Teaching Green Concrete

Published in: Megaprojects: Building Infrastructure by Fostering Engineering Collaboration, Efficient and Effective Integration and Innovative Planning: Proceedings of the 10th Latin American and Caribbean Conference for Engineering and Technology
Date of Conference: July 23-25, 2012
Location of Conference: Panama City, Panama
Authors: Jorge A. Tito
Alberto Gomez-Rivas
Refereed Paper: #136

Abstract

Concrete is a construction material used intensively all around the world. The principal components of concrete are Portland cement, water, gravel, sand and chemical admixtures. The production of Portland cement requires significant amounts of energy and is an important contributor to the global warming. This paper presents a teaching experience using fly ash type F and lightweight aggregates to reduce the consumption of Portland cement that result in Green Concretes. The students participate in the planning, mixing, and testing of the concrete to obtain important engineering properties, and in the construction and testing of a postensioned T-beam, a postensioned segmental beam, and two reinforced concrete T-beams. The Green Concrete projects motivate the student participation, the course outcomes are fully accomplished, and the students gain experience using environmentally friendly materials.