Cement

Reinforcing waste-based concrete: Plastic fibers improve mechanical properties of cement–glass composite

By Lisa McDonald / February 16, 2021

Substituting waste materials for cement in concrete helps lower the concrete industry’s carbon emissions and keeps waste materials out of landfills. However, large amounts of glass cullet in concrete will decrease the concrete’s mechanical properties. Researchers in Poland investigated reinforcing the cement–glass composite using plastic fibers.

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Repurpose waste concrete through additive manufacturing

By Lisa McDonald / December 1, 2020

To date, recycling of building rubble into new construction products is limited because the material does not meet strict building regulations. A new £6 million project led by Manchester Metropolitan University and partners across Europe aims to overcome this limitation using additive manufacturing because products produced this way are not subject to the same building restrictions.

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Weak concrete, heavy trucks—understanding reasons for sewer line failure

By Lisa McDonald / August 7, 2020

Numerous factors contribute to failure of concrete sewer pipes. Researchers at The Ohio State University used a surrogate model to identify which factors play the largest role in these failures, isolating critical areas for improvement.

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Video: Pursuing carbon capture at the industrial scale

By Lisa McDonald / May 27, 2020

Carbon capture and storage is one method the global cement industry is investigating to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. An ongoing study in Norway could become the world’s first cement plant to use this technology at full scale.

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ACerS Division membership offers networking, leadership opportunities, and more, says ACerS Fellow

By Faye Oney / April 27, 2020

ACerS Fellow David Lange has been involved in the Cements Division since the early 1990s. He believes his Division experience has contributed to his career growth.

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A creeping suspicion—modified concrete creep model considers drying-induced damage

By Lisa McDonald / February 21, 2020

Existing creep damage models for concrete assume compressive and tensile creep are identical, but recent experimental evidence suggests otherwise. Researchers from the United Kingdom and China propose a modified model that accounts for drying-induced damages and load eccentricity to more accurately model creep.

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Bacteria bind bricks to create sustainable living building material

By April Gocha / February 4, 2020

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder designed a living building material cemented together with cyanobacteria-secreted calcium carbonate—offering possibilities for construction in resource-limited settings.

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Video: Effectively pour concrete in cold weather

By Lisa McDonald / December 18, 2019

Though construction season is mainly ended for the year, sometimes critical construction projects cannot wait until spring. Learn how to effectively pour concrete in cold weather.

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Reduce carbon emissions from cement production—and make other useful products in the process

By Lisa McDonald / November 5, 2019

To reduce carbon emissions from cement manufacturing, emission-heavy steps of the process can be replaced with alternative techniques. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology experimented with using electrolysis to create cement and found that in addition to reducing carbon emissions, byproducts from the process can be reused.

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Video: The rising popularity of fiber cement siding

By Lisa McDonald / September 18, 2019

Fiber cement is an increasingly popular material for house siding. Find out the history of the material, how it compares to other common siding materials, and how it is produced.

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