ReSHEALience
Rethinking coastal defence and Green-Energy Service infrastructures through enHancEd-durAbiLIty high-performance fiber reinforced cement-based materials
| Business | Time | Project Coordinator | Funding Scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | Start date: 01/01/2018 End date: 31/12/2021 |
POLITECNICO DI MILANO | H2020-EU.2.1.3. |
Challenge
Nowadays many European infrastructure facilities operate in very aggressive and hostile environments, with high cost maintenance and relatively short lifespan. Increasing the resilience of these structures, guaranteeing the safety of people and reducing the impact due to maintenance works and overall life cycle costs, is essential for the sustainable development of EU. The main goal of the project ReSHEALience is to develop an Ultra High Durability Concrete and a Durability Assessment-based Design methodology for structures in order to improve durability and predict their long-term performance under Extremely Aggressive Exposures. The improvement will be supported upgrading Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete with new functionalities. Focus will be on marine structures and infrastructures for geothermal/biomass energy plants, whose severe conditions challenge the performance, lead to quick deterioration and shorten the lifespan, resulting in billions Euro spent each year in repairs. ReSHEALience has received funding from the European union´s horizon H2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº 760824.
Approach
In this project, RINA is third party of a STRESS consortium. RINA is responsible for the definition of the criteria for the Durability Assessment based Design methodology which will be adopted to formulate and develop the Ultra High Durability Concrete (UHDC) material and for the structural design of the intended application cases. Moreover, RINA is also involved in the innovation management and exploitation, supporting the other partners in the development of a strategic market analysis and a business plan for ReSHEALience UHDC.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ReSHEALience will support both the Green Growth and the Blue Growth of the EU. In particular, climate change will produce sea level and temperature rise, but also ocean acidification and/or changes in salinity and dissolved oxygen, increasing the durability requirements for marine structures. Promoting the use of high durability structures may also promote a long-term investment in the related effects on climate change. Finally, in order to effectively pursue the reduction of the dependence from fossil fuels cost-affordable, better performing and longer lasting infrastructures are needed for renewable energy harvesting, including off-shore, as well as serving green energy power plants, whose construction and use will surely benefit from the use of ReSHEALience Ultra High Durability Concrete.
