WP M – Project Management
Coordinator: BUILDERS Ecole d’ingénieurs
Coordination tasks cover administrative, legal and financial activities. Day-to-day management is structured to ensure communication between partners, organization and follow-up of meetings, coordination, monitoring and control of activities, supervision of technical progress, in parallel with quality assurance and implementation of financial procedures.
WP C – Communication
Manager: BUILDERS Ecole d’ingénieurs
Project communication will be piloted by BUILDERS Ecole d’ingénieurs with the support of all partners.
Communication actions will aim to raise awareness of the CIRCLE project, but also the recognition of the role of the F(C)E program and the ERDF in achieving concrete results in terms of drainage and circular economy.
WP T1 – State of play on the regulatory aspect of cast-in-place pavements and shell co-products
Responsible: EQIOM – A CRH Company; Co-responsible: UEA, UCLan
This work package will provide a recent update on the specific regulatory aspect of cast-in-place pavements so that our product can comply with the standards in force, in FR and UK. In addition, in order to ensure the viability of our product, an inventory of stocks and annual renewal of shellfish waste will be carried out in FR and UK. This data will make it possible, in particular, to identify even the smallest deposits and to refine the stocks available on both sides of the Channel. By identifying all the deposits, via a mapping of material flows, means can then be put in place to collect this waste and recover it locally, thus reducing the carbon impact of the innovative product proposed in the CIRCLE project. We will thus have all the elements to structure a viable sector at the end of the project and to have a better idea of the potential market we can target.
WP T2 – Concrete formulations and characterizations
Coordinator: UCLan; Co-Leaders: BUILDERS Ecole d’ingénieurs, EQIOM – A CRH Company
This WP led by UCLan will develop, in collaboration with BUILDERS Ecole d’ingénieurs and EQIOM, permeable shell-based concrete formulations and will evaluate their physical, chemical and hydrological performance in the laboratory. This laboratory research will provide data on the performance of the new concrete in terms of durability, runoff and management of polluted runoff.
The WP aims to find the optimal formulations of CIRCLE concrete that meet the project’s objectives of building climate resilience, developing sustainable solutions to mitigate urban flood risk, and low-carbon grey infrastructure. A common protocol will be developed between the UK and French partners to ensure replicability. Mechanical and hydraulic tests will be carried out to compare and characterize concrete mixes in terms of compressive and flexural strength, porosity, permeability, hydrological performance, water retention, leaching and durability.
WP T3 – Implementation, Instrumentation and Evaluation
Responsible: CA2BM; Co-responsible: All
The objective of this WP, led by CA2BM, is to deploy and integrate the permeable concrete from CIRCLE, developed in WP T2, at various locations in the UK and FR, demonstrating a number of ways concrete can be used to address a multitude of important environmental issues, including flood risk, water runoff and management of polluted water, and the use of discarded waste, thus contributing to the development of the circular economy.
UCLan will implement on a small scale in a car park on their UK university campus. These blocks will also be instrumented. Pilot projects in France complement these measures by deploying concrete on a larger scale, proving its commercial viability and effectiveness over larger areas.
- 1 pilot site FR – Euroveloroute (CA2BM)
- 1 pilot site FR – Parvis Ostreapolis (GMVA)
- 1 pilot site UK – Blocks in the UK (UCLan)
Each pilot will be monitored to evaluate its performance and effectiveness. The result of this dual approach will be a comprehensive evidence base to support the widespread use of CIRCLE concrete in many areas of the urban environment, helping local authorities and businesses to build resilience and adaptation to climate change, contributing to the reduction of emissions associated with concrete production, and providing a sustainable circular solution to urban water problems arising from impervious soils.
widespread.
WP T4 – Dissemination and transfer of results
Coordinator: BUILDERS Ecole d’ingénieurs; Co-Leaders: EQIOM – A CRH Company, UEA, UCLan
The objective of this WP is to ensure that the results of the project are transferred to all interested members of the public so that dissemination is ensured throughout the EU. For this purpose, different means will be developed:
For professionals, we will write technical guides, which will include all the specificities of the product, taking into account the manufacturing constraints and implementation sites. These guides will be downloadable free of charge. In addition to the theory, an on-site training at EQIOM will be carried out, in order to combine theory with practice. Finally, for professionals and end-users who would not have been able to travel, webinars will be carried out as an intermediary between the technical guides and the on-site training.
For the scientific community, all of the project’s advances and results will be presented at national and international conferences and local events by BUILDERS Ecole d’ingénieurs, UCLan and UEA. These events will be an opportunity to reach a university audience of scientists and future professionals who are aware of the innovations that respond to current economic and ecological challenges.
Finally, scientific articles may be written by BUILDERS Ecole d’ingénieurs, UCLan and UEA, on behalf of the CIRCLE partnership, on the data acquired/collected during the 3 years of the project. Open Access licenses have been purchased to guarantee free accessibility of these articles to the scientific community in order to promote the dissemination of the results of the CIRCLE project.
WP T5 – Business model and Life Cycle Assessment
Leader: UEA; Co-Leaders: BUILDERS Ecole d’ingénieurs, UCLan
UEA and UCLan will evaluate the option of integrating the formulations developed in the CIRCLE consortium into a comprehensive process, identifying the critical path in the application of the formulations and modeling the cost implications. This work will provide a clear view of the logistical aspects of the value chain as well as the suitability of the technologies.
innovative for application within the EU. This work will also provide a platform for an efficient comparison of costs and environmental impact through the application of concrete products, essentially creating an evaluation model for companies regarding sustainability innovations for the circular economy.