Durability of Resource Saving "Green" Types of Concrete

Article by M.Sc. Marianne Tange Jepsen, B.Sc. Dorthe Mathiesen, and Centre Manager, M.Sc. Christian Munch-Petersen Concrete Centre, Danish Technological Institute, Taastrup, Denmark and Chief Concrete Technologist, Ph.D. Dirch Bager, Cement and Concrete Laboratory, Aalborg Portland, Aalborg, Denmark
Published at: FIB-symposium Proceedings "Concrete and Environment", Berlin, October 2001.

Summary
One of the impediments for the use of resource saving "green" types of concrete on a larger scale is the lack of documentation of durability properties. The Danish Centre for Resource Saving Concrete has carried out durability investigations to encourage the use of green concrete. This article presents the results of an investigation of frost resistance, carbonation and chloride ingress for five types of green concrete. The investigation shows that the tested types of green concrete can be evaluated using the same accept criteria as for ordinary types of concrete. Some of the residual products lower the effect of the chemical additives, e.g. the air entraining agent, and therefore it can be difficult to obtain an air void structure with sufficient fineness to ensure frost resistance. However, it seems possible to produce green concrete, which is just as durable as ordinary concrete.