Ordinary Portland Cement Paste Research Articles

Enhancing geopolymer binder reactivity and performance via mechanochemical activation: A comprehensive study of rheological, mechanical, and microstructural properties

In this study, mechanochemical activation was utilized to formulate an eco- and user-friendly geopolymeric binder. This method offers an alternative approach to address challenges inherent in conventional two-part geopolymers. The process involves milling solid-state raw materials with diverse compositions, followed by the addition of water solely to initiate the geopolymerization reaction. Comparative analyses were conducted using conventionally activated geopolymer (CAG) paste and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) paste. The study also investigates the effects of ground granulated blast furnace slag/fly ash (GGBFS/FA) ratios (50:50, 75:25, and 100:0) and sodium silicate/sodium hydroxide (SS/SH) ratios (0.5, 1.5, and 2.5) on the rheological, fresh, mechanical, and microstructure characteristics of mechanochemically activated geopolymer (MAG) paste. The experimental findings indicate that mechanochemical activation reduced rheological characteristics and setting time, accompanied by an 11% increase in strength compared to the conventional activation method. Additionally, increased GGBFS content positively influenced rheological characteristics and mechanical properties, whereas higher SS/SH ratios adversely impacted these aspects. Setting time was significantly reduced with higher GGBFS content but increased with higher SS/SH ratios. Microstructural analysis revealed the presence of additional unreactive particles in both conventionally activated geopolymer and MAG paste containing 50% GGBFS.

Selection of suitable cellulose nanofibers derived from eco-friendly sources for the production of lightweight cementitious composites with tuned rheological, mechanical, and microstructure properties

Different cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) were combined to prepare CNF-OPC composite pastes at different water to cement ratios (W/C) to optimize density, thermal conductivity, and mechanical strength. The rheological data of CNF-OPC composites showed that the viscosity and yield stress of the mixtures were abruptly increased in comparison to those of OPC pastes at equal W/C. Rheological and morphological data showed that the uniformity of the CNF and degree of fiber entanglement plays a significant role in tuning the composite properties. CNF suspensions with short fibers were observed to improve the mechanical properties of the composite while suspensions with entangled fiber networks were found to decrease density and thermal conductivity. Loss of flexural strength of CNF-OPC compared to OPC was found to be to a lesser extent than loss of compressive strength. The dry density and thermal conductivity of the CNF-OPC composites were substantially reduced to the range of 750 (kg/m3) and 0.1 (W/m-1K-1) at W/C = 2. CNF caused a reduction in peak temperature and postponed the hydration peak by more than 2 hours compared to OPC.

Research on mix design and mechanical performances of MK-GGBFS based geopolymer pastes using central composite design method

In order to alleviate environmental problems and reduce CO2 emissions, geopolymers had drew attention as a kind of alkali-activated materials. Geopolymers are easier access to raw materials, green and environment friendly than traditional cement industry. Its special reaction mechanism and gel structure show excellent characteristics such as quick hardening, high strength, acid and alkali resistance. In this paper, geopolymer pastes were made with metakaolin (MK) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) as precursors. The effects of liquid–solid ratio (L/S) and modulus of sodium silicate (Ms) on the performances of MK-GGBFS based geopolymer paste (MSGP) were characterized by workability, strength and microstructural tests. The regression equations were obtained by central composite design method to optimize the mix design of MSGP. The goodness of fit of all the equations were more than 98%. Based on the results of experiments, the optimum mix design was found to have L/S of 0.75 and Ms of 1.55. The workability of MSGP was significantly improved while maintaining the strength under the optimum mix design. The initial setting time of MSGP decreased by 71.8%, while both of the fluidity and 28-d compressive strength increased by 15.3%, compared with ordinary Portland cement pastes. Therefore, geopolymers are promising alternative cementitious material, which can consume a large amount of MK and GGBFS and promote green and clean production.

Influences of alumina type and sulfate content on hydration and physicochemical changes in Portland–limestone cement

This study explored the influence of alumina type and gypsum content on the hydration, mechanical properties, and chemical changes of Portland–limestone cement (PLC) using isothermal calorimetry, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), ionic chromatography (IC), compressive strength testing, X-ray diffraction (XRD), 27Al magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (27Al MAS NMR) spectroscopy, and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) testing. The addition of alumina shortened the induction period, accelerated the acceleration period, and increased the mechanical strength of the PLC pastes with 3 and 7 wt% gypsum. The acceleration effect and strength enhancement were not distinct in the PLC pastes with less gypsum (0.1 wt%). The addition of γ-alumina led to the greatest accelerating effect and strength improvement in the PLC pastes with 3 and 7 wt% gypsum, and the compressive strength achieved was comparable to those of pure Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) pastes without limestone. The addition of γ-alumina induced the rapid dissolution of gypsum and consumption of sulfate ions. The chemical change affected by the addition of alumina varied greatly depending on the gypsum content, and trends in AFt and AFm formation in the PLC pastes with different gypsum contents were confirmed. Finally, pore size refinement was observed through the addition of alumina to PLC pastes with 3 and 7 wt% gypsum.

Experimental Study on Water-Plugging Performance of Grouted Concrete Crack.

In this paper, ordinary Portland cement, ultrafine cement, polyurethane, and epoxy resin were selected as typical grouting materials. Grouting simulation tests were first conducted to prepare the grouted concrete crack sample. The effect of concrete crack parameters (i.e., crack aperture and roughness), grout water-cement ratio, and grouting pressure on the water-plugging performance of different grouting materials was explored through the impermeability test. The microstructure of grouted concrete cracks was analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and computed tomography (CT), and the difference in water-plugging performance of different grouting materials was explained at the micro level. The results show that the impermeability of the four grouting materials was ranked as follows: Epoxy resin > polyurethane > ultra-fine cement > ordinary Portland cement. The concrete cracks grouted by epoxy resin have the highest plugging failure water pressure and the lowest permeability, which is the optimal grouting material. The effectiveness of crack grouting in water-plugging was directly proportional to the grouting pressure, provided the pressure did not exceed a certain value. When the pressure surpassed the threshold, the increase in pressure did not have a significant impact on the water plugging performance. For the two cement-based materials, the threshold pressure was 1 MPa, while for the other two chemical grouts, it was 2 MPa. The two cement-based grouts with a water-cement ratio of 0.8 showed optimal water-plugging performance. The water-plugging performance of ordinary Portland cement paste, ultra-fine cement pastes, and polyurethane grout was negatively correlated with crack aperture and positively correlated with crack roughness. However, the water-plugging performance of epoxy resin grout was not affected by crack aperture or roughness.

The multi-objective optimization and mix parameter evaluation of one-part alkali-activated grouting material

To obtain a green and cost-effective one-part alkali-activated grouting material (OAGM) with good comprehensive performance for subgrade reinforcement and determine its proper mix parameters. In this study, using response surface methodology (RSM), multiple objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm and the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) algorithm coupled with entropy weight method, two multi-objective optimization schemes for OAGM were performed, one only considering performance and another considering performance, embodied CO2 emission (ECO2e) and cost. Then, the correlation-based feature selection (CFS) algorithm was used to evaluate the importance of various molar ratios as mix parameters on the performance of OAGM. Finally, the effects of key mix parameters on the microstructure and reaction products of OAGM were studied. RSM results show that W/S (water to solid) ratio, borax (BR) content and UCG content chiefly govern the flowability, initial setting time and mechanical strength of OAGM respectively, and the interactions between some factors also significantly affect these properties. MOPSO and entropy-TOPSIS algorithm can be used to optimize OAGM objectively. Two optimal OAGM pastes both have better comprehensive performance and much lower ECO2e than ordinary Portland cement (OPC) paste. And the optimal OAGM considering performance, ECO2e and cost even has 7.68% lower cost than OPC paste. But another optimal OAGM has the best comprehensive performance. CFS results show that the molar ratios of Si/Al, Al/Ca, Na2O/H2O, B2O3/CaO and B2O3/Al2O3 are the key mix parameters of OAGM. Al/Ca rather than Si/Al is the most important mix parameter to the 28-day compressive strength. And higher Si/Al and Al/Ca deteriorates the microstructure and hinders the formation of C-A-S-H gel, while higher Na2O/H2O has the opposite effect. This study provides guidance for objective optimization and the determination of proper mix parameters of OAGM, and promotes the market-oriented application of OAGM.

Prediction of Hydration Heat for Diverse Cementitious Composites through a Machine Learning-Based Approach.

Hydration plays a crucial role in cement composites, but the traditional methods for measuring hydration heat face several limitations. In this study, we propose a machine learning-based approach to predict hydration heat at specific time points for three types of cement composites: ordinary Portland cement pastes, fly ash cement pastes, and fly ash-metakaolin cement composites. By adjusting the model architecture and analyzing the datasets, we demonstrate that the optimized artificial neural network model not only performs well during the learning process but also accurately predicts hydration heat for various cement composites from an extra dataset. This approach offers a more efficient way to measure hydration heat for cement composites, reducing the need for labor- and time-intensive sample preparation and testing. Furthermore, it opens up possibilities for applying similar machine learning approaches to predict other properties of cement composites, contributing to efficient cement research and production.

Determination of the maximum dissolution rates of the Belgian reference glasses at very alkaline pH and 30 °C

AbstractTo assess the chemical durability of the Belgian reference glasses SON68, SM513, and SM539 under hyper-alkaline conditions, maximum glass dissolution rates were measured at 30 °C and pH 13.5 by performing Single-Pass Flow-Through tests with a KOH solution and a synthetic young cementitious water containing Ca (YCWCa). In both leachants, the highest dissolution rate was determined for the Al-rich glass SM539, while similar rates were found for SM513 and SON68 glasses, whose compositions are comparable. For all glasses, the dissolution rates in YCWCa were lower than in KOH due to the presence of Ca, which leads to the formation of a slightly protective calcium silicate layer. The dissolution rates in YCWCa were similar to those determined from glass monolith mass losses in static tests carried out at 30 °C in YCWCa in the presence of hardened Ordinary Portland Cement paste powder with a cement-to-glass ratio of 1. Graphical abstract

Effects of temperature on autogenous deformation and early-age stress evolution in cement pastes with low water to cement ratio

This paper investigates the influence of temperature on autogenous deformation and early-age stress (EAS) evolution in ordinary Portland cement paste using a recently developed Mini Temperature Stress Testing Machine (Mini-TSTM) and Mini Autogenous Deformation Testing Machine (Mini-ADTM). In the Mini-TSTM/ ADTM, CEM I 42.5 N paste with a water-cement ratio of 0.30 was tested under a curing temperature of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 40 °C. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) tests were conducted to measure the amount of ettringite and calcium hydroxide, which reveals the micro-scale mechanisms of autogenous expansion. The applicability of the Maturity Concept (MC) for the prediction of autogenous deformation and relaxation modulus under different temperatures was also examined by the experimental data and the viscoelastic model. This paper leads to the following findings: 1) The autogenous deformation of ordinary Portland cement paste is a four-stage process comprising the initial shrinkage, autogenous expansion, plateau, and autogenous shrinkage; 2) Higher temperature leads to higher early-age cracking (EAC) risk because it accelerates the transitions through the first three stages and causes the autogenous shrinkage stage to start earlier. Moreover, higher temperatures also result in increased rates of autogenous shrinkage and EAS in the autogenous shrinkage stage; 3) Autogenous expansion and plateau are attributed to the crystallization pressure induced by CH. Temperature-dependent CH formation rates determine the duration of the plateau stage; 4) Low-temperature curing can delay but not completely prevent the EAC induced by autogenous deformation; 5) The MC cannot predict the autogenous deformation at different temperatures but can be used to calculate the relaxation modulus, which in turn aids in EAS prediction based on autogenous deformation data.

Formulation development of metakaolin geopolymer with good workability for strength improvement and shrinkage reduction

This study aims to optimize formulation and preparation of metakaolin based geopolymer for good workability, high compressive strength, and reduced drying shrinkage by considering alkaline activator composition, liquid to solid mass ratio, curing condition, and admixtures. The optimized geopolymer paste was further modified by granulated blast furnace steel slag (GBFS) and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as calcium sources and carbon fibers as reinforcing additive for further strength improvement and shrinkage alleviation, in which the improvement mechanisms were manifested through mechanical strengths and microstructure observations. An optimized combination of modifiers and curing condition was obtained by Orthogonal Array Testing method. Experimental results indicate that sodium silicate is essential in the synthesis of alkali activator with nominal composition of Na2O·1.3SiO2·10.8H2O for strength development and cracking prevention. Good workability and high compressive strength of paste specimens could be attained by liquid to solid mass ratio of 1.21 between alkaline activator and metakaolin with ambient curing. The modified geopolymer pastes presented further improved compressive strength and reduced drying shrinkage. The microstructure images showed that the formation of cement hydration products, ettringite crystals, and more condensed matrix structure by using OPC as additive in geopolymer. The optimized geopolymer paste was made with 2% carbon fiber, 33% Portland cement and 10% GBFS and cured at ambient temperature achieved ultimate compressive strength of 73 MPa with reduced drying shrinkage. This ultimate compressive strength was 55% and 65% higher than non-modified geopolymer and ordinary Portland cement pastes, respectively, and was higher than 80% values in related studies.

Application of Impedance Spectroscopy in the Study of Aluminium Alloy 1100 in Cement Pastes

In the context of an investigation of the corrosion inhibition effect of LiNO3 and Li2CO3 on Aluminium Alloy 1100 embedded in ordinary Portland cement pastes, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) technique was used to gain information on the corrosion rate and mechanism.In parallel to the corrosion property analysis, information on the porosity of the cement paste matrix could be retrieved from EIS. This was realised by an innovative methodology combining the equivalent circuit model fitting the EIS curves with a two-phase model from the general effective media theory (GEM). The effective resistance of the cement paste used in the GEM is approximated by the resistance of connected capillary pores as provided by EIS analysis to determine the evolving porosity of cement pastes. The porosity of cement pastes is also experimentally measured by the mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and is then compared with the results obtained from EIS. Meanwhile, two different curing methods were studied their influence on the porosity: (1) the cement pastes were cured in saturated Ca(OH)2 solution and (2) the cement pastes were cured in a humid argon atmosphere before to be transferred in saturated Ca(OH)2 solution.Both MIP and EIS/GEM methods revealed similar porosity results, proving that this innovative methodology is suitable for the in situ determination of the porosity of cementitious matrices in parallel with the analysis of the corrosion reactions.

Synthesis of Aragonite Whiskers by Co-Carbonation of Waste Magnesia Slag and Magnesium Sulfate: Enhancing Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Portland Cement Paste

This study focused on the synthesis of aragonite whiskers through a synergistic wet carbonation technology utilizing waste magnesia slag (MS) and magnesium sulfate (MgSO4), aiming to improve the microstructure and mechanical properties of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) paste. The influence of MgSO4 concentration on the wet carbonation process, phase composition, and microstructure of MS was investigated. Furthermore, the effect of incorporating carbonated MS (C-MS) on the mechanical properties and microstructure of Portland cement paste was evaluated. Results showed that appropriate MgSO4 concentrations favored aragonite whisker formation. A concentration of 0.075 M MgSO4 yielded 86.6% aragonite with high aspect ratio nanofibers. Incorporating 5% of this C-MS into OPC increased the seven-day compressive strength by 37.5% compared to the control OPC paste. The improvement was attributed to accelerated hydration and reduced porosity by the filling effect and microfiber reinforcement of aragonite whiskers. MS demonstrated good CO2 sequestration capacity during carbonation. This study provides an effective method to synthesize aragonite whiskers from waste MS and use it to enhance cementitious materials while reducing CO2 emissions, which is valuable for the development of a sustainable cement industry.

Chemical Mechanisms Involved in the Coupled Attack of Sulfate and Chloride Ions on Low-Carbon Cementitious Materials: An In-Depth Study

This study aims to analyze the individual and combined chemical attacks of sulfate and chloride ions on cementitious materials and assess the efficiency of some selected additives (fly ash, blast furnace slag, and metakaolin) in countering this combined attack. This research is conducted in the context of construction in marine environments, where reinforced concrete structures are often subject to significant challenges due to early exposure to sulfate and chloride ions. This early exposure results in concrete expansion, cracking, and, ultimately, the corrosion of steel reinforcements. Nevertheless, the interaction between sulfate ions, chloride ions, and the cementitious matrix remains poorly understood. Previous research has drawn conflicting conclusions, with some suggesting that sulfate ions mitigate chloride attacks, while others have come to the opposite conclusion. During this study, experimental investigations were conducted by immersing powders obtained from crushed ordinary Portland cement (CEM I) paste specimens, as well as binary, ternary, and quaternary blends, in sulfate, chloride, and sulfate–chloride solutions over the course of 25 days at an early age. Results from different characterization techniques (thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, etc.) indicate that chloride ions delay the formation of ettringite, while the presence of sulfate ions accelerates the chloride attack by limiting the formation of Friedel’s salt. The Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry test confirmed these results by showing a pronounced increase in specimens’ porosity after exposure to solely sulfate after 25 days, compared to the ones exposed to both sulfate and chloride ions. Furthermore, the incorporation of multiple additives, particularly in ternary and quaternary blends, demonstrates the enhanced durability of the studied samples. This was confirmed by a Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy analysis, which indicated a delayed ettringite formation in these mixtures. This delay was further affirmed by the complete depletion of sulfate ions in the sulfate solutions upon contact with powders derived from the 100% CEM I paste.

Investigation of Material Loading on an Evolved Antecedent Hexagonal CSRR-Loaded Electrically Small Antenna.

Recent advances in embedded antenna and sensor technologies for 5G communications have galvanized a response toward the investigation of their electromagnetic performance for urban contexts and civil engineering applications. This article quantitatively investigates the effects of material loading on an evolved antecedent hexagonal complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR)-loaded antenna design through simulation and experimentation. Optimization of the narrowband antenna system was first performed in a simulation environment to achieve resonance at 3.50 GHz, featuring an impedance bandwidth of 1.57% with maximum return loss and theoretical gain values of 20.0 dB and 1.80 dBi, respectively. As a proof-of-concept, a physical prototype is fabricated on a printed circuit board followed by a simulation-based parametric study involving antenna prototypes embedded into Ordinary Portland Cement pastes with varying weight percentages of iron(III) oxide inclusions. Simulation-derived and experimental results are mutually verified, achieving a systemic downward shift in resonant frequency and corresponding variations in impedance matching induced by changes in loading reactance. Finally, an inversion modeling procedure is employed using perturbation theory to extrapolate the relative permittivity of the dielectric loaded materials. Our proposed analysis contributes to optimizing concrete-embedded 5G antenna sensor designs and establishes a foundational framework for estimating unknown dielectric parameters of cementitious composites.

Mechanism study on the effect of diammonium hydrogen phosphate on the setting time and micro-nanostructure of ordinary Portland cement paste

The effect of diammonium hydrogen phosphate (DAP) on the setting time, mechanical properties and micro-nanostructure of cement paste is investigated. The results show that with an increase in DAP content, the peak value of hydration heat of cement is delayed, but the 3d cumulative hydration heat release of the cement is basically the same. The 3d compressive strength of cement paste is not significantly different, and the 28d compressive strength increases first and then decreases. When the DAP content is 0.5 wt%, the compressive strength of cement paste is most significantly improved, increasing by 38.5%. Meanwhile, the initial and final setting times of cement paste are extended by 74.0% and 73.2%, respectively. When the DAP content is 1.0 wt%, the cement paste has the longest setting time, with the initial and final setting times extended by 101.8% and 103.5%, respectively. However, the compressive strength of the cement paste can still be improved by 10.5%. It is mainly due to the change of pH value and calcium ion concentration of cement pore solution with different DAP content, which changes the micro-nanoscale morphology of C-S-H gel, Hamaker constant between globules, microscopic Young's modulus, and pore structure.

Graphene nanoribbons as a novel nanofiller for enhancing the mechanical and electrical properties of cementitious composites

Several functional fillers have been used to modify the mechanical and electrical properties of cement-based materials. Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have attracted considerable attention as the next generation of carbon-based nanomaterials owing to their excellent properties. This paper aims to assess the influence of GNRs with varying incorporation amounts (0.05, 0.10, and 0.15 wt% of cement) on the mechanical properties, hydration behavior, and electrical properties of ordinary Portland cement paste via mechanical strength test, isothermal calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and alternating current electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The enhanced performance of GNRs in cementitious composites was compared with that of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which are one of the most popular and conventional nano-reinforcing agents for cement-based materials. The results of this study show that, compared to CNTs, GNRs significantly decrease the resistivity of cementitious composites owing to their excellent electrical properties. Furthermore, after the exfoliation of CNTs, GNRs possess a larger specific surface area and exhibit improved dispersibility. Thus, GNRs provide better nucleation and filling effects for cementitious composites to promote the hydration reaction of cement clinkers and modify the microstructure of the cement matrix, resulting in enhanced mechanical properties of the cementitious composites.

Mechanism underlying early hydration kinetics of carbonated recycled concrete fines-ordinary portland cement (CRCF-OPC) paste

Aiming to promote applications of carbonated recycled concrete fines (CRCF) as a low-carbon alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), this study explored the effect of CRCF on the early hydration kinetics of OPC paste. The results show that CRCF is not only a highly active pozzolanic material but also an effective accelerator affecting the early hydration kinetics of OPC paste, thereby leading to an increased early compressive strength and a comparable 28-d compressive strength, even at a replacement ratio of 20%. Although the rheological properties and workability are negatively affected due to the high surface area and fine particle size of CRCF, the amorphous silica and silica-alumina gels and calcite present in CRCF facilitate initial ions dissolution and provide additional active nucleation sites for hydrates. As a result, the microstructure is densified due to the formation of additional C–S–H gels with high Si/Ca and Al/Ca ratios and carboaluminate phases, along with the inert filler effect of unreacted calcite particles. The incorporation of 20% CRCF to replace OPC can achieve a CO2 emissions reduction up to 25%. These indicate that the CRCF has a promising application scenario in transforming wasted concrete into high-value industrial products by CO2 activation.

Constitutive relations of nanoscale hydration products present in engineered cementitious composites from machine learning assisted experimental nanoindentation

In this work, a method to evaluate the stress-strain properties (at nano-scale) of constitutive phases present in the hydration cement matrix is presented. Using an experimental grid nanoindentation using Berkovich indenter, the constituent phases i.e., Low Density Calcium Silicate Hydrate (LD CSH), High Density Calcium Silicate Hydrate (HD CSH) and clinkers are indented upon during different points of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) paste hydration. Further, this study is conducted on four other cement pastes: OPC +20% fly ash, OPC +40% fly ash, OPC +0.5% nanosilica and OPC +1% nanosilica. Using experimental grid nanoindentation technique results in a large dataset depending upon the size of the gird. Three different machine learning algorithms including K-means, Gaussian mixture model (GMM) clustering and, support vector machine (SVM) have been implemented. The developed stress-strain evaluation method has allowed to ascertain the constitutive relations as yield stresses of 354 MPa for LD CSH, 393 MPa for HD CSH and 4340 MPa for clinkers, yield strains of 1.8 × 10−2 for LD CSH, 1.1 × 10−2 for HD CSH and 3.7 × 10−2 for clinkers; ultimate stresses of 371 MPa for LD CSH, 424 MPa for HD CSH and 6085 MPa for clinkers, ultimate strains of 2 × 10−2 for LD CSH, 1.4 × 10−2 for HD CSH and 4.4 × 10−2 for clinkers; and strain hardening exponents of 0.85 for LD CSH, 0.72 for HD CSH and 2.1 for clinkers. Elastic modulus, hardness and the stress-strain values obtained from the load vs. displacement curves are used for the clustering analysis and compared with deconvolution results. These properties have been used to test the feasibility of application of machine learning algorithms to classify the grid nanoindentation data. It was found that the machine learning algorithms were indeed capable of clustering the data obtained from experimental grid nanoindentation. This study presents a novel method to evaluate stress-strain properties of the constituent phases present in the cement microstructure and application of machine learning in the field of material characterisation using nanoindentation technique.

Experimental study and mechanism analysis of functional nanocrystalline cellulose to improve the electromagnetic transmission performance of ordinary Portland cement

5G signal transmission can be seriously blocked by cement-based materials, so it is very important to improve the electromagnetic transmission performance (ETP) of cement-based materials. Carboxylated nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) is used to prepare Ordinary Portland cement paste with high ETP. The water-cement ratio and NCC content of the cement paste are 0.5 and 0–4% respectively. The test results show that the ETP of cement paste increases by 13.9%–90.6%, but the compressive strength of the sample decreases by 7.3%–87.6%. The 2% of NCC content causes the ETP of cement paste increases by 75.6%, while the compressive strength only decreases by 14.6%. The reasons for improvement of ETP are that the electrostatic force between the globule, the polymerization degree and mean chain length of C–S–H, the total volume proportion of phases (calcium hydroxide, ettringite and unhydrated cement) with low dielectric loss and the volume proportion of the no harmful pore for electromagnetic energy loss are increased, the conductivity of cement pore solution and the content of water are decreased.

Effects of sodium carbonate admixture and mix design ratios on the compressive strength of concrete

This study aimed to investigate the impact of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) admixture on the acceleration and long-term compressive strength of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete at different mix ratios. Concrete cube specimens (150 × 150 × 150mm3 size) were cast at three different mix ratios (1:1.5:3, 1:2:4, and 1:3:6) with sodium carbonate admixture added in increasing dosage of 0.5% from 0 to 2.0% by weight of OPC. Compressive strength tests were conducted on the cast specimens after curing under water for 7, 28, 56 and 90days. Additionally, tests were done to see how sodium carbonate would accelerate setting times of OPC paste. The results of the tests showed that Na2CO3 decreased the initial and final setting times of cement paste from 96 to 67mins and 543 to 387mins respectively. Compressive strength test results for 1:2:4 and 1:3:6 mix ratios showed an increasing trend up to 1.0% Na2CO3 admixture, after which there was a decrease. Meanwhile, 1:1.5:3 mix ratio showed a decrease in strength from 21.87 N/mm2 at 0% to 14.90 N/mm2 at 1.0% Na2CO3 addition, after which the strength increased with Na2CO3 percent addition. These results suggest that sodium carbonate has an accelerating effect on concrete setting time, and may aid its early strength development, but has negative long-term effects on concrete strength with increasing dosage. An optimal percentage of 1% Na2CO3 by weight of OPC is advised for accelerating effects in concrete, based on the results of this study.