Concrete, the most extensively used manmade material worldwide, contributes an estimated 8 percent of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. With annual volume running 30 gigatonnes, concrete consumption is over 3.5 tonnes of per person. The majority of the GHG emissions (88.5 percent) emanate from production of portland cement, the essential ingredient in concrete. Carbon sequestration in concrete presents a promising avenue…
Read MoreCategory: TECHNICAL TALK
Site Lighting Foundation Trends
How do the different foundations and methods of site lighting bases compare, which ones are trending, and why? Properly installed light poles not only enhance visibility and safety, but also contribute to the appearance and functionality of outdoor spaces. Once the pole style is decided, choosing the right foundation design is critical to creating a solid and stable base for…
Read MoreHow Concrete Density Can Impact Seismic Design
Concrete provides considerable compressive strength and, if reinforced properly, can withstand flexure and shear caused by seismic activity. But, in seismic design, too much of a good thing can in some cases be detrimental. For concrete, a higher strength can contribute to brittleness. Brittle structures often perform less than optimally during seismic events. While there are several approaches to improve…
Read MoreDelivering Long-term Resilience with Internally Cured Concrete
So much depends on concrete’s durability yet early-age cracking is a common and damaging issue structures face. These cracks expose internal steel reinforcement to chemicals and elements, accelerating corrosion and jeopardizing a concrete component’s structural integrity and service life. Factors like surface drying and environmental stressors like temperature can increase the risk of early-age cracking. Carefully considering the mix design…
Read MoreEnergy Efficient and Carbon Sequestering Lightweight CMU Walls
Two of today’s major focus areas in the design community are reducing the amount of energy (usually in the form of fossil fuel to heat, cool and operate buildings) and reducing the embodied carbon in building materials. To help meet the moment, the concrete products industry has two readily available and affordable solutions that can be used to address both…
Read MoreChryso, GCP admixtures propel UHPC Solutions’ Ductal record
Crews from New Jersey-based UHPC Solutions North America closed out 2023 placing Holcim Ductal ultra-high performance concrete on the third and final phase of a 14-month, 5,000-yd. deck rehabilitation for the two-mile Delaware Memorial Bridge. In partnership with UHPC Solutions and Ductal US officials, a technical team from Saint-Gobain Construction Chemicals’ Chryso and GCP brands helped identify high-range water reducers…
Read MoreA brief history of Environmental Product Declarations and the arrival of EPD 3.0
Increasing demand for low carbon concrete, transparency, and digitization are driving a radical transformation in how EPDs are developed and used. Industry demand for low carbon concrete and the critical need to measure reduced carbon metrics are driving radical change in the concrete industry, which increases monthly with new legislation, investor and commercial demand influencing construction materials production and specifications.…
Read MoreASTM Advances Sustainable Non-Hydraulic Cements
ASTM C01 Committee on Cement recently approved the first standards addressing non-hydraulic cements and specifically, cements that require carbonation curing. With almost several years in the making, ASTM C1905, Specification for Cements that Require Carbonation Curing and ASTM C1910, Standard Test Methods for Cements that Require Carbonation Curing set the requirements for specifying these unique cements. Approval emerged from Committee…
Read MoreMIT CSHub professor encapsulates concrete carbon uptake principles
The process by which cement-based products sequester carbon dioxide is key to understanding the life cycle impacts of the world’s most widely subscribed building material. In a three-point question & answer sequence, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Concrete Sustainability Hub Deputy Director Hessam AzariJafari describes how CO2 uptake is a key lever in the concrete industry realizing carbon neutrality: What is…
Read MoreAdmixtures help pave the way to longer-lasting bridge decks
Thousands of bridges across the country need repair and modernization, with the impact on the economy going way beyond the cost of reconstruction, particularly for the supply chain. These blockages have cost hundreds of millions of hours of productivity from trucks idling in traffic when bridges fail or while road crews are working on them. Aging bridges are part of…
Read More