Background
A concrete supplier wanted to reduce the carbon footprint of a structural mix by substituting a significant portion of cement with a supplementary cementitious material, but early trials showed reduced strength development and inconsistent curing behaviour.
The Challenge
Existing published guidance for the substitute material did not address the specific replacement ratio and local aggregate combination the supplier needed, and it was unclear whether a mix could achieve required strength and durability at the target substitution level.
Technological Uncertainty
It was not known in advance whether any combination of substitution ratio, admixtures, and curing conditions could achieve the required compressive strength and durability within the project’s timeline, given the specific materials involved.
Experimental Development
The team systematically tested mix designs varying substitution ratios, admixture types, and curing regimes, measuring compressive strength development, durability indicators, and workability for each formulation over multiple curing periods.
What Failed?
An initial high-substitution mix achieved long-term strength targets but developed strength too slowly for the project’s construction schedule, requiring the team to test accelerating admixtures that introduced new workability problems.
Technological Advancement
The team developed a mix design and curing protocol that met both strength-development timeline and long-term durability requirements at the target substitution level, generating new formulation knowledge specific to the local materials involved.
Potentially Relevant SR&ED Activities
- Systematic mix design testing across substitution ratios and admixture combinations
- Compressive strength and durability testing across multiple curing regimes
- Development of a curing protocol to meet project timeline constraints
What Would Generally Not Qualify
Producing and pouring concrete using the finalized, validated mix design for subsequent projects would be routine production and would not itself qualify.
Documentation
Mix design trial records, compressive strength test results across curing periods, and durability testing data would support this claim.
