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- High resolution (4)
- SyXRD (3)
- Cement hydration (2)
- In-situ (2)
- Sulfate attack (2)
- Synchrotron (2)
- XRD (2)
- Acoustic levitator (1)
- Acoustic levition (1)
- Cement paste (1)
Cementitious materials, in particular concrete, are durable materials if prepared appropriately and the Service life of concrete structures is now often required to last 120 years or more. Concrete durability depends strongly on intrinsic (e.g. composition, porosity) and exterior factors (e.g. moisture condition and composition, frost cycles, load pattem). Deleterious actions leading to concrete degradation are often created by the environment. Extemal sulfate attack is one of the more spectacular damage scenarios for concrete structures caused by the ingress of sulfate ions into the pore System of the material and successive formation of expanding phases. Though in recent years well studied there are still many questions remaining conceming the mechanisms of sulfate attack. In particular over the last ten years, with the increased utilization of blended cements, new questions arose concerning the sulfate resistance of those binder Systems. In the presented study therefore a method was developed to analyze the changes of the phase composition within the micro structure due to sulfate attack. The analytical method was based on pX-Ray diffraction (pXRD) using Synchrotron radiation in Debye-Scherrer (transmission) geometry. The spatial resolution of the method is ca. 10 pm and allows the characterization of phase transformations in the wake of damaging processes in more detail compared to other techniques. Furthermore, the experimental setup provides the possibility for analyzing the phase assemblage of a given sample without destroying the micro structure. This is possible because the specimens for phase analysis consists of thick sections, which can be used for further microscopic analysis of the micro structure and micro chemistry (e.g. by SEM-EDX). Samples containing supplementary cementitious materials were measured in comparison and to reconstruct the influence of the degradation process in detail. Additionally, reaction ffonts within the samples were localized by micro x-ray fluorescence analysis (MXRF).
Acoustic levitation represents the physical background of trapping a sample in a standing acoustic wave with no contact to the wave generating device. For the last three decades, sample holders based on this effect have been commonly used for contact free handling of samples coupled with a number of analytical techniques. In this study, a wall-free climate unit is presented, which allows the control of the environmental conditions of suspended samples. The insulation is based on a continuous cold/hot gas flow around the sample and thus does not require any additional isolation material. This provides a direct access to the levitated sample and circumvents any influence of the climate unit material to the running analyses.
Höchst dynamische Hydratationsprozesse in den ersten Sekunden bei der Entstehung eines Bauwerkes lassen sich mithilfe von Synchrotron-Röntgenbeugung mit einer sehr hohen Zeitauflösung nachverfolgen. Der Schwerpunkt lag dabei auf der Beeinflussung der Bildung erster kristalliner Hydratationsprodukte während des Frühstadiums der Zementhydratation.
Setting cement: Highly dynamic hydration processes that occur during the first seconds of cement hydration were studied by time-resolved synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Polycarboxylate ether additives were found to influence the formation of the initial crystalline hydration products on a molecular level.
Spatially resolved analysis of complex multi-phase systems can be validated through different analytical methods. This study compares investigations by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis and high resolution X-ray diffraction. The studied sulfate attacked cement paste containing fly ashes consists of different interacting crystalline and amorphous phases. The complementary methods revealed in detail changes in phase composition due to the chemical attack. The advantages and disadvantages of both methods are discussed and suggestions are given for combining them with additional methods to maximize the information content.
High resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SyXRD) was applied for a microstructural profile analysis of concrete deterioration after sulfate attack. The cement matrices consist of ordinary Portland cement and different amounts of supplementary cementitious materials, such as fly ash, natural pozzolana and granulated blast furnace slag. The changes of the phase composition were determined along the direction of sulfate ingress. This approach allows the identification of reaction fronts and zones of different phase compositions and conclusions about the mechanisms of sulfate attack. Two reaction fronts were localized in the initial 4 mm from the sample surface. The mechanism of deterioration caused by the exposition in the sulfate-bearing soil is discussed. SyXRD is shown to be a reliable method for investigation of cementitious materials with aggregates embedded in natural environments.
Deciphering the sulfate attack of cementitious materials by high-resolution micro-x-ray diffraction
(2011)
The durability of cementitious materials depends, among others, on their resistance against chemical attack during the service life of a building. Here, we present an approach to analyze changes in the phase composition due to chemical attack in the form of sulfate ingress within the microstructure. Micro-X-ray (µX-ray) diffraction using synchrotron radiation in Debye–Scherrer (transmission) geometry allowed a spatial resolution of 10 µm. Phase transformations in the wake of damaging processes were observed in a detailed high-resolution imaging study. In comparison, samples containing supplementary cementitious materials were investigated and used to reconstruct the influence of different degeneration processes in detail. Additionally, reaction fronts within the bulk were localized by micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis. The experimental setup provided the possibility for analyzing the phase assemblage of a given sample without destroying the microstructure. The specimens for phase analysis are thick sections of the primary material and can be used for further microscopic analysis of the microstructure and microchemistry, e.g., scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) or Raman spectroscopy.
Time-resolved in situ investigation of Portland cement hydration influenced by chemical admixtures
(2016)
Numerous admixtures are used in the building practice to customize the properties of the cement paste during application. The influences of admixtures on the course of cement hydration and formation of hydrate phases have to be considered. Polycarboxylate ether (PCE) based polymeric superplasticizers (SPs) are known to retard the setting of the cement paste. The extent of the retardation differs depending on the molecular structure of the SP. Additionally, the presence of a stabilizing agent (SA) in the cement paste has a retarding side effect on the setting. The initial cement hydration processes and the detailed mechanisms of the retardation influenced by PCEs, as well as their interactions with particular SAs, are insufficiently understood. Up to now, only the results of phenomenological studies were taken into account to describe this retardation process. A detailed structure analysis monitoring the change of the phase composition during the hydration was never applied. Both SP and SA affect the adsorption of the sulphate ions on the clinker particles, causing changes in the formation of ettringite during the initial hydration, and are therefore a crucial part of the setting process itself. Here, the initial hydration of cement influenced by the interaction of SP and SA was monitored in situ by synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The high time resolution of the measurements allowed a continuous detection of the hydrates formed. The hydration was followed from the starting point of water addition and for couple of hours afterwards. The hydration of the levitated cement pellets containing starch as SA was initialized by adding aqueous solutions of different commercial SPs. Changes in the ettringite formation were detected in comparison to the reference hydration of pure cement.