Abstract

The purpose of this study is to improve the recruitment of flat oyster larvae, an endangered species, by means of a specific marine infrastructure made of concrete. This work aims to develop and optimize concrete formulations by varying the type of cement and introducing shellfish by-products into their composition and determine which concrete formulation is the most sustainable to marine organism colonization. Indeed, it is essential to obtain a sustainable concrete submitted to aggressive marine environment (chloride ions diffusion and bio-colonisation). Four concrete formulations were tested with two types of cements (CEMII and CEMV) and with or without the incorporation of shell aggregates. The durability of these materials was tested after 3 months of immersion in the Rance of Dinard (France). It appears from this study that the CEMII concrete exhibits a good mechanical resistance independently of the presence of shell, after immersion in situ. This concrete also shows better resistance to chloride ions diffusion than CEMV. However, CEMV possess larger compressive strengths than CEMII, and mollusc shells incorporation does not decrease this strength as much as for CEMII. Shell incorporation in the concretes has an effect on strength, chloride penetration and porosity which depend on the used cement and seawater.