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 MoreTag: CSHub
Study: Policy actions key to carbon-neutral pavements by 2050
A new study by MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) researchers shows that the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of all construction materials used in the U.S. pavement network are 11.9-13.3 megatons, equivalent to the output of a gasoline-fueled passenger vehicle logging 30 billion miles. As roads are built, repaved, and expanded, new approaches and thoughtful material choices are necessary to…
Read MoreConcrete Sustainability Hub looks to economy, environment in decade two
Sources: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; RMC Research & Education Foundation, Portland Cement Association, Alexandria, Va.; CP staff
The Ready Mixed Concrete Research & Education Foundation and Portland Cement Association have marked the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-hosted Concrete Sustainability Hub’s 10th anniversary with a five-year, $10 million commitment and eye to solutions for economic, environmental, and social challenges.
Read MoreMIT CSHub researchers explore the effects of moisture and drying on cement
In a National Academy of Sciences paper, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-hosted Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) discuss how the porous network of portland cement absorbs water, and propose how drying permanently rearranges the material while leading to potential structural damage.
Read MoreMIT CSHub researchers target ASR gel’s destructive underpinnings
Sources: Concrete Sustainability Hub, Cambridge, Mass.; CP staff
In their current Research Brief, “Simulating the Formation of ASR Gels,” staff at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-hosted Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) shed new light on conditions, mechanics and protracted timelines surrounding alkali-silica reactivity in concrete.
Read MoreCSHub assembles global cement, concrete group leaders at MIT
Leaders of cement and concrete industry organizations representing 11 countries and regions from around the U.S. met with Massachusetts Institute of Technology-hosted Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) staff earlier this year to discuss research and collaboration supporting cement-based materials and sustainability measures.
Read MoreLife-cycle perspective backs report on critical issues in building practices
A new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-hosted Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub), Critical Issues When Comparing Whole Building and Building Product Environmental Performance, addresses key concepts in quantifying the environmental impact of buildings and products comprising them. It also makes recommendations for current and future building practices using life cycle assessment (LCA), and offers suggestions for research to advance future study and practice.
Read MoreCSHub at MIT develops hazard mitigation metric
The Concrete Sustainability Hub at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed Break Even Mitigation Percent (BEMP), a new tool to estimate the cost of weather hazards on a building. In a new research brief, “A break-even hazard mitigation metric,” CSHub staff finds that a $10 million non-engineered wood building is expected to face more than half a million dollars in hazard related damages over 50 years, while a $10 million engineered concrete building is expected to face only $165,000 over the same period.
Read MoreMIT researchers develop hazard mitigation metric for construction specs
Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; Concrete Sustainability Hub at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; CP staff
The MIT-hosted Concrete Sustainability Hub has developed Break Even Mitigation Percent (BEMP), a new tool to estimate the cost of weather hazards on a building. In its July research brief, “A break-even hazard mitigation metric,” CSHub staff finds that a $10 million non-engineered wood building is expected to face more than half a million dollars in hazard related damages over 50 years, while a $10 million engineered concrete building is expected to face only $165,000 over the same period.
Read MorePavement, materials specialist leads CSHub
An engineer who researches the environmental and economic implications of materials selection in the manufacture and lifespan of products, Randolph Kirchain has been named co-director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-hosted Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub) alongside Civil Engineering Professor Franz-Joseph Ulm.