Experimental Study on Activation Energy and Microstructure of Nano- and Micro-Sized Pozzolanic Materials as Cementitious Composite Binder
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experimental Design and Methods
2.1. Experimental Materials and Mix Information
2.2. Mix Design
3. Experimental Method
3.1. Flowability (Flow Table) Measurement
3.2. Setting Time (Vicat) Measurement
3.3. Compressive Strength Measurement
3.4. Activation Energy Calculation
3.5. Microstructure (Nano-CT) Measurement
4. Experiment Results and Discussion
4.1. Flowability
4.2. Setting Time Measurement Results
4.3. Compressive Strength Measurement Results
4.4. Activation Energy Measurement Results
4.5. Microstructure (X-ray CT) Measurement Results
5. Conclusions
- Because flowability decreases when silicate-based binders containing nanoparticles are added, attention needs to be paid to decisions on the addition of chemical admixtures as well as the water-to-cement ratio during mix design.
- Both the initial and final setting times were reduced in mixes where silicate-based binders were added. In comparison to OPC, the addition of micro-silica has the largest setting acceleration effect. Nano-silica had a setting-promoting effect through a pozzolanic reaction even at a low content.
- The compressive strength test results showed that the initial strength improvement rate was high when the silicate-based binders were used. Particularly, the effect was more profound under high-temperature curing conditions. The mix containing both nano-silica and micro-silica was impacted the most at pozzolanic reaction.
- The highest activation energy was measured in the mix containing nano-silica. The mix containing micro-silica showed low activation energy (approximately 80% compared to OPC). When both nano-silica and micro-silica were added, the decrement increased.
- Because the average particle size of cement is approximately 1400 times larger than that of nano-silica, evidently, the imbalance in particle size distribution had an adverse effect on both the strength improvement rate, which was not high, and the activation energy, which turned out to be high. This indicates that the particle size distribution plays an important role in the characteristics of the cement paste.
- Porosity in the microstructure also showed a similar tendency. In the mix where nano-silica was used, the initial porosity significantly decreased compared to OPC. The porosity at the age of 28 days, however, was measured to be 90% of that of OPC. This indicates that nano-silica interferes with the hydration reaction of cement, thereby causing the porosity reduction in the microstructure.
- The use of the silicate-based nano- and micro-sized pozzolanic materials influenced initial hydration positively by reducing the setting time and the porosity inside the microstructure, due to the internal pore-filling effect, thereby improving the compressive strength. Therefore, when silicate-based nano- and micro-sized pozzolanic materials are used, it is necessary to consider porosity of the conventional cementitious materials and their particle size distribution.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Chemical Composition (%) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LOI | SiO2 | Al2O3 | Fe2O3 | CaO | MgO | SO3 | K2O | |
OPC | 3.2 | 20.7 | 5.2 | 3.4 | 61.6 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.9 |
Product Name | Ingredients | Size (nm) | Specific Surface Area (m2/g) | Specific Gravity |
---|---|---|---|---|
OPC | CaO, SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, etc. | 20,000 | 0.38 | 3.10 |
Micro-silica | 96.08 | 20–30 | 20.8 | 2.11 |
Nano-silica | 99.78 | 14.05 | 203.8 | 1.40 |
Specimens | W/B (%) | Binder Volume (%) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cement | Micro-Silica | Nano-Silica | ||
OPC | 0.30 | 100 | - | - |
MS10 | 90 | 10 | - | |
NS1 | 99.0 | - | 1 | |
MS10NS1 | 89.0 | 10 | 1 |
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Kim, W.-W.; Moon, J.-H. Experimental Study on Activation Energy and Microstructure of Nano- and Micro-Sized Pozzolanic Materials as Cementitious Composite Binder. Buildings 2023, 13, 3085. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13123085
Kim W-W, Moon J-H. Experimental Study on Activation Energy and Microstructure of Nano- and Micro-Sized Pozzolanic Materials as Cementitious Composite Binder. Buildings. 2023; 13(12):3085. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13123085
Chicago/Turabian StyleKim, Won-Woo, and Jae-Heum Moon. 2023. "Experimental Study on Activation Energy and Microstructure of Nano- and Micro-Sized Pozzolanic Materials as Cementitious Composite Binder" Buildings 13, no. 12: 3085. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13123085