Tailored Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure

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Cement production is an environmentally intensive process and responsible for 5-7% of man-made CO2 emissions. A promising strategy to mitigate this impact is to derive more value from the cement we produce and thereby reduce the volumes required. This allows society to benefit from the advantages of concrete as a building material while ensuring cement is utilised more efficiently.This project proposes a radical rethink about how we design and construct reinforced concrete through the development of tailored concrete infrastructure systems. This approach has the potential to reduce cement consumption leading to significant CO2 savings. The research will include detailed investigations of the structural behaviour of reinforced concrete and the material properties of concrete in the context of resilience and resistance to mechanical and environmental loadings. A range of structural and material systems will be explored and the most promising avenues will be the focus of detailed experimental studies. The development of predictive tools based on closed form and/or finite element solutions, strategies to address manufacturing challenges, and methods to beneficially exploit emerging technologies are also envisaged.