Influence of nucleation seeding on the hydration kinetics and compressive strength of alkali activated slag paste

Addition of pure calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) to alkali-activated slag (AAS) paste resulted in an earlier and larger hydration rate peak measured with isothermal calorimetry and a much higher compressive strength after 1 d of curing. This is attributed to a nucleation seeding effect, as was previously established for Portland cement and tricalcium silicate pastes. The acceleration of AAS hydration by seeding indicates that the early hydration rate is controlled by nucleation and growth. For the experiments reported here, the effect of C–S–H seed on the strength development of AAS paste between 1 d and 14 d of curing depended strongly on the curing method. With sealed curing the strength continued to increase, but with underwater curing the strength decreased due to cracking. This cracking is attributed to differential stresses arising from chemical and autogenous shrinkage. Similar experiments were also performed on Portland cement paste.     

Synthesis and characterization of geopolymers containing blends of unprocessed steel slag and metakaolin: The role of slag particle size

The present research deals with the production and characterization of geopolymers prepared by mixing metakaolin with a steel slag from the production of chromium-manganese steel, a commercial sodium silicate solution and a sodium hydroxide solution. Different specimens were prepared by mixing metakaolin with different proportions of steel slag (20, 40, 60, 80 wt%) characterized by different maximum particle size. Specimens containing just metakaolin and steel slag alone were also prepared for comparison. All specimens have been characterized regarding their compressive strength, specific surface area, water absorption and microstructure. It has been observed that the use of fine steel slag powders leads to increases the performances and that the specimens containing 40 wt% steel slag and 60 wt% metakaolin revealed the best overall behaviour.     

Compressive properties of pristine and SiC-Te-added MgB2 powders,green compacts and spark-plasma-sintered bulks

Pristine and (SiC+Te)-added MgB₂ powders, green and spark plasma sintered (SPS) compacts were investigated from the viewpoint of quasi-static and dynamic (Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar, SHPB) compressive mechanical properties The amount of the additive (SiC+Te) was selected to be the optimum one for maximization of the superconducting functional parameters. Pristine and added MgB₂ show very similar compressive parameters (tan δ, fracture strength, Vickers hardness, others) and fragment size in the SHPB test. However, for the bulk SPSed samples the ratio of intergranular to transgranular fracturing changes, the first one being stronger in the added sample. This is reflected in the quasi-static K_IC that is higher for the added sample. Despite this result, sintered samples are brittle and have roughly similar fragmentation behavior as for brittle engineering ceramics. In the fragmentation process, the composite nature of our samples should be considered with a special focus on MgB₂ blocks (colonies) that show the major contribution to fracturing. The Glenn-Chudnovsky model of fracturing under dynamic load provides the closest values to our experimental fragment size data.     

Recycled granulate obtained from waste alumina-rich refractory powder by the cold bonding process

Within the scope of the present study the cold-bonding process was used for the recycling of waste filter powder which was mixed with two different binders in different concentrations; alumino-silicate cement and potassium water glass, and combinations of these two materials, and hardened at room temperature. Selected samples were also fired at 1200 °C. Tests to determine tensile and compressive strength, density and porosity, as well as dilatometry and SEM analyses, were performed. As expected, compressive strength increased as a function of the concentration of the potassium water glass. When combinations of both binders were used, compressive strengths were higher, but a significant increase in strength was also achieved by firing the samples. The compressive strengths of the non-fired samples were in the range from 0.8 to 2.4 MPa, whereas after firing strengths of up to 36 MPa were obtained. During the firing density increased, and porosity was reduced, while the average pore size increased. The results of dilatometric analysis showed that the granulate produced with cement shrink upon firing up to 300 °C, but then start slowly to expand, whereas the granulate produced by water glass first expanded on firing up to 800 °C, and then began to shrink swiftly. In the case of combinations of the two binders, shrinkage as well as expansion on firing was less pronounced. Selected granulate prepared using potassium water glass were also tested in a refractory concrete matrix in order to verify their usability.     

A unified theory on solid-liquid separation: Filtration, expression, sedimentation, filtration by centrifugal force, and cross flow filtration

Based upon a new conception that the solid compressive pressure on a cake surface is not null, almost of all solid-liquid separation operations have been re-examined. For cake filtration, the phenomenon caused by the solid compressive pressure on a cake surface is discussed for thin cake. New expression and hindered sed-imentation theories are developed by above new conception using Darcy’s equation. Application of the new conception to centrifugal filtration and tangential filtration is also discussed. Above results lead to the conclusion that cake filtration, expression, hindered sedimentation, centrifugal filtration and tangential filtration can be described with a unified theory, and the main difference between the operations is only the boundary condition of cake.     

Densification rate and mechanical properties of carbon/carbon composites with layer-designed preform

In this work, carbon fiber needle-punching preforms were designed into two structure according to the density change along the thickness direction. One structure is designed to two layers with low-density layer and high-density layer, and the other is to three layers with low-density exterior layer and high-density interior layer. Then the effect of the preform with different structure on the densification rate and compressive properties of C/C composites was investigated. The results show that both two designed preforms can effectively avoid surface blocking, and lead to the faster densification rate of C/C composites during the chemical vapor infiltration processes. These results are attributable to the change of pore size distribution and pyrocarbon thickness, which was caused by fiber architecture designs. Meanwhile, these structural changes can improve the compressive strength of C/C composites, especially for the three-layer preforms. When the density of preforms is 0.45?g/cm³, C/C composites with three-layer preform has the highest compressive strength. The damage of most C/C composites with two and three-layer preforms is caused by shear or delamination failure, while that of C/C composites with common preforms usually caused by matrix collapse. Cracks in C/C composites with two and three-layer preforms always happened on the low-density layer, and consequently ceased or changed propagation direction in the interface between two layers.     

Microstructure characterization and compressive performance of 3D needle-punched C/C–SiC composites fabricated by gaseous silicon infiltration

3D needle-punched C/C-SiC composites were fabricated from carbon fiber reinforced carbon (C/C) preforms, with densities of 1.05?g/cm³ and 1.28?g/cm³, by the gaseous silicon infiltration (GSI) method at fabrication temperatures from 1500?°C to 1800?°C. The compressive strengths and elastic moduli in transverse direction are larger than those measured under longitudinal compression except that samples fabricated from 1.28?g/cm³ density exhibit lower elastic moduli in transverse direction than in longitudinal direction. The compressive strength and modulus increase with fabrication temperature at 1500?°C and 1600?°C, and then decrease with higher fabrication temperature. Samples fabricated from the lower density C/C preforms have greater compressive strength and modulus. X-ray tomography was applied before and after the mechanical tests to characterize the microstructure and damage patterns, and the results indicated that for C/C-SiC composites fabricated at 1700?°C from 1.28?g/cm³ density C/C preform the matrix has a volume fraction (vol%) of 36.9%, and the initial intra-bundle cracks (0.6?vol%) display a space crossing structure while the inter-bundle pores (6.0?vol%) are special irregularly distributed.     

Experimental investigation on the mechanical,structural and thermal properties of Cu–ZrO2 nanocomposites hybridized by graphene nanoplatelets

Hybrid Cu–ZrO₂/GNPs nanocomposites were successfully produced using powder metallurgy technique. The effect of GNPs mass fraction, 0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5%, on the mechanical and electrical properties of the produced hybrid nanocomposite was investigated while maintaining ZrO₂ mass fraction constant at 5%. High-energy ball milling was applied for mixing powders followed by compaction and sintering. The morphological analysis of the produced powder showed acceleration of Cu particles fracture during ball milling with the addition of GNPs up to 0.5% with noticeable reduction of agglomeration size. Moreover, the crystallite size of Cu–5%ZrO₂/0.5%GNPs hybrid nanocomposites revealed smaller crystallite size, 142 nm, compared to 300 nm for Cu–5%ZrO₂ nanocomposite. Additionally, the hybrid nanocomposite with 0.5% GNPs shows homogeneous distribution of both reinforcement phases in the sintered samples. The compressive strength increased with the GNPs content and reached 504.6 MPa at 0.5%, 31% higher than the Cu-5%ZO₂. The thermal conductivity had the maximum value at 0.5 wt%GNPs and reached 345 W/m k. The results provide efficient manufacturing process for high strength and good conductivity hybrid nanocomposites, which is applicable in many structural applications such as heat exchange purposes.     

Characterisation and properties of geopolymer composites. Part 2: Role of cordierite-mullite reinforcement

Our previous research paper on geopolymer-mullite composites showed promising results on compressive strength and fire resistance. However, no improvement in thermal shock resistance was observed in the afore mentioned study. In this study, further attempts to improve thermal shock resistance of the geopolymer were explored. The research was performed by compositing a fly ash-based geopolymer with cordierite-mullite at 20, 40 and 60 wt% replacement. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the cured geopolymer composite specimens showed the existence of cordierite, mullite, quartz, cancrinite and lazurite. It was found that compressive strength and strength retention after thermal exposure at 400 °C were improved in the geopolymer composite specimens, especially those with 20–40 wt% replacement. Upon further heating to 600 °C, all geopolymer specimens showed insignificant differences in compressive strength. Fire resistance was found to improve with increasing proportion of replacement contents.     

Domain switching characteristics of lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric ceramics on a nanoscopic scale

Domain switching characteristics of lead zirconate titanate ceramics with and without poling under compressive loading are investigated using electron backscatter diffraction. For loading in the poling direction, the switching strain is stronger than that for loading perpendicular to the poling direction. There is strong domain switching when the domain (c-axis of the tetragonal structure) is orientated close to the loading direction. A large number of domains are switched between 85.4° and 90.0°, with many crossing the loading axis. Each grain consists of domains with three different patterns; i.e., with c-axis orientated in three directions in each grain. The patterns remain unchanged even with domain switching and strong deformation. However, the ratios among the patterns depend on compressive stress. Under stress, one or two specific domain modes are switched to about 90°, although others are not switched as much. These domain switching characteristics are related to the poling and loading directions. 90° domain switching model is proposed on the basis of twin deformation model. Due to the aspect ratio of c/a = 1.014 (tetragonal structure), the angle of the switching is less than 90° (89.2°). This angle is corresponding to the switching angle obtained by an electron backscatter diffraction analysis (Ave. 88.9°).