Winners of the Building Materials Science and Technology Award 2020 were lately announced by China Building Materials Federation (CBMF) and the Chinese Ceramic Society (CCS). Prof. JIANG Zhengwu, Associate Prof. CHEN Qing, Prof. WANG Peiming and Associate Prof. ZHU Hongbo from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University were granted the First Prize of Science and Technology Progress Award for their research on the "Key technologies and applications of the green-manufactured sand for high-performance concrete", a joint initiative they completed in conjunction with Sobute New Materials Co., Ltd., Guizhou Highway Engineering Group Co., Ltd., CINTEC Heavy Equipment Co., Ltd., Guizhou Expressway Group Co., Ltd., Guizhou Transportation Planning Survey & Design Academe Co., Ltd. and Guizhou University.
Sand is one of the most basic components of concrete, the most widely used man-made building material. It is also the second most-consumed natural resource by humans. Given the fast-depleting river sand resource and China's ever-escalating push for environmental protection, and in view of China's drive to champion the green and sustainable development of civil engineering materials, Prof. JIANG Zhengwu led his research team to propose the fundamental path of using manufactured sand to replace river sand and utilizing industrial waste to prepare green and high-performance concrete, thereby satisfying the strong demand arising from China's booming infrastructure construction. In face of the technological challenges ahead, the research team, funded by a succession of national-, provincial- and ministerial-level scientific research grants, went through nearly two decades of theoretical and technological research and made key breakthroughs in spheres such as the efficient sand manufacturing production, green preparation of key materials with high adaptability, high-performance design and green preparation of manufactured sand concrete, and the control and improvement of concrete performance in complex environments. With tremendous headway made in the innovative theories, methods, processes, equipment, products and technologies associated with raw material green preparation, high performance design and the green-manufactured sand for high-performance concrete, the research team has tackled the key technical challenges associated with the high-performance design and green manufacturing of the manufactured sand, achieved the high-quality manufacturing of manufactured sand and the efficient recycling of industrial solid waste, solved the bottleneck problems plaguing concrete engineering amid the construction of China's major infrastructure works, and spearheaded the sustainable and innovation-driven development of concrete engineering.
Having won 21 invention patents, 9 utility patents and 1 software copyright, the research team also compiled or participated in the compilation of 2 national standards, 7 provincial industry standards and 1 national engineering method, published 57 core papers at home and abroad (including 31 SCI/EI papers), and published 2 scientific and technological works. While several research results have been assessed as "world-class", the complete set of technologies has also been assessed as "world-leading" by the expert panel led by ZHANG Lianmeng, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). Relevant research results have been widely applied in 65 national-level mega projects relating to highway, architectural engineering, hydraulic engineering, bridge, etc., as well as more than 7,000 kilometers of highways built across China, in which a total of 270 million m3 of concrete were used. By recycling more than 100 million tons of industrial waste, saving 2.306 million tons of standard coal and reducing CO2 emissions by nearly 7.522 million tons, their research has brought about significant economic, social and environmental benefits.
According to an official, these research results mark the sci-tech achievements of the Department of Civil Engineering Materials and a stellar example of SMSE's efforts to industrialize its research results, pointing out the way forward for the sustainable development of civil engineering materials in China.
