Contact
Biography
Maciej PA Jozwik joined the University of Dundee as an undergraduate student in 2015. He received his MEng in Civil Engineering Design and Management in 2020. Immediately after, he proceeded to pursue a PhD in Concrete Technology and Structural Engineering under the supervision of Prof Martyn Roderick Jones and Dr Moray Newlands. The “Low Carbon Concrete: Performance and Durability” project is sponsored by the joint venture of the Scottish Research Partnership in Engineering (SRPe) and the Mineral Products Association (MPA) and is primarily focused on exploring new ways to accelerate the rate of maturity of low-carbon concretes as well as developing new faster and reliable durability testing methods. The objective of the research sparked all-round interest in the industry and in 2021 an ad hoc committee CEN TC51(CEN TC 104)/WG12/TG5 has been set up to explore whether the acceleration of slow-reacting low carbon cements is possible, with whom Maciej stays in direct communication.
Research
The concrete industry aims to adopt new low carbon cement combinations as part of the UK net-zero policy goal and to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050. Moreover, the Concrete Industry aims to contribute beyond net-zero target by means of carbon capture/storage, carbonation and optimising thermal mass capacity (Mineral Products Association, 2020).
Low carbon cement blends do perform different to high Portland cement content concrete and reach maturity at a slower and hence longer rate. The aim of the research is to overcome this problem and develop rapid test methods that can be used practically by industry to determine engineering properties and durability performance within an acceptable time frame. This is a complex undertaking and this project is fortunate to be guided and advised by a leading multidisciplinary team including Profs Tom Harrison, Peter Hewlett and Donald MacPhee (Chemistry Aberdeen) as well as MPA colleagues Prof Pal Chana and Dr Chris Clear (Chair BSI Concrete and Concrete Production and Testing Committees).
References
Mineral Products Association. (2020). UK Concrete and Cement Industry Roadmap to Beyond Net Zero.