葫芦影业

Around the world, concrete and construction go hand in hand. Concrete and carbon emissions also go hand in hand.

Cement production is extremely carbon intensive, according to Mohammed Teymouri, an assistant professor in construction management at 葫芦影业. 

Industry efforts to address this concern include making concrete with a different type of Portland Cement. Type I/II, the traditional cement, contains up to 5% limestone content. Type IL contains 5% to 15% limestone and can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 8% to 10% compared to traditional cement.

The U.S. concrete market began shifting from conventional type I/II cement to IL cement in 2021, with significant adoption in most states by 2023 mainly due to environmental concerns and federal policies. But how does the new product compare to the traditional mix in terms of strength, workability and cracking?

Also, how does Type IL respond to chemical admixtures used to enhance the performance and workability of concrete? Teymouri received a $35,000 grant from the American Cement Association to examine the compatibility of concrete made with the new Type IL cement and various chemical admixtures originally designed for conventional cements.

New topic for Future Innovator 

That provided an opportunity for undergraduate Levi Minion to conduct research as a Future Innovator of America.

In January, the college announced its the third class of Future Innovators of America. The 12 recipients were awarded $5,000 with $4,500 as a stipend and $500 to cover the cost of lab supplies or travel to disseminate the results of their project. 

The fellowships were created to provide unique research opportunities for undergraduate students in the college. Any student is eligible to apply as long as they are attending full time and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Each student works with a project mentor, who must be a faculty or research staff member, to develop and submit a research plan that entails learning by doing. 

Minion, a construction and concrete industry management student from Wheaton, Minnesota, said the concrete project was eye-opening for him. He had not previously worked in the concrete industry and wasn鈥檛 aware of the related carbon issue. But for a construction management major who wants to be a leader in the concrete industry, the project provided a good opportunity to expand his knowledge in the concrete world.

Tests back initial industry expectations

While the additional limestone in Type IL cement is generally believed to be compatible with the chemical admixtures, there has not been a comprehensive investigation to confirm the compatibility of admixtures with Type IL cement, Minion said.

Hence the study to examine how chemical admixtures affect the properties of both fresh and hardened concrete containing Type IL and to propose a solution to minimize incompatibility issues between Type IL and admixtures.

The project, conducted in Teymouri鈥檚 lab in Solberg Hall, involved mixing paste, mortar and concrete batches in the shapes of cylinders, cubes and prisms with a different mix for each of the most-used chemical additives that were tested on concrete containing IL cement.

Minion said, 鈥�We found that the admixtures we used showed results that matched those of Type I/II. I was relieved that the results were similar because it meant that with a little further testing, there would not be a need for new admixtures for the new cement.鈥�

Regardless of the admixture used, the results were similar to that found when applied to Type I/II cement, Minion said. 

Project today, paper tomorrow

He said for fresh concrete, he tested the flow of concrete paste using a flow table. For hardened concrete, shrinkage was measured after a set amount of time. Then after water curing, strength was determined using a compression machine, Minion said. 

His poster abstract, 鈥淚mpacts of Chemical Admixtures on Short-term and Long-term Fresh and Hardened Properties of Concrete made with Type IL Cement,鈥� was accepted for 2025 Associated Schools of Construction convention.

Eventually, he hopes to produce a paper on the study. In April, he enjoyed participating in the university鈥檚 Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Day.

This summer he is taking classes at SDSU and working in Brookings with Mills Construction, where he is likely will gain a different type of concrete experience.