Extremely Durable Cementitious Materials
April 10-11, 2018
Dallas, TX

ARPA-E hosted workshop entitled “Extremely Durable Cementitious Materials” on April 10-11, 2018 in the Dallas, Texas area.  

The workshop convened leading experts in cementitious material development, manufacturing, distribution, and end-use to identify innovation which significantly improves concrete durability, lowers its energy footprint, and results in next-generation, cost-effective materials to address our current infrastructure challenges. Participants lent their expertise to help ARPA-E explore innovative technologies to determine relevant and compelling metrics that will define a successful research program. 

ARPA-E is interested in cementitious material chemistries, including cements and aggregates that reduce manufacturing energy requirements and improve the durability of concrete, while utilizing existing production equipment and manufacturing facilities. Potential approaches and targeted outcomes included, but were not limited to:

•  Novel cement compositions, process enhancements, and additives that would result in significantly lower energy requirements or improve durability
•  Novel methods to generate or accelerate formation of calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H), Al-tobermorite, strätlingite, and/or phillipsite, including partial aggregate assimilation
•  Approaches to lower kiln reaction requirements, such as low or no alite and celite
•  Novel biotic approaches to micro-crack mitigation, such as acceleration of the pozzolanic reaction, partial aggregate dissolution, and deposition of calcite and other cementitious minerals
•  Novel chemistries or manufacturing approaches that would result in reduced set time while also improving concrete toughness and durability
•  Other potentially transformative cement technology concepts
•  Identification of supply, manufacturing, domestic regulatory, and end-use concerns or restrictions

Tuesday, April 10th

9:00 – 9:15 AM Welcome and Introduction to ARPA-E
Chris Fall, Principal Deputy Director, ARPA-E & Conner Prochaska, Senior Advisor & Chief of Staff, ARPA-E

9:15 – 9:45 AM Workshop Overview, Structure and Desired Outcome
Joseph King, Program Director, ARPA-E

9:45 – 10:15 AM Attendee Introductions: Table-by-Table

10:15 – 10:45 AM Infrastructure Needs, Applications, and Pathways to Adoption
Ben Graybeal, Team Leader - Bridge Engineering Research, Federal Highway Administration

10:45 – 11:15 AM Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) Overview
Paul Tennis, Director of Product Standards and Technology, Portland Cement Association

11:15 – 11:45 AM Pozzolanic Materials and Aggregates Practice Overview
Tom Adams, President, KMR Collaborative

11:45 – 12:45 PM Lunch / Networking

12:45 – 1:15 PM Admixture Overview
Jason Weiss, Chair & Professor, Oregon State University

1:15 – 1:45 PM Increasing Material Sustainability Using Emerging Materials Technology and Design
Jameson Shannon, Research Civil Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

1:45 – 2:00 PM Breakout 1 Overview and Objectives
Joseph King, Program Director, ARPA-E

2:00 – 2:30 PM Coffee Break / Networking / Transition to Breakout

2:30 – 4:30 PM Breakout Session 1

4:50 – 5:00 PM Day 1 Wrap-Up

5:15 – 7:00 PM One-on-one Meetings with J. King

Wednesday, April 11th

8:00 – 8:10 AM Focus and Overview of Day 2

8:10 – 8:40 AM Revealing the Role of Atomic Order-and-Disorder on Rate Controls on Silicate Dissolution in Aqueous Environments
Gaurav Sant, Associate Professor, UCLA

8:40 – 9:10 AM Rock and Glass Dissolution & Metamorphosis
Carol Jantzen & Cory Trivelpiece, Researchers, Savannah River National Laboratory

9:10 – 9:40 AM Durability of Ancient Roman Concretes and their Geologic Analogs
Marie Jackson, Research Associate Professor, University of Utah

9:40 – 10:10 AM Challenging Concrete Applications
Vinod Veedu, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Oceanit

10:10 – 10:20 AM Breakout 2 Overview and Objectives
Joseph King, Program Director, ARPA-E

10:20– 10:40 AM Break/Networking

10:40 – 12:15 PM Breakout Session 2 

12:20 – 12:30 PM Day 2 Wrap-Up and Next Steps

12:30 – 2:30 PM One-on-one Meetings with J. King