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.

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.

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.

Effects of submicron-MgO and nano-MgO on the expansion and microscopic properties of high-performance concrete

MgO-series expansive agents can effectively compensate for the shrinkage and deformation of concrete structures.However,few experimental studies have been conducted on MgO expansive agents,particularly concerning the difference between and effects of submicron-MgO and nano-MgO in high-performance concrete(HPC)with a low water-cement ratio,thereby limiting their application in practical engineering.To clarify the expansion effect and expansion mechanism of MgO expansive agents in HPC,the effects of submicron-MgO and nano-MgO on the strength,toughness,and expansion characteristics of HPC were examined.The test results showed that submicron-MgO and nano-MgO continued to hydrate in the cement environment to produce Mg(OH)_(2),thus improving the structural compactness and structural strength of HPC.Nano-MgO concrete was found to have more stable mechanical properties and better structural deformability than submicron-MgO concrete.This study provides effective data support and theoretical reference concerning the hydration expansion mechanisms and engineering applications of nano-expanded materials.

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.

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.

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.

An improved outer pipe method for expansive pressure measurement of static cracking agents

Static cracking agent(SCA)is actively investigated as an alternative to explosive blasting for rock breakage due to its immense expansion property.SCA can eliminate the negative effects of shock,noise and harmful gases encountered in explosive blasting processes.Accurate measurement and deep understanding of the expansive properties of SCAs are important in their industrial application.An improved outer pipe method(OPM),termed the upper end surface method(UESM),is proposed in this paper to overcome the shortcomings of the OPM in the expansive pressure measurement of SCAs.Numerical simulation is used to proof the concept and a mathematical model established to relate the internal pressure and the radial strains at different positions in the upper end surface method test equipment.The new equipment is calibrated using oil pressure and strain measurements.The calibrated equipment is then used to measure the expansion pressure of SCA at three different water contents to proof its potential.The differences in the measurements with OPM and UESM at three different moisture contents are less than 4%.The experimental results confirm the accuracy and applicability of the more user friendly and less expensive UESM in the measurement of the expansive pressures of SCAs.

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.

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.

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.

Experimental study on expansion and cracking properties of static cracking agents in different assembly states

Rolled static cracking agent(RSCA)can solve the intractable problem of traditional bulk static cracking agent(BSCA)in engineering applications.This paper innovatively studies the rational water-cement ratio of BSCA and the immersion soaking time of RSCA under the condition of controlling temperature.Through the expansion and cracking performance experiments,the development characteristics of expansion pressure,the cracking effect of the single-hole specimen and the performance of hole spraying prevention under the action of BSCA and RSCA were compared and analyzed.The results show that:(1)The volume growth rate of static cracking agent decreases with the increase of water-cement ratio,and the fluidity increases with the increase of water-cement ratio.The rational water-cement ratio for BSCA application is 0.3,and the rational immersion time of RSCA is 2-2.5 min;(2)Under the bore diameters of 30,35,40 and 45 mm,the expansion pressure of BSCA with a water-cement ratio of 0.3 is 38.2,52.3,61.5 and 68 MPa,and the expansion pressure of RSCA immersed in water for 2.5 min is 43.5,58.8,69.5 and 75.1 MPa,respectively.Among them,the development speed of expansion pressure of BSCA is higher than that of RSCA,and the arrival time of the peak expansion pressure of RSCA is 1.7 times that of BSCA;(3)The crack initiation speed of single-hole specimen under the action of RSCA is 10.3%lower than that under the action of BSCA,but the cracking speed of the former is 72.6%higher than that of the latter;(4)The hole spraying occurs in BSCA under the bore diameter of 50,55 and 60 mm,while the hole spraying occurs in RSCA under the bore diameter of 60 mm.In terms of bore diameter,the hole spraying prevention of the RSCA is better than that of BSCA.The research results enrich the static blasting technology and provide data support and theoretical reference for field application.

Modelling urban expansion using a multi agentbased model in the city of Changsha

Although traditional urban expansion simulation models can simulate dynamic features, these models fail to address complex changes produced by different agents＇ behaviors. The paper has built up a set of spatial-temporal land resource allocation rules and developed a dynamic urban expansion model based on a multi-agent system, which can simulate the interaction among different agents, such as residents, peasants, and governments. This model is applied to simulate urban expansion process taking Changsha City, in China as a study area. The results show that this model can not only reflect basic characteristics of urban expansion, but also help explain the reasons for urban expansion process and understand the effect of agents＇ behavior on the expansion process, and provide insights into the causing factors behind the expansion. In addition, in contrast to simulation results with land use classification map from remote sensing images, the precision of the simulation reached over 68% with higher precision than cellular automata model according to the cell-by-cell comparison. The results suggest that the model can help to provide land use decision making support to government and urban planners.

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.

可膨胀石墨的制备方法、膨胀机理及应用

膨胀石墨由于其质量轻、高柔韧性、高比表面积、高孔隙率和较强的吸附能力,作为密封材料、吸附材料、保温材料、阻燃材料和包装材料等应用广泛。可膨胀石墨作为膨胀石墨的前驱体,低成本、绿色制备方法和研发成为目前石墨领域的重点研究课题之一。对可膨胀石墨的结构和性能、膨胀反应原理、制备方法及其主要应用领域进行了综述,详细地介绍了化学氧化法、电化学方法、超声氧化法、气相扩散法、熔盐法等制备可膨胀石墨方法,为其下游产品膨胀石墨的制备、应用和开发提供借鉴。

预制C50盖梁混凝土防裂性能研究

通过测试预制盖梁混凝土的力学、变形、早期抗裂性能,并采用三维仿真软件分析其内部温度场、应力场的分布规律,研究掺入膨胀剂、内养护剂对预制盖梁混凝土防裂性能的提升效果。结果表明:预制C50盖梁混凝土早期强度发展快,但干缩变形大,开裂风险高。复掺5%膨胀剂+0.1%内养护剂时,7~90 d抗压强度较基准组提高了4%~9%、抗拉强度、抗拉弹性模量提高了2%~6%,干缩变形减小了10%~19%,毛细孔负压峰值降低,峰值出现时间延后,平板开裂试验至48 h未见明显裂缝,虽然对温度场影响不大,但能降低混凝土应力集中时的应力峰值,最大拉应力出现时间较基准组延后11 h,抗裂安全系数增大至0.58。但混凝土开裂风险仍较大,需通过其他措施进一步减小开裂风险。

矿物掺合料对MgO膨胀剂膨胀性能的影响及其机理

MgO膨胀剂具有良好的膨胀稳定性,与混凝土收缩相匹配,可以有效抑制混凝土收缩裂缝的产生。研究了矿物掺合料对MgO膨胀剂膨胀性能的影响及其机理。通过对不同配合比的8%MgO膨胀剂混凝土进行抗压强度、抗折强度和限制膨胀率的测试,探究了矿物掺合料对混凝土性能的影响。试验结果表明:随着粉煤灰掺量的增加,混凝土的抗压强度和抗折强度降低,而矿渣对其强度影响不明显。混凝土在水中养护的膨胀过程可以分为潜伏诱导期、快速膨胀期、缓慢膨胀期和稳定期。矿物掺合料的加入降低了MgO膨胀剂的膨胀效果,且掺量越高,影响越大,其中粉煤灰的影响更为显著。膨胀是由于MgO反应生成的Mg(OH)_(2)晶体填充孔隙所致,矿物掺合料通过降低MgO反应程度和增加孔隙率来减少膨胀现象。矿渣的活性较高,对MgO反应的阻碍较小。

MgO膨胀剂对超高性能混凝土(UHPC)工作性的影响及其机理研究

超高性能混凝土(UHPC)因卓越的耐久性能和力学性能而在工程领域具有广阔的应用前景。然而,UHPC收缩性较大,限制了其进一步推广和发展。氧化镁(MgO)膨胀剂具有膨胀稳定、活性可控的特点,并且与UHPC相适应,因此被视为有良好应用前景的UHPC膨胀剂。本研究旨在探讨不同活性和掺量的MgO膨胀剂对UHPC工作性的影响,并通过XRD和SEM等手段进一步解释不同活性MgO膨胀剂对UHPC工作性的影响机理。研究结果表明,在掺入MgO膨胀剂的UHPC中,在低速剪切下观察到剪切稠化现象,而在高速剪切下观察到剪切稀化现象。与水泥颗粒相比,MgO膨胀剂颗粒对水具有更强的吸附能力。因此,MgO膨胀剂的活性越高,UHPC的流动性降低越显著,且UHPC的动态屈服应力增加,这在实际工程中需要更多的泵送能量。