Digital Commons Network^™

Thermoelectric Properties Of Cement Composite Analogues From First Principles Calculations, Esther Orisakwe, Conrad S.N. Johnston, Ruchita Jani, Xiaolo Liu, Lorenzo Stella, Jorge Kohanoff's, Niall Holmes Dr., Brian Norton, Ming Qu, Hongxi Yin, Kazuaki Yazawa

Articles

Buildings are responsible for a considerable fraction of the energy wasted globally every year, and as a result, excess carbon emissions. While heat is lost directly in colder months and climates, resulting in increased heating loads, in hot climates cooling and ventilation is required. One avenue towards improving the energy efficiency of buildings is to integrate thermoelectric devices and materials within the fabric of the building to exploit the temperature gradient between the inside and outside to do useful work. Cement-based materials are ubiquitous in modern buildings and present an interesting opportunity to be functionalized. We present a systematic investigation …

Investigation Of Mechanical Properties Of Recycled Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites Reinforcing Cement, Caleb Mull, Fnu Archie, Harry Lee, Guyuan Zhang

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

The usage of fiber-reinforced polymer composites in various fields has increased significantly due to their advantageous physical and mechanical properties. However, the sustainability of composite parts has not been fully solved for a long time. Most end-of-life (EOL) composite parts have been landfilled without recycling due to the recycling cost and lack of application of recycled composites. Mechanical composite recycling that shred the EOL composite part and reuse it for downgraded applications is one of the most commonly used recycling processes for the EOL composite part. In this research, mechanical composite recycling process was demonstrated for the construction application. The …

Comparing The Measured And Thermodynamically Predicted Afm Phases In A Hydrating Cement, Niall Holmes Dr., Mark Russell, Geoff Davis, Mark Tyrer

Articles

In hydrating Portland cements, more than one of the AFm family of calcium aluminates may exist. Depending on the amount of carbonate and sulfate present in the cement, the most common phase to precipitate is monosulfate, monocarbonate and/or hemicarbonate. It has been reported in the literature that hemicarbonate often appears in measurements such as XRD but not predicted to form/equilibrate in thermodynamic models. With the ongoing use of commercial cements such as CEM I and CEM II containing more and more limestone, it is important to understand which hydrate solids physically precipitate and numerically predict over time. Using 27 cement …

Employing Discrete Solid Phases To Represent C-S-H Solid Solutions In The Cemdata07 Thermodynamic Database To Model Cement Hydration Using The Phreeqc Geochemical Software, Niall Holmes Dr., Mark Tyrer, Denis Kelliher

Articles

This paper presents a cement hydration model over time using the cemdata07 thermodynamic database and a series of derived discrete solid phases (DSPs) to represent calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) as a binary solid solution with two end-members. C-S-H in cement is amorphous and poorly crystalline with a range of molar Ca/Si ratios from 0.6 to 1.7. It displays strongly incongruent dissolution behaviour, where the release of calcium into solution is several orders of magnitude greater than silicon. It is, therefore, important that any cement hydration model provides a credible account of this behaviour. C-S-H has been described in the cemdata07 …

Review Of Fly-Ash As A Supplementary Cementitious Material, Nikki Shaji, Niall Holmes Dr., Mark Tyrer

Conference papers

This paper presents a review of fly-ash as a Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM) in concrete in terms of its effects on hydration and durability. The climate change agenda has focused the cement and concrete industry on using low embodied CO2 materials and much effort has been made on incorporating industrial by-products into cement as SCMs. With worldwide cement production (circa 4 billion tonnes) currently accounting for approximately 8% of global CO2 emissions and 7% of industry energy use, the use of suitable SCMs to partially replace cement in concrete is extremely important. However, while coal-fired power stations are in the …

Deriving Discrete Solid Phases From Csh-3t And Cshq End-Members To Model Cement Hydration In Phreeqc, Niall Holmes Dr., Colin Walker, Mark Tyrer, Denis Kelliher

Conference papers

This paper presents a cement hydration model over time using the CEMDATA thermodynamic database and a series of discrete solid phases (DSP) to represent calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) as a ternary (CSH-3T) and quaternary (CSHQ) solid solution. C-S-H in cement is amorphous and poorly crystalline with a range of molar Ca/Si ratios = 0.6-1.7 and displays strongly incongruent dissolution behaviour where the release of calcium into solution is several orders of magnitude greater than silicon. It is therefore important that any cement hydration model provides a credible account of this behaviour. C-S-H has been described in the CEMDATA thermodynamic database …

Application Of Biochar As Beneficial Additive In Concrete, Temirlan Barissov

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Biochar is a high-carbon solid material produced via thermal decomposition of organic biomass in a low-oxygen environment. Characterized with high water retention properties and high alkalinity, biochar is generally used for soil amendment and fertilization purposes. This study is intended to explore the feasibility of using biochar as a beneficial additive of the most used manmade material, concrete. Literature review revealed several studies where biochar was successfully implemented as an additive in concrete. The beneficial influence of biochar on the mechanical characteristics of concrete is based on nucleation and densification effects. However, the internal microstructure, porosity and chemical composition of …

Effects Of Accelerated Carbonation Curing On Co2 Sequestration And On The Compressive Strength Of Concrete Masonry Units, Barry Gilroy, Leon Black, David Thompson, Ronan Hogan, Niall Holmes

Conference papers

The global consumption of Portland cement has risen to over 4 billion tonnes per annum. Its manufacture is energy and carbon intensive and approximately 900 kg of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere for each tonne of Portland cement produced. The International Energy Agency (IEA) roadmap sets out a goal to reduce emissions due to cement production to 18 % below 2006 levels by 2050. Concrete has the potential to re-absorb CO2 by the process of carbonation, where it reacts with CaO in the concrete to form calcium carbonate. Accelerated carbonation curing (ACC) is a technique for curing fresh concrete …

Development Of A Mix Design Adjustment Method For Fiber Reinforced Concrete And Super High Performance Concrete Based On Excess Paste, Joe Malloy

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The main objective of this study was to develop a mix design adjustment method for Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) that would maintain appropriate workability while improving hardened concrete performance. A literature review was conducted to examine existing methods for adjusting mix designs to account for fiber introduction. It was found that while increasing fine aggregate and cement paste content can make up for lost workability with the addition of fibers, no rational mix design adjustment method is available. Reference mix designs from the Nevada Department of Transportation and the Nebraska Department of Transportation were used, and this study focused on …

Modelling The Addition Of Limestone In Cement Using Hydcem, Niall Holmes, Denis Kelliher, Mark Tyrer

Conference papers

Hydration models can aid in the prediction, understanding and description of hydration behaviour over time as the move towards more sustainable cements continues.

HYDCEM is a new model to predict the phase assemblage, degree of hydration and heat release over time for cements undergoing hydration for any w/c ratio and curing temperatures up to 450C. HYDCEM, written in MATLAB, complements more sophisticated thermodynamic models by predicting these properties over time using user-friendly inputs within one code. A number of functions and methods based on up to date cement hydration behaviour from the literature are hard-wired into the code along with …

Hydcem: A New Cement Hydration Model, Niall Holmes, Denis Kelliher, Mark Tyrer

Conference papers

Hydration models are useful to predict, understand and describe the behaviour of different cementitious-based systems. They are indispensable for undertaking long-term performance and service life predictions for existing and new products for generating quantitative data in the move towards more sustainable cements while optimising natural resources. One such application is the development of cement-based thermoelectric applications.

HYDCEM is a new model to predict the phase assemblage, degree of hydration, heat release and changes in pore solution chemistry over time for cements undergoing hydration for any w/c ratio and curing temperatures up to 450C. HYDCEM, written in MATLAB, is aimed at …

Coir Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Jose De La Serna, Moses Karakouzian

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

This poster exhibits the testing and research done on general Portland Cement Concrete with the addition of coir (coconut) fibers as reinforcement. Using the fundamental constituents of cement (water, cement, fine and coarse aggregate) and processed coir fiber, concrete specimens were batched to test for compressive and flexural strengths (per appropriate ASTM standards). Cylindrical and rectangular beam specimens were subjected to loadings until failure occurred. The capacity and modes of failures of the specimens were observed. It was determined that:

• The addition of processed coir fibers decreases the overall strength of general Portland Cement Concrete. • The tested concrete’s …

Introducing A New Cement Hydration And Microstructure Model, Niall Holmes, Anselm Griffin, Bernard Enright, Denis Keliher

Conference papers

This paper presents a new cement hydration model to predict the microstructure evolution of hydrating tricalcium silicate (C3S). The model is written in MATLAB and employs the continuum approach and integrated particle kinetic relationships to show the change in C3S and the growth of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) and Calcium Hydroxide (CH) in the pore space over time.

Cement hydration is a highly complex process. While hydration models should never completely remove experimental analysis, they are an aid to better understand cement hydration and microstructure development by providing a method to analyse a large number of pastes with different cementitious …

Optimising The Performance Of Cement-Based Batteries, Aimee Byrne, Shane Barry, Niall Holmes Dr., Brian Norton

Articles

The development of a battery using different cement-based electrolytes to provide a low but potentially sustainable source of electricity is described. The current, voltage, and lifespan of batteries produced using different electrolyte additives, copper plate cathodes, and (usually) aluminium plate anodes were compared to identify the optimum design, components, and proportions to increase power output and longevity. Parameters examined include water/cement ratio, anode to cathode surface area ratio, electrode material, electrode spacing, and the effect of sand, aggregate, salts, carbon black, silica fume, and sodium silicate on the electrolyte. The results indicate that the greatest and longest lasting power can …

Design Of Magnesium Phosphate Cement Based Composite For High Performance Bipolar Plate Of Fuel Cells, Wenbin Hao, Hongyan Ma, Zeyu Lu, Guoxing Sun, Zongjin Li

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this work, we report a comprehensive study on a magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) based composite as the construction material for high performance bipolar plates of fuel cells. MPC with partial replacement of fly ash was employed as the binding matrix. Some carbon-based materials, such as graphite, carbon black, carbon fiber, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes were used to construct the conductive phase. A simple hot-press process was applied to produce the composite. The formula and the structure of the composite was modified and adjusted to optimize the properties of the composite to meet the US DOE 2015 technical targets, including …

Evaluating A New Cem Iii/A Cement For Concretes Exposed To Harsh Acid Rich Environments, David Thompson, Niall Holmes, John Reddy

Conference papers

The Irish Annex to the European specification, performance, production and conformity of concrete, IS EN 206, recommends CEM III/B cement for acid rich environments containing between 66 to 80% GGBS. However, BS 8500, the UK annex to EN 206 and the British Research Establishment (BRE) Special Digest 1, recommends CEM III/A cement with a GGBS range of 36-65%. This project investigated the performance of a new CEM III/A cement produced by Ecocem Ireland in concretes exposed to such environments using an extensive suite of laboratory tests.

In Ireland, up to €5.8bn will be invested to provide fresh drinking water and …

Mitigating The Expansive Behavior Of Chemically Treated Soils, Sochan Jung, Maria Caterina Santagata

JTRP Technical Reports

Sulfate-induced heave, resulting from the chemical treatment of sulfate rich soils, has been known to cause significant damage to pavements and other structures particularly in the south-western United States. This research addressed the problem of sulfate-induced heave in coal mine spoils, formed as a result of shallow strip coal mining, after treatment with calcium-based stabilizers. These spoils occur in areas of Indiana in which substantial infrastructure development is taking place and will continue to occur in the next 10-15 years. Samples of coal mine spoils were obtained from different sites in Indiana. While the majority of the samples exhibited sulfate …

Robotized Spraying Of Grc Panels, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

The manual manufacturing process of GRC panels consists of two or four consecutive stages, depending on the panel type. The robotized spraying process is controlled by three (3) main modules which are executed sequentially or in parallel, depending on the task. The first module utilizes a common CAD environment with access to information relating to the manufacturing tools and parameters and to the design rules for the product. The off-line module is divided into three different submodules: kinematic control, path planning and task planning.

Stabilization And Improvement Of Organic Soils, Joonho Hwang, Aaron Humphrey, Antonio Bobet, Maria Caterina Santagata

JTRP Technical Reports

Peats and organic soils in general pose significant problems to geotechnical engineers due to their low strength, high compressibility and elevated creep. The research performed addressed one soil improving technique, deep soil mixing, that has been widely used for treating soft clays, but that especially in the US has found limited use in presence of organic soils. The work performed made use primarily of one soil sampled on Lindberg Road (LR) in West Lafayette, IN characterized by LOI= 45-52%, LL= 327%, PL= 162%, LLoven dried/LLnon-dried = 0.31, Gs = 2.05-2.12, fiber content ~2.29%, clay fraction = 40.6%. In addition, a …