Materials and Structures

Journal: Materials and Structures

Abbreviation

Mater Struct

Publisher

Springer

ISSN

1359-5997
1871-6873

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Publications 1 - 10 of 87

Effect of accelerated carbonation on long-term water absorption behavior of cement-based materials
Ren, Fangzhou; Zhou, Chunsheng; Zhang, Zhidong; et al. (2025)
Materials and Structures
Concrete carbonation has been proven to be a potential path for reducing the carbon footprint of cement industry. However, since carbonation reaction significantly alters the chemical composition and microstructure of cement-based materials, it is necessary to carefully assess its effects on the transport properties and durability of concrete materials. The goal of this work is to clarify the effects of accelerated carbonation on both the pore structure and long-term water absorption behavior of cement-based materials using CEM II/B-M (T-LL) as the binder. Experimental results show that exposure to CO₂ at a concentration of over 65% for 90 days leads to substantial carbonation of Ca(OH)₂ and other calcium-bearing phases including C–S–H gels. Accelerated carbonation results in a refined pore structure of cement paste, marked by decreased porosity but increased specific surface area accessible to both N₂ and H₂O. The long-term capillary absorption of non-carbonated mortar observes the square root of time law in the initial stage and then markedly deviates down, which can be well captured by the modified Richards equation accounting for water sensitivity. In contrast, the long-term absorption into carbonated mortar consistently follows the square root of time law, which could be quantified using the conventional Richards equation. This suggests that after accelerated carbonation, the pore structure of cement mortar is less sensitive to water regain, potentially attributed to the changes in the nanostructure of C–S–H gels caused by carbonation. Additionally, carbonated mortar exhibits lower sorptivity and inherent permeability than non-carbonated mortar, indicating that accelerated carbonation decelerates the water transport in cement-based materials.
Influence of cement content and environmental humidity on asphalt emulsion and cement composites performance
García, Alvaro; Lura, Pietro; Partl, Manfred N.; et al. (2013)
Materials and Structures
Probing the steel-concrete interface microstructure using FIB-SEM nanotomography
Schmid, Thilo; Ruffray, Nicolas; Griffa, Michele; et al. (2025)
Materials and Structures
Laboratory investigation of bitumen based on round robin DSC and AFM tests
Soenen, Hilde; Besamusca, Jeroen; Fischer, Hartmut R.; et al. (2014)
Materials and Structures
In the past years a wide discussion has been held among asphalt researchers regarding the existence and interpretation of observed microstructures on bitumen surfaces. To investigate this, the RILEM technical committee on nano bituminous materials 231-NBM has conducted a round robin study combining differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). From this, methods for performing DSC and AFM tests on bitumen samples and determination of the influence of wax on the observed phases, taking into account thermal history, sample preparation and annealing procedure, are presented and critically discussed. DSC is used to measure various properties and phenomena that indicate physical changes such as glass transition temperature (T g) and phase transition such as melting and crystallization. In the case of existence of wax, either natural or synthetic, it can further indicate the melting point of wax, that could be used to determine wax content. The results from seven laboratories show that T g temperatures obtained from the heating scans are more repeatable and easier to obtain in comparison to the cooling scans. No significant difference was noted for T g’s obtained from the first and second heating scans. AFM is an imaging tool used to characterize the microstructures on a bituminous surface. Using AFM three phases in the materials with wax could be distinguished. The changes in the phases observed with AFM for increases in temperature were correlated with the DSC curve, and it could be established that the so called “Bee” structure disappeared around the melting peak in the DSC curve. Thus, this research has confirmed the relation between the microstructures on a bitumen surface and the wax content.
Chloride-induced corrosion of steel in concrete—insights from bimodal neutron and X-ray microtomography combined with ex-situ microscopy
Angst, Ueli; Rossi, Emanuele; Boschmann Käthler, Carolina; et al. (2024)
Materials and Structures
The steel–concrete interface (SCI) is known to play a major role in corrosion of steel in concrete, but a fundamental understanding is still lacking. One reason is that concrete’s opacity complicates the study of internal processes. Here, we report on the application of bimodal X-ray and neutron microtomography as in-situ imaging techniques to elucidate the mechanism of steel corrosion in concrete. The study demonstrates that the segmentation of the specimen components of relevance—steel, cementitious matrix, aggregates, voids, corrosion products—obtained through bimodal X-ray and neutron imaging is more reliable than that based on the results of each of the two techniques separately. Further, we suggest the combination of tomographic in-situ imaging with ex-situ SEM analysis of targeted sections, selected based on the segmented tomograms. These in-situ and ex-situ characterization techniques were applied to study localized corrosion in a very early stage under laboratory chloride-exposure conditions, using reinforced concrete cores retrieved from a concrete bridge. Several interesting observations were made. First, the acquired images revealed the formation of several corrosion sites close to each other. Second, the morphology of the corrosion pits was relatively shallow. Finally, only about half of the total 31 corrosion initiation spots were in close proximity to interfacial macroscopic air voids, and > 90% of the more than 160 interfacial macroscopic air voids were free from corrosion. The findings have implications for the mechanistic understanding of corrosion of steel in concrete and suggest that multimodal in-situ imaging is a valuable technique for further related studies.
Diffusion potentials in saturated hardened cement paste upon chloride exposure
Ziehensack, Elke; Kessler, Sylvia; Angst, Ueli; et al. (2023)
Materials and Structures
The diffusion potentials can cause significant errors in corrosion-related investigations of reinforced concrete structures (half-cell potential mapping, potentiometric sensors). Therefore, an improved understanding of the diffusion potentials in cement-based materials is needed. This study investigates the permselective behavior and its implication for the arising diffusion potentials. A diffusion cell is used to study the diffusion potentials in hardened cement pastes with imposed NaCl gradients. The cement pastes consist of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and blast furnace cement (BFC) with water-cement ratios of 0.30–0.70. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is used to determine the concentration profiles of Cl, Na, K and Ca in the cement pastes with a high spatial resolution (100 µm). For the BFC pastes, considerable differences in the Cl− and Na+ mobilities are found, indicating their permselective behavior. Despite the permselective behavior, the measured diffusion potentials are small (− 6 to + 3 mV) for all investigated cement pastes due to the high pH levels (13–14) in the pore solutions. However, when using the diffusion cell, the pH differences interfere with the measured diffusion potentials. The interfering pH differences need to be considered for an accurate measurement of the diffusion potentials in cement pastes.
Glued-in-rod timber joints: analytical model and finite element simulation
Hassanieh, Amirhossein; Valipour, Hamid R.; Bradford, Mark A.; et al. (2018)
Materials and Structures
Chloride binding by layered double hydroxides (LDH/AFm phases) and alkali-activated slag pastes: an experimental study by RILEM TC 283-CAM
Gluth, Gregor J.G.; Mundra, Shishir; Henning, Ricky (2024)
Materials and Structures
Chloride binding by the hydrate phases of cementitious materials influences the rate of chloride ingress into these materials and, thus, the time at which chloride reaches the steel reinforcement in concrete structures. Chloride binding isotherms of individual hydrate phases would be required to model chloride ingress but are only scarcely available and partly conflicting. The present study by RILEM TC 283-CAM ‘Chloride transport in alkali-activated materials’ significantly extends the available database and resolves some of the apparent contradictions by determining the chloride binding isotherms of layered double hydroxides (LDH), including AFm phases (monosulfate, strätlingite, hydrotalcite, and meixnerite), and of alkali-activated slags (AAS) produced with four different activators (Na2SiO3, Na2O·1.87SiO2, Na2CO3, and Na2SO4), in NaOH/NaCl solutions at various liquid/solid ratios. Selected solids after chloride binding were analysed by X-ray diffraction, and thermodynamic modelling was applied to simulate the phase changes occurring during chloride binding by the AFm phases. The results of the present study show that the chloride binding isotherms of LDH/AFm phases depend strongly on the liquid/solid ratio during the experiments. This is attributed to kinetic restrictions, which are, however, currently poorly understood. Chloride binding by AAS pastes is only moderately influenced by the employed activator. A steep increase of the chloride binding by AAS occurs at free chloride concentrations above approx. 1.0 M, which is possibly related to chloride binding by the C–(N–)A–S–H gel in the AAS.
Application of nanotechnology in construction
Zhu, W.; Bartos, P. J. M.; Porro, A. (2007)
Materials and Structures
Mechanical properties of 3D printed concrete: a RILEM TC 304-ADC interlaboratory study — flexural and tensile strength
Wolfs, Rob; Versteege, Jelle; Santhanam, Manu; et al. (2025)
Materials and Structures
This paper discusses the flexural and tensile strength properties of 3D printed concrete, based on the results of a RILEM TC 304-ADC interlaboratory study on mechanical properties. These properties are determined using different testing techniques, including 3- and 4-point flexural tests, splitting tests, and uniaxial tension tests, on specimens extracted from large 3D printed elements in accordance with a prescribed study plan. The relationship between compressive and flexural or tensile strengths, cast or printed samples, different types of tests, and different loading orientations, are analysed to understand the influence of 3D printing. As expected, the strength can reduce significantly when the main tensile stress is acting perpendicular to the interface between layers. The role of deviations from the standard study procedure, in terms of the time interval between the placing of subsequent layers, or the adoption of a different curing strategy, are also assessed. While the increased time interval significantly impacts the strength in the critical direction, the use of variable curing conditions does not seem to have a clear-cut effect on the strength ratios of the printed to cast specimens. Additionally, the paper looks at the variability in the results for the printed specimens, in order to emphasize the need for multiple replicates for obtaining a proper result. An extensive insight into the aspects affecting the variability is presented in the paper. Finally, with the limited dataset available for specimens tested at a larger scale, it is difficult to arrive at a clear understanding of the role of specimen size (i.e., greater number of layers).

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