Enhancing the Fresh and Early Age Performances of Portland Cement Pastes via Sol-Gel Silica Coating of Metal Oxides (Bi2O3 and Gd2O3)

Data Availability Statement: The datasets generated and/or analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Copyright © 2023 by the authors. Incorporating metal oxide nanoparticles into cement-based composites delays the hydration process and strength gain of cementitious composites. This study presents an approach toward improving the performance of bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) and gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) particles in cementitious systems by synthesizing core–shell structures via a sol-gel process. Two types of silica coatings on cementitious pastes with 5% and 10% substitution levels were proposed. The rheology, hydration, and mechanical properties of the pastes were analyzed to determine the relationship between the coating type and nanoparticle concentration. The results indicate that despite the significant disparities in the performance of the resulting material, both methods are appropriate for cement technology applications. Bi2O3’s silica coatings accelerate the hydration process, leading to early strength development in the cement paste. However, due to the coarse particle size of Gd2O3, silica coatings exhibited negligible effects on the early age characteristics of cement pastes.National Science Centre, Poland (project no. 2020/39/D/ST8/00975 (SONATA-16))

Functional Bi2O3/Gd2O3 Silica-Coated Structures for Improvement of Early Age and Radiation Shielding Performance of Cement Pastes

Data Availability Statement: The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Copyright © 2024 by the authors. This study presents a new approach towards the production of sol-gel silica-coated Bi2O3/Gd2O3 cement additives towards the improvement of early mechanical performance and radiation attenuation. Two types of silica coatings, which varied in synthesis method and morphology, were used to coat Bi2O3/Gd2O3 structures and evaluated as a cement filler in Portland cement pastes. Isothermal calorimetry studies and early strength evaluations confirmed that both proposed coating types can overcome retarded cement hydration process, attributed to Bi2O3 presence, resulting in improved one day compressive strength by 300% and 251% (depending on coating method) when compared to paste containing pristine Bi2O3 and Gd2O3 particles. Moreover, depending on the type of chosen coating type, various rheological performances of cement pastes can be achieved. Thanks to the proposed combination of materials, both gamma-rays and slow neutron attenuation in cement pastes can be simultaneously improved. The introduction of silica coating resulted in an increment of the gamma-ray and neutron shielding thanks to the increased probability of radiation interaction. Along with the positive early age effects of the synthesized structures, the 28 day mechanical performance of cement pastes was not suppressed, and was found to be comparable to that of the control specimen. As an outcome, silica-coated structures can be successfully used in radiation-shielding cement-based composites, e.g. with demanding early age performances.National Science Centre of Poland within Project no. 2020/39/D/ST8/00975 (SONATA-16)

New method of carbon dioxide underground storage coupled with shale gas recovery

Shale gas is natural gas produced from shale, a type of sedimentary rock. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States over the past decade, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. One analyst expects shale gas to supply as much as half the natural gas production in North America by 2020. As of 2010, Poland imports two-thirds of its natural gas from Russia. ConocoPhillips has announced plans to explore for shale gas in Poland, along with Lane energy. The recently made available US Department of Energy report revealed that the largest reserves of shale gas in Europe are in Poland. The authors of the report calculate that Poland has reserves of about 22.45 trillion cubic meters of shale gas, of which 5.30 trillion cubic meters is immediately available for extracting. The most common method of shale gas recovery is hydraulic fracturing - the propagation of fractures in a rock layer caused by the presence of a pressurized fluid. Hydraulic fractures form naturally, as in the case of veins or dikes, and is one means by which gas and petroleum from source rocks may migrate to reservoir rocks. This process is used to release petroleum, natural gas (including shale gas, tight gas and coal seam gas), or other substances for extraction, via a technique called induced hydraulic fracturing. The method is critically assessed by ecologists. The paper deals with new method of gas shale fracturing and gas recovery coupled with carbon dioxide storage. It allows to effectively mine the shale gas and to store carbon dioxide in shale rock. It must be noticed that CO2 pollution is a very important problem in Poland, because of European Union CO2 limits. Also the numerical calculation of carbon dioxide thermodynamical process of decompression process, which simulates the injection of the cold liquid gas into the shale formation (high temperature and pressure conditions) and its influence on shale rock fracturing will be presented

Optimization of two-component armour

The paper presents research on optimization of two-layer armour subjected to the normal impact of the 7.62x54 B32 armour piercing (AP) projectile. There were analysed two cases in which alumina Al2O3 was supported by aluminium alloy AA2024-T3 or armour steel Armox 500T. The thicknesses of layers were determined to minimize the panel areal density whilst satisfying the constraint, which was the maximum projectile velocity after panel perforation. The problem was solved through the utilization of LS-DYNA, LS-OPT and HyperMorph engineering software. The axisymmetric model was applied to the calculation in order to provide sufficient discretization. The response of the aluminium alloy, armour steel and projectile material was described with the Johnson-Cook model, while the one of the alumina with the Johnson-Holmquist model. The study resulted in the development of a panel optimization methodology, which allows the layer thicknesses of the panel with minimum areal density to be determined. The optimization process demonstrated that the areal density of the lightest panel is 71.07 and 71.82 kg/m2 for Al2O3-Armox 500T and Al2O3-AA2024-T3, respectively. The results of optimization process were confirmed during the experimental investigation

Optimization of two-component armour

The paper presents research on optimization of two-layer armour subjected to the normal impact of the 7.62x54 B32 armour piercing (AP) projectile. There were analysed two cases in which alumina Al2O3 was supported by aluminium alloy AA2024-T3 or armour steel Armox 500T. The thicknesses of layers were determined to minimize the panel areal density whilst satisfying the constraint, which was the maximum projectile velocity after panel perforation. The problem was solved through the utilization of LS-DYNA, LS-OPT and HyperMorph engineering software. The axisymmetric model was applied to the calculation in order to provide sufficient discretization. The response of the aluminium alloy, armour steel and projectile material was described with the Johnson-Cook model, while the one of the alumina with the Johnson-Holmquist model. The study resulted in the development of a panel optimization methodology, which allows the layer thicknesses of the panel with minimum areal density to be determined. The optimization process demonstrated that the areal density of the lightest panel is 71.07 and 71.82 kg/m2 for Al2O3-Armox 500T and Al2O3-AA2024-T3, respectively. The results of optimization process were confirmed during the experimental investigation

INVESTIGATIONS ON WEAR OF THE MILING CUTTERS EDGES FOR SPLINEWAY

In the paper, the results of investigations on the milling cutters edges for splineway with and without hard surface layers. The wear examinations were divided into two groups: a) milling of the closed splineway and b) milling of the splineway opened on one side. The investigations were performed with material hardened up to 40-44 HRC. In both cases, the characteristics of the wear on the edges and the front of the milling cutter. In the paper, the graphs of the wear of milling cutters blades made out of sintered carbids covered with TiN and TiAlCN, as well as without coating are presented

Study on carbon dioxide thermodynamic behavior for the purpose of shale rock fracturing

The possibility of using CO2 to fracturing a shale rock has been presented in the paper. The described innovative method which allows for the efficient extraction of shale gas and carbon dioxide storage in a shale rock was developed in Department of Mechanics and Applied Computer Science at the Military University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland. Firstly, the method was verified on the base of analytical and experimental research. In the next stage of the method verification carbon dioxide thermodynamic behavior was studied. The growth in pressure of drop of CO2 heated in a closed volume was numerically tested. The research confirmed the efficiency of the use of carbon dioxide as a medium for fracturing of rocks. The usage of liquid CO2 can be alternative for hydraulic fracturing and is safe for the environment