Structure, acid-resistance and high-temperature behavior of silica-based one-part geopolymers and geopolymer-zeolite composites

One-part geopolymers (OPGs) are a sort of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) which production avoids the use of highly-alkaline activator-solutions and contributes to a better acceptance of alternative mineral binders in terms of safety-related and economic aspects. In the present contribution OPGs were synthesized by blending silica sources (two industrial silicas and two biogenic silicas) with sodium aluminate and only water must be added to initiate the hardening, i.e. mixing is performed in the same way as for conventional Portland cements. The OPGs were characterized by XRD, and SEM and the degrees of reaction of the silicas were determined by a chemical dissolution method. The industrial silicas led to the formation of geopolymer-zeolite composites, that contained, besides geopolymeric gel, crystalline tectosilicates (e.g. zeolite A and hydrosodalite) and depending on the starting composition also unreacted silica. The biogenic silicas provided a higher reactivity and avoided the formation of crystallite by-products. The differences in the microstructures caused differences in the mechanical strength of the specimens [1, 2]. The treatment of the OPG composites at moderate elevated temperatures revealed promising behavior on thermal dehydration in terms of shrinkage and residual strength up to 700 °C. Above 700 °C sintering and partial melting occurred, and new phase formation commenced. After exposure to 1000 °C the specimens appeared virtually amorphous or formed stuffed silica structures of nepheline- or carnegieite-type type [3]. The investigations of the OPG based mortars on their resistance against sulfuric acid in accordance with DIN 19573 (Appendix A) revealed very high residual strengths up to 78 % after treatment with H2SO4 (pH 1) for 70d. A mechanism of dissolution of the primary aluminosilicate reaction products of the pastes and the precipitation of a silica gel that protects the remaining aluminosilicates and decelerates further corrosion was found to be the main reason for the good performance under acidic conditions. The addition of CaO-containing feedstocks enhanced hardening, but at a certain content the resistance against sulfuric acid decreased, due to the formation of gypsum on exposure to sulfate. In addition, the mortars exhibited excellent shrinkage behavior as well as good bond to concrete substrates with pull-off strength up to \u3e 3 MPa. The workability of the fresh mortars provided very good manual applicability; automatic applications such as sprayed and spun mortars will require further optimization regarding rheological properties. In summary, the studied OPG are promising materials for the construction and the repair of concrete structures, such as sewers, that are affected by biogenic sulfuric acid corrosion. [1] Sturm, P., Greiser, S., Gluth, G. J. G., Jäger, C. & Brouwers, H. J. H. Degree of reaction and phase content of silica-based one-part geopolymers investigated using chemical and NMR spectroscopic methods. J. Mater. Sci. 50, 6768–6778 (2015). [2] Sturm, P., Gluth, G. J. G., Brouwers, H. J. H. & Kühne, H.-C. Synthesizing one-part geopolymers from rice husk ash. Constr. Build. Mater. 124, 961–966 (2016). [3] Sturm, P., Gluth, G. J. G., Simon, S., Brouwers, H. J. H. & Kühne, H.-C. The effect of heat treatment on the mechanical and structural properties of one-part geopolymer-zeolite composites. Thermochim. Acta 635, 41–58 (2016)

Geopolymer-bound intumescent coatings for fire protection

Intumescent coatings for fire protection offer advantages over (non-intumescent) cementitious coatings and boards regarding speed of construction, architectural aesthetics, sometimes costs, and other features [1]. How­ever, conventional organic intumescent coatings as well as soluble silicate (waterglass) coatings form foams with low mechanical stability, and the latter coatings generally suffer from low resistance against humidity. There­fore, the search for novel intumescent coatings for more demanding conditions (e.g., abrasive environ­ments) is a necessity in the context of steadily increasing requirements of society and industry. In this contribution, we present results on intumescent aluminosilicate coatings for fire protection that form foams with significantly increased mechanical strength [2]. Two base formulations, a meta­kaolin/silica-based mix, adapted from Krivenko et al. [3], and a silica/corundum-based mix, de­ve­loped at Curtin University, as well as formulations modified with additives (Al(OH)3, Mg(OH)2, B2O3, Na2B4O7), were applied to steel plates (75 mm × 75 mm) and exposed to simulated fire conditions (fire curve according to ISO 834-1:1999). Temperature-time curves were recorded to assess the degree at which the coatings insulated the substrate. In addition, XRD, TG, oscillatory rheometry, and SEM were employed to characterise the coatings. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Steel corrosion in reinforced alkali-activated materials

The development of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) as an alternative to Portland cement (PC) has seen significant progress in the past decades. However, there still remains significant uncertainty regarding their long term performance when used in steel-reinforced structures. The durability of AAMs in such applications depends strongly on the corrosion behaviour of the embedded steel reinforcement, and the experimental data in the literature are limited and in some cases inconsistent. This letter elucidates the role of the chemistry of AAMs on the mechanisms governing passivation and chloride-induced corrosion of the steel reinforcement, to bring a better understanding of the durability of AAM structures exposed to chloride. The corrosion of the steel reinforcement in AAMs differs significantly from observations in PC; the onset of pitting (or the chloride ‘threshold’ value) depends strongly on the alkalinity, and the redox environment, of these binders. Classifications or standards used to assess the severity of steel corrosion in PC appear not to be directly applicable to AAMs due to important differences in pore solution chemistry and phase assemblage

APPLICATION OF STEEL FIBRES IN ALKALI-ACTIVATED MORTARS

Alkali-activated materials are ideal for the repair of concrete structures in harsh environmental conditions due to their high durability in chemically aggressive environments. However, slag-based mortars, in particular, are prone to shrinkage and associated cracks. In this respect, the application of steel fibres is one solution to reduce the formation of shrinkage induced cracks and to improve post cracking behaviour of these mortars. This study investigated the influence of two different types of steel fibres on the tensile properties of two alkali-activated mortars. Direct tensile tests and single fibre pull-outs were performed to analyse the determining failure modes both on macro and micro scale. Mechanical testing was accompanied by non-destructive testing methods such as digital image correlation and acoustic emission for a detailed analysis of the fracture process

Steel reinforcement corrosion in alkali-activated fly ash mortars

Corrosion of steel rebars in concrete presents one of the main deterioration mechanisms limiting service life of the reinforced structures. The corrosion is accompanied by an expansion of the corrosion products causing high pressures, concrete cracking and finally spalling of a cover layer. Critical chloride concentration, loss of alkalinity and modeling of the steel corrosion are in researchers\u27 spotlight for decades, however reinforcement corrosion in alkali activated materials is insufficiently described and understood yet. In this work, the steel reinforcement corrosion in alkali-activated fly ash mortars is investigated in terms of electrochemical behaviour of the reinforced mortars exposed to aggressive environments such as leaching, carbonation and chloride ingress. A selected geopolymer mixture based on hard coal fly ash activated with sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solutions is used for the steel reinforcement-corrosion experiments. The formation of passive layer on the steel rebars is observed after approx. two weeks of hardening at laboratory temperature. However, alternative heat-treatment at 80°C for several hours leads to immediate formation of the passive layer as well as to a faster strength gain (80 MPa after 24h at 80°C). Chloride-induced corrosion, leaching and carbonation resistance of the alkali activated fly ash-based concrete is studied, where leaching in deionized water or carbonation under natural conditions (~0.04 % CO2) for 300 days did not lead to corrosion of the embedded steel. On the other hand, accelerated carbonation under 100 % CO2 atmosphere lead to depassivation within two weeks. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Aortic dissection associated with cogans's syndrome: deleterious loss of vascular structural integrity is associated with GM-CSF overstimulation in macrophages and smooth muscle cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cogan's syndrome is a rare disorder of unknown origin characterized by inflammatory ocular disease and vestibuloauditory symptoms. Systemic vasculitis is found in about 10% of cases.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 46-year-old female with Cogans's syndrome and a history of arterial hypertension presented with severe chest pain caused by an aneurysm of the ascending aorta with a dissection membrane located a few centimeters distal from the aortic root. After surgery, histopathological analysis revealed that vascular matrix integrity and expression of the major matrix molecules was characterized by elastolysis and collagenolysis and thus a dramatic loss of structural integrity. Remarkably, exceeding matrix deterioration was associated with massively increased levels of granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggest that the persistently increased secretion of the inflammatory mediator GM-CSF by resident inflammatory cells but also by SMC may be the trigger of aortic wall structural deterioration.</p

RILEM TC 247-DTA round robin test: carbonation and chloride penetration testing of alkali-activated concretes

Many standardised durability testing methods have been developed for Portland cement-based concretes, but require validation to determine whether they are also applicable to alkali-activated materials. To address this question, RILEM TC 247-DTA ‘Durability Testing of Alkali-Activated Materials’ carried out round robin testing of carbonation and chloride penetration test methods, applied to five different alkali-activated concretes based on fly ash, blast furnace slag or metakaolin. The methods appeared overall to demonstrate an intrinsic precision comparable to their precision when applied to conventional concretes. The ranking of test outcomes for pairs of concretes of similar binder chemistry was satisfactory, but rankings were not always reliable when comparing alkali-activated concretes based on different precursors. Accelerated carbonation testing gave similar results for fly ash-based and blast furnace slag-based alkali-activated concretes, whereas natural carbonation testing did not. Carbonation of concrete specimens was observed to have occurred already during curing, which has implications for extrapolation of carbonation testing results to longer service life periods. Accelerated chloride penetration testing according to NT BUILD 443 ranked the tested concretes consistently, while this was not the case for the rapid chloride migration test. Both of these chloride penetration testing methods exhibited comparatively low precision when applied to blast furnace slag-based concretes which are more resistant to chloride ingress than the other materials tested

Dilatation tracheoscopy for laryngeal and tracheal stenosis in patients with Wegener’s granulomatosis

Wegener’s granulomatosis (WG) frequently involves the subglottis and trachea and may compromise the upper airway. The objective of this study is to evaluate retrospectively the effect of treatment of subglottic stenosis (SGS) and tracheal stenosis (TS) by dilatation tracheoscopy (DT) in patients with WG. We performed a cohort study on all patients who underwent DT between February 2001 and September 2005 in our institution. From this cohort we identified a total of nine WG patients. In all patients, clinical, serological and histopathological data had been prospectively collected by a standardized protocol from the time point of diagnosis. In the nine patients that were identified with SGS or TS due to WG (eight women and one man), a total of 22 DT’s were performed. Two patients needed a tracheostoma (one temporarily). The mean follow-up after the first DT was 25.4 ± 14.1 months. Two patients did not experience a recurrence of SGS or TS. Six patients required a second DT without recurrence of local disease. The remaining patient underwent 8 DT's in a 4-year period. DT can offer a simple and repeatable solution to SGS and TS due to WG. Seven of the nine patients required more than one dilatation and some patients experience a functional restriction. One patient has a definitive tracheostoma

Of monkeys and men:Impatience in perceptual decision-making

For decades sequential sampling models have successfully accounted for human and monkey decision-making, relying on the standard assumption that decision makers maintain a pre-set decision standard throughout the decision process. Based on the theoretical argument of reward rate maximization, some authors have recently suggested that decision makers become increasingly impatient as time passes and therefore lower their decision standard. Indeed, a number of studies show that computational models with an impatience component provide a good fit to human and monkey decision behavior. However, many of these studies lack quantitative model comparisons and systematic manipulations of rewards. Moreover, the often-cited evidence from single-cell recordings is not unequivocal and complimentary data from human subjects is largely missing. We conclude that, despite some enthusiastic calls for the abandonment of the standard model, the idea of an impatience component has yet to be fully established; we suggest a number of recently developed tools that will help bring the debate to a conclusive settlement