Die polymere Komponente in reaktiven Zement-in-Polymer (c/p) Dispersionen hat einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf die Bildung der Mikrostruktur von c/p beschichteten Rovings in Beton. Elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen zeigen für den gut wasserlöslichen Poly(vinylalkohol) Ca(OH)2- Ablagerungen an der Grenzfläche, während für das hydrophobe Poly(vinylacetat) ein Gefüge aus teilhydratisiertem Klinker gefunden wird. Durch eine zeitliche Verfolgung der Wasseraufnahme mittels kernmagnetischer Resonanzspektroskopie konnte dies auf Unterschiede im Quellungsverhalten als Resultat der unterschiedlichen chemischen Struktur und Reaktivität gegenüber Alkalien zurückgeführt werden.

Society is on an unsustainable course, predicted to reach a tipping point where greenhouse gas emissions cause irreversible consequences. The cement industry is estimated to be responsible for 7% of the global CO2 emissions, but remains an essential part of building safe and affordable infrastructure for an urbanising and growing population. It is imperative that the industry urgently transitions to a more sustainable pathway. As a key stakeholder, the construction industry could play a role in this. This paper looks at the sustainability of the cement production process from a systems perspective and how the construction industry can help leverage change, using the FSSD and Meadows’ (1999) leverage points as a framework. An analysis of the cement production method against the misalignments with the FSSD Sustainability Principles was performed, as well as a document content analysis of the WBCSD 2018 roadmap for the cement industry. We also conducted 9 semi-structured interviews with experts in the cement and construction industry. Results showed that while CO2 emissions are the biggest challenge for the industry, change will not happen fast enough while a number of structural barriers prevent this. These barriers, their potential solutions and leverage points within the construction industry are discussed.

Gamla Årstabron i Stockholm uppvisade efter 80 år i drift omfattande skador på de bärande betongkonstruktionerna enligt en utredning som genomfördes 2006 av dåvarande Carl Bro AB på uppdrag av dåvarande Banverket Region Öst. Det konstaterades att omfattande reparationer och förstärkningar av brons betongvalv var nödvändiga för framtida rationell drift av bron. Det beslutades efter vidare utredning att de första tre valven på Södermalm i Stockholm skulle renoveras med injekteringsbetong. Renoveringen av de tre valven på fastlandet på Södermalm var ett prov i full skala för att hitta den optimala metodiken för den fortsatta renoveringen av resterande 17 betongvalv. Det här examensarbetet syftar till att utvärdera metoden med injekteringsbetong med hänsyn till injekteringsbetongens egenskaper, material och produktionsteknik.   Bakgrunden till detta examensarbete är att det finns ett stort behov av att följa upp renoveringsmetoden med injekteringsbetong eftersom den inte har använts i någon större utsträckning i Sverige sedan slutet av 1970-talet. Utvärderingen av injekteringsbetongens egenskaper har utförts genom att analysera resultaten av de provningar som utförts på betongen. Provningen har gått till så att utborrade kärnor och tillverkade provkuber har provats för bland annat tryck- och draghållfasthet (vidhäftning). Utvärderingen av material och produktionsteknik har gjorts genom observationer på arbetsplatsen där rapportförfattaren praktiserade hos NCC under juni och augusti 2008. Utöver praktiken har jag närvarat vid och dokumenterat många av de injekteringar som gjorts under projektets första år.   Huvudsyftet med att använda injekteringsbetong var att få fram en betong som uppvisar tillräckligt hög tryckhållfasthet, en viss draghållfasthet och en fri krympning av högst 0,2 ‰. Tyvärr var inte provtagningen tillräckligt omfattande för att dra statistiskt säkerställda slutsatser gällande betongens egenskaper. Det som dock kan sägas är att provtagningen samt information från nyckelpersoner från beställaren (numera Trafikverket) tenderar att bekräfta det som konstaterats i de förstudier som gjordes innan brorenoveringen startade, nämligen att injekteringsbetongen uppvisar en klart lägre krympning än konventionellt gjuten brobetong. Vad gäller tryck- och draghållfasthet så uppfyller den färdiga betongen de krav som ställdes.   Blandning av ingående material i form av ballast och cementbruk samt de enskilda materialens egenskaper visade sig vara en kritisk punkt, vilket bekräftar det som framgår av litteraturen på området. Att kravet på renhet hos ballasten, stenmaterialet, är uppfyllt är av yttersta vikt för slutresultatet. Dessutom är det mycket viktigt att cementbruket som blandas med vatten precis innan det injekteras i den stenfyllda formen håller mycket hög kvalité och är stabilt. I vissa aspekter ställer också metoden högre krav på yrkesarbetare, platsledning och övrig produktionspersonal som pumpförare jämfört med att gjuta med konventionell betong. Förutom de enskilda gruppernas kompetens är också samordningen och logistiken på arbetsplatsen en mycket viktig faktor. Att använda metoden innebär dessutom att beställare och specialister måste ha kunskap och förståelse för att metoden ur vissa synvinklar skiljer från konventionell betong, särskild med tanke på den begränsade användningen av metoden i Sverige i modern tid.   Baserat på slutresultatet av renoveringen, de provningar som utförts samt omdömen från nyckelpersoner hos beställaren var injekteringsbetong rätt metod att använda för att renovera Gamla Årstabron. / According to an investigation conducted in 2006 by the former Carl Bro AB commissioned by the former Swedish railway authority (Banverket), the old Årsta bridge in Stockholm, Sweden, was  after 80 years in operation showing signs of extensive damage on the load-bearing concrete structures. It was pointed out that the concrete vaults of the bridge needed to be repaired and reinforced in order to keep the bridge in an operational state. After further investigation it was decided that the first three vaults on the north side of the bridge were to be renovated by using pre-placed aggregate concrete. The renovation of the three vaults on the north side served as a full-scale test to find the best possible methodology for the continued renovation of the concrete structures that consists of another seventeen concrete vaults. This thesis aims to evaluate the method of using pre-placed aggregate concrete regarding its properties and materials as well as the construction technology.   The reason for this thesis is that there is a great need to follow up the renovation method using pre-placed aggregate concrete since it hasn’t been used in any great extent in Sweden since late 1970’s.The evaluation of the concrete’s properties has been done by analyzing the results of the testing that has been performed on the concrete. Test specimens consisting of concrete cores and fabricated cubes have been tested for compressive and tensile (bond) strength. The evaluation of materials and construction technology has been done by practical observations on the work site where the author worked as an intern for the contractor NCC during June and August 2008. Apart from my internship I also attended and documented many of the grouting occasions during the first year of the project.   The main intention of using pre-placed aggregate concrete was to produce a concrete with high compressive strength, certain tensile strength and a free shrinkage of at most 0,2 ‰. The testing of the concrete was unfortunately not extensive enough to draw any unambiguous conclusions concerning the properties of the concrete. The results of the tests performed as well as information from key persons from the current Swedish traffic administration (Trafikverket) do however tend to confirm what was found during the pilot studies conducted before the renovation of the bridge started, namely that the pre-placed aggregate concrete has a much lower shrinkage than conventional concrete normally used in bridges. As for compressive and tensile strength, the pre-placed aggregate concrete meets the quality requirements.    The mix of included materials, aggregate and cement-based grout, as well as the properties of the materials themselves turned out to be critical for the result, which the literature in the field confirms. The purity of the aggregate is essential for the result. Moreover, it’s very important that the cement-based grout is of high quality and stable. When comparing with traditional concreting, the method imposes higher requirements on the workforce, management and subcontractors, in some aspects. Two other key factors, apart from the competence of each group, are the coordination and the logistics on the worksite. Using pre-placed aggregate concrete also implies that clients and specialists must have knowledge and understanding concerning the differences compared to traditional concreting, especially since the method hasn’t been used in any greater extent in Sweden the last 40 years.   Based on the result of renovation, tests conducted and reviews from key persons at the Swedish transport administration the decision to use pre-placed aggregate concrete was the right one.

An essential demand in any underground facility is to seal it against the water ingress to reduce the time and cost of the construction and the corresponding environmental hazards. To achieve this, obtaining sufficient grout spread is of great importance. Among the grouts, cement grouts with lower costs and environmental issues have been more reliable, whereas their main problem is filtration that restricts the grout spread. Several investigations have been therefore aimed to develop instruments to measure the grout penetrability as a fundamental means to improve the grout spread. Due to the difference in assumptions, limitations, and test conditions, and the deficiency in design their results are occasionally in contradiction. The question here is how to measure the grout penetrability more realistic? To answer this, two of the most frequently used instruments, Filter pump and Penetrability meter, were adjusted to approach the test conditions in Short slot. The results were discussed with respect to the origins of contradictions to better evaluate the reliability and functionality of the instruments. Among the influencing parameters on grout spread, applied pressure is a key element. The stepwise pressure increment is the method currently used to improve the grout spread in rock. Application of dynamic grouting has been studied as a solution to improve the grout spread for almost three decades. Despite some promising results, the method has not been yet industrialized due to the limited efficiency and issues in the type and frequency of the applied pressure, and the geometry of the test equipment. Therefore, finding a more efficient alternative of the applied pressure was the second goal of this study. A pneumatic pressure control system was consequently employed to examine the efficiency of the method in Short slot. The results conclusively revealed the effectiveness of the method and provided a strong basis for further development of the dynamic grouting. / Ett viktigt krav när man bygger under mark är att konstruktionen blir tillräckligt tät, så att inläckage av grundvatten minimeras. Detta minskar både projektkostnaden och eventuell miljöpåverkan. För att skapa en tät konstruktion måste injekteringsbruket spridas tillräckligt i bergmassan. Kemiska injekteringsmedel har ofta bättre spridning i bergmassan än cementbaserade bruk, men cementbaserade bruk är både billigare och ger mindre miljöpåverkan. Det finns dock en del problem med cementbaserade bruk, nämligen att cementpartiklarna filtreras och att brukets reologiska egenskaper begränsar brukets utbredning. Ett antal studier har därför utförts för att studera dessa egenskaper hos cementbaserade bruk och utveckla metoder och instrument för att mäta brukets inträngningsförmåga. Detta i syfte att förbättra brukets utbredning. Dagens metoder och instrument ger nämligen ibland motsägelsefulla resultat på grund av de olika antaganden, begränsningar och förutsättningar som används i de olika testerna. Huvudfrågan är alltså hur man kan mäta brukets inträngningsförmåga på ett mer realistiskt sätt. För att undersöka detta modifierades två vanliga mätinstrument – filterpumpen och filterpressen – för att passa förhållandena i testanordningen Short slot. Resultaten diskuterades med avseende på olika typer av skillnader mellan metoderna i syfte att utröna dels vad som påverkar inträngningsförmågan, dels instrumentens tillförlitlighet och funktionalitet. Bland de parametrar som påverkar brukets spridning i bergmassan har injekteringstrycket en central roll. I dagsläget används stegvis tryckökning för att förbättra brukets spridning i sprickigt, hårt berg. Hur man kan använda dynamisk injektering för att förbättra brukets spridning har dock undersökts under snart tre decennier. Trots lovande resultat av denna metod ännu inte börjat användas i praktiken. Ett problem är svårigheten att ta försök på labb till fältmässiga förhållanden. Ett exempel är att man använde ett tryck som varierade med hög frekvens i en spricka som modellerades med två parallella skivor utan förträngningar, vilket är mycket annorlunda jämförelse med en riktig bergspricka. I modellen blir nämligen brukets spridning starkt beroende av brukets reologiska egenskaper, medan det snarare är filtrering som är problemet i en naturlig spricka på grund av förträngningarna. Dessutom fokuserade tidigare studier endast på sprickor med en sprickvidd större än 100 μm, trots att god spridning av bruket även i de smala sprickorna med mindre än 70 μm bredd är mycket viktigt när det är höga krav på anläggningens täthet. Ett annat mål med denna licentiatuppsats var därför att hitta nya sätt att förbättra brukets spridning i berget. Därför övervakades trycket med ett pneumatiskt kontrollsystem vid tester i Short slot för att studera hur effektiv denna metod är under mer realistiska förhållanden med förträngningar på mindre än 70 μm. Resultaten visade att metoden är effektiv, vilket utgör en bra bas för att fortsätta utveckla dynamisk injektering. / <p>QC 20160413</p>

The geotechnical community has since decades been acquainted with the use of statistical approach for design optimizations. This has been approved as an operational method by many practitioners in the field but is yet to see a major full-scale breakthrough and acceptance in practice. The advantage of quantifying the many different sources of uncertainties in a design is already a fairly acknowledged method and is in this report expanded for the use in the case of road embankments founded on soft soil improved by lime-cement columns. Statistical approach was adopted with practice of reliability base design (RBD ) to consider the importance of ingoing variables’ variability with the target of streamlining the result by decreasing uncertainties (by means of increased measurements, careful installation, etc.). By constructing a working model that gives the corresponding area ratio between columns and soil needed to fulfill the different criterion set as input values, weight is put on investigating the effects of different coefficients of variation (COV ). The analyses show that the property variabilities have a significant influence on the requisite area ratio that an active use of RBD is a useful tool for optimizing designs in geotechnical engineering. The methodology favors the contractors own development of the mixing process since higher design values can be utilized when

Heavy-metal contamination in soils has become a serious environmental problem. Among all metals, excessive amount of zinc was released to soils over the years. Zinc is not only toxic to human being, but also to plants. High concentration of zinc is extremely phytotoxic. Currently, the most popular method to remediate heavy-metal contaminated soils is stabilization/solidification (S/S) technique as it is cheaper, faster and more effective to remediate heavy metals than other remediation methods. Portland cement is the most-used binder in S/S technique. However, the production of Portland cement has released a significant amount of carbon dioxide, which strongly contributes to global warming. In addition, zinc retards the setting and hydration of Portland cement, which would require more Portland cement to remediate zinc-contaminated sites. Therefore, researchers are looking for new materials to improve the performance of Portland cement in zinc-contaminated soils. In recent years, the application of graphene-based materials in concrete had proved to be effective. Due to relative cost-effectiveness and comparable properties, multi-layer graphene, known as graphene nanoplatelets, may show a promising potential in construction. Moreover, research has reported that graphene nanoplatelets can be exfoliated from graphite and potentially scaled up for full-scale applications. At present, there is no application of graphene nanoplatelets in the S/S of contaminated soils and the roles of graphene nanoplatelets in cement-stabilized zinc-contaminated clay remained unknown. In this research, graphene nanoplatelets were dispersed in solution with a high-shear mixing apparatus. Dispersed graphene nanoplatelets solution was then applied to zinc-contaminated soil along with cement. To evaluate the efficacy of this S/S method, various influencing factors such as mixing sequence, graphene nanoplatelets content, zinc content, cement content, and curing time were studied. An optimum graphene nanoplatelets content was determined through the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the stabilized/solidified samples. It was found that at the optimum content, the unconfined compressive strength of cement-stabilized zinc-contaminated clay was improved by 22.3% with the addition of graphene nanoplatelets. Also, graphene nanoplatelets were effective at moderate zinc content and low cement content. Graphene nanoplatelets accelerated cement hydration effectively at early ages. Microstructural analyses indicated that more hydration products were developed in samples with graphene nanoplatelets. At current stage, it is still expensive to apply graphene nanoplatelets in S/S technique; however, it is possible to exfoliate graphite into graphene nanoplatelets in future research. / Graduate / 2022-05-12

<p>With over 30 billion tons of global annual production, concrete is the most used construction material in the world. Its manufacturing is associated with a strong environmental impact due to the high natural resources’ consumption, energy consumption, and a large generation of wastes and pollutants with significant global consequences. There are many different approaches to reduce the environmental impact of cementitious materials. Two examples are: (i) the use of recycled aggregate (RA) such as recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) and recycled plastics, or supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) such as biomass ashes to reduce the use of natural aggregates and cement, respectively, and (ii) using nano-additives (for instance, nano-TiO2) to enhance material’s performance and to provide the material new properties that may have a positive proactive effect during its service life (i.e., photocatalytic properties that may reduce different pollutants concentrations from the environment). These approaches have been widely studied in standard conditions. However, boundary conditions such as temperature or moisture can be critical factors that directly or indirectly affect the effect of these approaches on the sustainability of cementitious composites in all stages of their life, from curing to service conditions.</p> <p>It is known that curing temperature influences the effect of using recycled materials (such as RCA or SCMs) on the mechanical properties of cementitious materials. However, there were no studies concerning the influence of curing temperature on the nano-TiO2 addition effect on mechanical properties of cementitious composites. A potential change will affect composites’ sustainability; if curing temperature influences the effect of nano-TiO2 on strength, the cement content needed to achieve a given performance will variate. This study concluded that curing temperature is a key factor that changes the effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on mechanical properties and pore structure of Portland cement mortars; the lower the curing temperature, the higher the positive effect of TiO2 on compressive strength.</p> <p>Besides the use of nano-TiO2, the substitution of NA with RCA might significantly benefit the sustainability of cementitious composites. However, the use of RCA may lead to a reduction in strength. On the other hand, the addition of nano-TiO2 mixtures containing RCA might offset this reduction in strength. Nevertheless, studying their effects on the composites’ performance under extreme conditions is critical to assess the actual environmental impact since durability is one of the main pillars of cementitious materials sustainability. This study concluded that even though RCA may be beneficial to increase sustainability aspects in terms of net waste generation and natural abiotic depletion, its potential negative effects on high-temperature resistance should be considered to not lead to structural problems during its lifetime, especially if used in combination with nano-TiO2. The addition of low percentages of nano-TiO2 has a negative effect on the high-temperature resistance of mortar containing 100% RCA. Differences in thermal properties between old aggregate, old cement paste, and new cement paste with nano-TiO2 may induce internal stresses at high temperatures that can produce a failure at lower strength due to the weaker interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between the stronger new cement paste (with nano-TiO2) and the old cement paste. To the same extent, it is important to understand how extreme temperatures impact the effect of other recycled materials in cementitious composite performance. This study found that recycled polypropylene (re-PP) fibers may mitigate the strength loss caused by high-temperature exposure, enhance the residual flexural strength, and increase the energy absorption capability. The changes in the fiber-matrix ITZ after cooling observed through an optical microscope suggested that the mechanical improvements are related to an enhancement of the fiber-matrix ITZ after high-temperature exposure and cooling.</p> <p>The next part of the dissertation focused on studying the thermal conductivity susceptibility to ambient conditions variation and how RCA substitution can affect this susceptibility. Understanding the effect of RCA on the thermal conductivity of cementitious composites would be crucial to assess their effects on the environmental impact during service life as part of a building component. Results showed that the higher percentage of porosity (due to RCA utilization) increases the susceptibility of thermal conductivity to moisture. Thus, actual moisture content and temperature should be considered when assessing the effect of RCA on thermal conductivity and its influence on sustainability in terms of energy savings when used as part of building envelops.</p> <p>Finally, the last part of this dissertation focused on assessing the impact of curing temperature on the sustainability of sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) as a partial replacement of cement in mortars. An experimental campaign was performed to evaluate the effect of partial replacement of cement with SCBA on compressive strength as a function of curing temperature. Hence, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed from the extraction of the raw materials to the material production part of the life cycle, using as a functional unit 1 m3 of mortar with the same compressive strength as the reference mixture (plain Portland cement mortar without SCBA) cured at the same temperature. Results showed that a replacement of 97 kg of cement by SCBA (per m3 of mortar) may produce a reduction of the environmental impacts two times higher when the curing temperature was 45°C than when the temperature was 21°C. Results clearly indicate that the sustainability of SCBA utilization as a partial replacement for cement will be higher when mortar is poured in hot regions or during days with higher temperatures. Therefore, external curing temperature is an important factor that should be considered when assessing the sustainability of cementitious composites containing sugarcane biomass ashes.</p>

[pt] O desenvolvimento, caracterização mecânica e fluência de compósitos cimentícios têxteis reforçados com fibra de sisal foram realizados neste trabalho. Os compósitos foram fabricados utilizando uma matriz com baixo teor de hidróxido de cálcio, obtida pela substituição parcial do cimento por cinza volante e metacaulim. Foram desenvolvidos três tipos de compósitos, cada um com três ou cinco camadas de tecido unidirecional de sisal. Os compósitos com três camadas foram reforçados variando a condição das fibras em saturadas e com umidade natural. O comportamento mecânico foi avaliado por meio de ensaios de tração direta e flexão a quatro pontos. Estudaram-se os mecanismos de fissuração por meio de fotografias obtidas ao longo dos ensaios, além de análises por correlação digital de imagens - DIC. Todos os compósitos apresentaram comportamento strain/deflection hardening com formação de múltiplas fissuras. Ensaios de fluência à tração e à flexão foram realizados nos compósitos pré-fissurados a fim de estudar as respostas dependentes do tempo. As amostras reforçadas com fibras saturadas apresentaram deformações superiores na tração devido às propriedades da interface fibra-matriz e níveis de deflexão inferiores, além da diminuição da tensão máxima resistida e redução da capacidade de deflexão/deformação. A evolução das fissuras foi monitorada durante todo o ensaio de fluência com o auxílio de um microscópio estereoscópico. Para uma melhor compreensão do mecanismo de fluência dos compósitos, foram realizados ensaios de tração de uma única fibra sob carga sustentada. Além disso, ensaios de fluência à compressão e retração da matriz com diferentes níveis de substituição do cimento por metacaulim foram realizados para entender o seu efeito ao longo do tempo. / [en] In the present work, the development, mechanical characterization and creep of textile reinforced cementitious composites reinforced with sisal fiber were investigated. The composites were manufactured using a matrix with a low calcium hydroxide content, obtained by partially replacing the cement by fly ash and metakaolin. Three types of composites were developed, each with three or five layers of unidirectional sisal fabric. The composites with three layers were reinforced varying the condition of the fibers in saturated and with natural humidity. The mechanical behavior was evaluated through direct tension and four-point flexural tests. Cracking mechanisms were studied through photographs obtained during the tests, as well as analyzes by digital image correlation - DIC. All composites presented strain/deflection hardening behavior with formation of multiple cracks. Tensile and flexural creep tests were performed on pre-cracked composites in order to study time-dependent responses. The samples reinforced with saturated fibers showed higher strain in tension due to the properties of the fiber-matrix interface and lower deflection levels, in addition to the reduction of the ultimate stress and deflection/deformation capacity. The evolution of cracks was monitored throughout the creep test with a stereoscopic microscope. For a better understanding of creep mechanism of the composites, tensile tests of a single fiber were carried out under sustained load at different levels of loading. In addition, compression creep and shrinkage tests of the matrix with different levels of cement replacement with metakaolin were performed to understand its effect over time.

La plupart des systèmes en matière molle sont en contact avec des solutions contenant des espèces chargées. Certains d’entre eux sont bien décrits par des théories de champ moyen, d’autres nécessitent des approches plus fines qui tiennent compte des corrélations entre ions.Dans la première partie de cette thèse, nous analysons la dynamique de relaxation d’un nanocondensateur. Les techniques analytiques et numériques utilisées relèvent du champ moyen (formalisme de Poisson-Nernst-Planck). Nous étudions les temps caractéristiques de relaxation dans les régimes linéaire et non linéaire et caractérisons le comportement du système en fonction de la concentration en sel et du potentiel appliqué. Les géométries planaire et coaxiale sont traitées. Nous nous intéressons ensuite au problème de concevoir un protocole temporel pour le potentiel appliqué, capable de piloter le système d’un état d’équilibre à un autre, que ce soit pour accélérer le processus de formation de la double couche électrique ou celui d’instauration d’un flux électroosmotique.Dans la deuxième partie, nous abordons la physique des systèmes chargés corrélés, avec une attention particulière pour le phénomène d’attraction entre charges du même signe. Nous élaborons une théorie qui décrit les systèmes sans sel à l’équilibre, quelle que soit la valeur du paramètre de couplage électrostatique. Inspirée en partie par le concept du trou de corrélation et en partie par un formalisme à la Poisson-Boltzmann, la théorie satisfait nombre de résultats exacts et elle peut être facilement résolue numériquement.Dans la troisième partie, nous développons la théorie du couplage fort pour les constituants nanoscopiques du ciment. Après avoir présenté l’histoire et l’état de l’art dans notre compréhension de la physique de cet omniprésent matériau, nous analysons des simulations de dynamique moléculaire de l’interface entre plaquettes de C-S-H. Nous montrons que la grande force de cohésion observée est due à une baisse de la permittivité diélectrique sous confinement, ce qui augmente l’importance des corrélations. Nous étudions la statistique du phénomène d’hydratation des ions, et finalement obtenons de façon analytique la pression en fonction de la distance entre plaquettes, en excellent accord avec les simulations. / Most systems in soft matter are immersed in solutions with charged species. Some of them can be described by mean-field techniques, while others require more sophisticated treatments that account for correlations between ions.In the first part of this thesis, we analyze the relaxation dynamics of a nanocapacitor. We use analytical and numerical techniques within mean-field (so-called Poisson-Nernst-Planck formalism). We study characteristic relaxation times in the linear and nonlinear regime and characterize the behavior of the system as a function of salt density and applied voltage. Both the parallel plate and the coaxial geometries are examined. The problem of designing a smart time-dependent applied potential, to drive the system from an initial to a final equilibrium state is also tackled, with regard to both the electric double layer build-up process and the establishment of an electroosmotic flow.In the second part, the physics of correlated charged systems is presented, with particular focus on the like-charge attraction phenomenon. We develop a theory describing salt-free systems, at arbitrary value of the electrostatic coupling parameter. Inspired partly by the correlation-hole concept and partly by the Poisson-Boltzmann formalism, the theory satisfies a number of exact requirements and can be easily solved numerically.In the third part, we develop the theory of strong coupling for the nanoscopic constituents of set cement. After introducing the history and the present understanding of the physics behind this omnipresent material, we analyze molecular dynamics simulations of the interface between C-S-H platelets (Calcium Silicate Hydrate). We show that the strong cohesion force observed is ultimately due to a decrease in the dielectric permittivity under confinement, which enhances correlations. We study the statistics of ion hydration and obtain analytically the pressure as a function of inter-platelet distance, in excellent agreement with simulations.

The construction industry is closely tied to economic development economies, and increasing demand also presents a significant contribution to environmental degradation. The construction industry’s impact to climate change is led by the 8% contribution from the production of concrete mixtures, more specifically, the production of cement. The combination of using advanced mixdesign techniques (e.g., particle packing models -PPM) and more sustainable ingredients poses as a promising alternative to overcome concrete environmental impact. However, there is a lack of studies regarding the fresh state difficulties arising from the aforementioned combination. Therefore, this work appraises the use of mobility parameters to overcome the fresh state issue raised when mix-designing mortar mixtures through PPM and with high volume of limestone filler. Twelve mixtures were developed with distinct cement content ranging from 150 kg/m3 to 320 kg/m3. To produce sustainable mortar, besides using PPM, cement content was replaced by limestone filler. Time dependent fresh state analysis was performed using mortar slump flow and a rheological profile. In the hardened states, the compressive strength, porosity, surface electrical resistivity tests were performed. The main findings of the project observed a strong correlation between mobility parameters and five distinct rheological parameters: flow behaviour parameter, high shear rate viscosity and shear stress, low shear rate viscosity and shear stress. Additionally, in the hardened state, a dilution parameter IPScement was used to appraise the dilution and filler effect of the mortar mixtures. The works highlighted a promising method to produce eco-efficient mortars.