Grant: Alliance Grants
Université de Sherbrooke
$120,000.00
Cellulose Nanocrystals-Modified Concrete for Improved Performance
FY 2023-24
Summary
Facing the stress of harsh weather conditions, Canada's civil infrastructure has been experiencing premature deterioration such as freeze-thaw-induced cracking, de-icing salt scaling, and reinforcement corrosion, resulting in a maintenance cost of over $10 billion per year for highway bridges alone. This situation has created an unprecedented need for greener, higher-performance, and more durable concrete, as stressed in Canada's initiative for Net-Zero Concrete. This project is aimed at leveraging DextraCel, Canadian cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) developed by Anomera based on sustainably sourced domestic materials, as a multifunctional concrete admixture to develop CNC-based concrete with enhanced mechanical strength and durability. DextraCel's already proven material property enhancement (in cosmetics, coatings, and polymer composites) makes it a promising nano-enhancer of concrete. Currently, CNC is not used anywhere in the world at an industrial scale in such a large market segment as the concrete industry. A comprehensive experimental program has been designed to unveil the effect of DextraCel on concrete. The project will investigate the feasibility of using DextraCel as: (i) a nano-reinforcer to foster higher hydration and enable improved mechanical strength; (ii) an advantageous substitute for traditional viscosity modifiers; and (iii) an alternative shrinkage-reducer to limit the risk of cracking. Potential short-term impacts include the emergence of novel concretes with (i) enhanced mechanical strength and durability and (ii) reduced environmental impact by (a) improving the mechanical properties without necessarily increasing the cement content as well as by (b) replacing traditional chemical admixtures such as viscosity modifiers and shrinkage reducers. In the long term, this project will benefit the Canadian forestry sector, which is the provider of CNC. CNC will also enable new practice in concrete technology by serving as a concrete property enhancer at very low dosages, costing around $5.6 per cubic meter of concrete for significant material property enhancement. The project will also promote the use of greener domestic materials for high-performance civil infrastructure.
Program
Alliance Grants
Recipient
Location
Quebec, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
586967-2023
Name nom
Tagnit-Hamou, Arezki A
Department département
Génie civil
Organization id
68
Institution établissement
Université de Sherbrooke
Province en
Québec
Province fr
Québec
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2023
Competition year année de concours
2023
Award amount
120000
Program id
ALLRP
Program name en
Alliance Grants
Program name fr
Subventions Alliance
Group en
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
Group fr
PARTENARIATS DE RECHERCHE
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
1001
Area of application group en
Northern development
Area of application group fr
Développement du nord
Area of application en
Construction, transportation and communications
Area of application fr
Construction, transports et communications
Research subject code
1000
Research subject group en
Civil engineering
Research subject group fr
Civil engineering
Research subject en
Génie civil
Research subject fr
Génie civil
Application title
Cellulose Nanocrystals-Modified Concrete for Improved Performance
Keyword
Carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals; Cement hydration; Ecological construction; High-performance concrete; Mechanical performance; Microstructure; Multifunctional concrete admixtures; Nanocellulose materials; Nano-engineered cement composites; Precast concrete construction
Application summary
Facing the stress of harsh weather conditions, Canada's civil infrastructure has been experiencing premature deterioration such as freeze-thaw-induced cracking, de-icing salt scaling, and reinforcement corrosion, resulting in a maintenance cost of over $10 billion per year for highway bridges alone. This situation has created an unprecedented need for greener, higher-performance, and more durable concrete, as stressed in Canada's initiative for Net-Zero Concrete. This project is aimed at leveraging DextraCel, Canadian cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) developed by Anomera based on sustainably sourced domestic materials, as a multifunctional concrete admixture to develop CNC-based concrete with enhanced mechanical strength and durability. DextraCel's already proven material property enhancement (in cosmetics, coatings, and polymer composites) makes it a promising nano-enhancer of concrete. Currently, CNC is not used anywhere in the world at an industrial scale in such a large market segment as the concrete industry. A comprehensive experimental program has been designed to unveil the effect of DextraCel on concrete. The project will investigate the feasibility of using DextraCel as: (i) a nano-reinforcer to foster higher hydration and enable improved mechanical strength; (ii) an advantageous substitute for traditional viscosity modifiers; and (iii) an alternative shrinkage-reducer to limit the risk of cracking. Potential short-term impacts include the emergence of novel concretes with (i) enhanced mechanical strength and durability and (ii) reduced environmental impact by (a) improving the mechanical properties without necessarily increasing the cement content as well as by (b) replacing traditional chemical admixtures such as viscosity modifiers and shrinkage reducers. In the long term, this project will benefit the Canadian forestry sector, which is the provider of CNC. CNC will also enable new practice in concrete technology by serving as a concrete property enhancer at very low dosages, costing around $5.6 per cubic meter of concrete for significant material property enhancement. The project will also promote the use of greener domestic materials for high-performance civil infrastructure.
