The effect of silanes as integral hydrophobic admixture on the physical properties of cement based materials

The paper explores the possibility of using organosilicon compounds (e.g., poly(dimethylsiloxane) and triethoxyoctylsilane) in commercial admixtures as internal hydrophobization agents for porous cement-based materials. The study involved the cement mortar with five different hydrophobic admixtures. Four of them is based on triethoxyoctylsilane, but with various concentration of the main ingredient, and one of them on poly(dimethylsiloxane). Mechanical properties, capillary water absorption, as well as microstructure were investigated. The organosilicon admixtures efficiently decrease the capillary water absorption even by 81% decreasing mechanical strength of cement mortar at the same time even by 55%. Only one admixture, based on poly(dimethylsiloxane) caused significant changes in microstructure of cement mortar.

The Impact of Wood Waste Ash on Physical Mechanical Properties of Concrete

In this work is analysing the impact of wood waste bottom ash (WWBA) on the physical mechanical properties of Portland cement concrete (PCC). WWBA is a waste generated in power plants during burning forest residues to produce energy and heat. In 2019, about 19,800 tons of WWBA was generated only in Lithuania. Usually, WWBA is disposed of in landfills, only 26% of WWBA is used in the construction or maintenance of local roads, because of that it is useful to know properties of such WWBA and to analyse possibilities of using it in cement concrete. In the chemical composition of such WWBA type was fixed a big amount ~50% of CO2. It is known, that C retards cement hydration. Due to stabilisation this process, it was used in the same amounts catalyst waste from oil cracking (FCCCw), which could accelerate hydration processes. Oil refineries worldwide generate more than 800,000 tonnes of FCCCw per year, of which around 20% in Europe and it is the big problem to landfill. In the investigation the amount of Portland cement (5-20% by mass) was replaced by mentioned wastes and properties of fresh PCC (density, slump, flow diameter) and physical mechanical properties of hardened PCC (water absorption, capillary water absorption, ultrasound pulse velocity, density, compressive strength after 28 days and 2 years curing, SEM) were established. It was determined, that by increasing amount of waste (till 20%) the workability of concrete decreases, because used wastes had higher water requirement. The best results were obtained, when 5% of cement was replaced by WWBA. Then compressive strength after 28 days curing comparing to control sample decreased 8%, but after 2 years curing it increased 1%, also the capillary water absorption decreased, denser structure was formed. The obtained results of hardened PCC density, ultrasound pulse velocity and water absorption are similar to control samples.

Impact of Induction Furnace Steel Slag as Replacement for Fired Clay Brick Aggregate on Flexural and Durability Performances of RC Beams

This research investigates the flexural and durability performances of reinforced concrete (RC) beams made with induction furnace steel slag aggregate (IFSSA) as a replacement for fired clay brick aggregate (FCBA). To achieve this, 27 RC beams (length: 750 mm, width: 125 mm, height: 200 mm) were made with FCBA replaced by IFSSA at nine replacement levels of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, and 100% (by volume). Flexural tests of RC beams were conducted by a four-point loading test, where the deflection behavior of the beams was monitored through three linear variable displacement transducers (LVDT). The compressive strength and durability properties (i.e., porosity, resistance to chloride ion penetration, and capillary water absorption) were assessed using the same batch of concrete mix used to cast RC beams. The experimental results have shown that the flexural load of RC beams made with IFSSA was significantly higher than the control beam (100% FCBA). The increment of the flexural load was proportional to the content of IFSSA, with an increase of 27% for the beam made with 80% IFSSA than the control beam. The compressive strength of concrete increased by 56% and 61% for the concrete made with 80% and 100% IFSSA, respectively, than the control concrete, which is in good agreement with the flexural load of RC beams. Furthermore, the porosity, resistance to chloride ion penetration, and capillary water absorption were inversely proportional to the increase in the content of IFSSA. For instance, porosity, chloride penetration, and water absorption decreased by 43%, 54%, and 68%, respectively, when IFSSA entirely replaced FCBA. This decreasing percentage of durability properties is in agreement with the flexural load of RC beams. A good linear relationship of porosity with chloride penetration resistance and capillary water absorption was observed.

Influence of Sawdust Particle Sizes on the Physico-Mechanical Properties of Unfired Clay Blocks

Sawdust, which is a waste/by-product of the wood/timber industry, can be utilised as a valuable raw material in building material production due to its abundance and low cost. However, the application of sawdust in the manufacture of unfired clay blocks has received little investigation. Furthermore, the impact of different sawdust particle sizes on the properties of unfired clay blocks has not been studied. Therefore, this study screened sawdust at three different particle sizes: SP-a (212 μm < x < 300 μm), SP-b (425 μm < x < 600 μm) and SP-c (1.18 mm < x < 2.00 mm), to examine their effects on the physical and mechanical properties of unfired clay blocks. The density, linear shrinkage, capillary water absorption and flexural and compressive strengths were among the tests performed. Different sawdust percentages, i.e., 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% of the total weight of the clay, were considered. The tests results show that when sawdust was added to the mixture, the density of the samples reduced for all particle sizes. However, the linear shrinkage increased in SP-a samples but decreased in the other two particle size samples as the sawdust percentage increased from 2.5% to 10%. On the other hand, the capillary water absorption coefficient increased while the strength decreased with increasing sawdust content for all three groups. The highest compressive strength (CS) and flexural strength (FS) were achieved at 2.5% of sawdust content. Furthermore, it was observed that SP-b (CS—4.74 MPa, FS—2.00 MPa) samples showed the highest strength followed by SP-a (CS—4.09 MPa, FS—1.69 MPa) and SP-c (CS—3.90 MPa, FS—1.63 MPa) samples. Consequently, good-quality unfired clay blocks can be manufactured using sawdust up to 2.5% with particle sizes ranging between 600 and 425 μm.

Capillary water absorption in mixtures of cohesive soils stabilized with cement and hydrophobic agent

The paper presents the results of tests on capillary water absorption of mixtures from cohesive soils - clayey sand and sandy clay - stabilized with cement and the addition of a hydrophobic binder. Studies have shown that the appropriate addition of diamidoamine lactate allows to limit the penetration of water inside the stabilized samples, which increases their frost resistance. The mixtures with the additive showed lower capillary water absorption compared to the mixtures stabilized only with cement, especially in the first few hours after soaking with water.

Performance of rubber mortars containing silica coated rubber

This paper investigates the influence of silica coated rubber on the performance of rubber mortars. A classical Stöber sol-gel method is applied to produce a layer of silica coating on rubber particles, which is used to partially replace the fine aggregates in concrete. The effects of the surface-modified rubber particles on the flowability, mechanical strength, capillary water absorption rate, and microstructure of mortars are examined. The results show that the silica coating on the rubber particles reduces the contact angle between the rubber particles from 120° to 103° (i.e., by 17°) and changes the hydrophobic properties from strong hydrophobicity to weak hydrophobicity. The mechanical strengths of mortars are significantly improved by the incorporation of surface-modified rubber particles, i.e., from 41.60% to 44.86% (compressive strength) and from 7.80% to 26.28% (flexural strength). In addition, the incorporation of surface modified rubber particles increases the density of the mortar’s microstructure and enhances the interfaces with its surrounding pastes.