Assessment of the quantitative accuracy of Rietveld/XRD analysis of crystalline and amorphous phases in fly ash

An internal standard method based on Rietveld/XRD whole-pattern fitting analysis of fly ash is used to assess the quantitative accuracy to determine its crystalline and amorphous phases under various conditions such as internal standards (types, SiO2 or Al2O3 and dosages, 10–50%), incident X-rays (laboratory or synchrotron) and refinement software (GSAS or TOPAS). The results reveal that the quantitative stability is quite sensible to minor phases, identical to the internal standard, in fly ash. Errors positively correlate with the weight fraction of that minor phase and negatively correlate with the dosage of an internal standard and amorphous phase content in fly ash. The original equation for the amorphous phase calculation is not applicable for a case with a higher inherent quartz content (>2.5%) in fly ash while the dosages of the internal standard is lower than 20%. The original equation is modified as proposed. Based on it, the quantitative results of five different patterns report a good reproducibility with the arithmetic mean errors and the standard errors of identified main phases of around 1%.The access to the beamline BL14B1 facilities at the SSRF is appreciated and the support of SSRF management, User Office and beamline staff is highly appreciated. This Research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51602126), the National Key Research and Development Plan of China (2016YFB0303505) and the Program for Scientic Research Innovation Team in Colleges and Universities of Shandong Province

Effect of Aggregate Gradation with Fuller Distribution on Properties of Sulfoaluminate Cement Concrete

Aggregate, the main ingredient of concrete, has a great effect on mechanical property and durability of concrete. Sulfoaluminate cement has lots of special properties such as high early-age compressive strength, fast hydration and setting rate, and hydration with slight swelling. But effect of aggregate gradation with Fuller distribution on properties of sulfoaluminate cement concrete was seldom studied. Hence, in this paper, experimental investigations on mechanical property and durability of sulfoaluminate cement concrete with aggregate gradations according to Fuller distribution were presented. Fuller distribution of aggregates was beneficial to the close packing of aggregates, and the packing density was changed by adjusting the aggregate gradations. Compressive strength, water impermeability, and resistance capability to sulfate attack of SACC have the same trend of concrete with fine aggregates of Fuller distribution gradation \u3c concrete with fine aggregates of Fuller distribution gradation \u3c concrete with fine aggregates of Fuller distribution gradation. The relationship between packing density of aggregate and water penetration depth obeyed the second-order polynomial y = 0.002x2 – 6.8638x + 5862.3 and had a notable correlation R2 = 0.9799. The sulfoaluminate cement concrete with total aggregate gradation with Fuller distribution for h = 0.50 had the best resistance capability to sulfate attack. It was a second-order polynomial relationship between packing density of aggregates and water penetration depth of y = 0.002x2 – 6.8638x + 5862.3 with R2 = 0.9799, which indicated notable correlation. The fitting formula between packing density of aggregates and sulfate resistance coefficient of SACC was y = 0.0.0005x + 0.3704 with R2 = 0.9585

Formación y características de hidratación temprana del C2.75B1.25A3enelsistemabinariodeC2.75B1.25A3 en el sistema binario de C2.75B1.25A3-C2S

C2.75B1.25A3$(2.75CaO•1.25BaO• 3Al2O3• SO3) is one of the important minerals and it govern-directly the early-strength of belite-barium calcium sulphoaluminate cement. In this paper a binary system C2.75B1.25A3$-C2S is selected to investigate the formation of C2.75B1.25A3$. In the range of 1100 °C–1200 °C, the earlier formed C2S hinders the formation of C2.75B1.25A3$. On the contrary, when the temperature is in the range of 1200 °C–1350 °C, the initially formed C2S could provide a surface for the nucleation of C2.75B1.25A3$and cut down the potential barrier (?Gk*) for the heterogeneous nucleation of C2.75B1.25A3$, which contributes to its formation. Moreover, at 1350 °C, the large amount of previously formed C2S benefits the extent of formation of C2.75B1.25A3$. The possible reason was that it could prevent sulfur evaporation. In early hydration age, AFm and AFt originating from C2.75B1.25A3$ hydration are found within 2 h and 12 h under 95% RH at 1 °C, respectively, whereas C2S is unhydrated at this moment.En el cemento de sulfoaluminato de calcio y bario, el C2.75B1.25A3$(2.75CaO•1.25BaO• 3Al2 O3• SO3) es una de las principales fases, y regula directamente la resistencia inicial del cemento. En este trabajo, se ha seleccionado el sistema binario C2.75B1.25A3$-C2S para investigar la formación de C2.75B1.25A3$. En el rango de 1100 °C-1200 °C, el C2S formado anteriormente impide la formación de C2.75B1.25A3$, mientras que cuando la temperatura está entre 1200 °C-1350 °C, el C2S proporcionaría una superficie de nucleación de C2.75B1.25A3$reduciendo la barrera de potencial (?Gk*) para la nucleación heterogénea de C2.75B1.25A3$, lo que contribuye a su formación. Además, a 1350 °C, la gran cantidad de C2S formado beneficia la formación de C2.75B1.25A3$, ya que podía prevenir la evaporación del azufre. En las primeras etapas de la hidratación (entre 2 y 12h y 95$, mientras que el C2S permanece sin hidratar

Influence of paste thickness on the coated aggregates on properties of high-density sulphoaluminate cement concrete

An improved method for the densified mixture design algorithm and Fuller curve were used to design high-density sulphoaluminate cement concrete (HDSC). The performance of HDSC is significantly influenced by the paste thickness on the coated aggregates. Sulphoaluminate cement concrete mixtures containing aggregates coated with 3 different paste thickness of t=10μm, 20μm, and 30μm and water-binder ratios (W/B) of 0.25, 0.30 and 0.35 were prepared. The results of experiments show that paste thickness on the coated aggregates significantly influences the mechanical properties and durability of HDSC. With the increase of paste thickness, the compressive strength is increased, but the electrical resistivity is decreased, particularly at the early ages of 1 and 3 days. The sulfate corrosion resistance coefficients of HDSC are larger than 1.0, the total porosity can be less than 7%, and the micropore (i.e. with pore size less than 20nm) can be larger than 70%

EFFECT OF WELL-DISPERSED NANO-TiO₂ ON SULPHOALUMINATE CEMENT HYDRATION AND ITS APPLICATION IN PHOTO-DEGRADATION

Nano-TiO ₂ and sulphoaluminate cement have been received sustained attention due to their environment-friendly characteristic, respectively. Particular attention was paid to their materials composite. To better understand the effect of nano-TiO ₂ on sulphoaluminate cement hydration and its application in photo-degradation, the composite systems of cement paste (mortar) with well-dispersed nano-TiO ₂ were investigated by mechanical analysis, Rietveld/XRD, SEM, porosity analysis and photocatalytic test. The results reveal that nano-TiO ₂ can be well dispersed under ultrasonic treatment of 15min when the sodium hexametaphosphat is chosen as the dispersant. And the well-dispersed nano-TiO ₂, with the dosage of 0.2wt%, has the most significant effect on the mechanical improvement. Micro-analysis show that the mechanical promotion by nano-TiO ₂ is not attributed to the hydration degree increase but microstructure optimization. It is reflected in the decrease of porosity, mainly affecting the transitional pores (D=10~100nm), and spatial structures modification of cement paste where AFt was more likely to form as needle shape with shorter length-diameter ratio. The photocatalytic test demonstrates that the composite system (cement paste) has long-term effective photo-degradation property

EFFECT OF MgO ON THE COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF BELITE-BARIUM CALCIUM SULPHOALUMINATE CEMENT IN THE PRESENCE OF Na2O AND K2O

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of MgO (1 - 9 wt. %) on the composition and properties of belite-barium calcium sulphoaluminate cement with additions of Na2O and K2O. The results show that 1 - 5 wt. % content of MgO can stabilize crystal types of M3-C3S, R-C3S and β-C2S. Moreover, MgO can promote the formation of C3S and C4AF, but has little effect on the formation of C2.75B1.25A3$ and C3A. The C3A/C4AF ratio is reduced by 22 % at 5 wt. % MgO, which indicates that appropriate MgO can decrease the liquid viscosity. In the presence of Na2O and K2O, the highest limit of incorporated amount of MgO is about 3 wt. %, which is higher than that in Portland cement clinker of 2 wt. %. Besides, MgO favors the formation of small C3S crystals in size of 4 - 20 μm. MgO enhances the hydration rate and mechanical property of cement at an optimal dosage (1 - 5 wt. %), beyond which an adverse effect could be resulted. At a MgO dosage of 5 wt. %, the compressive strengths of the cement at 1, 3, 7 and 28 days are 15.8, 39.3, 68.6 and 97.3 MPa, which increases by 116 %, 17 %, 10 % and 6 % respectively compared to the cement without MgO dopant. This study could lead to the effective use of magnesia-rich limestone in industrial production of belite-barium calcium sulphoaluminate cement