Development of Environmentally Sustainable Concrete Posts for Farm and Agricultural Applications

混凝土柱子通常用于许多农场和农业应用中。波特兰水泥和钢筋被用来制作这些混凝土柱子。生产波特兰水泥造成大量温室气体(GHG)排放，因此需要大幅减少波特兰水泥的使用。钢筋很容易受到腐蚀。锈蚀的钢筋膨胀，导致混凝土剥落，最终损坏混凝土立柱。因此，这项研究的目标是开发和测试替代混凝土桩，这些桩在环境上是可持续的，并且不容易受到腐蚀引起的损害。波特兰水泥将被替代胶凝材料，如矿渣和硅灰，这是工业废物。这些废物目前被倾倒在垃圾填埋场，对土壤和附近生活的人造成了毒性和其他问题。回收这些废物将减少温室气体排放，并缓解堆填区的问题。钢加固将被玄武岩纤维加固所取代。玄武岩纤维加固耐腐蚀，强度略高于传统钢筋。此外，玄武岩纤维增强材料是从称为玄武岩的火山岩中产生的，因此，玄武岩纤维增强材料是一种环保材料。加入工业废料和玄武岩纤维增强材料将使新的混凝土桩在环境上可持续，并成为目前使用的传统混凝土桩的一种更便宜的替代方案。此外，还将引入最先进的3D混凝土打印机，以减少生产混凝土立柱时对混凝土材料的浪费，并提高生产率。这项研究将由一名博士生和两名本科生进行，他们将在绿色施工的各个方面进行培训，并在施工中使用3D打印。这些训练有素、技能娴熟的学生将能够弥补加拿大的技能差距。行业合作伙伴MEDA工程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.