Project description
Untangling the long-term behaviour of ultra-high-performance concrete
Concrete is the most used engineered material in the world. However, for each kilogram produced, an almost equivalent mass of CO2 is emitted. Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), used for a couple of decades, is characterised by superior durability and excellent mechanical properties, offering a 26 % reduction in carbon emissions and a 24 % cost advantage according to comparative LCA and LCC analysis on benchmark structures. Increasing its use, particularly in civil infrastructure, will require a greater understanding of its long-term performance. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the InCreeGuIng project aims to comprehensively characterise and predict UHPC's response to creep and fatigue and the creep-fatigue coupled effect (cyclic creep). To that end, it will employ multiscale experimental tests and multi-physics and mesoscale numerical methods.
Objective
Concrete, as the most widely used construction material, is responsible for about 7% of global energy-related CO2 emissions. Addressing this environmental challenge within the construction sector necessitates urgent development and adoption of multi-beneficial materials characterized by low carbon emissions, superior durability, and excellent mechanical properties. Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) emerges as such a material, offering a 26% reduction in carbon emissions and a 24% cost advantage according to comparative LCA and LCC analysis on benchmark structures. UHPC is the ideal candidate material for broad application, particularly in construction of new and retrofitting existing aging infrastructure subjected to cyclic and sustained actions, including bridges, tunnel linings, wind turbine towers, roads, and aircraft runways.
However, the lack of knowledge regarding UHPC's long-term performance, including creep and fatigue behaviour, hinders its widespread use in infrastructure projects. The objective of this project is to unlock this critical knowledge gap and develop structural design guidelines aimed at driving the construction sector's transition towards carbon neutrality through the use of high-performance materials that enable us to build better, for longer and employing lower material volumes, which all imply reduced consumption of raw resources and reduced environmental impacts in the short and long term. Employing multiscale experimental tests, multi-physics and mesoscale numerical methods, the project aims to comprehensively characterize and predict UHPC's response to creep and fatigue, and the creep-fatigue coupled effect (cyclic creep).
InCreeGuIng's breakthrough will fill the current knowledge gaps in understanding UHPC's long-term performance. This initiative will enhance Europe's competitiveness in constructing eco-friendly, resilient, and durable infrastructure by providing practical design tools to expedite their widespread adoption.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringaircraft
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencescomputational sciencemultiphysics
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
20133 Milano
Italy