Elsevier

Journal of Cleaner Production

Volume 274, 20 November 2020, 122899
Journal of Cleaner Production

Review
Advanced smart concrete - A review of current progress, benefits and challenges

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122899Get rights and content

Abstract

Concrete is the second most globally consumed material in the world after water and the most used construction material. Yet, its benefits are masked with many ecological setbacks through the way it is produced, transported, or used. Concrete occurs in a brittle state characterized by low tensile strength, weak resistance to crack formation, and strain properties. Recent studies have focused on improving concrete properties by integrating it with innovative solutions such as fibers, admixtures, and supplementary cementitious components. The infrastructure of modern structures demands components with greater durability, and higher mechanical strength. This solution can only be achieved through the addition of nanomaterials to cement-based products, thus, enhancing their mechanical features. Examples of nanomaterials include carbon nanotubes (CNTs), nano-ferric oxide (nano - Fe2O3), and graphene oxide. Nanomaterials can be added to cement with the addition of other reinforcements such as glass, steel fibers, fly ash and rice hull powder. With optimum dosages, the compressive, tensile, and flexural strength of cement-based materials, workability and water absorption are improved. The use of nanomaterials enhances the performance and life cycle of concrete structures. This study looks at some of the recent concrete improvisations, analyzing them on the spectrum of technical performance, durability, ecological sustainability, and economic benefits.

Introduction

The construction industry demands the adoption of those materials that maintain the mechanical properties of cement and other related components for modern concrete infrastructure. Ideally, this means that the tensile, compressive, and flexural strengths of concrete materials need to be improved. Advances in smart concrete have seen the establishment of nanomaterials that can be mixed with cementitious to come up with those with high mechanical strength (Bautista-Gutierrez et al., 2019). Research has established that nanomaterials have contributed to the establishment of nanomaterials that have been added to cement and concrete in order to step up the mechanical strengths, thereby aiding in reducing environmental impacts. Carbon dioxide produced during the production of cement accounts for about 7% of the world’s total emissions (Moser et al., 2012). Therefore, the main issue with the production of this construction material is how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. One of such alternatives would be the adoption of those construction materials with high mechanical strengths and high durability. With this advancement, it is expected that concrete structures will have require less quantity of cement-based materials for construction due to their thin nature (Moser et al., 2012). Cement-based materials can be mixed with the so-called nanomaterials such as nano-silica (na-SiO2), nano-ferric oxide (nano-Fe2O3) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). For a very long time, research has prioritized the adoption of nanomaterials in cement. The mixture of nano materials and cementitious can improve the mechanical strength of the resulting concrete. Thus, the life cycle (duration) of these structures can be increased while the amount of concrete material required is reduced significantly. A good example of a nano-material incorporated in cement is nano-silica. This material speeds up the hydration of cement due to the production of calcium silicate hydrate and dissolution of calcium silicates. Owing to research gathered globally, considerable improvements have been realized in concrete-based construction materials. As explained by Moser et al. the construction industry has been slow to implement these breath-taking improvements (Moser et al., 2012). Cost of adoption, the longevity of materials, and their functional properties are some of the aspects that make engineers and architects slow down the adoption of such techniques. The smart materials recently created including self-healing concrete or hydroceramics have laid the framework for revolutions in the construction industry. Digital technologies including 3D printing and brick molding are among the procedures that enhance smart cementitious concrete properties. While attention is placed on technology improvisations, the high costs of extraction have made many to adopt the eco-friendly techniques. Recent research reveals that new materials, enhanced automation, and digitization are inevitable and have paved the way in the construction industry. Despite this, advances in smart concrete is still a new and young area that requires a lot of research to be conducted. Many engineers understand that concrete materials are the best for construction, not realizing that there is the need for improving the strength, tensile and compressive power of cement. There exists gaps in the available information concerning how to improve these properties of cement while ensuring that the amount of CO2 is kept within minimum levels.

This paper seeks to contribute to the list of existing literature studies in several ways. First, a review of smart concrete in terms of the current progress, benefits and challenges from 2015 to 2020 is expect to offer effective measures that can be used to improve the structural properties of the typical concrete. The different types of smart concrete have been developed to meet varied needs such as self-sensing, self-diagnosis concrete, self-heating, self-healing among others. However, the study will be limited to three types of smart concrete, namely self-healing concrete, self-curing concrete, and ultra-high performance. A review of these smart concrete is expected to provide how they have improved the properties of the typical concrete using different functions. Second, this study will contribute to the available knowledge about adoption of smart materials that can improve the strength, tensile, and compressive charcteristics of concrete while safe gurading the environment. Third, the outcome of this research is expected to provide critical information on the development of concrete at the nano-scale. This is attributed to the fact that the atomic level of the concrete provides an opportunity that can be used for manipulating the individual atoms and molecules, which ensure that improvement on the concrete structure can be performed at the nano level. A review of existing studies indicate that more emphasis has been placed on understanding the atomic scale in construction materials, the mixture between water and other solutes combined with cement pastes (Adu-Amankwah, 2016; Biernacki et al., 2017a). Additionally, the examination of the mechanical performance and the bonding of the concrete structure contribute to understanding how the graphene influences the cementitious materials.

Section snippets

Background

Concrete is the second most globally material in the world after water, and the most used construction material (Al-Tabbaa, 2016; Watts, 2019). Yet, its benefits are masked with many ecological disadvantages through the way it is produced, transported, or used (Ghosal, 2019; Papanikolaou et al., 2019). Regardless of its relevance, it occurs in the brittle state owing to its low tensile strength, weak resistance to crack formation, and strain properties. Initiatives have been made to improve

The emergence of smart concrete such as graphene

The review by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (2018) shows that smart options are another growing trend for concrete improvisation. The cement market is focused on attaining multifunctional concretes. These types of concrete are characterized by some functional and intelligent properties. Since cement in dry conditions cannot conduct electricity appropriately, experts had to explore other alternatives since the aim has been to find concrete with high electrical conductivity. The

Self-healing concrete

Senthil et al. describe self-healing material as elements that can achieve self-repair and return to the original condition (Senthil et al., 2019). Self-healing is done to reduce cracks, reduce maintenance expenses, and increasing strength and durability (Devgire, 2019) as shown in Table 2. An experiment by Prabahar et Al. shows that there are different types of self-healing improvisations that include “bacterial encapsulation, self-healing with self-controlled tight crack width, chemical

Self-curing concrete

This is another established method for producing smart concretes, which deals with the application of curing elements on surfaces of concretes. The commonly used solutions include polyethylene glycol or pre-saturated lightweight aggregates. A self-curing approach is an approach that counteracts autogenous shrinking and self-desiccation. Self-desiccation is the shrinkage of concrete due to a decrease in relative humidity, while autogenous shrinking is the decrease in volume of concretes due to

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC)

Sidodikromo et al. investigated recent progress in concrete engineering and technology, including the UHPC (Sidodikromo et al., 2019). They established that UHPC is one of the recent methods of concrete improvisation, whose functionality and flowability can increase by adopting optimum grading of particles. They found that UHPC is a cement-based composite that portrays durable properties and mechanical features of high compressive strength above 150 MPa. The material also has a high tensile

Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC)

Another recent improvement has led to the production of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC), which has gained much traction because of the advantages that fibers provide that enhance the cement’s longevity, resistance to cracks and fatigue, force, anchorage, ductility, and tensile strength (Oliari Garcez et al., 2019). “The use of macro fibers, such as steel fibers, as reinforcement in concrete is well-established in applications such as industrial pavements, precast structural elements,

Additive manufacturing (AM)

Also called 3-dimensional (3D) printing, additive manufacturing will probably revolutionize the future of concrete infrastructure technology (Thompson et al., 2016). AM has the advantage of reducing construction costs and time while also increasing the safety, productivity, and reliability of projects (Huang et al., 2015). With AM, engineers manufacture concrete through 3D objects. This recent development not only transforms how concrete projects are developed but also the material design and

Conclusion

The incorporation of smart concrete, for instance nano materials can improve the tensile, compressive, and flexural strengths. Studies have prioritized the consideration of nanomaterials such as nano-titania, nano-silica, CNT, and GO. The addition of these materials to concrete has led to the coming up with concrete that has denser microstructures, thereby decreasing the rate of water absorption. The working ability of concrete can be improved through the addition of these materials. Nano-TiO2

Declaration of competing interest

There is no conflict of interest in this study.

Acknowledgements

This research has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 777823.

Natt Makul is a senior lecturer at Phranakhon Rajabhat University, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Thammasat University. His research interests include the microwave heating of cement-based materials, the utilization of waste materials as concrete materials, such as fly ash, rice husk ash, limestone powder, steel powder, foundry sand, and dry powder sludge ash, the behaviors of Portland cement-based materials, the microstructural characteristics of concrete, and the

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    Natt Makul is a senior lecturer at Phranakhon Rajabhat University, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Thammasat University. His research interests include the microwave heating of cement-based materials, the utilization of waste materials as concrete materials, such as fly ash, rice husk ash, limestone powder, steel powder, foundry sand, and dry powder sludge ash, the behaviors of Portland cement-based materials, the microstructural characteristics of concrete, and the special testing and analysis of concrete structures.

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