Concrete Airfield Pavement Research, Sustainability and Construction (ACI Spring 2022, Orlando, FL) Due to the increasing threat posed by climate change, there is a growing interest in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout the economy. Considerable focus has been placed on the use of concrete, as Portland cement-based concrete is responsible for roughly 1.5% of the GHG emissions in the United States, with some estimating it is responsible for up to 8% of the world's anthropogenic GHG emissions. Concrete airfield pavements offer an opportunity for our industry to immediately reduce our GHG emissions through improved material selection and proportioning without compromising longevity or economic life cycle costs. Currently available strategies will be discussed as will emerging technologies that may offer additional savings. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on assessment and the need to use a standardized approach to quantify environmental impact as a means to ensure real improvement.

Meta-Concrete: Achieving Multi-Functionality Through Nanotechnology (ACI Spring 2022, Orlando, FL) Merging low amounts of dispersed nanomaterials with different intrinsic conductivity in a cementitious matrix activates a synergistic action of their unique characteristics, providing nanomodified concrete with enhanced thermoelectric or electrothermal energy conversion efficiency. In this presentation, we demonstrate that the degree of nanomaterial’s dispersion is crucial to strategically engineer the electrical and thermal conductivity of nano reinforced concrete. Thermoelectric concrete, with the ability to convert thermal energy into usable electrical energy, was successfully developed by using combinations of homogeneously distributed nano reinforced materials with different intrinsic electrical and thermal properties. The modification of concrete’s structure with electrically/thermally super-conducting nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), resulted to unprecedented increases of the thermal energy dissipation and heating rate, essential for de-icing and anti-icing applications.