Tailored Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure: Boosting the Innate Response to Chemical and Mechanical Threats
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Engineering
Abstract
The required global infrastructure investment from 2013-2030 is estimated to be £34 trillion. Thus there are significant social and economic ramifications associated with the utilisation and design of strategic infrastructure assets which are fit for purpose both now, and in the future. Nationally, the construction sector is vital and contributes around £90 billion annually to the UK economy.
This EPSRC Established Career Fellowship will provide Dr Lees with the prestige and freedom to extend the impact of her research and develop a new field of research dedicated to the creation of tailored concrete infrastructure. The enhancement of the innate characteristics of reinforced concrete with a concurrent reduction in total cement content directly links to key Engineering global grand challenges for Sustainability and Resilience. Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world, over 4 billion tonnes in 2013, and cement production is responsible for 5-7% of man-made CO2 emissions. 'Cradle to factory gate' emissions for CEM 1 are 913 kg CO2e for 1000 kg of cement. The sustainability credentials of the proposed research are to mitigate the scale of this environmental impact through the delivery of more durable construction, a reduction in the cement content in concrete products, and material efficiency.
The 'innate' characteristics of our reinforced concrete infrastructure include an inherent resistance to a myriad of deterioration causes e.g. chemical attack, chloride ingress, and mechanical actions e.g. dead and live loads. To help achieve the desired resistance, minimum cement contents are specified for a required strength or durability. In conventional practice, the same concrete mix is used throughout a given structural element. A compelling new paradigm is to break from conventional thinking and reinterpret a reinforced concrete structure as a tailored continuum to meet a desired serviceability, strength and/or durability performance. Material with high cement content is used judiciously to boost the innate response of our reinforced concrete infrastructure by explicitly recognising, targeting and reacting to environmental and mechanical threats to structural performance. In this way, there is either no loss, or an enhancement, in structural and durability functions. The innate immunity against environmental actions is boosted for corrosion prevention whereas the adaptability in response to mechanical actions is enhanced through the novel design of the concrete continuum for a greater structural resilience. These deliverables present a unique opportunity for the PI, UK Academia and UK Industry, to establish a world leading capability in a nascent field while addressing Engineering Sustainability priorities for lifetime extension, reduced lifetime costs, energy minimisation and a reduction in over-engineering.
This EPSRC Established Career Fellowship will provide Dr Lees with the prestige and freedom to extend the impact of her research and develop a new field of research dedicated to the creation of tailored concrete infrastructure. The enhancement of the innate characteristics of reinforced concrete with a concurrent reduction in total cement content directly links to key Engineering global grand challenges for Sustainability and Resilience. Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world, over 4 billion tonnes in 2013, and cement production is responsible for 5-7% of man-made CO2 emissions. 'Cradle to factory gate' emissions for CEM 1 are 913 kg CO2e for 1000 kg of cement. The sustainability credentials of the proposed research are to mitigate the scale of this environmental impact through the delivery of more durable construction, a reduction in the cement content in concrete products, and material efficiency.
The 'innate' characteristics of our reinforced concrete infrastructure include an inherent resistance to a myriad of deterioration causes e.g. chemical attack, chloride ingress, and mechanical actions e.g. dead and live loads. To help achieve the desired resistance, minimum cement contents are specified for a required strength or durability. In conventional practice, the same concrete mix is used throughout a given structural element. A compelling new paradigm is to break from conventional thinking and reinterpret a reinforced concrete structure as a tailored continuum to meet a desired serviceability, strength and/or durability performance. Material with high cement content is used judiciously to boost the innate response of our reinforced concrete infrastructure by explicitly recognising, targeting and reacting to environmental and mechanical threats to structural performance. In this way, there is either no loss, or an enhancement, in structural and durability functions. The innate immunity against environmental actions is boosted for corrosion prevention whereas the adaptability in response to mechanical actions is enhanced through the novel design of the concrete continuum for a greater structural resilience. These deliverables present a unique opportunity for the PI, UK Academia and UK Industry, to establish a world leading capability in a nascent field while addressing Engineering Sustainability priorities for lifetime extension, reduced lifetime costs, energy minimisation and a reduction in over-engineering.
Planned Impact
Cement production is energy intensive and accounts for 5-7% of manmade CO2 emissions. Nevertheless concrete is the mostly widely used construction material in the world. Significant economic, environmental and societal impacts will be realised as a result of clever innovation to reduce cement usage.
Tailored reinforced concrete infrastructure opens up vast opportunities for improved material efficiencies and CO2 reductions while maintaining structural integrity throughout the lifetime of a structure. Corrosion prevention and an inherent adaptability in response to mechanical actions provide more efficient and durable structural members. Less energy intensive concrete infrastructure that remains fit-for-purpose for longer mitigates negative financial, societal and environmental impacts associated with CO2 emissions, deteriorating infrastructure, maintenance interventions and user disruption. This will assist governments and policy-makers in meeting environmental targets and improving the quality of life of the nation.
As the result of this Fellowship, the UK will become the global leader in an exciting new growth area. Tangible commercial and reputational benefits will be realised by UK construction from the early exploitation of tailored concrete technology over a short to medium term horizon. Access to novel underpinning research will also mean that UK Industry is poised to beneficially exploit rapid advances in manufacturing adding further value to the construction sector and competitive advantage.
Novel, evidence-based research is at the heart of the Fellowship proposal. The PI has a strong track record in delivering internationally leading research, communicating advances within professional fora, and in translating research into practice. The Advisory Committee meetings, Industrial Engagement events and Academic collaborator meetings provide opportunities for discussion and dissemination with a range of stakeholders. High profile participants, partners and collaborators will extend the impact by communicating the outcomes throughout their own institutions, to professional bodies, including design code committees, and to their wider network of contacts throughout the supply chain. This will lead to an enhanced understanding and acceptance of the innovations, greater exploitation, and a more sustainable basis for the design and construction of future infrastructure. Large scale multi-disciplinary proposals led by the PI will capitalise on the Fellowship deliverables and will shape national research priorities.
The Fellowship will provide freedom for the PI to gain a fuller appreciation and knowledge of connectivities with cognate areas to make even greater contributions towards addressing Engineering for Sustainability and Resilience challenges. The PDRAs will develop tremendous core expertise in reinforced concrete and concrete technology with multi-disciplinary knowledge relating to sustainability, optimisation and manufacturing leading to a unique skill set that meets tomorrow's needs. As the 2014 ICE State of the Nation Report notes 'The civil engineering industry of tomorrow will require a wider range of skills and competencies.' and hence the PDRAs will be in high demand from academic, or non-academic, employers. Affiliated MEng and PhD students will flourish as part of a vibrant, supportive, project team delivering world-leading research and be well-prepared to make their mark in their future professional careers.
Outreach and community activity will promote public recognition of the energy intensity of cement embodied within our reinforced concrete infrastructure. This will encourage dialogue and the exchange of ideas on how to promote a more sustainable vision and the important role of Civil Engineering in creating the lifelines for society. Excitement about the creation of bespoke materials will inspire future generations of Engineers.
Tailored reinforced concrete infrastructure opens up vast opportunities for improved material efficiencies and CO2 reductions while maintaining structural integrity throughout the lifetime of a structure. Corrosion prevention and an inherent adaptability in response to mechanical actions provide more efficient and durable structural members. Less energy intensive concrete infrastructure that remains fit-for-purpose for longer mitigates negative financial, societal and environmental impacts associated with CO2 emissions, deteriorating infrastructure, maintenance interventions and user disruption. This will assist governments and policy-makers in meeting environmental targets and improving the quality of life of the nation.
As the result of this Fellowship, the UK will become the global leader in an exciting new growth area. Tangible commercial and reputational benefits will be realised by UK construction from the early exploitation of tailored concrete technology over a short to medium term horizon. Access to novel underpinning research will also mean that UK Industry is poised to beneficially exploit rapid advances in manufacturing adding further value to the construction sector and competitive advantage.
Novel, evidence-based research is at the heart of the Fellowship proposal. The PI has a strong track record in delivering internationally leading research, communicating advances within professional fora, and in translating research into practice. The Advisory Committee meetings, Industrial Engagement events and Academic collaborator meetings provide opportunities for discussion and dissemination with a range of stakeholders. High profile participants, partners and collaborators will extend the impact by communicating the outcomes throughout their own institutions, to professional bodies, including design code committees, and to their wider network of contacts throughout the supply chain. This will lead to an enhanced understanding and acceptance of the innovations, greater exploitation, and a more sustainable basis for the design and construction of future infrastructure. Large scale multi-disciplinary proposals led by the PI will capitalise on the Fellowship deliverables and will shape national research priorities.
The Fellowship will provide freedom for the PI to gain a fuller appreciation and knowledge of connectivities with cognate areas to make even greater contributions towards addressing Engineering for Sustainability and Resilience challenges. The PDRAs will develop tremendous core expertise in reinforced concrete and concrete technology with multi-disciplinary knowledge relating to sustainability, optimisation and manufacturing leading to a unique skill set that meets tomorrow's needs. As the 2014 ICE State of the Nation Report notes 'The civil engineering industry of tomorrow will require a wider range of skills and competencies.' and hence the PDRAs will be in high demand from academic, or non-academic, employers. Affiliated MEng and PhD students will flourish as part of a vibrant, supportive, project team delivering world-leading research and be well-prepared to make their mark in their future professional careers.
Outreach and community activity will promote public recognition of the energy intensity of cement embodied within our reinforced concrete infrastructure. This will encourage dialogue and the exchange of ideas on how to promote a more sustainable vision and the important role of Civil Engineering in creating the lifelines for society. Excitement about the creation of bespoke materials will inspire future generations of Engineers.
Organisations
- University of Cambridge (Fellow, Lead Research Organisation)
- Costain Group (Collaboration)
- University of Michigan (Collaboration)
- Department of Transport (Collaboration)
- HIGHWAYS ENGLAND (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (Collaboration)
- Queen's University (Collaboration)
- University of Ghent (Collaboration)
- Laing O'Rourke (United Kingdom) (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- University of Toronto (Collaboration)
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON (Collaboration)
- Arup Group (Collaboration)
- Costain (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
Publications
Augusthus-Nelson L
(2022)
Size effects in unreinforced and lightly reinforced concrete beams failing in flexure
Augusthus-Nelson L
(2022)
Size effects in unreinforced and lightly reinforced concrete beams failing in flexure
in Engineering Fracture Mechanics
Brault A
(2020)
Wet casting of multiple mix horizontally layered concrete elements
in Construction and Building Materials
Forsdyke J
(2023)
Probabilistic selection and design of concrete using machine learning
Forsdyke J
(2023)
Model fitting to concrete carbonation data with non-zero initial carbonation depth
in Materials and Structures
Forsdyke J
(2023)
Probabilistic selection and design of concrete using machine learning
in Data-Centric Engineering
Description | The production of cement is currently associated with around 5% of global carbon emissions. The manufacture of functionally graded structural concrete elements, where the material composition is varied over the volume, allows the use of cement to be optimised and minimized (Torelli, Gimenez Fernandez and Lees, 2020). Gradation of material properties can be achieved by casting horizontal or vertical layers of concrete having different homogeneous compositions. Casting of layers in the wet state offers certain mechanical and productivity advantages but one challenge with this approach is the control of the fresh state deformations of the different concrete layers during manufacture. Findings on horizontal layering have elucidated the interplay between the rheology and density of different concrete mixes and the intended geometry (Brault and Lees, 2020). This provides a framework for the selection of compatible mixes to achieve desired mix combinations. The fresh state stability of two vertical layers of different mixes is also of interest (Torelli and Lees, 2019, Torelli and Lees, 2020). Original experiments have been undertaken where either stable or unstable behaviour was invoked. The concurrent development of a new limit-state model to capture the relationship between system stability, geometry and material parameters shows great promise. When concrete is layered in the fresh state, there is an interface between the concrete layers. The integrity of this interface will depend on the way the concrete is manufactured, the concrete mix compositions and the time delay between the deposition of the layers. Studies to characterise the behaviour of interfaces are informing the most desirable parametric combinations to ensure the interface does not introduce a plane of weakness (Torelli and Lees, 2020, Maier and Lees, 2022). We have now progressed our understanding to the point where we have demonstrated viable functionally graded structural elements. Functionally graded slab prototypes have provided insight into design approaches for layered systems and concrete combinations that minimize the embodied CO2 to meet desired performance requirements (Gimenez Fernandez, 2022). Another remarkable outcome has been findings related to shear critical beams where we have shown that through clever geometric considerations and material choices we can concurrently reduce the embodied energy by approximately 35% and increase the load capacity by around 95% (Mak and Lees 2021, Mak and Lees 2022, Mak and Lees 2023a, Mak and Lees 2023b). A further promising application area for functionally graded concrete is to provide an external durability layer to mitigate the ingress of deleterious materials. As such, detailed investigations of the carbonation resistance of layered concrete have been conducted (Forsdyke and Lees 2021, Forsdyke and Lees 2022, Forsdyke and Lees 2023) to demonstrate advantageous layer combinations. Collaborative research on the application of probabilistic machine learning tools in the field of concrete mix design for durability has also shown promise (Forsdyke, Zviazhynski, Lees, & Conduit 2023). We continually benchmark our innovations against the best possible conventional solutions using current practices and materials to provide meaningful comparators. As such, through our work we have also gained deep insights into wasteful inefficient examples prevalent in UK concrete construction. Our research has therefore also been a platform for advocacy and leadership for the immediate elimination of concretes with unnecessary high CO2 intensity. For example, we have worked with National Highways to help change their concrete specification with immediate effect to save tens of thousands of concrete CO2 emissions each year. This outcome has exemplified the pivotal role academic endeavour can play in delivering change. |
Exploitation Route | These outcomes are underpinning growing international academic and industrial interest in functionally graded concrete and contributing to the implementation of more sustainable concrete. |
Sectors | Construction Transport |
Description | The Tailored Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure EPSRC Established Career Fellowship has been a catalyst for challenging conventional concrete construction and moving forward innovation. No two concretes are alike: the constituents are natural materials with inherent variability, a multitude of different constituents (binders, aggregates) can be combined and the proportions of constituents vary. This offers great scope for better choices with lower CO2 impact but also a barrier to change when current practice conservatively reverts to tried and tested high carbon intensive mix designs. From the outset our main focus has been to research novel functionally graded concrete where the concrete materials are spatially tailored to suit performance requirements. In this way, high cement concretes are used only where necessary and the cement contents minimised elsewhere. This leads to more efficient structures with lower embodied CO2 and has delivered new thinking about concrete performance, cement reduction and structural efficiency. To maximise productivity and the propensity for hydration across interfaces, our approach is to wet cast layers of different concretes to create functionally graded structures. As such, an understanding of the fresh state rheology and compatibility of different concrete layers is required to ensure successful deposition during manufacture. Since interfaces are created between layers, inter-layer fracture and the influence of the materials e.g. mix property differentials and processing parameters, have been avenues for exploration. Knowledge of compatible material combinations to meet manufacturing constraints and the desired interface outcomes has informed the material selection in novel functionally graded structural prototypes. Our research on viable functionally graded slabs and voided shear critical graded beams has shown that we can concurrently reduce the embodied energy and retain or improve performance. Our research has also been a platform for advocacy and leadership for the immediate elimination of concretes with unnecessary high CO2 intensity. |
First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
Sector | Construction |
Impact Types | Societal Economic Policy & public services |
Description | Influence on National Highways Standards - MCHW Series 2600 Replacement of standardised prescribed ST type concrete with designated GEN/RC type concrete |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
Impact | Changes to National Highways Standards which has potential savings of 10s of thousands of tonnes of CO2 a year. |
URL | https://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/Research-Policy-Engagement/pathways-impact/case-study-stephen-elderkin/ |
Description | Member of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Talent Peer Review College |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | Participation in roundtable discussion about RAAC priority research questions |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | Recognition of a significant contribution to EPSRC Peer Review - May 2021 |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
Description | CDT in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment Studentship |
Amount | £80,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/L016095/1 |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Department | EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2017 |
End | 09/2020 |
Description | CSIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre Phase 2 |
Amount | £2,499,396 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/N021614/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2016 |
End | 06/2023 |
Description | Costain/EPSRC FIBE2 CDT MRes/PhD Studentship |
Amount | £6,761,084 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/S02302X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2021 |
End | 09/2025 |
Description | Costain/EPSRC FIBE2 CDT MRes/PhD Studentship - Performance-based Concrete |
Amount | £6,761,084 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/S02302X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2023 |
End | 09/2027 |
Description | EPSRC - University of Cambridge Doctoral Training Partnership Award |
Amount | £70,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 09/2022 |
Description | EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment: Resilience in a Changing World (FIBE2) |
Amount | £6,761,084 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/S02302X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 03/2028 |
Description | IETF industrial energy efficiency and decarbonisation studies |
Amount | £556,742 (GBP) |
Organisation | Innovate UK |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship - Textile-reinforced tailored concrete structures |
Amount | £121,353 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 101027058 |
Organisation | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Global |
Start | 09/2021 |
End | 01/2023 |
Description | Structural systems beyond 2050: Strategic large-scale experimental hub |
Amount | £50,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Isaac Newton Trust |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start |
Title | Data supporting Interlayer fracture behaviour of functionally layered concrete |
Description | Data supporting Interlayer fracture behaviour of functionally layered concrete The dataset contains the measurement of the compressive strength and density of each mixture and mixture combination as defined in the manuscript and the data of the fracture properties obtained from the Wedge-Splitting Test such splitting Force and total fracture energy. Furthermore the dataset also contains the raw measurement of the dynamic E-modulus. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The data supports the following findings reported in Maier, M and Lees JM. (2022) Interlayer fracture behaviour of functionally layered concrete, Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 271, 108672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2022.108672: Functionally layered concrete can reduce material usage and the CO2 footprint of the construction industry. The Interlayer fracture properties of functionally layered concretes are investigated. Wedge splitting tests on multi-mix and single-mix combinations are performed with pour delays of up to 4 h. Results showed that the multi-mix fracture behaviour depends not only on the pour delay but also on the mix combination. Results showed that an uplift of fracture properties for functionally graded specimens is possible compared to single-mix specimens. |
URL | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/339505 |
Title | Data supporting: Bond strength and confinement in reinforced concrete, |
Description | Research data supporting the journal paper Mak, M.W.T and Lees, J.M (2022) Bond strength and confinement in reinforced concrete, Construction and Building Materials, v355, 129012 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2024 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | This dataset contains results from an experimental programme that investigated the effects of different confinement contributions on the steel-to-concrete bond of reinforcement embedded in concrete. |
URL | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/363930 |
Title | Data supporting: Arch action in reinforced concrete subjected to shear |
Description | Dataset contains results from an experimental programme that investigated the structural effects of the targeted removal of material in reinforced concrete beams subjected to shear, the effectiveness of arch action and a new approach to shear design. It includes information on concrete mix composition, results from standard material characterisation tests (i.e. compressive strength on cubes and cylinders, indirect tensile splitting strength), load-deflection curves, crack widths, compressive strains in the concrete struts from LED tracking systems and tensile strains in the steel reinforcement from strain gauges. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Evidence for improved understanding of the shear behaviour of reinforced concrete elements without shear reinforcement. The data was used for the publication Mak, M.W.T. and Lees, J.M. (2023) Arch action in reinforced concrete subjected to shear. Engineering Structures, 274:115096. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.115096 |
URL | https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.89177 |
Title | Data supporting: Carbon reduction and strength enhancement in functionally graded reinforced concrete beams |
Description | Evidence for improved understanding of the behaviour of functionally graded reinforced concrete elements. The data was used for the publication Mak, M.W.T. and Lees, J.M. (2023) Carbon reduction and strength enhancement in functionally graded reinforced concrete beams. Engineering Structures, 277:115358 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.115358 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Dataset contains results from an experimental programme that investigated the structural behaviour of functionally graded reinforced concrete structures where a preferential internal resisting mechanism was isolated and a concrete with a lower density and lower embodied carbon was used elsewhere. It includes information on concrete mix composition, results from standard material characterisation tests (i.e. compressive strength on cubes and cylinders, indirect tensile splitting strength), load-deflection curves, compressive strains in the concrete struts from LED tracking systems and tensile strains in the steel reinforcement from strain gauges. |
URL | https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.90977 |
Title | Dataset supporting Model fitting to concrete carbonation data with non-zero initial carbonation depth |
Description | The dataset contains the results of curve fitting two alternative models to 361 data series of carbonation depth vs carbonation exposure time. The sources of original data series are cited, and details about the initial depth, test duration and CO2 concentration are included for each series. Results from each curve fitting include the estimated carbonation coefficient, K, and the R2 and RMSE values of each of these fits. The error in K from the linear model compared to the non-linear model is reported for each series, as well as the predicted depth at the end of the test using the non-linear model. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The results support the following findings reported in: Forsdyke, J.C., Lees, J.M. Model fitting to concrete carbonation data with non-zero initial carbonation depth. Mater Struct 56, 22 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-023-02104-0 Carbonation is a key mechanism for deterioration of reinforced concrete structures. In design for resistance to carbonation, the performance of mixes is often specified and measured in laboratory carbonation tests where initial carbonation is sometimes present in specimens. The coherent interpretation of results from carbonation tests is vital as they enable a more accurate prediction of the performance of concrete structures in situ. This paper assesses two different approaches to considering the initial carbonation depth when extracting the carbonation coefficient from results of carbonation testing. Experimental data is compared to models for either approach using least squares regression. Both linear and non-linear representations of the initial carbonation depth are shown to fit the data well. The non-linear approach gives a larger estimate of carbonation coefficient than the linear approach, and is more consistent with the mathematical derivation of the carbonation equation. The ramifications of this difference will be most significant when the initial carbonation depth is large relative to the depth of the carbonation front. The accurate modelling of carbonation progression underpins performance-based design of new concrete structures and the assessment of existing concrete infrastructure. |
URL | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/344843 |
Title | Research data supporting "Fresh state stability of vertical layers of concrete". |
Description | Spreadsheet (.xlsx) containing research data supporting "Fresh state stability of vertical layers of concrete". The following data are provided: • Mix composition of the mortars used in the experiments. • Densities of the mix constituents. • Experimental measurements for the mixes under investigations: density, spread length, yield stress, difference in yield stresses, sum of the yield stresses, stability coefficient, ratio between lower and higher yield stress, and maximum horizontal displacement of the interface between the two vertical layers of concrete. • Relationship between sum of the yield stresses, difference in densities of the materials, and average horizontal displacement obtained for each test. • Maximum horizontal displacement d as a function of the stability coefficient. • Analytical bound solutions and experimentally measured relationship between sum of the yield stresses, difference in densities of the materials, and average horizontal displacement obtained for each test. • Analytical bound solutions and experimentally measured maximum horizontal displacement as a function of the stability coefficient. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Title | Research data supporting "Interface bond strength of lightweight low-cement functionally layered concrete elements". |
Description | |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/305186 |
Title | Research data supporting Brault, A and Lees, JM (2020) Wet casting of multiple mix horizontally layered concrete elements, Construction and Building Materials, v 247, 118514 |
Description | |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/308991 |
Title | Research data supporting Probabilistic selection and design of concrete using machine learning |
Description | The first tab contains machine learning training data originating from the Tailored Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure research project [EP/N017668/1] contaning details of concrete mix designs as well as resulting concrete properties. Concrete properties include compressive strength, saturated-surface-dry density, carbonation coefficient and estimated economic cost. Units of all values are given. The second tab contains predictions of these properties for blind mixes, obtained using the machine learning methodology outlined in the accompanying paper. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The dataset includes data for training and validation of the machine learning model and the subsequent blind predictions of promising compositions to meet identified constraints. |
URL | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/348564 |
Title | Results table supporting "Model fitting to concrete carbonation data with non-zero initial carbonation depth" |
Description | The table contains the results of curve fitting two alternative models to 361 data series of carbonation depth vs carbonation exposure time. The sources of original data series are cited, and details about the initial depth, test duration and CO2 concentration are included for each series. Results from each curve fitting include the estimated carbonation coefficient, K, and the R2 and RMSE values of each of these fits. The error in K from the linear model compared to the non-linear model is reported for each series, as well as the predicted depth at the end of the test using the non-linear model. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Data supporting a publication. |
URL | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/344843 |
Description | Collaboration with colleagues in Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge on application of machine learning to concrete |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We have provided insight into fundamental concrete parameters and potential correlations. We have conducted experimental work to provide training data sets and to validate machine learning informed predictions. |
Collaborator Contribution | Our colleagues in Physics have developed machine learning algorithms to analyse our data and to make predictions of promising concrete mixes |
Impact | This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration between engineering and physics. We have submitted a co-authored journal paper for review. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Highways England |
Organisation | Department of Transport |
Department | Highways Agency |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Knowledge transfer, delivery of research advances and sharing of research findings |
Collaborator Contribution | Highways England have supported a number of funded EPSRC projects including (EP/K016148, GR/S55101/01, EP/I018972/1 and EP/J002887/1). This support has included technical guidance, access to data relating to reinforced concrete infrastructure, sharing of experience in managing the strategic road network in the UK and guidance regarding the main challenges faced on the network. This has ensured the long-term relevance of our research and extensive knowledge exchange. |
Impact | Knowledge transfer, revision of design guidance, formulation of research proposals for funding, improved understanding of reinforced concrete infrastructure assets |
Start Year | 2006 |
Description | Knowledge Exchange between National Highways and Cambridge on Sustainable Concrete |
Organisation | Highways England |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Sharing of research findings and insights from community of practice around remit of sustainable digital concrete. |
Collaborator Contribution | Sharing of priorities and strategic directions for net zero concrete. |
Impact | Changes to National Highways standards - MCHW Series 2600 Replacement of standardised prescribed ST type concrete with designated GEN/RC type concrete |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Knowledge Exchange between the University of Ghent and Cambridge University |
Organisation | University of Ghent |
Country | Belgium |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We hosted a collaborative visit from Professor Geert de Schutter from University of Ghent in Nov 2022 |
Collaborator Contribution | Research presentations and discussion of collaborative opportunities. |
Impact | Early stages of a new collaboration so no outputs as yet |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Knowledge Exchange with Laing O'Rourke |
Organisation | Laing O'Rourke |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Dissemination of research findings/technical guidance/knowledge exchange |
Collaborator Contribution | Strategic input into research directions and impact pathways |
Impact | A funded IETF DPCM (Decarbonising Precast Concrete Manufacturing) project ensued Knowledge exchange |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Knowledge Exchange with University of Michigan |
Organisation | University of Michigan |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We are engaging in knowledge exchange with the University of Michigan with the aim of submitting a collaborative proposal for research. An initial collaboration visit in Feb 2020 was funded through a Michigan-Cambridge Research Initiative. This was a catalyst for regular meetings between McGee (Michigan), Li (Michigan) and Lees (Cambridge) to develop ideas and formulate collaborative research directions. |
Collaborator Contribution | Knowledge exchange and ongoing engagement. |
Impact | We envisage that the outcomes will emerge in coming years. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Knowledge exchange between Highways England and Cambridge on UHPFRC |
Organisation | Department of Transport |
Department | Highways Agency |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Highways England have an interest in the potential use of Ultra High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) but there are limitation in our understanding of the behaviour of the material in shear. During 2018/19, a Cambridge MEng student supervised by Lees has conducted analytical and experimental work to scope specific knowledge gaps and the findings suggest contradictions in proposed design practice. |
Collaborator Contribution | Highways England have provided supporting material and technical advice throughout the project. |
Impact | Professor Lees chaired a panel on UHPFRC as part of a Dec 2018 Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction (CSIC) Industry Meeting. This initiative engaged industry partners and National Highways interests. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Knowledge exchange between University of Cambridge, University of Southampton, and University of Oxford |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | This collaboration draws on University of Southampton expertise in fibre-optic sensor development and fibre-optic sensor analysis, University of Oxford knowledge of embedded sensing systems in smart pipe tunnel segments, and world leading University of Cambridge infrastructure sensing and concrete material research. One planned outcome of this collaboration is to use experimental tests on fundamental concrete behaviour, currently being performed at Cambridge, as a testbed for novel embedded fibre-optic sensors that are being developed at Southampton. This will allow for detailed evaluation of the new sensors themselves, against established sensing methods. The data recorded by these new sensors are expected to be of higher quality and will be used to develop improved models of concrete material behaviour. These tests are ongoing. |
Collaborator Contribution | Regular knowledge exchange is underway and joint projects planned. Most recently, in December 2022, Martynas Beresna (Southampton) and research students from Southampton and Oxford visited labs at the National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing (NRFIS), University of Cambridge. Fibre-optic analysers at Cambridge were used to conduct initial trials of the novel sensors developed by Southampton. Further work is now underway to prepare these sensors for embedment in concrete material tests. |
Impact | The collaboration is multi-disciplinary. Beresna (Southampton) research interests include fiber optic sensors, distributed sensing systems, miniature optical imaging and spectrometry systems. Sheil (Oxford) has experimental geotechnics expertise and keen interests in intelligent monitoring to inform underground construction processes. Lees (Cambridge) contributes deep insight into concrete material and structural behaviour. The collaboration also draws upon Cambridge's strong position as a National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Knowledge exchange between University of Cambridge, University of Southampton, and University of Oxford |
Organisation | University of Southampton |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | This collaboration draws on University of Southampton expertise in fibre-optic sensor development and fibre-optic sensor analysis, University of Oxford knowledge of embedded sensing systems in smart pipe tunnel segments, and world leading University of Cambridge infrastructure sensing and concrete material research. One planned outcome of this collaboration is to use experimental tests on fundamental concrete behaviour, currently being performed at Cambridge, as a testbed for novel embedded fibre-optic sensors that are being developed at Southampton. This will allow for detailed evaluation of the new sensors themselves, against established sensing methods. The data recorded by these new sensors are expected to be of higher quality and will be used to develop improved models of concrete material behaviour. These tests are ongoing. |
Collaborator Contribution | Regular knowledge exchange is underway and joint projects planned. Most recently, in December 2022, Martynas Beresna (Southampton) and research students from Southampton and Oxford visited labs at the National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing (NRFIS), University of Cambridge. Fibre-optic analysers at Cambridge were used to conduct initial trials of the novel sensors developed by Southampton. Further work is now underway to prepare these sensors for embedment in concrete material tests. |
Impact | The collaboration is multi-disciplinary. Beresna (Southampton) research interests include fiber optic sensors, distributed sensing systems, miniature optical imaging and spectrometry systems. Sheil (Oxford) has experimental geotechnics expertise and keen interests in intelligent monitoring to inform underground construction processes. Lees (Cambridge) contributes deep insight into concrete material and structural behaviour. The collaboration also draws upon Cambridge's strong position as a National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Knowledge exchange between the University of Cambridge and Queen's University |
Organisation | Queen's University |
Country | Canada |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | As a result of Dr Janet Lees' overseas travel award for research visits to Canada (EP/J002887/1), Dr Lees and Professor Hoult from Queen's University strengthened existing collaborations and forged new collaborations. They collaborated on an MSc student project at Queen's University which was based on research conducted at Cambridge investigating crack propagation. This resulted in a joint publication. Dr Lees has provided strategic technical guidance through her membership of the Steering Committee of a Canadian NSERC Strategic grant led by Professor Hoult in collaboration with the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa. |
Collaborator Contribution | Professor Hoult and his team have provided fibre optic sensor and digital image correlation expertise which has helped to validate models developed at Cambridge. Professor Hoult was a member of the International Steering Committee for our Cambridge-based EPSRC funded research project (EP/K016148/1) to investigate reinforced concrete half joints and is collaborating with Professor Lees on EPSRC Established Career Fellowship Tailored Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure project (EP/N017668/1). During regular visits to Cambridge Professor Hoult has been working with the project team on collaborative aspects. We also collaborate through SKYPE meetings. |
Impact | Additional research funding, international research collaboration, knowledge transfer, student training |
Start Year | 2010 |
Description | Knowledge exchange between the University of Cambridge and University of Toronto |
Organisation | University of Toronto |
Department | Civil and Mineral Engineering |
Country | Canada |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | As a result of Dr Janet Lees' overseas travel award for collaborative research visits to Canada (EP/J002887/1), a number of new and exciting research projects have been instigated in collaboration with the University of Toronto (U of T). A PhD project at the University of Cambridge (2012-2016) undertook research to investigate the time-dependent behaviour of reinforced concrete. The Cambridge PhD student applied an analytical approach developed at the University of Toronto (U of T) and linked this to experiments undertaken in Cambridge. The collaboration with U of T also benefited an EPSRC funded project relating to the CFRP shear strengthening of reinforced concrete T-beams (EP/J002887/1) where the Cambridge team built on analytical work undertaken by the University of Toronto and adapted this to a new class of problems. Our two Institutions actively share and discuss research findings. |
Collaborator Contribution | Under the aegis of EP/J002887/1 Professors Bentz and Collins hosted Dr Lees in Toronto during Spring/Summer 2012 and subsequently on short term repeat visits during 2013/2104. Dr Lees worked with Professors Bentz and Collins during her stays and was not charged a bench fee. As a result of these visits and discussions, Dr Lees submitted a successful EPSRC proposal - Reinforced concrete half-joint structures: Structural integrity implications of reinforcement detailing and deterioration (EP/K016148/1). To further develop our collaboration, Professor Bentz spent a three month period of sabbatical leave at the University of Cambridge in 2014. Professors Bentz and Collins were International Collaborators on the EPSRC project on reinforced concrete half-joint structures (EP/K016148/1) and are also collaborating with Cambridge on our latest work on tailored reinforced concrete infrastructure (EP/N017668/1). |
Impact | Additional research funding, international research collaboration, new approaches to reinforced concrete design, analysis and assessment, student training |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Knowledge exchange with Arup on Reinforced Concrete Design & Assessment |
Organisation | Arup Group |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Ongoing engagement with ARUP team regarding research findings Hosting of a Cambridge/ARUP meeting in Cambridge on Feb 1, 2019 on recent research findings in relation to the strength assessment of reinforced concrete bridges, and tailored reinforced concrete structures |
Collaborator Contribution | Technical advice and feedback |
Impact | Closer collaboration, knowledge transfer |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Knowledge exchange with SOM |
Organisation | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP |
Country | United States |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Regular meetings are providing an excellent forum to disseminate our latest research findings and benefit from advice and feedback from SOM experts. |
Collaborator Contribution | Ongoing technical support and knowledge exchange |
Impact | Access to data and SOM environmental impact tool, technical advice |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Knowledge exchange/Regular academia-industry workshops with Costain |
Organisation | Costain Group |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Costain and Cambridge have established regular online and in person workshops with researchers, Costain stakeholders and members of Costain's supply chain. This merges together key players in concrete decision making and the latest research findings and advances. These workshops are proving to be very influential in identifying potential barriers to lower cement options and actioning new strategies to overcome these. |
Collaborator Contribution | Technical knowledge, expertise, access to data |
Impact | Internal reports Studentship funding Community of Practice Leadership around cement reduction |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Cambridge University Structures Seminar (Forsdyke) - Tailored concrete for durability |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | A presentation on the importance of durability and how concrete can be tailored to save CO2 and meet desired durability requirements encouraged debate amongst participants and knowledge exchange. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Cambridge Zero Research Symposium (Forsdyke) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The presentation encouraged reflection on the CO2 impact of concrete and awareness of need for cement reduction. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.zero.cam.ac.uk/cambridge-zero-research-symposia-2021 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop April 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Presentations/discussion around Sustainable Digital Concrete and scoping of collaborative areas and knowledge exchange |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop Feb 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular workshops with Costain and representatives from their supply chain are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The workshops provide invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop July 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular workshops with Costain and representatives from their supply chain are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The workshops provide invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop July 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop with Costain Materials Community and presentations by Cloud Cycle and HS2. Discussion around procurement was also very informative for participants. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop March 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular workshops with Costain and representatives from their supply chain are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The workshops provide invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop March 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular workshops with Costain and representatives from their supply chain are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The workshops provide invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop May 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular workshops with Costain and representatives from their supply chain are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The workshops provide invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop May 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The in-person workshop with representatives from Costain, Cambridge, Hanson and the Concrete Centre provided a high-level forum for horixzon scanning, knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The workshop provided invaluable feedback that is being translated into further collaborations and strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop Nov 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular workshops with Costain and representatives from their supply chain are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The workshops provide invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop Nov 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Cambridge presentations/discussion of Sustainable Digital Concrete findings, knowledge exchange about developments in standards |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop Oct 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular workshops with Costain and representatives from their supply chain are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The workshops provide invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop Sept 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular workshops with Costain and representatives from their supply chain are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The workshops provide invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop Sept 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Cambridge presentation/discussion of Sustainable Digital Concrete findings led to formation of advocacy/working groups to take forward actions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Cambridge/Costain London Workshop for knowledge exchange |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The workshop explored Cambridge's latest research findings, Costain's business priorities and collaborative directions for impact. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Cambridge/Laing O'Rourke Discussion of Decarbonising Precast Concrete Manufacturing - Oct 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Knowledge exchange and review of strategic directions for decarbonisation strategies |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/National Highways/Banager Precast Meeting - February 2022 |
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 | The meeting between Banager Precast Concrete, National Highways and Cambridge explored the capabilities and interests of Banager Precast. Challenges facing National Highways and recent Cambridge research findings were discussed as the basis for future collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Meeting March 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Meeting Sept 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Workshop - Jan 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Workshop Dec 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Workshop Feb 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Workshop Jan 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Workshop June 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Workshop June 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Workshop March 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Workshop May 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Cambridge/SOM Workshop Oct 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Regular meetings/workshops with SOM designers are providing a forum for knowledge exchange and research dissemination. The meetings/workshops provide Invaluable feedback that is informing strategies for the incorporation of innovations into industry practice. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Chairing of 51st Annual Convention - Institute of Concrete Technology |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Acting as the conference chair (JML) promoted discussion, encouraged networking and increased visibility of the research group. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Collaborative research visit to ETH Zurich and EMPA June 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | JML met with researchers at ETH Zurich and EMPA and visited the Carbolink (a spin-out from EMPA) design and production facilities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Collaborative visit with University of Southampton - Nov 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Collaborative visit to the Optoelectronics Research Center and the UKCRIC National Infrastructure Laboratory. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Discussion facilitator for Net Zero/Net Negative Infrastructure Session at CSIC Industry Strategy Event (JML) - March 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | My role was to facilitate discussion around Net Zero/Net Negative Infrastructure. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | EPSRC Blog (Lees) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The purpose was to write a blog for the general public to highlight my research and thoughts on creativity and engineering in light of 2018 being the Year of Engineering. A particular topic was inspiring the next generation and interesting examples from our EPSRC CDT in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment student-led activity and personal thoughts were shared. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/blog/creativityandconcrete/ |
Description | Engagement with University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) Fellow - Dec 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | CSaP creates opportunities for public policy professionals and academics to learn from each other. Priorities identified by the CSaP Fellow were discussed and connections made between emerging research findings and future directions for concrete usage and CO2 reduction. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Engagement with University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) Fellow - March 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | CSaP creates opportunities for public policy professionals and academics to learn from each other. Priorities identified by the CSaP Fellow were discussed and connections made between emerging research findings and future directions for environmental sustainability, the role of technology and material innovation. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Hosting of Institute of Concrete Technology Laboratory visit to Cambridge's UKCRIC NRFIS Facility |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | The Concrete Research Infrastructure Group hosted delegates attending the 51st Institute of Concrete Technology Annual Convention and gave a tour of Cambridge's state-of-the-art large scale Civil Engineering testing facilities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Hosting of Professor Bazant - June 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Discussion of research findings and collaboration |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Hosting of Professor Evan Bentz from University of Toronto - June 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Professor Bentz met with our research group and discussed emerging findings and collaboration opportunities. Professor Bentz also presented a Structures Seminar at the University of Cambridge on aspects of his research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Hosting of Professor Geert de Schutter from University of Ghent - May 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Professor de Schutter met with our research group and discussed emerging findings and collaboration opportunities. Professor de Schutter also presented a Structures Seminar at the University of Cambridge on aspects of his research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Hosting of Professor Luc Taerwe - Feb 2024 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Discussion of research findings and collaborative activity |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Hosting/meeting with National Highways in Cambridge - Nov 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Knowledge exchange and presentation and discussion of research findings related to tailored reinforced concrete infrastructure and sustainable digital concrete. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Industry/Academia Workshop for knowledge exchange - University of Cambridge, University of Toronto, Queen's University, Highways England and Atkins |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A workshop to showcase emerging University of Cambridge research findings relating to the lifetime extension of existing infrastructure and carbon efficient concrete, recent advances at the University of Toronto and Queen's University in the context of reinforced concrete infrastructure and structural health monitoring, and the latest challenges, findings and developments from the perspectives of Highways England and Atkins was an excellent platform for knowledge exchange and further collaboration. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Instagram Profile for Cambridge University Women in Engineering Society International Women in Engineering Day Feature (JML) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | University of Cambridge Student-led initiative to help raise awareness of the amazing work women engineers do and to inspire prospective fellow women engineers and Professor Lees was asked to provide a profile. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | LafargeHolcim Zero Carbon Hackathon 17-19 November 2019 (Gimenez Fernandez and Forsdyke) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Members of the research team participated in a Hackathon to come up with novel lower carbon concrete solutions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/zero-carbon-hackathon-encourages-students-rethink-material-use-constru... |
Description | Member of FPCC Scientific Committee (JML) - 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | As a member of the International Scientific Committee I reviewed papers to help ensure the technical quality of the Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites in Construction Conference held in Sept 2022. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.fpcc-conference.com/scientificcommittee |
Description | Member of FPCC Scientific Committee (JML) - 2024 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | As a member of the International Scientific Committee I am responsible for reviewing papers to help ensure the technical quality of the Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites in Construction Conference to be held in Sept 2024. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.internationalcompositessummit.com/#/fpcc?lang=en |
Description | Panel Chair (Lees) for EPSRC IKC Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction Industry Strategy Day, Dec 2018 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | As a result of the panel sessions, industry partners have engaged and expressed a commitment in supporting research projects related to ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete and also the mitigation of the environmental impact of concrete. These will now be developed further in collaboration with the EPSRC IKC Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure & Construction. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Participation in Jacobs Asset Health Sprint - Measuring and Monitoring Asset Health at Northumbria Water Innovation Festival July 2022 (JML) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Lees was invited to join a 'sprint' at the Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival. The aim of the sprint was to identify current best practice and determine and prioritise areas where the water sector should concentrate effort in order to better understand aspects of infrastructure asset health. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar - Presentation at the Rheology of Building Materials Confererence |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Presented a research talk to the 33rd international conference on rheology of building materials. This work related to the cement and concrete research journal paper on yield stress prediction via 3D reconstruction. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.schleibinger.com/cmsimple/en/?Rheology_Of_Building_Materials:33rd_Conference |
Description | Pecca Kucha Presentation on Concrete Thermal Properties (MGF) at CSIC Industry Partner Strategy Day - Sept 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Showcasing of emerging research findings for predictive tools for concrete thermal behaviour. This led to questions and interest from the audience who stated that the approach had great potential and wished to follow the progress and outcomes. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Podcast interview about the environmental sustainability of concrete and concrete structures |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Michele has been invited to participate in a podcast named 'Parole in Connessione' (Italian) [Words in Connection] on an episode about cities, sustainability, construction and transports. He has been interviewed by an academic from TU Delft on the topic of structural safety, concrete sustainability, circular economy and the reduction of the environmental footprint of infrastructure through lifetime extension. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://open.spotify.com/episode/4imMtWf17Cz36Cit7dGGR2 |
Description | Poster at the IABSE Prague Conference 2022 |
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 | Presentation of a poster at the IABSE Symposium Prague 2022: Challenges for Existing and Oncoming Structures, during conference poster sessions. The poster was accompanying the conference paper "An analysis of the potential for improving cement efficiency through functionally graded concrete elements with durability-driven concrete specification" and was well recieved by the audience. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.iabse.org/Prague2022/ |
Description | Preseantation at Second fib Italy YMG Symposium on Concrete and Concrete Structures |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation delived to conference attendees at the Second fib Italy YMG Symposium on Concrete and Concrete Structures, Rome, 18th-19th November 2021. The presentation summarised the work in the conference paper "Carbonation depth measurement of concretes exposed to different curing and preconditioning conditions, using image-processing tools". There were questions following the presentation, both in person and submitted to the author by email to be adressed afterwards. The presentation and conference paper recieved an award for "Best research advances in concrete and concrete structures" at the conference. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://fibitaliayoung.it/index.php/2021/12/20/symposium-2021-vincitori-awards/ |
Description | Presentation (Brault) - Cambridge University Structures Research Seminar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Dr Andre Brault gave a presentation entitled: Connecting the dots: the power of using distributed sensors to monitor structural behaviour |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation (Gimenez Fernandez) - Cambridge University Structures Seminar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Mar Gimenez Fernandez presented her latest research on Tailored Reinforced Concrete. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation (Lees) during Cambridge University Engineer's Association Alumni Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation to Cambridge Engineering Alumni - the discussion reflected an increased awareness of the environmental impact of concrete and the latest research development |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Presentation (Torelli) - Cambridge University Structures Seminar November 2019, Cambridge, UK. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Dr Torelli gave a presentation on the main outputs of his recent research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation (Torelli) - International Conference "2nd International RILEM Conference - Rheology and processing of construction materials (RheoCon2) 9th International RILEM Symposium - Self-compacting concrete (SCC9)" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Torelli gave a presentation on the analytical aspects of the work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.rheocon2019.org/ |
Description | Presentation (Torelli) - International Conference "IABSE Symposium 2019 Guimarães - Towards a Resilient Build Environment - Risk and Asset Management" March 2019, Guimarães, Portugal |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Torelli gave a presentation on the project's main outputs, focusing on the experimental aspects of the work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.iabse.org/IABSE/Documents/Guimaraes2019_FP.aspx |
Description | Presentation (Torelli) - Sheffield University Structural Engineering Seminars. March 2020, Sheffield, UK. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Dr Torelli gave a presentation on the main outputs of his recent research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Presentation (Torelli) to high school students in Montepulciano, Italy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Dr Torelli gave a presentation on his own career path, and professional career choices more generally, to an audience of high school students from his home town. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://www.sito.liceipoliziani.com/possibilita-di-crescita-professionale-allestero-7-gennaio-2019/ |
Description | Presentation and collaborative research visit to TU Delft August 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | JML met with researchers at TU Delft to discuss collaborative research and gave a research presentation about Tailored Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Presentation and collaborative research visit to University of Ghent November 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | JML met with researchers at the University of Ghent to discuss collaborative research and gave a research presentation about Tailored Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Presentation at 2nd fib Italy YMG Symposium on Concrete and Concrete Structures, Rome, Italy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation by a team member (Mak) on 'Effectiveness of arch behaviour in reinforced concrete beams subjected to shear' during 2nd fib Italy YMG Symposium on Concrete and Concrete Structures, Rome, Italy |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.cirg.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/award-cirg-member-fib-conference-rome |
Description | Presentation at Research Club series, Chair of Structural Concrete, Institute of Structural Engineering, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation by a team member (Mak) on 'The Shear Paradox' for the Research Club series of the Chair of Structural Concrete, Institute of Structural Engineering, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Presentation at Sellafield Concrete Steering Group Meeting - July 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Discussion of recent research findings with concrete experts from Sellafield and members of their supply chain. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Presentation at fib Symposium 2021: Concrete Structures: New Trends for Eco-Efficiency and Performance |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation delived to conference attendees at the fib Symposium, Lisbon (online), 14th - 16th June 2021. The presentation summarised the work in the conference paper "An analysis of existing models for carbonation coefficient applied to tests under natural conditions". There was a question and answer session following the presentation, with questions posed by virtual atendees and the chairpeople of the conference session. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.fib-international.org/publications/fib-proceedings/i-fib-i-symposium-in-lisbon,-portugal... |
Description | Presentation at fib Symposium 2022: Concrete Structures: New Trends for Eco-Efficiency and Performance |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation delived to conference attendees at the fib International Congress 2022 Oslo- 12th -16th June. The presentation summarised the work in the conference paper "Carbonation Behaviour of Concrete Exposed to Natural and Accelerated Carbonation Conditions". There was a question and answer session following the presentation, with questions posed atendees and the chairpeople of the conference session. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.fib-international.org/publications/fib-proceedings/6th-i-fib-i-international-congress-in... |
Description | Presentation at the 11th International Conference on Fracture Mechanics of Concrete and Concrete Structures |
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 | Presented a research talk at the 11th International Conference on Fracture Mechanics of Concrete and Concrete Structures, to accompany the conference paper "Acoustic Emission Attenuation in Single-Mix and Functionally Layered Concrete Slabs" (DOI for this paper given below). This presentation led to discussions with researchers from a range of countries and universities, who were interested in this research area. We have since followed up discussions with one of these researchers, who will be visiting our group to give a seminar later this year. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://framcos11.iisc.ac.in/ |
Description | Presentation at the Structures Group Seminar, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation by a team member (Mak) on 'The Shear Paradox' at the seminar series of the Strucures Group, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Presentation to CSIC Achieving Net Zero Cross-Industry Group - May 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Professor Lees made a presentation on - Hard Concrete Problems - Ownership and Action - to help support and inform the work of the Cross-Industry Group |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Research presentations at launch of University of Cambridge Civil Engineering Building (UKCRIC NRFIS) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Lees described the facilities and examples of research activity facilitated in Cambridge's new state-of-the-art concrete manufacturing and durability laboratories. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | SMAR 2024 scientific committee - 2024 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | As a member of the International Scientific Committee I am responsible for reviewing papers to help ensure the technical quality of the SMAR conference to be held in Sept 2024. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.smar2024.org/ |
Description | St Catharine's college Engineering Society presentation (Forsdyke) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | A presentation to the undergraduates, postrgraduates and academics studying Engineering at St Catharine's college. The presentation was titled "Performance-based design of concrete structures" and focussed on the optimising concrete selection for cement reduction. There was good engagement from the students and siginicant discussion following the presentation about the interdisciplinary nature of research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | St Catharine's college Engineering Society presentation (Forsdyke) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | An online presentation to the undergraduates, postrgraduates and academics at St Catharine's college. The presentation was titled "Improving Cement Efficiency in Concrete Elements" and described the problems of cement use in terms of embodied carbon, and the concept of tailored elements to improve this. There was good engagement from the students and siginicant discussion following the presentation. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | St Catharine's college Engineering Society presentation (Forsdyke) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | A presentation to the undergraduates, postrgraduates and academics studying Engineering at St Catharine's college. The presentation was titled "Using Image Processing and Analysis in Concrete Research" and focussed on the use of image processing techniques to give more information than traditional measurement methods. There was good engagement from the students and siginicant discussion following the presentation about the interdisciplinary nature of research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | St Catharine's college Graduates and Fellows research seminars (Forsdyke) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Jess Forsdyke gave a presentation entitled: "What's so hard about concrete?" to postgraduate students and academic fellows. This lead to interesting questions afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Tailored Concrete Infrastructure Workshop - University of Cambridge, University of Toronto and Queen's University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Cambridge research findings relating to tailored concrete infrastructure were discussed with international collaborators |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Talks at University of Cambridge Department of Engineering Open Day - July 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | JML gave a presentation to A-level students and their families about Engineering at Cambridge. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Temporary Works as a Route to Accelerate Carbon Reduction - Cambridge/Costain Digital Sustainable Concrete Workshop Nov 2022 - Thames Tideway |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentations by Costain/Cambridge and Supply Chain partners provided a platform for discussion and identification for actions to reduce carbon impact of temporary works. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Workshop for University of Cambridge EPSRC FIBE2 CDT MRes Students - Feb 2024 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | A session on 'Resilient concrete infrastructure with minimal cement' covered challenges, latest developments in concrete manufacturing and innovation and how research related to tailored reinforced concrete infrastructure offers routes for cement reduction. An interactive workshop encourages participants to reflect on the connection between cement usage and performance requirements. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Workshop for University of Cambridge EPSRC FIBE2 CDT MRes Students - March 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | A session on 'Resilient concrete infrastructure with minimal cement' covered challenges, latest developments in concrete manufacturing and innovation and how research related to tailored reinforced concrete infrastructure offers routes for cement reduction. An interactive workshop encourages participants to reflect on the connection between cement usage and performance requirements. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Workshop for University of Cambridge EPSRC FIBE2 CDT MRes Students - March 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | A session on 'Resilient concrete infrastructure with minimal cement' covered challenges, latest developments in concrete manufacturing and innovation and how research related to tailored reinforced concrete infrastructure offers routes for cement reduction. An interactive workshop encourages participants to reflect on the connection between cement usage and performance requirements. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Workshop for University of Cambridge EPSRC FIBE2 CDT MRes Students - March 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | A session on 'Resilient concrete infrastructure with minimal cement' covered challenges, latest developments in concrete manufacturing and innovation and how research related to tailored reinforced concrete infrastructure offers routes for cement reduction. An interactive workshop encourages participants to reflect on the connection between cement usage and performance requirements. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Zero Carbon World Materials Mapping Workshop (i3P) - Aug 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Mapping of innovation strategies to promote lower carbon systems and materials. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Zero Carbon World Research Findings Review (i3P) - Sept 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The ambition was to identify, catalogue and classify the different carbon innovation projects across the sector; by understanding what innovation programmes are taking place now, we will be able to provide insight on any critical gaps. The output of the project will be a prioritized innovation map, and a set of strategic project briefs to be explored further in subsequent phases. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |