TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Radlinska, A. A1 - Nmai, C. A1 - Buregyeya, A. A1 - Lai, W.L. A1 - Kou, S. ED - Uzoegbo, H.C. ED - Schmidt, Wolfram T1 - Why does Africa need African concrete? An observation of concrete in Europe, America, and Asia - and conclusions for Africa N2 - Portland cement, as we know it today, has its origin in Great Britain approximately 170 years ago. Since then, concrete technology has spread out to Europe, the United States, and Japan, where it became a key component for rapid industrial development. Europe, the Unites States and many Asian countries today have developed a high level of technology regarding concrete construction. However, each of them has a unique history and as a result, different “concrete philosophy” depending upon the social, environmental and financial boundary conditions, as well as their evolution throughout the years and local construction traditions. As a result, the word concrete may refer to rather different materials in America, Europe, and Asia. Apart from South Africa, most sub-Saharan African countries cannot look back on a similarly long cement and concrete history. Cement and concrete are rather new materials and not yet well established. This gives African engineers the unique opportunity to learn from past mistakes and to develop a concrete technology, which refers to the best available practice. However, in many sub-Saharan African countries, standards and regulations are adopted (preferably from Europe or the US) without consideration of the historical background of these standards. Although this practice helps saving resources for the implementation, it does not necessarily yield the best result in the African environment, and also from an economic point of view it might come back disadvantageously due to unnecessary overdesigning. By comparing the differing states-of-the-art in North America, Europe, and Asia, this paper emphasizes, how regional conditions determine the practice of concrete technology in the sub-Saharan area. It is therefore important for Africa to develop a unique African concrete technology, which is perfectly fitted to the specific local conditions, even if it may vary distinctively from the established practice elsewhere. The paper concludes that African nations should effort into adapting existing principles that have proved to function well rather than adopting existing standards. T2 - ACCTA - International conference on advances in cement and concrete technology in Africa 2013 CY - Johannesburg, South Africa DA - 28.01.2013 KW - Cement KW - Casting environment KW - Concrete KW - Durability KW - Standards PY - 2013 SN - 978-3-9815360-3-4 SP - 1139 EP - 1147 AN - OPUS4-27767 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram ED - Priebe, Nsesheye Susan ED - Schmidt, Wolfram T1 - Why Africa can spearhead innovative and sustainable cement and concrete technologies globally N2 - The perception of concrete in the society as well as in the politics is rather negative. This becomes obvious in the fact that the phrase “concrete jungle” has become synonym for hapless living with no perspectives. In politics and research funding, it is also not easy to create a broader audience, since concrete is falsely considered as old-fashioned material that is sufficiently understood today and does not need further considerations, particularly compared to allegedly newer materials. However, particularly since the last two decades the technology has completely changed. Binders of today are no more the same binders as used before, and concrete mixture compositions of today diverge quite significantly from compositions in the past. There is little understanding world-wide about that. This causes that potentials the concrete technology bears are wasted. In the broadly found opinion that concrete is old-fashioned and ugly, it is ignored that architectural sins are not inherent to the material, which actually is extremely versatile and CO2-friendly compared to all other construction materials available. It is also ignored that 98% of the outer Earth’s crust are made of the elements cement and concrete are made from, and therefore it will be an illusion to believe that the complementary 2% can create materials to develop regions and infrastructures in less developed areas in the world. For betterment in Africa the infrastructural development should have highest priority, since poor connections between settlements are responsible for enormous Price increases [2], and urban traffic congestion is responsible for an incredible loss of productivity. It is not unrealistic to assume that earners that are dependent on a car get stuck in traffic about 3-4 hours per day in cities like Lagos, Nairobi or Dar es Salaam. However, the traffic congestions do not only affect the car owners negatively but the living of the entire urban population every day. Besides infrastructure, housing should be the other priority, since a large part of the African population does not live in adequate condition. This is a societal problem, since unequal Distribution of wealth is a major driving force for instability in societies. The latter has a global impact, since 8 many phenomena that can be observed all over the world such as political radicalism, xenophobia, terrorism, and migration can often be linked to instable societies. However, the importance of infrastructure has an even wider range. Most African countries go through a change process recently. In order to strengthen very positive perspectives, the focus in politics and research funding is put on issues such as agriculture, energy, and health, which are without doubt extremely important issues. However, it is typically overlooked that all enhancements in these areas can only become effective, when an infrastructure is created to support the implementation of better concepts. Mobility is the key to a prosperous future, and mobility can only be granted by infrastructural construction activities. Hence, compared to many other regions in the world, cement and concrete technologies have a significantly higher relevance in Africa. T2 - 2nd Symposium on Knowledge Exchange for Young Scientists (KEYS) CY - Accra, Ghana DA - 7.6.2016 KW - Cement KW - Concrete KW - Sustainability KW - Carbon dioxide KW - Polysaccharides KW - Cassava KW - Rheology PY - 2016 SN - 978-3-9817853-1-9 N1 - Geburtsname von Priebe, Nsesheye Susan: Msinjili, N. S. - Birth name of Priebe, Nsesheye Susan: Msinjili, N. S. VL - 2 SP - 7 EP - 19 PB - Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-40974 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bessaies-Bey, H. A1 - Khayat, K. H. A1 - Palacios, M. A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Roussel, N. T1 - Viscosity modifying agents: Key components of advanced cement-based materials with adapted rheology N2 - Viscosity modifying agents (VMAs) are essential ingredients for the production of flowable cement-based materials. This paper presents an overview of commonly used VMAs and attempts to shed some light on the underlying physics at the origin of their mechanisms of action. The main molecular parameters of VMA controlling the rheological properties of the cement pore solution are highlighted. As the mechanisms of action of VMAs in cement-based materials are closely related to their affinity with the surface of cement particles, the adsorption of the main VMA types is discussed. The effect of VMAs on flow properties and stability of cement-based materials is presented for VMAs added without any superplasticizer, and then in systems incorporating both VMAs and superplasticizers. Finally, the effect of VMAs in enhancing concrete properties to secure adequate performance of different construction applications, and perspectives for future developments of novel cement-based materials made with VMAs are showcased. KW - Viscosity modifying agents KW - Cement KW - Stability KW - Rheology KW - Working mechanism KW - Compatibility PY - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2021.106646 VL - 152 SP - 1 EP - 20 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-58396 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Ramirez Caro, Alejandra A1 - Pauli, Jutta A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Study of the superplasticizer-cement hydration interaction by optical spectroscopy N2 - Nowadays, superplasticizers (SPs) are widely used to increase fluidity and reduce water content in concrete; thus, allowing better workability for final applications. The present study will focus on the hydration effect using comb shape polycarboxylates (PCEs), which are known to allow a very low water/cement ratio (w/c of 0.20) or less.Optical methods have been successfully used for the analysis and monitoring of the interactions between a broad variety of nanoscale and molecular systems like nanoparticles of various chemical composition and different types of organic ligands or biomolecules.This encouraged us to assess the potential of these methods, and particularly fluorescence, for the investigation of the interactions that occur at the interface between hydrate surfaces of cement particles and PCE at a very early stage of concrete formation and to differentiate between the impact of PCE’s molecular structures on such interactions. T2 - 2nd International Conference on the Chemistry of Construction Materials CY - Munich, Germany DA - 10.10.2016 KW - Cement KW - Dye KW - Superplasticizers KW - Fluorescence PY - 2016 SN - 978-3-936028-96-6 VL - 50 SP - 260 EP - 263 PB - Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker e.V. CY - Frankfurth am Main AN - OPUS4-38881 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram T1 - Start of round-robin test for cement testing in Africa / Start für Ringversuch zur Zementprüfung in Afrika KW - Africa KW - Cement KW - Concrete KW - Proficiency testing KW - Round robin PY - 2012 UR - http://www.bft-international.com/de/artikel/bft_2012-08_Start_fuer_Ringversuch_zur_Zementpruefung_in_Afrika_1468912.html SN - 0373-4331 SN - 1865-6528 N1 - Sprachen: Deutsch/Englisch - Languages: German/English VL - 08 SP - 54 EP - 55 PB - Bauverl. CY - Gütersloh AN - OPUS4-26429 LA - mul AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Uzoegbo, H.C. A1 - Bjegovic, D. A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Kitobo, W. T1 - SCM potential in Africa KW - Africa KW - Cement KW - Supplementary cementitious materials PY - 2012 SN - 0263-6050 SN - 0308-8855 IS - August SP - 27 EP - 38 PB - Swan CY - Leatherhead AN - OPUS4-27176 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cunningham, P. R. A1 - Mezhov, Alexander A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram T1 - Revealing Value from Bioderived Polymers: Effects of Locally Sourced Polysaccharides on the Rheology of Limestone Mixtures N2 - Admixtures are important constituents to enhance the performance of concrete. They allow for more efficient use of binders which can mitigate negative environmental impacts from producing cement-based materials. Commonly used rheology modifying agents like polycarboxylate ethers or cellulose ethers are synthetic or semi-synthetic, respectively. This requires additional energy consumption for their production and global supply chains particularly for many developing regions, which will be large consumers of concrete in the future. However, many locally available bio-based polysaccharides could be effectively used instead. These polymers are often overlooked by engineers and scientists due to their limited distribution and inherent complexity, yet they represent an underleveraged source of precursors for admixtures. This study investigates the action mechanisms of some bio-based rheology modifying agents, i.e., acacia gum and miscanthus gum, and provides a comparison to a conventionally modified starch. The results show that the mechanism of action of these polymers is closely related to the composition of the mixture, mixing regime, and the composition of the aqueous phase. Depending on the agent, either plasticizing or stabilizing effects on rheology can be revealed. T2 - ICBBM: International Conference on Bio-Based Building Materials CY - Vienna, Austria DA - 21.06.2023 KW - Polysaccharides KW - Superplasticizers KW - Hydration KW - Cement PY - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33465-8_60 SN - 2211-0852 VL - 45 SP - 782 EP - 792 PB - Springer Nature Switzerland AG CY - Switzerland AN - OPUS4-58726 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Tchetgnia Ngassam, Inès A1 - Mbugua, Rose A1 - Adisa Olonade, Kolawole T1 - Promising bio-based rheology modifying agents for concrete N2 - Today, concrete engineers can vary consistencies between very stiff and self-compacting. The possibility to tailor rheological properties of concrete eventually opened up the path to multiple new technologies, where design criteria are no longer limited to the Young’s modulus and the compressive strength, but often comprise additional added value. It can therefore be concluded that the capability to control the rheology of concrete systems can be considered as the catalyst for concrete innovations such as polymer modified cementitious composites (PCC) self-compacting concrete (SCC), high-performance concrete (HPC), ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) or strain hardening cement based composites (SHCC). In the same way rheology modifying admixtures will become key parameters in mastering the challenges of the next decades such as: - Additive manufacturing/3D-printing - Overcoming pumping height limitations - Casting at extreme temperatures - Tailored rheology at delivery In many regions in the Southern hemisphere, and particularly in Africa, the effective use of chemical admixtures for concrete could significantly contribute to solve problems induced by the challenging climatic conditions, but particularly in Africa it is difficult to use them, due to lacking local supply and supply infrastructure. For Africa, concrete admixtures are largely shipped or transported from Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, or Asia. The long distance transportation of chemicals is not very environmentally friendly and the economic consequences are dramatic: the agents are difficult to purchase, expensive, and there is not a large variety of products available in the market. However, bio-based chemicals have been used in construction for ages effectively. Due to the enormous relevance of rheology modifying admixtures it is worthwhile to recollect that nature provides an enormous variety of chemicals that can be used readily or with low processing. Today, the use of petrol based polycarboxylate ether superplasticizers has become quite common in concrete technology due to their versatility, but their uncomplicated and cost efficient availability is limited in most countries in Africa. However, alternatives are available, which can be found in many regions. Plant extracts have been used to modify the properties of concrete for long time. These plants are typically regionally abundantly available, cheap, and they are environmental friendly. They do not require special caring for seedlings, weeding or manuring to grow since they grow wildly. The talk will present an overview of various options for rheology modifying admixtures, that can be found in nature, and that may become a real alternative, once their interaction within the complex cementitious system is well understood. T2 - Rheologie komplexer Fluide: Theorie, Experiment und Anwendung, DRG/ProcessNet | Gemeinsame Diskussionstagung CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 13.3.2017 KW - Africa KW - Cement KW - Concrete KW - Admixtures KW - Polysaccharides KW - Cassava KW - Starch KW - Triumfetta Pendrata A. Rich KW - Nkui PY - 2016 AN - OPUS4-40979 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram T1 - Promising bio-based material solutions for more sustainable concrete N2 - Today, concrete engineers can vary consistencies between very stiff and self-compacting. At the same time engineers can opt for a vast variety of binders. The possibility to use optimised mineral binders and to tailor rheological properties of concrete eventually opened up the path to multiple new technologies, where design criteria are no longer limited to the Young’s modulus and the compressive strength, but often comprise additional added value. It can therefore be concluded that the capability to control the rheology and the interactions particles can be considered as the catalyst for concrete innovations such as polymer modified cementitious composites (PCC) self-compacting concrete (SCC), high-performance concrete (HPC), ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) or strain hardening cement based composites (SHCC). In the same way rheology modifying additions, SCMs and admixtures will become key parameters in mastering the challenges of the next decades such as: - Additive manufacturing/3D-printing - Overcoming pumping height limitations - Casting at extreme temperatures - Tailored rheology at delivery In many regions in the Southern hemisphere the effective use of SCMs, additions and chemical admixtures for concrete could significantly contribute to solve problems induced by the challenging climatic conditions, but particularly in many countries with challenging climatic conditions, it is difficult to use them, due to lacking local supply and supply infrastructure, and often the awareness of the value of local mineral resources is missing. However, the long distance transportation of mineral resources and chemicals is not very environmentally friendly and the economic consequences are dramatic. However, bio-based constituents and chemicals have been used in construction for ages effectively. Due to the enormous relevance of binders, fillers and rheology modifying admixtures it is worthwhile to recollect that nature provides an enormous variety of products that can be used readily or with low processing. Today, the use of petrol based polycarboxylate ether superplasticizers has become quite common in concrete technology due to their versatility, but their uncomplicated and cost efficient availability is limited in many countries in the world. However, alternatives are available, which can be found locally. In addition many agricultural wastes today are dumped, although they could be converted to reactive ashes easily. Plant extracts have been used to modify the properties of concrete for long time. These plants are typically regionally abundantly available, cheap, and they are environmental friendly. They do not require special caring for seedlings, weeding or manuring to grow since they grow wildly. The talk will present an overview of various options for binders, fillers and rheology modifying admixtures, that can be found in nature, and that may become a real alternative, once their interaction within the complex cementitious system is well understood. T2 - Peak Forum on Sustainable Civil Engineering Materials CY - Shanghai, China DA - 18.05.2017 KW - Cement KW - Concrete KW - Sustainability KW - Bio-based materials KW - Polysaccharides KW - Supplementary cementitious materials PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-41031 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram T1 - Potentials for sustainable cement and concrete technologies - Comparison between Africa and Europe N2 - Cement and concrete technologies in Africa provide vast potentials for sustainable future technologies as well as enormous challenges. The main focus of the symposium is to address existing challenges, possible solutions, and future potentials with all participants. This symposium also aims at offering a platform for networking with relevant players in science and industry. T2 - Cement and Concrete Related Issues for the African Market CY - Yaoundé, Cameroon DA - 02.11.2017 KW - Cement KW - Admixtures KW - Rheology KW - Sustainability KW - Environment PY - 2017 AN - OPUS4-43541 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -