Top-Down Production of Nano-Seeds from Activated Fly Ash Tuned for Enhancing the Early Strength in Blended Cements.

To achieve the new level of blended cement performance, the slurries of Class C and F fly ash were mechano-chemically activated in a vibro-mill with superplasticizer and nanosilica. The resulting activated products were tested in mortars replacing up to 30% portland cement. The activation process resulted in the formation of nano-seed clusters and micronized ash particles that both significantly improve the early strength of mortars as well as allow for the replacement of portland cement with industrial by-products. A small amount, 0.1% (of a binder weight), of nanosilica was used in selected compositions to improve the process of activation and facilitate the formation of nano-seeds. Due to an intensive activation of fly ash in the vibro-mill and the formation of nano-seed hydration products, the increase in the heat of the hydration flux and improvement of the mechanical properties such as compressive strength, especially in the early stages of hardening, were achieved. It is envisioned that fly ash activation and the use of supplementary cementitious materials as a precursor can induce a denser structure of cementitious matrix due to better particle packing realized with the application of the nano-seed product, nanosilica, ultra-fine particles of fly ash, and the formation of a refined C-S-H structure realized with the incorporation of the nano-seed particles.

The Correlation of Temperature-Mineral Phase Transformation as a Controlling Factor of Thermal and Mechanical Performance of Fly Ash-Based Alkali-Activated Binders.

This research focuses on an evaluation of mineral phase and structure transformations in Class F fly ash-based geopolymer systems. The research also studies the strength response of geopolymers when exposed to temperatures between 25 and 800 °C. The purpose of this research is to understand the processes that occur in alkali-activated systems within a wide range of high-working temperatures. The XRD, SEM, and DTA/TG analyses performed for the alkali-activated compositions after exposure to different temperatures confirmed a direct correlation of structural transformations with strength performance. The detrimental effect of sodium hydrocarbonate Na3(HCO3)(CO3) 2H2O or trona contained in one of the fly ash products was observed for the corresponding alkali-activated composite under high-temperature exposure between 600 and 800 °C. It was also detected that a high-temperature interval of 400-800 °C created favorable conditions that helped to form nanosized nepheline crystals and an additional vitreous substance that also contributed to a denser alkali-activated matrix.

Self-assembling particle-siloxane coatings for superhydrophobic concrete.

We report here, for the first time in the literature, a method to synthesize hydrophobic and superhydrophobic concrete. Concrete is normally a hydrophilic material, which significantly reduces the durability of concrete structures and pavements. To synthesize water-repellent concrete, hydrophobic emulsions were fabricated and applied on portland cement mortar tiles. The emulsion was enriched with the polymethyl-hydrogen siloxane oil hydrophobic agent as well as metakaolin (MK) or silica fume (SF) to induce the microroughness and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers to create hierarchical surfaces. Various emulsion types were investigated by using different mixing procedures, and single- and double-layer hydrophobic coatings were applied. The emulsions and coatings were characterized with optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM), and their wetting properties, including the water contact angle (CA) and roll-off angle, were measured. A theoretical model for coated and non-coated concrete, which can be generalized for other types of materials, was developed to predict the effect of surface roughness and composition on the CA. An optimized distance between the aggregates was found where the CA has the highest value. The maximal CA measured was 156° for the specimen with PVA fibers treated with MK based emulsion. Since water penetration is the main factor leading to concrete deterioration, hydrophobic water-repellent concretes have much longer durability then regular concretes and can have a broad range of applications in civil and materials engineering.