Development of Environmentally Sustainable Concrete Posts for Farm and Agricultural Applications

混凝土桩通常用于许多农场和农业应用。波特兰水泥和钢筋被用来制作这些混凝土柱子。波特兰水泥的生产产生了大量的温室气体（GHG）排放，因此，波特兰水泥的使用需要大幅减少。钢筋易受腐蚀。受腐蚀的钢筋膨胀，导致混凝土剥落，最终损坏混凝土柱。因此，这项研究的目的是开发和测试环境可持续和不易受到腐蚀引起的损害的替代混凝土桩。波特兰水泥将被矿渣和硅灰等工业废料替代胶凝材料所取代。这些废料目前被倾倒在垃圾填埋场，对土壤和附近居民造成毒性和其他问题。回收这类废物可减少温室气体排放及纾缓堆填区的问题。钢筋将被玄武岩纤维钢筋所取代。玄武岩纤维增强具有耐腐蚀性能，比传统的钢筋略强。此外，玄武岩纤维增强是由被称为玄武岩的火山岩生产的，因此，玄武岩纤维增强是一种环保材料。工业废料和玄武岩纤维加固的结合将使新的混凝土桩具有环境可持续性，并且是目前使用的传统混凝土桩的更便宜的替代品。此外，还将引进最先进的3D混凝土打印机，以减少混凝土柱生产过程中混凝土材料的浪费，提高生产率。这项研究将由一名博士生和两名本科生进行，他们将在绿色建筑和3D打印在建筑中的应用方面进行培训。这些训练有素的高技能学生将能够弥补加拿大的技能差距。行业合作伙伴MEDA工程与技术服务公司将在他们的业务中获得竞争优势，这将带来新的就业机会。

Concrete posts are commonly used in many farm and agricultural applications. Portland cement and steel reinforcements are used to make these concrete posts. Production of Portland cement is responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and hence, use of Portland cement needs to be reduced significantly. Steel reinforcements are susceptible to corrosion. Corroded steel reinforcement swells, resulting in spalling of concrete and ultimately damaging the concrete posts. Hence, the objective of this research is to develop and test alternative concrete posts that are environmentally sustainable and not susceptible to corrosion-induced damage. Portland cement will be replaced with alternative cementitious materials such as slag and silica fume, which are industrial waste materials. These waste materials are currently dumped in the landfills, causing toxicity and other problems for the soil and people living nearby. Recycling of such waste materials will reduce GHG emissions and alleviate landfill problems. Steel reinforcements will be replaced by basalt fibre reinforcement. Basalt fibre reinforcement is corrosion resistant and slightly stronger than traditional steel reinforcement. Additionally, basalt fibre reinforcements are produced from volcanic rock called basalt and hence, basalt fibre reinforcement is an environmentally friendly material. Incorporation of industrial waste materials and basalt fibre reinforcement will make the new concrete posts environmentally sustainable and a cheaper alternative to currently used traditional concrete posts. Additionally, the state-of-the-art 3D concrete printer will also be introduced to reduce waste in concrete materials in the production of concrete posts and increase the productivity. This research will be executed by one doctoral student and two undergraduate students who will be trained in various aspects of green construction and use of 3D printing in the construction. These highly trained and skilled students will be able to bridge the skills gap in Canada. The industry partner, MEDA Engineering & Technical Services will gain a competitive edge in their business which will lead to new job creations.