---
title: Bendable Concrete Inspired by Abalone Shells
description: The University of Michigan team has shown that it is possible to make concrete more bendable without fracturing by borrowing ideas from mother-of-pearl (nacre), found on the inside of abalone seashells. This ductile concrete has 300 to 500 times more tensile strain capacity than normal concrete.
---

[Fluid Systems Engineering & Management Blog | Swagelok NorCal ](https://northerncal.swagelok.com/blog)

# [Bendable Concrete Inspired by Abalone Shells](https://northerncal.swagelok.com/blog/bendable-concrete-inspired-by-abalone-shells)

 Written by [Jeff Hopkins](https://northerncal.swagelok.com/blog/author/jeff-hopkins) | 8/3/18 3:45 PM

### Bendable concrete makes infrastructure safer, extends its service life and reduces maintenance costs and resource use

The Advanced Civil Engineering - Materials Research Lab at the University of Michigan has shown that it is possible to make concrete more bendable without fracturing. The UMich team borrowed ideas from mother-of-pearl (nacre), found on the inside of abalone seashells.

At the nanoscale, mother-of-pearl looks like a brick wall made from thin layers of aragonite (natural calcium carbonate) platelets with a “mortar” between them of a very elastic natural polymer. The UMich team mimicked this structure to invent a ductile concrete, [engineered cementitious composite](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=t-0R7QsAAAAJ&hl=en) (ECC) which has 300 to 500 times more tensile strain capacity than normal concrete.

[Read more from the article in The Michigan Engineer News Center →](https://news.engin.umich.edu/2018/05/bendable-concrete-with-a-design-inspired-by-seashells-can-make-us-infrastructure-safer-and-more-durable/)

[View full post](https://northerncal.swagelok.com/blog/bendable-concrete-inspired-by-abalone-shells)

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