Influence of the porous network on chloride diffusion in presence of sulphate

The main cause of premature deterioration of reinforced concrete structures is the corrosion of steel bars, induced by chloride ions (for example in marine environment). At the same time, environmental-induced degradations of concrete can also affect the structure, such as external sulphate attack leading to the formation of ettringite, inducing...

Developing a generic approach to durability

Cementitious Materials become more diverse. In particular, to reduce the CO2 emissions associate with production, it is necessary to increase the levels of replacement of clinker by other materials. A critical consideration is to know how durable different materials will be. Most forms of degradation involve the ingress of different species into...

Analysis of the durability of high strength concrete with superabsorvent polymer

The High Strength Concretes (HSC) provided significant advances in civil construction, due its superior strength, efficiency and durability. Due to the high content of cement, low water/cement ratio and mineral additions, it is essential to avoid the emergence of tensile stresses generated autogenous shrinkage and consequently the cracking of...

The role of the micron-scale in reactive transport processes

Quantitative predictions for durability issues are necessary to adapt the formulations of cement blends with novel supplementary cementitious materials. These predictions are usually carried out with reactive transport models which are solved at the macroscopic scale. Upscaling laws are necessary to ensure that effective transport properties...

Clothing design for promoting sustainable use: Social and technical durability

Many life cycle assessment studies document that the most resource demanding phase during the clothing life cycle is the use period. This paper discusses how to reduce the environmental impacts of clothing use by improved design. Complete systems thinking is required, evaluating contributions by all the actors in the clothes’ life cycle chain....