Name: Dr Vahid Afroughsabet
Academic Division: Civil Engineering
Research Group: Geotechnical and Environmental
Fellowship period: 1 Sep 2022 - 04 Jun 2023
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5552-8596
Personal Website: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/vahid-afroughsabet-a205847b
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Strategic Themes Sustainability Development of low carbon concretes via innovative binders and reuse of waste. Resilient and smart materials Development of resilient and smart materials with the ability to self-diagnose damages and self-repair themselves when damages occur. |
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Research Project Concrete is the most widely used human made material on the planet. Most concrete currently used is based on Portland cement that subsequently resulted in about 5-8% of total CO2 emission into the environment. The objective of this project is to introduce low carbon concrete into everyday concrete construction by optimising existing technology as well as adopting new technology for a path to net zero by 2050. Moreover, the road infrastructure sector remains largely traditional in its deployment of materials, design processes, and maintenance procedures. The road closures for repair and maintenance alone costing the UK £26.2 m/year. Therefore, this project aims to revolutionise road infrastructure materials by development of effective self-healing systems for concrete pavements, and transit form traditional roads to more efficient, sustainable, and smart roads. Project Title: Low Carbon Self-healing Concrete Pavements Abstract: The objective of this work is to introduce low carbon concrete into everyday concrete construction in UK. Portland cement production accounts for 5-8% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. This research addresses directly research priorities on low carbon concrete as established by the Low Carbon Concrete Routemap, for a path to net zero by 2050. Within the context of UK concrete construction, very little attention has been paid to exploit the current-generation alkali-activated concretes that make use of slag and fly ash and meet necessary requirements of standards and specifications. The proposed research will address this gap. This project also offers a value-added solution to convert local excavated waste shale and readily available clays into calcined clay supplementary cementitious materials that can partially replace Portland cement in concrete. Moreover, the road infrastructure sector remains largely traditional in its deployment of materials and design processes as well as in maintenance procedures. The road closures for repair and maintenance alone costing the UK £26.2 m/year. Therefore, the proposed research aims to revolutionise road infrastructure materials by development of effective self-healing systems for concrete pavements, and transit form traditional roads to more efficient, sustainable, and smart roads. This research explores the properties of concrete with superabsorbent polymers for the prevention of freeze-thaw damage, and expansive minerals and fibres for the prevention of early-age thermal shrinkage. Low carbon self-healing concretes will be developed, and laboratory material characterisation and performance will be assessed with a range of state-of-the-art facilities at University of Cambridge. |
