Changes in microstructures and physical properties of polymer-modified mortars during wet storage

The decrease in strength of tile adhesive mortars during wet storage was investigated. In a first approach, the water resistance of the polymer phases was tested on structures isolated from the mortar and in situ. It was observed that cellulose ether and polyvinyl alcohol structures are water-soluble. Subsequent investigations on polymer mobility within the mortar showed that the migrating pore water transports cellulose ether and polyvinyl alcohol during periods of water intrusion and drying. This leads to enrichments at the mortar-substrate interface. In contrast, latices interacting with the cement are water-resistant, and therefore, immobile in the mortar. Further experiments revealed that the mortar underwent considerable volume changes depending on the storage condition. Cracking occurred mainly close to the mortar-tile interface, cement hydrates grew within these shrinkage or expansion cracks. Test results revealed that the strength decrease of wet stored tile adhesives is caused by different mechanisms related to cement hydration, volume changes of the mortar, and reversible swelling of latex films.     

Study of cracking due to drying in coating mortars by digital image correlation

Drying shrinkage of coating mortars may induce cracks which could result in debonding and reduce the durability of the ‘mortar/substrate’ system. In order to study this phenomenon, a new device based on digital image correlation (DIC) was developed so as to measure 2D displacement fields on mortars and substrates at early age in drying conditions. Compared to intrusive methods (e.g. SEM observation, embedded rigid sensor) or impregnation techniques, the proposed device does not induce parasite cracks and specimen can be monitored continuously and automatically. Moreover, representative geometries and restraint conditions can be tested. A post-processing tool is proposed to determine the evolution of the cracking patterns by computing an equivalent strain. Besides, this enables the quantification of the widths and the depths of cracks inside the mortar and at the mortar/substrate interface. The device was validated by comparison with measurements of drying shrinkage using LVDT and investigations with an optical microscope. It was used successfully to analyze drying shrinkage cracking of coating mortars due to restraint by a rigid substrate.     

Plastic shrinkage of mortars with shrinkage reducing admixture and lightweight aggregates studied by neutron tomography

Water transport in fresh, highly permeable concrete and rapid water evaporation from the concrete surface during the first few hours after placement are the key parameters influencing plastic shrinkage cracking. In this work, neutron tomography was used to determine both the water loss from the concrete surface due to evaporation and the redistribution of fluid that occurs in fresh mortars exposed to external drying. In addition to the reference mortar with a water to cement ratio (w/c) of 0.30, a mortar with the addition of pre-wetted lightweight aggregates (LWA) and a mortar with a shrinkage reducing admixture (SRA) were tested. The addition of SRA reduced the evaporation rate from the mortar at the initial stages of drying and reduced the total water loss. The pre-wetted LWA released a large part of the absorbed water as a consequence of capillary pressure developing in the fresh mortar due to evaporation.     

Influence of polymers on microstructure and adhesive strength of cementitious tile adhesive mortars

The impact of polymer modification on the physical properties of cementitious mortars is investigated using a multimethod approach. Special emphasis is put on the identification and quantification of different polymer components within the cementitious matrix. With respect to thin-bed applications, particularly tile adhesives, the spatial distributions of latex, cellulose ether (CE), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and cement hydration products can be quantified. It is shown that capillary forces and evaporation induce water fluxes in the interconnected part of the pore system, which transport CE, PVA, and cement ions to the mortar interfaces. In contrast, the distribution of latex remains homogeneous. In combination with results from qualitative experiments, the quantitative findings allow reconstruction of the evolution from fresh to hardened mortar, including polymer film formation, cement hydration, and water migration. The resulting microstructure and the failure modes can be correlated with the final adhesive strength of the tile adhesive. The results demonstrate that skinning prior to tile inlaying can strongly reduce wetting properties of the fresh mortar and lower final adhesive strength.     

Shrinkage cracking in Roman cement pastes and mortars

Roman cements were key materials used in the architecture of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Fine cracks, caused by restrained shrinkage during drying, are a distinct characteristic of all Roman cement stuccoes. Today, cracking has become an important barrier preventing broader acceptance of Roman cement as a material by the restoration and construction sector. Drying shrinkage and tensile properties of Roman cement pastes and mortars submitted to various curing and drying regimes were determined as key parameters controlling cracking. A higher volume of aggregate in the mortar mix and a moderate curing time produce optimum Roman cement mortars from the standpoint of reducing the risk of cracking. Fast drying produced significant microcracking due to moisture gradients and differential shrinkage across the specimens. Stress relaxation observed during the long-time loading of the materials reduced their vulnerability to cracking.     

Drying shrinkage of portland cement pastes I. Microcracking during drying

The occurrence of microcracking of portland cement pastes during drying has been studied by comparing the effects of specimen thickness on shrinkage and cracking using light microscopy. Increases in specimen thickness tended to impede drying and wetting, but there were only slight changes (less than experimental errors) in total and reversible shrinkage once equilibrium was attained. Although microcracking occurred at the beginning of drying whenever the thin specimen (thickness <2mm) was suddenly exposed to low relative humidity (～50%), the cracks eventually closed up. It was concluded that no matter whether or not this microcracking happened, the shrinkage of the specimen after reaching equilibrium was unrestrained.     

Control of drying shrinkage in magnesium silicate hydrate (m-s-h) gel mortars

Magnesium silicate hydrate (M-S-H) gel can be formed by the reaction of MgO with amorphous silica in the presence of sodium hexametaphosphate (Na-HMP). Typical pastes contain 40% MgO and 60% SF and have a w/c ratio of 0.5, but these exhibit shrinkage cracking on drying. The shrinkage characteristics of M-S-H mortar samples containing different additions of sand have been studied using dilatometry. The drying shrinkage was found to decrease with increasing sand addition and to increase with increased water content. Mortars with 60 wt.% sand addition and a w/c ratio of 0.5 had a drying shrinkage of 0.16% and did not show shrinkage cracking. A simple geometrical model based on particle packing is presented that explains the observed changes in drying shrinkage. Based on the geometrical model, the shrinkage of M-S-H mortar system can be reduced to zero when the volume fraction of sand in the mortar is about 0.77.     

Transport of a water-soluble polymer during drying of a model porous media

This article presents an experimental investigation on transport of methylhydroxyethylcellulose (MHEC) during drying of a model porous material. Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and thermogravimetric analysis are used to measure water and MHEC transport, respectively. MHEC is added to glue mortars to increase open time, i.e., the time period during which tiles can be applied with sufficiently good adhesion. Previous work showed that MHEC promotes a receding front during drying and therefore leads to differences in the degree of hydration throughout the mortar sample, i.e., the top surface shows poor hydration and the bottom surface shows good hydration. In this study, we investigate the transport of MHEC during drying of a model porous material, consisting of packed glass beads saturated with an aqueous MHEC solution. At MHEC concentration less than 1.3?wt%, homogeneous drying is observed, enabling advective transport of MHEC toward the drying surface. In this case, accumulation of MHEC may form a skin at the top surface and below this skin layer, a gel zone may form, which allows migration of water toward the evaporation surface. When the MHEC concentration is above 1.3?wt%, front receding drying is observed, which prevents transport of MHEC, resulting in a more homogeneous distribution of MHEC.     

Drying-Induced Cracks in Thin Film Fabricated from Colloidal Dispersions

As a colloidal dispersion is coated and dried on a nonporous rigid substrate, the enormous stresses developing during the drying process can fracture the thin film. The drying-induced cracks can produce serous technological consequences and even destroy the efficacy of coatings, which is not desirable in most industrial cases. Therefore, as the first step of controlling cracks in thin film, understanding of crack properties and cracking mechanisms leading to fracture is of vital significance. Although numerous experiments and models have been proposed for cracking during drying of colloidal dispersions, there is little consensus on even the most basic mechanisms, and the effect of heat transfer on cracks as well as optimization of drying process are rarely taken into account. Additional, the broad employments of nanosuspensions bring both opportunities and challenges for this area. This review will give a comprehensive physical picture of thin film fabrication by drying of colloidal dispersions and cracking phenomenon, present current investigations for drying-induced cracks, and point out some prospects for cracking researches especially for industrial R&D, as well as propose combination of thin film preparation with drying technique for exploring crack-free thin film.     

Formation Mechanism of Cracks During the Freeze Drying of Gelcast Ceramic Parts

The near‐net shaping of gelcast ceramic parts can be achieved using freeze‐drying technology. It was discovered that the cracks probably occurred inside the part during freeze drying due to the formation of liquid water. To explain the formation mechanism of cracks, the electrical resistance method was employed to measure the part's eutectic temperature which can be used to determine the freezing and melting state of the part. Affecting factors on cracking were investigated by testing the temperature and water loss of the part during the drying stage, and the cracks inside the part were detected through computed tomography (CT). It was found that when the temperature of the part was higher than the eutectic temperature, the ice crystals at the sublimation front would melt, resulting in the formation of wet green body. The cracks will occur inside the part because great capillary forces are formed in the wet green body. Cracks could be controlled through reducing heat supply by lowing shelf temperature, decreasing pressure of the drying chamber or lowering the dried layer resistance against water vapor by improving the freezing temperature or reducing the solid loading of the part.     

Drying and cracking of soft latex coatings

The minimum film formation temperature (MFFT) is the minimum drying temperature needed for a latex coating to coalesce into an optically clear, dense crack-free film. To better understand the interplay of forces near this critical temperature, cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryoSEM) was used to track the latex particle deformation and water migration in coatings dried at temperatures just above and below the MFFT. Although the latex particles completely coalesced at both temperatures by the end of the drying process, it was discovered that particle deformation during the early drying stages was drastically different. Below the MFFT, cracks initiated just as menisci began to recede into the packing of consolidated particles, whereas above the MFFT, partial particle deformation occurred before menisci entered the coating and cracks were not observed. The spacing between cracks measured in coatings dried at varying temperatures decreased with decreasing drying temperature near the MFFT, whereas it was independent of temperature below a critical temperature. Finally, the addition of small amounts of silica aggregates was found to lessen the cracking of latex coatings near the MFFT without adversely affecting their optical clarity.     

Impact of wetting–drying cycles on hydro-mechanical behavior of an unsaturated compacted clay

To further our understanding on the impact of wetting–drying cycles on the hydro-mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils, this paper presents experimental results from suction-controlled isotropic compression tests on an unsaturated compacted clay subjected to different wetting–drying histories. This clay exhibited complicated volumetric response to wetting–drying cycles such as irreversible swelling upon wetting, irreversible shrinkage upon subsequent drying and accumulated swelling after a wetting–drying–wetting cycle. The wetting-induced irreversible swelling contributes to a significant reduction in pre-consolidation stress. It was observed that a wetting–drying cycle leads to a smaller pre-consolidation stress and downward shifting of the post-yield compression curve at a given suction, whereas a wetting–drying–wetting cycle shows an opposite effect. These observations are attributed to both irreversible swelling and irreversible change in the degree of saturation resulting from wetting–drying cycles. It was found that irreversible swelling or an irreversible increase in degree of saturation makes the soil more susceptible to yield, exhibiting a softening effect. Regarding water phase, its response to isotropic compression is mostly related to the recent wetting–drying history rather than the overall wetting–drying history.     

X-ray absorption study of drying cement paste and mortar

X-ray absorption was used to observe water evaporation with hydration time in paste and mortar specimens, with the aim of studying the influence of water/cement (w/c) ratio, presence of aggregates, curing conditions on drying during early hydration. For the samples subjected to surface drying immediately after mixing, there exists a moisture gradient within the internal part of the specimen. However, obvious top-down drying only occurs within a small zone near the surface for early age cement pastes and mortars. The evaporation rate of water is very high in the first day after casting and is drastically reduced afterwards due to the formation of a microstructure that greatly improves specimens resistance to moisture loss. Mortars reveal a slightly lower evaporation rate since the aggregate increases the length of the transport route because of a larger tortuosity. However, the effect of sealed curing is much more important than the tortuosity effect of the aggregates.     

外加剂对混凝土收缩与开裂性能影响的试验研究

针对传统混凝土中加入矿物外加剂会导致混凝土开裂的问题,提出在传统方法上加入粉煤灰和硅灰。为验证方法的可行性,采用不同实验配方比,并结合单掺和复掺方式,对上述方法进行验证。实验表明:复掺30%~40%的粉煤灰和矿粉可有效降低混凝土的开裂面积;硅灰与粉煤灰和矿粉在二元或三元复合下可降低砂浆自收缩和干燥收缩,且混凝土强度不会降低。由此得出混凝土收缩与开裂和砂浆收缩存在显著相关性,砂浆的自收缩和干燥收缩是影响开裂的主要因素。     

Drying stress of yttria-stabilized-zirconia slurry on a metal substrate

Aqueous yttria-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) nano-particle slurries (termed as nano-slurries later) were cast on metal substrates to form wet coatings. Stress development was measured using a substrate reflection method, coupled with drying kinetics measurements and coating structure examination. Lateral drying occurred and was controlled by the viscosity of the slurry. Tensile stress was generated due to constrained shrinkage of the wet coating when the slurry became saturated with water, starting from the coating edge when the solid concentration reached a certain level. As the saturated region extended to the centre, the stress increased to the maximum, then dropped quickly to zero due to cracking and delamination. Addition of micro-sized particles to the nano-slurry resulted in reduction of the peak stress while no apparent cracks were formed during drying. In addition, non-zero residual stress remained after drying, suggesting good bonding between the coating and the substrate.     

Investigation of Strut Crack Formation in Open Cell Alumina Ceramics

An investigation was made into the source of strut cracking during the fabrication process of open cell ceramics that are produced by coating a polymeric foam. Several sources for the stress that produces these cracks were considered, viz., differential drying, thermal expansion mismatch between the polymer and the green ceramic coating, and the gas pressure produced by pyrolysis of the organic skeleton. Thermogravimetric analysis of the polymeric foam was used to estimate the gas evolution rate associated with the pyrolysis process, but this was found to be very low compared to the pressures required to cause strut damage. SEM observations on samples taken by interrupting the fabrication procedure showed the cracks were not produced during drying but rather at a temperature near the melting/decomposition point of the polymer and prior to pyrolysis. It was then deduced that the differential thermal expansion between the polymer and the ceramic coating was the source of the stress. The strut cracking is observed to occur primarily in the region of the highly curved strut edges of the polymer foam, at which the ceramic coating is often rather thin. Techniques to change the processing procedure to overcome the strut cracking are discussed.     

可再分散聚合物乳胶粉的制备方法及应用

介绍了可再分散聚合物乳胶粉制备过程中聚合物母体乳液的技术要求、单体、制备工艺、干燥工艺以及外加添加剂,的研究现状,并概述了可再分散聚合物乳胶粉在水泥基材料中的作用机理和它在外墙外保温、瓷砖黏结剂、建筑腻子、自流平砂浆中的应用。     

Effect of cracking in drying and shrinkage specimens

The significance of cracking and microcracking caused by nonuniform drying shrinkage of test specimens is analyzed. To assure that no cracks are produced by drying in load-free specimens, one must lower the environmental humidity gradually and sufficiently slowly, and use very thin specimens (about 1 mm thick). Graphs for the maximum admissible rate of change of environmental humidity, calculated from both linear and nonlinear diffusion theories, are provided. The spacing and width of parallel cracks due to drying are estimated from fracture mechanics considerations. In normal size specimens the drying cracks are usually too narrow to be visible. Drying leads to discontinuous microcracking rather than continuous macrocracks and is represented better as strain softening than as an abrupt stress drop. Shrinkage cracking can increase drying diffusivity by several orders of magnitude.     

Reduction of fractures in dried clay-like materials due to specific surfactants

The possibility of fracture reduction as a result of application of specific surfactants during intensive drying of clay-like materials was examined in this paper. The dodecyl sulfate sodium salt (SDS) and the fluoric (FC 4430) surfactants were used for the tests. Different amounts of these surfactants were mixed with distilled water and used for wetting a dry clay material before forming clay samples. The clay samples in the form of cylinders 44 mm in diameter and 50 mm high were extruded and after leveling the moisture distribution subjected to convectively drying in hot air at 120 °C. The acoustic emission (AE) method was used to monitor on line the development of crack formation in dried samples. It was stated that application of surfactants in a prescribed amount may significantly reduce the drying induced fractures in clay during its intensive drying and thus to obtain good quality products by high drying rates.     

Assessment and prediction of drying shrinkage cracking in bonded mortar overlays

Restrained drying shrinkage cracking was investigated on composite beams consisting of substrate concrete and bonded mortar overlays, and compared to the performance of the same mortars when subjected to the ring test. Stress development and cracking in the composite specimens were analytically modeled and predicted based on the measurement of relevant time-dependent material properties such as drying shrinkage, elastic modulus, tensile relaxation and tensile strength. Overlay cracking in the composite beams could be very well predicted with the analytical model. The ring test provided a useful qualitative comparison of the cracking performance of the mortars. The duration of curing was found to only have a minor influence on crack development. This was ascribed to the fact that prolonged curing has a beneficial effect on tensile strength at the onset of stress development, but is in the same time not beneficial to the values of tensile relaxation and elastic modulus.