El envejecimiento de las pastas de cemento reforzadas con fibras de vidrio

Cement pastes reinforced with glassfibre, popularly called GRC ("Glassfibre Reinforced Cements") are compound materials which have been widely used in the construction field for the last 30 years. Their good mechanical properties, lightness and resistance to corrosion and fire make them suitable in the process of replacing the fibrocements with asbestos base in numerous applications. For that reason, their use has been extended in recent years and they have mainly been used to manufacture panels for facades and interior decoration as well as, to a smaller extent, for plumbing installations, roofs, lost formwork and even for "fingers" at the airports (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Nevertheless, it has been known for over 25 years that GRC suffer deterioration with the time which affects their mechanical properties and especially their tenacity; they become fragile and crack under small deformations. The research carried out to determine the causes of the phenomenon and look for possible solutions has been intense and it would be impossible to give more details here due to the lack of space. We will try, nevertheless, to summarize some more relevant aspects of the problem and the solutions that have reached the highest point of development so far.Las pastas de cemento reforzadas con fibras de vidrio, denominadas popularmente GRC ("Glassfibre Reinforced Cements"), son materiales compuestos que se utilizan ampliamente en el campo de la Construcción desde hace unos 30 años. Sus buenas propiedades mecánicas, ligereza y resistencia a la corrosión y al fuego les hacen idóneos en el proceso de sustitución de los fibrocementos de base amianto en numerosas aplicaciones. Por tal motivo, su empleo se ha extendido en los últimos años, utilizándose fundamentalmente para fabricar paneles de cierre de fachadas y decoración de interiores y en menor grado para tuberías, cubiertas, encofrados permanentes e incluso para "fingers" o brazos de acceso a los aviones en aeropuertos (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Sin embargo, es un hecho conocido desde hace más de 25 años que el GRC sufre un deterioro con el tiempo, que afecta a sus propiedades mecánicas y muy especialmente a su tenacidad, volviéndose frágil y agrietándose bajo pequeñas deformaciones. Las investigaciones realizadas desde entonces para determinar las causas del fenómeno y buscar posibles soluciones al mismo han sido numerosísimas y sería imposible detallarlas aquí por razones de espacio. Trataremos no obstante de resumir los aspectos más relevantes del problema y las soluciones más extendidas hasta el momento

El efecto del humo de sílice y el metacaolín en el proceso de envejecimiento de los morteros de cemento reforzados con fibras de vidrio (GRC)

The deterioration of the mechanical properties of glassfibre reinforced concrete (GRC) over time rules out the use of this material in load-bearing structures. While one possible solution to this problem is the addition of pozzolans or metakaolin to the cement mortar, the amounts needed to ensure GRC integrity raise its price to non-competitive levels. Experimental research has been conducted to analyze whether the addition of small amounts of silica fume or metakaolin can prevent or mitigate the ageing issue. Unfortunately, the findings indicate that the addition of small proportions of metakaolin or silica fume to GRC are ineffective in improving its long-term performance.Para el uso del mortero de cemento reforzado con fibras de vidrio (GRC) en estructuras portantes se han de solucionar los problemas de reducción de las propiedades mecánicas que aparecen con el paso del tiempo. Estos problemas pueden ser solucionados mediante la adición de puzolanas o de metacaolín, a la pasta de mortero de cemento. Sin embargo, la cantidad de metacaolín que ha de ser añadida es elevada y el precio del GRC fabricado está fuera del mercado. Se ha realizado una campaña experimental que analiza si la adición de humo de sílice o de metacaolín en proporciones reducidas consigue evitar o paliar el problema del envejecimiento, que supone un freno al uso del GRC en elementos estructurales. Desgraciadamente, los resultados experimentales muestran que proporciones bajas de metacaolín o de humo de sílice no son efectivas para reducir el problema de pérdida de propiedades mecánicas

Efectos del género en la percepción de apoyo de las necesidades psicológicas básicas en educación física

El rol que ejerce el maestro de Educación Física en el desarrollo óptimo de los procesos motivacionales y en la promoción de la práctica de actividad física de niños y adolescentes es una temática de interés creciente en los últimos años. En este sentido, la adopción de estilos más activos y saludables en el tiempo de ocio constituye uno de los principales objetivos que rigen el curriculum ordinario. Así, siguiendo la Teoría de la Autodeterminación (Ryan & Deci, 2002) el objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar la percepción del apoyo de las necesidades psicológicas básicas (autonomía, competencia y relaciones sociales) de los discentes en las clases de Educación Física, en función del género. En el estudio participaron 158 alumnos de 10 a 12 años (M edad = 10.81, DT = 0.62), 76 chicos y 82 chicas y sus 6 maestros (3 varones y 3 mujeres) de Educación Física (M edad = 39.75; DT = 0.48). Para ello, se midió este antecedente social a través del Cuestionario de Apoyo a las Necesidades Psicológicas Básicas (Sánchez-Oliva, Leo, Sánchez-Miguel, Amado & García-Calvo, 2013). Los resultados señalan que los chicos presentan valores significativamente superiores que las chicas en la percepción de apoyo a la competencia y apoyo a la autonomía. Por tanto, se proponen como implicaciones prácticas que los docentes traten de apoyar los mediadores psicológicos mediante diferentes estrategias de intervención, haciendo hincapié en el género femenino. Para ello, la formación en teorías y estrategias motivacionales parece una de las líneas educativas prioritarias en los planes de formación docente

Neutron cross-sections for advanced nuclear systems : The n-TOF project at CERN

© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2014 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedThe study of neutron-induced reactions is of high relevance in a wide variety of fields, ranging from stellar nucleosynthesis and fundamental nuclear physics to applications of nuclear technology. In nuclear energy, high accuracy neutron data are needed for the development of Generation IV fast reactors and accelerator driven systems, these last aimed specifically at nuclear waste incineration, as well as for research on innovative fuel cycles. In this context, a high luminosity Neutron Time Of Flight facility, n-TOF, is operating at CERN since more than a decade, with the aim of providing new, high accuracy and high resolution neutron cross-sections. Thanks to the features of the neutron beam, a rich experimental program relevant to nuclear technology has been carried out so far. The program will be further expanded in the near future, thanks in particular to a new high-flux experimental area, now under construction.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

High accuracy 234U(n,f) cross section in the resonance energy region

New results are presented of the 234U neutron-induced fission cross section, obtained with high accuracy in the resonance region by means of two methods using the 235U(n,f) as reference. The recent evaluation of the 235U(n,f) obtained with SAMMY by L. C. Leal et al. (these Proceedings), based on previous n-TOF data [1], has been used to calculate the 234U(n,f) cross section through the 234U/235U ratio, being here compared with the results obtained by using the n-TOF neutron flux

Towards the high-accuracy determination of the 238U fission cross section at the threshold region at CERN - N-TOF

The 238U fission cross section is an international standard beyond 2 MeV where the fission plateau starts. However, due to its importance in fission reactors, this cross-section should be very accurately known also in the threshold region below 2 MeV. The 238U fission cross section has been measured relative to the 235U fission cross section at CERN - n-TOF with different detection systems. These datasets have been collected and suitably combined to increase the counting statistics in the threshold region from about 300 keV up to 3 MeV. The results are compared with other experimental data, evaluated libraries, and the IAEA standards

High-accuracy determination of the U 238 / U 235 fission cross section ratio up to ≈1 GeV at n-TOF at CERN

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOIThe U238 to U235 fission cross section ratio has been determined at n-TOF up to ≈1 GeV, with two different detection systems, in different geometrical configurations. A total of four datasets has been collected and compared. They are all consistent to each other within the relative systematic uncertainty of 3-4%. The data collected at n-TOF have been suitably combined to yield a unique fission cross section ratio as a function of neutron energy. The result confirms current evaluations up to 200 MeV. Good agreement is also observed with theoretical calculations based on the INCL++/Gemini++ combination up to the highest measured energy. The n-TOF results may help solve a long-standing discrepancy between the two most important experimental datasets available so far above 20 MeV, while extending the neutron energy range for the first time up to ≈1 GeV.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

New measurement of neutron capture resonances of 209Bi

The neutron capture cross section of Bi209 has been measured at the CERN n TOF facility by employing the pulse-height-weighting technique. Improvements over previous measurements are mainly because of an optimized detection system, which led to a practically negligible neutron sensitivity. Additional experimental sources of systematic error, such as the electronic threshold in the detectors, summing of gamma-rays, internal electron conversion, and the isomeric state in bismuth, have been taken into account. Gamma-ray absorption effects inside the sample have been corrected by employing a nonpolynomial weighting function. Because Bi209 is the last stable isotope in the reaction path of the stellar s-process, the Maxwellian averaged capture cross section is important for the recycling of the reaction flow by alpha-decays. In the relevant stellar range of thermal energies between kT=5 and 8 keV our new capture rate is about 16% higher than the presently accepted value used for nucleosynthesis calculations. At this low temperature an important part of the heavy Pb-Bi isotopes are supposed to be synthesized by the s-process in the He shells of low mass, thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch stars. With the improved set of cross sections we obtain an s-process fraction of 19(3)% of the solar bismuth abundance, resulting in an r-process residual of 81(3)%. The present (n,gamma) cross-section measurement is also of relevance for the design of accelerator driven systems based on a liquid metal Pb/Bi spallation target.Comment: 10 pages, 5figures, recently published in Phys. Rev.

High-accuracy determination of the neutron flux in the new experimental area n_TOF-EAR2 at CERN

A new high flux experimental area has recently become operational at the n_TOF facility at CERN. This new measuring station, n_TOF-EAR2, is placed at the end of a vertical beam line at a distance of approximately 20m from the spallation target. The characterization of the neutron beam, in terms of flux, spatial profile and resolution function, is of crucial importance for the feasibility study and data analysis of all measurements to be performed in the new area. In this paper, the measurement of the neutron flux, performed with different solid-state and gaseous detection systems, and using three neutron-converting reactions considered standard in different energy regions is reported. The results of the various measurements have been combined, yielding an evaluated neutron energy distribution in a wide energy range, from 2meV to 100MeV, with an accuracy ranging from 2%, at low energy, to 6% in the high-energy region. In addition, an absolute normalization of the n_TOF-EAR2 neutron flux has been obtained by means of an activation measurement performed with 197Au foils in the beam.Peer reviewe