A scientific approach for sustainability of concrete

Abstract

Concrete is known to be the one of the most important construction materials, yet it has an enormous impact on the environment. It seems that concrete is not so compatible with the demands of sustainable development. However, it is the fact that Portland cement is not particularly environmentally friendly as a huge carbon footprint is left on the Earth due to the vast emission of carbon dioxide during the production of Portland cement. Therefore, to support sustainable development, we have to use as little Portland cement as possible in concrete production. Currently, there are ways that concrete can increase its compliance with the demands of sustainable development, such as to increase the use of supplementary cementitious materials and to increase reliance on recycled materials. However, these methods are rather empirical and there are still many aspects of concrete behaviour that are beyond our comprehension. In this regard, a new approach for concrete sustainability is proposed, which is to transform the conventional concrete technology into modern concrete science by developing new theories after investigating the factors governing the behaviour of concrete. A number of new theories have been developed regarding particle packing and rheology of concrete, as reported in this article. This scientific approach can reform the way how concrete mix is designed, slash carbon dioxide emission and promote sustainability.