Bubbled Roller Compacted Concrete Dam: an idea of a hollow dam

Roller compacted concrete is widely known for its relatively low cost and short construction time. RCC gravity dams require high foundation (rock) bearing capacity. Research has been carried out which proposes to rationalise the amount of material in the dam by creating inner voids, in the shape of bubbles. As a key requirement, the introduced bubbles should not affect the dam stability and safety. The bubbles will reduce the self-weight of the dam and minimise the required rock bearing capacity. A system of pipes connecting the bubbles ensures drainage of the bubbles. The proposed dam would save about 12% of the required concrete volume. Different construction methods were studied and the best alternative is the use of precast hollow boxes. This decreases RCC placement in the dam by 32.5%. The objective is to speed the construction process and minimise the risk of the heat of hydration.

The Effect of Various Grinding Aids on the Properties of Cement and Its Compatibility with Acrylate-Based Superplasticizer

The influence of grinding aids (pure triethanolamine and ethylene glycol) on the properties of cements, their compatibility with an acrylate-based superplasticizer and the rheological parameters of mortars were investigated. The presence of surfactants influences the standard properties of cements and the effectiveness of the superplasticizer. The results of the heat of hydration and setting time measurements indicate a delay in the hydration process and an increase in the induction period duration of the surfactant-doped pastes, in relation to the reference sample without grinding aids. Triethanolamine increases early-age compressive strength; the effect was observed for both standard and superplasticizer-containing mortars. The presence of grinding aids decreases the slump flow of mortars and increases rheological parameters such as yield stress (τ0) and viscosity (η).

Effect of Admixtures on Concrete and Superplasticizers on Cementitious Material

Use of chemical and mineral admixtures have proved beneficial in improving quality, workability and have enhanced finish ability of concrete. They also help in maintaining the concrete during its important stages such as mixing, transporting, placing, curing and also in adverse weather conditions. Superplasticizers are super water reducers that allow 15-20% water reducion thereby increasing the workability without any change in the composition of mix.The reduction in water and cement reduces creep, shrinkage and heat of hydration. In this paper effect of different chemical and mineral admixture was studied along with sand to aggregate volume ratio ,cement content and water were analysed by preparing different concrete mixtures using water reducers and superplasticizers. A specimen of 200mm and 300mm was prepared and tested for compressive strength, split tensile strength and young's modulus. Slump test was also performed at 15 min interval. Also superplasticizers (TJ III , LIGNIN-SULPHONATE-based and NAPHTHALENE-SULPHONATE-based) were taken and their effect on the heat of hydration and induction period of cementitious material (portland cement) was studied. Keywords: admixture, workability, superplasticizer, water cement ratio, heat of hydration.

Hydration–Strength–Workability–Durability of Binary, Ternary, and Quaternary Composite Pastes

At present, reducing carbon emissions is an urgent problem that needs to be solved in the cement industry. This study used three mineral admixtures materials: limestone powder (0–10%), metakaolin (0–15%), and fly ash (0–30%). Binary, ternary, and quaternary pastes were prepared, and the specimens’ workability, compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse speed, surface resistivity, and the heat of hydration were studied; X-ray diffraction and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared tests were conducted. In addition, the influence of supplementary cementitious materials on the compressive strength and durability of the blended paste and the sustainable development of the quaternary-blended paste was analyzed. The experimental results are summarized as follows: (1) metakaolin can reduce the workability of cement paste; (2) the addition of alternative materials can promote cement hydration and help improve long-term compressive strength; (3) surface resistivity tests show that adding alternative materials can increase the value of surface resistivity; (4) the quaternary-blended paste can greatly reduce the accumulated heat of hydration; (5) increasing the amount of supplementary cementitious materials can effectively reduce carbon emissions compared with pure cement paste. In summary, the quaternary-blended paste has great advantages in terms of durability and sustainability and has good development prospects.

Development of a Practical Heat of Hydration Model for Concrete Curing for Geotechnical Applications

Thermal integrity profiling (TIP) is a common non-destructive technique to evaluate the quality of construction of piles by analysing the temperature fields due to heat of hydration from freshly cast concrete piles. For this process to be accurate, a reliable concrete heat of hydration model is required. This paper proposes a practical and simple to calibrate four parameter model for the prediction of concrete heat of hydration. This model has been shown to be able to reproduce the evolution of heat of hydration measured in laboratory tests, as well as field measurements of temperature within curing concrete piles, as part of a thermal integrity profiling (TIP) operation performed at a site in London. With the simplicity of the model and the small number of model parameters involved, this model can be easily and quickly calibrated, enabling quick predictions of expected temperatures for subsequent casts using the same concrete mix.

Analysis of the temperature effect on the stresses and deformations of GRP panels during the grouting process when using relining technology

The paper presents a numerical analysis of the behaviour of egg-shaped glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) panels during the grouting process when using short relining technology. The analysis was carried out for panels subjected to temperature changes. The temperature increase was caused by the heat of hydration of the grout. It was shown that temperature had a significant effect on the stresses occurring in the panels’ walls and also on their deformations. The analysis involved grout being added in a single stage and then in two stages for comparison. The distribution of stresses and deformations were examined for panels with different wall thicknesses that ranged from 12 to 20 mm. Extensive knowledge about the grouting process and the effect of temperature on the behaviour of GRP panels during the assembly stage when using short relining technology could make this non-disruptive technology more competitive with regards to the time of its implementation and its costs when compared to traditional methods.

Mass Concrete Placement of the Offshore Wind Turbine Foundation: A Statistical Approach to Optimize the Use of Fly Ash and Silica Fume

The experimental program investigated concrete with a large amount of fly ash (FA) with silica fume (SF) to replace Portland cement on the results of semi-adiabatic test, compressive strength test, and the rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT). The replacement ratios of cement by a combination of FA and SF were 30%, 35%, and 40% by mass. The percentages of SF to replace cement were 0%, 4%, and 8% by mass. Three different water-to-binder ratios (W/B) of 0.34, 0.36, and 0.38 were also investigated. Multiple linear regression was applied to construct the predicted equations (models) for the semi-adiabatic temperature rise test and the compressive strength test. Models were assessed statistically and were used to solve the concrete mixture design optimization problems. The mixture with W/B of 0.36, 31% FA, and 5% SF was found to optimally satisfy the multi-objective problem: 28-day compressive strength of 50 MPa, low heat of hydration, and very low chloride penetrability classification. Field test on the actual wind turbine foundation of the optimal mixture revealed the maximum temperature rise was 74.8 °C and the maximum temperature differential was 21.9 °C.

Effects of Fluorogypsum and Flue-Gas Desulfurization Gypsum on the Hydration and Hardened Properties of Alkali Slag Cement

In order to explore the influence of the types of waste gypsum on the properties of alkali slag cement, fluorogypsum (FG) and flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum were comparatively investigated. Moreover, the action mechanisms of FG and FGD gypsum on the properties of alkali slag cement were analyzed. The results show that both the FG and FGD gypsum prolonged the setting time of the alkali slag cement paste. However, the prolongation effect of FG was more pronounced than the FGD gypsum. When the compressive strength was maximum, the contents of FG and FGD gypsum were 5 and 6 wt.%, respectively. At 3 and 28 days, compared to the control sample, the compressive strengths increased by 59.3% and 24.3%, and 66.9% and 33.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the XRD, TG-DTA and SEM-EDS results showed that, with the increase in the contents of FG and FGD gypsum, ettringite was more easily produced and the hydration products were more abundant in the system. The greater the gypsum content of the paste, the less accumulated was the heat of hydration. The change of micro-structure caused by the formation of ettringite was the main reason for the difference in the properties of cement.

Structure and Properties of Alkaline Cement and Concrete and Choice of Factors That Affect Service Life

The chapter covers the results of influence of changes in proportions between Portland cement and slag content, along with different quantities of alkali components in the cement systems on their heat of hydration and the effect of this during their hardening on character of internal stresses development and crack opening in concrete. The correlation between heat of hydration of the cements during hardening, strength of the concrete and stress development, and the dependence of this relationship on technical and technological factors were received. A new structure-based model for the durability (cracking) assessment of the alkaline cement concrete with heat of hydration and deformation properties during hardening as the input was received.

Influence of Wood Fly Ash on Concrete Properties through Filling Effect Mechanism

This paper presents the results of an experimental study aimed at determining the influence of wood fly ash (WFA) from three Croatian power plants on the properties of concrete. First, the chemical and physical properties of WFA’s were determined. It was found that these properties are highly influenced by combustion technology, the type and parts of wood used as fuel, and the local operating conditions. Subsequently, workability, heat of hydration, stiffness development, 28-day compressive strength, apparent porosity, and capillary absorption were determined on concrete mixes prepared with WFA as cement replacement from 5–45% by weight. Cement replacement up to 15% with the finest WFA accelerated hydration, stiffness development, and increased compressive strength of concrete up to 18%, while replacement with coarser WFA’s led to a decrease in compressive strength of up to 5% and had more gradual heat liberation. The dominant effect that could explain these findings is attributed to the filler and filling effect mechanisms. At the same time replacement content of up to 45% had very little effect on capillary absorption and could give concrete with sufficiently high compressive strength to be suitable for construction purposes.