Durability properties of micro-cracked ECC containing high volumes fly ash

This paper presents the durability of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) that contain high percentages of Class-F fly ash (FA). ECC is a newly developed high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composite with substantial benefit in both high ductility in excess of 3% under uniaxial tensile loading and improved durability due to intrinsically tight crack width. Composites containing two different contents of FA as a replacement of cement (55 and 70% by weight of total cementitious material) are examined after 28 days of curing. Accelerated aging (exposure to continuous sodium hydroxide at 38 °C and sodium chloride solutions at room temperature) and tests of transport properties (salt ponding, rapid chloride permeability and sorptivity tests) are used to study the effect of FA on the durability of the ECC. After accelerated aging, direct tensile tests are performed to evaluate the effect of deterioration on the tensile strength, tensile strain capacity and crack width of ECCs. In addition to virgin specimens, the durability performances of mechanically loaded specimens are also tested. Test results show that both mechanically pre-loaded and virgin (without pre-loading) ECC mixtures with high volumes of FA remain durable in terms of mechanical performances after accelerated aging period, and show a tensile strain capacity of more than 2%. In terms of transport properties, micro-cracks induced by mechanical pre-loading increase the chloride transport and the sorptivity values of ECC. Moreover, increasing FA content is shown to have a negative effect especially on the transport properties of ECC tested in this study. However, the risk of water transport by capillary suction and chloride transport by diffusion in ECC, cracked or uncracked, is found to be comparable with that in normal sound concrete.     

Properties of concrete incorporating high volumes of class F fly ash and san fibers

The results of an experimental investigation to study the effects of replacement of cement (by mass) with three percentages of fly ash and the effects of addition of natural san fibers on the slump, Vebe time, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength of fly ash concrete are presented. San fibers belong to the category of “natural bast fibers.” It is also known as “sunn hemp.” Its scientific (botanical) name is Crotalaria juncea. It is mostly grown in the Indian subcontinent, Brazil, eastern and southern Africa and some parts of the United States (Hawaii and Florida). A control mixture of proportions 1:1.4:2.19 with W/Cm of 0.47 and superplasticizer/cementitious ratio of 0.015 was designed. Cement was replaced with three percentages (35%, 45% and 55%) of class F fly ash. Three percentages of san fibers (0.25%, 0.50% and 0.75%) having 25-mm length were used.The test results indicated that the replacement of cement with fly ash increased the workability (slump and Vebe time), decreased compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength and had no significant effect on the impact strength of plain (control) concrete. Addition of san fibers reduced the workability, did not significantly affect the compressive strength, increased the splitting tensile strength and flexural strength and tremendously enhanced the impact strength of fly ash concrete as the percentage of fibers increased.     

Influence of aggregate size and volume fraction on shrinkage induced micro-cracking of concrete and mortar

In this paper, the influence of aggregate size and volume fraction on shrinkage induced micro-cracking and permeability of concrete and mortar was investigated. Nonlinear finite element analyses of model concrete and mortar specimens with regular and random aggregate arrangements were performed. The aggregate diameter was varied between 2 and 16 mm. Furthermore, a range of volume fractions between 0.1 and 0.5 was studied. The nonlinear analyses were based on a 2D lattice approach in which aggregates were simplified as monosized cylindrical inclusions. The analysis results were interpreted by means of crack length, crack width and change of permeability. The results show that increasing aggregate diameter (at equal volume fraction) and decreasing volume fraction (at equal aggregate diameter) increase crack width and consequently greatly increases permeability.     

An experimental study on strength development of concrete containing fly ash and optimum usage of fly ash in concrete

This paper presents a laboratory study on the strength development of concrete containing fly ash and optimum use of fly ash in concrete. Fly ash was added according to the partial replacement method in mixtures. A total of 28 mixtures with different mix designs were prepared. 4 of them were prepared as control mixtures with 250, 300, 350, and 400 kg/m³ cement content in order to calculate the Bolomey and Feret coefficients (K_B, K_F). Four groups of mixtures were prepared, each group containing six mix designs and using the cement content of one of the control mixture as the base for the mix design. In each group 20% of the cement content of the control mixture was removed, resulting in starting mixtures with 200, 240, 280, and 320 kg/m³ cement content. Fly ash in the amount of approximately 15%, 25%, 33%, 42%, 50%, and 58% of the rest of the cement content was added as partial cement replacement. All specimens were moist cured for 28 and 180 days before compressive strength testing. The efficiency and the maximum content of fly ash that gives the maximum compressive strength were obtained by using Bolomey and Feret strength equations. Hence, the maximum amount of usable fly ash amount with the optimum efficiency was determined.This study showed that strength increases with increasing amount of fly ash up to an optimum value, beyond which strength starts to decrease with further addition of fly ash. The optimum value of fly ash for the four test groups is about 40% of cement. Fly ash/cement ratio is an important factor determining the efficiency of fly ash.     

粉煤灰掺量对再生混凝土力学性能和抗冻性的影响研究

研究粉煤灰掺量、再生粗骨料取代率对再生混凝土抗压强度和抗折强度的影响,并对再生混凝土在不同冻融循环次数下的抗压强度和质量损失率进行了研究.结果表明:随着粉煤灰掺量的增加,再生混凝土抗压强度呈先增大后降低的趋势,当粉煤灰掺量为15%,再生粗骨料取代率为30%时,再生混凝土的抗压强度达到最大;粉煤灰掺量对抗折强度提高幅度较小;在冻融循环低于50次时,试块抗压强度下降速度较缓,此后下降速度加快,当冻融循环达到150次时,强度损失最大;再生粗骨料取代率对试块的抗冻性影响高于粉煤灰掺量.建立了考虑再生粗骨料取代率、粉煤灰掺量因素的冻融循环作用下再生混凝土抗压强度指数衰减规律预测模型.     

粉煤灰掺量对不同骨料混凝土长期强度的影响

试验着眼于C30强度等级混凝土,以不同粗骨料(再生骨料、天然骨料)、粉煤灰掺量(15％、30％、50％)及养护环境(标养、室内自然养护)为变量探究粉煤灰对不同骨料混凝土长期强度的影响.试验结果表明,随着粉煤灰取代率的增加,在龄期较短时表现出对再生混凝土及普通混凝土的强度贡献率都有所下降的趋势,但后期经养护龄期的增加,180 d以后中长期强度贡献率下降幅度有所趋缓;当养护环境为标准养护时,粉煤灰取代率为30％以内试件的强度贡献率在180 d时达到了最大,之后强度贡献率有所下降,粉煤灰取代率为50％时,养护龄期超过180 d其强度贡献率也会有所增加;当养护环境为室内自然养护时,随着养护龄期的增长对不同取代率粉煤灰、不同骨料混凝土的中长期强度贡献率都有所加大.     

粉煤灰再生混凝土中氯离子渗透性能试验研究

通过氯离子自然扩散试验,测定粉煤灰再生混凝土试件中自由氯离子浓度,研究了粉煤灰掺量、干湿循环等因素对粉煤灰再生混凝土中氯离子渗透性能的影响。结果表明:粉煤灰能提高再生混凝土抗氯离子渗透能力,粉煤灰最佳掺量介于10%~30%之间;干湿循环加快了粉煤灰再生混凝土中氯离子的渗透速度;粉煤灰再生混凝土中氯离子浓度随着氯盐溶液侵蚀时间的延长逐渐增大,随着向粉煤灰再生混凝土内部的深入,逐渐降低。     

Shrinkage cracking of lightweight concrete made with cold-bonded fly ash aggregates

Shrinkage cracking performance of lightweight concrete (LWC) has been investigated experimentally on ring-type specimens. LWCs with and without silica fume were produced at water-cementitious material ratios (w/cm) of 0.32 to 0.55 with cold-bonded fly ash coarse aggregates and natural sand. Coarse aggregate volume ratios were 30%, 45%, and 60% of the total aggregate volume in the mixtures. A total of 12 lightweight aggregate concrete mixtures was cast and tested for compressive strength, static elastic modulus, split-tensile strength, free shrinkage, weight loss, creep, and restrained shrinkage. It was found that the crack opening on ring specimens was wider than 2 mm for all concretes. Free shrinkage, weight loss, and maximum crack width increased, while compressive and split-tensile strengths, static elastic modulus, and specific creep decreased with increasing coarse aggregate content. The use of silica fume improved the mechanical properties but negatively affected the shrinkage performance of LWCs. Shrinkage cracking performance of LWCs was significantly poorer than normal weight concrete (NWC).     

基于正交试验的透水再生混凝土性能优化试验研究

透水混凝土在缓解城市内涝、噪音效应和热岛效应等方面具有广泛的应用前景,但多孔导致的强度偏低限制了其进一步推广应用。本文采用再生粗骨料和聚丙烯纤维配制高性能透水再生混凝土,设计五因素四水平正交试验,采用极差法分析水胶比、目标孔隙率、再生粗骨料取代率、粉煤灰掺量和聚丙烯纤维掺量对透水再生混凝土抗压强度、有效孔隙率、透水系数的影响规律。结果表明：透水再生混凝土抗压强度影响因素的主次顺序为目标孔隙率>再生粗骨料取代率>水胶比>聚丙烯纤维掺量>粉煤灰掺量;透水再生混凝土抗压强度最大为48.26 MPa,此时透水系数为1.96 mm/s;随着目标孔隙率的提高抗压强度呈线性下降的趋势;40%再生粗骨料等质量取代天然粗骨料后,透水再生混凝土的抗压强度达到28.7 MPa,提高119.08%,透水系数增加9.44%;掺入0.11%体积掺量的聚丙烯纤维后透水再生混凝土的抗压强度达到27.4 MPa,提高幅度为10.48%,而且透水性能不会降低。研究结果可以为高性能透水再生混凝土的制备提供依据。     

粉煤灰渣替代细骨料对砂浆混凝土强度及抗冻性影响

通过筛分和破碎两种方式分别获得粒径区间为0.6~1.18 mm、0.3~0.6 mm的粉煤灰渣,并用其等体积替代对应粒径区间的细骨料,分析粉煤灰渣对砂浆工作性和强度的影响,探究粉煤灰渣的最优替代粒径区间。结合扫描电镜(SEM)、能谱分析(EDS)等方法分析了粉煤灰渣替代细骨料后砂浆试件的强度变化机理。基于砂浆最优替代粒径区间结果,验证了砂浆混凝土试件的强度和抗冻性。研究结果表明:分别以筛分方式和破碎方式得到的0.3~0.6 mm粒径区间粉煤灰渣替代对应区间细骨料后,其砂浆试件强度均与基准组(未替代)基本一致;而以筛分方式得到的0.3~0.6 mm粒径区间粉煤灰渣替代对应区间细骨料后,其混凝土试件强度和抗冻性与基准组基本一致。在水泥提供的氢氧化钙环境下粉煤灰渣表面生成水化硅酸钙,从而增加了水泥和粉煤灰渣界面胶结强度,强化水泥与粉煤灰渣界面区域,凹凸不平的粉煤灰渣表面与水泥浆咬合嵌锁,保证了试件的强度。     

Influence of stress restraint on the expansive behaviour of concrete affected by alkali-silica reaction

The primary objective of this study was to ascertain whether the Threshold Alkali Level (TAL) of the concrete aggregates may be taken as a suitable reactivity parameter for the selection of aggregates susceptible of alkali-silica reaction (ASR), even when ASR expansion in concrete develops under restrained conditions. Concrete mixes made with different alkali contents and two natural siliceous aggregates with very different TALs were tested for their expansivity at 38 °C and 100% RH under unrestrained and restrained conditions. Four compressive stress levels over the range from 0.17 to 3.50 N/mm² were applied by using a new appositely designed experimental equipment. The lowest stress (0.17 N/mm²) was selected in order to estimate the expansive pressure developed by the ASR gel under “free” expansion conditions. It was found that, even under restrained conditions, the threshold alkali level proves to be a suitable reactivity parameter for designing concrete mixes that are not susceptible of deleterious ASR expansion. An empirical relationship between expansive pressure, concrete alkali content and aggregate TAL was developed in view of its possible use for ASR diagnosis and/or safety evaluation of concrete structures.     

冻融作用后塑钢纤维轻骨料混凝土力学性能试验研究

以圆球形粉煤灰陶粒为粗骨料,对塑钢纤维(0kg/m3、3kg/m3、6kg/m3、9kg/m3)轻骨料混凝土试件进行快速冻融(0次、50次、100次、150次)试验,研究冻融后试件的抗压性能、劈裂抗拉性能、抗折性能、抗冲击性能.结果表明:冻融循环作用下,适量的塑钢纤维掺入可以明显增强轻骨料混凝土的劈裂抗拉强度和抗折强度;提高轻骨料混凝土折压比,增强轻骨料混凝土抗裂性能;并能显著改善轻骨料混凝土的抗冲击性能.综合各项力学性能指标,冻融后轻骨料混凝土塑钢纤维最优掺量为6kg/m3.     

On the mathematics of time-dependent apparent chloride diffusion coefficient in concrete

This paper provides an improved mathematical analysis of chloride penetration into concrete employing a time-dependent diffusion coefficient for the solution of Fick's second law of diffusion. In the paper the possible errors caused by the application of oversimplified mathematical expressions used in some models for the evaluation of service life of reinforced concrete structures are discussed. The results from this mathematical analysis demonstrate that some models based on the oversimplified error function complement (ERFC) solutions may easily overestimate the service life by orders of magnitude, especially when the age factor is high. Some chloride profiles after up to 10 years' field exposure were used to compare the oversimplified with the improved models. The results show that both the oversimplified and the improved models fairly well predict the 10 years' chloride ingress in Portland cement concrete, but the oversimplified ERFC model significantly underestimates the chloride ingress in concrete with fly ash.     

Utilisation of steel furnace slag coarse aggregate in a low calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete

This paper evaluates the performance of steel furnace slag (SFS) coarse aggregate in blended slag and low calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete (GPC). The geopolymer binder is composed of 90% of low calcium fly ash and 10% of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Mechanical and physical properties, shrinkage, and detailed microstructure analysis were carried out. The results showed that geopolymer concrete with SFS aggregate offered higher compressive strength, surface resistivity and pulse velocity than that of GPC with traditional aggregate. The shrinkage results showed no expansion or swelling due to delayed calcium oxide (CaO) hydration after 320 days. No traditional porous interfacial transition zone (ITZ) was detected using scanning electron microscopy, indicating a better bond between SFS aggregate and geopolymer matrix. Energy dispersive spectroscopy results further revealed calcium (Ca) diffusion at the vicinity of ITZ. Raman spectroscopy results showed no new crystalline phase formed due to Ca diffusion. X-ray fluorescence result showed Mg diffusion from SFS aggregate towards geopolymer matrix. The incorporation of Ca and Mg into the geopolymer structure and better bond between SFS aggregate and geopolymer matrix are the most likely reasons for the higher compressive strength observed in GPC with SFS aggregate.     

粉煤灰对再生骨料混凝土抗压性能影响研究*

研究用破碎、筛分处理后的建筑垃圾作为混凝土的粗骨料，代替天然粗骨料配制C20级再生混凝土，测试其抗压强度是否满足混凝土正常使用标准。再生骨料的取代率设计为0，35%，65%，100%，每个取代率做3组试件共24组试件，进行了混凝土的抗压强度试验，并探讨掺入粉煤灰对其抗压强度的影响。试验结果表明：C20级再生混凝土的抗压强度会随再生骨料取代率的增大而降低，粉煤灰可以减少水泥用量但对抗压强度影响不大。     

外掺粉煤灰天然轻骨料混凝土早期力学性能研究

以天然浮石作为粗骨料,通过外掺法分别掺加0％、20％、30％和40％体积的粉煤灰替代相同体积的砂,配置轻骨料混凝土.通过对混凝土在3d、14 d、28 d的抗压强度,以及28 d的弹性模量与轴心抗压强度的研究,得出天然浮石轻骨料混凝土外掺粉煤灰最优掺量为30％.浮石轻骨料混凝土在此掺量下,不仅改善了混凝土的和易性,而且提高了基本力学性能.     

Compressive strength of fly‐ash‐based geopolymer concrete at elevated temperatures

This paper presents the compressive strength of fly‐ash‐based geopolymer concretes at elevated temperatures of 200, 400, 600 and 800 °C. The source material used in the geopolymer concrete in this study is low‐calcium fly ash according to ASTM C618 class F classification and is activated by sodium silicate (Na₂SiO₃) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions. The effects of molarities of NaOH, coarse aggregate sizes, duration of steam curing and extra added water on the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete at elevated temperatures are also presented. The results show that the fly‐ash‐based geopolymer concretes exhibited steady loss of its original compressive strength at all elevated temperatures up to 400 °C regardless of molarities and coarse aggregate sizes. At 600 °C, all geopolymer concretes exhibited increase of compressive strength relative to 400 °C. However, it is lower than that measured at ambient temperature. Similar behaviour is also observed at 800 °C, where the compressive strength of all geopolymer concretes are lower than that at ambient temperature, with only exception of geopolymer concrete containing 10 m NaOH. The compressive strength in the latter increased at 600 and 800 °C. The geopolymer concretes containing higher molarity of NaOH solution (e.g. 13 and 16 m ) exhibit greater loss of compressive strength at 800 °C than that of 10 m NaOH. The geopolymer concrete containing smaller size coarse aggregate retains most of the original compressive strength of geopolymer concrete at elevated temperatures. The addition of extra water adversely affects the compressive strength of geopolymer concretes at all elevated temperatures. However, the extended steam curing improves the compressive strength at elevated temperatures. The Eurocode EN1994:2005 to predict the compressive strength of fly‐ash‐based geopolymer concretes at elevated temperatures agrees well with the measured values up to 400 °C. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

掺粉煤灰和矿粉对混凝土开裂性能的影响

选用粉煤灰、矿粉作为掺合料以单掺和复掺的形式掺入到硅酸盐水泥混凝土中,检测其坍落度和3d、28d抗压强度以及早期抗开裂性能。研究结果表明:矿粉、粉煤灰均会降低混凝土3d强度,矿粉可以提高混凝土28d强度,粉煤灰掺量过大会降低混凝土28d强度。随着矿粉掺量的增加,混凝土坍落度随之降低,粉煤灰刚加入时会使混凝土坍落度降低,但是随着掺量的升高,坍落度会逐渐增大;开裂方面:单掺时,粉煤灰与矿粉都在掺量为37%时,抗开裂效果最佳,其中粉煤灰效果最好,复掺时,随着矿粉相对掺量的变大,裂缝的面积和数目都在增大。     

碳化作用下轻骨料混凝土干缩变形及影响规律

采用碳化试验和干燥收缩试验相结合,研究了轻骨料混凝土在碳化作用下的干缩变形发展规律及其影响因素。结果表明,加速碳化作用下,轻骨料混凝土的干缩变形显著增长,而随着矿物掺合料的掺入,干缩率得到一定程度的抑制,其中掺超细粉煤灰轻骨料混凝土碳化干缩率最小;骨料预湿完全条件下轻骨料混凝土水胶比越大,碳化干缩变形越大;轻骨料混凝土在高浓度CO2加速碳化作用下干缩变形显著高于自然碳化混凝土;而在相对湿度50%条件下碳化时,其干缩率要大于其它湿度条件下的试样;另外,轻骨料预湿后混凝土碳化干缩率要低于未预湿轻骨料混凝土。因此,在实际工程中,选择合适的矿物掺合料、水胶比、养护条件以及骨料的预湿工艺对轻骨料混凝土的减缩防裂具有较好的效果。     

不同影响因素下粉煤灰再生保温混凝土力学与导热性能分析

制备了粉煤灰再生保温混凝土,分析了其抗拉压强度和导热性能随再生骨料替代量、粉煤灰掺量、玻化微珠掺量和水胶比等因素的变化规律。研究成果表明:粉煤灰再生保温混凝土的抗压和抗拉强度随再生骨料取代量和水胶比的增大而呈指数衰减式减小,随粉煤灰掺量和玻化微珠掺量的增大是先增大而后减小;粉煤灰再生保温混凝土的导热性能随再生骨料取代量、玻化微珠掺量和水胶比的增大而减小,随粉煤灰掺量的增大则先增大而后减小。