Inorganic Polymers for Sustainable Civil Infrastructure

无机聚合物，也被称为土聚合物，提供了一个独特的机会，几乎完全由废流材料制成混凝土粘结剂。然而，要在民用基础设施中实施这些材料，必须克服许多挑战。一个主要的障碍是，用于制造无机聚合物的废物本身就是高度可变的、多相的，并且很难全面表征。这项研究的目的是阐明无机聚合物粘结剂的材料组成与性能之间的关系，以便促进利用未充分利用的废物流来源生产无机聚合物混凝土。选定的废物，主要是来自燃煤的废物，将使用专门为此目的而改进的新的分析方法，对其物相组成和反应性进行充分表征。将确定无机聚合物混凝土最佳性能的特征，并将利用这一知识从目前填埋的来源中识别有前景的废物。波特兰水泥混凝土是占主导地位的建筑材料。然而，波特兰水泥生产占一次能源消耗的2%，占人类活动造成的全球二氧化碳排放的5%。在基础设施和维修应用中，成功地用无机聚合物混凝土取代波特兰水泥混凝土，可以大大减少二氧化碳排放和能源消耗。此外，将未充分利用的废物用于无机聚合物混凝土将减少垃圾填埋。虽然土木工程领域越来越强调可持续发展，但课堂上对这些概念的强调却是滞后的。在拟议项目期间开展的研究、教学和外联工作将开始弥补这一差距。

Inorganic polymers, also called geopolymers, present a unique opportunity to make concrete binders almost entirely from waste-stream materials. However, there are many challenges that must be overcome in order to see implementation of these materials in civil infrastructure. One major stumbling block is that the waste materials used to make inorganic polymers are inherently highly variable, heterogeneous, and difficult to comprehensively characterize. The purpose of this investigation is to clarify the relationship between material composition and performance in inorganic polymer binders in order to facilitate production of inorganic polymer concrete from underutilized waste-stream sources. Selected wastes, primarily those from coal burning, will be fully characterized for phase composition and reactivity using newly refined analysis methods specifically adapted for this purpose. The characteristics for optimum performance in inorganic polymer concrete will be determined, and this knowledge will be used to identify promising waste materials from sources that are currently landfilled. Portland cement concrete is the dominant building material. However, portland cement production accounts for 2% of primary energy consumption and 5% of global CO2 emissions resulting from human activity. The successful replacement of portland cement concrete with inorganic polymer concrete in infrastructure and repair applications could greatly reduce CO2 emissions and energy use. Furthermore, targeting underutilized waste materials for inorganic polymer concrete will reduce landfilling. While the field of civil engineering is increasingly emphasizing sustainable development, classroom emphasis on these concepts is lagging. Research, teaching and outreach efforts performed during the proposed project will begin to address this gap.