Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T17:56:57.190Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Application of Neutron Scattering Methods to Cementitious Materials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2011

Richard A. Livingston ,
D.A. Neumann ,
Andrew Allen  and
J.J. RUSH
Richard A. Livingston
Affiliation:
Federal Highway Administration, 6300 Georgetown Pike, McLean VA 22101
D.A. Neumann
Affiliation:
NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 20879
Andrew Allen
Affiliation:
NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 20879 & University of Maryland, College Park MD 20460
J.J. RUSH
Affiliation:
NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 20879
Get access

Abstract

A major part of the infrastructure is constructed of Portland cement concrete. Nevertheless, many aspects of this material are still not well understood. The main constituent of hydrated Portland cement is a hydrous gel, with significant features on the nanometer scale, that tends to be unstable under vacuum. It is difficult to investigate with conventional instrumental methods. Neutron scattering methods possess unique capabilities to characterize cementitious materials and thus to resolve a number of long-standing issues. Among the applications, quasi-elastic neutron scattering is used to follow non-destructively the progress of the main hydration reaction and to determine the distribution of the water content among the various states: i.e. free, chemically bound, or physically trapped in the gel network. Quasi-elastic neutron scattering can also be applied to investigate the process of ice formation in the pore spaces. Neutron diffraction has been used to observe the development of hydrous phases as a function of time. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) proves to be well-suited to the characterization of the microstructure. This method is being used to determine the surface and volume fractal dimensions of the gel as a function of time and as a function of additives such as fly ash or silica fume. In addition, SANS has been applied to characterize silica aggregates for the potential for deleterious reactions in highly alkaline concrete. Aside from their application to specific problems, the combination of neutron scattering techniques is leading to new interpretation of the fundamental structure of the Portland cement gel.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 376: Symposium BB – Neutron Scattering in Materials Science , 1994 , 459
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1 Neville, A., in Concrete Durability: Katherine and Byrant Mather International Conference, edited by Scanlon, J.M. (American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1987) p. 21.Google Scholar
2 Chengju, G., ACI Materials Journal, 86 (4) 341–353 (1989).Google Scholar
3 Taylor, H.F.W. in Microstructural Development During Hydration of Cement, Struble, L.J. and Brown, P. W., Eds. [Materials Research Society, Pittsburgh PA, 1987] pp.47–54.Google Scholar
4 Brunauer, S. and Greenberg, S.A. in Fourth International Symposium on the Chemistry of Cement,[Washington DC, 1960]. pp.135–165 Google Scholar
5 Windsor, D.H., Windsor, C.G. and Lawrence, C.D., Mag. Concrete Res., 26 (87) 65–72 (1974).Google Scholar
6 Livingston, R.A., Neumann, D.A. and Rush, J.J., presented at the 1993 American Ceramic Society PAC RIM Meeting, Honolulu, HI, 1993 (unpublished).Google Scholar
7 Taylor, H.F.W., Cement Chemistry, Academic Press, NY (1990).Google Scholar
8 Teixeira, J., Bellisent-Funel, M.-C., Chen, S.H. and Dianoux, A.J., Phys. Rev. A 31, 1913 (1985).Google Scholar
9 Smith, D.M., D-W, Hua and Earl, W.L., MRS Bulletin, XIX (4) 44–48 (1994).Google Scholar
10 Allen, A. J. and Livingston, R. A., in Proceedings of the Fifth Canmet/ACI International Conference on Fly Ash, Silica Fume. Slag and Natural Pozzolans in Concrete (American Concrete Institute, Detroit, 1995) edited by Malhotra, V.H. (in press).Google Scholar
11 Kriechbaum, M., Degovics, G., Laggner, P. and Tritthart, J., Advances in Cement Reseach, 6 (23) 93-102 (1994).Google Scholar
12 Hall, P.L., Mildner, D.F.R. and Borst, R.L., Appl. Phys. Lett. 43 (3) 252–254 (1983).Google Scholar
13 Lerch, W., Basic Principles of Air Entrained Concrete, T-101, Portland Cement Association, Detroit (1960).Google Scholar
14 Robinson, G.C., Bulletin of the American Ceramics Society, 63[2] (1984) 295.Google Scholar
15 Ravaglioli, A. and Vecchi, G., Assessment of the frost resistance of ceramic bodies by means of porosity meter tests, in: Pore Structure and Propertie s of Materials. Part IV, eds. Modry, S. and Svata, M., Academia Press, Prague (1974).Google Scholar
16 Maage, M., Materials and Construction, 17 [101] (1984) 345.Google Scholar
17 ASTM Committee C-15, Standard Specification for Facing Brick (Solid Masonry Units Made from Clay or Shale), C216-91c, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia PA (1991).Google Scholar
18 Bortz, S.A., Marusin, S.L. and Monk, C.B. Jr., A critical review of masonry durability standards, in: Proceedings of the Fifth North American Masonry Conference, ed. Abrams, D.P., The Masonry Society, Boulder CO. (1990).Google Scholar
19 Ritchie, T., II-3. Brick durability tests and the method of freezing, in: Proceedings Vth International Brick Masonry Conference, Washington,DC (1979).Google Scholar
20 Everett, D.H., Trans. Faraday Society, 57 (1961) 1541.Google Scholar
21 El-Korchy, T., Gress, D.L., Livingston, R.A., Neumann, D.A. and Rush, J.J. in Neutron Scattering in Materials Science, edited by Neumann, D.A., Russell, T.P. and Wuensch, B.J. (Mater. Res. Soc, Proc., Pittsburgh PA, 1995) (in press).Google Scholar
22 Sokol, P. et al. Presented at American Ceramic Society Meeting 1994.Google Scholar