Fatigue Failure Mechanics of Polymer-modified Concrete in the Marine Environment

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Floating substructures that support offshore wind turbines have widely been constructed from steel, but research has suggested a shift towards use of concrete, due to its lower manufacturing costs, lower carbon footprint and better cost stability, which aligns with government target of achieving 60% UK content by 2030. However, lack of confidence in conventional concrete materials has led to exacting design requirements to ensure their water tightness, leading to excessive thickness that hinders their floatability. This project targets development of innovative polymer-modified concrete materials for lightweight floating platforms. Compared with conventional concrete, polymer-modified concrete has advantages of rapid curing, high impact resistance, high ductility and excellent bonding to reinforcement, which will enable thinner design and eventually less use of materials. Existing research has demonstrated the superior static structural behaviour, but no research has been published on the all-important fatigue failure mechanism. Fundamental research on fatigue is thus needed to unlock its significant potential for offshore structures. This project is a multi-disciplinary project, which involves materials characterisation, structural engineering, chemical engineering and marine engineering.