Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten
Filtern
Erscheinungsjahr
- 2016 (13) (entfernen)
Dokumenttyp
- Beitrag zu einem Tagungsband (6)
- Vortrag (6)
- Posterpräsentation (1)
Sprache
- Englisch (10)
- Deutsch (2)
- Mehrsprachig (1)
Schlagworte
- Building materials (13) (entfernen)
Eingeladener Vortrag
- nein (6)
Compared to the designated European upper reference level of 300 Bq/m³ for indoor radon concentrations, the contribution of building materials appears to be low. Taking into account the recommended limit of 100 Bq/m³ by WHO as well as the increased dose conversion factor, the contribution of building products is quite relevant, especially at low air change rates. Therefore in Germany a maximum contribution of building materials to the indoor radon concentration of 20 Bq/m³ is discussed.
Because measurements of low concentrations are associated with high uncertainties, radon exhalation rates are often determined in chambers without air exchange and indoor conditions are extrapolated.
This study investigated the suitability of direct low level radon measurement under simulated indoor conditions with commercially available instruments, based on the preliminary EU standard for the determination of the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from building materials in test chambers.
Measurements are possible with a relative uncertainty ranging from 7 to 18%. Four major problems were identified:
1. Detector sensitivity: Two of four instruments were identified to determine low radon concentrations in a sufficiently short measuring time.
2. Thoron discrimination: Thoron was discriminated by aging the sampled air in a hose before the detector.
3. Sampling setup: An external chamber measurement was feasible as long as all main system parts were under slight overpressure.
4. Blank value: For VOC-emission testing ambient air, conditioned by filtration and sorption, is used to generate an air exchange. Regarding radon, this treatment is non-effective. If all instrument background levels have been characterized, the blank value must be measured with a second detector in parallel.
A significant number of German concrete motorway pavements have shown damage only a few years after construction. The alkali-silica-reaction (ASR) is often one of the reasons for this damage. German guidelines and regulations focus on the optimisation of the concrete composition to avoid damage due to ASR. Moreover, diverse research projects have dealt with the development and optimisation of ASR performance test methods with and without external alkali supply.
However, the influence of other parameters on the occurrence and intensity of a damaging ASR had not yet been taken into account. Such parameters include, e.g., insufficient curing and the modifications of concrete’s porosity due to the use of slip form pavers. Likewise, the increased traffic loading had not yet been considered. The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) assesses these parameters and processes in a number of projects. These projects aim primarily to increase the durability of the concrete pavements, in particular by improving preventive measures that may be taken before or after the construction of concrete pavements. This paper gives a short overview of BAM’s projects concerning ASR in concrete pavements. Furthermore, results regarding the influence of the cyclic traffic loading on ASR are presented.
The concrete prism test at 60°C facilitates accelerated testing of alkali-silica reactivity of aggregates within five months. Manual measurement is usually conducted to determine expansion of test specimen every 28 days. This conventional procedure gives only limited insight to expansion behaviour of ASR-affected prisms. Due to the large time intervals, expansion exceeding the critical value of 0.3 mm/m is likely to be noticed late. Continuous recording applied in this work resolves this problem and delivers beneficial information on the shape of the expansion curve.
Different types of aggregate have been tested applying continuous and manual measurement to the concrete specimens.
Models of ASR-induced expansion, available in the open literature, so far are validated with discontinuous data hardly tracing the modelled curve. Continuous measurement improves validation and further model development.