Henry Young, “Pervious Concrete for Artificial Coral Reef”
Mentor: Konstantin Sobolev, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Engineering & Applied Science (College of)
Poster #185
A combination of climate change, pollution, commerce, human migration and an increased need for ocean transport puts significant strain on the viability and sustainability of costal and ocean ecosystems. Artificial Reef, or AR, technology, is one way we can combat the negative impacts of continued costal development. The most common material in AR technology is concrete; however, standard conventional concrete lacks the topographical complexity and porosity required for the settlement and cultivation of marine ecosystems. This project focuses on the behavior and strength of an AR slab with nonmetallic FRP reinforcement. The AR slab was created using pervious concrete, or PC, to meet various design requirements of reinforced masonry and to maximize its filtration ability. The open-void structure of the PC would lower the strength of the substrate, but we developed an ultra-high-strength cementitious matrix to be able to meet the minimum design strength requirements. This cementitious matrix is also designed to be able to withstand the harsh seawater conditions that it would be exposed to. This allows us to have durable AR structures that are flexible enough to be tuned up or down for site-specific conditions and requirements. This research will contribute to the effort to revive lost costal ecosystems and expand our knowledge of AR and PC technologies for other applications.