scholarly journals Advancing cement-based materials design through data science approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 140-149
Author(s):  
Renee Rios ◽  
Chris Childs ◽  
Scott Smith ◽  
Newell Washburn ◽  
Kimberly Kurtis

The massive scale of concrete construction constrains the raw materials’ feedstocks that can be considered – requiring both universal abundance but also economical and energy-efficient processing. While significant improvements– from more efficient cement and concrete production to increased service life – have been realized over the past decades through traditional research paradigms, non-incremental innovations are necessary now to meet increasingly urgent needs, at a time when innovations in materials create even greater complexity. Data science is revolutionizing the rate of discovery and accelerating the rate of innovation for material systems. This review addresses machine learning and other data analytical techniques which utilize various forms of variable representation for cementitious systems. These techniques include those guided by physicochemical and cheminformatics approaches to chemical admixture design, use of materials informatics to develop process-structure-property linkages for quantifying increased service life, and change-point detection for assessing pozzolanicity in candidate supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). These latent variables, coupled with approaches to dimensionality reduction driven both algorithmically as well as through domain knowledge, provide robust feature representation for cement-based materials and allow for more accurate models and greater generalization capability, resulting in a powerful design tool for infrastructure materials.

Author(s):  
Olusola Emmanuel Babalola ◽  
Paul O. Awoyera

Supplementary cementitious materials are most needed to enhance a sustainable development in poor communities. It is pertinent to investigate the suitability of such alternative materials for construction. The present study evaluates the strength characteristics of concrete made with varied proportion of Cordia millenii ash blended with Portland cement. Chemical composition of Cordia millenii and the setting time when blended with cement was determined. Other laboratory tests performed on Cordia millenii blended cement include: sieve analysis and specific gravity. Five replacement percentages of Cordia millenii (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) were blended with cement in concrete. Control specimens were also produced with only cement. Tests to determine the workability, air entrained, bulk density and compressive strength properties of the concrete were also conducted. Results obtained revealed that optimum Cordia millenii mix is 10%, which yielded the highest density and compressive strength in the concrete.


2014 ◽  
Vol 621 ◽  
pp. 30-34
Author(s):  
Eva Vejmelková ◽  
Dana Koňáková ◽  
Monika Čáchová ◽  
Martin Keppert ◽  
Adam Hubáček ◽  
...  

Natural zeolite rocks are known to be able to act as Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM) in Portland cement based concrete. Generally SCMs are reacting with portlandite and providing binding hydration products just as Portland cement does. In this way an SCM can substitute certain amount of Portland cement in concrete and thus reduce the related energy consumption and CO2 generation. Due to a large variability of SCMs composition and properties there is not any general rule for an optimum Portland cement substitution level. In this paper, the influence of natural zeolite rock on selected mechanical, hygric and thermal properties of concrete is studied. Experimental results show that the analyzed zeolite is acting as a pozzolan but for higher amounts its application leads to an increase in concrete porosity which affects its properties in a significant way.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4437
Author(s):  
Shashank Gupta ◽  
Salam Al-Obaidi ◽  
Liberato Ferrara

Concrete and cement-based materials inherently possess an autogenous self-healing capacity. Despite the huge amount of literature on the topic, self-healing concepts still fail to consistently enter design strategies able to effectively quantify their benefits on structural performance. This study aims to develop quantitative relationships through statistical models and artificial neural network (ANN) by establishing a correlation between the mix proportions, exposure type and time, and width of the initial crack against suitably defined self-healing indices (SHI), quantifying the recovery of material performance. Furthermore, it is intended to pave the way towards consistent incorporation of self-healing concepts into durability-based design approaches for reinforced concrete structures, aimed at quantifying, with reliable confidence, the benefits in terms of slower degradation of the structural performance and extension of the service lifespan. It has been observed that the exposure type, crack width and presence of healing stimulators such as crystalline admixtures has the most significant effect on enhancing SHI and hence self-healing efficiency. However, other parameters, such as the amount of fibers and Supplementary Cementitious Materials have less impact on the autogenous self-healing. The study proposes, through suitably built design charts and ANN analysis, a straightforward input–output model to quickly predict and evaluate, and hence “design”, the self-healing efficiency of cement-based materials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Deborah Dauda ◽  
Manju Dominic

Many ways have been sought to improve soils, especially expansive soils which have been problematic to structures and pavements built over them and soil stabilization seems to be one of the effective ways. But soil stabilization in itself is not cost-effective hence the introduction of agricultural wastes being researched on and seen as a cheaper means to be used as stabilizing agents which helps in minimizing the cost of soil stabilization, thereby reducing the problem of waste disposal. Agricultural wastes like Rice Husk Ash, Bagasse Ash, Sugarcane Straw Ash, Saw Dust Ash, Coconut Husk Ash, Millet Husk Ash, Corn Cob Ash, Locust Bean Pod Ash, Cassava Peel Ash and Bamboo Leaf Ash have been experimented with in stabilizing soils and as well, serving as supplementary cementitious materials for cement in concrete production. The strengths of the soils and the concrete stabilized with these wastes were seen to improve significantly and their effectiveness was estimated based on an average optimum value. Agricultural waste processing Industries can be set up to help in the massive production of these natural stabilizers which would lessen the cost of soil stabilization using cement and chemicals and also generally reduce problems that are associated with waste disposal, helping in waste management.  Keywords—expansive soils, soil stabilization, agricultural wastes


2021 ◽  
Vol 920 (1) ◽  
pp. 012014
Author(s):  
R M K Tahara ◽  
M H Hasnan ◽  
N Z N Azizan

Abstract Conventional construction materials are considered as exploitation to natural resources. Thus, numerous alternative materials using natural or waste materials are proposed for concrete production as a response for greener, renewable and biodegradable environments with regard to sustainability. Natural fibre such as bamboo has been rapidly proposed for many applications especially for concrete production in construction. In order to tackle the environmental issues and focusing on sustainability, natural fibre of Beting bamboo is proposed for partial replacement used as supplementary cementitious materials. Current study investigates the partial replacement of coarse aggregate with Beting bamboo in concrete mixtures. The outcome of the study discovers that through the mix design, replacing 5% by weight of Beting bamboo is an ideal % to achieve concrete mixture for structural and nonstructural application. However, with the increase % of Beting bamboo for partial replacement, the strength of the concrete gradually decreased.


Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Katarina Malaga ◽  
Nadia Al-Ayish ◽  
Urs Mueller

s the global population is growing and changing the globalization direction towards large city areas the needs for the development of infrastructure and housing will increase. In order to have a safe and sustainable construction the infrastructure needs to be not only sustainable but also durable. In some cases, the concrete is subjected to severe environments, e.g., elevated or high temperatures, de-icing salts, seawater exposure or acidic environment, which means increased demand to extend the service life beyond what is prescribed in the design codes. The sustainability of concrete infrastructures is highly dependent on the durability. A longer service life with low repair work reduces the greenhouse gas emissions. Various admixtures and cement supplementary materials may increase the durability of the concrete. However, it is also important to consider the embodied impact and safety issues concerning innovative nanomaterials as well as application of slag and fly-ash in concrete and their future availability on the market. Here we present an overview on the latest developments on the durability and sustainability of climate-optimized concrete.


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suvash Chandra Paul ◽  
Peter Mbewe ◽  
Sih Kong ◽  
Branko Šavija

Concrete production utilizes cement as its major ingredient. Cement production is an important consumer of natural resources and energy. Furthermore, the cement industry is a significant CO2 producer. To reduce the environmental impact of concrete production, supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash, blast furnace slag, and silica fume are commonly used as (partial) cement replacement materials. However, these materials are industrial by-products and their availability is expected to decrease in the future due to, e.g., closing of coal power plants. In addition, these materials are not available everywhere, for example, in developing countries. In these countries, industrial and agricultural wastes with pozzolanic behavior offer opportunities for use in concrete production. This paper summarizes the engineering properties of concrete produced using widespread agricultural wastes such as palm oil fuel ash, rice husk ash, sugarcane bagasse ash, and bamboo leaf ash. Research on cement replacement containing agricultural wastes has shown that there is great potential for their utilization as partial replacement for cement and aggregates in concrete production. When properly designed, concretes containing these wastes have similar or slightly better mechanical and durability properties compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete. Thus, successful use of these wastes in concrete offers novel sustainable materials and contributes to greener construction as it reduces the amount of waste, while also minimizing the use of virgin raw materials for cement production. This paper will help the concrete industry choose relevant waste products and their optimum content for concrete production. Furthermore, this study identifies research gaps which may help researchers in further studying concrete based on agricultural waste materials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuzhi Zhang ◽  
Liming Lin ◽  
Mengdi Bi ◽  
Hailong Sun ◽  
Heng Chen ◽  
...  

This paper investigates the effect of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) on the fresh and mechanical properties of nano-silica modified cement-based materials (NSMCBM) based on the response surface method (RSM). Fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), and silica fume (SF) were selected and the Box-Behnken design (BBD) method was used to design mix proportion. Besides, the quadratic term model was used to describe the relationship between independent variables and responses including fluidity, yield stress, plastic viscosity, thixotropy, and 3, 7, 28, and 56 d compressive strength. Based on the quadratic term model, the response surface of each response was drawn to understand the influence of SCMs. Results showed that FA had significant effect on fluidity and thixotropy while three kinds of SCMs had extremely significant effect on plastic viscosity. Response surface plot showed that NS could increase the plastic viscosity of NSMCBM to 1.445 Pa•s (M16). However, the addition of FA and GGBFS decreased the plastic viscosity to 0.9 Pa•s, which was comparable with the reference sample (M17). Such value was 37.7% lower than that of M16. Meanwhile, NS complemented the reduction of compressive strength caused by SCMs. Thus, the synergy effect of SCMs and NS could improve both fresh and mechanical properties. At last, multi-objective optimization was utilized to optimize the proportion of SCMs considering the interaction between SCMs to achieve desirable parameters.


Author(s):  
P.L. Ng ◽  
J.J. Chen ◽  
A.K.H. Kwan

Superfine natural zeolite (SNZ) is obtained by grinding natural zeolite to micro-fine size, whereas condensed silica fume (CSF) is by-product of ferrosilicon industry. Both SNZ and CSF are environmentally-friendly supplementary cementitious materials for mortar and concrete production. Owing to the high fineness and favourable grading of SNZ and CSF (the median particle sizes were 4 μm and 0.4 μm, respectively), the addition of SNZ and CSF could successively fill the voids between ordinary Portland cement (OPC) grains and increase the packing density of the binder, so as to reduce the volume of voids to be filled with water. Therefore, triple blending of OPC+SNZ+CSF can benefit the overall performance of cement paste by releasing more water for flowability improvement at the same water/binder (W/B) ratio, or adopting a lower W/B ratio for strength improvement at the same flowability requirement. This study evaluated the effects of adding SNZ and CSF on the packing density and water film thickness of binder. The experimental results proved that triple blending with SNZ and CSF could increase the packing density and improve the flowability and cohesiveness of cementitious paste.


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