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Main topics of the research project BEGLARES are the restoration of "dalle de verre" concrete Windows and the development of repair techniques and mortars. This project is executed in Cooperation between Glasmalerei Peters GmbH, the University of York and the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The main mechanism of damages, the development of repair mortar and special test specimens are presented.
The present article gives an insight into the research project BEGLARES. Main topics are the restoration “Dalles de Verre” Windows and the development of repair mortars and techniques. This project is executed in cooperation between Glasmalerei Peters GmbH, the University of York, and the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The main mechanism of damage, Standards for protection and repair of concrete structures, and the development of repair mortar and special test specimens are presented.
Entwicklung eines PCC-Leichtmörtels zur Instandsetzung einer denkmalgeschützten Sichtbetonfassade
(2015)
Der Schutz und Erhalt der Originalsubstanz stehen im Mittelpunkt jeglicher denkmalpflegerischer Instandhaltungsmaßnahmen. Das äußere Erscheinungsbild spielt hierbei - im Gegensatz zur klassischen Betoninstandsetzung - eine größere Rolle. Nichtsdestotrotz dürfen die technischen Belange auch hier nicht außer Acht gelassen werden. Die Ermittlung des Ist- und Sollzustands stellt die Grundlage einer dauerhaften Instandsetzung dar. Der vorliegende Beitrag zeigt Schäden und Schadensursachen an einem denkmalgeschützten Gebäude in Leichtbetonbauweise auf. Das Bauwerk wurde hinsichtlich seines Schädigungsgrads, -umfangs und der maßgeblichen Schadensursachen untersucht. Im Rahmen dieser Untersuchungen wurden gehäuft Risse, Abplatzungen und Bewehrungskorrosion festgestellt. Die durch eine Brettschalung strukturierte Sichtbetonfassade soll im Zuge der Instandsetzungsmaßnahme möglichst originalgetreu wiederhergestellt werden.
Bei der Auswahl von geeigneten Instandsetzungsmethoden und -produkten konnte aufgrund fehlender Normen und Richtlinien für die Instandsetzung von denkmalgeschützten Leichtbetonbauten nicht auf bereits existierende Produkte und Methoden zurückgegriffen werden. Daher wurde in Anlehnung an die Richtlinie "Schutz und Instandsetzung von Betonbauteilen" (RL SIB) des DAfStB eine polymermodifizierte Betonergänzungsmasse mit leichter Gesteinskörnung entwickelt. Ausgehend von der Hauptschadensursache, der karbonatisierungsinduzierten Bewehrungskorrosion, wurden erforderliche Eigenschaften der Betonergänzungsmasse in enger Absprache mit der zuständigen Denkmalschutzbehörde und dem involvierten Fachplaner abgestimmt. Neben den grundlegenden mechanischen Eigenschaften spielen in diesem Anwendungsfall spezielle Eigenschaften wie z.B. farbliehe Anpassung der Betonergänzungsmasse, Möglichkeit der Oberflächenstrukturierung, Zeitfenster der Verarbeitbarkeit sowie die Modellierbarkeit eine wichtige Rolle. Der entwickelte PCC-Leichtmörtel berücksichtigt dabei auch den Einfluss einer geringen Schwind- und Quellneigung der Betonergänzungsmasse um Delaminierung infolge unterschiedlicher Längenänderungen zu vermeiden und somit eine dauerhafte Instandsetzung zu gewährleisten. Weiterhin wurde das Verbundverhalten des entwickelten PCCL Leichtmörtels für unterschiedliche Schichtaufbauten untersucht.
Reinforced concrete buildings are frequently damaged by cracks, spalling and corroded
reinforcement bars. The present article focuses on the damage analysis of one of the first
buildings in Berlin that was constructed using reinforced lightweight concrete, which makes it
historically important. The compressive strength, carbonation depth, location and diameter of
reinforcement bars as well as moisture and salt profiles were determined. The carbonationinduced corrosion of the reinforcement bars represented the main damage of the building.
Certified repair mortars with lightweight aggregates (LWA) do not exist on the German
market. Therefore, an appropriate repair mortar was developed in accordance with DIN EN
1504 and the German guideline for the repair and protection of concrete structures (RL-SIB).
On the one hand, historic preservation requirements, such as: colour of the mortar,
possibilities of surface patterning, maximum preservation of the original substance and
reversibility of any Intervention must be met. On the other hand, technical requirements of the
relevant Standards must be achieved. The developed mix was designed to resist the identified
causes of deterioration. Thermal strains within the repair mortar and between the repair
mortar and the Substrate influence the crack formation and thus the durability. Therefore,
special attention was paid to the bonding and shrinking behaviour of the concrete repair
System. By using polymers, both hardened mortar properties and durability were influenced
positively.
The most common method for determination of the carbonation depth is the sprayed application of indicator solutions, Phenolphthalein in particular. Since the aerosols of Phenolphthalein are suspected to be carcinogenic, efforts have been intensified to use alternative indicators for the determination of carbonation depth. The subject and aim of this research paper are to examine indicator solutions from Alizarin Yellow R, Thymol Blue and a Mixed Indicator. These indicator solutions are commercially available and are not suspected to be carcinogenic.
For the purpose of this research, samples previously stored under accelerated carbonation conditions (1% CO2) were examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and examination of the pH value. Additionally, the electrolytic back-titration for determination of total CO2 amount was carried out comparatively to TGA.
Die Charakterisierung von Oberflächen mittels optischer Technologien wird dank des ständigen Fortschritts bei der Entwicklung von Sensoren und Lichtquellen immer attraktiver. Die kommerziell erhältlichen Systeme werden dabei immer leistungsstarker, empfindlicher und genauer. Mit diesen Systemen ist es möglich, viele hundert Messpunkte innerhalb weniger Sekunden zu erfassen und auszuwerten. Dieser Fortschritt führt auch im Baubereich zu einer ständigen Weiterentwicklung und Verbesserung von Messmethoden und Systemen. So werden bereits standardisierte und angewandte Messprinzipien weiterentwickelt, den neuen Möglichkeiten angepasst und deren Anwendung auf neue Bereiche ausgeweitet. An der BAM ist es gelungen ein Messsystem zu entwickeln, mit dem Rautiefen von Bauteiloberflächen in Anlehnung an bereits standardisierte Verfahren bestimmt werden können. Mit dem Mer vorgestellten System können sowohl horizontale als auch vertikale, gewölbte und geneigte Oberflächen untersucht werden. Dank der Implementierung geeigneter Algorithmen entsprechen die vom System ausgegebenen Ergebnisse denen der seit Jahrzehnten mit den volumetrischen Messverfahren erzielten Ergebnisse. Vor allem bei der Instandsetzung von Bauwerken bringt das an der BAM entwickelte System erhebliche Vorteile, da es zukünftig auch möglich sein wird Wände und Decken genauer zu untersuchen.
Die Funktionalität und Dauerhaftigkeit von Instandsetzungs- und Verstärkungssystemen an Bauwerken hängt in einem hohen Maß von der Beschaffenheit der Bauteiloberfläche ab. Als aussagekräftiger Parameter bei der Instandsetzung dient hierbei die Rauigkeit oder Rautiefe. Die Bestimmung der Rautiefe wird im Baubereich seit vielen Jahrzehnten unter Verwendung des Sandflächenverfahrens durchgeführt. Dieses volumetrische Messverfahren hat sich als robust und sehr praktikabel erwiesen. Es ist vergleichsweise einfach und ohne größeren Kostenaufwand umsetzbar. Dennoch weist es einige Schwächen in der Anwendung auf. Der größte Mangel ist die Beschränkung auf horizontale, trockene Oberflächen. Sowohl auf vertikalen, geneigten oder gekrümmten Oberflächen als auch „über Kopf1 lässt sich dieses Verfahren nicht anwenden. Bedingt durch verschiedene nationale Normen und unterschiedliche Anwendungsbereiche, weichen sowohl die zu verwendenden Prüfmittel als auch die zu ermittelnden Kenngrößen stark voneinander ab. Dies macht eine genaue Kenntnis über die verschiedenen Vorschriften und deren Inhalte notwendig. Ein weiterer Nachteil ist die, durch das Verfahren bedingte, starke Streuung über den „Prüfereinfluss“ in den zu erzielenden Ergebnissen. Untersuchungen zur Wiederholgenauigkeit ergaben Schwankungen von bis zu 20 Prozent in Abhängigkeit von Prüfer und Prüfvorschrift. An der BAM wurde deshalb ein automatisiertes Messsystem entwickelt,
Die Bestimmung der Rauheit von Bauteiloberflächen stellt eine wichtige Messaufgabe im Bauwesen dar. Vor allem bei der Betoninstandsetzung, im Straßenbau und bei der Herstellung von Stahlbeton-Halbfertigteilen ist die Rauheit – gemessen als Rautiefe – eine wichtige Kenngröße. Zurzeit werden Messungen der Rautiefe mittels volumetrischer Verfahren (Sandflächenverfahren) durchgeführt. Diese bereits seit mehreren Jahrzehnten angewandten Verfahren sind jedoch auf horizontale bzw. wenig geneigte und trockene Oberflächen beschränkt. Darüber hinaus hängen die erzielten Ergebnisse sehr stark von der angewandten Prüfvorschrift, den darin vorgeschriebenen Prüfmitteln und Geräten und dem jeweiligen Anwender ab.
Als Alternative zu den volumetrischen Verfahren wurde an der Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) ein automatisiertes, laserbasiertes Messverfahren entwickelt, mit dem Rautiefen von Bauteiloberflächen in Anlehnung an bereits standardisierte Verfahren bestimmt werden können. Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich zunächst mit den konventionellen Prüfverfahren, beschreibt die wichtigsten Zusammenhänge und zeigt die Grenzen dieser Methoden auf. Im zweiten Teil wird das an der BAM entwickeltes Messsystem, als zielführendes Alternativverfahren für die konventionellen Methoden, vorgestellt und dessen Leistungsfähigkeit näher beschrieben.
For several years, optical measuring techniques play an ever increasing role in various areas of construction. Applications ränge from simple laser-based distance measurements up to the use of advanced camera Systems to assess shape changes of components. The advantages of such Systems lie in the ränge of non-contact respectively in non-destructive measurement and in the high required accuracy and reproducibility. The continuous improvement and development of sensors and laser sources also opens constantly new applications and areas of applications. Already established measurement methods and technologies can be further developed and adapted to modern requirements. At BAM it is a laser-based measurement System has been developed that is capable to measure the roughness of component surfaces in equal to already established methods.
The thermal gravimetric analysis (TG) is a common method for the examination of the carbonation progress of cement-based materials. Unfortunately, the thermal properties of some components complicate the evaluation of TG results. Various hydrate phases, like ettringite (AFt), C-S-H and AFm decompose almost simultaneously in the temperature range up to 200 °C. Additionally, physical bound water is released in the same temperature range. In the temperature range between 450 °C and 600 °C the decomposition of calcium hydroxide and amorphous or weakly bound carbonates takes place simultaneously. Carbonates, like calcite, from limestone powder or other additives may be already contained in the noncarbonated sample material. For this research an attempt was made to minimise the influence of these effects. Therefore, differential curves from DTG-results of non-carbonated areas and areas with various states of carbonation of the same sample material were calculated and evaluated. Concretes based on three different types of cement were produced and stored under accelerated carbonation conditions (1 % CO2 in air). The required sample material was obtained by cutting slices from various depth of previously CO2-treated specimen and subsequent grinding. During the sample preparation, a special attention was paid that no additional carbonation processes took place. As reference method for the determination of the carbonation depth the sprayed application of phenolphthalein solution was carried out. Microscopic analysis where examined to confirm the assumptions made previously. Furthermore, the observed effect of encapsulation of calcium hydroxide by carbonates caused by the accelerated carbonation conditions was examined more closely.
In urbanen Zentren schreitet die Versiegelung von Oberflächen voran. Ursache ist die stetige Zunahme moderner Infrastruktur. Straßen und Plätze heizen sich stärker auf und begünstigen die Entstehung von Hitzeinseln (Urban Heat Island Effect). Dies wirkt sich zunehmend negativ auf die Lebensqualität innerhalb dieser Städte aus. Einen möglichen Lösungsansatz zur Abschwächung dieses Effekts bietet die Entwicklung von Betonpflastersteinen mit erweiterten Leistungsmerkmalen. Der Einsatz von wasserspeichernden Materialien kann zur Verringerung der Oberflächentemperatur durch Ausnutzung von Verdunstungskälte einen Beitrag leisten. Die speziellen Anforderungen an die Pflastersteine bedürfen genauerer Untersuchungen, wobei diese über den Umfang der Standardprüfungen hinausgehen und eine entsprechende Anpassung der Messtechnik zum Nachweis der Wirksamkeit erforderlich machen. Da die selbstkühlenden Pflastersteine nach dem Prinzip der Verdunstung arbeiten, ist sowohl die Fähigkeit der Speicherung als auch die Fähigkeit zur kontinuierlichen Abgabe von Wasser nachzuweisen. Der kühlende Effekt in Bezug auf Oberfläche und Umgebung steht dabei im Vordergrund. Des Weiteren sind Untersuchungen unter verschiedenen klimatischen Bedingungen sowohl unter Laborbedingungen als auch im Freifeldversuch durchzuführen. Die Prüfung der Druckfestigkeit und der kapillaren Wasseraufnahme und des sind ebenfalls Bestandteil der umfangreichen Untersuchungen. Durch den Einsatz von thermischer Messtechnik sowie mechanischer Prüfungen und Untersuchungen zur Dauerhaftigkeit ist es möglich eine Charakterisierung der Pflastersteine vorzunehmen und deren prinzipielle Funktionalität nachzuweisen. In diesem Beitrag werden die verschiedenen Möglichkeiten und die daraus resultierenden Ergebnisse vorgestellt und so Schlüsse zur Funktion und Anwendbarkeit von derartig modifizierten Betonpflastersteinen gezogen.
In the last several decades, the rural exodus has led to an increasing number of inhabitants in the urban areas. The increased building and infrastructural construction caused the transformation of the landscape and to an increased land sealing in these areas. Consequently, the increased land sealing influences the air temperatures in the cities, since houses, streets and squares heat up continuously. As a result, the city and metropolitan areas became significantly warmer than their surroundings - the effect is known as Urban Heat Island (UHI). These changes have a negative impact for the quality of life. To deal with the negative effects of UHI, a high level of technical and financial effort is necessary. The costs caused by the UHI effects are in the range of several billion US dollars worldwide per year. The recent studies on UHI showed that the established methods like parks and green spaces or bright coatings for roof areas will soon not be able to effectively cope with the UHI effect in urban areas. Therefore there is a need for additional methods to mitigate UHI effect in the cities. The streets, sidewalks and squares represent approximately 30% to 40% of the inner cities areas. If these areas are designed functionally, they can have a significant impact on the UHI. This contribution focuses on development of a concrete paving stone with self-cooling properties. For the cooling effect the evaporative cooling is used. The paving stone is able to store large quantities of water and deliver during appropriate environmental conditions. This paper deals with the results of the long-term experiments on the test-fields under different climatic conditions. To interpret the test-field-results, laboratory tests were carried out as well. The paper presents and discuss the obtained results, and points out the difficulties occurred.
Polysaccharides are important rheology modifying admixtures in the building material sector.
The use of starch is becoming increasingly important, due to many ecological and economic advantages. In the construction sector, starch ethers are being used as thickeners and as means to increase the yield stress. The starch ethers that are available on the market differ in
their behaviour, which can vary greatly depending upon the binder system and mortar composition, e.g. solid volume content, binder type, additional admixtures. In view of the limited knowledge about the influence of molecular modifications associated with cement based systems, some fundamental rheological functional mechanisms were analysed in this study. The differently modified starch ethers used were derived from potatoes. They varied in their charges and degrees of hydroxypropylation. The setting and the flow behaviour of all examined variations
of starch ethers were analysed in cement pastes. In order to illustrate the effects of the starch ethers that were used, the water-cement ratio (w/c) was held constant in all the mixtures [Schmidt 2012]. The results indicated significant differences in setting and flow behaviour.
This study focuses on concrete flow in presence of obstacles and develops a mathematical model and a computational approach for SCC flow through reinforced formworks. In order to decrease high computational times needed to simulate castings through reinforced elements, an innovative approach to model the reinforced sections as porous media is proposed here. In the previous work, this numerical model is proved able to simulate the free-surface flow of non-Newtonian fluids through the reinforcement networks. In the present study, the applicability of the model on the concrete flow will finally be proved. The large-scale form-filling experiments with SCC will be conducted and the experiments will be simulated using the proposed numerical model. The numerical model will then be validated through the comparison of the experimental results and the results of the numerical simulations.
The study introduces the porous medium model for the simulation of concrete flow through highly-reinforced sections. It shows that numerical simulations can predict concrete behavior during casting and help to avoid expensive mistakes.
Numerical simulations of concrete castings are complex and time consuming. In order to decrease simulation time and to simplify simulation procedure, an innovative modelling approach, which treats reinforced sections in a formwork as porous media, was proposed. In the previous studies, this numerical model was proved suitable to simulate casting of model yield-stress fluids through reinforced elements. This article focuses on the experimental validation of the proposed model at the concrete scale. For this purpose, a large-scale laboratory casting of a highly reinforced beam is performed. The casting process is numerically simulated and the numerical results are compared to the experimental measurements.
Computational modeling of fresh SCC flow is a comprehensive and time consuming task. The computational time is additionally increased when simulating casting of reinforced sections, where each single reinforcement bar has to be modeled. In order to deal with this issue and to decrease the computational time, an innovative approach of treating a reinforcement network as a porous medium is applied. This contribution presents the model for concrete flow through reinforced sections, based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), coupling a single-phase flow model for SCC and a continuum macroscopic model for porous medium. In the last part of this paper, numerical simulations are compared with experimental results obtained on model fluids.
Although being a very promising area of concrete technology, computational modeling of fresh concrete flow is a comprehensive and time consuming task. The complexity and required computation time are additionally increased when simulating casting of heavily reinforced sections, where each single reinforcement bar has to be modeled. In order to improve the computation speed and to get closer to a practical tool for simulation of casting processes, an innovative approach to model reinforced sections is proposed here. The basic idea of this approach is to treat the reinforcement zone as a porous medium in which a concrete is propagating. In the present paper, the numerical implementation of this concept is described. A methodology allowing for the computation of the equivalent permeability of the steel bars network is suggested. Finally, this numerical technique efficiency is evaluated by a comparison with experimental results of model fluids casting in model formworks.
The paper addresses numerical modelling of fresh self-compacting concrete. In the previous studies, a numerical tool for casting prediction is built based on the assumption that fresh concrete behaves as a yield-stress fluid and treating zones with rebars as porous media. The present contribution discusses the determination of material parameters, which are required as an input for numerical simulations of casting processes.
Properties of alkali-activated mortars with salt aggregate for sealing structures in evaporite rock
(2021)
Concrete structures for sealing of tunnels in the host rock are an essential part of systems for nuclear waste storage. However, concretes based on blended cements or magnesium oxychloride cements, which are commonly considered for this application, can deteriorate severely due to a significant heat of hydration and associated deformation and cracking. Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) offer a potential solution to this problem because of their low heat release during hardening. To explore their suitability for the construction of sealing structures in evaporite rock, various AAMs with salt aggregate were studied regarding fresh properties, heat release, mechanical properties and microstructure. The heat of reaction of the AAMs was up to 55% lower than that of a blended cement designed for sealing structures, indicating significant benefits for the intended application. Other relevant properties such as mechanical strength and permeability depended strongly on the mix-design of the AAMs and curing conditions.
This contribution presents the results of structural and compressive strength investigations on cured andhigh-temperature treated silica-based one-part geopolymer-zeolite composites. The specimens weresynthesized from two different silica sources, sodium aluminate and water. The phase content as well asthe compressive strength of the cured composites varied depending on the starting mix-design and thesilica feedstock. Besides geopolymeric gel, A-type zeolites and hydrosodalites were the major reactionproducts. One of the silica feedstocks yielded significantly higher compressive strength (19 MPa), whilethe other one appears to cause less variation in phase content. Strength testing indicated an improvementon heating up to
200–400 °C (28 MPa) followed by a moderate decrease up to 700 °C. Above 700 °C the sys-tems underwent new phase formation and shrinkage (volume decrease) deformations. After exposureat 1000 °C the different mixes consisted of a mix of several stuffed silica phases, almost pure hexago-nal nepheline or amorphous phase. Depending on the mix-design, the onset temperature of the hightemperature phase transformations varied.
One-part alkali-activated (geopolymer) mortars based on three different silica-rich starting materials and sodium aluminate, with and without ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) addition, were tested regarding sulfuric acid resistance according to DIN 19573:2016-03 (70 days at pH = 1). Corresponding pastes were characterized by XRD, SEM, chemical analysis, 29Si MAS NMR and 1H-29Si CPMAS NMR after water storage and after acid exposure. The mortars exhibited a high resistance against sulfuric acid attack, with the best ones conforming to the requirements of DIN 19573:2016-03. The analytical results showed that this was due to precipitation of silica gel at the acid-mortar interface, which formed a mechanically stable layer that protected the subjacent mortar and thus inhibited further degradation. The addition of GGBFS decreased the acid resistance via formation of expansive calcium sulfate phases.
One-part geopolymers, synthesized from three different silica sources and sodium aluminate, were investigated regarding their microstructure and the evolution of their compressive strength on curing at slightly elevated temperatures. The effect of thermal treatment was studied up to 1000 °C and for the investigation of the chemical durability specific samples were treated with sulfuric acid (H2SO4, pH = 1).
Depending on the silica feedstock, different degrees of reaction were observed. One of the silicas had a significantly higher reactivity. For two of the silicas, significant amounts of zeolites occurred as reaction products besides geopolymeric gel, whereas the more reactive silica source lead to the formation of a rather fully condensed geopolymeric network.
The composites indicated promising behavior on heating in so far as no distinct shrinkage step occurred in the temperature range of dehydration. Up to 400 °C the residual strength of those mixes increased. Above 800 °C the samples underwent new phase formation. After exposure to sulfuric acid (pH 1; 70 d) specimens showed a residual compressive strength of about 77 % of the reference, indicating high acid resistance.
One-part geopolymers offer advantages over conventional geopolymers with regard to handling and storage of feedstocks. However, they often suffer from a low degree of reaction, a high amount of crystalline byproducts, and consequently low strength. In this study, one-part geopolymers were produced from rice husk ash (RHA) and sodium aluminate, and investigated by XRD, ATR-FTIR, SEM and compressive strength testing. The compressive strength of the material was 30 MPa, i.e. significantly higher than for comparable one-part geopolymers. This is attributed to an almost complete reaction of the RHA and the absence of crystalline byproducts (zeolites) in the hardened geopolymer.
Geopolymers are promising alkali activated materials with a wide range of possible applications like heat-resistant coatings and adhesives or concretes with lower C02 emissions than conventional Portland cement-based systems. Conventional ("two-part") geopolymers are synthesized by an activation of aluminosilicate feedstocks like metakaolin or blast furnace slags with highly alkaline solutions like sodium hydroxide solutions and/or water glass solutions.
A more recent approach are so called one-part geopolymers, where the alkaline activator is provided in solid form, so that only water has to be added to initiate the geopolymerisation reaction. The handling of alkaline solutions is avoided, which possesses several advantages compared to conventional geopolymers, in particular regarding safety and health issues, and, thus, it improves economic and social acceptance of these binders. However, the new formulations are less exhaustively studied and the knowledge about conventional geopolymers cannot simply be transferred to this new class of binders.
Mortars for application on concrete, e.g. repair mortars or protective coatings, need to have a durable bond to the substrate. This bond is determined by the adhesion between the two materials and by the differential deformations of the mortar and the substrate. In the present contribution, the hygric deformations (shrinkage/expansion) of novel one-part alkali-activated mortars and their bond to concrete substrates are studied. Shrinkage of the mortars was studied at 50 % r.H., while expansion was studied on mortars stored over an open water surface (> 99% r.H.). The bond behaviour was studied by pull-off tests according to DIN EN 1542 and by optical microscopy.
The alkali-activated mortars exhibit hygric deformations much lower than the deformations of an established, commercial mortar for sewer maintenance that was tested as reference in parallel with the alkali-activated mortars. The bond behaviour of the alkali-activated mortars depends strongly on their mix-design and curing. Optical microscopy showed that in the
mortars with lower bond strength, cracks developed in the mortar during curing. Mortars with appropriate mix-design and curing did not exhibit cracking, and their pull-off strength (up to >3 MPa) conformed to the requirements of relevant standards.
Stone deterioration is the result of a complex interaction of external physical, chemical and biological forces with the mineralogical-petrophysical properties of the stone. With a better understanding of how these properties are linked to material behavior and durability, more effective measures for stone conservation can be developed. Studying these interactions in tuff is particularly complex due to the naturally high heterogeneity of tuff rocks.
The first aim of a current research project is to combine the results of recent and older studies on tuff deterioration. Furthermore, the literature overview is complemented by our own investigation of Weibern and Ettringen tuff, with a focus on pore structure characteristics.
Remediation of Cracks Formed in Grouted Connections of Offshore Energy Structures under Static Loads
(2018)
The future energy demand necessitates the exploration of all potential energy sources both onshore and offshore. Global trend has shifted towards offshore energy, which can be obtained from either carbon intensive or renewable options, hence requiring structures such as rigs, platforms, and monopiles. Most of these structures adopt easily installable construction techniques, where lower foundation need to be connected with the super structure by mean of grouted composite joints. Generally, these composite connections have exterior sleeve, interior pile and infill grout. Being located in remote offshore conditions, connections can experience considerable adverse loading during their lifetimes. Degradations were reported inside similar connections, which were installed in last three decades. Besides, grouting in the offshore sites may often be proven difficult, which eventually leads to reduced capacity of connections in the long run. Thus, repair and rehabilitation of such connections should be planned ahead to minimize operational delays and costs in the future. This study aims at characterizing the nature of crack generation in grouted connections and thereby identifying the potential of repair using suitable repair material. Scaled grouted joints were manufactured using a novel mold, and connections were loaded under static load to visualize the main failure pattern. The failure mechanism and loading capacity are found compatible to previous results from earlier literature. Grouted connection was then repaired using cementitious injectable grout. The effectiveness of the repair system is also discussed.
Grouting is a universal repair and strengthening technique, which is constantly used for structural remediation of concrete components, trenches, mine subsidence, dam joints, restoration of masonry structures, and geological stabilizations. Having an extremely small particle size of only few microns, ultrafine cements are ideal for grouting applications due to their superior permeability and compressive strength properties of the hardened cement paste compared to that of the less-expensive, but coarser ordinary Portland cements. Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are often used to replace ultrafine cement in order to modify certain properties and to reduce costs. The aim of this experimental study is to investigate the effect of three supplementary materials: microsilica (MS), fly ash (FA), and metakaolin (MK) on the workability, and mechanical properties of an ultrafine cement based grout with a constant water-binder ratio and constant superplasticizer content. Maximum percentages of replacement with ultrafine cement were 6% by volume of cement for MS and 16% for FA, and MK. In general, results suggest that the workability is improved by addition of FA, whereas is reduced, when modified with MS and MK. The compressive strength of grout after cement replacement remains comparable to that of pure cement grout. However, there is a tendency of the MS to positively affect the compressive strength opposite to FA, whereas flexural strength is positively affected by FA. Based on the results, it is evident that grouts with Hägerman cone flow more than 500 mm and compressive strength of more than 90 MPa after 28 days can be produced.
Grouts have numerous applications in construction industry such as joint sealing, structural repair, and connections in precast elements. They are particularly favoured in rehabilitation of structures due to penetrability and convenience of application. Grouts for repair applications typically require high-performance properties such as rapid strength development and superior shrinkage characteristics. Sometimes industrial by-products referred as supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) are used with neat cement due to their capabilities to provide binding properties at delayed stage. Micro silica, fly ash and metakaolin are such SCMs, those can modify and improve properties of cement products. This study aims at investigating long-term mass loss and linear shrinkage along with long-term compressive and flexural strength for grouts produced from ultrafine cement and SCMs. A series of mixtures were formulated to observe the effect of SCMs on these grout properties. Properties were determined after 365 days of curing at 23oC and 55% relative humidity. The effect of SCMs on the properties are characterised by statistical models. Response surfaces were constructed to quantify these properties in relation to SCMs replacement. The results suggested that shrinkage was reduced by metakaolin, while micro silica and fly ash had positive effects on compressive and flexural strength, respectively.
Superplasticizer and Shrinkage Reducing Admixture Dosages for Microfine Cement in Grout Systems
(2019)
Grouts have numerous applications including crack repair as maintenance in construction industries. Microfine cements are intensively used for high strength mortar and grout products. They are ideal for injection grouting in structural repair. Such grouts should have suitable rheological properties to be injectable, especially those used in repair and rehabilitation. The use of superplasticizers (SP) in these products is thus becoming increasingly crucial to achieve favorable workability and viscosity properties. A difficulty in such grouts is the plastic shrinkage due to finer particles used. It is thus necessary to determine optimum SP and shrinkage reducing admixture (SRA) dosages for a microfine cement based grout. In this study, a saturation dosage was decided from two Polycarboxylate ether (PCE) based SPs in relation to neat cement using slump flow and rheological parameters. A range of grout mixtures was formulated containing micro silica (MS) and fly ash (FA), and tested for suitable rheological and mechanical parameters. Based on the results, a grout mixture with MS and FA was selected to determine optimum SRA content. According to the results, a SP dosage of 3% by weight of neat cement is sufficient to achieve saturation. The grout material including MS and FA can produce comparable properties to neat cement grout. MS is found to improve compressive strength within the range considered, whereas a higher FA content provides favourable rheological properties. Finally, a SRA dosage of 4%, which could reduce the shrinkage by about 43% after 28d days, is determined for the grout system.
Repair is an indispensable part of the maintenance of structures over their lifetimes. Structural grouting is a widely used remediation technique for concrete components, trenches, mine subsidence, dam joints, restoration of masonry structures, and geological stabilizations. A structural grout system should be injectable in narrow spaces and hence include ingredients with finer particles. Ultrafine cements are ideal for these type of demanding grouts due to their superior properties compared to that of the less expensive, but coarser ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are often used to replace OPC clinker based binder in order to modify certain properties and to reduce costs. The most commonly used SCMs are fly ash (FA), and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). For various special applications microsilica (MS), and metakaolin (MK) are also used. Identifying the optimum replacement contents of OPC by SCMs are a challenge during the design of such grouts. The aim of this experimental study is to investigate the effect of the selected SCMs (FA, MS and MK) on the slump flow, time of efflux, viscosity, shrinkage, and compressive and flexural strength of ultrafine cement based grouts with constant water-binder ratio and superplasticizer content. The test program was formulated using Box-Behnken design principles. Maximum percentages of replacement with ultrafine cement was 6% by volume of cement for MS and 16% for FA, and MK. The results suggest that most investigated grouts have the potential to be used for structural applications. The appropriate quadratic models are then formulated through statistical tools and presented as response surfaces. The trends indicate that fly ash improves the rheological properties, whereas microsilica and metakaolin positively affect shrinkage and mechanical properties to some extent. Based on the influence of SCMs and priorities among the properties, Decision Matrix Analysis (DMA) is carried out to select the most suitable ones among the SCMs. The analysis suggests that microsilica and fly ash are more suitable as SCMs than metakaolin without affecting the properties.
Current trend suggests that global energy consumption will increase in the future. This growing energy demand and advancement of technology lead to explore all potential offshore fossil and non-fossil energy sources, necessitating erection of exploration and production structures, rigs, platforms and towers, which are susceptible to adverse environmental conditions along with their maintenances. Cylindrical grouted joints provide suitable connections between steel substructure and foundation in these offshore platforms and wind structures especially monopiles for ease of installation. However, these are composite connections with exterior sleeve, interior pile and infill grout. The capacity of these connections is affected by number of factors. The literature over last four decades by numerous researchers has shown the development of these connections with increasingly higher capacities and influences on these capacities due to various factors. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the factors affecting the connection capacity along with technical challenges for the future. Critical aspects and shortcomings of the current connection systems and potential solutions may be sought after for these issues are also discussed.
At present, Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) operating in onshore and offshore wind farms are primary sources of renewable energy around the world. Cylindrical grouted sleeve connections are usually adopted in these WTG structures to connect the upper structure and foundation for ease of installation. These structures including grouted connections experience considerable adverse loading during their lifetimes. Settlements were reported inside similar connections used in energy structures especially oil and gas platforms, which were installed in last three decades. Thus, repair and rehabilitation of such connections in existing wind structures should also be planned ahead to keep them operating in the future. The nature of failure and crack generation in grouted connections are crucial prior to adopt a strengthening strategy. This pilot study is carried out to actualize the failure mechanism in the grouted connection, when subjected to axial loading. A novel reusable scaled cylindrical grouted connection with shear keys was designed and tested for its load bearing behaviour. The mechanical test was accompanied by classical measuring techniques (e.g. displacement transducer) as well as non-destructive measuring techniques (e.g. digital image correlation (DIC), acoustic emission analysis (AE)). The failure mechanism incorporating slippage of the shear keys and cracking of the grout was investigated. The capacity and applicability of such test mould were also discussed. The knowledge is expected to pave way towards repair of deteriorated grouted connections with similar geometry and failure pattern.
Self-compacting concrete (SCC) differs substantially from normal concrete as regards the quantity of superplasticiser dosage. The functionality of superplasticisers, based on the polycarboxylate ether (PCE) superplasticiser customary with SCC, is nowadays very well understood at construction material research level. However, knowledge concerning pertinent correlations does not always permeate practice to an equal extent. PCEs are extremely polymorphic as opposed to earlier superplasticiser groups, which still possess a considerable proportion of the superplasticiser market. The geometry of polymers can be adjusted individually to performance characteristics required for certain uses. Yet, in selecting a superplasticiser for its specified rheological properties, a very strong influence can equally be exerted simultaneously on the subsequent hydration process. The charge density of the PCE employed also plays a key role in connection with both rheology and early hydration.
This report is based on a three-year experience as coordinator of the ACP-EU funded SPIN project. The project involved eight African and three European partners. Practical and unforeseeable problems are addressed that occurred during the project implementation and ways how they were successfully solved are reported. The major problems in many African institutions were administrations that are not used to work in multi-national consortia and a lack of institutional support for the African researchers. In Europe a misjudgement of the African boundary conditions as well as inflexible administrations caused problems. Finally the funding scheme did not always allow to easily overcome the high number of unexpected practical problems. A major deficit identified during the project was a general trend in Africa to underestimate the role of research for the development of the continent. Most universities focus on teaching applied sciences, which is without doubt important to cover the market need for qualified staff in the rapidly growing African industries. However, this makes it unattractive for highly qualified performers to conduct research on the continent. Furthermore this leads to the situation that the curricula can only contain second hand knowledge. In order to attract international high level researchers, it is suggested to install multi-national regional excellence research centres that only promote PhD and post-doc research on a level that can cope with highest international excellence. High level research is often perceived as not capable of focusing on immediate actual problems that many African economies have to cope with.. However, it is considered to be very sustainable in terms of autonomy and mastering future challenges.
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.