As ground glass pozzolan has recently been considered a supplementary cementitious material by the Canadian Standard of Association (CSA A-3000) and the American Standard (ASTM-1866), there is limited study on ground glass utilization on site. So, in this study, several sidewalk projects were performed by the SAQ industrial chair, the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, from 2014 to 2017 on fields with different proportions of ground glass (i.e., 10, 15, and 20%) in different conditions are considered in such a cold climatic region. Sidewalks are a non-structural plain concrete element that is among the most exposed to chloride, and freezing and thawing in saturated conditions of municipal infrastructures. Coring campaigns were carried out after several years of exposure to these concrete (between 5 to 8 years). The results of core samples extracted from the sites were compared to the laboratory-cured samples taken during the casting. These laboratory concrete mixtures were tested for fresh, hardened (compressive strength), and durability (freeze-thaw, scaling resistance, chloride ion penetrability, electrical resistivity, and drying shrinkage) properties (up to 1 year). The results show that ground glass concrete performs very well at all cement replacement in all manners in terms of long-term performance. Besides that, using ground glass pozzolan in field projects also decreases carbon footprint, and environmental and glass disposal problems.

Though extensive experimental studies have been conducted for shrinkage, studies focusing on shrinkage of high volume-to-surface (V/S) ratio concrete in low relative humidity conditions are relatively scarce. Accordingly, most shrinkage prediction models are applicable for relatively medium to high humidity conditions with a V/S ratio of 100 mm (3.9 in) or less. In this study, to evaluate the prediction accuracy of current shrinkage prediction models for conditions with high V/S ratio and low relative humidity conditions, long-term measurements of shrinkage were conducted with 28 rectangular prism-shaped concrete specimens of 76.2 × 76.2 × 285 mm (3.0 × 3.0 × 11.2 in.) or 125 × 125 × 550 mm (4.9 × 4.9 × 21.7 in.) in size with V/S ratio ranging from 16.8 to 285 mm (0.7 to 11.2 in.). The results reveal that current shrinkage prediction models, such as ACI 209R-92, fib MC2010, B3, and GL2000 models, can significantly underestimate the long-term shrinkage in relative humidity less than 20% depending on the V/S ratio. The prediction accuracy of ACI 209R-92 and fib MC2010 model depends on how model parameters on member’s geometry such as V/S ratio are determined.

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is considered a sophisticated concrete construction solution for infrastructure and other structures because of its premium mechanical traits and superior durability. Fibers have a special effect on the properties of UHPC, especially as this type of concrete suffers from high autogenous shrinkage due to its high cementitious content, so the properties and volume fraction of fibers are more important in UHPC. This study will describe previous related works on the mechanical behavior of UHPC specimens reinforced with micro- and nanoscale fibers, and compare of the behavior of UHPC reinforced with microfibers to that reinforced with nanofibers. The compressive strength, flexural behavior, and durability aspects of UHPC reinforced with nanoand/or microscale variable types of fibers were studied to highlight the issues and make a new direction for other authors.

In light of the effort for decarbonization of the energy sector, it is believed that common geopolymer binding materials such as fly ash may eventually become scarce, and new geological aluminosilicate materials should be explored as alternative binders in geopolymer concrete. A novel, tension-hardening geopolymer concrete (THGC) that incorporates high amounts of semi-reactive quarry wastes (Metagabbro) as a precursor and coarse quarry sand (granite) was developed in this study using geopolymer formulations. The material was optimized based on the particle packing theory and was characterized in terms of mechanical, physical, and durability properties (i.e., compressive, tensile, flexural resistance, Young’s Modulus, Poisson’s ratio; absorption, drying shrinkage, abrasion, and coefficient of thermal expansion; chloride ion penetration, sulfate, and salt-scaling resistance). The developed THGC with an air-dry density of 1,940 kg/m³ [121 lb/ft³], incorporates short steel fibers at a volume ratio of 2% and is highly ductile in both uniaxial tension and compression (uniaxial tensile strain capacity of 0.6% at an 80% post-peak residual tensile strength). Using DIC, multiple crack formation was observed in the strain-hardening phase of the tension response. In compression the material maintained its integrity beyond the peak load, having attained 1.8% compressive strain at 80% post-peak residual strength whereas upon further reduction to 50% residual strength, the sustained axial and lateral strains were 2.5% and 3.5%, respectively. The material exhibited low permeability to chloride ions and significant abrasion resistance due to the high contents of Metagabbro powder and granite sand. The enhanced properties of the material, combined with the complete elimination of ordinary Portland cement from the mix, hold promise for the development of sustainable and resilient structural materials with low CO₂j, emissions while also enabling the innovative disposal of wastes as active binding components.

A compressive laboratory testing program, field testing program, numerical analysis, and life-cycle cost analysis were conducted to evaluate the beneficial effects of incorporating shrinkage-reducing admixture (SRA), polymeric microfibers (PMF), and optimized aggregate gradation (OAG) into an internally cured concrete (ICC) mix for rigid pavement application. Results from the laboratory program indicate that all ICC mixes outperformed the standard concrete (SC) mix. All ICC mixes showed a decrease in drying shrinkage compared to the SC mix. Based on the laboratory program, three ICC mixes and one of the SC mixes were selected for the full-scale test subjected to a heavy vehicle simulator for accelerated fatigue testing. Extensive testing and analysis have shown that ICC mixes incorporating SRA, PMF, and OAG can be beneficially used in pavement applications to achieve increased pavement life.