The purpose of this study is to investigate the shrinkage characteristics of alkali-activated fly ash/slag (henceforth simply AFS) and the factors affecting it. A series of tests were conducted to determine the chemical shrinkage, autogenous shrinkage and drying shrinkage. The microstructures and reaction products were also characterized through XRD and SEM/EDS analyses. An increase in the slag content from 10% to 30% resulted in a denser matrix and showed a higher Ca/Si ratio of C–N–A–S–H in the microstructure. Higher sodium silicate and slag contents in a mixture caused more chemical, autogenous, and drying shrinkage, but led to a higher compressive strength. From the test results, it can be concluded that the autogenous shrinkage of AFS mortar occurs mainly due to self-desiccation in hardened state rather than volume contraction by chemical shrinkage in fresh state. The AFS paste showed higher drying shrinkage than ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which may be caused by the higher mesopore volume of the AFS paste compared to that of OPC paste.

Shrinkage characteristics of alkali-activated fly ash/slag paste and mortar at early ages

The paper recognizes that the introduction of polymers and advanced polymer composites in the civil engineering world has been a comparatively rapid process vis-s-vis other civil engineering materials when they were first introduced. Aerospace and marine industries have been first to utilize advanced polymer compounds, but recently there has been a growing interest among civil/structural engineers in the importance of the unique mechanical and in-service properties of these materials together with their customized fabrication technologies. The paper outlines the development stages of this exciting material and provides a look into the future prospects for it.

The evolution of and the way forward for advanced polymer composites in the civil infrastructure

An investigation on the use of zeolite aggregates for internal curing of concrete

Recent advances in modeling for cementitious materials

Early age setting, shrinkage and tensile characteristics of ultra high performance fiber reinforced concrete

Hydration and mechanical properties of arabinoxylans and β-D-glucans films.

In this work, moisture penetration in glass fiber-reinforced polymers was systematically investigated through both experiments and theoretical approaches. The diffusivities of the neat resin and those of unidirectional composite plates containing various glass fiber volume fractions have been identified through the analysis of hygro-thermal aging tests. The main aim of the present paper consists in comparing the evolutions, as a function of the fiber volume fractions, of the moisture diffusion coefficients deduced from experiments to the corresponding values, predicted by the many traditional scale transition relations available in the literature.

/pdf/identification-of-moisture-diffusion-parameters-in-organic-1y9rqkq5iy.pdf

Identification of moisture diffusion parameters in organic matrix composites

High-performance cement-based materials, characterized by low water-to-cement (W/C) ratio and high cement content, are sensitive to early-age cracking because their autogenous shrinkage rate and magnitude are particularly high during this period. This article firstly presents experimental tools especially designed for the measurement of free and restrained autogenous shrinkage at early-age. Then, the results of a multi-parameter experimental study conducted on three different types of binder are analyzed. The physico-chemical deformations of cement pastes and mortars were measured from the very early-age up to several days in saturated and autogenous conditions to investigate the effects of binder, water-to-binder ratio, presence of aggregates and temperature on the driving-mechanisms leading to early-age autogenous cracking. Complementary tests such as hydration rate measurement and microscopic observations were also performed. Among the three binders used, the blast furnace slag cement shows higher chemical strain, for a given quantity of chemically-bound water, and higher early-age autogenous shrinkage. The presence of aggregates generates a local restraining effect of cement paste deformations, leading to the formation of microcracks in the surrounding cement paste. Ring test results reveal that the first through crack of cement pastes systematically appears for maximal internal stress values lower than the material tensile strength, estimated with three-point flexural tests. This phenomenon may be due to diffuse damage of the cementitious matrix, whose deformations are partially restrained.

Early-age autogenous cracking of cementitious matrices: physico-chemical analysis and micro/macro investigations

The scope of this work is the determination of single-crystal elastic properties from X-ray diffraction stress analysis performed on multiphase polycrystals. An explicit three-scale multiphase inverse self-consistent model is developed in order to express the single-crystal elasticity constants of a cubic phase as a function of its X-ray elasticity constants. The model is verified in the case of single-phase materials. Finally, it is applied to a two-phase (α+β) titanium-based alloy (Ti-17) and, as a result, the Ti-17 β-phase single-crystal elasticity tensor is estimated.

Determination of single‐crystal elasticity constants in a cubic phase within a multiphase alloy: X‐ray diffraction measurements and inverse‐scale transition modelling

At early stages of hydration and in autogenous conditions (no mass transfer with the outside), solidifying cementitious systems exhibit dimensional variations following two main processes: Le Chatelier contraction (also called chemical shrinkage) and self-desiccation shrinkage causing autogenous shrinkage. Chemical shrinkage results from the difference between the specific volumes of reactants (anhydrous cement and water) and hydration products. Early-age autogenous shrinkage is generally attributed to the development of a negative capillary pressure in the porous network related to the water consumption by the hydration reactions. If restrained, deformations associated to these shrinkages can induce the development of internal stresses high enough to generate cracking of the hardening material. The purpose of this study is to propose a multiscale approach to model the rate of self-desiccation shrinkage of cementitious materials at very early-age, between 0 and 48 h. Within the first hours, Le Chatelier contraction is computed from a formulation suggested in a later work which is based on the chemical equations of hydration and the specific volume of each phase. Then, when the setting of the cement paste takes place, the autogenous shrinkage is calculated according to the evolution of the capillary pressure and the stiffness of the cement paste. The stiffness is calculated by applying a classical homogenization method. Computed results are discussed and analyzed. Good agreements between experiments and simulations are achieved and a sensitivity study is performed to assess the influence of the cement fineness and the aggregate volume fraction on early-age autogenous strain.

/pdf/physico-chemical-deformations-of-solidifying-cementitious-2nen8hqmya.pdf

Annick Perronnet

Papers

Hydration and mechanical properties of arabinoxylans and β-D-glucans films.

Identification of moisture diffusion parameters in organic matrix composites

Early-age autogenous cracking of cementitious matrices: physico-chemical analysis and micro/macro investigations

Determination of single‐crystal elasticity constants in a cubic phase within a multiphase alloy: X‐ray diffraction measurements and inverse‐scale transition modelling

Physico-chemical deformations of solidifying cementitious systems: multiscale modelling