Dr Ana Blanco

I conduct research in advanced cementitious composites (fibre reinforced concrete, ultra-high performance concrete, sprayed concrete and self-healing concrete), diagnosis and repair of civil infrastructure (concrete dams and tunnels).

I have participated in 6 publicly-funded, peer-reviewed research grants worth £0.97 M on topics related to advanced cementitious composites and infrastructure. I have published over 30 refereed publications and supervised PhD dissertations to successful completion and ongoing dissertations. Since 2009 I have participated in or led 20+ enterprise projects worth more than £0.85 M diverse client base of energy suppliers, contractors, asset operators and public institutions. I am a member of several scientific committees in international organisations about infrastructure and advanced materials.

I welcome enquiries from postgraduates who wish to study for a PhD in my research areas.

Current research activity

• Self-healing high-performance cementitious composites
• Interlaboratory activity for the EU-funded SARCOS Cost Action

Recently completed research projects 

• MAPMIT (RTC-2015-3185-4): Sprayed multi-functional materials for reinforcement and monitoring of transport infrastructures (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness) https://www.atem.upc.edu/mapmit/
• CONSFIB (BIA2010-17478): Construction processes with fibre reinforced concrete (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness)

• Pardo-Bosch, F., Blanco, A., Sesé, E., Ezcurra, F., Pujadas, P. (2022). Sustainable strategy for the implementation of energy efficient smart public lighting in urban areas: case study in San Sebastian. Sustainable Cities and Society, 76, doi: doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.103454
• Galeote, E., Blanco A., de la Fuente A. (2020) Design-oriented approach to determine FRC constitutive law parameters considering the size effect. Composite Structures, 239, doi: doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2020.112036
• Casanovas-Rubio, M. M., Pujadas, P., Pardo-Bosch, F., Blanco, A. & Aguado, A. (2019) Sustainability assessment of trenches including the new eco-trench: A multi-criteria decision-making tool. Journal of Cleaner Production, 238, doi: doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117957
• Blanco, A., Pardo-Bosch, F., Cavalaro, S. & Aguado, A. (2019). Lessons learned about the diagnosis of pathologies in concrete dams: 30 years of research and practice. Construction and Building Materials, 197, 356-368. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.11.143
• Rambo, D. A. S., Blanco, A., Figueiredo, A. D. D., Santos, E. R. F. D., Toledo, R. D., & Gomes, O. D. F. M. (2018). Study of temperature effect on macro-synthetic fiber reinforced concretes by means of Barcelona tests: An approach focused on tunnels assessment. Construction and Building Materials, 158, 443-453. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.10.046
• Galeote, E., Blanco, A., Cavalaro, S. H. P., & de la Fuente, A. (2017). Correlation between the Barcelona test and the bending test in fibre reinforced concrete. Construction and Building Materials, 152, 529-538. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.07.028

Undergraduate

• Structural engineering & Engineering materials modules in the civil engineering programmes;
• Tectonics module on Architecture, Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying and Construction Engineering Management; and
• Supervision of dissertations on topics aligned to my research interests

Postgraduate

• Supervision of dissertations on topics aligned to my research interests

Current projects 

• Patch Repair using Perfect Fit Parts. 2022-2023 Client: Network Rail (UK)

Recently completed projects

• Advanced Patch Repair of Masonry Tunnels. 2020-2021 Client: Network Rail (UK)

Consultancies

• Service life of tunnels subjected to high-temperature gradients. 2020-2021 Client: Acciona (Norway) 
• Development of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) in the UK with locally sourced materials. 2019 Client: Thorp Precast (UK)

This was followed by three years as a postdoctoral researcher at UPC, involving research and enterprise projects in hydraulic infrastructure maintenance and development of high-performance cementitious composites for underground infrastructure. In 2015, I co-founded a spin-out company that develops enhanced cementitious composites and advanced technical solutions. I joined the spin-out company as a project leader in 2017 while combining my part-time research at UPC. 

I joined Loughborough University through the Excellence 100 programme in 2018 as a Lecturer in Infrastructure Engineering and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2022.  I am a member of the Enterprise Committee and the EDI Committee.

Professional affiliations

• Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (CEng MICE)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Member of the Spanish Association of Structural Engineering (ACHE)
• Member of the Committee of Concrete Dams of the Spanish National Committee on Large Dams (SPANCOLD)

External activities

• Member of the Technical Committee of BSI B/517/11 Fibres for concrete
• Reviewer of the British Council Newton Fund (2018-present)
• Member of the Task Group for Expansive Reactions in Concrete Dams (SPANCOLD)
• Member of the Task Group TG1.6 for Ultra-High-Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete of ACHE (2016-2018)

Key collaborators

My research and enterprise activities are conducted with a range of academic and stakeholder partners, including:

• Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), Universidade de Sao Paulo (Brazil), Politecnico de Milano (Italy)
• Network Rail, Mott McDonald, Thorp Precast