RE-CAST UTC Project Information

Project Title

Economical and Crack-Free High Performance Concrete with Adapted Rheology

Universities

Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Polytechnic Institute of New York University
University of Oklahoma

Principal Investigator

Kamal H. Khayat
Missouri University of Science and Technology

PI Contact Information

khayatk@mst.edu;  573-341-6223

Co-Principal Investigators

Hani Nassif, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Kaan Ozbay, Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Jeffery S. Volz, University of Oklahoma

Funding Source(s) and Amounts Provided (by each agency or organization)

New Jersey DOT $170,082
Missouri DOT $120,000
University of Oklahoma/Dolese Bros. Co. $80,206
RE-CAST $380,744

Total Project Cost

$751,032

Matching Agency ID or Contract Number

New Jersey DOT:
Missouri DOT: TR201503 and TR201703
University of Oklahoma/Dolese Bros. Co. Dolese Bros. Co.: 00042134-05-1A
RE-CAST: 00046726 / 00055436

RE-CAST Grant Award Number

DTRT13-G-UTC45

Start and End Dates

Start Date: May 15, 2014
End Date: September 30, 2019

Brief Description of Research Project

The aim of the project proposed as part of the RE-CAST effort is to develop a new generation of high-performance concrete (HPC) that has relatively low binder content and low risk of cracking. Such concrete is intended for pavement construction and cast-in-place bridge elements to secure greater service life. Two types of HPC-AR are targeted, as follows:

  1. Environmentally friendly concrete for pavement construction (Eco-Pave-Crete);

  2. Environmentally friendly concrete for bridge desk and transportation infrastructure construction (Eco-Bridge-Crete). The Eco-Bridge-Crete will be designed with different workability levels to facilitate construction operations and reduce labor and cost.

Describe Implementation of Research Outcomes

Economical and crack-free high-performance concrete (Eco-HPC) is a new class of environmentally friendly and cost-effective high-performance concrete (HPC) that is made of low binder content, high volume of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), and shrinkage mitigating materials. The initial phase of research that involved an extensive laboratory investigation indicated that the designed Eco-HPC can secure high resistance to shrinkage cracking, and high strength and durability. The aim of this project was to validate findings of the previous research via field implementation and develop guidelines for the use of Eco-HPC for sustainable transportation infrastructure construction. Two classes of Eco-HPCs were developed for field demonstrations: Eco-Pave-Crete made for pavement construction and Eco-Bridge-Crete containing for bridge construction. Fresh, mechanical properties, and shrinkage of these Eco-HPC mixtures were validated through laboratory and prototype-scale testing and compared to those obtained using a MoDOT reference mixture. The Eco-Pave-Crete, Eco-Bridge-Crete, and MoDOT reference mixture were proportioned with binder contents of 320 kg/m3 (540 lb/yd3), 350 kg/m3 (590 lb/yd3), and 375 kg/m3 (632 lb/yd3) cementitious materials, respectively. Test results indicate that it is possible to design Eco-HPC with low drying shrinkage (? 300 μstrain after 250 days) and no restrained shrinkage cracking up to 55 days. Prototype-scale slabs cast with Eco-Bridge-Crete exhibited lower shrinkage compared to the reference concrete. Further prototype-scale reinforced concrete beams made with Eco-Bridge-Crete containing more than 50% replacement of cement to SCMs and either 0.35% structural synthetic fibers or recycled steel fibers developed significantly higher flexural strength and toughness. A comprehensive probabilistic life-cycle cost analysis methodology was carried out to quantify the life cycle costs of Eco-HPC and conventional materials that link laboratory-measured parameters to actual field performance.

Impacts/Benefits of Implementation

Compared to the MoDOT reference mixture, the optimized Eco-HPC mixtures developed for pavement and bridge applications exhibited approximately 40% lower embodied energy and 55% lower global warming potentials. The use of the proposed Eco-HPC mixtures could lead to about 4.7% of agency costs and 17.3% of the total life-cycle cost for bridge deck construction and 3.2% of agency cost and 6.2% of the total life-cycle cost for pavement construction in high traffic conditions.

Web Links

Project website: http://recast.mst.edu/projects/economicalandcrack-freehpc/

Phase I Final Report: PDF

Phase II Final Report: PDF