Active Nano-powders for Materials Based on Cements, establish an area focused on producing and evaluating active nano-powders obtained from industrial wastes and sub-products to fabricate cementing materials of high mechanical performance and durability; thus, contributing to environmental sustainability (diminishing the use of mineral resources, lower environmental contamination, increased useful life) and to the development of new materials to be used in construction applications aimed at fostering progress in housing and the civil infrastructure in Colombia.

Coordinator in charge: Prof. Ruby Mejía – Group of Composite Materials – Universidad del Valle – Cali. rudeguti@univalle.edu.co

Research Groups and participating laboratories:

• Group of Composite Materials – Universidad del Valle.
• Research Group on Corrosion and Protection – Universidad de Antioquia.
• Group of Physical Metallurgy and Phase Transitions – Universidad del Valle.
• Group of Materials Science and Engineering – Universidad Autónoma de Occidente (UAO).
• Group of Materials: Design and Processes – Universidad del Norte.
• Synthesis and Reaction Mechanisms in Organic Chemistry – Universidad del Valle.

Establishment of the problem

After over a decade of progress in different industrial sectors, nano-science and nano-technology have begun impacting the world of construction materials and their applications. Dr. P. Bartos, Director of the Advanced Concrete and Masonry Centre and Scottish Centre for Nanotechnology in Construction Materials, states that these new technologies will bear a highly positive impact upon construction, not merely due to automation or robotics, but also in the production of new materials and – particularly – in the production of self-compacting concrete and ultra-high performance concrete. In the United States, the Federal Highway Administration has implemented, since 2003, a research program to incorporate these concepts onto the construction of bridges and roadways as a means of increasing the useful life of said structures and of minimizing environmental impact.

General objective

To produce and evaluate active nano-powders obtained from industrial wastes and sub-products to fabricate cementing materials of high mechanical performance and durability; thus, contributing to environmental sustainability (diminishing the use of mineral resources, lower environmental contamination, increased useful life) and to the development of new materials to be used in construction applications aimed at fostering progress in housing and the civil infrastructure in Colombia.