Nanite is a smart building material additive that can monitor and mitigate infrastructure-related issues in bridges and roadways.

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Awarded by...

In 2008, Nanite™ won a NASA Nano 50 Award which recognizes the top 50 technologies, innovators, and products that impact nanotechnology and industry.

An aerial view of a U.S. highway interchange system

01

Concrete needs an upgrade

Aging infrastructure is a problem many cities face across the world. And concrete, cement, and other building materials haven’t undergone any radical evolution in the last 100 years.

Nanite™ technology turns cement from a regular building material into a smart, interactive source of data. Oceanit’s smart sensing cement technology has significant potential to assure, monitor, and mitigate issues related to load-bearing, wellbore integrity, and zonal isolation.

A cube of concrete labeled

02

How it works

The integral part of Nanite™ is a hybrid nanomaterial-based additive, which transforms traditional concrete into “smart” concrete with multifunctional sensing properties. Oceanit’s proprietary liquid admixture can be dispersed into bulk cement during the mixing process to yield this durable, smart sensing cement. The result is a cost-effective, simple process to introduce multifunctional properties and inherent sensing capabilities.

The modified cement is capable of reversible sensing of mechanical, acoustic, and magnetic signals which are then integrated with a signal processing and monitoring system. Nanite™ can be deployed for use in bridges, roadways, and other critical infrastructure for vehicle speed and weight detection, perimeter security, intruder detection, load, and other tracking. It also shows potential for early detection of failing infrastructure.

Two engineers working in an outdoor industrial environment

03

Why it matters

Nanite™ capabilities have been field tested in various scenarios, such as fenceless perimeters for the Department of Defense, self-monitoring bridges for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Weigh-in-Motion at the Port of Honolulu for the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation.

Oceanit envisions Nanite™ as the smart building material of the future, integrating to the Internet of Things to address urban challenges in the world’s next technological evolution.

Nanite™ Weigh-in-Motion was piloted with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation.

See how it works.

At a glance

The Nanite™ additive...

  • has built-in structural health monitoring, allowing early warning for catastrophic structural failure
  • creates significant improvements in durability and crack resistance
  • offers oil and gas cementing applications for well integrity and zonal isolation
  • can be used in smart highways and weigh-in-motion applications
  • flexibility in installation (Compatible with PCCP and AC roadways)
  • has a minimal footprint
  • is low maintenance with a low installation cost

A semi truck driving on a concrete road

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