Effect of early strength agent on the properties of new bridge expansion joint UHPC material

Expansion joints are a weak and fragile part of bridge superstructure. The damage or failure of the expansion joint will lead to the decline of bridge durability and endanger the bridge structure and traffic safety. To improve the service life and performance of bridge expansion joints, the ideal method is to use seamless expansion joints. In this study, starting from the commonly used asphalt mixture gradation of seamless expansion joint, and taking into account the actual situation of bridge expansion joint structure and environment in China, the gradation and asphalt-aggregate ratio are preliminarily designed. Through a Marshall test, the corresponding asphalt mixture is evaluated and analyzed according to the stability, flow value, and void ratio, and the optimal gradation and asphalt-aggregate ratio are determined. Finally, the asphalt mixture is prepared with the mixture ratio design, and the test results of an immersion Marshall test, fatigue performance test, and full-scale test verify that the asphalt mixture meets the road performance requirements of seamless expansion joints. On the basis of the experimental data, the performance of large sample asphalt mixture is continuously tested, compared, and optimized. The results show that the asphalt mixture ratio designed is true and reliable, which can provide reference for the optimal design of seamless expansion joint filler.

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Effect of Calcium Nitrate on the Properties of Portland–Limestone Cement-Based Concrete Cured at Low Temperature

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14071611 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (7) ◽

pp. 1611

Author(s):

Gintautas Skripkiūnas ◽

Asta Kičaitė ◽

Harald Justnes ◽

Ina Pundienė

Keyword(s):

Compressive Strength ◽

Cement Paste ◽

Setting Time ◽

Calcium Nitrate ◽

Curing Temperature ◽

Hardened Concrete ◽

Cement Pastes ◽

Initial Setting Time ◽

Initial Setting ◽

Early Strength

The effect of calcium nitrate (CN) dosages from 0 to 3% (of cement mass) on the properties of fresh cement paste rheology and hardening processes and on the strength of hardened concrete with two types of limestone-blended composite cements (CEM II A-LL 42.5 R and 42.5 N) at different initial (two-day) curing temperatures (−10 °C to +20 °C) is presented. The rheology results showed that a CN dosage up to 1.5% works as a plasticizing admixture, while higher amounts demonstrate the effect of increasing viscosity. At higher CN content, the viscosity growth in normal early strength (N type) cement pastes is much slower than in high early strength (R type) cement pastes. For both cement-type pastes, shortening the initial and final setting times is more effective when using 3% at +5 °C and 0 °C. At these temperatures, the use of 3% CN reduces the initial setting time for high early strength paste by 7.4 and 5.4 times and for normal early strength cement paste by 3.5 and 3.4 times when compared to a CN-free cement paste. The most efficient use of CN is achieved at −5 °C for compressive strength enlargement; a 1% CN dosage ensures the compressive strength of samples at a −5 °C initial curing temperature, with high early strength cement exceeding 3.5 MPa but being less than the required 3.5 MPa in samples with normal early strength cement.

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Effect of C-S-H Nucleating Agent on Cement Hydration

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11146638 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (14) ◽

pp. 6638

Author(s):

Wenhao Zhao ◽

Xuping Ji ◽

Yaqing Jiang ◽

Tinghong Pan

Keyword(s):

Fractal Dimension ◽

Cement Hydration ◽

Nucleating Agent ◽

Crystal Nucleation ◽

Enhancement Effect ◽

Hydration Products ◽

Hydration Degree ◽

Hydration Kinetics ◽

Cement Mortars ◽

Early Strength

This work aims to study the effect of a nucleating agent on cement hydration. Firstly, the C-S-H crystal nucleation early strength agent (CNA) is prepared. Then, the effects of CNA on cement hydration mechanism, early strength enhancement effect, C-S-H content, 28-days hydration degree and 28-days fractal dimension of hydration products are studied by hydration kinetics calculation, resistivity test, BET specific surface area test and quantitative analysis of backscattered electron (BSE) images, respectively. The results show that CNA significantly improves the hydration degree of cement mixture, which is better than triethanolamine (TEA). CNA shortens the beginning time of the induction period by 49.3 min and the end time of the cement hydration acceleration period by 105.1 min than the blank sample. CNA increases the fractal dimension of hydration products, while TEA decreases the fractal dimension. CNA significantly improves the early strength of cement mortars; the 1-day and 3-days strength of cement mortars with CNA are more than the 3-days and 7-days strength of the blank sample. These results will provide a reference for the practical application of the C-S-H nucleating agent.

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