Carlos Moro
Texas State University, TX·Engineering
Concrete and other cement-based materials are the backbone of roads, bridges and buildings, and how long they last depends on how they react with their environment. One such reaction is carbonation: carbon dioxide reacts with compounds in hardened cement to form calcium carbonate, which fills pores and makes the material denser.
- Fields
Engineering
Materials Science
Chemistry
- Topics
cement
concrete
carbonation
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2028
What they work on
- Determine how nanoscale additives change the crystal type, growth and distribution of calcium carbonate formed when cement-based materials are exposed to carbon dioxide, across different stages of carbonation.
- Link nanoscale changes in carbonation to bulk strength and durability, using controlled carbonation experiments, microstructural characterization and mechanical testing of nanomaterial-modified cement.
- Evaluate the environmental performance of nanomaterial-modified carbonated cement using life cycle assessment and decision-making tools.
More about the research
When it happens slowly during normal exposure, carbonation usually harms durability. Under controlled conditions, however, it can make cement denser, stronger and longer-lasting. The challenge is learning to steer this reaction instead of just watching it happen.
Why it matters
Better control of carbonation could produce cement-based materials with greater strength, durability and service life. This could improve the reliability of civil infrastructure such as bridges and buildings. Because carbonation locks carbon dioxide into solid mineral form, the work also adds understanding of carbon dioxide storage in construction materials. Life cycle assessment will gauge the environmental trade-offs.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Kimberly Kurtis
Georgia Institute of Technology, GA·Engineering
Determine how entrained air voids, tiny bubbles added to protect concrete, form and stay stable in low- and zero-clinker cement materials, using multiscale experiments and advanced characterization.
Christopher Alexander
University of South Florida, FL·Engineering·Early-career
Identify the steel-concrete interface conditions that cause chloride-induced corrosion pits to repassivate — reform a protective film and stop growing — rather than continue expanding into widespread damage.
Narayanan Neithalath
Arizona State University Campus Immersion, AZ·Materials Science
Develop a low-temperature electrochemical process that breaks limestone down into lime without releasing carbon dioxide, as the first, solar-powered stage of carbon-neutral cement production.
The school
Texas State University: 8 labs on PI Pages, $165M a year on research, 71 research doctorates a year.
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