A smart circular bridge made from flax will soon be inaugurated in the Dutch city of Almere. Other "twin" bridges will follow shortly, one again in Holland and the other in Germany and the Netherlands. The high-tech structures are part of the European project Smart Circular Bridge, sponsored by Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e).
A bridge based on flax (and artificial intelligence)
The (pedestrian) bridge is made of 100% natural linen fibers and is 15 meters (50 feet) long. 25% of the resin that binds these flax fibers together comes from non-fossil sources. And it is a deliberate choice: the partnership aims to increase the bioresin content in future bridges to 60% (or more). To do this, waste from biodiesel production and recycled PET bottles will be used.
Not just flax fibers, however. On the contrary. The bridge is chock full of sensors, it has nearly a hundred of them. They provide data on the behavior of the bridge when the pedestrian flow or the season changes, and above all the state of wear of all the materials of the bridge. In real time.
An extraordinary test, the result of the interpretation of the data by one artificial intelligence which literally “learns” the behavior of materials.
Absolute transparency
An interesting factor (and I hope preparatory to the bridges of the future) is the possibility of consulting all the data in a sort of "dashboard" on a public website (this one: dashboard.smartcircularbridge.eu). Engineers can also use this data to refine their calculation models and materials.
Apart from linen, of course, the circularity of the bridge that arises from the design also aims to study the best way to dispose of all materials at the end of their life. It doesn't matter how many decades it takes, but everything that is part of the bridge will be reused, or optimized to last as long as possible.
Three recycling options: mechanical, chemical and even biological (with the help of special mushrooms).
“The results are exciting,” says Prof. Patrick Teuffel from Eindhoven University of Technology. “We expect to see more bridges of this type in the future, with larger spans and higher loads.”
