Infuences of Different Admixtures on the Drying Shrinkage Characteristics of Metakaolin-based Geopolymer Mortar

To investigate the influences of different admixtures on the drying shrinkage of polymer mortar in a metakaolin base,the experiments of VAE(vinyl acetate ethylene copolymer),APAM(anionic polyacrylamide)and CPAM(cationic polyacrylamide)on the drying shrinkage properties of geopolymer mortar were designed under normal temperature curing conditions.An SP-175 mortar shrinkage dilatometer was introduced to measure the dry shrinkage of geopolymer mortar.Meanwhile,the drying shrinkage properties of geopolymer mortar are exhibited by the parameters of water loss rate,drying shrinkage rate,drying shrinkage strain and drying shrinkage coefficient.The experimental data are further fitted to obtain the prediction model of dry shrinkage of geopolymer mortar,which can better reflect the relationship between dry shrinkage rate and time.Finally,the experimental results demonstrate that the dry shrinkage of geopolymer mortar can be significantly increased by adding 4%VAE admixture,meanwhile under the condition that the polymer film formed by VAE reaction can strengthen and toughen the mortar.2.5%APAM admixture and 1.5%CPAM admixture can enhance the dry shrinkage performance of geopolymer mortar in a certain range.

Influence of Superplasticizer Type and Dosage on Early-age Drying Shrinkage of Cement Paste with Consideration of Pore Size Distribution and Water Loss

We introduced a parameter r_s(the radius of the pores where the meniscus forms),which is composed of two factors,i e,water loss and cumulative pore size distribution(PSD),to provide a better explanation of the influence of superplasticizers(SPs)on early-age drying shrinkage.In our experiments,it is found that the addition of three types of SPs leads to a significant increase in the early-age drying shrinkage of cement paste,and drying shrinkage increases with the dosage of SPs.Based on the results above,we further studied the mechanism of the effects of SPs on the early-age drying shrinkage of cement paste by PSD and water loss,which are two components of r_s.The experimental results indicate that r_s can be a better index for the early-age drying shrinkage of cement-based materials with SPs than a single factor.In addition,the effects of SPs on other factors such as hydration degree and elastic modulus were also investigated and discussed.

Experimental study on shrinkage and rehydration of seed during drying process

Biomaterial will shrink during the drying process. The characteristics of shrinkage and rehydration of fresh peas were studied. Drying curves, shrinkage and rehydration curves of peas without seed coats and whole peas were compared. In addition, different volumetric shrinkage coefficients were obtained and discussed. The results show that seed coats resist moisture movement not only from inside to outside but also from outside to inside during different drying conditions. During a seed’s drying process, the drying curve is similar to the shrinkage curve. The higher the heat flux is, the less drying time is needed, and in the meantime, volume would shrink more and more intensively. Dried media will break easily at high heat flux. When we create a drying regime, both drying speed and the quality of dried media should be considered.

Effects of Manufactured-sand on Dry Shrinkage and Crccp of High-strength Concrete

The influences of natural sand, manufactured-sand （MS） and stone-dust （SD） in the manufactured-sand on workability, compressive strength, elastic modulus, drying shrinkage and creep properties of high-strength concrete （HSC） were tested and compared. The results show that the reasonable content （7%-10.5%） of SD in MS will not deteriorate the workability of MS-HSC. It could even improve the workability. Moreover, the compressive strength increases gradually with the increasing SD content,and the MS- HSC with low SD content （smaller than 7%） has the elastic modulus which approaches that of the natural sand HSC, but the elastic modulus reduces when the SD content is high. The influence of the SD content on drying shrinkage performance of MS-HSC is closely related to the hydration age. The shrinkage rate of MS-HSC in the former 7 d age is higher than that of the natural sand HSC, but the difference of the shrinkage rate in the late age is not marked. Meanwhile the shrinkage rate reduces as the fly ash is added; the specific creep and creep coefficient of MS-HSC with 7% SD are close to those of the natural sand HSC.

Effects of Specimen Shape and Size on Water Loss and Drying Shrinkage of Cement-based Materials

The effects of specimen size and shape on development of water loss and shrinkage of mortar and concrete respectively were investigated. The experimental results showed that the effects of specimen size and shape on water loss ratio were consistent with those on drying shrinkage strain. It is also indicated that drying shrinkage strain has obvious linear correlation with water loss ratios independent of specimen size and shape. The effects of specimen size and shape on the water loss ratio were embodied in established model of averaged relative humidity improved by considering effects of sequential hydration and calculated by finite difference method. Furthermore, the effects of specimen size and shape on drying shrinkage strain of concrete were experimentally deduced and applied to modify criterion EB-FIP1990. The comparison between experimental and calculated results shows that the modified EB-FIP1990 can be adopted to predict drying shrinkage strain of concrete with reasonable accuracy.

Influence of shrinkage-reducing admixture on drying shrinkage and mechanical properties of high-performance concrete

High-performance concrete （HPC） has specific performance advantages over conventional concrete in strength and durability. HPC mixtures are usually produced with water/binder mass ratios （mW/mB） in the range of 0.2-0.4, so volume changes of concrete as a result of drying, chemical reactions, and temperature change cannot be avoided. For these reasons, shrinkage and cracking are frequent phenomena. It is necessary to add some types of admixture for reduction of shrinkage and cracking of HPC. This study used a shrinkage-reducing admixture （SRA） for that purpose. Concrete was prepared with two different mW/mB （0.22 and 0.40） and four different mass fractions of SRA to binder （w（SRA） = 0%, 1%, 2%, and 4%）. The mineral admixtures used for concrete mixes were： 25% fly ash （FA） and 25% slag by mass of binder for the mixture with mW/mB = 0.40, and 15% silica fume （SF） and 25% FA for the mixture with mW/mB = 0.22. Tests were conducted on 24 prismatic specimens, and shrinkage strains were measured through 120 days of drying. Compressive strength, splitting strength, and static modulus of elasticity were also determined. The results show that the SRA effectively reduces some mechanical properties of HPC. The reductions in compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and elastic modulus of the concrete were 7%-24%, 9%-19%, and 5%-12%, respectively, after 90 days, compared to concrete mixtures without SRA. SRA can also help reduce drying shrinkage of concrete. The shrinkage strains of HPC with SRA were only as high as 41% of the average free shrinkage of concrete without SRA after 120 days of drying.

Effect of Fly Ash on Drying Shrinkage of Thermal Insulation Mortar with Glazed Hollow Beads

Drying shrinkage of thermal insulation mortar with glazed hollow beads was measured by a vertical length comparator, and the influences of fly ash with different contents（0, 18%, 36%, and 54% were used） on the long-term drying shrinkage were discussed. The mass loss was measured by the weighting method and the pore structure was characterized using three different methods, including the light microscopy, the mercury intrusion porosimetry（MIP）, and the nitrogen adsorption/desorption（NAD） experiments, and the correlations among them were researched. The results show that drying shrinkage process of thermal insulation mortar includes three steps with increasing curing time： the acceleration period（before 7 d）, the deceleration period（7-365 d）, and the metastable period（after 365 d）. Drying shrinkage in the first stage（7 d before） increases quickly owing to the fast water loss, and its development in the last two stages is attributed to the increment of the pore volume of mortar with the radius below 50 nm, especially the increment of the pore volume fraction of the pore radius within the size range between 7.3 nm and 12.3 nm. There is no change in the drying shrinkage development trend of mortar with fly ash addition, and three steps in the service life, but fly ash addition in the mortar restrains its value. There is a linear relationship between the drying shrinkage and fly ash content, which means that drying shrinkage reduces with fly ash addition.

Influences of Reinforcement on Differential Drying Shrinkage of Concrete

Shrinkage strain of concrete specimen with different reinforcement configuration was measured at various depths from the exposed surface by using several pairs of displacement sensors. Only one surface of the concrete specimen was exposed to dry condition during the experiment. The results show that differential shrinkage strain occurs in both plain and steel reinforced concrete specimens according to depths from the exposed surface. A higher reinforcement ratio results in a greater restraint against shrinkage of concrete nearby reinforcement rebar and a worse differential shrinkage strain distribution in the concrete specimen. The restraint against shrinkage of concrete becomes lower with the increasing distance from reinforcement rebar. Under the same reinforcement arrangement, a higher free shrinkage of concrete leads to a stronger restraint against shrinkage and a higher shrinkage stress formation in local concrete. The relationship between shrinkage strain and reduction of relative humidity in reinforced concrete structure is far different from that in plain concrete.

Influence of Superplasticizers on Early Age Drying Shrinkage of Cement Paste with the Same Consistency

The influence of superplasticizer（SP） on the early age drying shrinkage of cement paste with the same consistency was investigated. To conduct the test, which lasted for 72 hours, three paste mixtures were used for comparison. The 72 hours early age drying shrinkage staring from the initial setting time was measured by a clock gauge. The pore size distribution was measured by Mercury Intrusion Method. The surface tension of capillary simulation liquid and mass loss of paste were also measured. The experimental results showed that the addition of SP increased the early drying shrinkage greatly. The ratios of water evaporation and the total free water in mixtures added with SPs showed great differences. SPs fined the capillary pores of paste, and the volume of pore with diameter within 50 nm was well consistent with shrinkage rate. The addition of SPs did not raise the capillary liquid surface tension. It showed that with the volume of pore with diameter within 50 nm and the ratio of water evaporation and the total free water a tolerable shrinkage result of paste added with SP could be predicted, and the elastic modulus could have an influence on the early shrinkage. These results have never been proposed before.

Shrinkage Behaviour of Spheroidal Graphite Cast Iron in Green and Dry Sand Molds for the Benchmarking of Solidification Simulation

The effects of metallurgical and processing parameters on the formation of shrinkage cavities and porosities in spheroidal graphite cast iron have been studied, considering the parameters of carbon equivalent, inoculation, casting modulus, mold type (green or dry) and pouring temperature within specific ranges of these variables. Based on the orthogonal experiments, the metallurgical and processing parameters of the minimum casting shrinkage and the maximum casting shrinkage were obtained, and the effects of metallurgical and processing parameters on the formation of shrinkage cavities and porosities in spheroids graphite cast iron castings were discussed. Finally, two regression equations relating these variables to the formation of shrinkage porosity were derived based upon the orthogonal experiments conducted.

Physical Model of Drying Shrinkage of Recycled Aggregate Concrete

We prepared concretes（RC0, RC30, and RC100） with three different mixes. The poresize distribution parameters of RAC were examined by high-precision mercury intrusion method（MIM） and nuclear magnetic resonance（NMR） imaging. A capillary-bundle physical model with random-distribution pores（improved model, IM） was established according to the parameters, and dry-shrinkage strain values were calculated and verified. Results show that in all pore types, capillary pores, and gel pores have the greatest impacts on concrete shrinkage, especially for pores 2.5-50 and 50-100 nm in size. The median radii are 34.2, 31, and 34 nm for RC0, RC30, and RC100, respectively. Moreover, the internal micropore size distribution of RC0 differs from that of RC30 and RC100, and the pore descriptions of MIM and NMR are consistent both in theory and in practice. Compared with the traditional capillary-bundle model, the calculated results of IM have higher accuracy as demonstrated by experimental verifi cation.

Influence of Superplasticizers on Strength and Shrinkage Cracking of Cement Mortar under Drying Conditions

The effects of polynaphthalene series superplasticizers（PNS） with a low content of sodium sulfate （H-UNF）,with a high content of sodium sulfate（C-UNF） and polycarboxylate type superplasticizer （PC） on strength and shrinkage cracking of cement mortar under drying conditions were investigated by means of multi-channel ellipse ring shrinkage cracking test, free shrinkage and strength test. The general effect of PNS and PC is to increase the initial cracking time of mortars, and decrease the cracking sensitivity of mortars. As for decreasing the cracking sensitivity of mortars, PC〉H-UNF〉C-UNF. To incorporate superplasticizers is apparently to increase the free shrinkage of mortars when keeping the constant w/b ratio and the content of cement pastes. As for the effect of controlling the volume stability of mortars, PC〉C-UNF〉H-UNF. Maximum crack width of mortars containing PC is lower, but the development rate of maximum crack width of mortars containing H-UNF is faster in comparison with control mortars. The flexural and compressive strengths of mortars at 28-day increase with increasing superplasticizer dosages under drying conditions. PC was superior to PNS in the aspect of increasing strength.

Influence of CDW Recycled Aggregate on Drying Shrinkage of Mortar

The use of fine recycled aggregates as raw material in the production of mortars appears as a good alternative to minimize waste disposal, so as to reduce natural resources consumption and to find and supply suitable substitutes for natural aggregates. However, the use of this alternative material in a safe way must be carried out by a wide investigation of its long term behavior. In this way, this paper will examine the mechanical strength, physical properties and drying shrinkage of mortar, which use recycled fine aggregates that have originated from construction and demolition waste (CDW) containing mortar (55%), ceramic (26%) and concrete (16%). Two natural mortars, made with natural sand, were produced with cement/sand ratios of 1:4 and 1:8 (by weight) and a fixed consistency index of 260 +10 mm. Recycled mortar was produced with 50% of substitution rate, in volume, of natural aggregate by recycled one. Results show that recycled mortars present higher total porosity, absorption rate and drying shrinkage than reference mortar.

Shrinkage and Cracking Sensitivity of Cement Mortar Containing Fly Ash, Granulated Blast-furnace Slag and Silica Fume

A laboratory study was undertaken to investigate drying shrinkage and cracking sensitivity subjected to restrained shrinkage of mortar containing fly ash (FA), granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) and silica fume (SF). Six mortar mixtures including control Portland cement (PC) and FA, GBFS and SF mortar mixtures were prepared. FA replaced the cement on mass basis at the replacement ratios of 20% and 35%, GBFS replaced the cement at the replacement ratios of 40%, SF replaced the cement at the replacement ratios of 8% and the blended mixtures with 20% FA, 20% GBFS and 8% SF. Water-cementitious materials ratio and sand-cementitious materials ratio were 0.4 and 2.0 for all mixtures, respectively. The mixtures were cured at 65% relative humidity and 20℃. The drying shrinkage value, initial cracking time and cracking width of the mortar samples were measured. The results show that all the mortar mixture containing FA exhibited the decrease of drying shrinkage. Moreover, initial cracking time was markedly delayed, and the crack width of the initial crack was reduced. However, the incorporations of various ratios of GBFS and SF led to an increase of drying shrinkage, initial cracking time and cracking width as compared to control mixture.

Liquid drying of BeO gelcast green bodies using ethanol as liquid desiccant

BeO gelcast green bodies were dried by liquid drying method with liquid desiccant ethanol.Effects of ethanol concentration,solids loading and aspect ratio of green body on the moisture and shrinkage of green bodies were studied through measuring mass and dimension.Additionally,liquid drying stress was analyzed and a model of the initial stage drying stress was established.The results show that higher ethanol concentration,lower solids loading and higher aspect ratio of gelcast green bodies increase the drying rate.Increasing the ethanol concentration decreases the shrinkage rate.Liquid drying stress is generated due to a non-uniform drying rate.During the process of liquid drying,the inner drying stress of the green body changes from compressive stress to tensile stress,while the outer drying stress changes from tensile stress to compressive stress.

Mitigating drying shrinkage and efflorescence in high strength alkali-activated materials through steam curing

The manufacturing of Ordinary Portland Cement(OPC)significantly contributes to global carbon dioxide(CO2)emissions,necessitating the exploration of alternative binders like alkali-activated materials(AAM).Despite its environmental benefits,AAM generally faces challenges such as drying shrinkage and efflorescence,limiting its industrial application.This study focuses on investigating the impact of steam curing on addressing these challenges in high strength slag-based AAM.The results indicates that high strength AAM can be developed by carefully optimizing the activator-to-binder and water-to-binder ratios,and incorporating steam curing.Specifically,a compressive strength of 112.4 MPa was achieved after one day of steam curing,compared to 100.8 MPa after 28 days of standard curing.This demonstrates the ability of steam curing to accelerate strength development of AAM.Furthermore,steam curing proved to be highly effective in reducing drying shrinkage,which was decreased from 17351 microstrains to 1440 microstrains.This reduction aligns the shrinkage levels of AAM with those of OPC,addressing a major limitation of AAM.This study also found that efflorescence was notably mitigated,with a significant reduction observed after a 24-hour steam curing period.These findings highlight steam curing as a cost-effective and practical-effective method in improving the performance of AAM.By addressing the key challenges,steam curing facilitates the broader adoption of AAM in sustainable construction practices.

Assessment of early-age cracking of high-performance concrete in restrained ring specimens

High-performance concrete （HPC） is stronger and more durable than conventional concrete. However, shrinkage and shrinkage cracking are common phenomena in HPC, especially early-age cracking. This study assessed early-age cracking of HPC for two mixtures using restrained ring tests. The two mixtures were produced with water/binder mass ratio （mw/mB） of 0.22 and 0.40, respectively. The results show that, with greater steel thickness, the higher degree of restraint resulted in a higher interface pressure and earlier cracking. With steel thickness of 6 mm, 19 mm, and 30 mm, the age of cracking were, respectively, 12 days, 8 days, and 5.4 days with the mw/mB = 0.22 mixture; and 22.5 days, 12.6 days, and 7.1 days with the mw/mB= 0.40 mixture. Cases of the same steel thickness show that the ring specimens with a thicker concrete wall crack later. With the mw/mB = 0.22 mixture, concrete walls with thicknesses of 37.5 mm, 75 mm, and 112.5 mm cracked at 3.4 days, 8.0 days, and 9.8 days, respectively; with the mw/mB = 0.40 mixture, the ages of cracking were 7.1 days, 12.6 days, and 16.0 days, respectively.

Effect of drying environment on engineering properties of an expansive soil and its microstructure

This paper investigates the effect of drying environment, i.e. temperature and relative humidity, on the engineering properties and microscopic pore size distribution of an expansive soil. The shrinkage tests under different drying temperatures and relative humidity are carried out in a constant climate chamber. Then, the undisturbed samples, prepared in different drying environment, are used for the triaxial tests and mercury intrusion tests. It is found that the drying environment has noticeable influence on the engineering properties of expansive soils and it can be characterized by the drying rate. The linear shrinkage and strength increase with the decrease of the drying rate. The non-uniform deformation tends to happen in the high drying rate, which subsequently furthers the development of cracks. In addition, during the drying process, the variation of pores mainly focuses on the inter-aggregate pores and inter-particle pores. The lower drying rate leads to larger variation of pore size distribution.

The Influence of Abrasive Pretreatment on Hot Air Drying of Grape

The drying of grapes is a more complex process compared to the dehydration of other agricultural materials due to the necessity of a pretreatment operation prior to drying. Grape drying to produce raisins is a very slow process, due to the peculiar structure of grape peel, that is covered by a waxy layer. Its removal has been so far carried out by using several chemical pre-treatments. However, they cause heterogeneity in the waxes removal and create microscopic cracks. In this paper an abrasive pretreatment for enhancing the drying rate and preserving the grape samples is proposed. Two cultivars of grape were investigated: Regina white grape and Red Globe red grape. The drying kinetics of untreated and treated samples were studied using a convective oven at 50°C. Fruit quality parameters such as sugar and organic acid contents, shrinkage, texture, peel damage (i.e. by SEM analysis) and rehydration capacity were studied to evaluate the effectiveness of abrasive pretreatment on raisins. Abrasive pretreatment contributed to reduce drying time and rehydration time. The treated and untreated dried grapes were significantly different (p < 0.05) in sugar and in tartaric acid content. On the contrary, no significant differences (p < 0.05) in malic and citric acids and in texture properties between untreated and treated samples were observed.

Characterization and Drying of Green Mint

Mint is a medicinal and aromatic plant. It is very important for the pharmacopoeia, perfumes, confectionery and liquor industry. Some green mint leaves without rods are used as samples. Physical and mechanical properties of the sample such as the desorption isotherms, the density and volumetric withdrawal are determined. The kinetics of drying, where it follows the changes of the water content of the sample as a function of the drying time for the three temperatures 30, 40 and 50℃, is also presented and discussed.