High Performance Concrete used for Reducing Environmental Impact and Sustainability Increase

The concern about the depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution is increasing in the construction sector. Paradoxically, the society and the main control organizations of sustainability indexes in construction have given little importance to the concrete, which is the industrial product most widely used on the planet, to improve the quality of life of society. Despite the concrete structures are rarely considered in established sustainability programs in construction, several studies have been developed in order to quantify and minimize their environmental impacts, which are related to the structural design and the physical and mechanical properties of the concrete. In this context, this article points out some concepts of environmental management and proposes, with significant examples, the observation of new and interesting sustainability criteria for the use of structural concrete, demonstrating the employment advantage of high strength concrete.

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