{"id":12702,"date":"2025-08-04T08:34:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T13:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12702"},"modified":"2025-08-04T08:34:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T13:34:00","slug":"solid-success-uw-stout-faculty-student-project-focuses-on-low-carbon-concrete","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/solid-success-uw-stout-faculty-student-project-focuses-on-low-carbon-concrete\/","title":{"rendered":"Solid success: UW-Stout faculty, student project focuses on low-carbon concrete"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Student Jeremy O’Connor, top left, and Associate Professor Kevin MacDonald watch concrete pour from a ready-mix truck. (UW-Stout)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Environmentally friendly effort uses byproducts to create strong, sustainable concrete<\/h2>\n

An unassuming slab of grey concrete recently poured on the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus is much more than a sidewalk in front of a pair of bus shelters \u2013 it\u2019s an example of how engineering can lead the way to a more sustainable, lower-carbon future.<\/p>\n

On a bright spring day the innovative concrete concoction was mixed, poured, shaped and finished by about a dozen members of the\u00a0Student Construction Association<\/a>\u00a0under the expert eye of\u00a0Associate Professor Kevin MacDonald<\/strong>, director of the\u00a0B.S. construction management<\/a>\u00a0program. Now, as it continues to cure and harden, the concrete will be monitored for its strength and sustainability.<\/p>\n

And considering that concrete \u2013 the most-used construction material in the world \u2013 is responsible for an estimated\u00a08% of total global carbon emissions<\/a>, creating it more sustainably is vital to the planet\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a perfect example of why the polytechnic education works very well,\u201d MacDonald said, reflecting on the project. \u201cBecause we\u2019re not looking at making a single cylinder or maybe a paving stone of concrete. We\u2019re looking at making a real sidewalk. We\u2019re learning what are the implications, what are the problems that we encounter when we go to make it, and how can we solve them?\u201d<\/p>\n

MacDonald has decades of experience in the industry, working on projects as notable as replacing the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis when he was vice president for engineering services at Twin Cities-based\u00a0Cemstone<\/a>. MacDonald has been working with low-carbon concrete for years, he said, but this is the first time he\u2019s used this particular recipe in ready-mix concrete trucks.<\/p>\n

Moving from lab to sidewalk<\/h3>\n

The concrete project is the indirect result of\u00a0upcoming renovations to Heritage Hall<\/a>, which required the shifting of the bus shelters to a spot in front of the Robert S. Swanson Library & Learning Center. After learning about the proposed relocation, MacDonald knew it could become a learning opportunity for his students and a real-world test for one of his concrete recipes, which doesn\u2019t use traditional portland cement \u2013 the manufacture of which is highly resource intensive.<\/p>\n

A week before the big pour, MacDonald and a handful of students gathered in the construction lab inside the Jarvis Hall Technology Wing to test several cylindrical samples of concrete in a compression testing machine. As the pressure steadily increased to nearly 8,600 pounds per square inch, the samples cracked loudly and ultimately broke, shedding aggregate onto the ground below. After the tests, MacDonald scribbled calculations with one hand while typing numbers into a calculator app with the other.<\/p>\n

Next, MacDonald led the students in preparing some of the chemicals needed to create the concrete, carefully pumping sodium carbonate \u2013 a caustic liquid used in drain cleaners \u2013 into a series of pails. The liquid would provide a critical ingredient the following week when the concrete was ultimately mixed, serving as a chemical activator to the primary ingredient, blast-furnace slag. This slag, a byproduct of steel production, was used as an ecologically friendly substitute for portland cement. Not only is the slag less resource-intensive because it\u2019s an industrial byproduct, MacDonald said, but it also creates a stronger final product, meaning less material is needed. Furthermore, because of its chemical properties, concrete made with slag instead of portland cement removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making it not just carbon neutral but potentially carbon negative.<\/p>\n

Joking that \u201cthe heaviest thing I lift up most days is a pen,\u201d MacDonald knew that the Student Construction Association would be an ideal partner for the project.\u00a0UW-Stout senior Jeremy O\u2019Connor<\/strong>, the club\u2019s president, was one of more than a dozen students to help with the early morning concrete pour on April 29.<\/p>\n

As other students stood by with concrete rakes and other equipment, O\u2019Connor \u2013 clad in safety gear atop a scissor lift \u2013 carefully \u201cdosed,\u201d or poured, the liquid ingredients into the back of a Cemstone ready-mix truck. As the dark-grey material flowed out, the students worked quickly with their tools to ensure the concrete flowed evenly and smoothly into the 10-foot-by-50-foot form laid out for it. The concrete was placed in about three hours, then cured under plastic for two days. The concrete strength at two days was greater than the 20-year strength of a conventional sidewalk, MacDonald said.<\/p>\n

Student benefits from \u2018world-class expertise\u2019<\/h3>\n

O\u2019Connor said the project was challenging not only because of the atypical mixture of ingredients but also because the mixture set much more quickly than typical concrete \u2013 about 75 minutes compared with two hours or more. \u201cThis made it extremely hard to finish because it set so quickly compared to the pace we were pouring at,\u201d he said. In addition, strong sunlight and winds dried the surface of the concrete faster than expected.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, he added, \u201cWe were still able to finish the concrete successfully and complete the pour through adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor said it was an \u201camazing experience\u201d to work with someone who has the depth of knowledge that MacDonald does. While he has world-class expertise, MacDonald is still able to provide jargon-free explanations that even people who aren\u2019t in the construction field can understand, O\u2019Connor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have worked with (MacDonald) in many classes and other projects, which has only increased my appreciation for the expansive wealth of knowledge he so generously shares,\u201d O\u2019Connor said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor added the experience allowed him to practice all the steps of a construction project, from site utilization and speaking with owners to preparing estimates and creating a schedule. \u201cBy applying knowledge I have gained through the university, my professional experiences, my internships, and my competition teams, I am in a much better place following my completion of college because of the knowledge, expertise, and great experiences I have gained,\u201d he said. \u201c(The project) has also exposed me to this brand-new material, which I believe will be implemented in many projects in the future, as it will revolutionize the construction industry, help global warming, and make the world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor graduated in May and in June began work as a field engineer with Gilbane Building Co. in Rochester, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Addressing climate change with engineering<\/h3>\n

The relocation of the bus shelters was made necessary by the upcoming\u00a0renovation of Heritage Hall<\/a>, which will begin in August, said\u00a0Justin Utpadel, the university\u2019s senior facilities officer<\/strong>. The original site of the shelters was within the boundaries of the project, so university planners decided to move them down 10th Street East to a spot in front of the Robert S. Swanson Library & Learning Center. This provided a perfect on-campus construction opportunity for MacDonald and his students.<\/p>\n

The project, Utpadel added, was a win for all parties, supporting not only the students\u2019 education but also a major campus renovation project and the needs of bus riders.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the experience and data gathered from the concrete pour will also provide helpful in the concrete industry\u2019s ongoing efforts to become more environmentally sustainable. Just days after the concrete was poured, MacDonald noted, the Portland Cement Association, a century-old national group representing U.S. cement manufacturers, announced it was\u00a0officially changing its name to the American Cement Association<\/a>. It\u2019s one indication of the industry\u2019s ongoing shift to lower-emissions products that don\u2019t contain portland cement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the biggest challenge in the concrete industry,\u201d MacDonald said, referring to carbon emissions. \u201cYou can build buildings out of only concrete, but you can\u2019t build buildings without it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cThe climate change issue is an engineering problem we\u2019re going to solve, and one of the ways we\u2019re going to solve it is by reducing our emissions. That\u2019s what this material is meant to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Written by Tom Giffey<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwstout.edu\/about-us\/news-center\/solid-success-faculty-student-project-focuses-low-carbon-concrete<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Environmentally friendly effort uses byproducts to create strong, sustainable concrete An unassuming slab of grey concrete recently poured on the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus is much more than a sidewalk in front of a pair of bus shelters \u2013 it\u2019s an example of how engineering can lead the way to a more sustainable, lower-carbon future. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12707,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[90],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-12702","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-stout"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12702"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}