Characterization of ASR products formed in concrete aggregates

ASR products formed in various aggregates of two different concrete mixtures tested both at 38 °C and 60 °C with the concrete prism test have been analysed by scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Additionally, Raman spectra of ASR products have been acquired. The variations in the chemical composition of ASR...

Modelling of microstructure of ASR influenced cement-based materials

ASR (alkali-silica reaction) is one of the toughest durability problems in engineering. However, the damage induced by ASR is still fairly unpredictable due to the lack of microstructural information of cement-based materials affected by ASR, while the microstructure determines the global performance. In order to fill this gap, a multiscale...

Developing a generic approach to durability

Cementitious Materials become more diverse. In particular, to reduce the CO2 emissions associate with production, it is necessary to increase the levels of replacement of clinker by other materials. A critical consideration is to know how durable different materials will be. Most forms of degradation involve the ingress of different species into...

The effect of sulfate-rich sewage sludge ash on the volume deformation and micorstructure of cement paste

Sewage sludge ash (SSA) is the combustion residue of the sewage sludge obtained from wastewater treatment plants. In China, SSA normally contains high content of SO3, which may cause detrimental effect on the volume stability of cement-based materials. This study investigated the effect of sulfate-rich SSA (SR-SSA) on the volume deformation and...

Modification of soil properties induced by suffusion: mechanical and X-ray tomography characterization: (Abstract)

Microstructural Changes in Bitumen at the onset of Damage-healing

Self-healing of bitumen is a property that positively contributes to the sustainability, maintenance requirements and cost effectiveness of asphalt pavements. Ideally one would like to design an asphalt mix with a well-defined healing potential. Although substantial research efforts have been dedicated to the healing mechanism in bitumen,...

Autogenous shrinkage of HPC and ways to mitigate it

Using bio-based polymers for curing cement-based materials

Curing is the process of controlling the rate and extent of moisture loss from the surface of cement based materials. It is the final stage in the production of cement-based materials and it is the essential part for achieving continuous hydration of cement, while avoiding cracking due to drying shrinkage. Continuous cement hydration also...

Modelling the effect of electrical current flow on the hydration process of cement-based materials

Stray current is essentially an electrical current “leakage” from metal conductors and electrical installations. When it flows through cement-based systems, electrical energy is converted to thermal energy that causes increasing temperature due to Joule heating phenomena. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the influence of electrical...

The effect of electrical stray current on material properties of mortar specimens

Well known is that stray electrical current i.e. current with a spatial distribution in any conductive environment, can affect civil structures, e.g. initiate or enhance steel corrosion or affect microstructural and mechanical properties of the cement-based bulk matrix. While the former is related to polarization effects in conditions of current...

Self-healing evolution of oxidized surface of AL4SIC4 and its effect on mechanical properties

Abstract only.

Temperature induced healing in strained bituminous materials observed by atomic force microscopy

Bitumen is the binder in the composite material named asphalt concrete. Under cyclic mechanical loading of traffic passing over the pavement, eventually damage will initiate in the pavement, leading to eventual structural failure. This damaging process is accelerated by time dependent change of the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete due...

Temperature induced healing in strained bituminous materials observed by atomic force microscopy

Bitumen is the binder in the composite material named asphalt concrete. Under cyclic mechanical loading of traffic passing over the pavement, eventually damage will initiate in the pavement, leading to eventual structural failure. This damaging process is accelerated by time dependent change of the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete due...

Microstructural self-healing of bituminous materials: Combined experimental and numerical study

Bituminous materials form a class of materials that possess the intrinsic ability to selfheal. This self-healing capability is evidenced by the observation that the service life of these materials ‘in the field’ exceeds the service life as predicted by standard mechanical laboratory tests. This mismatch between laboratory prediction and field...

Understanding transport properties of geopolymer mortar using polarization and fluorescence microscopy

Micro-hydration, pore connectivity and durability of cementitious materials

Latest developments in Hymostruc enable the possibility to evaluate the pore connectivity of an evolving microstructure while also considering the contribution of the ITZ and air voids and to examine the influence on frost durability. The numerical model is used to visualize this phenomenon and to show the contribution of both the pores and the...

Crack healing behaviour of a Cr2AlC ceramic (abstract)