Dr Ourania Tsioulou, Roehampton’s Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, has published a research paper on the development of high-strength aerogel concrete.
Dr. Tsioulou's research focuses on the rehabilitation and strengthening of existing structures. She also explores the development of sustainable construction materials, with an emphasis on reducing CO2 emissions by replacing cement with waste materials like Pulverised Fuel Ash. Additionally, she investigates improving thermal properties by partially substituting aggregates with lightweight materials such as aerogel and perlite. To date, her work has been published in more than twenty journal articles and conference proceedings.
Ourania’s latest research investigates the development of high-strength thermal insulated concrete. Two types of aerogel (powder and beads) were used as partial replacement for sand alongside ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) to enhance the mechanical properties of the concrete. The results demonstrate that the appropriate combination of an aerogel type and binder can lead to a high-strength cementitious material with low thermal conductivity. Compressive strength and thermal conductivity measurements have been conducted, and the results indicate that a replacement of sand with 30% aerogel beads leads to a high compressive strength (70 MPa) and relatively low thermal conductivity (1 W/mK) concrete.
Read the article here.