VIDEO
Green concrete
Concrete is damaging to our environment, accounting for eight percent of all human-generated carbon dioxide. Fly ash is one way to make the material more environmentally friendly.
VISUAL: Green Concrete. Concrete is damaging to our environment, accounting for eight per cent of all human generated carbon dioxide. Fly ash is one way to make the material more environmentally friendly. RMIT University logo.
VISUAL: Sujeeva Setunge speaking to the camera. The title at the bottom of the screen with the RMIT logo reads: Sujeeva Setunge, Associate Professor, Civil Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University.
Sujeeva Setunge: The aim is to develop a concrete product which utilises more than 50% fly ash as replacement of cement ...
VISUAL: Video close up of two bags with Fly Ash written on the bags in large letters.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... without an additional ...
VISUAL: Video of a person’s gloved hands using a sharp Stanley knife to cut a hole in the centre of the bag labelled Fly Ash.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... cost and ...
VISUAL: Video of person’s gloved hands opening the Fly Ash bag and spreading the fly ash (looks like grey dust) into a metal trough with a metal grate in the top.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... without any additional procedures ...
VISUAL: Sujeeva Setunge speaking to the camera.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... or major changes to the actual production process.
VISUAL: Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni speaking to the camera. A title at the bottom of the screen with the RMIT logo reads: Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni, Senior Lecturer, Civil Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: Fly ash, actually, is a waste material which comes out of the ...
VISUAL: Video of a coal fired power station (either Loy Yang or Yallourn) in the La Trobe Valley’s country side; three large chimneys are emitting steam into the sky.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: ... coal fired power stations.
VISUAL: Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni speaking to the camera.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: So here, in this project, we are mainly looking at using the fly ash as replacement ... cement replacement in concrete.
VISUAL: Video close up of a sign above a door which reads: Concrete Laboratory.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: Cement is a ...
VISUAL: Video close up of a bag of General Purpose Cement on top of a bag of Fly Ash.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: ... pollutant because when we ...
VISUAL: Video of a person lifting a bag of Fly Ash into a trough. The camera does not focus on the person’s face.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: ... produce one tonne of cement ...
VISUAL: Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni speaking to the camera.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: ... the industry emits about one tonne ...
VISUAL: Video close up of an industrial sized mixer stirring concrete.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: ... of carbon dioxide.
VISUAL: Video of a male wearing overalls, safety mask, glasses and ear protection is holding up and looking at a bag of General Purpose Cement.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: At the moment, the global ...
VISUAL: Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni speaking to the camera.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: ... cement production is more than three billion tonnes.
VISUAL: Video as camera pans down from the sky to the coal fired power station in the Latrobe Valley as seen earlier in the video.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: That means three billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is ..
VISUAL: Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni speaking to the camera.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: ... emitted into the atmosphere.
VISUAL: Martyn Hook speaking to the camera. The title on the bottom of the screen with the RMIT logo reads: Martyn Hook, Associate Professor, Architecture and Design, RMIT University.
Martyn Hook: The really interesting about fly ash is that somebody has discovered that when you add it into a concrete ...
VISUAL: Video of trough with a grate on the top of it and a person’s gloved hands are pushing the fly ash through the gaps in the grate and gathering some rocks that have remained on top. This appears to be the top of the concrete mixing machine.
Martyn Hook: ... mix, it actually improves ...
VISUAL: Video of a bucket of water being poured into the top of the trough with the grate cover. Under the grate, inside the trough, you can just see blades turning (mixing the concrete).
Martyn Hook: ... the thermal performance ...
VISUAL: Video close up of stirring mechanism mixing the concrete and water in the trough.
Martyn Hook: ... it improves ...
VISUAL: Video of a person’s hands holding a shovel and lifting some wet concrete mix from a wheelbarrow.
Martyn Hook: ... the ...
VISUAL: Video of the male tipping the concrete from the shovel into a section of formwork. Another male is in the background shovelling wet concrete. They are both wearing protective clothing, glasses and mask and appear to be working in a lab.
Martyn Hook: ... ability ...
VISUAL: Close up looking down into the formwork which is a two metres long by a foot wide and knee high metal box on castors with the metal framework inside it. The man tips some wet concrete from his shovel into the gap in the formwork.
Martyn Hook: ... of the plastic nature ..
VISUAL: Close up of the wet concrete at the bottom of the framework slowly oozing sideways as it settles. Another shovel amount of concrete fills the screen as it is tipped on top.
Martyn Hook: ... of concrete to sit into a form.
VISUAL: Martyn Hook speaking to the camera.
Martyn Hook: The ability for fly ash as a completely recycled waste product ...
VISUAL: Two male scientists (probably) are squatting next to the dried concrete which has set in the formwork in their lab. Chains from above are attached to large hooks in the top of the dry concrete.
Martyn Hook: ... that’s been brought into a ...
VISUAL: Video of the two male scientists standing beside the formwork metal box with dried cement. One male is standing on one side holding both of the chains which are hanging from above off screen to steady the formwork which is hovering in the air about 15cm from the floor. The other male is using a sledgehammer to hit the side of the formwork.
Martyn Hook: ... brand new material ...
VISUAL: Close up of the sledgehammer hitting the metal frame and the dried concrete inside the formwork lifts up and out.
Martyn Hook: ... actually, helps ...
VISUAL: Video of the concrete being raised automatically out of the metal frame by the chains which are attached to a hoist. One of the male scientists is holding the metal bar which has buttons on it to operate the hoist.
Martyn Hook: ... in the way in which it improves the ...
VISUAL: Close up of the hoist’s operating metal bar with eight buttons. One of the male’s thumbs is pressing the fourth button down. (Each button has a label on it but it is too small for typist to read).
Martyn Hook: ... performance of that material.
VISUAL: Video close up of the four pulley wheels with steel cables running through each wheel.
Martyn Hook: So effectively, the concrete is better ...
VISUAL: Camera is sitting on top of the dried concrete as it is raised up by the hoist (which is off screen). At the other end of the dried concrete behind the chains on the hooks is one of the male scientists steadying the concrete as it moves from his waist height to the height of his shoulder.
Martyn Hook: ... with the fly ash in it rather than it not being in it.
VISUAL: Martyn Hook speaking to the camera.
Martyn Hook: And I suppose the work that’s being done at RMIT is bound within the kind of chemical composition and the ways in which this performance might be assessed.
VISUAL: Sujeeva Setunge speaking to the camera.
Sujeeva Setunge: We have solved some of the immediate barriers ...
VISUAL: The two male scientists are standing together in the lab both wearing safety equipment (glasses, mask, gloves, overalls) and are looking at a piece of paper (most of which is off screen) being held by one of the males.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... that were inhibiting the use ...
VISUAL: Video of the males carrying a shovel filled with rocks from a sack into a plastic tub which is sitting on an electronic weighing machine. The scales read 4.70kg.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... of the material ...
VISUAL: Close up of the shovel loaded with rocks being tipped into the plastic crate. Camera is side on to them.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... widely.
VISUAL: Close up of inside the plastic tub half filled with stones. Camera is looking down into tub.
Sujeeva Setunge: So we have ...
VISUAL: Close up of the electronic scales which read 10.80 kg.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... figured out a way of ...
VISUAL: Sujeeva Setunge speaking to the camera.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... using [1:58 unclear – unrefined ?] fly ash ...
VISUAL: One of the male scientists is pulling a trolley with the electronic scales attached to the trolley through a doorway into a lab (the lower half of the trolley is not on screen but probably has the plastic tub on it).
Sujeeva Setunge: ... so that we could produce concrete using ...
VISUAL: Video of the two males tipping the plastic tub of rocks into a large tipping container. Camera is above them looking down. Above the container is an elephant’s foot which is used to extract dust etc.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... normal production ...
VISUAL: Video close up of the two males tipping a plastic tub of sand into the container. Camera is side on to them.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... processes with high volumes ...
VISUAL: Video of this tipping container being raised into the air by a robotic arm. The machine is being operated by one of the scientists and appears to be a way of safely tipping the dry concrete ingredients into the mixer - as the container tips up, the ingredients run down the arm/shoot into a mixing machine underneath.
Sujeeva Setunge: ... of fly ash.
VISUAL: Sujeeva Setunge speaking to the camera.
Sujeeva Setunge: So recently, in Docklands, it was a condition that 20% fly ash is used in concrete.
VISUAL: Andrew Staedler speaking to the camera. A title at the bottom of the screen with the RMIT logo reads: Lend Lease Construction Manager on “The Gauge”, Melbourne Docklands.
Andrew Staedler: Fly ash was used in this project because, I guess, it was part of the suite of options under the Green Building Council rating tool.
VISUAL: Close up of a cement mixer truck driving past the camera. After it passes the camera focuses up on a building in the background. It is a rectangular shaped building about eight storeys high with glass at the front. The left side of the building and the roof has the same material, parts of it with glass underneath, and it curves over the roof.
Andrew Staedler: The Gauge, in itself, is a commercial office building. It’s the first ...
VISUAL: Camera pans down from the top of the building which has a Fujitsu logo large sign at the top, down the side of the building to street level. Cars are parked on the street outside the building and trees are growing along the footpath beside the building. (Typist’s research revealed this building is situated at 825 Bourke Street, Victoria Harbour, Docklands, Melbourne).
Andrew Staedler: ... building in the country to achieve a 6 Star design: a 6 Star As Built and a 6 Star fit out ...
VISUAL: Camera from the street level pans across the top of the roof area showing the top five levels of the building’s exterior windows and glass facade.
Andrew Staedler: ... 9,000 square metres of commercial ...
VISUAL: Video from inside the building’s open foyer space as the lift travels up the floors.
Andrew Staedler: ... office liveable area and a ...
VISUAL: Video of the entrance foyer area. In the centre of the screen is part of a large metal strut supporting the building, it is in a u shape set on top of a concrete pillar. In the background there are people sitting at coffee tables and in a lounge area. A man walks away from the camera with his back to it as he speaks on the phone.
Andrew Staedler: ... number of attributes that ...
VISUAL: Close up of rows of recycled timber panelling as camera pans up the wall to the down lights at the edge of the ceiling.
Andrew Staedler: ... have helped it get to its 6 Star rating.
VISUAL: Andrew Staedler speaking to the camera.
Andrew Staedler: And the fly ash, itself, is a waste product ...
VISUAL: Video of cement mixer truck driving down a dirt road on construction site.
Andrew Staedler: ... and we worked with a number of ...
VISUAL: Close up of a tall building during construction, lower half has windows and walls in and the upper half is without walls and covered in the scaffolding. A construction lift runs down the outside of the building and off the screen below.
Andrew Staedler: ... different partners within industry to try and ...
VISUAL: Video of a city skyline (location unknown) with three cranes. The two cranes in the background are moving and are either side of a high rise building currently under construction.
Andrew Staedler: ... work out how we could actually use it.
VISUAL: Martyn Hook speaking to the camera.
Martyn Hook: Now, with people like Clinton ...
VISUAL: Video of Bill Clinton speaking on stage at a conference. The camera is at the back of the room looking towards the stage. The audience is sitting in rows of seating with their backs to the camera. In the background is the stage with Bill Clinton standing behind a lectern speaking to the audience. On the wall behind him is a sign which reads: C40 Large Cities Climate Summit Seoul 2009. A couple of cameraman operating large cameras can be seen in aisles to the right of the screen and also to the back left of the screen beside the stage. The video footage of Bill Clinton as he speaks at the podium is on two large screens on both sides of the stage.
Martyn Hook: ... and the C40 Conference recently ...
VISUAL: Video of the audience (approximately 200 people on screen) sitting, listening and looking towards the right of the screen at Bill Clinton on stage but which is off screen.
Martyn Hook: ... we’re beginning to see the way in which ...
VISUAL: Video of Bill Clinton speaking on stage to the audience. Camera is behind the audience to the left.
Martyn Hook: ... both legislators and ...
VISUAL: Martyn Hook speaking to the camera.
Martyn Hook: ... big business are embracing the ability for sustainability to not only promote their brand but begin to, actually ...
VISUAL: Video of the audience (approximately 200 people on screen) sitting, listening and looking towards the right of the screen at Bill Clinton who is on stage but off screen.
Martyn Hook: ... increase the ...
VISUAL: Video side on of some of the audience sitting, listening and looking towards the right of the screen at Bill Clinton who is on stage but off screen.
Martyn Hook: ... quality of life in ...
VISUAL: Camera is again behind the audience looking towards Bill Clinton as he is speaking on stage at the Climate Summit. The video screen showing Bill Clinton speaking is to the right of the screen.
Martyn Hook: ... significant cities.
VISUAL: Bill Clinton speaking to the camera. A title at the bottom of the screen with RMIT logo reads: President Bill Clinton. Speaking at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in Seoul, May 2009.
President Bill Clinton: I thank the property developers and the local governments that are involved in this.
VISUAL: Video of the audience as they sit and listen to Bill Clinton speaking on stage who is to the right but off screen.
President Bill Clinton: Individually, these projects are going to transform their communities ...
VISUAL: President Bill Clinton speaking to the camera.
President Bill Clinton: ... but collectively, they will set a new global benchmark that can change the world.
VISUAL: Andrew Staedler speaking to the camera.
Andrew Staedler: There was a lot of myths in the industry that said that building green cost extra and that you ... to build a green building, you paid a premium.
VISUAL: Video of five male concrete workers pouring concrete. One man is holding a hose that the concrete is flowing out of and the other men are spreading it into the formwork.
Andrew Staedler: We were very, very clear about the fact that we ...
VISUAL: Video of the first floor of a building under construction (possibly this is The Gauge building). Five workers are walking around the open building. A large piece of concrete pumping equipment which looks like a long crane arm is extended over the building. Cement mixer trucks can be seen parked in the background.
Andrew Staedler: ... wanted to achieve a 6 Star result ...
VISUAL: Video close up as camera pans down the rows of recycled timber wall inside the building from the ceiling to the floor level.
Andrew Staedler: ... at a commercially viable rate ...
VISUAL: Andrew Staedler speaking to the camera.
Andrew Staedler: ... but, I guess, that’s comparing it to, perhaps, a 3 or 4 or 4½ Star building.
VISUAL: Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni speaking to the camera.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: The research will benefit the industry, mainly.
VISUAL: Video of male scientist in the lab standing beside the large concrete mixer which is pouring wet cement into a wheelbarrow which is underneath its shoot.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: Cement is more expensive compared to fly ash ...
VISUAL: Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni speaking to the camera.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: ... so industry, I believe, would be very happy to use ...
VISUAL: Video close up of wet cement.
Dr Indubhushan Patnaikuni: ... this product.
Martyn Hook: I think ...
VISUAL: Video close up of one of the male scientists hand tipping some concrete into a metal tube which is on the ground.
Martyn Hook: ... this collaborative act between ...
VISUAL: Video close up of the two male scientists squatting on the floor beside a pile of wet concrete about 30cm diameter. One of them is holding the end of a metal ruler and the other end is submerged in the wet concrete to measure the height of the wet concrete.
Martyn Hook: ... industry, government and ...
VISUAL: Martyn Hook speaking to the camera.
Martyn Hook: ... the everyday person where the everyday person ...
VISUAL: Video of the pedestrian mall at Docklands. Crowds are walking on the mall, in the background the public art sculptures can be seen and at the top of the screen, in the far background, cars and trucks are crossing the Bolte Bridge.
Martyn Hook: ... makes particular demands of ...
VISUAL: Martyn Hook speaking to the camera.
Martyn Hook: ... their elected representatives to enforce ...
VISUAL: Close up of three hand made cardboard architecture models of building and sites on a window sill. Camera then focuses outside the window to the background of the top of a building construction with workers walking around the roof of the buliding. The scaffolding around the building is covered in a large sign with the RMIT University logo on it.
Martyn Hook: ... the ability for buildings and spaces ...
VISUAL: Video taken from Docklands of Melbourne city skyline with a crane in the centre of it. To the right of the screen is Channel 7’s Melbourne office and two ferries are moored at the wharf on the river in the foreground.
Martyn Hook: ... and cities to grow ...
VISUAL: Video of a building under construction about six levels high with lots of workmen on the different levels walking around. A ferry is in the foreground moored to the wharf near Docklands.
Martyn Hook: ... in a sustainable manner ...
VISUAL: Video of an architecturally designed building about eight levels high with colourful railings at the front of the building and lots of glass windows (location unknown).
Martyn Hook: ... which goes beyond the kind of ...
VISUAL: Video of building construction, camera appears to be at street level looking up at the edge of the building. A worker is leaning out of scaffolding holding a long pole. Five of these scaffolding ledges are on each of the five top levels and are cantilevered out of the edge of the building.
Martyn Hook: ... throw away, strap on ...
VISUAL: Martyn Hook speaking to the camera.
Martyn Hook: ... gimmick and starts to get really down to the core of how these places are good places to be.
VISUAL: RMIT University Logo and website www.rmit.edu.au.
[End of video]
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Copyright statement
This video is part of a larger project to commemorate RMIT's Founder's Day 2011.
Copyright © 2015 RMIT University. All rights reserved.
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This item is available to RMIT University staff for official RMIT educational or promotional purposes. All uses outside of official educational or promotional purposes must be used with permission. Please contact copyright@rmit.edu.au for permission.