Yu Luan

About Yu Luan

Affiliation
Imperial College London

Innovandi Project
Core Project 14: Corrosion in Carbonated Concrete​

Background
Civil Engineer from Hefei University of Technology in China, with MSc. in Advanced Materials for Sustainable Infrastructure from Imperial College London. I am interested in enhancing the performance of environmentally friendly construction materials and developing sustainable material solutions for the built environment.

Research topic
My research investigates the durability of low-clinker cements, in particular their carbonation behaviour and potential impact on corrosion of reinforcing steel. The overarching aim is to enhance the understanding of their long-term performance, thereby promoting their use to reduce CO₂ emissions of the cement and concrete industry.

I examine various low-clinker systems containing different supplementary cementitious materials before and after carbonation, focusing on pore solution chemistry, microstructure, and moisture behaviour. Pore solutions are extracted via pore water expression and cold-water extraction methods, with elemental composition analysed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and ion chromatography. Microstructural changes in the bulk matrix and steel-concrete interface are investigated using SEM-EDS, Raman microscopy, BET, and MIP. Moisture behaviour is studied using dynamic vapour sorption DVS and neutron radiography. Additionally, the solid phase is examined using XRD, TGA, and FTIR to gain insights into phase transformations. GEMS software is also utilised to validate charge balance and saturation index for pore solution composition and simulate the hydration and carbonation processes. These simulations are combined with experimental results to clarify the mechanisms driving physical changes in carbonated low-clinker cementitious materials and their potential impact on carbonation-induced corrosion.