Ar2CorD

Low Carbon Concrete for Arctic Climate with Excellent Sustainability and Durability

What we do

The frost resistance issue is likely the biggest challenge/obstacle in reducing the carbon footprint of concrete. Ar2CorD will focus on the optimisation of low carbon concrete (LCC) with the use of established and non-established locally available supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), with substitution of minimally 30% of portland cement. The solutions to the issues created by the freeze-thaw cycle encountered in Arctic conditions will be addressed to achieve a suitable evaluation system for LCC.

Our objectives

Cement and concrete have a significant share in the building industry and so in the generation of CO2 connected to obtaining input materials, production and transportation. Therefore, the cement and concrete industry's common aim is to implement solutions that will lead to a lower carbon footprint, uptake of a circular economy and ensure that their products have sufficient durability.

The first objective is to develop a low carbon concrete mix, incorporating local industrial side-streams as binder material (at least 30%) and aggregate (at least 50%), mainly focusing on their performance and durability enhancement in Arctic weather conditions.

To verify the durability of the test procedure, the project will review the existing testing methods for the durability of LCC, modify the chosen methods and run experimental verification of the modified methods, in order to reach long-term durability testing.

The objective is to analyse the life cycle of the newly developed LCC material compared to the conventional concretes that are in use, including the end-of-life criteria of these materials, considering the service life and know how it affects the total life cycle cost and environmental impact.

Photo from https://en.uit.no/project/ar2cord