Development and evaluation of environment-friendly lightweight self consolidating concrete: from material characterisation and durability assessment to structural performance

建筑业是加拿大的主要产业之一，是温室气体排放和自然资源消耗的主要来源。建筑活动比任何其他工业部门消耗更多的原材料。从地壳中提取的所有材料中有多达50%被转化为建筑材料和产品。此外，在能源终端使用方面，建筑环境占温室气体排放的最大份额（约40%）。开发新型环保建筑材料可以减少温室气体排放，增加废物消耗，耐用建筑，最佳可持续利用可再生资源，提高材料的可回收性，和整体可持续发展。拟议的研究计划旨在通过开发和评估一个新型结构轻质自密实混凝土。这种环境友好型混凝土将通过将天然、商业和回收的轻骨料以及工业副产品如粉煤灰和矿渣作为辅助胶凝材料来开发。本研究将在模拟和实际条件下评估LWSCC从新鲜阶段到作为大型结构构件的性能。预计拟议的计划将使前沿研究和高素质人才的培训，在广泛的现实世界的基础设施问题，包括自然资源的可持续性，回收利用和耐用性，沿着在极其苛刻的环境中的性能非常高的水平。由此产生的研究可以对基础设施的设计、施工实践和管理产生重大影响，并有助于在世界范围内推广加拿大的技术和专业知识，从而为加拿大带来重要的经济效益。

Construction, one of Canada's leading industries, significantly contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases and the depletion of natural resources. Construction activities consume more raw materials by weight than any other industrial sector. As much as 50% of all materials extracted from the earth's crust are transformed into construction materials and products. In addition, the built environment accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions (about 40%) in terms of energy end usage. Development of new environment-friendly building materials can lead to lower greenhouse gas emission, greater consumption of waste, durable construction, optimal sustainable use of renewable resources, enhancement of material recyclability, and overall sustainable development.The proposed research program aims to contribute to the reduction of the negative environmental impacts and the depletion of natural resources of the construction industry by developing and evaluating a novel class structural lightweight self-consolidating concrete (LWSCC). This environment-friendly concrete will be developed by incorporating natural, commercial, and recycled lightweight aggregates as well as industrial by-products such as fly ash and slag as supplementary cementitious materials. The research will evaluate LWSCC properties from fresh stage to performance as large-scale structural members under simulated and actual conditions. It is anticipated that the proposed program will enable leading edge research and training of highly qualified personnel in a broad range of real-world infrastructure problems, including sustainability of natural resources, recycling, and durability, along with a very high level of performance in extremely demanding environments. The resulting research can have a major impact on the design, construction practices, and management related to infrastructure and can help promote Canadian technology and expertise worldwide, thus bringing important economic benefits to Canada.