Engineers from Far Eastern Federal University Military Training Center (FEFU, Vladivostok, Russia) together with colleagues from RUDN University have developed a concrete mixture with nano additives for monolithic construction up to ten stories high. The concrete casting is possible within a very humid climate and negative temperature down to minus 5-degrees centigrade. Given that, the constructed buildings will not require major renewal for 50 years. The related article is published in Construction and Building Materials.

Casting concrete under low-temperature conditions is a serious challenge for the construction industry. If the water in the concrete freezes, the fluidity of the concrete goes wrong, which will foul its curing and promote in-slab lumps forming. Casting at temperatures below plus five degrees already requires special technology. Breach of one leads to reduced characteristics of monolithic structures that deteriorate prematurely.

Engineers of the FEFU Military Training Center (MTC), together with colleagues from RUDN University, suggested introducing into the concrete mix special additives (super plasticizers) whose properties are improved via nanotechnology. The development helps to maintain the strength and durability of concrete structures erected during the cold season, not to make the construction process more expensive.

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