The purpose of this grant with ohio state university is to evaluate the environmental degradation of concrete materials made from past, present, and future cement formulations

This Cooperative Agreement award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards (CFDA 11.609) Federal Grant Program provides $250,000 to The Ohio State University to evaluate the environmental degradation of concrete materials made from different cement formulations. The research activities will fabricate four types of concrete specimens, including Portland cement-based concrete, and subject them to testing simulating conditions created by sea level rise and flooding in coastal environments. The expected outcomes include a mechanistic and quantitative understanding of the durability of concrete infrastructure and strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change on concrete performance. The information gathered will help identify cement formulations at greater risk of degradation and provide tools to evaluate other cement formulations, ultimately protecting current and future coastal infrastructure and saving lives by ensuring sustained structural integrity.

Activities

Four types of concrete specimens will be fabricated including: i) portland cement-based concrete, II) portland cement with 5% limestone, III) portland cement with 5% limestone subjected to early-age carbonation curation treatment, and IV) new commercial cement pretreated with carbon dioxide. Testing will consist of integrating continuous unidirectional salt pond testing, cyclic wetting and drying, in situ monitoring of CL- ions and corrosion rate via a suite of electrochemical techniques, and comprehensive post-mortem characterization.

Expected outcomes

Results of this research will include the mechanistic and quantitative understanding obtained through the study of the early age carbonation curation treated concrete. The completion of this study will shed light on the durability of concrete infrastructure and inform strategies to mitigate the impact of climate changes with information about how cement formulations and environmental conditions impact the risk of degraded performance for concrete infrastructure.

Intended beneficiaries

Information gathered from this research will help with identifying which cement formulations are at greater risk for degradation and provides the tools and methods for evaluating other cement formulations so that current and future infrastructural, particularly in coastal communities can be protected and/or designed accordingly. In turn, these improvements and mitigation strategies will save lives and limit costs by ensuring sustained structural integrity.

Subrecipient activities

The recipient does not intend to subaward funds.