Negative effect improvement of accelerated curing on chloride penetration resistance of ordinary concrete

Four mineral admixture concrete specimens werefabricated to study the negative effect improvements ofaccelerated curing on the chloride penetration resistance ofordinary concrete. After reaching different initial strengths, the specimens were placed in 40, 60, or 80 t water tanks foraccelerated curing. The Coulomb values of the specimens weemeasured with ASTM C1202 experiment at 28, 100, 200, ad300 d. Partial specimens were also selected for rapid chlorideion migration coefficient and mercury intrusion porosimetryexperiments. The experimental results show that theaccelerated curing for ordinary concrete linealy deterioratesthe chloride penetration resistance, whereas the incorporationof mineral admixtures improves the concrete microscopic pore-structures and negative effects. An upper temperature limit of60 t of the accelerated curing is suitable for obtainingsuperior chloride penetration resistance for the mineraladmixture concrete. Pre-curing at a normal temperature of 20t is beneficial for improving the negative effect, which isalso aieviated with increasing testing age as a result of thesuccessive hydration of binder materials in concrete.

Effects of Steam Curing on the Resistance of Cementitious Materials to Chloride Penetration

The resistance to chloride penetration of cement-based material with different curing regimes was investigated by solution titration,XRD,LF-NMR and rapid chloride migration test.The results show that the curing regime has influences on the types and structure of the hydration products,which in turn affects their ability to bind chloride ions.The binding capacity of cementitious materials to chloride ions,porosity and chloride ion migration coefficient increased with the increase of water-cement ratio,while steam curing increased the porosity and chloride ion migration coefficient at the same time as it increased the chloride ion binding capacity of the materials.At lower water-cement ratios,the effect of steam curing on the resistance of cementitious materials to chloride ingress is negligible.

Effects of Silica Fume and Steel Fiber on Chloride Ion Penetration and Corrosion Behavior of Cement-based Composites

This project was aimed to evaluate the chloride permeability and corrosion behavior of cement-based composites which comprised fibers and silica fume in the mixes~ Resistivity, polarization resistance, ponding and rapid chloride penetration results of specimens were obtained through tests. Test results indicate that resistivity, open circuit potentials and direct current polarization of specimens with w/b ratio of 0.35 are higher than those of specimens with w/b ratio of 0.55. For length-diameter ratio of 65, resistivity and direct current polarization of specimens with fiber length of 35 mm were similar to those of 60 mm. In addition the open circuit potentials of specimens with fiber length of 60 mm were slightly higher that those of 35 mm. The resistivity decreased with increasing steel fiber content, and the open circuit potential and direct current polarization increased with increasing steel fiber content. The specimens containing silica fume were found to provide higher resistivity, open circuit potentials and direct current polarization than the control specimens. The incorporation of steel fiber and silica fume in composites achieved more significantly decreases in resistivity and increases in direct current polarization than steel fiber composites or silica fume composites. The penetration depth and six-hour total charge passed of specimens for w/b ratio of 0.35 were lower than those for w/b ratio of 0.55. For length-diameter ratio of 65, the penetration depth of specimens for fiber length of 35 mm was similar to that of 60 mm. The penetration depth decreased with increased steel fiber content in the composites. By regression analysis, a good correlation between open circuit potential and direct current polarization, and chloride penetration depth and direct current polarization.

Porosity,Pore Size Distribution and Chloride Permeability of Shotcrete Modified with Nano Particles at Early Age

Nano particles have been found to be effective in enhancing many properties of regular concretes. However, there is little information on the effect of nano particles on shotcrete. In fact, if similar positive effect of nano particles can also appear in shotcrete, they will greatly benefit the wide application of shotcrete in more and more repair and strengthening of structures in civil engineering, especially in corrosive environments. In this study, through experiments on 70 specimens, the effects of nano SiO2, CaCO3 and Al2O3 particles on the early-age porosity, pore size distribution, compressive strength and chloride permeability of shotcrete were investigated.Test results indicated that nano SiO2 particles significantly increased the compressive strength and chloride penetration resistance; nano Al2O3 and CaCO3 particles had slight enhancing effect on the compressive strength; nano CaCO3 particles were most effective in promoting the chloride penetration resistance of shotcrete. As a conclusion, nano SiO2 particles were recommended when both early age compressive strength and chloride penetration resistance were crucial, and nano CaCO3 particles were recommended when only chloride penetration resistance was concerned for their high cost-effectiveness.

Strength,porosity,and chloride resistance of mortar using the combination of two kinds of pozzolanic materials

This article presents a study on the resistance to chloride penetration, corrosion, porosity, and strength of mortar containing fine fly ash （FA）, ground rice husk-bark ash （RB）, and ground bagasse ash （BA）. Ordinary Portland cement （CT） was blended with a single pozzolan and two pozzolans. Strength, porosity, rapid chloride penetration, immersion, and corrosion tests were performed to characterize the mortar. Test results showed that the use of ternary blends of CT, FA, and RB or BA decreased the porosity of the mortar, as compared with binary blended mortar containing CT and RB or BA. The resistance to chloride penetration of the mortar improved substantially with partial replacement of CT with FA, RB, and BA. The use of ternary blends of CT, FA and RB or BA produced the mortar with good strength and resistance to chloride penetration. The resistance to chloride penetration was higher with an increase in the replacement level due to the reduced calcium hydroxide.

Properties of Supersulphated Phosphogysum-slag Cement (SSC) Concrete

Supersulphated phosphogysum-slag cement （SSC） is a newly developed non-burned cementitious material mainly composed of phosphogysum （PG） and ground granulated blast furnace slag （GGBFS）, with small amount of steel slag （SS） and clinker （CL）. SSC is a kind of environmentally-friendly cementitious material due to its energy-saving, low-carbon emission, and waste-utilization. We prepared concretes with supersulphated phosphogysum-slag cement, and studied the mechanical properties, micro- properties and resistance to chloride penetration of concrete in comparison with those of portland slag cement （PSC） and ordinary portland cement （OPC） concrete. The test results show that the compressive strength of SSC concrete can reach 38.6 MPa after 28 d, close to PSC concrete and OPC concrete. Microanalyses indicate that large quantities of ettringite and C-S-H, and little amount of Ca（OH）2 are generated during the hydration of SSC. The dense cement paste structure of SSC is formed by ettringite and C-S-H, surrounded unreacted phosphogysum. The property of resistance to chloride penetration of SSC concrete is better than PSC and OPC concrete due to the fact that SSC can form much more ettringite to solidify more Cl^-.

Degradation process assessment of prestressed concrete continuous bridges in life-cycle

To accurately evaluate the degradation process of prestressed concrete continuous bridges exposed to aggressive environments in life-cycle,a finite element-based approach with respect to the lifetime performance assessment of concrete bridges was proposed.The existing assessment methods were firstly introduced and compared.Some essential mechanics problems involved in the degradation process,such as the deterioration of materials properties,the reduction of sectional areas and the variation of overall structural performance caused by the first two problems,were investigated and solved.A computer program named CBDAS(Concrete Bridge Durability Analysis System) was written to perform the above-metioned approach.Finally,the degradation process of a prestressed concrete continuous bridge under chloride penetration was discussed.The results show that the concrete normal stress for serviceability limit state exceeds the threshold value after 60 a,but the various performance indicators at ultimate limit state are consistently in the allowable level during service life.Therefore,in the case of prestressed concrete bridges,the serviceability limit state is more possible to have durability problems in life-cycle;however,the performance indicators at ultimate limit state can satisfy the requirements.

Characterisation of Bacteria⁃Based Concrete Crack Rejuvenation by Externally Applied Repair

Microbiologically⁃induced calcite⁃precipitation(MICP)has been increasingly studied in structural repair including self⁃healing and external applications.Among various MICP pathways,enzymatic urea hydrolysis is suggested to be applied as external repair instead of self⁃healing.This study comprehensively characterised the enzymatic urea hydrolysis pathway in physical,impermeable,and mechanical rejuvenation of concrete cracks.The visual quality of repaired structures was presented,and the importance of humidity in the remediation of cracks was demonstrated.Moreover,this study investigated the differences in the effectiveness of repair between premixing bacteria with urea and without any premixing.With premixing,there was a concern that the accelerated reactions would precipitate calcite in the shallow spaces of the cracks and impede deeper healing.However,the observed results indicated that neither physical nor impermeable rejuvenation of concrete cracks repair would be detrimentally affected.The results obtained from this study will allow further development in commercialisation since the effectiveness of repair has been confirmed with an improvement in its efficiency.

Influence of Mineral Admixtures on the Permeability of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete

The permeability of lightweight aggregate concrete was studied. Some efforts were taken to increase the resistance of lightweight aggregate concrete (LC) to water penetration by using the mineral admixtures of fly ash, granulated blast furnace slag or silica fume. Accelerated chloride penetrability test and liquid atmosphere press method were used to study the anti-permeability of lightweight aggregate concrete. The experimental results show that fly ash, granulated blast furnace slag and silica fume can decrease the permeability of lightweight aggregate concrete, but the effect of granulated blast furnace slag is poor. According to the SEM and pore structure analyzing results,an interface self-reinforcing effect model was presented and the reinforced mechanism of mineral mixture on LC was discussed according to the model described by authors.

Parametric investigation on the novel and cost-effective nano fly ash impregnated geopolymer system for sustainable construction

The hazardous environmental effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change demand alternative sources for cementitious materials in the construction industry.The development of geopolymer structures provides a way of producing 100%cement-free construction.In this research work,a novel and simple way of deriving nano particles from waste fly ash particles is promoted.The effect of adding the synthesized nano fly ash particles as a filler medium in geopolymer mortars was investigated by considering strength and durability properties.Parameter optimization was done by using regression analysis on the geopolymer mortar and the impact of adding nano fly ash particles was studied by varying different percentages of addition ranging from 0 to 7.5%by weight of binder content.From the results,it was observed that 1%nano fly ash acted not only as a filler but also as nano-sized precursors of the polymerization process,resulting in denser geopolymer medium.This can explain the extraordinary gain in strength of 72.11 MPa as well as the denser core with negligible level of chloride ion penetration,making the material suitable for the development of structures susceptible to marine environment.

Different Effects of Fly Ash and Slag on Anti-Rebar Corrosion Ability of Concrete with Chloride Ion

In this paper, we have studied the anti-rebar corrosion ability of high-strength concrete （HSC）, which were made by one or two mixed fly ash and slag. The different effects of fly ash and slag on concrete anti-rebar corrosion ability were discussed in chloride ion-contaminated condition. The results indicate that the effects of slag on concrete anti-chloride ion penetration ability are more excellent than that of fly ash at the same content. When the content of fly ash is 10%, the corrosion-inhibition action is not obvious; when the content is higher than 25%, this effect is remarkable. Corrosion-inhibition action of slag is better than that of fly ash. Slag is not like fly ash that has obvious effect on anode curves Tafer slope, so its contribution to restraining rebar in concrete corrosion is the result of high concrete anti-chloride ion penetration ability and binding chloride ion. Their ＂superimposition effect＂ can be realized only at reasonable content and proportion condition.

A new systematic firefly algorithm for forecasting the durability of reinforced recycled aggregate concrete

This study presents a new systematic algorithm to optimize the durability of reinforced recycled aggregate concrete.The proposed algorithm integrates machine learning with a new version of the firefly algorithm called chaotic based firefly algorithm(CFA)to evolve a rational and efficient predictive model.The CFA optimizer is augmented with chaotic maps and Levy flight to improve the firefly performance in forecasting the chloride penetrability of strengthened recycled aggregate concrete(RAC).A comprehensive and credible database of distinctive chloride migration coefficient results is used to establish the developed algorithm.A dataset composite of nine effective parameters,including concrete components and fundamental characteristics of recycled aggregate(RA),is used as input to predict the migration coefficient of strengthened RAC as output,k-fold cross validation algorithm is utilized to validate the hybrid algorithm.Three numerical benchmark analyses are applied to prove the superiority and applicability of the CFA algorithm in predicting chloride penetrability.Results show that the developed CFA approach significantly outperforms the firefly algorithm on almost tested functions and demonstrates powerful prediction.In addition,the proposed strategy can be an active tool to recognize the contradictions in the experimental results and can be especially beneficial for assessing the chloride resistance of RAC.