Temperature distributions in concrete box girders due to heat of concrete hydration

Based on heat transfer theory,a two-dimensional complex exponential function was used to compute heat of concrete hydration.A concrete box girder consisting of a single box with two cells used on Harbin Songpu Bridge was measured on site.The two coefficients in the complex exponential function were determined to best fit the field measured data.ABAQUS program was used to simulate the heat transfer and determine the temperature distribution in the concrete box girders during concrete setting.The calculated temperature distribution in the box girders were compared with the field measured data and good agreement was observed.The temperature distribution and gradient in the entire box section,webs and bottom slab were analyzed using the measured and calculated results during the course of concrete hydration.

Preparation of New Cementitious System using Fly Ash and Dehydrated Autoclaved Aerated Concrete

We experimentally studied the interaction between pozzolanic material（fly ash） and dehydrated autoclaved aerated concrete（DAAC）. The DAAC powder was obtained by grinding aerated concrete waste to particles fi ner than 75μm and was then heated to temperatures up to 900 ℃. New cementitious material was prepared by proportioning fly ash and DAAC, named as AF. X-ray diffraction（XRD） was employed to identify the crystalline phases of DAAC before and after rehydration. The hydration process of AF was analyzed by the heat of hydration and non-evaporable water content（Wn）. The experimental results show that the highest reactivity of DAAC can be obtained by calcining the powder at 700 ℃ and the dehydrated products are mainly β-C2 S and CaO. The cumulative heat of hydration and Wn was found to be strongly dependent on the replacement level of fl y ash, increasing the replacement level of fl y ash lowered them in AF. The strength contribution rates on pozzolanic effect of fl y ash in AF are always negative, showing a contrary tendency of that of cement-fl y ash system.

Preparation for Retarding and High Early Strength Concrete

The primary objective of this research was to determine optimum dosage of mixing concrete containing plasticizers and fly ash, consistent with desirable structural grade concrete properties. Factorial tests were also conducted to investigate the four main factors： water-cementing materials ratio, water content, content of superplasticizers （SP） and fly ash content. It was found that the requirement for setting time played the dominant role in shrinkage and anti-cracking, and fly ash played a critical role in workability and reducing heat of hydration but showed insignificant effects on slump, early strength and initial setting time of concrete.

Effects of Rice Straw Fibres on the Mechanical Properties and Hydration of Cements

The purpose of this research is to study the effects of rice straw fibres (RSF) on the setting time,heat of hydration,hydration products (XRD),mechanical properties for cements. Three types of the cements (P.I.52.5,P.O.42.5,sulphate aluminium) are used in this test. Results show that with the addition of RSF,the setting times for these three kinds of cements are delayed. According to P.O.42.5 cement,The max temperatures of exothermic peak (Tmax) decrease,exothermic peak times (tmax) are delayed and the mechanical strengths generally drop as RSF concentration is increased. XRD test shows that the RSF hinder the formation of Ca(OH)2 phase and hydration of cement (C3S,C2S,C4AF),which resulted in the delay of setting time and hydration reaction.

The effect of SiO2 nanoparticles derived from hydrothermal solutions on the performance of portland cement based materials

The nanoparticles of SiO2 were used in cement systems to modify the rheological behavior, to enhance the reactivity of supplementary cementitious materials, and also to improve the strength and durability. In this research, low-cost nano-SiO2 particles from natural hydrothermal solutions obtained by membrane ultrafiltration and, optionally, by cryochemical vacuum sublimation drying, were evaluated in portland cement based systems. The SiO2-rich solutions were obtained from the wells of Mutnovsky geothermal power station （Far East of Russia）. The constant nano-SiO2 dosage of 0.25% （as a solid material by weight of cementitious materials） was used to compare the cement systems with different nanoparticles against a reference mortar and a commercially available nano-SiO2. Nanoparticles were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction （XRD）, BET Surface Area, Scanning Electron Microscope （SEM） and Fourier Transform Infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy techniques. It was demonstrated that the addition of polycarboxylate ether superplasticizer and the dispersion treatment using an ultrasound processor can be used to facilitate the distribution ofnano-SiOz particles in the mixing water. The effect ofnano-SiO2 particles in portland cement mortars was investigated by evaluating the flow, heat of hydration and compressive strength development. It was demonstrated that the use ofnano- SiO2 particles can reduce the segregation and improve strength properties.