Antiballistic armour plate includes a ceramic body including a hard material, provided, on its inner face, with a back energy-dissipating coating. The ceramic body is monolithic. The constituent material of the ceramic body includes grains of ceramic material having a Vickers hardness that is higher than 15 GPa, and a matrix binding the grains, the matrix including a silicon nitride phase and/or a silicon oxynitride phase, the matrix representing between 5 and 40% by weight of the constituent material of the ceramic body. The maximum equivalent diameter of the grains of ceramic material is smaller than or equal to 800 micrometres. The constituent material of the ceramic body has an open porosity that is higher than 5% and lower than 14%. The metallic silicon content in the material, expressed per mm of thickness of the body, is lower than 0.5% by weight.

A porous inorganic additive manufactured article that is comprised of at least two layers of inorganic particulates bound together by a carbon binding phase throughout. The additive manufactured article may be formed by additive manufacturing using a mixture comprised of an organic reactive material and inorganic particulates, wherein the organic reactive material is subsequently reacted to form a thermoset material that forms carbon upon heating that binds the inorganic particulates together to form the porous inorganic additive manufactured article. The porous inorganic additive manufactured article may then be infiltrated with a liquid that is solidified to form a composite article or may be further heated in a differing atmosphere to form a further sintered or reacted porous inorganic article.

Dry mortar mixture characterized by a glass mixture of expanded glass beads with a grain size d/D 0/8, mixed in a ratio of between 1:1 and 1:3, for example 1:2 with a dust poor or dust free binding mixture of hydraulic binders and stone granules in the weight ratio of 1:2 to 1:4. The glass has a discontinuous grain distribution. For the glass mixture the fractions 0.5/1.0 and 2.0/4.0 are present while the fractions 0.25/0.5 and 1.0/2.0 are absent. For the glass mixture preferably all grain sizes between 1.0 and 2.0 mm are absent and the grain size distribution is around an average, so that an open structure is obtained.

Method of forming a concrete slab to reduce or eliminate control joints includes preparing a substantially flat base, overlaying one or more barriers on top of the base, placing a concrete mixture on top of the barrier(s) and base to form a concrete slab, and allowing the concrete to cure without forming control joints. The base is prepared with a flatness of about inch over 10 feet. A side edge is prepared along a periphery of the concrete slab by extending a vapor barrier from a bottom surface of the slab up the side edge toward a top surface of the slab and covering the side edge. A plurality of post-tensioning cables are positioned to extend through the slab and configured to compress and assist in controlling accelerated displacement of the concrete slab during curing and shrinkage. The concrete slab is formed of an evenly gradated and low slump concrete having high fiber content, minimized cement content, and maximized size of large aggregate.

The invention relates to a composite heat insulation system, comprising an insulating layer, optionally a reinforcing layer, which is applied to the insulating layer, and a cover layer, which is applied to the insulating layer or, if present, to the reinforcing layer, characterized in that the cover layer contains composite particles, wherein the composite particles contain at least one organic polymer and at least one inorganic solid, wherein the weight percentage of inorganic solid is 15 to 40 wt %, with respect to the total weight of organic polymer and inorganic solid in the composite particle.

A composition comprising thermoset polymer, shape memory polymer to facilitate macro scale damage closure, and a means for molecular scale healing is disclosed; the composition has the ability to resolve structural defects by a bio-mimetic close-then heal process. In use, the shape memory polymer serves to bring surfaces of a structural defect into approximation, whereafter use of the means for molecular scale healing allowed for movement of the healing means into the defect and thus obtain molecular scale healing. The means for molecular scale healing can be a thermoplastic such as fibers, particles or spheres which are used by heating to a level at or above the thermoplastic's melting point, then cooling of the composition below the melting temperature of the thermoplastic. Compositions of the invention have the ability to not only close macroscopic defects, but also to do so repeatedly even if another wound/damage occurs in a previously healed/repaired area.

Dry mortar mixture characterized by a glass mixture of expanded glass beads with a grain size d/D 0/8, mixed in a ratio of between 1:1 and 1:3, with a binding mixture of hydraulic binders and stone granules in the weight ratio of 1:2 to 1:4. The glass has a discontinuous grain distribution. For the glass mixture the fractions 0.5/1.0 and 2.0/4.0 are present while a fraction intermediate other fractions are absent. Preferably the fractions 0.25/0.5 and 1.0/2.0 are absent. For the glass mixture preferably all grain sizes between 1.0 and 2.0 mm are absent. The grain size distribution is around an average, so that an open structure is obtained.

Plastisol compositions are provided including a polymeric resin in the form of particulates dispersed within a plasticizer and one or more hydrolyzable organosilicon compounds. A suitable solvent system can be utilized in the plastisol compositions. Also provided are inorganic fibers, and particularly reinforcing scrims, that are at least partially coated with a plastisol composition including one or more hydrolyzable organosilicon compounds. Cementitious boards reinforced with plastisol coated inorganic fibers, such as mesh scrims, are also provided.

A thermal insulation member is directly or indirectly sandwiched between a first object and a second object and thereby suppresses or interrupts heat transfer between the first object and the second object. The thermal insulation member comprises: a first main surface opposed to the first object; and a second main surface positioned on the opposite side from the first main surface and opposed to the second object. The thermal insulation member has a porous structure of ceramic having pores. ZrO.sub.2 particles and different type material exist on surfaces of the ZrO.sub.2 particles form a skeleton of the porous structure. The different type material includes at least one selected out of SiO.sub.2, TiO.sub.2, La.sub.2O.sub.3, and Y.sub.2O.sub.3.

A heat insulating material is a sheet including a fiber and an aerogel. The fiber is aligned in a certain direction in the sheet. A heat insulating structure is used that includes: a high-temperature unit; a low-temperature; and the heat insulating material joining the high-temperature unit and the low-temperature to each other. The certain direction of the heat insulating material is a direction in which the high-temperature unit and the low-temperature unit are joined to each other. A heat insulating structure is used that includes: a first battery cell; a second battery cell; the heat insulating material disposed between the first battery cell and the second battery cell; and a cooling plate that is in contact with the first battery cell, the second battery cell, and the heat insulating material.