Rational design of low-CO2 alkali-activated concretes for eco-efficiency and durability
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Materials Science and Engineering
Abstract
This project will develop new methodologies for designing and optimising environmentally friendly concretes derived from industrial by-product materials. As a collaborative project involving leading institutions in the UK and China, we will work together to design these concretes, which are based on low-CO2 alkali-activated cements instead of traditional Portland cement, in a way which optimises the properties of the concrete by making use of the unique interfacial binding properties of the alkali-activated cement material. We will achieve this through a combined programme of experimental and mathematical modelling work, and will validate the performance of the concretes through accelerated durability testing. This project also links to the work of the international RILEM technical committee which is working towards the standardisation of testing methods for these materials on an international level, enhancing the leadership of UK and Chinese researchers in this field.
Planned Impact
The construction sector accounts for a significant fraction of both the economies and environmental footprints of China and the UK. China uses more than 50% of global cement production, and continues to show an increasing demand for construction materials, but also has a strong national focus on achieving environmental gains while meeting this demand. The UK construction materials sector is also operating under increasingly strict environmental regulations while providing the materials needed to fuel the infrastructure construction which is a key component of the nation's economic recovery. The availability of materials, such as alkali-activated binder systems, which can offer enhanced economic performance and reduced environmental footprint when compared with traditional Portland cement-based concretes, will have a major impact in the economy and industry in each nation. The work funded through this project will ensure that the UK and China remain at the forefront of the global move towards sustainable construction materials by providing the technology to produce geopolymer concrete with very low environmental footprint. As a part of this process, the training of young researchers at doctoral and postdoctoral level, including exchange programmes between UK and Chinese institutions, will be a key component of the project plan.
The transfer of information from the project team to key industry and asset-owner stakeholders will provide key pathways to direct impact for the technical outcomes of this project. We will also connect with leading international researchers through participation in the RILEM Technical Committee 247-DTA, chaired by the UK PI of the project (Prof. J. Provis), and will feed key results from this work into the international round robin testing programme being organised and conducted by that technical committee. This two-way flow of information involving leading academic, government laboratory and industry participants in the technical committee (more than 50 partners in 17 countries) will place the project at the forefront of international developments in sustainable construction materials technology, providing high impact and direct utilisation of project outcomes in application worldwide.
The transfer of information from the project team to key industry and asset-owner stakeholders will provide key pathways to direct impact for the technical outcomes of this project. We will also connect with leading international researchers through participation in the RILEM Technical Committee 247-DTA, chaired by the UK PI of the project (Prof. J. Provis), and will feed key results from this work into the international round robin testing programme being organised and conducted by that technical committee. This two-way flow of information involving leading academic, government laboratory and industry participants in the technical committee (more than 50 partners in 17 countries) will place the project at the forefront of international developments in sustainable construction materials technology, providing high impact and direct utilisation of project outcomes in application worldwide.
Publications
Bernal S
(2016)
Microstructural Changes Induced by CO2 Exposure in Alkali-Activated Slag/Metakaolin Pastes
in Frontiers in Materials
Bondar D
(2017)
Resistance of alkali activated concretes to sulphate attack
Bondar D
(2019)
Efficient mix design of alkali activated slag concretes based on packing fraction of ingredients and paste thickness
in Journal of Cleaner Production
Bondar D
(2022)
External Sulphate Attack on Alkali-Activated Slag and Slag/Fly Ash Concrete
in Buildings
Bondar D
(2019)
Suitability of alkali activated slag/fly ash (AA-GGBS/FA) concretes for chloride environments: Characterisation based on mix design and compliance testing
in Construction and Building Materials
Bondar D
(2017)
Resistance of alkali activated concretes to Carbonation
Bondar D
(2018)
Alkali activated slag concretes designed for a desired slump, strength and chloride diffusivity
in Construction and Building Materials
| Description | Our project EP/M003272/1 was jointly funded by EPSRC (lead U. Sheffield, partners Queen's U. Belfast and U. Leeds) and NSFC (lead Southeast U., partners Hohai U and Hunan U. Tech.), and produced some very interesting collaborative outcomes and connections. The project team met in person in Beijing in October 2015 at the 15th International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement, which provided us with an opportunity to more deeply connect our research activities across all partner sites. Dr Zhujin Tan (PDRA, Sheffield) made an extended visit to the Chinese partners in June-July 2016. We have continued to interact through collaborative preparation of publications, both between the UK and China (including one published in the leading journal Powder Technology in 2018), and between the three UK sites (several conference publications to date; journal papers published in Construction & Building Materials and in Journal of Cleaner Production, between multiple UK sites, as well as individual papers published by Sheffield and by QUB). The project sponsored a total of two PDRAs and 15 research students (PhD and MEng), working together to develop a holistic approach to the design of sustainable concretes. We are linking observations and mathematical models of cement and concrete behaviour from the nanoscale up to the macroscale, focusing on new 'geopolymer' type cements which offer greatly reduced CO2 emissions compared to standard Portland cement. The key findings include: * new, highly reproducible and reliable methodologies for characterising the flow and setting behaviour of these cements (which was not previously possible using established techniques) - published * new physically-based explanations for previously unexplored apparent shear-thickening behaviour of cementitious pastes during rheological testing - in preparation for publication, expanded to include work from externally-funded projects which is still ongoing * improved models for packing of cement and aggregate particles within concretes, making use of knowledge of the non-spherical shape of these particles in innovative ways - published * the use and coupling of these various aspects to provide deeper insight into the parameters which control the resistance of geopolymer concretes to aggressive conditions, particularly freeze-thaw and chloride-induced corrosion - published and further work submitted for publication. |
| Exploitation Route | We are taking forward the findings ourselves to lead to both academic and societal impact. The new modelling and experimental tools that we are developing will be deployed first by the partner organisations, but also through open-access publication these tools will become available to other research and industrial organisations. The outcomes will also continue to be promoted at conferences and through participation of project team members in national and international technical committees. We are also engaging beyond the original target audience of the construction sector, to further explore the use of geopolymer cements in the nuclear and transport industries, through projects submitted to other funding agencies (EU H2020, NDA, EPSRC GCRF) |
| Sectors | Construction,Energy,Environment,Transport |
| Description | Preliminary findings and methodological aspects under development in this project are being fed into the continuing development and revision of Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 8820:2016, which was published in March 2016 by the British Standards Institute. There is ongoing discussion involving BSI around the review of this PAS, for consideration for conversion or extension into a British Standard. Findings are also included in the development of two ASTM standard for alkali-activated cementitious materials, which are currently under revision following second-round balloting to head toward final approval. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Construction,Transport |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | BSI Publicly Available Specification |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Performance-based specification for alkali-activated cementitious materials (world-first) released in 2016, to enable the use of these materials in a regulated way in the UK. Sponsored by HS2 and David Ball Group. J Provis technical author. |
| URL | http://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail?pid=000000000030318035 |
| Description | PAS utilisation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | Project results have directly influenced the development of BSI PAS 8820:2016 (J Provis technical author), the first performance-based specification for alkali-activated cementitious materials and concretes involving these cements, which are the subject of this project. |
| Description | Standard development ASTM C01.14 |
| Geographic Reach | North America |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Development of a new ASTM standard for alkali-activated concretes, for durable and sustainable construction. Main geographic focus is North America, but ASTM standards are applied worldwide. Standard was balloted initially late 2019 for formal approval. Currently under revision following public ballot feedback. |
| URL | https://www.astm.org/DATABASE.CART/WORKITEMS/WK68966.htm |
| Description | Additives for alkali-activated materials (KTP with Lubrizol) |
| Amount | £192,295 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | KTP 12041 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2020 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | CMMI-EPSRC RENACEM: Response to CO2 exposure of concrete with natural supplementary cementitious materials |
| Amount | £449,643 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/T008407/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2019 |
| End | 07/2022 |
| Description | Collaborative Research and Development |
| Amount | £910,348 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 102721 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2016 |
| End | 04/2019 |
| Description | Design-for-manufacture of 3D concrete printed structural composites (DfM:3DCP) |
| Amount | £577,525 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/S019650/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2019 |
| End | 06/2022 |
| Description | Development of low-cement concretes |
| Amount | £200,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Sumitomo Corporation |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | Japan |
| Start | 12/2018 |
| End | 12/2020 |
| Description | DuRSAAM |
| Amount | € 3,397,847 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 813596 |
| Organisation | European Commission H2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 11/2018 |
| End | 10/2022 |
| Description | EPSRC GCRF Institutional quick-spend allocation |
| Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2016 |
| End | 03/2017 |
| Description | EPSRC IAA (partnership with Sumicol S.A.) Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Grant |
| Amount | £49,934 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 146141 |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2016 |
| End | 09/2016 |
| Description | EPSRC UK-Japan Civil Nuclear Phase 3 |
| Amount | £600,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/P013171/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2016 |
| End | 03/2019 |
| Description | Glass cUllet conversIon To wAteRglass (GUITAR) |
| Amount | £475,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 97602 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2021 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Manufacturing integrated building components using digital hybrid Concrete Printing (HCP) technology |
| Amount | £1,222,952 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/S031405/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 12/2021 |
| Description | URBCON - By-products for sustainable concrete in the urban environment |
| Amount | € 5,150,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | INTERREG IIIC North |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | France |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 10/2022 |
| Description | LowCoPreCon: Low carbon footprint precast concrete products for an energy efficient built environment |
| Organisation | Monash University |
| Department | Malaysia Campus |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Coordinator for funded proposal: Malaysia-UK Research and Innovation Bridges Competition for Collaborative R&D Funding 2015, Innovate UK - Technology Strategy Board, EPSRC. Total budget £1,203,645 plus RM3,147,173 (Malaysian Ringgit). |
| Collaborator Contribution | N/A - work is related but partners chose to complete current project before embarking on other collaborative work. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Project team |
| Organisation | Hohai University |
| Department | College of Mechanics and Materials |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project lead; providing thermochemical and rheological data, and particle characterisation |
| Collaborator Contribution | Modelling of microscale and mesoscale properties of materials; characterisation of concrete mixtures and durability performance; development of advanced admixtures for performance control. Collaborative discussion, drafting and submission of research outcomes. |
| Impact | All project outcomes relate to this collaboration. Collaboration involves materials science and civil engineering disciplines. Formal collaboration with partners in China finished with the submission of final grant outcomes, but collaboration between Sheffield and Leeds is ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Project team |
| Organisation | Queen's University Belfast |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project lead; providing thermochemical and rheological data, and particle characterisation |
| Collaborator Contribution | Modelling of microscale and mesoscale properties of materials; characterisation of concrete mixtures and durability performance; development of advanced admixtures for performance control. Collaborative discussion, drafting and submission of research outcomes. |
| Impact | All project outcomes relate to this collaboration. Collaboration involves materials science and civil engineering disciplines. Formal collaboration with partners in China finished with the submission of final grant outcomes, but collaboration between Sheffield and Leeds is ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Project team |
| Organisation | Southeast University China |
| Country | China |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project lead; providing thermochemical and rheological data, and particle characterisation |
| Collaborator Contribution | Modelling of microscale and mesoscale properties of materials; characterisation of concrete mixtures and durability performance; development of advanced admixtures for performance control. Collaborative discussion, drafting and submission of research outcomes. |
| Impact | All project outcomes relate to this collaboration. Collaboration involves materials science and civil engineering disciplines. Formal collaboration with partners in China finished with the submission of final grant outcomes, but collaboration between Sheffield and Leeds is ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Project team |
| Organisation | University of Leeds |
| Department | School of Civil Engineering |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project lead; providing thermochemical and rheological data, and particle characterisation |
| Collaborator Contribution | Modelling of microscale and mesoscale properties of materials; characterisation of concrete mixtures and durability performance; development of advanced admixtures for performance control. Collaborative discussion, drafting and submission of research outcomes. |
| Impact | All project outcomes relate to this collaboration. Collaboration involves materials science and civil engineering disciplines. Formal collaboration with partners in China finished with the submission of final grant outcomes, but collaboration between Sheffield and Leeds is ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Description | Project team |
| Organisation | University of Leeds |
| Department | School of Civil Engineering |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Project lead; providing thermochemical and rheological data, and particle characterisation |
| Collaborator Contribution | Modelling of microscale and mesoscale properties of materials; characterisation of concrete mixtures and durability performance; development of advanced admixtures for performance control. Collaborative discussion, drafting and submission of research outcomes. |
| Impact | All project outcomes relate to this collaboration. Collaboration involves materials science and civil engineering disciplines. Formal collaboration with partners in China finished with the submission of final grant outcomes, but collaboration between Sheffield and Leeds is ongoing. |
| Start Year | 2014 |
| Title | In-house production of sodium silicate |
| Description | A simple and inexpensive process to produce solid sodium silicate powder at a low temperature with the use of glass cullet is high desirable as it will be a "game changer", i.e. the cost of AAB concretes may be such that they can commercially compete with Portland cement concretes. The procedure involves mixing sodium hydroxide with ground glass cullet and some water to form a paste and then heat treating it at relatively low temperature. |
| IP Reference | |
| Protection | Trade Mark |
| Year Protection Granted | 2017 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | A simple and inexpensive process to produce solid sodium silicate powder at a low temperature with the use of glass cullet is high desirable as it will be a "game changer", i.e. the cost of AAB concretes may be such that they can commercially compete with Portland cement concretes. The procedure involves mixing sodium hydroxide with ground glass cullet and some water to form a paste and then heat treating it at relatively low temperature. |
| Description | ASTM Committee C01 Working Group WK42602 New Test Method for Standard test method for compressive strength of alkali activated coal fly ash and raw or calcined natural pozzolan cement mortars (using 2-inch or [50 mm] cube specimens) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof JL Provis invited to participate in the drafting of a new ASTM standard for testing of geopolymer materials - working group currently active, ~12 members, but reach will be many thousands of ASTM members once standard is approved and published. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016,2017,2018 |
| URL | https://www.astm.org/WorkItems/WK42602.htm |
| Description | Chatham House Consultation on Intellectual Property and Sustainable Cements for the European Climate Foundation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Consultation meetings (Prof JL Provis one of 5 invited academic participants) on the role of intellectual property in innovative cement technology in enabling sustainable development. One meeting held to date, future workshops and reports are planned by Chatham House, Cambridge IP, and the European Climate Foundation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Nanocem Roadmapping |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Nanocem group (European industry-academic collaboration consortium) roadmapping the future of cement materials research for dissemination to industry and across the research community |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.nanocem.org/ |
| Description | RILEM Technical Committee on Durability Testing of Alkali-activated Materials (TC 247-DTA) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | RILEM TC 247-DTA, an international (>12 countries) committee which is chaired by Prof JL Provis and has more than 50 members (including UK-side co-Is Bernal Lopez, Basheer, Nanukuttan and Soutsos, China-side PI Chen, and PDRAs Bondar and Tan participating in committee events), is conducting durability testing of alkali-activated cements and concretes. The project work in "Rational design of low-CO2 alkali-activated concretes for eco-efficiency and durability" directly influences and contributes to the outcomes of this technical committee, as the testwork done in the project is communicated to partners and incorporated into the outcomes of the round-robin tests of the committee. The eventual outcome will be inclusion in RILEM Recommendations, which are a pre-standardisation step and often included into formal standardisation processes at EN and ASTM levels. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018 |
| URL | http://www.rilem.org/gene/main.php?base=8750&gp_id=290 |
| Description | Talk - Expedition, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Lunchtime talk on alkali-activated cements and concretes for Expedition (practice of engineers/architects), London, as part of their lunchtime seminar series |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://expedition.uk.com/ |
| Description | UNE 10YFP |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Working group of United Nations Environment 10 Year Framework Programme, following on from previous UNEP group and reconstituted in 10YFP. Initial report published in final form 2018, and further activities ongoing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019 |
| URL | http://web.unep.org/10yfp |
| Description | United Nations Environment Program Sustainable Building and Climate Initiative (UNEP-SBCI) Working Group on Eco-Efficient Cements |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | International working group (~25 members, Prof JL Provis is one of two UK academics invited to participate) coordinated by UNEP and assessing eco-friendly options for the future of the cement and concrete industry. Meetings held in Paris, Beijing, Sao Paulo to date (JL Provis attended all to represent UK). Working group has drafted a Report (http://www.nanocem.org/fileadmin/nanocem_files/documents/misc/2016-UNEP_Report.pdf) and a set of White Papers on technological and societal options; the paper on Alkali-Activated Materials (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2017.02.009) will be released free to the public as part of an Open Access Special Issue of the journal Cement and Concrete Research dedicated to the White Papers of this Working Group. The results and philosophy of the EPSRC project "Rational design of low-CO2 alkali-activated concretes for eco-efficiency and durability" underpin much of the University of Sheffield contribution to the Working Group, as this is focused on efficient and effective design of durable alternative cementitious materials. Following the success of the Working Group, UNEP have invited us to carry on the work as a network under the UNEP Sustainable Buildings and Construction Programme of the 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (UNEP 10YFP SBC), and the Sheffield team will be a part of this ongoing initiative. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016,2017 |
| URL | http://www.nanocem.org/fileadmin/nanocem_files/documents/misc/2016-UNEP_Report.pdf |
| Description | Visit - Sumitomo and U.Tokyo, Sep 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Visit to Sumitomo Mitsui Corp to discuss setup of new project, and presentation at U.Tokyo to academic and industry colleagues interested in the work |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |