Danutė Vaičiukynienė

Effects of ultrasonic treatment on zeolite NaA synthesized from by-product silica.

The synthesis of zeolite NaA from silica by-product was carried out in the presence of 20 kHz ultrasound at room temperature. Zeolites obtained in this type of synthesis were compared to zeolites obtained by performing conventional static syntheses under similar conditions. The sonication effects on zeolite NaA synthesis were characterized by phase identification, crystallinity etc. The effects of different parameters such as crystallization time and initial materials preparation methods on the crystallinity and morphology of the synthesized zeolites were investigated. The final products were characterized by XRD and FT-IR. It was possible to obtain crystalline zeolite NaA from by-product silica in the presence of ultrasound.

Effect of milled electrical cable waste on mechanical properties of concrete

The article focuses on investigation of mechanical and fracture properties of concrete containing electrical cable waste as well as some microstructural features of such concrete. Added to concrete, electrical cable waste reduces the overall concrete bulk density. Compressive, flexural, tensile splitting strengths and elastic modulus decreased when electrical cable waste was admixed to conventional and polymer modified concretes. The best mechanical properties of concrete samples containing electrical cable waste were identified in polymer modified concrete containing 5% of electrical cable waste. Electrical cable waste particles increase the deformability of polymer modified concretes and have almost no influence on normal concrete. Consequently, the optimal amount of electrical cable waste particles can provide concrete with desirable strength that is required for different applications.

The Influence of Fine Particle Content (Cement Together with Sand Particles up to 0.25 mm) on Rheological Properties of Concrete Mixture

The influence of the fine particle content on the rheological properties of the fresh concrete mixture was studied. The change of cement together with sand particles up to 0.25 mm in mixture composition was taken into the consideration. The amount of fine particles in mixture composition varied in the range from 402 to 639 kg per one cubic meter of the concrete mixture. Technological properties of the concrete mixture were established according to the standardized requirements, rheological properties: yield stresses and viscosity of conventional concrete mixture were calculated based on analytical formulas. According to obtained test results, the increase of fine particle content from 481 to 520 kg in mixture reduced the yield stresses from about 557 to 132 Pa. Further increase of fine particle content from 600 to 639 kg showed the rise of yield stress by 3.87 times. On the other hand, the viscosity of concrete mixture gradually decreased (ca. 5.6 times). To sum up, the rheological properties of the concrete mixture were significantly influenced by the content, packing density, fineness, surface texture and particle size distribution of fine particles.