Thien Q. Tran , Rachel Cook , Olajide Ipindola , Ebenezer O. Fanijo , Aron Newman , Paul E. Stutzman , Alexander S. Brand
{"title":"Measuring mineralized carbon in carbonate minerals and cementitious materials by an acid digestion-titration method","authors":"Thien Q. Tran , Rachel Cook , Olajide Ipindola , Ebenezer O. Fanijo , Aron Newman , Paul E. Stutzman , Alexander S. Brand","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107829","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107829","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) sequestration technology begins to emerge in the construction and building materials sectors, industry stakeholders require quantifiable assurance mineralized CO<sub>2</sub> content of emerging carbonated products. This study adapts a Digestion-Titration Method (DTM) for the determination of mineralized CO<sub>2</sub> content in cementitious materials based on tests that were originally developed in the early 1900s. The experimental conditions were optimized with a systematic design of experiments (DOE) approach. The method utilizes hydrochloric acid to digest carbonate minerals (<em>i.e.</em>, CaCO<sub>3</sub>, MgCO<sub>3</sub>) under vacuum conditions. The liberated CO<sub>2</sub> from acid digestion is captured by a barium hydroxide solution to precipitate barium carbonate. Titration is used to quantify the remaining barium hydroxide, yielding a back-estimation of the total CO<sub>2</sub> content. Mixtures of fixed compositions, portland cement, and a carbonated cementitious commercial product were employed to validate the proposed DTM method. DTM results were compared to thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the same samples. The outcomes of this work demonstrate that DTM can provide results consistent with TGA for samples containing a singular carbonate phase and yield more consistent quantification of mineralized CO<sub>2</sub> for samples containing multiple phases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 107829"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143395195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiawei Wang , Xiaohong Zhu , Jun Wang , Yang Chen , Yuanpeng Liu , Zhangli Hu , Jiaping Liu , Roya Maboudian , Paulo J.M. Monteiro
{"title":"Does the hydration process of supplementary cementitious materials affect the aging creep of blended cement paste?","authors":"Jiawei Wang , Xiaohong Zhu , Jun Wang , Yang Chen , Yuanpeng Liu , Zhangli Hu , Jiaping Liu , Roya Maboudian , Paulo J.M. Monteiro","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107826","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107826","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In cementitious materials, continuous hydration of mineral phases and creep always coexist, making it difficult to decouple the effect of hydration on creep measurements, which are invariably time-dependent. This study compares a real hydration (aging) system with an equivalent hydration (non-aging) system. In the non-aging system, the unhydrated phase was replaced with inert quartz at specific ages (1, 7, 28, and 91 days) to uncover the mechanism of clinker and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) hydration on creep. The results show that the hydration process of SCMs and morphology of calcium-aluminate-silicate-hydrates (C-A-S-H) dominate the creep magnitude and kinetics. The ongoing pozzolanic reaction of fly ash (FA) significantly increases creep, whereas the formation of foil-like C-A-S-H in slag (SL) blends inhibits its creep, except for the significant early-age creep due to the steep reaction of SL at the corresponding period. The high calcium concentration in cement pore solution delays the further hydration of the clinker, thereby slightly inhibiting the development of creep. The hydration-triggered dissolution of SCM and clinker contributes to creep development, whereas the load-induced dissolution of C-A-S-H may account for aging creep.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 107826"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143378329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yuguang Mao , Zhenguo Shi , Xiang Hu , Amani Khaskhoussi , Caijun Shi
{"title":"Chloride binding of cement paste containing wet carbonated recycled concrete fines","authors":"Yuguang Mao , Zhenguo Shi , Xiang Hu , Amani Khaskhoussi , Caijun Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107823","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107823","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The overall effect of wet carbonation recycled concrete fines (RCF) on the chloride binding capacity of cement paste was quantitatively decoupled into the effect of paste pH reduction, and the contribution of each component (uncarbonated phase, CaCO<sub>3</sub>, silica gel) in the wet carbonated RCF. Results indicate that incorporating wet carbonated RCF decreases both the chemical and physical chloride binding capacity of the cement paste. The extent of the decrease in the former is significantly lower than that of the latter. The main factors determining the extent of the decrease in chloride binding capacity are the reduction of paste pH and the effect of silica gel. These two effects become significant with increasing carbonation degree of RCF, mainly with increasing carbonation time. Increasing the CO₂ flow rate during RCF wet carbonation effectively mitigates the negative impact on chloride binding capacity due to the increased aluminum content in the produced silica gel.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 107823"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143378352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brayan Alberto Arenas-Blanco , Anderson Arboleda-Lamus , Mack Cleveland , Perla B. Balbuena , Jeffrey W. Bullard
{"title":"Dissolution mechanisms of gypsum, bassanite, and anhydrite: A molecular dynamics simulation approach","authors":"Brayan Alberto Arenas-Blanco , Anderson Arboleda-Lamus , Mack Cleveland , Perla B. Balbuena , Jeffrey W. Bullard","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107822","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107822","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Calcium sulfate has one of three hydration states, CaSO<sub>4</sub>∙ <em>x</em> H<sub>2</sub>O where <em>x</em> equals 0 (anhydrite), 0.5 (bassanite), or 2 (gypsum). Despite numerous investigations of their dissolution in aqueous environments, relatively little is known about the mechanisms at the atomic scale. Here, we shed light on these mechanisms through molecular dynamics simulations of selected surfaces of all three hydrated forms. Umbrella Sampling is used to determine the Potential of Mean Force and to calculate dissolution energy barriers from atomically smooth surfaces with or without one neighboring vacancy and from anhydrite kink sites. The force profiles for Ca<sup>2+</sup> and SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup> reveal intermediate steps prior to complete solvation and indicates that the energy barriers are impacted by the mineral's hydrated state, the detaching ion, and any neighboring surface vacancy. Water adsorption on anhydrite and bassanite is influenced by the type of vacancy present, with the SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup> vacancies promoting surface hydration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 107822"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143378351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xudong Zhao , Jian-Xin Lu , Weichen Tian , Martin Cyr , Arezki Tagnit-Hamou , Chi Sun Poon
{"title":"Self-healing performance of thermally damaged ultra-high performance concrete: Rehydration and recovery mechanism","authors":"Xudong Zhao , Jian-Xin Lu , Weichen Tian , Martin Cyr , Arezki Tagnit-Hamou , Chi Sun Poon","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107825","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107825","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Concrete suffers significant performance degradation when exposed to high temperatures. This study explored the beneficial role of waste glass powder (WGP) in mitigating thermal damage and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) after elevated temperature exposure. The mechanism was elucidated through the chemical and microstructure changes, the composition of hydrates after exposure to elevated temperatures, and the subsequent re-curing. The presence of WGP significantly enhanced the residual mechanical properties of UHPC due to more wollastonite generation. The WGP also facilitated the recovery of mechanical properties and surface morphology during the post-fire self-healing process. The microstructural results confirmed that the WGP promoted the formation of the wollastonite phase in the thermal-damaged UHPC by reacting with the dehydrated products. Thermodynamic simulations indicated that the incorporation of WGP in UHPC resulted in an increase of liquid phase and its early appearance at high temperatures led to the transformation of γ-C<sub>2</sub>S into more stable wollastonite phases. Meanwhile, the activation of unreacted WGP by limewater further generated secondary hydration products to reduce matrix porosity. These hydrates mainly consisted of C-(N)-S-H gels with a low calcium-to-silicon ratio (Ca/Si) and high sodium-to-silicon ratio (Na/Si) ratio, which could effectively fill the micropores and microcracks in UHPC. As a result, the densified microstructure induced by these regenerated C-(N)-S-H gels largely contributed to the recovery of the thermally damaged UHPC. The outcome of this study provides a decarbonization solution to address damages of UHPC exposed to fire conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 107825"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143378354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Air entrapment and reaction with absorbed liquids on the absorption of aerated concrete","authors":"Kazuma Fukui, Saya Kobayashi, Satoru Takada","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107824","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107824","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aerated concrete exhibits anomalous water transport, similar to mortar and concrete. Several factors, including water sensitivity, air entrapment, and gravity, are considered to be the causes; however, they are currently not quantitatively understood. This study aimed to clarify the mechanisms underlying the anomalous absorption of aerated concrete through liquid absorption experiments and numerical simulations of liquid and air transfer. The experiments showed that, unlike mortar and concrete, aerated concrete exhibited decreasing absorption rates during the initial stage of absorption, even when organic liquids were absorbed. A comparison between the calculations of simultaneous air and liquid transfers and those of single-phase water transfer in a material revealed that increases in water content in the high-water-content region were significantly reduced by air-pressure buildup. Therefore, the water absorption of aerated concrete, which is characterized by coarse aerated pores, is sensitive to air entrapment in addition to the water sensitivity of the cement component.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 107824"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143387800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"UR2: Ultra-rapid reactivity test for real-time, low-cost quality control of calcined clays","authors":"Yujia Min, Hossein Kabir, Chirayu Kothari, M. Farjad Iqbal, Nishant Garg","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107806","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107806","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To reduce cement's carbon footprint, there is growing interest in commercial adoption of sustainable SCMs such as calcined clays. However, the existing ASTM standard (R<sup>3</sup> test, C1897) to test the reactivity of such clays takes up to 7 days and cannot be used for real-time quality control in an industrial setting. We address this issue by introducing a 5-min Ultra-Rapid Reactivity (UR<sup>2</sup>) test. By dissolving 47 clay specimens in 4 M NaOH solutions at 90 °C, we report that a dissolution index of 1.54Al + Si correlates strongly to the 7-day R<sup>3</sup> heat (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.92, RMSE = 94.1 J/g). This dissolution index also correlates to the 28-day compressive strength for 14 clay mixtures (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.94, RMSE = 1.7 MPa). This UR<sup>2</sup> test relies on colorimetry and can be conducted via off-the-shelf, low-cost cameras. Overall, our new UR<sup>2</sup> test opens a pathway for real-time, low-cost quality control of calcined clays.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 107806"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143378353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tianfeng Zhou , Haotian Duan , Beibei Li , Yuxia Pang , Hongming Lou , Dongjie Yang , Xueqing Qiu
{"title":"The interaction mechanism of polycarboxylate and β-naphthalene sulfonate superplasticizers: Synergistic adsorption rather than competitive adsorption","authors":"Tianfeng Zhou , Haotian Duan , Beibei Li , Yuxia Pang , Hongming Lou , Dongjie Yang , Xueqing Qiu","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107811","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107811","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The challenge of compatibility between polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PCE) and β-naphthalene sulfonate superplasticizer (BNS) remains an enduring puzzle, requiring a comprehensive understanding of their interaction mechanism. In our study, the macroscopic properties, microscopic interfacial adsorption, and intermolecular forces are investigated in detail to elucidate the interaction between PCE and BNS. The results show that the dispersing ability of PCE and BNS decreases under different blending sequences. The increased adsorption of the blended superplasticizers indicates that PCE and BNS undergo synergistic adsorption on the surface of cement particles rather than competitive adsorption. Atomic force microscopy reveals a shift in the intermolecular forces of the blended superplasticizers from repulsion to attraction, including CH-π interactions and hydrophobic interactions. BNS adsorption on the PCE side chain results in the bending and collapse of the latter, which prevents PCE from providing steric hindrance. Moreover, PCE side chains wrap around BNS molecules, reducing the absolute value of zeta potential of cement particles' surfaces. The study, conducted through both experimental and theoretical methods, provides evidence that attractive forces between PCE and BNS have a disruptive influence on the original molecular structure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 107811"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143375811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Minjie Jia , Xiangyi Chen , Zhichao Xu , Juncheng Wen , Yingzi Yang , Kunyang Yu , Yushi Liu
{"title":"A new approach for constructing UHPC conductive pathways: Oriented deposition of conductive hydration products","authors":"Minjie Jia , Xiangyi Chen , Zhichao Xu , Juncheng Wen , Yingzi Yang , Kunyang Yu , Yushi Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107827","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107827","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Regulating the resistivity of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) infrastructure is crucial for endowing UHPC with intelligence and multifunctionality. In this study, we proposed a new approach to enhance the electrical conductivity of UHPC via high-temperature electric induction. When the temperature of electric-cured UHPC was heated to 90–130 °C, the resistivity dropped sharply. After electric curing, the resistivity of UHPC was significantly reduced from 8.7 MΩ·cm to 537.18 Ω·cm compared to that of steam-cured UHPC. It was confirmed that the tunneling effect and dielectric breakdown were the main reasons for the sudden resistivity drop during electric curing. Moreover, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and model experiments revealed the oriented deposition of new conductive products within the UHPC matrix. This approach also strengthened UHPC in 3 h comparable to 3-day steam curing of 90 °C. This work opened up a novel path in constructing effective conductive networks of cement-based materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 107827"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143375812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohmad M. Thakur , N. Axel Henningsson , Jonas Engqvist , Pierre-Olivier Autran , Jonathan P. Wright , Ryan C. Hurley
{"title":"Grain-scale stress heterogeneity in concrete from in-situ X-ray measurements","authors":"Mohmad M. Thakur , N. Axel Henningsson , Jonas Engqvist , Pierre-Olivier Autran , Jonathan P. Wright , Ryan C. Hurley","doi":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107789","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cemconres.2025.107789","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Concrete features significant microstructural heterogeneity which affects its mechanical behavior. Strain localization in the matrix phase of concrete has received significant attention due to its relation to microcracking and our ability to quantify it with X-ray computed tomography (XRCT). In contrast, stresses in sand and aggregates remain largely unmeasured but remain critical for micromechanics-based theories of failure. Here, we use a combination of <em>in-situ</em> XRCT, 3D X-ray diffraction (3DXRD), and scanning 3DXRD to directly measure strain and stress within sand grains in two samples of mortar containing different sand volume fractions. Our results reveal that, in contrast to inclusion theories from continuum micromechanics, aggregates feature a broad distribution of average stresses and significant gradients in their internal stress fields. Our work furnishes the first known dataset with these quantitative stress measurements and motivates improvements in micromechanics models for concrete which can capture stress heterogeneity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":266,"journal":{"name":"Cement and Concrete Research","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 107789"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143349455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}