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- 2019 (6) (entfernen)
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- 1H-NMR (1)
- Alkali-Activated Material (1)
- Concrete (1)
- Digital Volume Correlation (1)
- Explosive spalling (1)
- Fibre Orientation Analysis (1)
- Fibre-Reinforced Concrete (FRC) (1)
- Fire (1)
- Fire Performance (1)
- HPC (1)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
- 7 Bauwerkssicherheit (6) (entfernen)
Although concrete itself is not a combustible material, concrete mixtures with high density, such has high-performance concretes (HPCs), are susceptible to significant damage during fires due to explosive spalling. Past research has shown that the inclusion of polymer fibres in high density concrete can significantly mitigate this fire damage. The exact mechanisms causing this increased spalling resistance are not yet fully under-stood, but it is thought that the fibres facilitate moisture transport during fire exposure, which in turn contributes to relief of internal stresses in the spalling-susceptible region. In this study, X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) was applied to observe the interaction between polymer fibres and cracking during thermal exposure. For this purpose, two concrete samples containing different polymer fibre types were subjected to incremental application of a defined thermal exposure. CT images were acquired before and after each thermal exposure and powerful image processing tools were used to segment the various material components. This enabled a detailed analysis of crack formation and propagation as well as the visualization and quantification of polymer fibre characteristics within the concrete. The results demonstrated that the orientation of both fibres and cracks in polymer-fibre reinforced concrete tend to be anisotropic. The results also indicated that crack geometry characteristics may be correlated with fibre orientation, with cracks tending to run parallel to fibre beds. Clear quantitative relationships were also observed between heating and increasing cracking levels, expressed in terms of both crack surface area and crack volume.
The proposed BAM project SealWasteSafe will advance the state of the art for the construction and monitoring of safe sealing systems for underground repositories of radioactive or toxic waste. During this project, a novel salt concrete exhibiting neither significant cracking nor shrinkage will be optimized for use in the sealing systems. The composition of this material will be based on alkali-activated materials, which are characterized by particularly small thermal deformations during the hardening reaction. Quality assurance and continuous monitoring systems developed during this project will be demonstrated not only for high reliability, but also for resistance to highly alkaline environments and to water intrusion along cables or at sensor locations. A variety of sensors will be used in combination with wireless Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to record moisture, temperature, and, if necessary, corrosion activity within the sealing system. Distributed Fibre Optic Sensor (FOS) technology will also be used for strain, temperature, and moisture content measurement. Ultrasound-based measuring methods will be utilized for the detection of cracks and delaminations. Additionally, digital image correlation and acoustic emission analysis will be used for deformation measurements and crack detection. A novel borehole probe and advanced ultrasound imaging techniques will be further developed to track cracks and delaminations within the host rock in 3D. The surface-based Large Aperture Ultrasound System (LAUS) will also be utilized to detect cracks and delaminations deep below the exterior surface of the sealing system. Although the focus of this project will be on the host rock salt, the resulting technologies will be intentionally developed in a way that facilitates their adaptation to other host rocks.
This paper describes a novel methodology for quantitative in-situ moisture measurement without tracking agents using X-ray computed tomography (XCT). The high levels of grey-scale precision required for the measurement of moisture without tracking agents resulted in the need for an additional image calibration procedure to correct for water-related X-ray scattering and for equipment-variability related artefacts arising during in-situ testing. This calibration procedure was developed on the basis of existing principles of XCT image cor-rection. Resulting images of moisture distribution exhibit a high level of agreement with expected material behaviour. This research demonstrated that XCT can be successfully used to measure both moisture-front movement over time and changes in 3D moisture distribution within samples. This approach to moisture measurement lays the groundwork for the planned future investigation of the interaction between cracking induced by varying chemical and mechanical processes and water transport in concrete.
Thermally-induced moisture transport in high-performance concrete studied by X-ray-CT and 1H-NMR
(2019)
The thermohydraulic damage mechanism is one of the primary causes for explosive spalling of highperformance concrete. This paper presents the spatially- and temporally-resolved analysis of the thermally-induced moisture transport and reconfiguration processes by means of X-ray-CT and 1HNMR.
Thermal testing results for a high-performance concrete, which is sensitive to explosive spalling and which was prepared with and without added polypropylene fibres, are presented in this paper. These results indicate that the addition of fibres leads to a faster and deeper migration of the drying front and, thus, to a lower likelihood of vapour-pressure induced explosive spalling.
Explosive spalling is caused by, among others, the thermohydraulic spalling mechanism. During this process, vaporization, dehydration, moisture-transport and condensation processes interact. As a result, a drying and dehydration zone as well as a saturated zone, known as a moisture clog, are observed inside the unilaterally-heated concrete. The presented research is focused on the experimental investigation of the underlying thermohydraulic processes.
To investigate these, a test methodology based on X-ray computed tomography (CT) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was developed. Thereby, the X-ray CT scans are carried out simultaneously during the application of a defined unilateral-heating regime on a specially-constructed specimen. This miniaturized specimen, equipped with a double-layer casing, reproduces the condition within a planar, unilaterally-heated building component.
A preliminary test methodology and the first experimental results were presented at the 5th International Workshop on Concrete Spalling in Borås, Sweden (2017). The contribution for the upcoming workshop presents an improved version of this test methodology and new results for a high-performance concrete (HPC) mixture exposed to temperatures up to 500 °C. Regarding the CT measurements, a higher time-resolution of 15 min was achieved and a quantification of the moisture changes was implemented. Due to an increase in signal quality of the NMR measurements, a pore-size specific moisture distribution can now be resolved. This allows to conclude about the moisture reconfiguration between small gel pores and larger interhydrate pores. Additionally, the NMR measurement are no longer limited to first 2.5 cm below the heated surface but a one-dimensional moisture distribution can now be estimated over the whole 10 cm long specimen.
The presented results demonstrate that the combination of X-ray CT and NMR measurements enables to image and quantify the thermally-induced moisture transport and reconfiguration from small gel pores up to macro pores. This provides important insights into the thermohydraulic damage mechanism and leads to a better understanding of spalling avoidance strategies, like the addition of polypropylene fibres.
Water migration in one-side heated concrete: 4D in-situ CT monitoring of the moisture-clog-effect
(2019)
Explosive spalling due to fire exposure in concrete structures can lead severe damage and, in the worst case, to premature component failure. For this reason, an in situ investigation of water Migration in concrete due to surface heating was undertaken.
During these experiments, a miniaturized concrete specimen within a confining and insulating double-hull was subjected to surface heating during simultaneous X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning. Through the use of subtraction-based Image analysis techniques, it was possible to observe and quantify not only drying within areas of the concrete matrix close to the heated surface, but also the migration of moisture to both pore and matrix regions deeper within the specimen. It was also discovered that the correction of CT images for specimen deformation using DVC and variable detector performance using calibrated image filters significantly improved the quality of the results. This clearly demonstrates the potential of X-ray CT for evaluation of other rapid-density-change phenomena in concrete and other building materials.