotechnology on the process of design. New concepts and forms will generate thanks to the new materials and its offered characteristics.
There will be a change in the way the designer think about a building. It may be a growing building or a morphable building; it’s not just some masses of brick or concrete as most of us got familiar. We are also going to discuss some expectations that’ll make nano-architecture more applicable and widely used by global designers. 5. 1 Multi-purpose materials broadened possibilities: With conventional materials a designer uses glass when he needs a transparent material, uses steel when he needs a strong material and aluminum when he needs a bright material.
However, with nano-materials, he could achieve all these properties in one material. One can make a material stronger than steel using nano-tubes, and at the same time, it can be a translucent or a transparent material. This means that a structural system of a building can be a glass-like material. Hence, a building structure is not a restriction anymore. In addition to materials’ visual and strength properties shown above, nanotechnology can also regulate sustainability of a material. For example, in a material the designer may add an insulation property. He can even make it a self-cleaning or an air purifying material.
All these 14 properties have definitely broadened the way designers think and added more possibilities and capabilities in the design process. 5. 2 Molecular architecture affected architectural ideas and forms Scientists have recently carried out research about growing architecture. Its main idea is to program the molecules of a material to grow by a certain rate in a certain direction. It’s like planting a shrub, but in addition, the designer can control the growth of this shrub. In this application, molecules are designed to make different processes just similar to a cell.
And like any vascular system, the building would use vascular fibers to deliver the necessary nourishment to the molecules (El-Samny, 2008). In addition to growing architecture, scientists do research about what’s called morphable materials. The main idea is that a nano-material is able to adapt to the surrounding conditions. A nano-material can adapt to temperature, humidity, altitude and position. An application of this technology was to design a new self-adapting furniture that can change shape and texture according to comfort requirements; it’s all a matter of molecular arrangement according to the surrounding conditions.
The building would be instructed to receive feedback from its environment and adjust the design to be in harmony with nature (El-Samny, 2008). 5. 3 Implementation of nano-architecture The question then: what’s needed to make the maximum use of nano-technology and make it widely used. It’s expected that new program software will invade the market soon to help architects deal with nanotechnology. This is going to regulate the way designers and engineers interact with the new technology and make it more practical on the managerial scale. Once nano- 15 rchitecture becomes interpreted numerically using software, people will know exactly how much of the material to be used, how effective it’s going to be, and how long it’s going to last. All these questions can be answered by a new smart program by simulating the state of the building in a period of time under certain conditions. Hence, work flow will be more organized, and nanoarchitecture would spread on a wide scale. A higher level of application and organization of nano-architecture would be to make societies which are specialized in nano-architecture.
These societies would rate the buildings made by nano-technology, give certificates to architects working with nano, and suggest laws to be added to building codes to make it more obligatory to work with nano. Using strategies mentioned above nano-architecture is going to be the new conventional system of building especially that it’s very economically effective on the long run and that it would be very efficient for both rich and poor countries. 5. 4 Examples of projects In this section we will show some of the buildings, in which nano-technology was used especially in the life-cycle phase.
Ara Pacis Museum, Rome, Italy: The building was opened in 2006 and it is a very important museum in Rome. The building surfaces clad is in white like Meier???s architecture. They used the self-cleaning technology to help the white color be more durable against the environment conditions. Otherwise, the building would not have remained for long in such a polluted city like Rome (EL-Samny, 2008). 16 Figure 5. 1 shows the white color of the building. Table 5. 1shows the main data of the building and the items of nanotechnology used in it Table 5. brief information about the building and items of nanotechnology used in it. Architecture Richard Meier & Partners, NYC, USA Nanotechnology aspect Self-cleaning paint (Lotus-Effect) Benefits better optimal use and low maintenance facades Fig. 5. 1. shows that the museum kept its white color (El-Samny 2008) 17 Carbon tower: The building was initiated by the institute of nano-scale, designed by Peter Testa and Sheila Kennedy, and is expected to be the strongest and lightest building of its type. It’s still in the design phase but it is very obvious that nanotechnology is going to make that building a landmark.
It would have a very unique structural system thanks to the carbon nano tubes, the author illustrates its structural system:”The carbon Tower prototype is a 40-story mixed-use high-rise that incorporates 5 innovative systems pre-compressed double-helix primary structure, tensile laminated composite floors, two external filament-bound ramps, breathable thin film membrane, and virtual duct displacement ventilation. ” (Hemeida, 2010). Figures 5. 2 and 5. 3 illustrate the main shape of the building and its structural system. Fig. 5. 2. The 3d model of the Carbon Tower (El-Samny, 2008) Fig. 5. 3. he structural system of the Carbon Tower (El-Samny, 2008) 18 6. Conclusion: This report described the nanotechnology applications in architecture. First of all, we went through historical background of nanotechnology followed by the design concepts. After that, we discussed its magnificent materials usage. And finally, we talked about the application of this technology in saving energy and its importance. These applications clearly showed the importance of this extraordinary technology. As far as we are concerned, architecture expects a promising era characterized by using the modern nano hi-tech which is economic on the long run.
This prepares the architects? state of mind which should always stay aware and updated to new technologies and software. 19 List of references: ? Fahd, H. (2010). Green Nanoarchitecture. M. Sc. Thesis, Architectural Engineering Department, Alexandria University, Egypt. Retrieved July 13,2010, from http://alex. academia. edu/documents/0063/9966/GREEN_NANOARCHITECTURE_mastr_degre e. pdf ? Energy ideas clearing house. (2007). Retrieved August 3, 2010 from http://www. energyideas. org/documents/Factsheets/PTR/Insuladd. pdf ? Maged, S. (2008). NanoArchitecture. M. Ss. Thesis, Architectural Engineering Department, Alexandria University, Egypt.
Retrieved July 13, 2010, from http://www. nanoarchive. org/5830/1/NanoArchitecture_-_Maged_Elsamny. pdf ? Ashort history of nano technology. (2010). Retrieved July 13, 2010, from http://ezinearticles. com/? A-Short-History-of-Nanotechnology=4134905 ? Perumalsamy, B. , & Ken, C. (2007). Nano technology and concrete research opportunities. National Science Foundation, USA. ? Geng, Y. , & Pei. M. W. , & Xiaohua. Z. (2004). Mechanical behavior and microstructure of cement composites incorporating surface-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes. China: State Key Laboratory of Concrete Material Research, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092. 20