Portland cement concrete is an essential component of the built environment, crucial for housing and infrastructure development. Advances in materials science and processing can significantly enhance the resilience, recyclability, and long-term durability of concrete, leading to substantial economic and societal benefits.
The Concrete Advancement Network (CAN), an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC), aims to develop new technologies to produce more efficient, rapidly deployable concrete with reduced dependency on natural resources. By leveraging advanced analysis and modeling of chemical reactions and interactions from the nanoscale to the mesoscale, CAN seeks to use multi-scale modeling, digital manufacturing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence—to expedite the adoption of cutting-edge concepts in an industry that often relies on outdated technology. CAN’s team envisions that breakthroughs in concrete innovation can be achieved through model-based prediction and verification, combined with traditional experimental methods, thereby accelerating the pace of technology transfer from concept to implementation.
All IUCRCs are managed by the Engineering Education and Centers Division of NSF’s Engineering Directorate. Research projects at the center are selected by industry and carried out by teams consisting of faculty members, postdocs, and both graduate and undergraduate students. Industry members gain royalty-free access to the intellectual property generated from scientific discoveries. They also collaborate closely with top student researchers, who are prime candidates for future employment. Many M.S. and Ph.D. graduates who have participated in IUCRC research are now leaders in both industry and academia.
Proposed NSF Program Will Encourage Innovation Through Cooperative Projects
On January 31 and February 1, 2022, more than 100 concrete industry professionals attended the planning workshop for the Concrete Advancement Network (CAN), a proposed Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC). The workshop was made possible through a planning grant provided by National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF IUCRC program catalyzes breakthrough research by enabling close and sustained engagement between industry innovators, world-class academic teams and government agencies. Presentations were made by representatives from NSF as well as CAN’s university partners, including University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (lead site), Oregon State University, Arizona State University, and The University of Texas-Arlington.
During the workshop, potential industry partners learned about potential research projects for the CAN IUCRC. Research topics were selected based on discussions with industry and government agencies exploring technical needs.
Connecting the Industry with Universities
The CAN IUCRC is being formed to:
- Develop innovative concrete materials and processing technologies;
- Translate promising research outcomes into tangible impacts for member companies; and
- Develop a diverse and skilled science and engineering workforce for the concrete industry at large.
Implementation of the technologies developed through CAN are expected to enhance performance in construction while helping to conserve natural resources and reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. Toward those goals, CAN’s proposed thrust areas include:
- Carbon dioxide reduction and utilization;
- Structure-property-performance, control of concrete durability, longevity, and life-cycle modeling.
- Enabling increased recyclability and use of off-spec materials and by-products;
- Multi-functional cementitious materials and ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC);
- Digital concrete and additive manufacturing (3D printing);
- Development of smart concrete via embedded sensors, conductivity, and/or piezo-response;
- Applications of data mining, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
The four university partners are now recruiting large and small businesses as potential center members, to support a Phase I IUCRC proposal to be submitted to NSF. If the CAN Center is funded, these partners will form the center’s Industrial Advisory Board (CAN IAB), which will define the scope and focus of research.
In the proposed membership structure for CAN, a full membership is available to partners paying $50,000 per year. These members will have voting rights concerning project selection, and they will also be able to review research findings prior to publication as well as gain access to nonexclusive royalty-free licenses for associated university-owned intellectual property.
Leveraged Support
In the IUCRC program NSF provides funds to support administrative and operational costs for a Center, while the industry member funds support the research projects, providing a leveraged research program.
The CAN Industry Advisory Board will ensure that the university partners are conducting research of relevance to the industry members, and it will help refine the mission, vision, and research roadmap for the Network. To fulfill these responsibilities, member representatives will attend semi-annual meetings, review research proposals, help select research projects to be funded, and vote on issues as they arise.
Participation
The four university partners are now recruiting industry and government partners to support their proposed Center. If CAN is funded, organizations may join by signing the membership agreement, acceptance of bylaws, and payment of the first installment of the annual membership fees.
For more information on CAN, including the proposed projects contact Dr. Konstantin Sobolev, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, at sobolev@uwm.edu. Visit https://iucrc.nsf.gov/about/ for more information on the NSF IUCRC program.