As a part of the promotional (dissemination) activities planned for the NanoSeaCon project, the workshop on "Interaction between hydrated cement phases and ions in seawater-mixed concrete" was conducted in hybrid mode on June 22–23, 2023. Three sessions were designed to convey to the participants' the deterioration of concrete structures due to the presence of chlorides and sulphates in concrete, recent applications of seawater-mixed concretes, and ways to improve the durability of seawater-mixed/exposed concretes.  12 speakers from different parts of the world were invited to give presentations on the above-mentioned topics.  A total of 50+ registrations were received for both online and offline modes of participation.  The hybrid mode of the meeting was conducted with the help of MS Teams, and online participants were shared with the meeting link. 

The participants were benefiting from the presentation from Prof. Radhakrishna G. Pillai on the basics of chloride-induced corrosion in concrete, and after his presentation, Dr. Swathy Manohar presented the basics of salt crystallization and its effect on the durability of marine structures in the first session.  In session 2, Dr. João Nuno Pacheco, Dr. Sang-Yeop Chung, and Prof. Mohammed Abd Elrahman presented the potential of using seawater-mixed concretes in niche applications. 

Session 3 included presentations from Dr. Murugan Muthu, Dr. Yuvaraj Dhandapani, Dr. Oleksandr Konstantynovskyi, Dr. Sripriya Rengaraju, and Dr. Sivakumar Ramanathan.  These presentations highlighted the role of nanoparticles in improving the durability of concretes, the role of SCMs in chloride binding, the use of clintophiles to improve the performance of alkali activated systems, the application of smart aggregates in marine environments, and the durability of fly ash-mixed seawater concretes.  Furthermore, Dr. Sundar Rathnarajan presented the suitability of ternary-blends in developing seawater-mixed cementitious systems, which provide better performance than their fresh water mixed counterparts.  The event was concluded with remarks from Prof. Pawel Sikora, Mentor of NanoSeaCon.  Dr. Rathnarjan and Prof. Pawel Sikora extend their acknowledgement to the National Science Centre, Poland, and the European Commission for sponsoring the event through the POLONEZ BIS program, and the MSCA-Cofund grant agreement.  Also, a special thanks goes to the facilities and colleagues from the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin for making the event a grand success.

As a part of the NanoSeaCon project, an international workshop on "Interaction between the hydrated cement phases and ions in seawater-mixed concretes" will be conducted on June 22–23, 2023.  The program includes research presentations by 12 speakers from various parts of the world who work primarily on concrete technology.  The presentations at the event will inform the participants about the challenges, opportunities, and recent advancements in the research area of seawater-mixed concretes.  Also, the participants who attend this workshop in person will benefit from a lab visit organized at Betotest Laboratory in Szczecin, where industrial needs in the field of concrete testing are being addressed.

The venue of the event will be the Regional Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer (RCIiTT) of the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin.  The event will be conducted in hybrid mode, and registration is free. Graduate students and research scholars across the world are encouraged to apply to participate in the event either in-person or online.  Participants can use the following link to register to attend this event:

https://forms.gle/3JbzmG8B6H6NCij39

The workshop flyer with presentation scheduled and other relevant information is available here

Dr. Sundar Rathnarajan participated in the international conference on Modelling in Mechanics 2023 organized by Faculty of Civil Engineering, VSB Ostrava held in Velke Losiny on May 25th – 26th.  An oral presentation was made by Dr. Rathnarajan on the topic of “Hydration and strength development of blended cementitious system mixed with seawater”. The presentation included results from the early-age hydration and compressive strength tests of the binary and ternary-blended cementitious systems mixed with seawater. Dr. Rathnarajan highlighted the possibility of producing blends of seawater-mixed cementitious systems made with OPC, slag and metakaolin having higher strength than corresponding fresh water-mixed system by optimizing the combinations. Also, the presentation highlighted the observed acceleration in the setting time even in high-volume replacement ternary-blended concretes.  
Prof. Pawel Sikora also attended the conference along with other colleagues from West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin and presented the results from other ongoing projects funded by NCBR and NCN Poland.