It has been around in some form since there has been manmade concrete.
Personally, I bought a box of chopped fibers for inclusion in a concrete project some 30 years ago - sold labeled for that specific use.
I doubt it’s a recent thought, knowing civil engineers, they’re absolute perverts when it comes to concrete.
MangoCats@feddit.it 2 days ago
Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world 2 days ago
IIRC this type of thing isn’t new - there was research into the possibility of making ships out of ice mixed with sawdust in WWII.
prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
It also wasn’t and isn’t that crazy of an idea.
It’s strong AF, buoyant, and you can repair it at sea using the ocean around you.
You just need a reliable way to keep it cool.
OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 2 days ago
How is the fleet holding up?
We almost made it this time!
Well, let’s wait for January and try again
prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Look up pykrete, it’s actually a really cool material
Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I think that was kinda the idea - war production meant steel was in great demand, and this seemed like a really cheap way to make ships. I wouldn’t want to try sailing one round the Caribbean, but they might have been okay in the north sea, for example. They didn’t work out though, can’t recall why but it’s not impossible that melting may have been a factor!
SpermHowitzer@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
The idea was to build giant floating barges in the mid North Atlantic for sub hunting escort aircraft to refuel halfway across. The escort aircraft at the time couldn’t stay with the convoys the whole way, leaving a stretch in the mid Atlantic where they were vulnerable. An ice runway would allow aircraft to cover the convoy for the entire passage, and in the North Atlantic would last months (if not longer) before melting.
MangoCats@feddit.it 2 days ago
Fuel requirements could get to astounding levels, even with ambient air and water temperatures below 0C any “hot stuff” onboard (engines, lights, radios, people) would have to be offset with some kind of refrigeration system, which requires: more fuel to be burned. I’m sure you can “stay ahead of things” in some environments, but it won’t be cheap on the fuel side of things.