Title:
Improving Sustainability of Concrete
Author(s):
Publication:
CIA
Volume:
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
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DOI:
Date:
2/28/2011
Abstract:
Developing sustainable concrete structures is increasingly important for the long term future of the concrete industry. The concrete industry must continuously strive to produce a concrete product that is as environmentally friendly as other alternative construction materials available in the construction industry. This paper initially examines what industry is doing to improve the sustainability of concrete. Then the paper builds on these concepts to highlight and discuss an innovative structural design theory aimed at further reducing the carbon footprint that a concrete structure creates. The carbon footprint for all reinforced concrete structures can be calculated once the concrete mix design
specified and a detailed structural design is produced. This enables alternative designs to be compared on the basis of their carbon footprint. The design with the lowest carbon footprint will produce the best result for the environment and accordingly should be recommended. In this research, undertaken on structural beam analysis, results indicate that green (environmental) high strength concrete mix designs coupled with relatively high proportion of steel reinforcement produced the lowest carbon footprint structure amongst all other equivalent designs.