IIT Madras Hosts Virtual Workshop On ‘Recent Trends in Science & Technology of Concrete’

IIT Madras hosted an online workshop on 'Recent Trends in Science and Technology of Concrete' in collaboration with International and Indian associations. IIT-M Construction Materials Group joined hands with the Reunion Internationale des Laboratoires et Experts des Materiaux, systemes de construction et ouvrages (RILEM) and Indian Concrete Institute for the workshop.

Among the major issues deliberated during this workshop was '3D printing of concrete,' which, with more development, could offer innovative solutions to meet future infrastructure demands including high construction speed, reduce material wastage and creative designs.

The online workshop was held on May 2, 2020 and attracted widespread attention including not only from India but from countries such as the UK, U.S., Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, DR Congo, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, S. Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Singapore and U.A.E.

Speaking about leveraging Online and Social Media tools for international Research collaborations, Prof. Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras, said, "We have developed the resources at IIT Madras to help disseminate research findings and transfer knowhow to a large number of interested people across the globe, which is being appreciated specially during this period with restrictions on travel and meetings."

IIT Madras Civil Engineering Department Faculty who addressed the sessions include Prof. Manu Santhanam, Head of the Department, Dr. Piyush Chaunsali, and Dr. Radhakrishna G. Pillai, besides two other speakers from USA and an IITM research scholar. Each lecture was for 20 minutes with 10 minutes for responding to online questions.

The main technical points discussed during the online workshop included use of rapid screening tests for assessing suitability of natural materials, use of chemical activation, new binders as alternative to cement, and adoption of application-specific binder approach.

The questions asked during the session ranged from basic issues to pointed scientific aspects that were answered in real-time by IIT-M researchers, while others were posed to the speakers or answered by them in the chats.

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