As far as building material go , they do n’t come much cheap than dirt , which is literally everywhere and mostly devoid . But , as anyone who has ever made a sand castle knows , soil is n’t terribly strong and has a drug abuse of take form a shallow bundle rather than more structurally - beneficial build . We ’re going to lease you in on a small secret — make dirt exceedingly potent is implausibly easy .
All it takes to make soil stand up to stresses and shearing forces is a few layers of just about anything else . In this lesson fromPractical Engineering , paper , fabric , and even windowpane CRT screen are used to instance this point . But use your imagination ! Most things besides “ more dirt ” will credibly do nicely .
The understanding this work at all has to do with the nature of dirt . Its strength is derived from the rubbing of grunge particles moving past one another — which can happen in any way . But just assteel bars help fix concrete’sductility issues , level of whatever between clods of dirt help generate friction and spread vertical forces out over a greater aerofoil country .
stain with layer of support is n’t just a neat scientific discipline experimentation though . Those huge walls that run along the side of highways are almost always made this means — the concrete lining is there mostly to keep the dirt from shed out onto the roadway .
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