In July of 1983, the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology of Natural Resources Canada (CANMET), in association with the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, sponsored a 5-day international conference in Montebello, Quebec, Canada, on the use of fly ash, silica fume, slag, and other mineral by-products in concrete. The conference brought together representatives from industry, academia, and government agencies to present the latest information on these materials and to explore new areas of needed research. Since then, eight other such conferences have been held around the world (Madrid, Trondheim, Istanbul, Milwaukee, Bangkok, Madras, Las Vegas, and Warsaw). The 2007 Warsaw Conference was the last in this series. In 2017, due to the renewed interest in alternative and sustainable binders and supplementary cementitious materials, a new series was launched by Sherbrooke University (Professor Arezki Tagnit-Hamou), American Concrete Institute (ACI), and the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures (RILEM)—in association with a number of other organizations in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean—sponsored the 10th ACI/RILEM International Conference on Cementitious Materials and Alternative Binders for Sustainable Concrete (ICCM2017). The conference was held October 2-4, 2017, in Montréal, Canada. The conference proceedings, containing 50 reviewed papers from more than 33 countries, were published as ACI SP-320. In 2021, UdeS, ACI, and RILEM, in association with Université de Toulouse and a number of other organizations in Canada, the United States, and Europe, sponsored the 11th ACI/RILEM International Conference on Cementitious Materials and Alternative Binders for Sustainable Concrete (ICCM2021). The conference was scheduled to take place in Toulouse, but due to COVID, it was held online June 7-10, 2021. The conference proceedings, containing 53 reviewed papers from more than 21 countries, were published as ACI SP-349. In 2024, the conference was finally held in-person in Toulouse from June 23 to 26, 2024, with the support of UdeS, ACI, and RILEM in association with Université de Toulouse (Martin Cyr) and a number of other organizations in Canada, the United States, and Europe. The purpose of this international conference was to present the latest scientific and technical information in the field of supplementary cementitious materials and novel binders for use in concrete. The new aspect of this conference is to highlight advances in the field of alternative and sustainable binders and supplementary cementitious materials for the transition to low carbon concrete. The conference proceedings, containing 78 reviewed papers from more than 25 countries, have been published as ACI SP-362. Thanks are extended to the members of the International Scientific Committee who reviewed the papers. The cooperation of the authors in accepting the reviewers’ suggestions and revising their manuscripts accordingly is greatly appreciated. The involvement of the steering committee and the organizing committee is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks go to Chantal Brien (Université de Sherbrooke) for the administrative work associated with the conference and for processing the manuscripts for both the ACI proceedings and the supplementary volume. Arezki Tagnit Hamou, Editor Chairman, 12th ACI/RILEM International Conference on Cementitious Materials and Alternative Binders for Sustainable Concrete (ICCM2024). Sherbrooke, Canada, 2024

Maintaining workability can be a challenge when the total cement content of a concrete mixture is minimized in order to lower the carbon footprint. This is especially the case in everyday concrete where Portland cement content is mostly optimized for a targeted strength. Unlike high-performance or self-consolidating concretes (SCC) which commonly have high cement or cementitious materials contents, a minimum paste volume is generally required in normal strength concrete (NSC) mixtures to ensure adequate workability for the application and to be acceptable in the field. In this study, a new generation of rheology-modifying water-reducing admixture that improves concrete rheology is used to further reduce cement content and provide favorable workability for concrete applications. Comparisons to reference concrete are presented for their fresh and hardened properties, including plastic viscosity, dynamic yield stress, finishability, pumpability, and targeted strength. By combining concrete technology and this new rheology modifying water-reducing admixture, an economical, workable low-carbon concrete can be achieved.

Achieving low carbon emissions in the concrete industry necessitates a multifaceted approach, which includes maximizing the efficacy of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). In this respect, this paper investigates fly ash-concrete made of fly ash from distinct burning technology, benefited by different pieces of equipment. Several aspects of fly ash-concrete performance were assessed, including hydration, mechanical properties, and eco-efficiency. The results showed that the burning technology plays an important role in fly ash reactivity. Although both approaches to mechanically activating fly ashes provide interesting results, there is an intriguing difference in the performance of the fly ash concrete. Furthermore, the lifecycle analysis underscores the potential for considerable reduction in global warming potential through the incorporation of fly ash in concrete, making it a promising avenue for reducing the industry's environmental footprint. These findings offer valuable insights for optimizing fly ash utilization and advancing the sustainability of the concrete sector.

Additive manufacturing using material deposition methods continues to be a rapidly expanding field. Researchers have now begun to adapt these manufacturing methods to include cementitious materials. The impact on concrete design and construction methods are expected to undergo significant changes as a result of this new technology. However, as with adopting any new technology, knowledge transfer is critical to assure successful implementation. For engineers, this knowledge transfer begins with their coursework and faculty who can encourage students to explore new areas and readily apply what they learn. Since the field of printing concrete is still emerging, many of the applications and impacts of the technology are not adequately characterized. Furthermore, the technology itself has not been fully investigated or included in design literature. Incorporating ambiguity, multi-disciplinary teams, and open-ended problems successfully in undergraduate and graduate courses can be challenging. The goal of this paper is to advise faculty who wish to incorporate additive manufacturing topics related to cementitious materials in their courses.

This paper presents pedagogical techniques used to teach fresh and hardened properties of concrete. Fresh properties of concrete include the evaluation of slump, unit weight, and air content. The hardened properties of concrete include compressive and tensile strengths. Students typically have little to no prior experience working with concrete. Since concrete structures date back to Ancient Rome, many students assume concrete is a basic material that has not changed in centuries, and they do not view concrete as an engineered material. Therefore, their understanding of how concrete is an engineered material and its use is essential. This paper focuses on how both fresh and hardened concrete properties are taught in the classroom to best introduce students to concrete as an engineered material. The pedagogical methods focus on engaging students using experiential education through hands-on laboratory activities, projects, and game-based learning activities. Examples of the pedagogical approaches are presented herein, and they are supported by lessons learned by the authors based on their experience implementing these methods in the classroom. two environmental conditions, sustained elevated temperatures (ST) and freeze-thaw (FT) cycles. The concrete cylinders were wrapped with a single layer of GFRP and CFRP wrap. GFRP wraps improved concrete strength by up to 30% and ductility in excess of 600% for ambient condition specimens, while the enhancements in strength and ductility under the same conditions by CFRP wraps were about 70% and 700%, respectively. The strength enhancements were reduced severely for specimens tested under ST protocol beyond the glass transition temperature (Tg) with a minor reduction in ductility enhancement. On the other hand, freeze-thaw conditioning showed minimal effect on strength and ductility enhancements provided by the FRP wraps. The current and past findings were then used to suggest environmental reduction factors for the design of FRP wraps. A comparison of these factors with ACI 440.2R-17 showed that environmental factors suggested by the ACI code were not applicable at temperatures beyond Tg.