Thermally Controlled Concrete Incorporating Waste Materials and Byproducts

Global energy consumption has drastically increased over the past years. A huge percentage of this increase tracks back to the buildings and construction industry. A bulk of this energy denotes to providing a suitable indoor environment for the structure. The thermal properties of the structural elements of a building are highly overlooked in the construction industry. Thus, this study aims at shedding light on the possible utilization of the thermal properties of concrete by exploring its thermal behavior upon incorporating three different materials with various dosages without compromising its mechanical behavior. Firstly, blast furnace slag was used to produce and test potentially conductive concrete. Secondly, incorporation of spent coffee grounds is explored in order to improve the insulating properties of concrete, which can contribute to alleviating environmental drawbacks. Moreover, the third material considered was paraffin wax, a phase changing material (PCM), which utilizes thermal energy storage. The work is expected to highlight the utilization of thermal properties of concrete in the construction industry. Furthermore, it shall assess the possible introduction of the aforementioned materials in the construction market for the purpose of producing thermally controlled concrete. The testing scheme  targets fresh and hardened concrete properties as well as thermal conductivity. A data logger is used to evaluate the thermal properties of the materials in miniature chambers. Results revealed a good potential for the use of such material in adjusting the thermal properties of the concrete produced. The ultimate goal of this research is to contribute to the assessment of concrete while in service based on its thermal behavior together with its other well-established properties.