Luca Boccarusso, Ilaria Capasso, Dario De Fazio, Massimo Durante, Fabio Iucolano, Antonio Langella
{"title":"Manufacturing and mechanical performance of lightened gypsum reinforced by hemp/epoxy composites","authors":"Luca Boccarusso, Ilaria Capasso, Dario De Fazio, Massimo Durante, Fabio Iucolano, Antonio Langella","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02472-1","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02472-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In recent years, the construction industry has increasingly focused on reducing its environmental impact, addressing research efforts towards innovative materials and technological solutions. In this context, gypsum-based materials and natural fibers represent some of the most promising alternatives in terms of sustainability. This paper aims to propose a new gypsum structure reinforced with a composite hemp fabric impregnated with epoxy resin, investigating its manufacturing process and the mechanical properties, specifically in terms of flexural, impact and bearing strength. To achieve lightweight structures, lightened gypsum was also considered in addition to conventional gypsum. Both the lightened gypsum matrix and the hemp/epoxy reinforcement were produced using specific techniques able to obtain lightweight gypsum composites. Beneficial effects in the use of lightened gypsum matrix were found indeed, the reinforced lightweight samples exhibited higher values of flexural strength coupled with a density reduction of about 18%. Additionally, a significant change in post-cracking behavior was observed, with a gradual failure rather than a brittle one<i>.</i> The same trend was observed for the impact, while for bearing strength, the presence of porosity affected negatively the resistance of the composites, prevailing over the benefits of density reduction. Experimental results demonstrated the presence of a good interaction between the hemp fabric and the gypsum matrix, which was further confirmed by the microstructure analysis. The interesting mechanical properties showed by these lightweight gypsum/hemp composites, suggested their possible use for different and unconventional applications of gypsum-based walls and components.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1617/s11527-024-02472-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142411188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. I. Aragón-Gijón, J. Rodríguez-Morales, J. A. Díaz-Guillén, J. I. Escalante-García, O. Burciaga-Díaz
{"title":"Limestone impact on properties, microstructure and CO2 emissions of waste glass-activated blast furnace slag cements","authors":"R. I. Aragón-Gijón, J. Rodríguez-Morales, J. A. Díaz-Guillén, J. I. Escalante-García, O. Burciaga-Díaz","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02469-w","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02469-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Utilizing industrial and urban solid wastes is crucial for developing low-carbon cements. This study proposes a novel method to integrate recycled glass and blast furnace slag (BFS) into alkali-activated cements. It also investigates the influence of pulverized limestone (LSP), as a readily available cost-efficient partial replacement for BFS. The activators were alternative solid sodium silicates (SSWG), prepared by thermochemical treatment of soda lime silica waste glass in NaOH solutions. SSWG had moduli (Ms) SiO<sub>2</sub>/Na<sub>2</sub>O = 1 and 1.5 and were added at 6 and 8%wt. Na<sub>2</sub>O relative to the mass of BFS + LSP. After 3 years, pastes of 100% BFS at 20 °C yielded the highest compressive strength of 78 MPa, while incorporating 50–75% LSP resulted in 61–42 MPa, depending on the Ms and %Na<sub>2</sub>O. Microstructural analysis via XRD, thermal analysis, SEM, and <sup>27</sup>Al and <sup>29</sup>Si NMR, indicated the formation of cementitious products like C–S–H, C–(A)–S–H, hydrotalcite, natron, gaylussite and pyrssonite. LSP increased the chain length in C–(A)–S–H-type products and affected the Al uptake by a seeding effect. The eco-efficiency analysis showed that the studied cements emit 45–74% less kgCO<sub>2</sub>.eq per ton than Portland cement.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142411189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Study of the seismic performance of damaged confined brick masonry walls reinforced with FRCM","authors":"Fenghao Qu, Shiping Yin, Fei Wang, Boxue Wang","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02474-z","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02474-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Masonry walls, the main load-bearing elements, are susceptible to shear damage due to seismic action. Currently, most masonry structures have various degrees of damage and must be strengthened in a timely manner to enhance their performance during earthquakes. This study presents pseudostatic test results for the use of FRCMs to strengthen damaged confined brick masonry walls. Tests were conducted on five walls, and performance indicators were compared for one unreinforced masonry wall and four masonry walls that were damaged and reinforced with various retrofit measures. Reinforcement by FRCM improved the integrity and increased the deformation of damaged walls. The study also examined the damage mechanism, hysteresis characteristics, deformation capacity, and energy dissipation. This study demonstrated the value of using FRCMs to repair damaged masonry walls to improve their seismic performance. The skeletal curves of the walls reinforced on both sides exhibited better postpeak behavior, and the seismic performance indices of the damaged walls strengthened by FRCM were better than those of the unreinforced wall. In accordance with the results of these experiments and previous studies by other scholars, the damage severity and limit state of the FRCM-strengthened walls were determined on the basis of displacement drift. Furthermore, the calculated shear capacities of the FRCM-reinforced walls agreed well with the experimental values.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142411185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Local bond properties of steel rebar embedded in poured earth concrete: effect of recycled fine aggregate and rebar diameter","authors":"Ali Dheyaa, Seyed Sina Mousavi, Mehdi Dehestani","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02470-3","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02470-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The use of poured earth concrete (PEC) as a sustainable alternative to traditional concrete has been gaining popularity. However, there are challenges with the interfacial properties between rebar and concrete, and no research is dedicated to addressing this issue. Accordingly, an experimental program is conducted in the present study to measure the bond properties in PEC. Various rebar diameters of 14 mm, 18 mm, and 25 mm are considered. Different fine aggregate replacement percentages by recycled aggregate (RA) are also selected to improve PEC’s sustainability, including 30%, 50%, and 100%. A constant effective water-to-binder ratio of 0.50 is chosen. Various local bond characteristics are measured from the bond-slip envelope curves, including average bond stress, bond strength, residual bond stress, and bond energy. Results show that despite the low strength, appropriate bond properties along with pull-out failure mode can be obtained for PEC samples. Increasing rebar diameter considerably reduces the bond properties of PEC specimens and causes splitting failure mode. Higher contents of RA result in a reduction in bond properties, so that 30% fine aggregate replacement is the optimum content of RA. A new bond-predicting model is also proposed in the present study for PEC samples containing RA.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142411186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hamza Shams, Sikandar Hayat, Hanif Ullah, Hamid Abdrhman, Yanjun Qiu
{"title":"Alkali-Silica potential in fly-ash-based geopolymer concrete","authors":"Hamza Shams, Sikandar Hayat, Hanif Ullah, Hamid Abdrhman, Yanjun Qiu","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02479-8","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02479-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is a cutting-edge, environmentally friendly substance which replace cement, resulting in a significant decrease in carbon emissions and encouraging the adoption of more sustainable construction methods. The objective of this study is to evaluate the likelihood of Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) occurring in geopolymer concrete by using local aggregates, sourced from various places. The examination was conducted while employing the ASTM C 1260 test method, which entailed measuring the expansion of test bars over a period of 150 days. Additionally, compressive strength testing is performed by casting cubes, and flexural strength tests were performed by casting prisms. In addition, samples of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) were subjected to testing for comparison. The findings demonstrated that the expansion of GPC bars adhered to the limitations set by ASTM C 1260, with an expansion rate of less than 0.025% after 28 days. On the other hand, the OPC samples showed ASR growth that was greater than 0.2% after 28 days, which went over the limitations set by the ASTM standard. Furthermore, the GPC samples exhibited a notable enhancement in both compressive and flexural strength, with compressive strength showing a 15–25% improvement and flexural strength increasing by 5–15% even in harsh environmental conditions. However, OPC samples exhibited a decrease of up to 6% in compressive strength and 5% in flexural strength under same conditions. The findings indicate that geopolymer concrete provides greater resistance to ASR, improved durability, and an extended lifespan in comparison to OPC.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142410485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. de la Flor Juncal, G. Loporcaro, A. Scott, D. Clucas
{"title":"Influence of printing parameters on the durability of 3D-printed limestone calcined clay cement mortar: overlap between filaments and nozzle offset","authors":"L. de la Flor Juncal, G. Loporcaro, A. Scott, D. Clucas","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02451-6","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02451-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Large-scale cement-based Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP), is a promising technique to innovate the construction industry. The durability properties of printed specimens have been studied and compared to those of cast samples in the literature. However, no study has evaluated and quantified the influence of printing parameters on the durability of 3DCP specimens. Aspects such as nozzle offset and the overlap between printed filaments, among others, may influence the porosity of the samples and, therefore, the durability properties. This paper aims to investigate the influence of printing parameters on the durability of 3D manufactured mortar samples. The effects of the printing height and overlap between filaments on the durability properties were analysed in the X, Y and Z axes. An experimental investigation of 39 samples was conducted. Printed and cast specimens were subjected to a curing process for up to 90 days in a water tank at a temperature of 20 °C. Durability tests (oxygen permeability, electrical resistivity, and porosity) were performed at 7, 28 and 90 days. Relationships between the printing variables and durability properties with time were derived. Based on this study, it is concluded that the long-term properties of concrete are significantly sensitive to the overlap between filaments and the nozzle offset. In general, the durability properties were enhanced by modifying the printing parameters. In particular, an overlap of 4 mm showed the most promising results in this regard.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1617/s11527-024-02451-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142409293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Effects of specimen characteristics, fibre and mix constituents on the acoustic performance of rubberised concrete for traffic noise walls","authors":"Roshan Jayathilakage, Ailar Hajimoahammadi, Hamid Vali Pour, Danielle Moreau, Stephen Foster","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02459-y","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02459-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Recycling end-of-life tires (EOLT) presents a sustainable solution for addressing a major waste issue in many countries. This study focuses on the reuse of EOLT as construction materials, particularly in the form of EOLT-based rubberised concrete. However, several research gaps hinder the understanding of this construction material for implementation into practice. This study delves into key parameters, including admixture composition, aging, thickness, rubber distribution, and surface roughness, which play pivotal roles in designing and implementing rubberised concrete noise barriers. The paper presents the results of investigations into the performance of fibre-reinforced rubberised concrete when entrained with air, shedding light on flexural toughness and post-crack behaviour. The effects of incorporating fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) as cement replacements are also examined. The acoustic performance of fibre-reinforced rubber concrete is studied, including the impact of sample conditioning (surface saturated dry or dry). The results indicate that air-entraining admixtures, the replacement of coarse sand with tire-derived rubber shreds, and the inclusion of recycled polypropylene fibre significantly enhance the mechanical and acoustic properties of the concrete. For instance, compressive strength improves by 43%, flexural strength by 120% and acoustic performance nearly twice, while water absorption and volume of permeable voids remain relatively unaffected. This study suggests an optimized sustainable mix design with rubber replacing more than 75% of the aggregate volume. It underscores the potential of EOLT-based rubberised concrete as an environmentally responsible construction material, offering enhanced performance across multiple domains, including noise attenuation barriers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1617/s11527-024-02459-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142413660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"Bacterial species impact on self-healing of cement based materials in marine structures","authors":"Mustafa Erbakan, Behlul Furkan Ozel, Yuşa Şahin","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02444-5","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02444-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Despite concrete being inherently strong and resilient, durability issues stemming from undesirable cracks can significantly reduce the lifespan of concrete structures or cause costly maintenance and repair procedures. Accordingly, the phenomenon of self-healing holds crucial importance in preserving the longevity of existing buildings. This study particularly focused on utilizing two seawater tolerant bacteria, <i>Marinobacterium litorale</i>, and <i>Halomonas elongata</i>, in cementitious systems to experimentally investigate their overall performances and self-healing capabilities. <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> and <i>Bacillus megaterium</i>, which had proven effective in earlier studies, were used as controls. To gain insight into the self-healing potential of bacterial strains, a comprehensive experimental program including flow table, compressive strength, flexural strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, and capillary permeability tests were performed. Furthermore, the extent of self-healing was assessed using a digital camera to measure crack closure rates, and the healing products formed within cracks were characterized through FE-SEM–EDX, and XRD. Based on crack closure observations, mixtures containing <i>M. litorale</i> and <i>H. elongata</i> demonstrated superior self-healing performance, particularly in salt water environments. Consequently, both <i>M. litorale</i> and <i>H. elongata</i> exhibited promising mechanical and permeability performance, showcasing similar effectiveness to popular <i>Bacillus</i> strains.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142413338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yujie Bi, Haizhou Liu, Lingtao Mao, Jiaojiao Liu, Yifan Liu, Jianmin Zuo, Yang Ju, François Hild
{"title":"Investigation into debonding of single polypropylene fiber pullout in concrete using X-ray microtomography and mechanically regularized digital volume correlation","authors":"Yujie Bi, Haizhou Liu, Lingtao Mao, Jiaojiao Liu, Yifan Liu, Jianmin Zuo, Yang Ju, François Hild","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02466-z","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02466-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>To investigate the debonding process, an in-situ pullout experiment on an indented single polypropylene fiber was conducted using X-ray microtomography. This study utilized mechanically regularized global digital volume correlation (Reg-G-DVC) to measure the deformation fields of the fiber, matrix, and interfaces during interfacial debonding. Reg-G-DVC mitigates the impact of low contrast on measurement uncertainties, ensures the convergence of DVC calculations, and enables the element size to be reduced to improve the spatial resolution. The displacement jumps of the shared nodes between the fiber and the matrix were used to quantify interfacial debonding. The profiles of the normal and tangential components of the displacement jumps exhibited periodic features corresponding to the geometry of the indented fiber as it was pulled out. Additionally, the force–displacement curves displayed multi-peak fluctuations corresponding to the fiber geometry, thereby indicating that the periodic indentation of the fiber enhanced friction and the cohesive force between the fiber and the matrix during the pullout process. The displacement jumps along the fiber was maximum at the embedded initiation and decreased along the fiber toward the embedded end. The aforementioned research demonstrated the advantages of utilizing Reg-G-DVC in measuring displacement fields during interfacial debonding, which provides deformation data for identifying and validating interface models.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142413080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Micael Rubens Cardoso da Silva, Jose da Silva Andrade Neto, Brant Walkley, Ana Paula Kirchheim
{"title":"Effects of kaolinite and montmorillonite calcined clays on the sulfate balance, early hydration, and artificial pore solution of limestone calcined clay cements (LC3)","authors":"Micael Rubens Cardoso da Silva, Jose da Silva Andrade Neto, Brant Walkley, Ana Paula Kirchheim","doi":"10.1617/s11527-024-02462-3","DOIUrl":"10.1617/s11527-024-02462-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigated the physicochemical effects of kaolinite (CK) and montmorillonite (CM) calcined clays on the sulfate balance, early hydration, and artificial pore solution of limestone calcined clay cement (LC<sup>3</sup>). The effects of fineness, clay dissolution, and ion-adsorption capacity were evaluated by isothermal calorimetry, compressive strength, ICP-OES, and zeta potential within 72 h, respectively. Increasing the fineness of both calcined clays did not significantly affect the sulfate depletion kinetics or the compressive strength and the adsorption of Ca<sup>2+</sup> ions onto the calcined clay’s surface is not the main factor responsible for differences in sulfate demand. The higher dissolution of ions Al in CK provided an intensified and accelerated formation of ettringite that competes for the available sulfate. We demonstrate that the chemical effects have a significant impact on the sulfate balance of LC<sup>3</sup>, revealing the lesser impact of alternative clays like montmorillonite compared to metakaolin (MK) which can minimize the problem of accelerated sulfate depletion of LC<sup>3</sup> mixes with MK.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":691,"journal":{"name":"Materials and Structures","volume":"57 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1617/s11527-024-02462-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142412990","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}