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Organisationseinheit der BAM
Worldwide an increasing migration from rural to urban regions can be observed. Hence cities are growing and as a result the building density and the land sealing rise. Concrete as commonly used building material in urban structures provides a high heat storage capacity. Therefore the microclimate in cities has become warmer than in the surrounding areas. This phenomenon is called Urban Heat Island Effect. To mitigate this situation a large scale application of self-cooling concrete pavers is an approach to reduce the urban heat island effect. Making use of evaporation enthalpy, this new type of pavements counterbalances the absorption of solar radiation and the subsequent transfer of heat to the surrounding environment. The typical double-layer structure of concrete paving stones can be maintained. The mass concrete acts as a water storage layer and is covered by a permeable face concrete. As the different requirements of these layers demand different concrete mixtures, they are developed and optimised for their respective functions. This paper presents some suitable no-slump concrete mixtures that combine a sufficient compressive strength as well as good water transportation properties for the above mentioned approach.
Viscosity modifying agents: Key components of advanced cement-based materials with adapted rheology
(2022)
Viscosity modifying agents (VMAs) are essential ingredients for the production of flowable cement-based materials. This paper presents an overview of commonly used VMAs and attempts to shed some light on the underlying physics at the origin of their mechanisms of action. The main molecular parameters of VMA controlling the rheological properties of the cement pore solution are highlighted. As the mechanisms of action of VMAs in cement-based materials are closely related to their affinity with the surface of cement particles, the adsorption of the main VMA types is discussed. The effect of VMAs on flow properties and stability of cement-based materials is presented for VMAs added without any superplasticizer, and then in systems incorporating both VMAs and superplasticizers. Finally, the effect of VMAs in enhancing concrete properties to secure adequate performance of different construction applications, and perspectives for future developments of novel cement-based materials made with VMAs are showcased.
Admixtures are important constituents to enhance the performance of concrete. They allow for more efficient use of binders which can mitigate negative environmental impacts from producing cement-based materials. Commonly used rheology modifying agents like polycarboxylate ethers or cellulose ethers are synthetic or semi-synthetic, respectively. This requires additional energy consumption for their production and global supply chains particularly for many developing regions, which will be large consumers of concrete in the future. However, many locally available bio-based polysaccharides could be effectively used instead. These polymers are often overlooked by engineers and scientists due to their limited distribution and inherent complexity, yet they represent an underleveraged source of precursors for admixtures. This study investigates the action mechanisms of some bio-based rheology modifying agents, i.e., acacia gum and miscanthus gum, and provides a comparison to a conventionally modified starch. The results show that the mechanism of action of these polymers is closely related to the composition of the mixture, mixing regime, and the composition of the aqueous phase. Depending on the agent, either plasticizing or stabilizing effects on rheology can be revealed.
NMR is becoming increasingly popular for the investigation of building materials as it is a non-invasive technology that does not require any sample preparation nor causes damage to the material. Depending on the specific application it can offer insights into properties like porosity and spatial saturation degree as well as pore structure. Moreover it enables the determination of moisture transport properties and the (re-)distribution of internal moisture into different reservoirs or chemical phases upon damage and curing. However, as yet most investigations were carried out using devices originally either designed for geophysical applications or the analysis of rather homogeneous small scale (< 10 mL) samples. This paper describes the capabilities of an NMR tomograph, which has been specifically optimized for the investigation of larger, heterogeneous building material samples (diameters of up to 72 mm, length of up to 700 mm) with a high flexibility due to interchangeable coils allowing for a high SNR and short echo times (50 - 80 m s).
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.
Organic admixtures are an indispensable component of modern concrete. Thus, their purposeful application is not only technically and economically viable but in addition an inevitable tool to make concrete more environmentally friendly. In this context, the use of polysaccharides has increasingly gained interest in the built environment as sustainable resource for performance enhancement. However, due to its origin, biopolymers possess a vast variety of molecular structures which can result in incompatibilities with other polymers present in concrete, such as superplasticizers. The present study highlights effects of the joint application of different types of starches and polycarboxylates with respect to their influence on cement hydration and structural build-up of cement pastes.
Over the course of the last decades, concrete construction has significantly changed from mass application towards sophisticated more innovative, future oriented, and performance based materials technology. Today concrete no longer consists of cement, water, and aggregates, but can be enhanced significantly by using supplementary additions and chemical admixtures. At the same time the concrete specifications are no longer limited to Young’s modulus and compressive strength, but concrete may need to be designed for a multiple of application criteria such as durability, workability, optics, fire behaviour, and many more. However at the same time, the composition of concrete has become more complex due to the higher number of mutually interacting mixture constituents. Understanding the effects of changed mixture constituents is challenging but a good understanding is the key to innovative concrete technology.
Since the 1980s the range of additives available to modify the behaviour and performance of concrete has greatly expanded. For many applications, control of concrete rheology is critical to obtaining the best performance. The impact of different concrete admixtures on rheology and other factors affecting their selection are discussed.
Today's African concrete construction environment differs greatly from that in Europe, Japan or North America. Europe can look back on a concrete tradition of more than 150 years. Standardising documents and guidelines have existed for over 100 years, and formed the foundation of modern Standards adopted and applied in many regions of the world. Technological developments in cement production are also strongly influenced by environmental conditions of the Northern hemisphere. In contrast, with the exception of South Africa, most countries of sub-Saharan Africa started cement production in the 1950s to 1960s, followed by a period of political and economic upheaval. As a result, there have not been serious approaches towards customised Solutions for concrete construction for conditions specific to sub-Saharan Africa; in most countries overseas Standards are applied, as a matter of course.
Clearing the way
(2012)