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Monday, September 16, 2024 – 12:00PM to 1:00PM
Presenter
Maria Juenger, Professor, Ernest Cockrell, Jr. Centennial Chair in Engineering #2 Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering The University of Texas at Austin
Portland cement concrete, the backbone of civil infrastructure, has a big problem. The portland cement component of concrete is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the high temperature manufacturing process that decomposes limestone (CaCO3) into CaO and CO2 and the fossil fuels burned to achieve the high processing temperatures. One of the "easiest" methods to reduce emissions from cement manufacturing is to use less cement. However, this is like dieting, easier in concept than in implementation. A reduction method that has been successful for decades and is favored because it improves concrete long-term performance and durability is to substitute a portion of cement in concrete with low carbon supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). From an environmental perspective, the optimum solution is to replace as much cement in concrete with SCMs as possible. This results in an interesting engineering (and economic) optimization problem where the best materials from a chemical reactivity perspective are not necessarily the ones that can be (or should be) used in the highest quantity. In this seminar, we'll talk about the complexity of the current SCM landscape and how to measure, model, and tailor their reactivity to optimize their use in concrete.