Study of crack width within a suspended concrete slab with different amount of cement clinker considering lower climate impact

Abstract: This master thesis investigates the possibility of using a concrete recipe with only 70 % cement clinker for a building project named Gretas Glänta, regarding the demands of cracking for a suspended slab. The requirement to fulfill was a maximum crack width of 0.2 mm due to drying shrinkage and long- term loading. The purpose of using a lower amount of cement clinker in the concrete mix is to reduce the climate impact from the concrete. The thesis considers material testing and modelling of different concrete recipes with variation of the amount of cement clinker. Fly ash was used as the alternative binder. A total of five concrete mixes was tested. One mix with 100% cement clinker was through laboratory testing compared to mixes with 85 % and 70 % cement clinker content. A concrete mix with only 50 % cement clinker was also tested, but this mix is today not allowed according to the concrete standards, but was included in the study to test different material properties of the fresh and hardened concrete. All concrete mixes were tested with the effectivity factor 1, except for the recipe with 70 % cement clinker, which was tested for effectivity factors of 1 and 0.4. The performed study showed that the concrete mix 4 with 70 % cement clinker and with the effectivity factor 0.4 reached the strength class C35/45 after 28 days and also fulfilled the specified requirement of a maximum crack width of 0.2 mm due to drying shrinkage and long-term loading. Water permeability test showed that the concrete mix with 70 % cement clinker and an effectivity factor of 0.4 was waterproof. The concrete mix 3 with 70 % cement clinker and the effectivity factor 1 reached a strength class C30/37. The concrete mix 1 with 100 % cement clinker obtained the highest strength class C50/60 and the mix 2 with 85 % cement clinker reached strength class C45/55. The concrete mix 5 with 50 % cement clinker reached the strength class C20/25 which is the lowest strength class among the tested recipes. All the concrete recipes seemed to be waterproof according to the water permeability test. A background description of carbon dioxide emission from concrete and cement production is presented in the report. Research about ongoing methods to minimize the emission from concrete and cement industry is also summarized. FE-modelling with the software FEM-design and analytical calculations were performed to investigate the crack width due to drying shrinkage and long-term loading for the slab, for concrete mix 2 with 85 % cement clinker with effectivity factor 1 and mixes 3 and 4 with 70 % cement clinker and effectivity factors of 1 and 0.4. The properties obtained from the laboratory tests were used in the modelling and analytical calculations. Results from FEM-design and analytical calculations showed that concrete mixes 3 and 4 with 70 % cement clinker and effectivity factors of 1 and 0.4, and the concrete mix 2 with 85 % cement clinker with effectivity factor 1, fulfilled the demand on crack width. The calculation was not performed for concrete mixes 1 and 5 with 100 % and 50 % cement clinker, respectively, because they were not to be used in the building project. The results from the performed study showed that concrete mix 4 with 70 % cement clinker and an effectivity factor of 0.4 can be used in the building project Gretas Glänta in order to lower the climate impact from the concrete.