Ar2CorD - Low Carbon Concrete for Arctic Climate with Excellent Sustainability and Durability

Cement and concrete have a significant share in the building industry, and this generates large amount of CO2 mainly connected to their obtaining input materials, production and transportation. Therefore, the common aim of the cement and concrete industry is to implement solutions which will lead to a lower carbon footprint, uptake of a circular economy and ensure that their products have sufficient durability.

Project Ar2CorD will focus on the optimization of low carbon concrete (LCC) with the use of established and non-established (future) locally available supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), with substitution of minimally 30% of Portland cement. There will be two main aims; the first will be an assessment of the durability of LLC (mainly freeze-thaw durability) by accelerated tests (established, modified or newly designed). The development and documentation of freeze-thaw method can serve as a foundation for the national annexe to NS-EN 206. The second aim is to

establish a long-term durability test site in Narvik harbour to enforce data gained from accelerated testing. The solutions to the issues created by the freeze-thaw cycle encountered in Arctic conditions will be addressed to achieve a suitable evaluation system for LCC. The frost resistance issue is likely the biggest challenge/obstacle in reducing the carbon footprint of concrete. Collaboration between experts from Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Greenland is beneficial because of the combination of their expertise and dedication to sustainable concrete technology in Arctic conditions.

Read more on the project website »