TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Uzoegbo, H.C. A1 - Bella, N. A1 - Rongai, G. A1 - Kühne, Hans-Carsten A1 - Diergardt, T. T1 - Cement testing in Africa - Conclusions from the first africa-wide proficiency testing scheme N2 - African cement infrastructure is quite complex. Apart from Northern Africa and South Africa in particular, cement plants are scarce resulting in highly unstable cement pricing. Clinker and cement are imported from overseas, e.g. from Portugal, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, and China. Imports are typically determined by the lowest price, and as a result the countries of origin of products vary regularly yielding large scatter of properties. Quality control and a good quality infrastructure are thus of utmost importance for the safety of the populace, an issue, which is actually often neglected. With funding of the German Metrology Institute (PTB) and support of the SPIN project, a proficiency testing scheme for cement testing according to EN 196 was set up for African laboratories. Proficiency testing schemes, also called round robins, are inter-laboratory performance comparisons allowing participants to evaluate themselves against pre-established criteria. They are a powerful tool to help laboratories improve their performance as well as demonstrate their competences to accreditation bodies or customers. 26 laboratories from 20 nations, 18 of which from Africa, participated. The BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing acted as coordinator and provider of the scheme. The aim of the round robin was to interpret the submitted data further beyond the pure statistic analyses. The data provided a positive picture of the performance of the participants in general, but it also exhibited a number of technical fields that need improvement. The paper provides the general results of the scheme and analyses identified strengths and weak points based on the submitted and non submitted data as well as on discrepancies from the EN 196 procedures during measurements. The application of EN standards for material testing is critically discussed and since quality infrastructure is also always an issue between industrial and political stakeholders, suggestions for the mitigation of the identified shared problems are given. KW - Round robin KW - Quality control KW - Cement testing KW - Proficiency testing PY - 2013 SN - 2225-0514 SN - 2224-5790 VL - 4 SP - 54 EP - 58 PB - International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works CY - New York, NY, USA AN - OPUS4-29933 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Uzoegbo, H.C. A1 - Bella, N. A1 - Rongai, G. A1 - Kühne, Hans-Carsten A1 - Diergardt, T. ED - Diouri, A. ED - Khachani, N. ED - Alami Talbi, M. ED - Ait Brahim, L. ED - Bahi, L. T1 - Cement testing in Africa - Conclusions from the first africa-wide proficiency testing scheme N2 - African cement inffastructure is quite complex. Apart from Northern Africa and South Africa in particular, cement plants are scarce resulting in highly unstable cement pricing. Clinker and cement are imported from overseas, e.g. from Portugal, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, and China. Imports are typically determined by the lowest price, and as a result the countries of origin of products vaiy regularly yielding large scatter of properties. Quality control and a good quality infrastructure are thus of utmost importance for the safety of the popuiace, an issue, which is actually often neglected. With funding of the German Metrology Institute (PTB) and Support of the SPIN project, a proficiency testing scheme for cement testing according to EN 196 was set up for African laboratories. Proficiency testing schemes, also called round robins. are interlaboratory performance comparisons allowing participants to evaluate themselves against pre-established criteria. Thev are a powerful tool to help laboratories improve their performance as well as demonstrate their competences to accreditation bodies or Customers. 26 laboratories from 20 nations, 18 of which from Africa, participated. The BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing acted as coordinator and provider of the scheme. The aim of the round robin was to interpret the submitted data further beyond the pure statistic analyses. The data provided a positive picture of the performance of the participants in general, but it also exhibited a number of technical fields that need improvement. The paper provides the general results of the scheme and analyses identified strengths and weak points based on the submitted and non submitted data as well as on discrepancies from the EN 196 procedures during measurements. The application of EN Standards for material testing is critically discussed and since quality infrastructure is also always an issue between industrial and political stakeholders, suggestions for the mitigation of the identified shared problems are given. T2 - CMSS 2013 - International congress on materials & structural stability - Building up sustainable materials & constructions CY - Rabat, Morocco DA - 27.11.2013 KW - Viscosity modifying agent KW - Metakaolin KW - Diutan gum KW - Welan gum KW - Rheology PY - 2013 SN - 978-9954-32-689-3 SP - 1 EP - 5 AN - OPUS4-30042 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thiedeitz, M. A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Härder, M. A1 - Kränkel, T. T1 - Performance of rice husk ash as supplementary cementitious material after production in the field and in the lab N2 - Supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) can reduce the total amount of Portland cement clinker in concrete production. Rice husk ashes (RHA) can be converted from an agricultural by-product to a high-performance concrete constituent due to a high amount of reactive silica with pozzolanic properties if they are burnt under controlled conditions. The way and duration of combustion, the cooling process as well as the temperature have an effect on the silica form and thus, the chemical and physical performance of the RHA. Various studies on the best combustion technique have been published to investigate the ideal combustion techniques. Yet, the process mostly took place under laboratory conditions. Investigating the difference between the performance of RHA produced in a rural environment and laboratory conditions is useful for the assessment and future enhancement of RHA production, and its application both as building material, for example in rural areas where it is sourced in large quantities, and as additive for high performance concrete. Thus, the paper presents a comparison between RHA produced under rudimentary conditions in a self-made furnace in the rural Bagamoyo, Tanzania and under controlled laboratory conditions at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, with different combustion methods and temperatures. In a second step, RHA was ground to reach particle size distributions comparable to cement. In a third step, cement pastes were prepared with 10%, 20% and 40% of cement replacement, and compared to the performance of plain and fly ash blended cement pastes. The results show that controlled burning conditions around 650 °C lead to high reactivity of silica and, therefore, to good performance as SCM. However, also the RHA burnt under less controlled conditions in the field provided reasonably good properties, if the process took place with proper burning parameters and adequate grinding. The knowledge can be implemented in the field to improve the final RHA performance as SCM in concrete. KW - Rice husk ash KW - Agricultural by-product KW - Supplementary cementitious material KW - Waste management KW - Carbon dioxide emissions PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-568953 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13194319 SN - 1996-1944 VL - 13 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-56895 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Cunnigham, P. R. A1 - Shaba, A. F. A1 - Olonade, K. A. A1 - Ndawula, J. A1 - Tawiah, A. T. A1 - Marangu, J. M. A1 - Tlhatlha, Pheladi A1 - Obeng, E. ED - Banhia, N. T1 - Informal Sector Inclusion in Sustainable Concrete Construction in Africa N2 - Concrete used as a construction material is inevitable in Africa’s rapid urban growth, despite its significant contribution to carbon emissions. Hence, best practice concrete with reduced Portland cement clinker needs to be applied. The highly informal nature ofAfrica’s construction sector could impede the implementation of sustainable concrete construction. Although urgent need for economisation unintentionally often leads informal actors to operate according to circularity principles, the sector lacks awareness of climate challenges and incentives for adopting climate-friendly materials and technologies. In addition, the informal sector is prone to fraudulent adulterated materials and components causing challenges for safe and durable construction. The authors elaborate on the crucial role of the informal sector in driving sustainable construction forward, despite the lack of policies and disinterest from regulatory bodies. Solutions through education, communication, and quality control are proposed and discussed. T2 - 77th RILEM Annual Week and the 1st Interdisciplinary Symposium on Smart & Sustainable Infrastructures (ISSSI 2023) CY - Vancouver, Canada DA - 04.09.2023 KW - Cement testing KW - Hydration KW - Economic development KW - Informal sector KW - Cement chemistry PY - 2024 SN - 978-3-031-53391-4 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53389-1_47 VL - 48 SP - 506 EP - 520 PB - Springer Nature Switzerland AG CY - Schweiz AN - OPUS4-61586 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haist, M. A1 - Link, J. A1 - Nicia, D. A1 - Leinitz, Sarah A1 - Baumert, C. A1 - von Bronk, T. A1 - Cotardo, D. A1 - Eslami Pirharati, M. A1 - Fataei, S. A1 - Garrecht, H. A1 - Gehlen, C. A1 - Hauschildt, I. A1 - Ivanova, I. A1 - Jesinghausen, S. A1 - Klein, C. A1 - Krauss, H.-W. A1 - Lohaus, L. A1 - Lowke, D. A1 - Mazanec, O. A1 - Pawelczyk, S. A1 - Pott, U. A1 - Radebe, N. W. A1 - Riedmiller, J. J. A1 - Schmid, H.-J. A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram A1 - Secrieru, E. A1 - Stephan, D. A1 - Thiedeitz, M. A1 - Wilhelm, M. A1 - Mechtcherine, V. T1 - Interlaboratory study on rheological properties of cement pastes and reference substances: comparability of measurements performed with different rheometers and measurement geometries N2 - This paper presents the results of an interlaboratory study of the rheological properties of cement paste and ultrasound gel as reference substance. The goal was to quantify the comparability and reproducibility of measurements of the Bingham parameters yield stress and plastic viscosity when measured on one specific paste composition and one particular ultrasound gel in different laboratories using different rheometers and measurement geometries. The procedures for both in preparing the cement paste and carrying out the rheological measurements on cement paste and ultrasound gel were carefully defined for all of the study’s participants. Different conversion schemes for comparing the results obtained with the different measurement setups are presented here and critically discussed. The procedure proposed in this paper ensured a reasonable comparability of the results with a coefficient of variation for the yield stress of 27% and for the plastic viscosity of 24%, despite the individual measurement series’ having been performed in different labs with different rheometers and measurement geometries. KW - Rheometry KW - Rheology KW - Interlaboratory test KW - Test setup KW - Testing procedure KW - Cement paste KW - Ultrasound gel PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-511220 DO - https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-020-01477-w SN - 1871-6873 VL - 53 IS - 4 SP - 92 PB - Rilem AN - OPUS4-51122 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Baytekin, H.T. A1 - Wirth, Thomas A1 - Gross, Thomas A1 - Treu, Dieter A1 - Sahre, Mario A1 - Theisen, J. A1 - Schmidt, M. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Determination of wettability of surface-modified hot-embossed polycarbonate wafers used in microfluidic device fabrication via XPS and ToF-SIMS N2 - The wettability of the surfaces inside the microchannels of a microfluidic device is an important property considering a liquid flows through them. Contact angle measurements usually applied to test the wettability of surfaces cannot be used for an analysis of microchannel walls within microfluidic devices. A workaround is the use of surface analytical methods, which are able to reach points of interest in microchannels and may provide information on the surface chemistry established there. In calibrating these methods by using flat polymer wafers, where the contact angle can be measured as usual, data measured in real microchannels can be evaluated in terms of wetting properties. Reference wafers of bisphenol-A polycarbonate, a polymeric material that is often used in fluidic microdevice fabrication, were treated under different oxygen plasma conditions. The modified surfaces were characterized by using XPS, time of flight (ToF)-SIMS and atomic force microscope (AFM). Surface chemistry and surface topography have been correlated with contact angle measurements. In addition, effects of ageing or rinsing after plasma treatment have also been investigated. KW - Oxygen plasma KW - Polycarbonate KW - XPS KW - ToF-SIMS KW - Principal component analysis PY - 2008 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.2724 SN - 0142-2421 SN - 1096-9918 VL - 40 IS - 3-4 SP - 358 EP - 363 PB - Wiley CY - Chichester AN - OPUS4-17340 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schmidt, Dirk A1 - T., Heidermann T1 - Ergebnisse der experimentellen Untersuchungen zur Visualisierung der Wirksamkeit von Deflagrationsrohrsicherungen in einer PVC-U Rohrleitung N2 - Deflagrationsrohrsicherungen sind Sicherheitseinrichtungen, die den Durchfluss von brennbaren Gasen und Dämpfen brennbarer Flüssigkeiten ermöglichen, den Flammendurchschlag und eine weitere Explosionsausbreitung nach der Zündung von explosionsfähigen Gas-/Dampf-Luftgemischen jedoch verhindern sollen. Die Einbaubedingungen sind dabei von besonderer Bedeutung für die Wirksamkeit der Deflagrationsrohrsicherungen. Oft lassen sich aus betrieblichen bzw. verfahrenstechnischen Gründen entsprechende Einbaubedingungen nur schwer oder nicht realisieren. So können beispielsweise Rohrleitungsverzweigungen zusätzliche Turbulenzen induzieren und dadurch zu erhöhten Flammenausbreitungsgeschwindigkeiten und Explosionsdrücken und ggf. zum Versagen der Deflagrationsrohrsicherung führen. Neben den „klassischen“ Untersuchungsmethoden dieser Belastungssituationen von Deflagrationsrohrsicherungen, wie die Erfassung des Explosionsdruckes und der Flammenausbreitungsgeschwindigkeiten, werden in diesem Beitrag die Ergebnisse der visuellen Beobachtungen des Reaktionsverlaufes sowie die Belastungen der Flammendurchschlagsicherung bei unterschiedlichen Einbaubedingungen in den Vordergrund gestellt. Gegenübergestellt wird die Belastungssituation der Flammensperre in einer geraden und einer verzweigten Rohrleitung. Verwendet wurde dafür eine speziell gefertigte Deflagrationsrohrsicherung, die eine Beobachtung des Reaktionsverlaufs im Bereich der spiralförmig gewickelten Metallbändern erlaubt. Zusätzlich wurde im geschützten Bereich in der Rohrleitung eine Kamera installiert, die die Belastungssituation bei den einzelnen Versuchen dokumentierte. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen sehr eindrucksvoll, dass die Belastungssituation der Deflagrationsrohrsicherung sich in Abhängigkeit von der Konfiguration der Rohrleitung entscheidend ändert T2 - 15. BAM/PTB-Kolloquium zur chemischen und physikalischen Sicherheitstechnik CY - Brunswick, Germany DA - 21.05.2019 KW - Flammendurchschlagsicherungen KW - Rohrleitungen KW - Deflagrationen PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.7795/210.20190521A VL - 15. SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - PTB CY - Braunschweig AN - OPUS4-48084 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -