Solidia and Purdue University present concrete research to ACI

Engineers from Purdue University, Indiana, reported that CO₂-cured concrete performed comparably or better than traditional OPC-based concrete for resistance to cold weather and exposure to extreme conditions during presentations to the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Fall 2014 Convention in Washington, DC. Using the same raw materials and existing equipment as traditional concretes, Solidia Technologies’ patented process starts with a sustainable cement, cures concrete with CO₂ instead of water, reduces carbon emissions up to 70%, and recycles 60 – 100% of the water used in production.

“On multiple indicators, our findings underscore comparable or favorable performance of the calcium silicate-based carbonated concrete under severe conditions,” said Purdue University Professor of Civil Engineering Jan Olek, Ph.D., P.E., who co-directs the ongoing research with Purdue Professor Jason Weiss, Ph.D. The Purdue-Solidia team is conducting long-term investigations exploring “Failure Mechanisms in Concrete: A Comparative Study of the Ordinary Portland Cement and Solidia Cement™ Concretes.”

Presenting findings of ‘Freeze-Thaw and Scaling Resistance of Calcium Silicate-based Carbonated Concretes,’ Purdue Research Assistant HyunGu Jeong reported that the investigators examined the durability of Solidia Cement-based concrete and traditional OPC-based concretes under various conditions, including exposure to freezing and thawing (F/T) cycles and scaling in the presence of 4% CaCl₂ solution. “The Solidia Concrete™ that has been tested performed better (or similar to) OPC concrete specimens with 20% flyash in terms of scaling and F/T resistances,” said Jeong.

During a presentation on ‘An Experimental Investigation of the Selected Properties of Calcium Silicate-Based Carbonated Concrete (CSCC) Systems,’ Purdue Research Assistant Warda Ashraf noted that investigators identified the microstructural phases of the CSCC System and studied mechanical properties. They found that the mechanical properties of CSCC System were comparable with the conventional OPC system, and that, under the same exposure condition, OPC pavers showed higher efflorescence than the CSCC pavers.

The investigative team includes researchers from Solidia Technologies, including Director of R&D Vahit Atakan, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist Jitendra Jain, Ph.D., and Research Scientist Deepak Ravikumar, as well as Purdue Professor Emeritus Sidney Diamond, Ph.D.

Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/13112014/solidia-and-purdue-university-present-concrete-research-to-aci-844/