Report on the Role of Materials in Sustainable Concrete Construction

Abstract

This report deals with the sustainability aspects of materials selection in concrete production.

Chapters 3 to 7 address each of the major material components of a concrete mixture: cementitious materials, aggregates, chemical admixtures, mixture water, and reinforcement.

The sustainability impacts of a concrete mixture depend not only on the materials selected, but on their proportioning.

Materials selection can improve concrete sustainability through a range of metrics, including but not limited to reduced carbon impacts, enhanced material efficiency, improved construction practices, and extended service life.

Information providing an overview of each category is presented with observed effects reported for each group of materials.

The wide scope of concrete materials, the continued development and introduction of new or modified materials, and the variations of effects with different concreting materials and conditions preclude a complete listing of all concrete materials and their sustainability impacts on concrete