The laws of structural engineering are more intricately woven into our day to day lives than we realize. The complex forces involved in structural engineering play a major role in almost everything we do. Humans seldom realize that they, in-fact, make use of this inherent knowledge since childhood, even if it is to just win a game. Jenga is known to be the third most popular game globally, coming close behind Monopoly and Scrabble. Deriving its name from the Swahili word for build, this game uses complex structural engineering theorems as a basis. Below are five ways that this simple game weaves complex concepts into its operation.

1. Loads: Load bearing walls are inherent for any structure. These walls are designed to maintain the integrity of the building and carry the various forces acting on it. If you remove a load bearing wall, the structure won’t be able to support even its own weight. In Jenga, no two blocks have the same dimension. Thus, the blocks rest on each other unevenly. The trick is to identify the loose pieces which are easier to remove, these pieces are not load-bearing and can be moved without disturbing the stability of the structure
2. Foundation: The surface on which Jenga is played is an important influencer on the stability of the tower created. An unstable surface leads to the tower failing quicker and easier. Similarly, structural engineers have to carefully consider the surface on which they build their structure. The taller the structure, the sturdier the foundation should be as this is how the loads are transferred to the ground. Apart from load transfer, foundations also serve the purpose of anchoring the structure to the ground, much like the bottom-most blocks of Jenga
3. Tension and Compression: These form the two most basic forces that come to play in Structural Engineering. Compression is the force applied when two objects are pushed together, while tension is the force that applied when an object is pulled or stretched. In Jenga if two centre pieces are removed in a rove, then a two simple beam and column structure is created. The beam experiences both compression and tension and should be strong enough to withstand these forces. This is where the building material comes into play. Structural engineers have to put in a lot of thought into choosing the ideal construction material and consider each element’s strengths and weaknesses
4. Rotational Force: It is widely known that the quickest way to a falling tower is to pull away the two outside pieces of the bottom row, leaving the whole structure balancing on a single narrow wooden block. In this scenario, every bump and nudge on the tower is magnified. In simple terms, the tower is un-balanced. Structural engineers don’t talk about keeping a building “balanced”. The term commonly used is maintaining the rotational equilibrium. To achieve this the design of the structure plays an important role. Simply put, to maintain the equilibrium of taller buildings, the supports need to be wider

So here you go. There is so many forces involved even in a simple game like Jenga!

From using mud and straw to now using 3D printing technology, the construction industry has come a long way in terms of innovation. And looking at the current trends, this pace doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. BUILDTECH^® INDIA believes that innovation is the key to thriving in this industry. We take active interest in flowing the latest global trends in this industry and adapting the same to suit our needs. We bring to you today five such technologies that we feel will shape the future of the infrastructure industry.

1. Self-healing concrete: Concrete is the single most widely used construction material in the world. Concrete while being cheap and adaptable is also susceptible to cracking and deterioration under various external factors such as climate, temperature etc.
   Self-healing cement hence comes as a much-needed solution in this scenario. When a crack forms, the sodium silicate capsules embedded in the cement rupture and release a gel-like healing agent that hardens and fills the void. Prolonging the life of the structure by using self-healing cement for restorative purposes is not only economical but also highly sustainable in the long run.
2. Nano-tubes: A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. That is unimaginably small. Using techniques like electron-beam lithography, scientists and engineers have successfully created tubes of carbon with walls that are only 1 nanometer thick. When a larger particle is divided into increasingly smaller parts, the proportion of its surface area to its mass increases, making it stronger and more malleable. Carbon nanotubes are so light and strong that they can be embedded into other building materials like metals, concrete, wood and glass to add density and tensile strength. Now research is also being conducted on making nanoscale sensors that can monitor stresses inside building materials and identify potential fractures or cracks before they occur.
3. Transparent Aluminium: For decades, scientists tried to manufacture material that combined the strength and durability of metal with the crystal clear purity of glass. Today they have finally come close to achieving their goal. Transparent aluminium is made by placing aluminium powder (a mix of aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen) under immense pressure and heating it for days at 2000 degree Celsius. This is then polished to produce a clear glass like material with the strength of aluminium. Currently transparent aluminium is being used by the US military to make armoured windows and optical lenses. It can further be adapted to construct towering glass-walled sky-scrapers that would require less internal support.
4. Permeable Concrete: This is an ingenious way to ensure minimum wastage of rainwater. Permeable or pervious concrete is made with larger grains of rock and sand, leaving 15 and 35 percent open space in the pavement. Slabs made of this material is placed atop gravel or other porous base material which lets rainwater settle to the soil substrate underneath. This not only allows the water to permeate but also remains cool in the summer
5. Aerogel: Aerogel is made by removing the liquid from a gel. What is left behind is a silica structure made up of 90-99 percent air. Aerogel is almost weightless and can be spun into thin sheets of fabric. In construction, these extraordinary materials exhibit super-insulating properties. In initial tests, aerogel fabric showed two to four times the insulating power of traditional fiberglass or foam insulation

This list is just the tip of the iceberg. The infrastructure industry is rapidly changing. With innovation in technology spearheading this movement. The restoration and renovation segment is growing hand in hand with this growth, finding the need to adapt and adopt these practices into their own operations. BUILDTECH^® INDIA takes pride in being an active member of this technological revolution.