Chemical Shrinkage Analysis of Nano Silica Cementitious Binders
Project ID: 4967
Principal Investigator: Katie Bartojay P.E.
Research Topic: Improving Geotechnical Infrastructure Reliability
Funded Fiscal Years:
2013
Keywords: concrete, cement, cement reduction, cementitious, green cement, nano-silica, shrinkage, sustainability
Research Question
Can nano-scale silica particles optimize the hydrated cementitious matrix of concrete, thereby increasing concrete strength and durability while making the concrete more sustainable (green)? Do size effects of the nano-silica particles relate to a change in chemical shrinkage and overall performance of concrete?
Need and Benefit
Roughly 5 to 10 percent of global CO2 emissions are related to the manufacture and transportation of cement, a major ingredient of concrete. In 2011 about 68 million tons of Portland cement was produced in the US and 3.4 billion tons worldwide. Concrete is a key building material in Reclamation structures. It is important that we find materials that can reduce the total cementitious materials needed to create more sustainable "green" structures which provide equal or better performance and extend the service life of our structures.
Jon Belkowitz , a Ph D student from Stevens Institute of Technology has already performed research experiments to discern how the size of nano silica effect residual water and chemical shrinkage in the cured cement composite. Excess water in the cement composite has the potential to cause chemical degradation of the cement composite over time. His current testing has included testing on a macro scale for concrete strength and shrinkage, and thermal gravimetric analysis to identify the amount of residual water in the cement composite at later ages. The Department of Defense has agreed to partner with Jon to run Nulcear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) testing at the micro scale this fall. The chemical shrinkage testing to be performed by this research will be at the cement paste level to tie the macro and micro level analysis together.
By partnering with the Stevens Institute of Technology we can together answer the questions of whether or not nano-scale silica particles optimize the hydrated cementitious matrix of concrete, thereby increasing concrete strength and durability while making the concrete more sustainable and, if size effects of the nano-silica particles relate to a change in chemical shrinkage and overall performance of concrete.
Research Products
Chemical shrinkage data for a matrix of concrete mortars with varying conditions that can be used to evaluate nano-silica as an ingredient to make concrete more sustainable. Co-Author a paper culminating the research conducted to be submitted to a peer reviewed professional journal. This has the potential to change the way we specify concrete for future projects throughout Reclamation.
This information was last updated on May 23, 2013
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