Seacrete - Electro-Accumulation
The process of applying an electric current to a cathode/anode grid in sea water, growing a "concrete" like structure. I remember articles about this maybe 20 years ago or so in either Popular Science or Popular Mechanics. If you have info on this topic, please contact me, Steve Spence
>Dave Irons asked about innovative methods to build a submersible or >habitat. I read about a novel method and material some time ago which I >hope some other members will help recall details of. The method was to >build a mesh of conductive material (like steel) in the shape of the >desired walls and submerge it in sea water, then apply a small charge to >it over a period of weeks (or months). The dissolved material in the >sea water would "plate out" on the mesh and eventually build up a wall >of great strength. The author said the wall was stronger than concrete >and the material was free except for the cost of the electricity. I >immediately envisioned a wave action generator to provide the >electricity and huge complexes of underwater habitats which were kept >supplied with oxygen by hydrolysis of sea water from the same >electricity after initial construction. This is pretty wild stuff but >it seemed technically feasible. Comments!?
Seacrete
Sea Water Electrolytic Mineral Accretion
Seacrete samples range in strength from 3720 psi to 5350 psi. Typical concrete used in sidewalks and such is about 3500 psi. With very slow deposition -up to a year or more - strengths of 8000 psi have been achieved. One kilowatt hour of electric power will result in the accretion of 4.2 pounds of seacrete. Most of the research on Seacrete was published by Wolf H. Hilbertz. A thorough description of how seacrete buildings are grown is published by Marshall T. Savage. The Millennial Project (1994) p. 73 One of the most readable articles on secrete was published in Mother Earth News "Grow Your Own Buildings" (March/April 1980) p. 118
Info:
- Wolf Hilbertz: Electro-Accretion, "Seacrete"
- U.S. Patent #4,246,075 (Wolf Hilbertz)
- Wolf H. Hilbertz. "Electrodeposition of Minerals in Sea Water: Experiments and Applications" IEEE Journal On
- Oceanic Engineering, Vol O-E4, No.3, July 1979, pg. 94-113.
- "Why Not Grow a Building Underwater?" Next, Mar./Apr. 1980. Pg 57-62
- Telegraph/Sunday Magazine #227 Feb. 1. 1987. Pg. 31 & 34.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/6581/chronos3.html- http://www.popularmechanics.com/popmech/sci/9709STRSM.html
- Suggestions were offered for starting the Seacrete Lab in a small coastal residence, house boat, dock-side building, obsolete oil rig, or other facilities with a minimum investment risk. The lab could be founded with a single staff member charged with the task of performing the most basic seacrete research, confirming the anticipated potential of seacrete for large scale construction, and devising small cheaply produced seacrete novelties with which to generate initial cash flow and promote the virtues of this new material. Possibilities of performing this basic initial work under academic sponsorship and in facilities borrowed from marine research institutes were also raised. To date the most comprehensive work done by FMF members on secrete has been performed by Eric R. Lee whose excellent research has been compiled in his seacrete Web site at http://www.millennial.org/~erlee/seacrt/seament.htm. Members of the FMF-London and FMF-Sweden groups have also voiced their enthusiasm about re-invigorating pursuit of the AR business plan and have been spearheading their own efforts in Europe.
http://www.distant-star.com/issue6/feb_98_progress_AR.htm
Initial research has produced surprising results -- revealing that electro-accretion is not simple but can be achived. New studies show that ionized carbon may be the material of choice for colony designs. http://www.digital-rain.com/~england/fmf/projects/index.html
Though Wolf Hilbertz holds the patents on the raw technology, there is
unlimited potential for developing additional patentable fabrication and
engineering techniques and an unlimited variety of products that can be
developed from them. There is also potential to create completely new sea
accretion techniques offering alternatives to Hilbertz' patented
technology. Though I believe that licensing with Hilbertz should be
pursued, the man has proven to be extremely difficult to communicate
with. Whatever the motives behind this, it pays to develop alternatives
since we cannot afford to allow TMP objectives to be hindered by it.
http://www.millennial.org/mail/talk/fmf-ar/hyper/0400.htmlhttp://www.millennial.org/mail/talk/fmf-seacrete/
http://www.millennial.org/mail/talk/fmf-eng/hyper/subject.html#start
Seacrete Research - there's been discussion on the lists lately of the problems involved in using seacrete to build Aquarius. A lot of it seems to revolve around a report written some time ago be Eric Lee, and this area needs more research. Specifically, what are the expenses involved? How fast does it accrete? What are the copyright problems involved? Began 27 May 1999. http://www.luf.org/wiki/view.cgi/Chapter/CurrentProjects
Building a models of ocean and space colonies.
http://medusa.twinoaks.org/clubs/space_commune/dinner.htmWolf Hilbertz and the Current Status of Sea-Cretion
The work of Wolf Hilbertz, the architect who is the father of sea-cretion (the electrolytic deposition of sea-shell-like minerals from seawater for construction purposes) is the subject of an extensive article titled "Ocean-Grown Homes" in the September 1997 issue of Popular Mechanics. Hilbertz currently plans to deploy house-size wire frames connected to hugh floating solar panels on Skerki Bank, a few hundred square yards of knee-deep water in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Tunisia. His experiments indicate that over a five-year period this will accrete an island (he plans to call Autopia Ampere) which can house, feed, and productively employ 50,000 inhabitants.
Hilbertz developed the sea-cretion techniques while an associate professor of architecture at the University of Texas and later at McGill University in Montreal. He is now a visiting professor of architecture at the Hochschule fur Kunst in Bremen, Germany. He has succeeded in demonstrating reinforcement of decaying wooden piers using encasement with sea-crete grown around them. He is also working with Negril Coral Reef Preservation Society and has five experimental "coral" reefs now growing__three using power from shore, one using a sacrificial anode to make a wet-cell battery from nearby seawater, and the fifth using solar power.
Sea-cretion of huge floating islands using power from ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is an important facet of the FMF plans for building Aquarius colonies. http://www.distant-star.com/issue5/nov_97_sci-tech.htm
http://mather.ar.utexas.edu/Staff/swaffar/hilbertz/ - The Coral Process was developed by Prof. W.H.Hilbertz at The University of Texas at Austin, Symbiotic Process Laboratory, through research commenced in 1974.
