Material solutions to concrete problems

Mitigating the environmental impacts of concrete,

Sidney Fellow and Professor of Engineering Abir Al-Tabbaa was part of the University delegation at the recent World Economic Forum at Davos.

Writing on the World Economic Forum website, Professor Abir Al-Tabbaa describes the potential for research to change the future use of concrete. After water, she notes, concrete is the second most used resource on the planet, with significant environmental impacts from resource extraction and carbon dioxide emissions from its production.

Researching ways to reduce those impacts, Professor Al-Tabbaa is part of a national team examining whether the addition of so-called ‘smart materials’ to concrete might enable it to heal itself in the event of cracking – thus mitigating the need for costly repairs or removal.

For more on the implications of this research please follow the link to the World Economic Forum website.