New Environmental friendly and Durable conCrete, integrating industrial by-products and hybrid
systems, for civil, industrial and offshore applications.
MAIN GOAL
By integrating industrial by-products and hybrid systems,
EnDurCrete will develop a new environmentally-friendly
and durable concrete for harsh environmental
applications using new types of eco-friendly Portland
composite cements.
Concrete based on ordinary Portland cement has been
for many years the principal structural material for
building durable construction. Current state-of-the-art
concrete types based on Portland cement with very high
substitution by supplementary cementitious materials
tend to fall behind in terms of performance and durability,
which is particularly critical when applied in harsh
environmental conditions. Moreover, cement production
process is responisbile itself of almost ten percent of the
worlds’s man made CO2 emission. Therefore, projects
aimed at improving formulations and production methods
to reduce CO2 emissions, energy demand and material
consumption from cement and concrete manufacturing
represent key topics on the agenda of both the European
construction industry and the European Commission. One
of such projects is the EnDurCrete project sponsored by
the EU Research and Innovation Programme Horizon 2020
and led by HeidelbergCement AG.
The EnDurCrete project aims to develop a new cost efficient,
sustainable reinforced concrete for long-lasting
and added-value applications. The concept is based on
the integration of novel and optimised low-clinker cement,
new nano- and micro-technologies and hybrid systems
ensuring enhanced durability of concrete structures
with high mechanical properties, self-healing and selfmonitoring
capacities.
Project demo sites where technology applications
will be tested
The EnDurCrete project involves 16 European partners,
including industry leaders in the fields of cement and
concrete production, construction companies, chemical
admixture producers, universities and technological
research institutes as well as service providers. The
research faces several topics, from the development of
new ecological low-clinker cements, innovative corrosion
inhibitors, conductive fillers/fibers enhancing self-sensing
capabilities of concrete, special reinforcement and selfhealing
solutions to the testing of durability in laboratory
and on large-scale demonstrations in real environment
conditions. Data collected during the testing will be
further used as an input for the modelling of concrete
performance and development of service life prediction
models. Furthermore, the knowledge and experience
gathered by the project is supporting the preparation of
novel standards for more eco-friendly cements
and concretes.
Following the concrete development stage, full-scale
demonstrators will be cast and placed in working sites of
tunnels, ports, bridges and offshore structures, to prove
the enhanced durability and the improved long-term cost
efficiency of the new concrete structures in such critical
applications. However, EnDurCrete is not only about
developing concrete but also about pushing forward test
methods and analysis tools. Advanced non-destructive
continuous monitoring and testing tools and procedures
will be developed and used, including technologies tuned
for providing concrete with self-sensing capabilities. They
are intended to complement the conventional durability
testing procedures in laboratories.
Project ID: 760639
Website: www.endurcrete.eu
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfgom15vUsg
Start date: January 2018
Duration: 42 months
Project coordinator: Arnaud Muller
Contact email: arnaud.muller@heidelbergcement.com