Basic principles, design principle andpotentials for clinker reduction in concrete

This article is intended to demonstrate possible ways to meet the ever increasing social and economic requirements for the environmental compatibility of building products for the concrete construction method. Particular attention will be paid to the global environmental effects associated with the manufacture of concrete, such as CO2 emissions or the greenhouse warming potential. The article consists of two parts, wherein the first part initially conveys current developments in the field of sustainable and environmentally friendly construction and, in doing so, illustrates the influence of concrete. That is followed by a presentation of the two-stage principle for the development of clinkerreduced ecological concretes elaborated at the TU Darmstadt. The results of material tests clearly show the great potential of the reduction of clinker. The results of a sustainability-orientated concrete development adapted to the industrial manufacture of steel reinforced precast concrete elements will be presented in the second part of the article in CPI issue 6/2011. The performance of the ecological concretes will be compared with the characteristics of the conventional reference concretes. Finally, there will be an assessment of the environmental compatibility and economy of the ecological concretes developed.

---