An Australian scientist has won the concrete world's most prestigious award for his work in turning industrial waste into a useful component of concrete for building and construction.
Dr Vute Sirivivatnanon of Australia's national research agency, CSIRO, has won the Canada Centre for Minerals & Energy Technology and The American Concrete Institute (CANMET/ACI ), Mohan Malhotra Award for Supplementary Cementing Materials.
The award recognises more than 12 years research Dr Sirivivatnanon and his team has dedicated to developing useful applications of fly ash, slags and silica fume.
This work has resulted in the High Slag cement concrete, High Volume Fly Ash concrete (HVFA) and Silica Fume concrete being used in such high profile construction projects as the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Sydney Parallel Runway and Melbourne Crown Casino. HVFA shotcrete was also used for the Sydney Olympic's white-water canoe course at Penrith.
A clever application, cost savings, increased durability and the contribution to sustainability principles offered by using HVFA shotcrete, was a significant factor in Pacific Power International winning the contract to build this new facility for the 2000 Olympics.
Fly ash, slag and silica fume are by-products from coal-fired power stations, steel mill blast furnaces and ferro-silicon or silicon metal production, respectively.
Dr Sirivivatnanon will receive his ward at the Seventh CANMET/ACI Conference in Madras, India from 22-27 July 2001.