Expansion Performance and Microstructure of High-performance Concrete using Differently Scaled MgO Agents and Mineral Powder

To investigate the assumptions proposed in this paper,the evolution law governing the strength and expansion performance of MgO and nano-MgO micro-expansive concrete in the environment of mineral powder was firstly observed in this study.Secondly,SEM,XRD,and TG-DSC microscopic tests were conducted to reveal the effects of the active mineral-powder admixture on the hydration degree and expansion performance of MgO and nano-MgO in HPC.Our experimental results successfully verified our hypothesis,which indicated that the expansion performance of macro-MgO and nano-MgO was indeed depressed by the addition of active mineral power admixtures,even though the mechanical property of concrete composites was effectively improved.Furthermore,the hydration test also demonstrated the negative interference on the mineral powders,which was induced by the expansion agents.It is found the amounts of hydrates tend to decrease because the mineral powder ratio reaches and exceeds 40%.Moreover,it is also concluded the effect of expansion agents is governed by the alkalinity cement paste,especially for the nano-MgO.In other words,the expansion performance of nano-MgO will vary more obviously with the hydration process,than MgO.The results of this study provide that effective experimental and theoretical data support the hydration-inhibition mechanism of magnesium expansive agents.

An Investigation into the Effects of Oil-Well Cement Expansion Agent on the Integrity of Cement Sheath

Generally,the so-called expansion agent is very effective in eliminating all the micro-annuli that exist between the casing and the cement sheath or between the cement sheath and the formation.However,this approach can detrimentally affect the sealing ability of cement sheath if the expansion agent is used in an unreasonable way.For these reasons,in the present work,numerical simulations have been conducted to analyze the effect of elasticity modulus of cement sheath,the elasticity modulus of formation,the expansion rate of cement,the geo-stress on the micro-annulus caused by cement expansion,and the cement sheath expansion on the integrity of cement sheath and formation.The micro-annulus between the casing and the cement sheath has been found to decrease according to the ratio between the elasticity modulus of formation and the elasticity modulus of cement sheath.A positive correlation has been observed between the micro-annulus and the cement expansion ratio.The microannulus decreases as the geo-stress increases,but the effect of the geo-stress on the micro-annulus is much smaller.In conclusion,the expansion agent is suitable for the formation in which the elasticity modulus is higher than the cement sheath.

On the Preparation of Low-Temperature-Rise and Low-Shrinkage Concrete Based on Phosphorus Slag

The effects of different contents of a MgO expansive agent and phosphorus slag on the mechanical properties,shrinkage behavior,and the heat of hydration of concrete were studied.The slump flow,setting time,dry shrinkage,and hydration heat were used as sensitive parameters to assess the response of the considered specimens.As shown by the results,in general,with an increase in the phosphorus slag content,the hydration heat of concrete decreases for all ages,but the early strength displays a downward trend and the dry shrinkage rate increases.The 90-d strength and dry shrinkage of concrete could be improved with a phosphorus residue content between 0%-20%,with the best performances in terms of mechanical properties and shrinkage characteristics being achieved for a content of 20 kg/m^(3).On the basis of these results,it can be concluded that appropriate amounts of phosphorus slag and MgO expansive agent can be used to improve the compressive strength of concrete in the later stage by reducing the hydration heat and dry shrinkage rate,respectively.

Development of Soda Residue Concrete Expansion Agent

A new type of concrete expansion agent has been successfully developed for the first time in the world by utilizing an industrial waste residue soda residue and an industrial wasteliquor.Adding 3%-6% of the agent into Portland cement enables a shrinkage compensating concrete to be prepared.Mortar and concrete containing this expansion agent have better shrinkage compensating and mechanical properties.The raw materials component,production process,technical properties,micro analysis of mortar made with this expansion agent,mechanism of expansion and research results are described in this article.The experimental results show that the new type of concrete expansion agent accords with the standard and its main mineral component is xCaO ySO 3 zAl 2O 3.

Experiment Study on Self-stress of High-strength, Low-heat and Micro-expansion Concrete-filled Steel Tube

The self-stress trial of the fifteen high-strength, low-heat andmicro-expansion concrete-filled steel tube(CFST)is introduced, andthe generating and distributing features of pre-stress and itsrelation to add- ing quantity of expansive agent, which providespersuasive dependences for optimal design of high-strength, low- heatand micro-expansion CFST were investigated, especially for the designof added quantity of expansive agent.

Shrinkage and Expansive Strain of Concrete with Fly Ash and Expansive Agent

The effects of fly ash and MgO-type expansive agent on the shrinkage and expan-sive strain of concrete with high magnesia cement were investigated. The results show that high volumes of fly ash may reduce the shrinkage strain of concrete and inhibit the expansive strain of concrete with MgO-type expansive agent, but can not eliminate the shrinkage of concrete. MgO-type expansive agent may produce expansive strain and compensate the shrinkage strain of concrete, re-lieve the cracking risk, but the hydration product of magnesia tends to get together in paste and pro-duce expansive cracking of concrete with high magnesia content according to SEM observation.

Influence of MgO-type Expansive Agent Hydration Behaviors on Expansive Properties of Concrete

The hydration behaviors and expansive properties of MgO-type expansive agent curing at different temperatures and environment were investigated.When the curing temperatures changed from 25℃ to 50℃,the conductivities of MgO samples increased from 40 to 80 μs/cm,and the hydrations of MgO were quickened up obviously.Through SEM observation,the hydration product of MgO cured at 50℃ for 28 day was about 2-3μm in length.The expansion of pastes with 5% of the MgO-type expansive agent was from 0.36% to 1.01% when the curing temperature changed from 25oC to 50℃.When 8% of the MgO-type expansive agent was added,the early shrinkage of concrete was reduced.The expansion ratio increased with the curing temperature,and the expansive cracking of concrete with MgO-type expansive agent might be decreased by blending fly ash.

Experimental investigation on basic law of rock directional fracturing with static expansive agent controlled by dense linear multi boreholes

Directional rupture is one of the difficult problems in deep rock mechanics and engineering.A directional fracturing method with static expansive agent controlled by dense linear multi boreholes is proposed.A physical experiment is designed and performed to investigate the basic laws of this method.The fracture initiation and propagation process,and the mechanism of directional fracturing are analyzed.The results indicate that a directional fracture is formed along the direction of boreholes layout through directionally fracturing with static expansive agents controlled by the dense linear multi boreholes.According to the variation of strain and the distribution of associated acoustic emission(AE)events and energy,the experiment can be divided into three stages.In the first stage,the static expansive agent expand slowly with no fracturing inside the rock.In the second stage,some initial micro-fracturing occurs inside the rock.In the third stage,a wide range of fracturing occurs inside the sample.The internal micro-fracturing planes are connected to form a macro-fracture.Finally,it propagates to the surface of the sample.The directional fracturing plane presents a relatively smooth plane with little bias but much local fluctuation.

Effects of Shale and CaO Incorporation on Mechanical Properties and Autogenous Deformation of Early-age Concrete

The pre-soaked shale employed as an internal curing agent and CaO employed as expansion agent were incorporated into concrete to investigate their effects on the mechanical properties and autogenous deformation of early-age concrete.We have conducted the relevant tests for setting time,mechanical properties,internal relative humidity and autogenous deformation of early-age concrete with shale or/and CaO incorporation.The results indicate that the set behavior is delayed by shale addition but is accelerated with CaO.The shale addition firstly enhances and subsequently decreases the strength,but CEA addition has a weakening effect.Additionally,shale or/and CaO incorporation deteriorates the elastic modulus.The shale and CaO incorporation significantly improve the internal relative humidity of concrete.The internal curing efficacy of shale could synergistically mitigate the autogenous shrinkage,that is,could enhance the expansion of CaO and then greatly reduce the contraction,which is significantly beneficial to impede the shrinkage-introduced cracks of early-age concrete.

Effect of Combination of Steel Fiber and MgO-type Expansive Agent on Properties of Concrete

The effect of combination of steel fiber and MgO-type expansive agent （MEA） on strength, air-permeability and porosity of concrete was investigated. The porosity and air-permeability of concrete were determined by method of evaporated water and Torrent permeability tester, respectively. Pore structures of mortars in concrete were analyzed using mercury intrusion porosimetry （MIP）. Interfacial structures between steel fibers and matrix were examined by use of optical microscope. The experimental results show that improvement of pore structures of mortar and fiber-matrix interfacial structure in concrete by combination of steel fiber and MEA may remarkably increase properties of concrete. In comparison with plain concrete, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of steel fiber reinforced expansive concrete increased by 15.3% and 38.1%, permeability coefficient Kt, penetration depth L and porosity of concrete decreased by 41.1%, 21.3% and 13.1% at 28 days, respectively.

Properties of Ettringite Type Expansive Agent

By employing different forms and amounts of materials, many kinds of ettringite type expansive agents had been prepared. The relationship between the compositions and properties of expansive agents was analyzed. The design methods of expansive agent have been put forward according to the property, requirement of expansive concrete.

Mechanism and Process of Sulfate Attack on Roller Compacted Concrete with MgO Expansive Agent

The mechanisms and processes of sulfate attack on roller compacted concrete(RCC)with MgO expansive agent are proposed by investigating the microstructure and hydration products in specimens immersed in 5%sodium sulfate solution for one year with the optical micrograph,scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometer(SEM-EDS).The results show that the deterioration of concrete due to the sulfate attack is mainly loss of stiffness,strength and adhesion,and expansion cracking is mainly caused by the formation of gypsum and ettringite.In the presence of MgO expansive agent,the microstructures of RCC can be improved by hydration and un-hydrated products,the large pores and permeability are reduced,and the resistance to sulfate corrosion of concrete and durability of hydraulic structure are improved slightly.

Influence of CaO-based expansive agent,superabsorbent polymers and curing temperature on pore structure evolution of early-age cement paste

Cracks easily generate in concrete at early age owing to the shrinkage deformation.CaO-based expansion agent(CEA)and superabsorbent polymers(SAP)have been extensively used for the mitigation of concrete shrinkage.The macroscopic properties of concrete are highly determined by the microstructure.In this study,the influence of CEA and SAP addition on the pore structure evolution of cement paste under different curing temperatures was evaluated via low-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.Test results indicated that,in cement paste,a higher CEA content led to a higher porosity and a larger most probable pore diameter(MPPD).Meanwhile,SAP addition increased the porosity and MPPD of CEA cement paste at early age but decreased them after 7 d,and a higher SAP content always brought a higher porosity and MPPD.Furthermore,the addition of SAP led to a lower porosity and MPPD of CEA cement paste than that of plain cement paste after 14 d.Moreover,the porosity and MPPD of CEA cement paste decreased first and subsequently increased as the curing temperature raised.

Performance Investigation of Square Concrete-filled Steel Tube Columns

The behaviour of square concrete-filled steel tube columns under concentrical loading was studied. More than one hundred specimens were tested to investigate the effects of thickness of steel tube on the load carrying capacity of the concrete-filled tubular columns （CFTs）. The effect of the grade of concrete and content of expansive agent were also investigated. The effect of these parameters on the confinement of the concrete core was studied as well. From the experimental study it was found that for both CFTs with different strength grade concrete core, the ultimate load carrying capacity increases with the increase in percentage of expansive agent up to 20% but it again decreases at 25% of expansive agent content. It was also shown that the failure mode of CFTs depends on the strength grade of concrete core.

Cracking and Mechanical Properties of Airport Concrete Pavement with Fiber and Expansive Agent

Polypropylene fiber and expansive agent are used in airport concrete to improve its shrinkage cracking resistance and mechanical properties.The concrete specimens with amount content of polypropylene fiber or expansive agent or both of them are prepared.The morphology of specimens is observed by scanning electron microscope,the time when the first crack occurred is recorded through slap test,and the mechanical properties such as compressive strength and impact energies of concrete are measured.The results show that polypropylene fiber in concrete can reduce the shrinkage and delay the first crack,improve the impact resistance obviously,and improve the compressive strength slightly.Expansive agent can compensate the shrinkage and reduce cracks of concrete pavement markedly,and improve the mechanical properties of concrete pavement slightly.The study provides recommendations for cracking control of airport concrete pavement in the future.

THE SHRINKAGE OF EXPANSIVE CONCRETE FILLED STEEL TUBE AND ITS IMPROVEMENT METHOD

The shrinkage characteristics tics of expansive concrete filled steel tube (CFST) are analyzed, Cold shrinkage, creep and autogenous shrinkage are considered as the main reasons of causing CFST contraction. In accordance with the shrinkage characteristics of expansive CFST, a kind of energy-stored delayed expansive agent is exploited, which can not only compensate the shrinkage of the core concrete in every stages, but also make CFST expand according to the delayed expansion mechanism. As the result, the prestress loss weill be reduced and expansive energy will be utilized effectively.

The effect of curing temperature on the properties of shrinkage-compensated binder

The effects of curing temperature on the expansive effectiveness, strength, hydration degree, and microstructure of shrinkagecompensated binder were studied. The results showed that under the standard curing temperature (20℃), most crystalline ettringite grows in pores, which makes less contribution to the expansion of paste than gelatinous ettringite blended with C-S-H gel. An elevated curing temperature (40℃) promotes the hydration rate of expansive agent and cement. However, quickly developing strength of paste limits its expansion. The pore structure of hardened paste under moderate curing condition is the densest one among all the pastes cured at different temperatures due to the filling effect of crystalline and gelatinous ettringite. Under a high curing temperature (60℃), the formation of massive stick-like ettringite leads to excessive expansion at early hydration age. Some ettringite decomposes at sustainable high temperature, which decreases the restricted expansion rate of paste at a late age. Appropriate volume expansion is benefit to the improvement of pore structure of hardened paste by reducing large pores.