Cementitious materials like concrete are known to have substantial embodied carbon emissions related to material extraction and manufacturing, particularly for the building construction industry. Supported by a U.S. Department of Energy grant, we design different concrete recipes with biomineral additives for reduced cement content and embodied carbon. We then test the conductivity and specific heat of these low-carbon concrete materials. When used as part of building structure, the novel concrete can function as thermal mass. Thermal mass moderates indoor climate, reducing the energy demand of buildings’ heating and cooling systems and associated operational energy emissions. However this performance benefit is hinged on optimal thermal properties, and therefore its careful characterization is necessary.
In this webinar, we demonstrate material sample preparation at the bench scale, and then apply insights obtained from thermal testing on the C-Therm equipment onto building scale application with building energy model and analysis. Central to this work is how material science and architecture research intersect in the face of climate change and decarbonization.
This webinar aired on October 21, 2025 2:00 pm GMT-4.
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