Wei She

Effect of functional chemical admixtures on the performance of cement asphalt mortar used in ballastless track

Chemical admixtures are of paramount importance to the performance of modern cement based composites. In this paper, we performed a series of tests to investigate the effects of chemical admixtures on the cement asphalt mortar (CA mortar), i e, compressive strength, frost resistance, permeability, fatigue resistance, pore structure and microstructure. In particular, two types of chemical admixtures were tested, i e, defoamer (tributyl phosphate (TBP)) and polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PS). The results indicate that the addition of TBP and PS eliminates big bubbles and promotes small non-connected pores forming in matrix. Besides, an optimum dosage of TBP and PS may be determined with respect to the frost resistance, permeability and fatigue resistance of CA mortar. Further elaborative discussions are presented as well as experimental evidences from mercury intrusion porosimetry, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy.

In-situ monitoring the setting behavior of foamed concrete using ultrasonic pulse velocity method

The applicability of ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) method to in-situ monitor setting and hardening process of foamed concrete (FC) was systematically investigated. The UPVs of various FC pastes were automatically and continuously measured by a specially designed ultrasonic monitoring apparatus (UMA). Ultrasonic tests were performed on FC mixtures with different density (300, 500, 800 and 1 000 kg/m3), and different fly ash contents (0%, 20%, 40% and 60%). The influence of curing temperatures (20, 40, 60 and 80°C) was also studied. The experimental results show that three characteristic stages can be clearly identified during the setting process of an arbitrary FC paste: dormant stage, acceleration stage, and deceleration stage. Wet density, fly ash content, and curing temperature have great impact on setting behavior. A stepwise increase of the wet density results in shorter dormant stage and larger final UPV. Hydration reaction rate is obviously promoted with an increase in curing temperature. However, the addition fly ash retards the microstructure formation. To aid in comparing with the ultrasonic results, the consistence spread test and Vicat needle test (VNT) were also conducted. A correlation between ultrasonic and VNT results was also established to evaluate the initial and final setting time of the FC mixtures. Finally, certain ranges of UPV with reasonable widths were suggested for the initial and final setting time, respectively.

Characterization of surface hardness and microstructure of high performance concrete

The relationship between compressive strength obtained by universal testing machine and rebound value obtained by the hammer of high performance concrete was systematically investigated at the macro level. And a model of high performance concrete strength curve was established from them. At the micro level, the microstructure, hydration products and pore structure of concrete surface were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), comprehensive thermal analysis (TG-DSC) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), respectively. The effect of carbonation on surface strength was also investigated. The results showed that the concrete surface hardness layer grew rapidly at early stage and then stabilized at last with ongoing curing age; the rebound value and compressive strength of concrete with slag were higher than those of concrete with the same content of fly ash. In addition, the strength curve obtained by the least square method can satisfy the local standard requirements with an average relative error of 8.9% and a relative standard deviation of 11.3%. When the carbonation depth was 6 mm, the compressive strength calculated by national uniform strength curve was 25 PMa higher than that by high performance concrete.

Study on sulfate resistance of concrete with initial damage under drying–wetting cycles

Sulfate attack is one of the major durability problems in concrete structures, but there is less research on sulfate attack of concrete with initial damage. In this paper, the deterioration law of concrete with damage degrees under combined actions of sulfate attack and drying–wetting cycles were investigated through mass change and relative dynamic elastic modulus (Erd). The pore structure and corrosion products of the concrete exposed to sodium sulfate solution under drying–wetting cycles were also investigated by MIP and SEM/EDS, respectively. The results revealed that the mass change and Erd of concrete with damage were greater than that of concrete without damage; the high content of slag in concrete can increase the resistance sulfate attack and the low content of slag reduce sulfate resistance of concrete. As time increases, the porosity and the number of large pores of concrete with damage increased. The internal corrosion products of concrete with high water-to-cement ratio were mainly gypsum, and the internal corrosion products of concrete with low water-to-cement ratio were mainly ettringete.

Simulation of the cracking and ablation behavior of ferro-siliceous and siliceous nuclear sacrificial concretes

We investigated the simulation of the cracking and ablation behavior of ferro-siliceous and siliceous nuclear sacrificial concretes. To this end, four type of sacrificial concretes were fabricated, i e, the ferro-siliceous (F) and siliceous (S) plain concretes, and the polypropylene fiber reinforced concretes of the above two (FF, SF). The cracking and ablation behaviors of the sacrificial concretes were investigated by simulation tests, and the simulated elevated temperature was obtained by means of thermite powder. The number and the width of the cracks were compared and the pore size distribution of sacrificial concretes was measured. In addition, the interface and chemical composition of melt at different positions were analyzed, and the ablation depth of the sacrificial concrete crucibles was also measured. It was found that the siliceous concrete shows to be more prone to cracking than the ferro-siliceous concrete due to the higher content of fly ash and lower water to binder ratio; though the ablation depth of siliceous concrete is found to be slightly larger, no clear difference can be detected for the basemat ablation rate.