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Eingeladener Vortrag
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Todays superplasticizers for self-compacting concrete and high Performance cementitious materials are very versatile. Typically superplasticizers are composed of a polycarboxylic backbone equipped with polyethylene oxide graft chains of variable length and grafting degree. The mode of operation of these admixtures is based on the steric repulsion of the particles upon adsorption. The adsorption is strongly depending upon the charge density of a superplasticizer and the time dependent Adsorption processes control the retention of the flow performance – an important issue particularly for ready-mix and construction site concrete. However, the properties of polycarboxylic superplasticizers typically remain a black box for users. The paper suggests a simple and rapid test method, which can be conducted without sophisticated equipment, to qualitatively distinguish between two types of superplasticizers based on the adsorption mechanism. Interpreting the results in the right way provides a powerful tool to choose the right admixture for individual time dependent flow specifications.
The existing cement and concrete standards are not capable of making full use of the current technology capacity due to strong focus on conventional concrete and thus they are not fit for the current and future challenges of construction industry. The paper highlights shortcomings with regard to the implementation of the existing standards. It can be seen that future-oriented standards are generally required to contribute to a lower-carbon footprint of the industry. These changes are significantly more relevant in sub-Saharan Africa, due to the rapidly increasing urbanisation challenge and the enormous potentials to develop lower-carbon technologies than elsewhere in the world.
Organic/inorganic mixtures were prepared from ordinary Portland cement (OPC), water (w/c 0.22), a fluorescent dye in aqueous solution (stable at alkaline pH; BAM-I), and two different comb shape polycarboxylates (PCEs), i.e., high charge (PCE-HC) and low charge (PCE-LC), respectively. Rheological and calorimetric measurements were performed prior to optical studies in order to select PCE concentrations. Absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy of the system OPC + BAM-I (CBAM-I) revealed maxima of dye BAM-I located at 645 nm and 663 nm, respectively. In presence of PCE-HC and PCE-LC, these mixtures displayed a small red shift in reflectance and a faster decrease in intensity compared to studies with CBAM-I; however, only slight differences were observed between the different PCEs. With time, all systems exhibited a decrease in intensity of BAM-I in absorption/reflectance and emission. This could be caused by dye adsorption and possibly decomposition when in contact with cement particles or hydration products.
Organic/inorganic mixtures were prepared from ordinary Portland cement (OPC), water (w/c 0.22), a fluorescent dye in aqueous solution (stable at alkaline pH; BAM-I), and two different comb shape polycarboxylates (PCEs), i.e., high charge (PCE-HC) and low charge (PCE-LC), respectively. Rheological and calorimetric measurements were performed prior to optical studies in order to select PCE concentrations. Absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy of the system OPC + BAM-I (CBAM-I) revealed maxima of dye BAM-I located at 645 nm and 663 nm, respectively. In presence of PCE-HC and PCE-LC, these mixtures displayed a small red shift in reflectance and a faster decrease in intensity compared to studies with CBAM-I; however, only slight differences were observed between the different PCEs. With time, all systems exhibited a decrease in intensity of BAM-I in absorption/reflectance and emission. This could be caused by dye adsorption and possibly decomposition when in contact with cement particles or hydration products.
Rwanda is a landlocked country in the East Africa. It is surrounded by Uganda, Tanzania, Congo and Burundi. Rwanda is a fast developing country and it spends most of its revenues to import fossil fuels from either through Mombasa Port in Kenya or Dar es Salaam port in Tanzania because the energy production in Rwanda is not sufficient for its development.
Transporting the fuels from these ports, add on to the cost of all materials, cement industry being no exception. There are three cement companies in Rwanda. The cement industries could not run in full production due to the shortage of fuel. Moreover, Rwanda is importing all the construction materials such as steel, roofing materials, etc from its neighbouring countries. This increases the cost of construction and the common man find difficult to own a house. In order to sustain the energy needs of Rwanda, different sources of energies should be focused. They are Peat, Geothermal, Methane gas, solar, wind, waste materials and Municipal wastes. Without affecting the environment, there is an urgent need to find a solution on sustainable energy in Rwanda. This paper discusses about the possible sources of energy in Rwanda which will improve the energy sustainability and turn the economy of Rwanda.
South Africa and recently Nigeria are the only net exporter of cement in Africa, yet cements are imported into the country mainly on the basis of price competitiveness. This poses potential for scatter in the properties of the cements in the South African market as pricing seems to be the only determining factor that affects Portland cements imported. A survey of cements of grade 42.5N in the South African cement market was carried out to identify major players in the industry. The identified cements, which included four locally produced and one imported cement were then analysed for both chemical composition and physical properties in line with the Eurocode EN 196. Tests carried out include loss on ignition, chloride content, sulphate content, specific surface (Blaine), standard consistence, initial setting time, final setting time, soundness and flexural and compressive strength at 2, 7 and 28 days. The testing program was initiated as part of on-going Africa-wide cement testing competency program in partnership with BAM and PTB in Germany. The performance of the identified cements from the different local manufacturers and the imported cement were analysed and are presented in this paper. These results reveal some similarities and differences in the properties. Particularly of interest is the marked difference in the 28 days compressive strength of the cements. This paper shows that there is need for further tests across the cement industry as some of the cements failed to meet certain requirement as set by EN 196. The paper also recommends the use of proficiency testing schemes in the cement industry of the country to ensure the cement laboratories are providing results of high quality and at the same time act as a check to make sure these laboratories are not failing to meet standard requirements.
In many regions of the world the urbanisation process is accelerating dramatically. This puts pressure on urban planners but also politics to develop strategies for sustainable city growth. With the rapidly increasing demand for living space in urban areas, cities typically grow vertically. This is largely driven by real estate markets and sometimes also by the desire for status symbols.
Certainly, vertical urban growth makes sense, when horizontal growth destroys important flora and Fauna (e.g. in rain forest regions), but in many cases vertical growth is result of real-estate business and Expansion limitation due to state or country borders. However, economics and borders are made by humans. They follow human-made rules. Gravity does not. Therefore, from a point of view of sustainable materials and resourceuse, the trending vertical growth of cities may come under scrutiny.
The following aspects should be considered, when a decision is taken between a new quarter with limited number of storeys or a new skyscraper.
This paper presents the analysis of crack propagation in strain-hardening cement-based composite (SHCC) under tensile and flexural load by using acoustic emission (AE). AE is a non-destructive technique to monitor the development of structural damage due to external forces. The main objective of this research was to characterise the cracking behaviour in SHCC in direct tensile and flexural tests by using AE. A better understanding of the development of microcracks in SHCC will lead to a better understanding of pseudo strain-hardening behaviour of SHCC and its general performance. ARAMIS optical deformation analysis was also used in direct tensile tests to observe crack propagation in SHCC materials. For the direct tensile tests, SHCC specimens were prepared with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibre with three different volume percentages (1%, 1.85% and 2.5%). For the flexural test beam specimens, only a fibre dosage of 1.85% was applied. It was found that the application of AE in SHCC can be a good option to analyse the crack growth in the specimens under increasing load, the location of the cracks and most importantly the identification of matrix cracking and fibre rupture or slippage.
The economic use of chemical admixtures depends on supply chains. Therefore, in most regions ins sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the use of admixtures is not common practice. This amplifies the unfavorable framework for concrete construction such as fragmentary supply chains, high local cement prices, and unfavorable construction site facilities in this region significantly. The use of superplasticizer (SP) and stabilizing agents (STA) can enhance the concrete technology in SSA, since they can disassociate the concrete quality from external boundary influences. After providing a general overview of the peculiarities of the SSA boundary framework, economic concepts are provided, how existing material solutions can be significantly improved by the use of SPs and STAs based on locally available materials such as lignosulphonates and cassava starch. Finally a three step optimization process is described that helps developing flowable concrete based on materials that can be accessed in most locations in SSA.
Hochduktiler Beton eröffnet neue Möglichkeiten bei der Instandsetzung von Bauwerken, der Herstellung dünnwandiger Bauelemente oder dem Einsatz von Dämpfungselementen in stoßartig beanspruchten Bauwerken (z.B. in Erdbebengebieten).
Die Steigerung der Duktilität kann durch die Zugabe von Kurzfasern erreicht werden. Im Falle einer Rissbildung in der Zementsteinmatrix überbrücken die Fasern den Riss, nehmen die Spannung vollständig auf und stoppen lokal das Risswachstum. Bei weiterer Steigerung der Last reißt die Matrix an anderer Stelle. Auf diese Weise wird die Rissbildung fein verteilt und es werden große Dehnungen erreicht, bevor das Bauteil versagt. Zur Optimierung der Festbetoneigenschaften müssen die Matrixfestigkeit und die Faserart sowie deren Gehalt aufeinander abgestimmt werden. Dabei sind auch die Verarbeitungseigenschaften des Frischbetons zu berücksichtigen.
Anhand der Schallemissionen kann die Rissbildung in der Matrix und die Interaktion mit den Fasern analysiert werden. So konnte in ersten Zugversuchen gezeigt werden, dass sich Schallereignisse dem Versagen der Zementsteinmatrix bzw. dem Auszug der Fasern aus der Matrix zuordnen lassen. Damit steht zur Beurteilung des mechanischen Verhaltens von hochduktilem Beton neben der Spannungs-Dehnungs-Linie ein weiteres Verfahren zur Verfügung.
Control chart systems are used in quality management systems to keep production processes stable. In concrete production they are often applied for the control of the compressive strength. The most efficient control chart systems are cumulated sums (cusum), which help to observe deviations from a targeted value. Unlike alternative observation chart systems that focus on process data evaluation, cusum observations react very rapidly on systematic process changes in processes. Therefore, the cusum method is particularly suitable if immediate counteractions have to be taken, like in the case of fresh concrete properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC), which can have severe influences on the durability and mechanical strength of concrete. The rheology of SCC can be affected by an enormous variety of influencing factors, from raw material properties to handling or environmental temperature. The present study shows that regardless of the material based influencing parameter for a rheology change, a steady slump flow can be achieved only by adding supplementary superplasticizer in case of loss of flow and adding stabilising agent (ST) in case of increased flow if the respective V-mask indicates a systematic change. A reference SCC was artificially manipulated in order to achieve realistic experimental data for flowability and flowability changes due to changes in the raw material properties. The results point out that productions with applied cusum methods were capable of keeping the target slump flow deviation within approximately 1% only, while productions without applied cusum method deviated up to 14% and more from the target.
In the last years flowable concrete has become increasingly important in applications such as, for systems with highly reinforced concrete with a complicated formwork, or sprayed concrete and 3D-printing of concrete. For all these applications it is necessary to have tailored rheological properties. Rheology can be described by values of yield stress and plastic viscosity, which can be determined for example by evaluation of rheometer measurements. But for different materials various rheometers with different geometries and stirrers are being used. To see the effects from paste in concrete, it is necessary to investigate mixes of paste, mortar and concrete, stepwise. But currently there exists no device, which is calibrated for these different systems at once. Due to this fact, conventional tests such as V-funnel efflux-time and flow diameter were determined, as well as rheometer data in different cell sizes and geometries.
In this study the assessment of rheological effects in the binder on the rheology of mortar and concrete was investigated by using combination of two rheometers.
Baupraxis und Infrastrukturentwicklung im Hinblick auf die Betonindustrie in Ost- und Südafrika
(2011)
Der Bausektor stellt in Afrika traditionell eine der stabileren Quellen für den Arbeitsmarkt dar. Durch ständige Wechsel in der Politik wurden jedoch in zahlreichen Ländern Einschnitte bei den öffentlichen Investitionen sowie ein Rückgang der Beschäftigtenzahlen im Privatsektor beobachtet. Darüber hinaus konnte eine Verlagerung von offiziell tätigen und registrierten hin zu nicht registrierten Bauunternehmen festgestellt werden. Zahlreiche Bauunternehmen bieten Dienstleistungen an, die sie nicht ständig ausführen oder für die sie sich das erforderliche Gerät leihen müssen. Einer im Jahre 2000 hinsichtlich der Situation in Tansania veröffentlichten Studie zufolge verfügen nur etwa 15 % der Unternehmen, die Betonbauarbeiten anbieten, über einen eigenen Betonmischer. Die auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent angewandten Baupraktiken im Betonbau weichen erheblich voneinander ab. Während Südafrika über eine fortgeschrittene Technologie und eine hoch entwickelte Infrastruktur im Hinblick auf die Zement- und Betonindustrie verfügt, sind Zement und Beton in den ostafrikanischen Ländern, insbesondere in jenen, die in den 90er Jahren des vergangenen Jahrhunderts von schweren Bürgerkriegen erschüttert wurden, kaum verfügbar und zählen keinesfalls zu den in der täglichen Baupraxis verwendeten Baustoffen. Hier wird auf einheimische Baumethoden, bei denen vorwiegend Holz verwendet wird, zurückgegriffen. Dieses wird durch Abholzung gewonnen, was schließlich zur Rodung ganzer Waldgebiete führt. Die ohne entsprechende Planung, Genehmigung und Erschließung errichteten Siedlungen in Südafrika und Kenia veranschaulichen erschreckend, wie einstmals von grüner Vegetation bedeckte Landstriche in künstliche, wüstenartige Landschaften verwandelt wurden.
Die Versiegelung von Oberflächen, Bebauung und die Ausweitung städtischer Gebiete führen weltweit besonders in sonnenreichen Regionen zu innerstädtischen Hitzeinseln. Diese Flächen wirken als Wärmespeicher, so dass an Sonnentagen eine Temperaturdifferenz bis zu 10 K zwischen Stadt und umliegendem Land entstehen kann. Verstärkt wird dieser sogenannte Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) durch die meist direkte Abführung des anfallenden Regenwassers in die Kanalisation, wodurch eine Kühlung durch stetige Verdunstung unterbunden ist, Mit steigender Urbanisierung wächst auch die Bedeutung dieses Phänomens. Innerstädtische Hitzeinseln ziehen direkte wirtschaftliche und soziale Folgen nach sich, da hohe Temperaturen eine teure Klimatisierung der Städte bedingen. So entsteht ein erhöhter Verbrauch an Ressourcen sowie zusätzliche Abwärme. Das Wohlbefinden und die Gesundheit der Bevölkerung verschlechtern sich bei sehr hohen Temperaturen, was zu sinkender Leistungsfähigkeit und sogar zu einer erhöhten Sterberate führen kann.
Today, in scientific events often a certain separation between researchers from laboratories with highly sophisticated equipment and those from less privileged laboratories can be observed. It is not an uncommon situation that results presented at conferences are rubbished or ridiculed because the investigator only used low-end analytical methods.
The assessment of the study is then biased based on the equipment, regardless of the actual quality of the study.
After a brief introduction into past and modern concrete, the relevance of sustainable concrete technologies is emphasised from a global perspective. In order to minimise the environmental impact of cement and concrete in the world, solutions for alternative binder materials as well as rheology and performance modifying additives are presented based on local bio-based resources.
However, the perception of bio-based constituents is typically rather negative in construction materials and its application is often limited to low-end construction. In order to show that this is not inevitable, the lecture ends with a number of case studies for the use of bio-based materials for high performance concrete applications.
Polymers that help tailoring rheological properties during the casting process have become inevitable constituents for all kinds of high-performance concrete technologies. Due to lacking industries, these typically crude-oil based admixtures are not readily available in many parts of the world, which limits the implementation of more sustainable high-performance construction technologies in these regions. Alternative polymers, which often demand for less processing, can be derived from local plant-based resources. The paper provides experimental data of flow tests of cement pastes with polysaccharides from Triumfetta pendrata A. Rich, acacia gum and cassava without and in the presence of polycarboxylate ether superplasticizer. The flow tests are amended by observations of the zeta potentials and the hydrodynamic diameters in the presence of and without calcium ions in the dispersion medium. The results show that in the presence of and without calcium ions all polysaccharides provide negative zeta potentials, yet, they affect flowability and thixotropy in different ways. Cassava starch, acacia gum, and the gum of Triumfetta pendrata A. Rich qualified well for robustness improvement, strong stiffening, and additive manufacturing, respectively. The reason for the different effects can be found in their average sizes and size distribution. Due to the promising results, a flow chart for local value chains is derived on the example of yet unused cassava wastes, which can be converted in parallel.
The construction sector has traditionally been a source of employment in African regions. However, due to policy changes, cut backs in public investments as well as a fall in the number of employments in the private sector have been observed in many countries. Furthermore a shift from registered companies to informal contractors could be noticed. Many contractors offer services they do not provide permanently or for which the required equipment has to be borrowed. A study that was published in 2000 about the situation in Tanzania pointed out that only ca. 15% of the enterprises that offer concrete works own a concrete mixer. The building practice with concrete varies widely over the African continent. Whereas the level of technology and the infrastructure for cement and concrete in South Africa is elaborate, in East Africa and particularly those that were heavily suffering from civil war during the nineties of the last century, the availability of cement and concrete is poor and these materials are far from being everyday building practice. Most of the population relies on indigenous forms of construction requiring wood obtained from felling of forest trees and ultimately contributing to de-forestation. Informal settlements in South-Africa and Kenya are literal evidence where originally green natural vegetation has been turned into artificial desert-like landscapes.
Since its invention in the early 1990’s, self-consolidating concrete has never become well established in the ready-mix sectors worldwide. The reason for this can be mainly found in the fact that the sophisticated compositions are sensitive against changing environments. This lack of robustness can be attributed to the interaction between cement hydration reaction and high range water reducing agent (HRWRA). Understanding the relevant mechanisms that control the initial flow performance as well as the flow retention helps optimizing SCC mixtures that perform either steadily in one specific environment or that perform largely similarly at steadily changing environments.
This paper depicts how HRWRAs interact with clinker and hydration phases and discusses the important role of the charge density of a polycarboxylic HRWRA in the way the rheology is affected. Based on rheometric results and observations of the Vicat setting times, it is shown that increasing charge densities of the HRWRA and decreasing water to powder ratios (w/p) reduce the flow retention and have lesser retarding effect on the setting. Based on the discussion, optimization procedures for the mixture composition and the HRWRA modification are suggested to achieve optimized performance for varying environmental situations or highest robustness for specific conditions.
The cement proficiency testing (PT) scheme was set up by the German Metrology Institute (PTB) and the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in 2012. The PT scheme was a spin-off from a European Commission and African, Caribbean and Pacific-Group of States funded project entitled SPIN – Spearhead Network for Innovative, Clean and Safe Cement and Concrete Technologies (www.spin.bam.de). The SPIN project aimed at crosslinking experts in industry and policy making bodies, with the prospect of establishing a sustainable cement and concrete construction capacity in Africa.
After a successful first pan-African proficiency testing scheme in 2012/2013, it was decided to establish the scheme permanently and independent of the SPIN project.
The main focus of setting up a testing scheme was to enable all cement testing laboratories in Africa to evaluate their competence and efficiency in cement testing and further enhance their capacity to obtain better quality products according to their environment. The acronym developed for the PT scheme is PACE-PTS (Pan-African Cement Proficiency Testing Scheme). The framework for the PT scheme was set up jointly among the organisers and the first participants. The first PT scheme was initiated in Dar Es Salaam in 2012 followed by a final workshop in Berlin in 2013. The second PT scheme began in 2014. A final workshop was organised in Dar es Salaam in 2015. The third and current scheme was started in 2016 and the final workshop is held in Yaoundé.
Cement proficiency testing scheme for Africa / Programm zur Eignungsprüfung von Zement in Afrika
(2014)
Sub-Saharan Africa is populated by more than half a billion people,
and rapid urbanization is creating challenges in the areas of housing,
roads, railways, power supply, dams and water pipelines —
aspects of infrastructure that are critical to the well being of the
population. This situation indicates that cement and concrete will
play a major role in the future construction technology in Africa, despite
the fact that it does not have a long-lasting tradition over most
of the continent. Although the continent is rich in natural resources
for the production of mineral binder systems, many sub-Saharan
African countries exhibit challenging boundary conditions, that have
to be well understood in order to use cement and concrete technologies
in a sustainable and reasonable way.
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.
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.
Concrete technology was exposed to a rapid development during the last three decades. For the longest time in its history, concrete was considered as a three component System consisting of aggregates, which are bound by the hardened cement paste consisting of hydrated cement. Traditionally, the only way of adjusting the consistency of concrete was using well adjusted aggregates and grading curves and adding excess water to the concrete, accepting that the latter in return reduces strength and durability. During the last three decades, however, concrete has developed further from a three component System towards an (at least) five component system, since the use of mineral additions and Chemical admixtures has become state of the art. Both components are able to enhance the workability, the compactability, and the density of the microstructure with effects on strength, ductility and durability, while cement can be saved in parallel. Due to reasonable use of admixtures and additions, concrete can be designed to match mechanically high performance specifications. Traditionally, cement paste was considered the weakest component in concrete. Flowever, in modern concrete a good paste composition can yield highest performance, passing the role of the mechanical bottleneck towards the aggregates.
The African cement, concrete and construction business are growing at rapid pace. The cement sales are expected to grow tremendously until 2050. The number of newly built cement plants increases dramatically and in addition more cements are being imported from outside the continent, e.g. from Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, and China, driven by overcapacities in the countries of origin. This causes a high number of potentials and challenges at the same time. New cement plants can operate directly at best technological state of the art and thus incorporate more sustainable technologies as well as produce new and more sustainable products such as cements blended with sustainable supplementary cementitious materials such as calcined clays, and industrial or agricultural by products. At the same time the new variety of binding agent as well as the international imports, which are driven by price considerations, make the cement market prone to quality scatter. This puts pressure on the quality control regulations and institutions to ensure safety of construction, healthy application, and environmental safety for the population.
The paper presents possible solutions to build up the rapidly increasing African cement production more sustainably than in the rest of the world as well as the related challenges and obstacles that need to be overcome. Based on experiences with a series of pan-African cement testing laboratory proficiency schemes conclusions are made on technical, regulative and political level.
The African cement, concrete and construction business is growing at rapid pace. The cement sales are expected to grow rapidly until 2050. The number of newly built cement plants increases dramatically and in addition more cements are being imported from outside the continent, e.g. from Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, and China, driven by overcapacities in the countries of origin. This causes a high number of potentials and challenges at the same time. Newly built cement plants can operate directly at best technological state of the art and thus incorporate more sustainable technologies as well as produce new and more sustainable products such as cements blended with sustainable supplementary cementitious materials such as calcined clays, and industrial or agricultural by products. At the same time the new variety of binding agent as well as the international imports, which are driven by price considerations, make the cement market prone to quality scatter. This puts pressure on the quality control regulations and institutions to ensure safety of construction, healthy application, and environmental safety for the population. The paper presents possible solutions to build up the rapidly increasing African cement production more sustainably than in the rest of the world as well as the related challenges and obstacles that need to be overcome. Based on experiences with a series of pan-African cement testing laboratory proficiency schemes conclusions are made on technical, regulative and political level.
A thorough characterization of starting materials is the precondition for further research, especially for cement, which contains various phases and presents quite a complex material for fundamental scientific investigation. In the paper at hand, the characterization data of the reference cement CEM I 42.5 R used within the priority program 2005 of the German Research Foundation (DFG SPP 2005) are presented from the aspects of chemical and mineralogical compositions as well as physical and chemical properties. The data were collected based on tests conducted by nine research groups involved in this cooperative program. For all data received, the mean values and the corresponding errors were calculated. The results shall be used for the ongoing research within the priority program.
Two types of cements were selected as the reference cement in the priority program 2005 of the German Research Foundation (DFG SPP 2005). A thorough characterization of CEM I 42.5 R has been made in a recent publication. In this paper, the characterization data of the other reference cement CEM III/A 42.5 N are presented from the aspects of chemical and mineralogical compositions as well as physical and chemical properties. The characterization data of the slag, which is the second main constituent of this specific cement besides the clinker, are presented independently. For all data received, the mean values and the corresponding errors were calculated. The data shall be used for the ongoing research within the priority program. Also, researchers from outside this priority program can benefit from these data if the same materials are used.
A thorough characterization of base materials is the prereq- uisite for further research. In this paper, the characterization data of the reference materials (CEM I 42.5 R, limestone pow- der, calcined clay and a mixture of these three components) used in the second funding phase of the priority program 2005 of the German Research Foundation (DFG SPP 2005) are presented under the aspects of chemical and min- eralogical composition as well as physical and chemical properties. The data were collected based on tests performed by up to eleven research groups involved in this cooperative program.
The structural build-up of fresh cement paste is often considered as a purely thixotropic phenomenon in literature even though cementitious materials undergo a non-reversible hydration process that can have an influence on the structuration process. In the current paper a method is proposed to validate the impact of the non-reversible structural build-up. It is shown that fresh cement paste samples lose their structural gain almost completely due to thixotropy while the structural build-up due to hydration can be observed but occurs in a significantly lower order of magnitude over the course of the first hours of hydration. In addition, it is shown, that the chemical component of the structural build-up accelerates with the onset of the acceleration period of hydration, while its contribution in the entire structural build-up remains constant.
Clearing the way
(2012)
Viscosity-modifying agent (VMA) are used in several applications of concrete, such as underwater concrete, Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) or Self-Levelling Underlayments (SLU) in order to improve the washout resistance and the stability. The study focuses on the modifications of cement pastes properties implied when a VMA (hydroxypropyl guars or HPG) and a superplasticizer are introduced together. For reaching this objective, two chemically different polycarboxylate-based superplasticizers (PCE) and two HPGs exhibiting different molar substitution ratios (MSHP), were studied. A method, combining total organic carbon and size exclusion chromatography, was developed in order to quantify the adsorption of the both admixtures. The adsorption of HPGs appears being significantly lowered by the presence of PCE, while only the adsorption of the less charged PCE is slightly affected by the HPG. As consequence, strong modifications of the rheological properties of cement pastes were noticed when HPG and PCE are combined. The desorption of HPG leads to higher yield stress and residual viscosity than with PCE alone.
With ongoing innovation in process technology, the challenges of concrete technology are more and more focused on the rheological optimisation for these processes, since improper mixture stability or poor compaction ability negatively affect the concrete homogeneity and quality. However, along with the increasing complexity of today’s concrete mixture compositions, concrete becomes more prone to failure regarding the casting process. Variable properties of the raw materials typically cause changing workability. The reasons can be found among others in scattering water contents, physical or chemical properties of the cement or varying environmental temperatures. Robustness in the delicately adjusted rheology, however, is of utmost importance for modern and future process technology, from sprayed concrete over pumpable concrete towards 3D-printing, with regard to the long-term strength, the function and the durability. Typically, material induced changes cannot be identified easily due to the complex interactions of concrete constituents. Therefore, a precise and prompt counteraction is impossible. However, it is known that the yield stress can be controlled by addition of supplementary superplasticizer or stabilising agent. In combination with computerized process observation tools that can rapidly interpret and react on changes in the rheology, it is therefore thinkable, that only these two admixture types can adjust the rheology steadily and permanently, regardless of the actual root cause for observed macroscopic rheology change. The presentation will firstly give a comprehensive overview of effects at the interface between pore solution, particles and hydrates, which affect the rheology of fresh concrete. Secondly, ways are recommended how the rheology can be actively manipulated before eventually computerized methods are demonstrated that help to actively and rapidly assess and counteract performance scatter during steady casting processes.
With ongoing innovation in process technology, the challenges of concrete technology are more and more focused on the rheological optimisation for these processes, since improper mixture stability or poor compaction ability negatively affect the concrete homogeneity and quality. However, along with the increasing complexity of today’s concrete mixture compositions, concrete becomes more prone to failure regarding the casting process. Variable properties of the raw materials typically cause changing workability. The reasons can be found among others in scattering water contents, physical or chemical properties of the cement or varying environmental temperatures. Robustness in the delicately adjusted rheology, however, is of utmost importance for modern and future process technology, from sprayed concrete over pumpable concrete towards 3D-printing, with regard to the long-term strength, the function and the durability. Typically, material induced changes cannot be identified easily due to the complex interactions of concrete constituents. Therefore, a precise and prompt counteraction is impossible. However, it is known that the yield stress can be controlled by addition of supplementary superplasticizer or stabilising agent. In combination with computerized process observation tools that can rapidly interpret and react on changes in the rheology, it is therefore thinkable, that only these two admixture types can adjust the rheology steadily and permanently, regardless of the actual root cause for observed macroscopic rheology change. The presentation will firstly give a comprehensive overview of effects at the interface between pore solution, particles and hydrates, which affect the rheology of fresh concrete. Secondly, ways are recommended how the rheology can be actively manipulated before eventually computerized methods are demonstrated that help to actively and rapidly assess and counteract performance scatter during steady casting processes.
In order to observe the effect of the aggregate phases between 2 mm and 16 mm without overlap with rheological effects induced by the cement hy-dration and without interactions with a threshold fine sand particle size that affects both, paste and aggregates, rheological experiments were conducted on a limestone filler based paste mixed with aggregates up to 16 mm. Vari-ous aggregate fractions were blended and mixed with the replacement paste in different volumetric ratios.
The dry aggregates’ flow coefficients were determined and compared to yield stress and plastic viscosity values at different aggregate volume fractions. The results indicated that the flow coefficient is not a suitable parameter to predict the performance of the aggregates in the paste. It was shown that the yield stress of pastes is largely determined by the blend of different aggregate fractions, while the plastic viscosity to large extend depends upon the coars-est aggregate fraction.
Based on the results, ideal aggregate composition ranges for minimised yield stress are presented. For the plastic viscosity no such grading curves to achieve minimum values could be found, but high viscosity curves are identified.