Brick Concept Research Articles

Behaviour of peat-added composite bricks in low-cost building construction

Composite building materials, which can be locally developed with available peat soil, have great potential of application in the construction industry. Utilizing available peat and taking advantage of compressed stabilization technics, peat brick may be environmentally sustainable compared to the conventional building materials. The present study deals with the development of peat bricks, evaluation of its behavior and its application in construction industry. Performance of solid bricks using peat, siliceous sand, and cement in various types of constructional applications have been investigated. The compressive strength and unit weight reduce significantly and water absorption values rise up with increased replacement of peat in aggregation. The effect of 54% volumetric replacement with peat does not exhibit any sudden brittle fracture even when the applied load exceeds the ultimate loads. This peat brick concept can be materialized in building construction in a comparatively affordable cost.

Components and technologies for T/R modules

This presents new developments and perspectives in Phased Arrays Radars and Electronic Warfare for the next generations of T/R modules (medium/long term), in order to decrease the mass production cost, while increasing the level of performance and reliability. In terms of physical architecture, even if the brick concept is more current at mid-term, the tile concept is investigated for conformal and/or multifunction phased array antennas: a 3-dimensional module will lead to a drastic reduction of size and weight of the antennas. MMICs are always the key components, with evolution toward multifunction chips, and new processes like GaN, SiGe, MEMS power switches. Concerning the packaging, a technological roadmap indicates different capabilities: 1) thick film multilayer ceramic circuits, 2) co-fired ceramics based on LTCC or HTCC processes, 3) surface-mounted packages on printed circuits boards, and 4) 3D architectures. For the interconnections domain, it is now more important to be compatible with the level of integration required for the microwave modules: fuzz buttons, flex, sub-miniature connectors. AH of these technologies mastered by Thales are dual use for Airborne and Space, Military and Civilian applications.