Novel application of Chilean natural pozzolan for sustainable strain-hardening cementitious composite

This study aims to develop a novel solution to improve the sustainability and resiliency of the infrastructure in Chile. Due to the country's unique geographic situation of the coastal environment and high seismicity, the key is to design a low-carbon strain-hardening cementitious composite (SHCC) by replacing ordinary portland cement (OPC) with an abundant Chilean natural pozzolan (NP). The results indicate that the optimal replacement level is 30%. The newly developed NP-based SHCC shows a tensile strength of 6 MPa, a tensile strain capacity of 2.5%, and micro-cracks of <100 µm. In addition, this study also quantifies the environmental impact of the NP-based SHCC using a ‘cradle-to-gate’ life-cycle analysis. By replacing OPC with the NP, the CO₂ emission of NP-based SHCC reduces by 23%. The excellent tensile properties and cracking control suggest that NP-based SHCC could contribute to developing sustainable and resilient Chilean infrastructure.