Crossing this 15 meter long bridge in Almere, very close to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, not sure you will notice anything. And yet, pno concrete, no steel or even aluminum. The structure is unique: this construction was made from linen, this textile fiber derived from natural plant material.
“Those bridges are made of composite material: 30% linen and 60% resin, or glue, explains Thibault Roumier, engineer from the Normandy company Eco Techni Lin. Flax fiber will be used to bring mechanical properties, resistance. It’s going to be almost the same type of fibers that you will find in clothing, in the clothes that we wear every day”details the engineer.
A hundred sensors have been installed on the building to assess its performance, see how the bridge reacts to bad weather or vibrations. If the data collected is positive, these linen bridges could replace some structures in poor condition.
“There are about 12,000 bridges in the Netherlandsnoted Thibault Roumier. Almost half are in poor condition and will be replaced in the next few years. These bridges are mostly made of concrete or fossil material.
“The idea of this project are bridges with a much lower environmental impact by integrating natural material, in particular flax fiber.”
Thibault Roumierat franceinfo
Especially since the region does not lack resources: 80% of flax is grown in Northern Europe, in fields from Caen to Amsterdam. “Linen has a low production impactrecalls Brice Roussel, of the European Flax and Hemp Confederation. First, it’s local. Zero irrigation, water from the sky is enough. Zero GMOs and zero waste: we recover everything from the flax plant. Long fibers for textiles, composite materials, short fibers for textiles, plastics, composite materials too, and then seeds are also used. “
Robustness, lightness, absorption of vibrations… Flax fibers are also used in the automotive industry, for dashboards in particular, or in sports to make snowshoes, skis or surfboards.