Partnership for Research in Geopolymer Concretes

Project Information

PRIGeoC

Grant agreement ID: 689857

DOI

10.3030/689857

Project closed

EC signature date 20 October 2015

Start date 1 June 2016

End date 31 December 2021

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 517 500,00

EU contribution

€ 517 500,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PRIGeoC (Partnership for Research in Geopolymer Concretes)

Reporting period: 2018-06-01 to 2021-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Concrete, owing to its availability, easy preparation and fabrication, is the most popular construction material. However, the cement industry is facing unprecedented challenges caused by energy resources and CO2 emissions. Despite the incremental improvements in process efficiency adopted by the cement industry in recent years, Ordinary Portland cement production is still responsible for around 6% of all man-made global carbon emissions. The proposed project aims to develop green concretes by using novel geopolymer materials as new binder and recycled concrete as part of the aggregates. The geopolymer is a type of amorphous alumina-silicate products. It can be synthesized by poly-condensation reaction of geopolymetric precursor and alkali polysilicates, which are available in natural materials or from industrial by-products. Geopolymer materials represent an innovative technology that is generating considerable interest in the construction industry, particularly in light of the ongoing emphasis on sustainability. However, although numerous geopolymer systems have been proposed, most are difficult to work with and require great care in their mixing process. Furthermore, the lack of long-term performance and durability data is also a barrier to the acceptance and widespread commercial use of geopolymer concretes in the construction industry. The proposed research covers not only the finding of novel geopolymers but also provide long-term performance and durability data for geopolymer concretes used in different environments. The research outcomes have a great impact on our understanding of how geopolymer concretes perform in different environments and how their mechanical properties and performance can be improved by using correct mixing processes. The research also provides vital information on how to revolutionise the production of concrete materials and how to engineer concrete binders using different geopolymers to tailor the properties of the resulting concrete.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

1. Details of secondments:

During the second period (01/06/2018 – 31/12/2021) UoP has outgoing secondment 9.96 personal-months and incoming secondment 11.70 personal-months, LJMU has outgoing secondment 10.36 personal-months and incoming secondment 14.00 personal-months, NTUA has incoming secondment 7.69 personal-months, which gives a total of (21.66+24.36+7.69) = 53.71 personal-months. During the first period (01/06/2016 – 31/05/2018), we completed the secondments of (32.57+22.17+7.03) = 61.77 personal-months. This gives a total of 115.48 personal-months, which is slightly over the planned 115.00 personal-months.


2. Details of Workshops:

During the second period we have organised eight workshops on five topics:
(1) A one-day workshop on the geopolymer & green materials, held in Penang Island, Malaysia, August 15, 2018, organised by UniMAP (WP6).
(2) A one-day workshop on the durability of geopolymer concretes, held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, December 24, 2018, organised by UniPyo and UoP (WP3).
(3) Two workshops on the dynamic behaviour of geopolymer concrete; one was held in King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi Bangkok, Thailand, March 13, 2019, organised by UniPho and UoP; the other was held in Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK, March 4, 2020, organised by LJMU and UniMap (WP5).
(4) A one-day workshop on the behaviour of geopolymer concrete when subjected to fire, held in Plymouth, UK, February 26, 2019, organised by UniMap and UoP (WP4).
(5) Three workshops on the design guidelines of geopolymer concrete; one was held in Lodz University of Technology, Lodz, Poland, October 16-17, 2019, organised by UniMap; one was held in Eastin Hotel Makassan, Bangkok, Thailand, February 5, 2020, organised by UniMap; one was held parallel in Beijing, China, and Plymouth, UK, December 11, 2021, organised by UoP and THU (WP7).


3. Publications:

During the second period we have published 10 papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented 6 papers to the national and/or international conferences related to geopolymers concrete materials.
The details of the publications are given in Technical report (Part B).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The exchange programme provided by this RISE project has offered a great opportunity for researchers, particularly young researchers, to develop their skills and gain experience in the fields that are likely to drive concrete research over the next decade. It helped them to develop the international contacts necessary for a successful long-term career, and prepare them for making use of new facilities and new tools available in the world. The program also allowed individual partners to take advantage of the skills of talented researchers from highly respected research institutions both inside and outside Europe and to learn from their experiences.

Geopolymer represents an innovative technology that is generating considerable interest in the construction industry, particularly in light of the ongoing emphasis on sustainability, climate change and net zero carbon. The proposed project aims to develop green and sustainable concretes by using novel geopolymer materials as the new binder and recycled concrete as part of the aggregates. The research work covers not only the finding of novel geopolymers, which can be used as binders in concrete, but also provides long-term performance and durability data for geopolymer concretes used in different environments. The research has a great scientific impact on our understanding of how the geopolymer concrete structures perform in various different environments and conditions and how their mechanical properties and performance can be improved by using the correct mixing processes. The project also makes a significant contribution to our society by developing innovative, sustainable and robust concrete products which use novel geopolymers as binders and recycled concrete as part of aggregates, and have improved performance when compared to OPC concrete, which benefit to our public because the expanded use of green concrete in the construction industry can help to mitigate global warming and climate change.

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