Lowering environmental impact from UHPC, utilizing industrial by-products

Abstract

Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is a material having some properties superior to ordinary concrete, such as strength and durability. Production ofUHPC often includes large amount of cement, leading to high cost and environmental footprint. This study aimed at demonstrating the potential of reducing both cost and environmental impact from production of UHPC, by reducing cement content through substitution with inert materials. Locally available industrial by-products were utilized as ag-gregates, as another mean to reduce cost and environmental impact. It has been proven possible to substitute 40% of the cement with inert materials, without significantly reducing the compressive strength. It has also been demonstrated how different superplasticizers strongly influence properties of UHPC, and hence must be controlled in experiments aiming solely at measuring effects of variations in cement content.