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Sustainable concrete for innovation in rail construction / JAMES HOLLIMAN

Swansea University Author: JAMES HOLLIMAN

  • E-Thesis under embargo until: 10th March 2030

Abstract

With concrete used so much in the industry, there is a significant problem with CO2 emissions when concrete is made. These emissions can be lowered when Portland cement is replaced with another material. Previous work has focused on single replacements to identify one material, which has all the ele...

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Published: Swansea University, Wales, UK 2025
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Master of Research
Degree name: MSc by Research
Supervisor: Wood, C.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70066
first_indexed 2025-07-31T09:50:23Z
last_indexed 2025-08-01T14:33:58Z
id cronfa70066
recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2025-07-31T10:50:19.9027179 v2 70066 2025-07-31 Sustainable concrete for innovation in rail construction d4389726b14a9134eace1c6fb3eaa556 JAMES HOLLIMAN JAMES HOLLIMAN true false 2025-07-31 With concrete used so much in the industry, there is a significant problem with CO2 emissions when concrete is made. These emissions can be lowered when Portland cement is replaced with another material. Previous work has focused on single replacements to identify one material, which has all the elements needed for effective cement. However, up to now, it has been found that this single-material approach can only replace small amounts of cement ( less than 10%). Hence, this thesis started with the concept of using two replacement materials where the ratio between them was constructed based on elemental data and particularly the Ca:Si ratio. To start the research, several industry by-products (ashes of rice husk, sugar beet, palm leaf, sunflower, straw or wood, cockle and oyster shells, ground glass, limestone dust and basalt) were selected and analysed using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy. From this data, seven mixes were designed based on the Ca:Si ratio and assuming a 20% replacement versus control cement. These samples were used to make Evaluated Variable 1, including one control mix and one mix with 20% less cement as control samples. All mixes were a success, with the cockle shell and ground glass mix being the strongest (83.88MPa).Based on Evaluated Variable 1s data, Evaluated Variable 2 was designed with four mixes consisting of cockle shell and micro silica, cockle shell and basalt, limestone dust and basalt and a control mix but swapping the M1000 metakaolin for opacilite metakaolin. These mixes were also a success, but none matched the strength of the cockle shell and ground glass mix.Finally, Evaluated Variable 3 tested the cockle shell and ground glass mixture at different replacement levels to explore the optimum replacement percentage. It was learned that the cutoff percentage was 40% as any more replacement mixture caused the compressive strength to be weaker than the control mixture and the 100%replacement mixture could only be de-moulded after seven days and when left to cure for 28 days it dissolved in the water tub.Overall, the data in this thesis show that using combinations of more than one replacement material alongside elemental data to determine the mix ratio can produce much stronger concrete at 20% replacement and similar strength concrete to control mix at 40% replacement. E-Thesis Swansea University, Wales, UK Sustainable Concrete, biomass, by-products, civil engineering 10 3 2025 2025-03-10 A selection of content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis to protect sensitive and personal information. COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Wood, C. Master of Research MSc by Research Global Centre of Rail Excellence Global Centre of Rail Excellence 2025-07-31T10:50:19.9027179 2025-07-31T10:40:40.1704072 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Civil Engineering JAMES HOLLIMAN 1 Under embargo Under embargo 2025-07-31T10:48:12.1968641 Output 5350119 application/pdf E-Thesis true 2030-03-10T00:00:00.0000000 Copyright: The author, James Holliman, 2024 true eng
title Sustainable concrete for innovation in rail construction
spellingShingle Sustainable concrete for innovation in rail construction
JAMES HOLLIMAN
title_short Sustainable concrete for innovation in rail construction
title_full Sustainable concrete for innovation in rail construction
title_fullStr Sustainable concrete for innovation in rail construction
title_full_unstemmed Sustainable concrete for innovation in rail construction
title_sort Sustainable concrete for innovation in rail construction
author_id_str_mv d4389726b14a9134eace1c6fb3eaa556
author_id_fullname_str_mv d4389726b14a9134eace1c6fb3eaa556_***_JAMES HOLLIMAN
author JAMES HOLLIMAN
author2 JAMES HOLLIMAN
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Civil Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Civil Engineering
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description With concrete used so much in the industry, there is a significant problem with CO2 emissions when concrete is made. These emissions can be lowered when Portland cement is replaced with another material. Previous work has focused on single replacements to identify one material, which has all the elements needed for effective cement. However, up to now, it has been found that this single-material approach can only replace small amounts of cement ( less than 10%). Hence, this thesis started with the concept of using two replacement materials where the ratio between them was constructed based on elemental data and particularly the Ca:Si ratio. To start the research, several industry by-products (ashes of rice husk, sugar beet, palm leaf, sunflower, straw or wood, cockle and oyster shells, ground glass, limestone dust and basalt) were selected and analysed using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy. From this data, seven mixes were designed based on the Ca:Si ratio and assuming a 20% replacement versus control cement. These samples were used to make Evaluated Variable 1, including one control mix and one mix with 20% less cement as control samples. All mixes were a success, with the cockle shell and ground glass mix being the strongest (83.88MPa).Based on Evaluated Variable 1s data, Evaluated Variable 2 was designed with four mixes consisting of cockle shell and micro silica, cockle shell and basalt, limestone dust and basalt and a control mix but swapping the M1000 metakaolin for opacilite metakaolin. These mixes were also a success, but none matched the strength of the cockle shell and ground glass mix.Finally, Evaluated Variable 3 tested the cockle shell and ground glass mixture at different replacement levels to explore the optimum replacement percentage. It was learned that the cutoff percentage was 40% as any more replacement mixture caused the compressive strength to be weaker than the control mixture and the 100%replacement mixture could only be de-moulded after seven days and when left to cure for 28 days it dissolved in the water tub.Overall, the data in this thesis show that using combinations of more than one replacement material alongside elemental data to determine the mix ratio can produce much stronger concrete at 20% replacement and similar strength concrete to control mix at 40% replacement.
published_date 2025-03-10T05:28:39Z
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score 11.089572

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