Carbonation of Pure Minerals in Portland Cement:Evolution in Products as a Function of Water-to-solid Ratio

Minerals in Portland cement including tricalcium silicate(C_(3)S),β-dicalcium silicate(β-C_(2)S),tricalcium aluminate(C_(3)A),and tetracalcium ferroaluminate(C_(4)AF),show a significantly different activity and product evolution for CO_(2)curing at various water-to-solid ratios.These pure minerals were synthesized and subject to CO_(2)curing in this study to make an in-depth understanding for the carbonation properties of cement-based materials.Results showed that the optimum water-to-solid ratios of C_(3)S,β-C_(2)S,C_(3)A and C_(4)AF were 0.25,0.15,0.30 and 0.40 for carbonation,corresponding to 2 h carbonation degree of 38.5%,38.5%,24.2%,and 21.9%,respectively.The produced calcite duringβ-C_(2)S carbonation decreased as the water-to-solid ratio increased,with an increase in content of metastable CaCO_(3)of vaterite and aragonite.The thermodynamic stability of CaCO_(3)produced during carbonation was C_(3)A>C_(4)AF>β-C_(2)S>C_(3)S.The carbonation degree of Portland cement was predicted based on the results of pure minerals and the composition of cement,and the error of predicted production of CaCO_(3)was only 1.1%,which provides a potential method to predict carbonation properties of systems with a complex mineral composition.

A Simple Cement Hydration Model Considering the Influences ofWater-to-Cement Ratio and Mineral Composition

A simple hydration model is used here by taking the composition of the cement and the initial water: cementratio (w/c) into account explicitly. Its conceptual basis is a combination of the Avrami equation and Bentz’s modelbased on simple spatial considerations. In this model, the Avrami equation determines the initial reaction, andBentz’s model describes the following hydration stage. The model favors engineers for it relies on one experimentalparameter and has a reliable approximation in the practice.

Form and Mechanism of Sulfate Attack on Cement-based Material Made of Limestone Powder at Low Water-binder Ratio under Low Temperature Conditions

The development of strength and the form of attack of cement-based material made of limestone powder at low water-binder ratio under low-temperature sulfate environment were studied. The results indicate that when water-binder ratio is lower than 0.40, the cement-based material with limestone powder has insignificant change in appearance after being soaked in 10% magnesium sulfate solution at low temperature for 120 d, and has significant change in appearance after being soaked at the age of 200 d. Expansion damage and exfoliation occur on the surface of concrete test cube at different levels. When limestone powder accounts for about 28 percent of cementitious material, with the decrease of water-binder ratio, the compressive strength loss has gradually decreased after the material is soaked in the magnesium sulfate solution at low temperature at the age of 200 d. After the specimen with the water-binder ratio of less than 0.4 and the limestone powder volume of greater than 20% is soaked in 10% magnesium sulfate solution at low temperature at the age of 200 d, gypsum attack-led destruction is caused to the concrete test cube, without thaumasite sulfate attack.

Fatigue reliability quantitative analysis of cement concrete for highway pavement under high stress ratio

In order to obtain the change law of the fatigue reliability of cement concrete for highway pavement under high stress ratios, first, the probability densities of monotonic random variables including concrete fatigue life are deduced. And then, the fatigue damage probability densities of the Miner and Chaboche-Zhao models are deduced. By virtue of laboratory fatigue test results, the fatigue damage probability density functions of the two models can be obtained, considering different stress ratios. Finally, substituting load cycles into them, the change law of cement concrete fatigue reliability about load cycles can be acquired. The results show that under the same stress ratio, with the increase in the load cycle, the fatigue reliability declines from almost 100% to 0% gradually. No matter under what stress ratio, during the initial stage of the load action, there is always a relatively stable phase for fatigue reliability. With the increase in the stress ratio, the stable phase gradually shortens and the load cycle corresponding to the reliability of 0% also decreases. In the descent phase of reliability, the higher the stress ratio is, the lower the concrete reliability is for the same load cycle. Besides, compared with the Chaboche-Zhao fatigue damage model, the Miner fatigue damage model is safer.

Influence of MgO/MgCl_2 Molar Ratio on Phase Stability of Magnesium Oxychloride Cement

Formation, solution and phase change of hydration products in MgO-MgCl2-H2O system was studied with thermodynamics method, and resistance to water immersion and phase change of magnesium oxychloride cement with different MgO/MgCl2 molar ratio was experimented. The results show that pH value of immersion solution of cement paste has a remarkable influence on phase stability of hydration products. A higher pH value leads to a lower solubility and a better phase stability of hydration products. When the solution pH value is higher than 10.37, the precipitation of much Mg（OH）2 crystal induces a worse phase stability of hydration products. With the increasing MgO/MgCl2 molar ratio （lower than 6）, the more amount of MgO in the hydration products enhances the alkalinity of solution and the phase stability is improved. However, when the MgO/MgCl2 molar ratio is higher than 6 and the excessive MgO exsits in the hydration products, the cement paste may be damaged by the excessive crystallization stress of a great deal of Mg（OH）2 formation.

The Hydration of Blended Cement at Low W/B Ratio

The hydration process,hydration product and hydration heat of blended cement paste mixed with mineral admixture and expansive agent at low W/B ratio are studied by XRD,thermo analysis,and calorimetry instrument,and they were compared with those of pure cement paste.The results show that pure cement and blended cement at low W/B ratio have the same types of hydration products,but their respective amounts of hydration products of various blended cements at same ages and the variation law of the amount of same hydration products with ages are different;The joint effect of tumefaction of gel-ettringite due to water absorption and the expansive pressure on the pore and rift caused by the crystalloid ettringite is the impetus of the volume expansion of cement paste,and the former effect is much greater than the latter one.

Effects of porosity,dry unit weight,cement content and void/cement ratio on unconfined compressive strength of roof tile waste-silty soil mixtures

One of the conventional ways to improve the mechanical behavior of soils is to mix them with cementing agents such as cement, lime and fly ash. Recently, introduction to alternative materials or sub-products that can be adopted to improve the soil strength is of paramount importance. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effects of porosity(h), dry unit weight(gd) of molding, cement content(C)and porosity/volumetric cement content ratio(h/Civ) or void/cement ratio on the unconfined compressive strength(quor UCS) of silty soileroof tile waste(RT) mixtures. Soil samples are molded into four different dry unit weights(i.e. 13 kN/m^3, 13.67 kN/m^3, 14.33 kN/m^3 and 15 kN/m^3) using 3%, 6% and 9%cement and 5%, 15% and 30% RT. The results show that with the addition of cement, the strength of the RT esoil mixtures increases in a linear manner. On the other hand, the addition of RT decreases quof the samples at a constant percentage of cement, and the decrease in porosity can increase qu. A dosage equation is derived from the experimental data using the porosity/volumetric cement content ratio(h/C_(iv)) where the control variables are the moisture content, crushed tile content, cement content and porosity.

Effects of binder strength and aggregate size on the compressive strength and void ratio of porous concrete

To test the influence of binder strength, porous concretes with 4 binder strengths between 30.0-135.0 MPa and 5 void ratios between 15%-35% were tested. The results indicated that for the same aggregate, the rates of strength reduction due to the increases in void ratio were the same for binders with different strengths. To study the influence of aggregate size, 3 single size aggregates with nominal sizes of 5.0, 13.0 and 20.0 mm （Nos. 7, 6 and 5 according to JIS A 5001） were used to make porous concrete. The strengths of porous concrete are found to be dependent on aggregate size. The rate of strength reduction of porous concrete with small aggregate size is found to be higher than that with larger aggregate size. At the same void ratio, the strength of porous concrete with large aggregate is larger than that with small aggregate. The general equations for porous concrete are related to compressive strength and void ratio for different binder strengths and aggregate sizes.

Evolution of distribution and content of water in cement paste by low field nuclear magnetic resonance

The low field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), as a nondestructive and noninvasive technique, was employed to investigate the water distribution and content in cement paste with different water-to-cement ratio (w/c ratio) during early and later hydration stages. From the water distribution spectrum deduced from relaxation time distribution in paste, it is suggested that the water fills in the capillary pores at initial period, and then diffuses to the mesopores and gel pores in hydration products with the hydration proceeding. The decrease of peak area in water distribution spectrum reflects the transformation from physically bound water to chemically bound water. In addition, based on the connection between relaxation time and pore size, the relative content changes of water in various states and constrained in different types of pores were also measured. The results demonstrate that it is influenced by the formation of pore system and the original water-to-cement ratio in the paste. Consequently, the relative content of capillary water is dropped to less than 2% in the paste with low w/c ratio of 0.3 when being hydrated for 1 d, while the contents are still 16% and 36% in the pastes with w/c ratios of 0.4 and 0.5, respectively.

Dynamic properties of composite cemented clay

In this work, the dynamic properties of composite cemented clay under a wide range of strains were studied considering the effect of different mixing ratio and the change of confining pressures through dynamic triaxial test. A simple and practical method to estimate the dynamic elastic modulus and damping ratio is proposed in this paper and a related empirical normalized formula is also presented. The results provide useful guidelines for preliminary estimation of cement requirements to improve the dynamic properties of clays.

Improvement of geotechnical properties of sabkha soil utilizing cement kiln dust

Improvement of properties of weak soils in terms of strength,durability and cost is the key from engineering point of view.The weak soils could be stabilized using mechanical and/or chemical methods.Agents added during chemical stabilization could improve the engineering properties of treated soils.Stabilizers utilized have to satisfy noticeable performance,durability,low price,and can be easily implemented.Since cement kiln dust(CKD) is industrial by-product,it would be a noble task if this waste material could be utilized for stabilization of sabkha soil.This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing CKD for improving the properties of sabkha soil.Soil samples are prepared with 2% cement and 10%,20% or 30% CKD and are tested to determine their unconfined compressive strength(UCS),soaked California bearing ratio(CBR) and durability.Mechanism of stabilization is studied utilizing advanced techniques,such as the scanning electron microscope(SEM),energy dispersive X-ray analysis(EDX),backscattered electron image(BEI) and X-ray diffraction analysis(XRD).It is noted that the sabkha soil mixed with 2% cement and 30% CKD could be used as a sub-base material in rigid pavements.The incorporation of CKD leads to technical and economic benefits.

Development of a Laboratory Cement Quality Analysis Apparatus Based on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Determination of the chemical composition of cement and ratio values of clinker plays an important role in cement plants as part of the optimal process control and product quality evaluation. In the present paper, a laboratory laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy （LIBS） apparatus mainly comprising a sealed optical module and an analysis chamber has been designed for possible application in cement plants for on-site quality analysis of cement. Emphasis is placed on the structure and operation of the LIBS apparatus, the sealed optical path, the temperature controlled spectrometer, the sample holder, the proper calibration model established for minimizing the matrix effects, and a correction method proposed for overcoming the ＇drift＇ obstacle. Good agreement has been found between the laboratory measurement results from the LIBS method and those from the traditional method. The absolute measurement errors presented here for oxides analysis are within 0.5%, while those of ratio values are in the range of 0.02 to 0.05. According to the obtained results, this laboratory LIBS apparatus is capable of performing reliable and accurate, composition and proximate analysis of cement and is suitable for application in cement plants.

Experimental Study on Chloride Ion Penetration Resistance of Coal Gangue Concrete under Multi-Factor Comprehensive Action

In order to investigate the chloride ion penetration resistance of coal gangue concrete under multi-factor comprehensive action, the non-steady-state accelerated chloride ion migration test was used to test the chloride diffusion law of coal gangue concrete specimens by crack width, curing temperature and water-cement ratio. Three groups of crack width (0 mm, 0.05 - 0.12 mm, 0.12 - 0.2 mm), three curing temperatures (high temperature 45, medium temperature 25, low temperature 10), three water cement ratios (0.3, 0.4, 0.5) were set in the experiment. The results show that when the curing temperature and water cement ratio are constant, the crack width less than 0.12 mm has little effect on the chloride content and chloride diffusion coefficient. When the crack width is larger than 0.12 mm, the chloride penetration depth increases with the crack width. The resistance to chloride ion penetration of gangue concrete is greatly influenced by the water cement ratio. The influ-ence degree of three factors on chloride ion migration coefficient of gangue concrete is as follows: water cement ratio > crack width > curing temperature.

Effect of Curing Regime on Polymerization of C-S-H in Hardened Cement Pastes

The effect of two different curing regimes on the polymerization degree of C-S-H in hardened cement pastes within 28 d were investigated by measuring the chemical environments of 29Si with magic angle spinning （MAS） nuclear magnetic resonance （NMR） and by analyzing the 29Si NMR spectra with deconvolution technique. The experimental results indicate that, at curing regime of constant temperature of 20℃, the polymerization of C-S-H increases and then decreases with curing age, and the A1/Si ratio increases gradually with curing age, furthermore, the two non-bridging oxygen bonds of bridging silicate tetrahedra in C-S-H structure mainly bond to H＋. At curing regime of variable temperature, the polymerization of C-S-H firstly increases then changes slightly and subsequently decreases with the temperature from low to high and then to low, and the A1/Si ratio firstly increases then keeps invariant and subsequently slightly decreases. Moreover, the temperature decreasing is advantageous for the Ca2＋ to be bonded to the bridging silicate tetrahedra and entering into the interlayer of C-S-H structure. The polymerization of C-S-H at curing regime of variable temperature is higher than that cured at constant temperature, but the curing regime of constant temperature is more beneficial to the substitution of AP for Si4＋ than that of variable temperature.

Molecular mechanism of fly ash affecting the performance of cemented backfill material

The great challenge of cemented tailings backfill(CTB)is difficult simultaneously maintaining its excellent mechanical properties and low cost.Fly ash(FA)can potentially address this problem and further replace cement in favor of low carbon development.However,its mechanism on CTB with low cement dosage and low Ca system remains unclear.Consequently,this study conducted uniaxial compression,Xray diffraction(XRD),and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)-energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS)tests to investigate the effect of FA dosage on the mechanical property and microstructure of CTB.A molecular model of FA-CSH was constructed to reproduce the molecular structure evolution of CTB with FA based on the test results.The influences of FA dosage and calcium/silica molar ratio(Ca/Si ratio)on the matrix strength and failure model were analyzed to reveal the mechanism of FA on calcium silicate hydrated(C-S-H).The results show that the strength of CTB increases initially and then decreases with FA dosage,and the FA supplement leads to a decrease in Ca(OH)_(2) diffraction intensity and Ca/Si ratio around the FA particles.XRD and SEM-EDS findings show that the Ca/Si ratio of C-S-H decreases with the progression of hydration.The FA-CSH model indicates that FA can reinforce the silica chain of C-S-H to increase the matrix strength.However,this enhancement is weakened by supplementing excessive FA dosage.In addition,the hydrogen bonds among water molecules deteriorate,reducing the matrix strength.A low Ca/Si ratio results in an increase in water molecules and a decrease in the ionic bonds combined with Ca^(2+).The hydrogen bonds among water molecules cannot withstand high stresses,resulting in a reduction in strength.The water absorption of the FA-CSH model is negatively correlated with the FA dosage and Ca/Si ratio.The use of optimal FA dosage and Ca/Si ratio leads to suitable water absorption,which further affects the failure mode of FA-CSH.

Size effect on cubic and prismatic compressive strength of cement paste

A series of compression tests were conducted on 150 groups of cement paste specimens with side lengths ranging from 40 mm to 200 mm. The specimens include cube specimens and prism specimens with height to width ratio of 2. The experiment results show that size effect exists in the cubic compressive strength and prismatic compressive strength of the cement paste, and larger specimens resist less in terms of strength than smaller ones. The cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of the specimens with side length of 200 mm are respectively about 91% and 89% of the compressive strength of the specimens with the side length of 40 mm. Water to binder ratio has a significant influence on the size effect of the compressive strengths of the cement paste. With a decrease in the water to binder ratio, the size effect is significantly enhanced. When the water to binder ratio is 0.2, the size effects of the cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of the cement paste are 1.6 and 1.4 times stronger than those of a water to binder ratio of 0.6. Furthermore, a series of formulas are proposed to calculate the size effect of the cubic compressive strength and the prismatic compressive strength of cement paste, and the results of the size effect predicted by the formulas are in good agreement with the experiment results.

Packing Density Improvement through Addition of Limestone Fines, Superfine Cement and Condensed Silica Fume

Adoption of a low water/powder (W/P) ratio is the key to improve the strength and durability of concrete, which relies on a high packing density because fresh concrete requires excess water to offer flowability. To obtain a high packing density, powders with different particle sizes, including limestone fines (LSF), superfine cement (SFC), condensed silica fume (CSF), were added to the cement paste and the resulting packing densities were measured directly by a newly-developed wet packing test. Results demonstrated that addition of powders with a finer size would more significantly improve the packing density but the powders should be at least as fine as 1/4 of the OPC to effectively improve the packing density. Packing density and voids ratio relationship showed that a small increase in packing density can significantly decrease the voids ratio, which could allow the W/P ratio to be reduced to improve the strength and durability of the concrete without compromising the flowability.

Assessment of strength development in cement-admixed artificial organic soil with GX07

To explore the stabilization effect of stabilizing agent GX07 on treating organic soil and the influence of organic matter on the strength development of stabilized soil,artificial organic soil with various organic matter content was obtained by adding different amounts of fulvic acid into non-organic clay,and then liquid-plastic limit tests were carried out on the artificial organic soil.Meanwhile,unconfined compressive strength(UCS) tests were performed on cement-only soil and composite stabilized soil,respectively.The test results indicate that the plastic limit of soil samples increases linearly,and the liquid limit increases exponentially as the organic matter content increases.The strength of stabilized soil is well correlated with the organic matter content,cement content,stabilizing agent content and curing time.When the organic matter content is 6%,as the cement content varies in the range of 10%-20%,the strength of cement-only soil increases from 88.5 to 280.8 kPa.Once 12.6% GX07 is added into the mix,the strength of stabilized soil is 4.93 times compared with that of cement-only soil.GX07 can obviously improve the strength of cemented-soil and has a good economic applicability.A strength model is proposed to predict strength development.

Effect of W/C ratio and cover thickness on polarization characteristics of embedded steel in mortar

The effects of cover thickness and W/C(water-to-cement) ratio on polarization properties of embedded steel bar were investigated with electrochemical methods.Corrosion potentials shift to the noble direction with increasing the cover thickness.In addition,when the cover thickness increasingly becomes thinner and thinner,effect of the W/C ratio on variation of corrosion potential increases as well.Impedance value at 100 kHz indicating the resistance of cover thickness increases with the decrement of W/C ratio as well as the increment of cover thickness.However,in the case of W/C ratio at 0.6,impedance at 10 mHz shows the relatively larger value than that at W/C ratio of 0.4 or 0.5 in the range of cover thickness from 4 to 8 cm,which is probably expected that oxide film built up on the surface of steel bar due to strong alkali environment by hydration reaction with increasing W/C ratio is performed as the resistance polarization.It is also observed that liquid junction potential tends to increase with decreasing W/C ratio.

Experimental Study for Improving the Toughness of Harden Cement Using Carbon Fiber

Many measures, such as water injection, acid fracturing, thermal recovery, have been taken in the oilfield development. These can easily induce brittle fracture of set cement. Most of all, there are greater potential for fractures in set cement in slim holes. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the toughness of the cement mantle. Results obtained from experiments show that carbon fiber, with a concentration of 0.12%-0.19% in cement and a length of 700 to 1,400μm, plays an important role in improving cement quality. Addition of carbon fiber can improve the bending strength of set cement by up to 30%. At the same time, the increase in fiber concentration can lower the elastic modulus and increase the Poisson＇s ratio of set cement. Thin-section analysis shows that fiber can effectively prevent the propagation of fractures and enhance the plasticity of the matrix and the ability to prevent fracture.