Sung-Hoon Kang

Acceleration of Intended Pozzolanic Reaction under Initial Thermal Treatment for Developing Cementless Fly Ash Based Mortar

Without using strong alkaline solution or ordinary Portland cement, a new structural binder consisting of fly ash and hydrated lime was hardened through an intensified pozzolanic reaction. The main experimental variables are the addition of silica fume and initial thermal treatment (60 °C for 3 days). A series of experiments consisting of mechanical testing (compressive and flexural strength, modulus of elasticity), X-ray diffraction, and measurements of the heat of hydration, pore structure, and shrinkage were conducted. These tests show that this new fly ash-based mortar has a compressive strength of 15 MPa at 91 days without any silica fume addition or initial thermal treatment. The strength increased to over 50 MPa based on the acceleration of the intensified pozzolanic reaction from the silica fume addition and initial thermal treatment. This is explained by a significant synergistic effect induced by the silica fume. It intensifies the pozzolanic reaction under thermal treatment and provides a space filling effect. This improved material performance can open a new pathway to utilize the industrial by-product of fly ash in cementless construction materials.

Microstructural Investigation of Heat-Treated Ultra-High Performance Concrete for Optimum Production

For optimum production of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), the material and microstructural properties of UHPC cured under various heat treatment (HT) conditions are studied. The effects of HT temperature and duration on the hydration reaction, microstructure, and mechanical properties of UHPC are investigated. Increasing HT temperature accelerates both cement hydration and pozzolanic reaction, but the latter is more significantly affected. This accelerated pozzolanic reaction in UHPC clearly enhances compressive strength. However, strength after the HT becomes stable as most of the hydration finishes during the HT period. Particularly, it was concluded that the mechanical benefit of the increased temperature and duration on the 28 day-strength is not noticeable when the HT temperature is above 60 °C (with a 48 h duration) or the HT duration is longer than 12 h (with 90 °C temperature). On the other hand, even with a minimal HT condition such as 1 day at 60 °C or 12 h at 90 °C, outstanding compressive strength of 179 MPa and flexural tensile strength of 49 MPa are achieved at 28 days. Microstructural investigation conducted herein suggests that portlandite content can be a good indicator for the mechanical performance of UHPC regardless of its HT curing conditions. These findings can contribute to reducing manufacturing energy consumption, cost, and environmental impact in the production of UHPC and be helpful for practitioners to better understand the effect of HT on UHPC and optimize its production.

Minimum Thickness Requirements of Flat Plate Affected by Construction Load

During construction of reinforced concrete building, construction load two times as much as the self weight of a slab, is imposed on the slab, and strength and stiffness of the early-age concrete are not fully developed. As the result, the construction load frequently causes excessive deflection and cracking in the flat plate. The minimum thickness of flat plate specified by the current design codes does not properly address such effect of the construction load. In the present study, a simplified method was developed to calculate the deflection of flat plate affected by the construction load. The proposed method can consider the effects of a variety of design parameters such as the aspect ratio of plate, boundary condition, concrete strength, and construction load. A design equation for the minimum thickness was developed based on the proposed method.

Performance of Fresh and Hardened Ultra High Performance Concrete without Heat Treatment

This study investigates the relationship between the performance of fresh and hardened Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) without heat treatment. The performance of fresh UHPC is determined by the slump flow test related to the fluidity of concrete mixtures, and the air content test. The variables of these tests are the water to binder ratio, superplasticizer dosages and volume fractions of steel fiber. Generally, insufficient fluidity and excessive air contents in concrete mixtures lead to the insufficient packing density related to the performance of harden concrete. The performance of hardened UHPC is determined by the compressive and flexural tensile tests. The results of the fresh UHPC tests show that there is the linear correlation between each variable and the slump flow diameter, and that the slump flow diameter is linearly decreased as the air content ratio increase. Using these results, the formula is developed to predict the fresh performance before mixing UHPC. The results of the hardened UHPC tests show that the hardened performance is not influenced by the air content ratio in the range of 3.2 to 4.2 per cent. However, the flexural tensile strength dominantly influenced by the volume fractions of steel fiber.

Effect of Internal Curing by Super-Absorbent Polymer (SAP) on Hydration, Autogenous Shrinkage, Durability and Mechanical Characteristics of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC)

This research intends to understand the impact of super-absorbent polymer (SAP) as an internal curing agent in Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC). Two different types of SAPs of acrylic acid (SAP_AA) and acrylic acid-co-acrylamide (SAP_AM) were examined with UHPC formulation. Isothermal calorimetry and x-ray diffraction experiments revealed the impact of polymers with the different chemical bonds on cement hydration. To test its feasibility as a shrinkage reducing admixture for UHPC, a series of experiments including flowability, compressive strength, rapid chloride permeability and autogenous shrinkage profile was performed. While both SAPs showed a reduction in autogenous shrinkage, it has been concluded that the SAP size and chemical form significantly affect the performance as an internal curing agent in UHPC by controlling cement hydration and porosity modification. Between the tested SAPs, SAP_AM which absorbs more water in UHPC than SAP_AA, shows better mechanical and durability performance.This research intends to understand the impact of super-absorbent polymer (SAP) as an internal curing agent in Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC). Two different types of SAPs of acrylic acid (SAP_AA) and acrylic acid-co-acrylamide (SAP_AM) were examined with UHPC formulation. Isothermal calorimetry and x-ray diffraction experiments revealed the impact of polymers with the different chemical bonds on cement hydration. To test its feasibility as a shrinkage reducing admixture for UHPC, a series of experiments including flowability, compressive strength, rapid chloride permeability and autogenous shrinkage profile was performed. While both SAPs showed a reduction in autogenous shrinkage, it has been concluded that the SAP size and chemical form significantly affect the performance as an internal curing agent in UHPC by controlling cement hydration and porosity modification. Between the tested SAPs, SAP_AM which absorbs more water in UHPC than SAP_AA, shows better mechanical and durability performance.

An Experimental Study for Bond Characteristics of Deformed Bar Embedded in Donut Type Biaxial Hollow Slab

This study investigated the bond characteristics of embedded deformed steel bar in donut type biaxial hollow slabs. The donut type hollow sphere make concrete inner cover formed between steel bar and hollow sphere due to the hollow shape and arrangement. Generally, inner cover was thinner than outer cover, and some part of donut type biaxial hollow slab has smaller inner cover thickness than . It was affected to the bond condition of deformed bar. Furthermore, inner cover thickness changes along the longitudinal deformed bar due to hollow shape. Therefore, donut type hollow slab was divided 3 regions according to the hollow shape such as insufficient region, transition region, sufficient region. Pull-out test were performed to find out the effect of bond condition by the region. Main parameters are inner cover thickness, embedded length and bond location. Bond characteristics of donut type biaxial hollow slab were confirmed through comparison of bond stress-slip relationship, maximum bond strength and bond stress distribution of each regions. And the calculation method of bond strength of donut type biaxial hollow slab was suggested based on the test results.

Minimum Thickness of Flat Plate Addressing Construction Load and Scheme

During construction of building structures, construction load significantly greater than the self-weight of a slab, is imposed on the early-age concrete slabs. As a result, according to the construction scheme, the construction load may causes excessive long term deflection and flexural cracking in a flat plate. However, the requirement of minimum thickness of the flat plate provided by the current design codes does not address such effect of the construction load on the slab. In the present study, a simplified design method was developed to calculate the deflection of a flat plate affected by the construction load and scheme. In the proposed method, a variety of design parameters affecting the long-term deflection of the plate was considered. Based on the proposed method, a design equation for estimating the minimum thickness of the flat plate was developed to be conveniently used in design work.