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High-Performance Stress-Relaxing Cementitious Composites (SRCC) . Federal Highway Administration, Exploratory Advanced Research. ARDAVAN YAZDANBAKSH, ZACHARY GRASLEY DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY. Cracking and Durability of Concrete. 2. External Loading. Shrinkage.
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High-Performance Stress-Relaxing Cementitious Composites (SRCC) Federal Highway Administration, Exploratory Advanced Research ARDAVAN YAZDANBAKSH, ZACHARY GRASLEY DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Cracking and Durability of Concrete 2 External Loading Shrinkage Tensile Stress and/or Tensile Stress Low Tensile Strength of Concrete Crack Corrosion Moisture Moves Freely in Concrete Poor ride quality Sulfate Attack Spalling alkali-silica reaction
Objectives 4 To develop a methodology for the design and fabrication of concrete that exhibits remarkable stress-relaxing behavior For this purpose: • Different methods of distributing the nano/micro particles in cement paste and controlling particle-matrix bond will be examined • Cementitious composites will be produced, mechanically tested for stress relaxation. The results will be compared with the prediction of theoretical models
Why choose CNF/Ts? • Advantageous properties of CNF/Ts: • Strength 100 times more than that of steel, specific gravity is one sixth of steel • Elastic strain capacity of 12%; 60 times higher than that of steel • Modulus of elasticity: approximately 103 GPa, 5 times more than steel • Excellent electrical properties • Importance of dispersion (3) (2) (1)
Challenges 6 Effective inclusion of nano-particles in cement paste is difficult because: • The nanoparticles tend to strongly attract each other and form clumps or bundles • Non-hydrated cement particles are significantly larger than nano-particles, which prevents uniform distribution of nano-particles • The bond between cementitious matrix and inclusions like carbon nanoparticles is weak
Current State of the Project Inclusion of CNF/Ts in Cement paste
CNFs Dispersed in Water CNF Concentration 1.5% wt – Sonicated for 20 mins with surfactant (2.0% wt)
Non-Uniform Dispersion of CNFs • Non-dispersed clumps of CNF • Reasons: • Short period of sonication • Using inadequate amount of surfactant • Longitudinal agglomeration of CNFs • Reasons: • Long storage period of dispersion • Drying of dispersion
Dispersion in Water vs. Dispersion in Paste 10 Good dispersion in water Poor dispersion in paste
Causes and Solutions for Poor Dispersion in Paste 11 Cause: Reagglomeration of CNFs in paste due to • Absorption of water by cement • Consumption of surfactant (superplastisizer) by cement Solution: Using more water and superplastisizer Drawback: Negative effect on durability, strength, and retardation of hydration Cause: Large size of cement particles and clumps Solution: Using fine-grain cement Drawback?
SEM Images of Type I Portland Cement 12 Some particles as large as 10 μm Edge of a huge particle (>100 μm)
Very Fine Cement Grains and Their Downside 13 Due to the very large surface area, production of a workable paste requires w/c>0.70 and a lot of superplastisizer Ball-milled cement. The average particle size is less than 1 μm. The average particle size is less than the length of a typical CNT. Drawback:
Some Important Observations 14 In areas of matrix with CNFs, pullout, fracture, and also fibers parallel to crack surface were observed.
The Next Step 15 • Functionalization of CNFs with acid • Producing fibrous cement paste using treated CNFs and SEM observation of hardened matrix • Mechanical testing of CNF-reinforced hardened paste beams for stress-relaxation
Concluding Remarks 16 • Using nano-particles in cementitious composites may enhance stress relaxation properties • Challenges: poor dispersion of fibers and weak CNF/T-matrix bond • SEM images of fractured surface of CNF-reinforced hardened paste suggest that manipulation of interfacial bond is possible • Acid treatment of CNFs will be examined in order to improve dispersion and bond
Jeff Foxworthy says: If you aren’t sure what will happen next… … your research might be exploratory. If people think your ideas are mildly crazy (Mark Sanford crazy, not Unabomber crazy)…. … your research might be exploratory. If you are not only “thinking outside the box” but have to squint a little to see the box… … your research might be exploratory.