Study of cement-fly ash paste exposed to sodium sulfate solutions with different concentrations at different temperatures

When concrete elements are partially exposed to sulfate environment, in the upper part of concrete elements above ground an aquiferous zone containing almost saturated and high pH value (> 12.5) sulfate pore solution will be formed. The concentration of sulfate solution is much higher than 5 %, as usually used in laboratory. It is necessary to study the performance of cement-fly ash paste in different high concentration sulfate solutions at different temperatures. In this paper, pure cement paste and cement - fly ash (25 % dosage) paste specimens were immersed in the 5 %, 15 %, 20 %, 30 %, 40 % and 50 % sodium solutions at 20°C, 30°C and 40°C respectively. After 1, 3 and 6 months immersion, the compressive strength of the specimens was measured. XRD and thermal analysis were employed to analyze the reactive products of the paste. The experimental results show that the reactive aluminum in fly ash is activated by high concentration sodium sulfate solution at different temperatures and more ettringite is generated than pure cement paste

On K_2 of certain families of curves

We construct families of smooth, proper, algebraic curves in characteristic 0, of arbitrary genus g, together with g elements in the kernel of the tame symbol. We show that those elements are in general independent by a limit calculation of the regulator. Working over a number field, we show that in some of those families the elements are integral. We determine when those curves are hyperelliptic, finding, in particular, that over any number field we have non-hyperelliptic curves of all composite genera g with g independent integral elements in the kernel of the tame symbol.Comment: Revised version: improved exposition. some sections spli

Time-Dependent Solution for a Star Immersed in a Background Radiation

We study a time-dependent and spherically-symmetric solution with a star-like source. We show that this solution can be interpreted as an exterior solution of a contracting star which has a decreasing temperature and is immersed in a homogenous and isotropic background radiation. Distribution of the temperature in the fields and close-to Schwarzschild approximation of the solution are studied. By identifying the radiation with the cosmic background one, we find that the close-to-Schwarzschild approximate solution is valid in a wide range in our solar system. Possible experimental tests of the solution are discussed briefly.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, no figures, to appear in J. Math. Phys.(2002

Self-desiccation and self-desiccation shrinkage of silica fume-cement pastes

Self-desiccation is one common phenomenon of high-performance cementitious materials, which are characterized by low water/binder (w/b) ratio and high mineral admixture incorporation. As a consequence, large magnitude of self-desiccation shrinkage, a key factor which influences the cracking behavior of concrete, develops rapidly in the cement matrix due to the internal relative humidity (RH) decrease and capillary pressure induced by self-desiccation. The objective of this study is to evaluate the behavior of self-desiccation and self-desiccation shrinkage in silica fume (SF) blended cement pasts with low w/b ratio of 0.25. The self-desiccation process was revealed by the measurement of internal RH of the sealed cement pastes with conventional method of hygrometer. The shrinkage of the sealed cement pastes was measured by the corrugated tube method, permitting measurements to start at early age. Experimental results revealed that SF blending leads to a higher internal RH, indicating slower self-desiccation process, compared with pure cement paste. Consequently, less self-desiccation shrinkage was observed in SF blended cement pastes than that in pure cement paste