Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

It is common practice to purposely trap small air-voids in concrete in order to give it frost resistance. A large number of factors have been recognized to impact the ability to entrain and stabilize these microscopic air-voids in concrete. This dissertation investigates a number of these variables. However, the primary focus of this work is on investigating problems entraining and stabilizing air in concrete utilizing fly ash. These investigations include: evaluation of existing and newly created test methods to measure the impact of fly ash on the ability to air-entrain concrete, and the fresh and hardened properties of air-entrained fly ash concrete is investigated. Additional work is presented concerning some of the fundamental physical and chemical properties of air-void shells separated from cement paste and how they change with time.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Cellular concrete is a type of lightweight concrete that consists only of cement, water and sand with 20 per cent air by volume or more air entrained into the concrete. The two methods used for air entrainment in cellular concrete are (1) the use of an air entraining agent (AEA), and (2) the use of pre-formed foam. If pre-formed foam is used to entrain air into the concrete the concrete is named foamed concrete and if an AEA is used the concrete is termed aerated concrete. Depending on the type of application, structural or nonstructural, cellular concrete can be designed to have a density in the range of range of 400 to 1800 kg/m3. Non-structural applications of cellular concrete include void and trench filling, thermal and acoustic insulation. Structural applications of cellular concrete include pre-cast units such as concrete bricks, partitions, roof slabs etc. Due to the high levels of air in cellular concrete it is challenging to produce compressive strengths that are sufficient to classify the concrete as structurally useful when non-autoclaving curing conditions are used. The autoclaving process combines high temperature and pressure in the forming process, which causes higher strength and reduced shrinkage. This process is also limited to prefabricated units. Non-autoclave curing conditions include moist curing, dry curing, wrapping the concrete in plastic, etc. However, now that the world is moving in an energy efficient direction, ways to exclude energy-intensive autoclaving are sought. It has for instance been found that the utilisation of high volumes of fly-ash in cellular concrete leads to higher strengths which make it possible to classify the concrete as structurally useful. Now, that there is renewed interest in the structural applications of the concrete a design methodology using an arbitrary air entraining agent needs to be found. The research reported in this thesis therefore attempts to find such a methodology and to produce aerated concrete with a given density and strength that can be classified as structurally useful. For the mix design methodology, the following factors are investigated: water demand of the mix, water demand of the mix constituents, and the amount of AEA needed to produce aerated concrete with a certain density. The water demand of the mix depends on the mix constituents and therefore a method is proposed to calculate the water demand of the mix constituents based on the ASTM flow turn table. Due to the complex nature of air entrainment in concrete, the amount of air entrained into the concrete mix is not known beforehand, and a trial and error method therefore had to be developed. The trial mixes were conducted in a small bakery mixer. From the trial mixes estimated dosages of AEA were found and concrete mixes were designed based on these mixes. The factors that influence the mix design and strength of aerated concrete include filler/cement ratio (f/c), fly-ash/cement ratio (a/c) and design target density. Additional factors that influence the strength of aerated concrete are specimen size and shape, curing, and concrete age. It was found that the sand type and f/c ratio influence the water demand of the concrete mix. Sand type and f/c ratio also influence compressive strength, with higher strength for a finer sand type and lower f/c ratios. However, the concrete density is the factor that influences the strength the most.

Thesis (M.S.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Civil Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Description based on contents viewed July 8, 2009; title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-116).

A utilização de aditivos incorporadores de ar em concretos é uma prática comum na construção civil e sua aplicação influencia significativamente diversas propriedades do concreto no estado fresco e endurecido. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influência do teor de ar incorporado, por meio de aditivo, no desempenho de concretos com diferentes teores de agregados. O programa experimental incluiu avaliação da eficiência de aditivos na incorporação de ar em pastas de cimento, análise microestrutural e ensaios para determinação de propriedades físicas, mecânicas e de durabilidade de concretos com diferentes teores de ar e agregados. No estado fresco, foram realizados ensaios para determinação do teor de ar, massa específica e abatimento. No estado endurecido foram realizados ensaios de massa específica, absorção, resistência à compressão, módulo de elasticidade, velocidade de propagação da onda ultrassônica, carbonatação acelerada e condutividade térmica. Utilizando Microtomografia Computadorizada de Raios-X (Micro-CT) foram dimensionados e quantificados os poros presentes nas amostras dos concretos, bem como determinadas suas porosidades. Os concretos com ar incorporado apresentaram redução na resistência mecânica. Os concretos com menores teores de agregados apresentaram menor resistência mecânica, menor velocidade da frente de carbonatação e menor condutividade térmica. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, pode-se concluir que o aditivo a base de resinas sintéticas foi mais eficiente na incorporação de ar; maiores teores de ar implicam em variabilidade nos resultados de ensaios de resistência à compressão e módulo de elasticidade; os concretos com maiores teores de agregados apresentaram maior velocidade da frente de carbonatação, para mesmos teores de ar incorporado; a condutividade térmica é inversamente proporcional ao teor de ar incorporado no concreto, e quanto menor o teor de agregados, menor a condutividade térmica; o aumento do teor de ar no concreto promove aumento no diâmetro equivalente dos poros e redução da incidência de poros esféricos. / The use of entraining air additives in concrete is a common practice in construction and its application influences several concrete properties in the fresh and hardened state. The aim of this study was evaluate the influence of air entrained content, by additive, in concrete performance with different aggregate contents. The experimental program included the evaluation of additives effectiveness of air entrainment in cement pastes, microstructural analysis and the concretes physical and mechanical properties and durability, with different levels of entrained air and aggregates. Tests were performed in fresh to determine the air content, density and slump. In hardened concrete, density, absorption, compressive strength, elastic modulus, ultrasonic pulse velocity, accelerated carbonation and thermal conductivity tests were performed. By computed X-ray microtomography, the pores present in the concrete samples were sized and quantified and determined the concretes porosities. The air entrained concrete presented decrease in mechanical strength. Concretes with lower aggregate levels presented lower mechanical strength, carbonation speed and thermal conductivity. According to the results, it can be concluded that the synthetic resins base additive was more efficient in air entrainment; larger air content implies variability in the results of the compressive strength and elastic modulus tests; concrete with higher aggregate levels presented higher carbonation speed, for the same entrained air content; thermal conductivity is inversely proportional to the air entrained content in concrete, and as lower was the aggregate content, lower was the thermal conductivity; the increase of air content in concrete promotes increase in the pores diameter and reduction of the incidence of spherical pores.

A utilização de aditivos incorporadores de ar em concretos é uma prática comum na construção civil e sua aplicação influencia significativamente diversas propriedades do concreto no estado fresco e endurecido. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influência do teor de ar incorporado, por meio de aditivo, no desempenho de concretos com diferentes teores de agregados. O programa experimental incluiu avaliação da eficiência de aditivos na incorporação de ar em pastas de cimento, análise microestrutural e ensaios para determinação de propriedades físicas, mecânicas e de durabilidade de concretos com diferentes teores de ar e agregados. No estado fresco, foram realizados ensaios para determinação do teor de ar, massa específica e abatimento. No estado endurecido foram realizados ensaios de massa específica, absorção, resistência à compressão, módulo de elasticidade, velocidade de propagação da onda ultrassônica, carbonatação acelerada e condutividade térmica. Utilizando Microtomografia Computadorizada de Raios-X (Micro-CT) foram dimensionados e quantificados os poros presentes nas amostras dos concretos, bem como determinadas suas porosidades. Os concretos com ar incorporado apresentaram redução na resistência mecânica. Os concretos com menores teores de agregados apresentaram menor resistência mecânica, menor velocidade da frente de carbonatação e menor condutividade térmica. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, pode-se concluir que o aditivo a base de resinas sintéticas foi mais eficiente na incorporação de ar; maiores teores de ar implicam em variabilidade nos resultados de ensaios de resistência à compressão e módulo de elasticidade; os concretos com maiores teores de agregados apresentaram maior velocidade da frente de carbonatação, para mesmos teores de ar incorporado; a condutividade térmica é inversamente proporcional ao teor de ar incorporado no concreto, e quanto menor o teor de agregados, menor a condutividade térmica; o aumento do teor de ar no concreto promove aumento no diâmetro equivalente dos poros e redução da incidência de poros esféricos. / The use of entraining air additives in concrete is a common practice in construction and its application influences several concrete properties in the fresh and hardened state. The aim of this study was evaluate the influence of air entrained content, by additive, in concrete performance with different aggregate contents. The experimental program included the evaluation of additives effectiveness of air entrainment in cement pastes, microstructural analysis and the concretes physical and mechanical properties and durability, with different levels of entrained air and aggregates. Tests were performed in fresh to determine the air content, density and slump. In hardened concrete, density, absorption, compressive strength, elastic modulus, ultrasonic pulse velocity, accelerated carbonation and thermal conductivity tests were performed. By computed X-ray microtomography, the pores present in the concrete samples were sized and quantified and determined the concretes porosities. The air entrained concrete presented decrease in mechanical strength. Concretes with lower aggregate levels presented lower mechanical strength, carbonation speed and thermal conductivity. According to the results, it can be concluded that the synthetic resins base additive was more efficient in air entrainment; larger air content implies variability in the results of the compressive strength and elastic modulus tests; concrete with higher aggregate levels presented higher carbonation speed, for the same entrained air content; thermal conductivity is inversely proportional to the air entrained content in concrete, and as lower was the aggregate content, lower was the thermal conductivity; the increase of air content in concrete promotes increase in the pores diameter and reduction of the incidence of spherical pores.

The diploma thesis deals with the possibilities of evaluating the degradation of mechanical resistance of non-air-entrained concrete in the structure by frost cycles. The first part is focused on concrete, its resistance and test methods. This is followed by the definition of frost resistance, the effects of freeze-thaw on concrete at all stages of its service life and the possibilities of determining freeze-thaw resistance according to current standards. It describes in more detail selected test methods for determining frost resistance. In the practical part, it focuses on the determination of degradation resistance of test specimens made in molds and taken from the structure using reference and non-reference methods. In conclusion, it compares the different test methods and their suitability for the determination of freeze-thaw resistance.

The durability of concrete is of major concern in all types of concrete structures where the combined effect of exposure conditions and the type and quality of the concrete material usually determines the rate of degradation. Furthermore, there are synergy effects between different deterioration mechanisms, which means that the combined rate of degradation is higher than the sum of the individual rates of each mechanism. Therefore, to accurately predict the residual service life of existing structures or when designing new structures, it is essential to consider all these aspects. This means that various chemical and physical processes, as well as how these interact, must be taken into account in models aiming to be used for service life predictions. This thesis presents the first part of a research project with the aim to investigate common deterioration mechanisms of concrete in hydraulic structures, and to improve the knowledge how these and other related phenomena can be described using mathematical models. The objective is also to study how different mechanisms interact and to find suitable approaches to account for these interactions in the models. To this end, a literature survey on commonly detected damage in hydraulic structures is presented. In addition, it also addresses in what types of and where in hydraulic structures the various damage types are usually observed. The mathematical models presented in this part of the project are focused on long-term water absorption in air-entrained concrete as well as on freezing of partially saturated air-entrained concrete. Both models are based on a multiphase description of concrete and poromechanics to describe the coupled hygro-thermo-mechanical behaviour. The thesis also presents some of the basic concepts of multiphase modelling of porous media, including discretization of the models using the finite element method (FEM). Furthermore, it covers the simplifications that are usually introduced in the general macroscopic balance equations for mass, energy and linear momentum when modelling cement-based materials. To verify the developed models and to show their capabilities, simulation results are compared with experimental data, in situ measurements and other simulations from the literature. The results indicate that both models perform well and can be used to predict long-term moisture conditions in hydraulic structures as well as freezing-induced strains in partially saturated air-entrained concrete, respectively. Even though no interactions with other deterioration mechanisms are included in the models, the development and use of these have given insights to which parameters that are important to consider in such extensions. Furthermore, based on the insights gained, the complexity of describing the full interactions between several mechanisms in mathematical models is also discussed. It is concluded that models aiming to be used for service life predictions of hydraulic structures in day-to-day engineering work need to be simplified. However, the type of advanced models presented in this thesis can serve as a basis to study which aspects and parameters that are essential to consider in simplified prediction models. / Beständigheten hos betong är av avgörande betydelse i alla typer av betongkonstruktioner där den kombinerade effekten av exponeringsförhållanden samt typ och kvalitet på betongmaterialet vanligtvis avgör nedbrytningshastigheten. Dessutom finns synergieffekter mellan olika nedbrytningsmekanismer som innebär att den kombinerade nedbrytningshastigheten är större än summan av de enskilda nedbrytningshastigheterna. För att noggrant kunna prediktera den återstående livislängden hos befintliga konstruktioner eller vid design av nya konstruktioner är det därför viktigt att ta hänsyn till samtliga av dessa aspekter. Detta innebär att olika kemiska och fysikaliska processer, samt hur dessa interagerar med varandra, måste tas i beaktande i modeller som avses användas för livslängdsbedömningar. Den här licentiatuppsatsen presenterar den första delen av ett forskningsprojekt där målet är att studera vanligt förekommande nedbrytningsmekanismer i vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner och att öka kunskapen om hur dessa och andra relaterade fenomen kan beskrivas med matematiska modeller. Målet är också att studera hur olika nedbrytningsmekanismer samverkar och att hitta lämpliga tillvägagångssätt att ta hänsyn till dessa interaktioner i modellerna. För detta ändamål presenteras en litteraturstudie avseende vanligt förekommande skador i vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner. Dessutom behandlar denna i vilka typer av vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner och var i dessa som de olika typerna av skador vanligtvis observeras. De matematiska modeller som presenteras i denna del av projektet är inriktade på långtidsabsorption av vatten i lufttillsatt betong samt på frysning i delvis vattenmättad lufttillsatt betong. Båda modellerna är baserade på en multifasbeskrivning av betong samt poromekanik för att beskriva det kopplade hydro-termo-mekaniska beteendet. Uppsatsen presenterar också några av de grundläggande koncepten gällande multifasmodellering av porösa material, inklusive diskretisering av modellerna genom användning av finita elementmetoden (FEM). Dessutom beskrivs de förenklingar som vanligtvis införs i de generella makroskopiska balansekvationerna för massa, energi och rörelsemängd då cementbaserade material modelleras. Simuleringsresultat från de utvecklade modellerna jämförs med försöksdata, fältmätningar samt andra simuleringsresultat från litteraturen för att verifiera modellerna samt visa hur de beter sig. Resultaten visar att båda modellerna ger tillfredställande resultat och kan användas för att uppskatta de långsiktiga fuktförhållandena i vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner samt frysinducerade töjningar i delvis vattenmättad lufttillsatt betong. Även om inga interaktioner mellan andra nedbrytningsmekanismer inkluderades i modellerna, så har utvecklingen samt användandet av dessa gett insikter gällande vilka parametrar som är viktiga att beakta i sådana vidareutvecklingar. Baserat på dessa insikter diskuteras också komplexiteten i att beskriva interaktionen mellan flertalet mekanismer i matematiska modeller. Det konstateras också att modeller som avses användas i dagligt ingenjörsarbete för livstidsbedömningar av vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner behöver förenklas. Däremot kan den typ av avancerade modeller som presenteras i denna uppsats användas som en grund för att studera vilka aspekter och parametrar som är viktiga att beakta i förenklade modeller. / <p>QC 20180403</p>

The diploma thesis deals with different methods of determining levels of degradation of concrete due to freezing, also considering the options of freeze thaw resistance determination in structure. At first the properties of concrete and possible mechanisms of concrete degradation are described – mainly the effects of freezing water in the inner structure and of the combination of freezing water and de-icing chemicals on the surface. Principle and properties of air-entrained concrete are also mentioned. An overview of the approaches that current standards use to determine the freeze-thaw resistance of concrete is listed, followed by description of the tests that are used on air-entrained concrete specimens in the main part of the thesis. A portion of the test specimens was made in moulds while the rest was obtained from structure (concrete block). The non-destructive tests used are evaluated in several different ways and their results are compared with the destructive tests. Comparison and evaluation of different approaches used to determine the freeze-thaw resistence of concrete are the main outcome of this thesis.