Advanced Concrete Technology for Durable and Low-Carbon Infrastructure (1.2 CEUs)

Course Description

Concrete remains the world's most widely used construction material, yet growing demands for sustainability, durability, and performance are transforming traditional design and construction practices. This intensive course provides participants with a practical understanding of advanced concrete technology, including constituent materials, fresh and hardened concrete properties, durability mechanisms, performance-based mixture design, supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), recycled materials, and emerging low-carbon concrete technologies.

Participants will examine how material selection, proportioning, and quality control influence short- and long-term structural performance. The course combines fundamental principles with hands-on engineering examples and case studies from major infrastructure projects.

Based on state-of-the-art research and industry practice, this course provides practical tools for engineers seeking to design durable, sustainable, and cost-effective concrete infrastructure.

Objective
The participant will learn how to evaluate concrete materials, develop optimized concrete mixtures, assess durability-related risks, and implement performance-based approaches to concrete design. Participants will gain practical knowledge that can be applied immediately to infrastructure, transportation, municipal, and industrial projects.

Target Audience

• Civil and Structural Engineers

• Bridge and Transportation Engineers

• Municipal and Infrastructure Engineers

• Materials and Durability Specialists

• Asset and Facility Managers

• Engineering Consultants and Project Managers

• Infrastructure Owners and Government Agencies

• Inspection, Testing, and Quality-Control Professionals

• Contractors, Repair Specialists, and Engineering Technologists

• Graduate Engineers-in-Training

Recommended prerequisite: basic knowledge of concrete materials and reinforced-concrete structures.

Level of Course
Advanced

Learning Objectives

After you attend this course/workshop, you will be able to:

·       Design and optimize concrete mixtures for specific engineering applications.

·       Select suitable cements, SCMs, aggregates and admixtures.

·       Evaluate fresh and hardened concrete performance.

·       Assess durability risks and mitigation strategies.

·       Apply service-life concepts to infrastructure projects.

·       Interpret laboratory and field test results.

·       Develop specifications for durable and low-carbon concrete.

Use performance-based design principles to improve sustainability and lifecycle performance

Special Features
The course combines technical instruction with real-world case studies, guided concrete mixture-proportioning and optimization exercises, interpretation of laboratory and field test data, and a group performance-based design workshop. Participants will compare concrete constituent materials, assess their effects on fresh and hardened properties, evaluate mechanical performance and durability risks, and develop an optimized concrete mixture for a representative infrastructure application. Practical demonstrations and examples of material characterization, fresh-concrete testing, mechanical testing, and durability assessment techniques will connect the underlying scientific principles to engineering practice. The capstone exercise requires participants to design and justify a durable, high-performance, and low-carbon concrete mixture based on project requirements, material availability, exposure conditions, service-life expectations, constructability, and environmental performance.

Material(s) Required

·       Scientific calculator

·       Laptop computer with spreadsheet software, preferably Microsoft Excel

Course notes, worksheets, case-study data, and reference materials will be provided by the instructor