I-Corps: High-Performance Concrete and Superhydrophobic Admixtures

该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力与更广泛地使用超疏水外加剂和耐久性增强的混凝土有关。这种方法有望带来一种高效的方法来提高混凝土的耐久性，特别是含有大量工业副产品的混凝土，如用作水泥替代品的飞灰和矿渣。新型超疏水外加剂能够延长混凝土结构的使用寿命，节省原材料和能源，并减少与施工相关的环境影响；这些特性对于未来耐用和有弹性的民用和交通基础设施至关重要。为了提高混凝土的耐久性，本项目旨在将建议的外加剂作为混合物的一个组成部分(用于新混凝土的方法)或作为表面处理(混凝土修复的选项)纳入混凝土中。该项目将探索为这两个大容量市场量身定做的超疏水产品系列的可行性。最终，与标准做法相比，建议的方法将改善混凝土结构的性能，同时大幅降低维护成本。这个i-Corps项目旨在测试商业模式假设，并验证高性能混凝土外加剂的商业潜力。超疏水外加剂将乳化的含氢硅氧烷前驱体与少量亚微米级颗粒结合在一起。当添加到新混凝土中时，开发的外加剂释放氢气，并形成非常小的空气空隙，均匀分布在水泥浆体中。由此产生的混凝土是防水的，提高了混凝土的弹性和耐久性。开发的超疏水涂层应用于现有混凝土，使其成为憎水和憎冰的材料，减少了冰的粘附性。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is related to a wider use of superhydrophobic admixtures and concrete with enhanced durability. This approach is expected to lead to a highly effective method for improving the durability of concrete, especially concrete with large volumes of industrial by-products such as fly ash and slag used as cement replacements. New superhydrophobic admixtures enable extending the service life of concrete structures, save raw materials and energy, and reduce the environmental impacts associated with construction; these features are essential for future durable and resilient civil and transportation infrastructure. In order to boost concrete durability, thisp roject aims to incorporate the proposed admixture into concrete as a component of the mixture (the approach used for new concrete) or as a surface treatment (the option for concrete repair). This project will explore the feasibility of a family of superhydrophobic products tailored for these two large-volume markets. Ultimately, the proposed approach will improve the performance of concrete structures while substantially decreasing the maintenance costs compared to standard practices.This I-Corps project aims to test the business model hypotheses and verify the commercial potential of admixtures for high-performance concrete. The superhydrophobic admixture combines the emulsified hydrogen containing siloxane precursor and small quantities of submicron-sized particles. When added to fresh concrete, the developed admixture releases hydrogen and forms very small air voids evenly distributed within the cement paste. The resulting concrete is water resistant, improving concrete resilience and durability. The developed superhydrophobic coatings applied on existing concrete render it water repellant and also ice-phobic, reducing ice adhesion.