CoMSIRU assists high school students with Young Scientists project

Two high school students from local St Cyprian's Girls High School in Cape Town recently came to UCT's civil engineering lab to design, mix and test an environmentally friendly concrete mix for dolosse. Dolosse are concrete blocks of a complex geometric shape that are stacked together and protect coasts from the erosive force of waves. This was part of their project for the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists.

Students Matilda and Amelia, both very passionate about climate change, understand the effects of erosion on coastlines and the function that dolosse play in protecting our coastlines. Their goal was to create a concrete mix containing waste products, such as marine shells and ceramics, and evaluate its strength against a mix commonly used in dolos construction.

Nicholas and Ichebadu of CoMSIRU were happy to assist Matilda and Amelia with their concrete mix design, teach them the fundamentals of concrete and show them how CoMSIRU's research efforts contribute towards making concrete a more sustainable building material.