Development of Eco-Friendly Concrete for the Repair of Damaged Underground Concrete Structures

PROJECT COST:

828 750 $

PRIMA CONTRIBUTION:

331 500 $

PROJECT DETAILS:

Hydro-Québec manages a large fleet of aging reinforced concrete underground chambers that pose a significant risk of durability issues due to high relative humidity and chloride infiltration. The project has three objectives: (i) to apply the latest technologies for inspecting and monitoring aging reinforced concrete structures; (ii) to develop advanced digital tools to predict the remaining service life of an aging reinforced concrete structure; (iii) to develop new ultra-high-performance cementitious composites that recycle by-products from the Polycor granite industry. Ultra-high-performance cementitious composites (UHPCCs) are a new class of cementitious composites emerging in rehabilitation applications due to their low permeability and exceptional strength. This project proposal focuses on partially replacing quartz powder and silica fume—which are necessary to maximize the filling density of UHPCC—with granite powder derived from an industrial byproduct. The main outcome will be an environmentally friendly composite with performance characteristics suitable for the rehabilitation of aging and damaged reinforced concrete structures.