The increasing need for watertight underground works, such as tunnel excavations, has sparked an interest in a number of research studies with grout penetrability being the focus. The research has so far contributed to a deeper understanding regarding the assessment of a successful grouting operation from different perspectives such as choice of equipment, material properties, phase planning and performance.  It is well established that several crucial factors influence the penetrability of grouts with pressure type and magnitude being two of them. Researchers have examined this issue from different perspectives and with different instruments. Previous research has shown that the increase of pressure has yielded better grout penetration both in the laboratory and the field. According to studies that dealt with dynamic pressure application, superimposed oscillatory pressure of high frequency resulted in grouts with decreased viscosity and better penetration. However, there is still need for further investigation in terms of lower frequencies, different pressure profiles and magnitudes and possible alternatives regarding the filtration and erosion mechanism. The present study aims to examine the penetrability of grouts under dynamic conditions of predefined peak and rest pressure intervals with frequencies lower than 0.5 Hz. The mechanism of action assumes active decomposition of any partially built plug in the vicinity of a narrowing in a rock fracture caused by the change in flow type before the constriction. The chosen method included the development of a laboratory grout injection system with a pneumatic valve and a pressure control rig. Tests were performed with both constant and varying pressure utilizing different periods of peak and rest intervals. The results showed an overall improvement of penetrability under dynamic conditions compared to the static. The decrease in peak – rest durations from [2 – 2] to [4 – 8] s yielded almost 11 times more material penetrating the 30μm aperture size.  The developed method utilized a pneumatic injection system which culminated in better penetration when tuned at [2 – 2] s of [peak – rest] durations with specific material properties. This study presents an indication that further research towards the direction of dynamic pressure application could be proven beneficial in the grouting industry.

Rock grouting is a commonly used process for sealing rocks in tunnels to reduce water ingress. In order to achieve sufficient sealing level the grout must effectively penetrate into rock fractures while the limiting factor is filtration of cement based grout. Many devices and measuring methods have been developed to study filtration and to measure the penetrability. The filter pump and the penetrability meter are two of the most commonly used instruments for measuring filtration tendency in the field and in the lab, while short slot is used mainly in the lab. The results obtained from these devices have relatively different estimations of the penetrability partly due to the weaknesses in measuring methods and test procedures. Furthermore, there are no clear criteria to find out which of the results are closer to the reality or how much the results differ among these instruments. The aim of this study is comparing, and evaluating the results of these devices in relatively similar conditions while using more accurate methods of weight-time and pressure-time compared to the less reliable total volume method. The filter pump and the penetrability meter were modified In order to fulfill the requirement of testing in similar conditions and to improve their accuracy and versatility. The results show that increasing the pressure improves the penetrability significantly. The modification of the filter pump results in reducing many uncertainties related to the testing procedure. Probably the modified filter pump has higher accuracy in measuring the penetrability compared to regular filter pump. The short slot has the highest accuracy in estimating penetrability of cement based grout especially at higher pressures, furthermore, the short slot provides a more flexible way to measure penetrability with different pressures in the range of 1-15 bars.

Yes / In this paper, two types of nano carbon materials including 0D nano carbon black and 2D graphene are assembled through electrostatic adsorption to develop smart cement-based composites. Owing to their excellent mechanical, electrical properties and synergistic effect, self-assembled 0D/2D nano carbon materials can form toughening and conductive networks in cement-based materials at low content level and without changing the preparation process of conventional cement-based materials, thus endowing cement-based materials with smart and multifunctional properties including high toughness, self-sensing property to stress/strain and damage, shielding/absorbing property to electromagnetic wave. The developed smart cement-based composites with self-assembled 0D/2D nano carbon materials have promising application in the fields of oil well cementing, structural health monitoring, and electromagnetic protection and anti-electromagnetic pollution. It can therefore conclude that electrostatic self-assembled 0D/2D nano carbon materials provide a simple preparation method and excellent composite effect for developing nano cement-based materials, which can be applied in large-scale infrastructures. / The National Science Foundation of China (51908103) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M651116).

Thesis (MScEng (Civil Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Strain Hardening Cement-based Composite (SHCC) is part of the High Performance Fibre Reinforced Cement-based Composite (HPFRCC) family and is a relative new concrete composite. This Fibre Reinforced Cement-based Composite (FRCC) contains randomly distributed short fibres and when subjected to a uni-axial tensile load multiple cracking occurs. The multiple cracking generates fine cracks which are normally smaller than 100 μm and achieve a strain capacity of more than 5 %. There are limited publications regarding the research of sustained tensile tests on SHCC and especially the cracking behaviour of SHCC under quasi-static uni-axial as well as sustained tensile loads. The cracking behaviour is described as the average crack width, number of cracks and descriptive statistical properties which could be used to represent the distribution of the multiple fine cracks under uni-axial tension. There are two types of tests that were under consideration to determine the cracking behaviour of SHCC. The first is quasi-static uniaxial tensile tests and the second is sustained tensile tests. The latter was dependant on the uni-axial tensile tests in terms of the sustained load applied. The sustained loads ranged from 40 % to 80 % of the ultimate tensile resistance recorded from the uni-axial tensile tests that correspond with a strain rate of 0.001 /s. Different strain rates were used for the uni-axial tensile tests to determine the effect on the cracking behaviour. The cracking behaviour was determined with the aid of a non-contact optical 3D digital deformation measuring device called ARAMIS. The content of this thesis gives a background study of the cracking behaviour and relevant research performed on SHCC under certain loads as well as some literature about the timedependant effects of a cement-based composite. The functioning of the device called ARAMIS is explained as well as the resulting effects of this device on the preparation of the test specimens. The experimental framework for the uni-axial and sustained tensile tests is discussed. Thereafter, the experimental results of the tests are depicted and discussed. The results shed some light on the basic material properties such as the average ultimate stress and average ultimate strain, Young’s modulus, etc. for the quasi-static tensile tests as well as shrinkage and creep of SHCC. The cracking behaviour such as the average crack width, number of cracks, the variance and skewness of the distribution of the crack widths in the test specimens for the quasi-static uni-axial and sustained tensile tests are depicted and discussed. The cracking behaviour when subjected to uni-axial tensile tests with different strain rates is significantly governed by the formation of new cracks and the average crack width remains small with increase in strain. There is no significant difference for the cracking behaviour found when subjected to different strain rates. However, when SHCC is subjected to a sustained load then the average crack width is dependant on the number of cracks that form over time as well as the load level. The formation of fewer and wider cracks was observed for specimens loaded at average 40 % of the ultimate tensile resistance stress, however at loading percentages of higher than 65 % more cracks developed which resulted in a smaller average crack width. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vervorming Verharding Sement gebaseerde samestelling “Strain Hardening Cement-based Composite” (SHCC) is deel van die familie van “High Performance Fibre Reinforced Cement-based Composite” (HPFRCC) en is ʼn relatiewe nuwe beton samestelling. Hierdie vesel versterkte sement gebaseerde beton bevat willekeurig verspreide kort vesels en veelvoudige klein krake vorm onder monotoniese trekkragte. Hierdie veelvoudige klein krake is minder as 100 μm wyd en lei tot ʼn vervorming van meer as 5 %. Daar is ʼn tekort aan navorsing oor die kruip van SHCC sowel as die kraak gedrag van hierdie sement gebaseerde samestelling onderhewig aan trek. Die kraak gedrag word beskryf as die gemiddelde kraakwydte, aantal krake en ʼn paar beskrywende statistiese parameters. Hierdie kraak gedrag parameters kan gebruik word om ʼn verdeling te kan weergee van die veelvoudige klein krake onder ʼn trek belasting. Twee tipes toetse was uitgevoer om die kraak gedrag te beskryf. Die eerste tipe toets was monotoniese trek toetse en die tweede tipe was kruip toetse. Die tweede toets was afhanklik van die monotoniese trek toetse in terme van die belasting wat gebruik was vir die kruip toetse. Die belasting was gevarieer vanaf 40 % tot 80 % van die breekbelasting wat bepaal is met die monotoniese trektoetse wat ooreenstem met ʼn vervorming tempo van 0.001 /s. Verskillende vervorming tempo’s vir die monotoniese trektoetse was uitgevoer om te bepaal wat die effek is op die kraak gedrag. Die kraak gedrag was bepaal met behulp van ʼn geen-kontak optiese 3D digitale deformasie meet instrument genoem ARAMIS. Die inhoud van die tesis bevat ʼn kort opsoming oor ʼn agtergrond studie van die kraak gedrag en relevante navorsing oor vesel versterkte sement gebaseerde beton, sowel as literatuur oor die tydafhanklike effekte van ʼn sement gebaseerde samestelling. Die beheer en gebruik van die meet instrument ARAMIS word verduidelik, sowel as die effek van hierdie masjien op die voorbereiding vir die eksperimente. Die eksperimentele uiteensetting vir die monotoniese en kruip toetse word beskryf. Daarvolgens is die resultate van die eksperimentele toetse getoon en verduidelik. Die resultate verduidelik die basiese materiaal eienskappe, byvoorbeeld die gemiddelde breekspanning met die ooreenkomstige breekvervorming, Young’s modulus en so voorts vir die monotoniese trektoetse, sowel as eienskappe met betrekking tot krimp en kruip van SHCC. Die kraak gedrag naamlik die gemiddelde kraakwydte, aantal krake per meter, variansie en die skuinsheid van die ontwikkelde krake met die toets proefstukke vir die monotoniese en kruip trek toetse word weergegee en verduidelik. Die kraak gedrag van SHCC wanneer getoets word met verskillende monotoniese trektoets tempo’s word beheer deur die ontwikkeling van nuwe krake en die gemiddelde kraakwydte is beduidend laag met toenemende vervorming. Daar is geen beduidende verskil in die kraak gedrag ten opsigte van die verskillende monotoniese trek tempo’s nie. In teendeel, wanneer SHCC belas word met ʼn konstante las oor tyd word die gemiddelde kraakwydte beheer deur die ontwikkeling van nuwe krake sowel as die belasting wat aangewend is. Onder ʼn belasting van so laag as 40 % van die breekbelasting vorm daar minder krake, maar met ʼn groter gemiddelde kraakwydte. Wanneer belas word met meer as 65 % van die breekbelasting vorm meer krake wat lei tot ʼn kleiner gemiddelde kraakwydte.

Fibras vegetais de baixo módulo de elasticidade são conhecidas pela sua capacidade de aumentar a energia absorvida durante o carregamento dos materiais cimentícios, especialmente no estágio pós-fissurado. A utilização de nanofibras celulósicas pode contribuir para a tenacificação de matrizes frágeis, tanto por melhorar o empacotamento das partículas, com o refinamento de poros, quanto pela interceptação de fissuras na escala nanométrica, com a respectiva absorção de energia. A celulose nanofibrilada provém de um recurso natural, abundante e renovável, possui bom desempenho mecânico e superfície específica elevada, o que contribui para melhorar a adesão entre as partículas de cimento. Estes fatores justificam o uso da celulose nanofibrilada e a tornam uma boa alternativa como nanoreforço de materiais cimentícios. Com isso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi a produção de celulose nanofibrilada a partir de polpa organossolve de bambu, definindo a melhor condição para sua produção e posterior utilização como reforço em compósitos híbridos (reforçados na nano e micro escalas) em comparação a compósitos reforçados somente com microfibras (polpa) pelos processos de produção por sucção e prensagem, e extrusão. A celulose nanofibrilada foi produzida utilizando-se polpa não-branqueada e branqueada, por meio de 5, 10, 15 e 20 ciclos de nanofibrilação pelo processo grinding. Foram realizados testes químicos, físicos e mecânicos para definição da condição ótima de nanofibrilação. A celulose nanofibrilada não-branqueada produzida mediante 10 ciclos foi definida como a melhor opção para utilização nos compósitos híbridos, por possuírem maior módulo de elasticidade e, em razão da sua maior estabilidade estrutural, apresentam maior resistência à degradação em meio alcalino. Os compósitos foram submetidos à cura por carbonatação acelerada para mitigação da degradação da fibra pela diminuição do pH da matriz e também para refinamento dos poros. Os compósitos foram submetidos ao teste de envelhecimento acelerado por meio de 200 ciclos de imersão e secagem para análise da sua degradação. Os compósitos híbridos e reforçados somente com polpa aos 28 dias de cura e após o envelhecimento acelerado foram submetidos aos ensaios físicos, mecânicos e microestruturais para acompanhamento do efeito da celulose nanofibrilada nas suas propriedades. Nos compósitos produzidos pelos dois processos aos 28 dias não houve diferença estatística para as propriedades físicas testadas, comparando-se os compósitos híbridos e os reforçados somente com polpa. No processo de sucção e prensagem, embora útil para ajustes na formulação e na cura do compósito híbrido, não se percebeu contribuição estatisticamente significativa da celulose nanofibrilada na formação de pontes de transferência de tensões, e, portanto sem o correspondente aumento na resistência mecânica dos compósitos. Nos compósitos extrudados, a celulose nanofibrilada atuou de modo a melhorar o comportamento mecânico do compósito híbrido em comparação ao compósito sem nanofibras. Esta melhoria pode estar associada à maior adesão entre as nanofibrilas e a matriz cimentícia, o que foi atestado pela análise microestrutural (MEV) dos compósitos. Após o envelhecimento acelerado os compósitos com e sem nanofibras produzidos pelos dois processos não apresentaram redução do desempenho mecânico, o que se atribui à menor alcalinidade provida pela carbonatação acelerada. / Low elastic modulus vegetable fibers are known for their ability to increase the energy absorbed by cement based materials while they are loaded, especially during the post-crack stage. The use of cellulose nanofibers may contribute for toughening of brittle matrices and improving particle packing by both pore refining and crack intercepting at nanoscale, with the corresponding energy absorption. Nanofibrillated cellulose comes from a natural, abundant and renewable resources, it has good mechanical peformance and high specific surface, which contributes to improve the adhesion between the cement particles. These factors justify the use of nanofibrillated cellulose and give rise to an alternative nanoreinforcement for cement based materials. Thus, the aim of this work was the production of the nanofibrillated cellulose from bamboo organosolv pulp, establishing the best condition for its production and subsequent use as reinforcement in hybrid composites (both nano and micro-scale reinforcement) compared to composites reinforced with only microfibers (pulp), produced by the slurry vacuum dewatering followed by pressing and extrusion methods. The nanofibrillated cellulose was produced submitting unbleached and bleached pulps to 5, 10, 15 and 20 nanofibrillated cycles by the grinding method. Chemical, physical and mechanical tests were carried out to define the optimal condition to nanofibrillation. The unbleached nanofibrillated cellulose produced by 10 cycles was defined as the best option to be used in hybrid composites, since their greater modulus of elasticity and, because of their greater structural chemical stability, higher resistance to degradation in alkaline environments. The composites were subjected to accelerated carbonation curing process to mitigate thedegradation of fiber by reducing the matrix pH and also to refine the pores. The composites were subjected to accelerated aging process by means of 200 wet and dry cycles to assess their degradation. The hybrid composites and the composites reinforced only with pulp at 28 days and after accelerated aging were subjected to physico-mechanical and microstructural tests to study the effect of the nanofibrillated cellulose on their properties. There was no difference in the physical properties of the hybrid composites and composites reinforced with only pulp, produced by the two processes at 28 days. For the slurry vacuum dewatering followed by pressing process, although useful for adjustments in the formulation and cure hybrid composite, there was no statistically significant contribution of the nanofibrillated cellulose in the formation of stress transfer bridges, and therefore without a corresponding increase in the mechanical strength of the composites. For the extruded composites, the nanofibrillated cellulose improved the mechanical behavior of the hybrid composite compared to the composite without nanofiber. This improvement may be associated with greater adherence between the nanofibrils and the cement matrix, which was confirmed by microstructural analysis (SEM) of the composites. After accelerated aging, the composites with and without nanofibers produced by the two processes showed no reduction in mechanical performance, which is attributed to the lower alkalinity provided by the accelerated carbonation.

Fibras vegetais de baixo módulo de elasticidade são conhecidas pela sua capacidade de aumentar a energia absorvida durante o carregamento dos materiais cimentícios, especialmente no estágio pós-fissurado. A utilização de nanofibras celulósicas pode contribuir para a tenacificação de matrizes frágeis, tanto por melhorar o empacotamento das partículas, com o refinamento de poros, quanto pela interceptação de fissuras na escala nanométrica, com a respectiva absorção de energia. A celulose nanofibrilada provém de um recurso natural, abundante e renovável, possui bom desempenho mecânico e superfície específica elevada, o que contribui para melhorar a adesão entre as partículas de cimento. Estes fatores justificam o uso da celulose nanofibrilada e a tornam uma boa alternativa como nanoreforço de materiais cimentícios. Com isso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi a produção de celulose nanofibrilada a partir de polpa organossolve de bambu, definindo a melhor condição para sua produção e posterior utilização como reforço em compósitos híbridos (reforçados na nano e micro escalas) em comparação a compósitos reforçados somente com microfibras (polpa) pelos processos de produção por sucção e prensagem, e extrusão. A celulose nanofibrilada foi produzida utilizando-se polpa não-branqueada e branqueada, por meio de 5, 10, 15 e 20 ciclos de nanofibrilação pelo processo grinding. Foram realizados testes químicos, físicos e mecânicos para definição da condição ótima de nanofibrilação. A celulose nanofibrilada não-branqueada produzida mediante 10 ciclos foi definida como a melhor opção para utilização nos compósitos híbridos, por possuírem maior módulo de elasticidade e, em razão da sua maior estabilidade estrutural, apresentam maior resistência à degradação em meio alcalino. Os compósitos foram submetidos à cura por carbonatação acelerada para mitigação da degradação da fibra pela diminuição do pH da matriz e também para refinamento dos poros. Os compósitos foram submetidos ao teste de envelhecimento acelerado por meio de 200 ciclos de imersão e secagem para análise da sua degradação. Os compósitos híbridos e reforçados somente com polpa aos 28 dias de cura e após o envelhecimento acelerado foram submetidos aos ensaios físicos, mecânicos e microestruturais para acompanhamento do efeito da celulose nanofibrilada nas suas propriedades. Nos compósitos produzidos pelos dois processos aos 28 dias não houve diferença estatística para as propriedades físicas testadas, comparando-se os compósitos híbridos e os reforçados somente com polpa. No processo de sucção e prensagem, embora útil para ajustes na formulação e na cura do compósito híbrido, não se percebeu contribuição estatisticamente significativa da celulose nanofibrilada na formação de pontes de transferência de tensões, e, portanto sem o correspondente aumento na resistência mecânica dos compósitos. Nos compósitos extrudados, a celulose nanofibrilada atuou de modo a melhorar o comportamento mecânico do compósito híbrido em comparação ao compósito sem nanofibras. Esta melhoria pode estar associada à maior adesão entre as nanofibrilas e a matriz cimentícia, o que foi atestado pela análise microestrutural (MEV) dos compósitos. Após o envelhecimento acelerado os compósitos com e sem nanofibras produzidos pelos dois processos não apresentaram redução do desempenho mecânico, o que se atribui à menor alcalinidade provida pela carbonatação acelerada. / Low elastic modulus vegetable fibers are known for their ability to increase the energy absorbed by cement based materials while they are loaded, especially during the post-crack stage. The use of cellulose nanofibers may contribute for toughening of brittle matrices and improving particle packing by both pore refining and crack intercepting at nanoscale, with the corresponding energy absorption. Nanofibrillated cellulose comes from a natural, abundant and renewable resources, it has good mechanical peformance and high specific surface, which contributes to improve the adhesion between the cement particles. These factors justify the use of nanofibrillated cellulose and give rise to an alternative nanoreinforcement for cement based materials. Thus, the aim of this work was the production of the nanofibrillated cellulose from bamboo organosolv pulp, establishing the best condition for its production and subsequent use as reinforcement in hybrid composites (both nano and micro-scale reinforcement) compared to composites reinforced with only microfibers (pulp), produced by the slurry vacuum dewatering followed by pressing and extrusion methods. The nanofibrillated cellulose was produced submitting unbleached and bleached pulps to 5, 10, 15 and 20 nanofibrillated cycles by the grinding method. Chemical, physical and mechanical tests were carried out to define the optimal condition to nanofibrillation. The unbleached nanofibrillated cellulose produced by 10 cycles was defined as the best option to be used in hybrid composites, since their greater modulus of elasticity and, because of their greater structural chemical stability, higher resistance to degradation in alkaline environments. The composites were subjected to accelerated carbonation curing process to mitigate thedegradation of fiber by reducing the matrix pH and also to refine the pores. The composites were subjected to accelerated aging process by means of 200 wet and dry cycles to assess their degradation. The hybrid composites and the composites reinforced only with pulp at 28 days and after accelerated aging were subjected to physico-mechanical and microstructural tests to study the effect of the nanofibrillated cellulose on their properties. There was no difference in the physical properties of the hybrid composites and composites reinforced with only pulp, produced by the two processes at 28 days. For the slurry vacuum dewatering followed by pressing process, although useful for adjustments in the formulation and cure hybrid composite, there was no statistically significant contribution of the nanofibrillated cellulose in the formation of stress transfer bridges, and therefore without a corresponding increase in the mechanical strength of the composites. For the extruded composites, the nanofibrillated cellulose improved the mechanical behavior of the hybrid composite compared to the composite without nanofiber. This improvement may be associated with greater adherence between the nanofibrils and the cement matrix, which was confirmed by microstructural analysis (SEM) of the composites. After accelerated aging, the composites with and without nanofibers produced by the two processes showed no reduction in mechanical performance, which is attributed to the lower alkalinity provided by the accelerated carbonation.

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>

A period of cement hydration is one of critical in the life span of concrete structures. One of the reasons of collapse of concrete structural elements during and after construction is the error in determining the concrete characteristics at early age. Recently, non-destructive test emerged as a popular way to evaluate the properties of cement-based materials. This test offers continuous measurements of concrete properties as well as ability to monitor any changes in the current state of structural materials. In the existing research, some of these methods fail to capture well properties of the materials in the plastics stage. A new piezoelectric pulse testing device (Piezoelectric Ring Actuators Technique), (P-RAT ) was initially developed at the University of Sherbrook as a non-destructive test (NDT ) for soil. This technique is considered a completely new, versatile, advanced and accurate. The development of the new technique (P-RAT ) was done on two main bases: the first was the development of piezoelectric ring actuators set-up and the second is the development of the interpretation method. The setup is composed of two main units; emitter and receiver, and is capable of measuring shear and compression wave velocities in specimens. With this technique, many problems of pulse tests, which make interpretation of results difficult and ambiguous, were solved in soil. The P-RAT overcomes wave reflections at boundaries (end-caps and sides), sample disturbance, weak shear coupling between soil and device (interaction) as well as the fixation problems, low resonant frequency and limited input voltage of the existing device. The previous method is exploited forward to measure the hydration properties of cement-based material. To apply this test method, it is necessary to determine how the evolution of shear wave velocity can be related and sensitive to the hydration of cement-based materials. Validation of the P-RAT with four conventional test setups that can be used to monitor early setting and hydration of cement-based materials is carried out. These tests include penetration resistance to monitor initial and final setting respectively, calorimetric to monitor heat of hydration, electrical conductivity to monitor change in continuity of the pore structure and compressive strength at 24 hours. The phase one of this investigation included trial tests to investigate the possibility of employing the original setup used for soil (P-RAT ) to determine setting and hardening properties of cement-based material. Based on the results of the preliminary test, two modifications were conducted to the previous test device to fit with cement based material and to obtain adequate resonant frequency for cement-based materials. These modifications are the design of the container and changing the dimensions of the rings. The resultant version of P-RAT after the modification was referred to be as P-RAT2 . Calibration of the P-RAT2 with water specimen was undertaken using the compression wave velocity and resulted in 99.33% accuracy. One paste mixture was tested three times to determine the experimental error of the P-RAT2 . The repeatability carried out on the P-ART2 proved the ability of this setup to capture accurate results of the shear wave velocity. This relative error is limited to 9 %. A number of series of validation was performed on cement paste and mortar mixtures proportioned with various water cement ratios (w/cm ) as well as chemical admixtures. The w/cm ratio ranged between (0.35 and 0.50). The investigated chemical admixtures comprise of high-range water-reducing agent, viscosity-modifying agent, set-accelerating agent, and set-retarding agent. The presented validations examine the ability of a P-RAT2 to monitor the hydration of the cement-based materials. The hydration is characterized by setting time, heat of hydration, electrical conductivity, and compressive strength at 24 hours. The results obtained using the P-RAT2 was correlated to those obtained using the conventional tests and strength measurement. The results enable to validate the ability of P-RAT2 to accurately detect variations in the hydration of cement-based materials. In addition, the initial and final time of setting can be determined from the derivation of velocity vs. time curve. The results show that conductivity, resistivity, has a bilinear relationship to shear wave velocity. The compressive strength at 24 hours was correlated to both the shear wave velocity and shear modulus obtained using the P-RAT2 . Furthermore, analytical model was derived to estimate the w/cm in mortar mixture by measuring the shear wave velocity (V[subscript s] ) and the corresponding time (t )||Résumé : La période d'hydratation du ciment est l'une des périodes clé du cycle de vie des structures en béton. L'une des raisons de l'effondrement d'éléments structuraux en béton pendant et après la construction peut être attribuée à une détermination des caractéristiques au jeune âge erronée. Depuis quelques années, l’auscultation des structures est devenue une méthode très populaire pour évaluer les propriétés des matériaux cimentaires. Cette méthode permet d'obtenir les propriétés du béton en continue et possibilité un suivi de changements dans I'état des matériaux structuraux. Dans I'état actuel de la recherche dans ce domaine, certaines méthodes ne sont pas adéquates pour bien mesurer les propriétés des matériaux à I'état plastique. Un nouvel appareil d'essai à impulsions piezoélectriques (Piezoelectric Ring Actuators technique), (P-RAT) a initialement été développé à l’Université de Sherbrooke comme technique d'auscultation des sols. Cette technique est considérée complètement nouvelle, polyvalente, évoluée et précise. Le développement de cette nouvelle technique (P-RAT) a été effectué en deux volets : la première sole est le développement du dispositif de vérin de commande annulaire piezoélectrique et le deuxième est le développement d'une méthode d'interprétation. Le dispositif d'essai est composé de deux unités principales, un émetteur et un récepteur. Et permet de mesurer la vitesse de propagation des ondes de cisaillement et de compression. Grâce à cette technique, plusieurs des problèmes associés aux dispositifs d'essais par impulsion des ondes, qui rendent les résultats ambigus et difficiles à interpréter, ont été résolu pour les sols. Le dispositif P-RAT surmonte les problèmes de réflexion des ondes aux limites (embouts et côtés), la perturbation de l’échantillon, le couplage de cisaillement faible entre le sol et l'appareil (interaction) ainsi que les problèmes de fixation, la faible résonnance des fréquences et le voltage d'entrée limité du dispositif. La méthode décrite a été utilisée pour mesurer les propriétés d'hydratation des matériaux cimentaires. Pour pouvoir appliquer cette méthode, il faut déterminer comment l’évolution de la propagation des ondes de cisaillement peut être reliée à l'hydratation des matériaux cimentaires et être sensible à ces dernières. La validation de la méthode P-RAT est réalisée, à l'aide de quatre configurations conventionnelles que l’on peut utiliser pour faire le suivi de la prise et de l'hydratation des matériaux cimentaires. Ces essais consistent à la résistance à la pénétration afin de pouvoir déterminer la prise initiale et finale, la calorimétrie pour suivre l’evolution de la chaleur d'hydratation, la conductivité électrique pour effectuer le suivi de la structure des pores et la résistance à la compression à 24 heures. La phase 1 de l'étude comprend des essais pour évaluer la possibilité d'utiliser la configuration originale utilisée pour les sols (P-RAT) pour déterminer les propriétés de prise et de durcissement des matériaux cimentaires. Selon les résultats des essais préliminaires, deux modifications ont été effectuées à l'appareil original pour permettre son utilisation avec des matériaux cimentaires et pour obtenir une fréquence de résonnance raisonnable sur les matériaux cimentaires. Les modifications effectuées sont la conception du contenant et un changement de la dimension des anneaux. La version modifiée du P-RAT est designée P-RAT2. La calibration du P-RAT2 à l'aide d'échantillon liquide sous propagation d'ondes de compression a été menée, avec des résultats d'une précision de 99,33 %. Un mélange a été testé trois fois pour déterminer l'erreur expérimentale du P-RAT2. La répétitivité des essais sur le PART2 a démontré la capacité de cet appareil à produire des résultats de cisaillement de propagation des ondes de cisaillement très précis. L'erreur relative se limite à 9 %. Une série d'essais de validation a été menée sur des mélanges de pâte de ciment et de mortier de rapport eau/ciment variés (e/c) ainsi qu'avec des adjuvants. Le rapport e/c variait entre 0,35 et 0,50. Les adjuvants utilisés étaient des supers plastiflants (réducteur d'eau), des agents de viscosité, des agents accélérateurs de prise et des agents retardateurs de prise. Les validations présentées ont pour but de valider la capacité du P-RAT2 à suivre l'hydratation des matériaux cimentaires. L'hydratation est caractérisée par le temps de prise, la chaleur d'hydratation, la conductivité électrique et la résistance à la compression à 24 heures. Les résultats obtenus à l'aide du P-RAT2 ont été comparés à ceux obtenus à l'aide d'essais de mesure des caractéristiques physiques et de résistance traditionnels. Ces résultats permettent de valider la capacité du P-RAT2 à détecter avec précision les variations dans l'hydratation des matériaux cimentaires. De plus, le dispositif P-RAT2 peut avoir une correction avec mesure obteniez avec les appareils traditionnels. II est aussi possible de déterminer le temps de prise initial et final à l'aide d'une courbe de propagation vs le temps. Les résultats montrent que la conductivité et la résistivité ont une relation bilinéaire à la propagation des ondes de cisaillement. La résistance à la compression à 24 heures a été comparee à la fois à la propagation des ondes de cisaillement et au module de cisaillement obtenus avec le P-RAT2. De plus, un modèle analytique a été établi pour estimer le rapport e/c dans le mélange de mortier en mesurant la propagation des ondes de cisaillement (V) correspondant au temps (t).

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Strain hardening cement‐based composites (SHCC) are fibre‐reinforced composites designed to form multiple fine cracks under tensile and flexural load. The cracks are controlled to small widths, whereby significant toughness, or energy dissipation, is realised on the one hand, and high resistance to gas and liquid ingress is maintained on the other hand. These two physical phenomena define application fields of SHCC, i.e. for instance elements of buildings and infrastructure for enhanced earthquake resistance, and protection of steel bars under service loads which lead to crack formation. Also exploiting the potential protection offered by SHCC to existing structures, thin overlays have been applied to existing dam faces, reinforced concrete retaining walls, water channels and RC road pavements. The layers vary between 20 and 40 mm in thickness. Considering the fibre length, usually 8 or 12 mm, as well as the application method, such thin layers may have dominantly two dimensional fibre orientation, with little or no component in the layer thickness direction. While several research groups have performed uniaxial tensile tests and flexural tests on SHCC specimens, little or no information is available on SHCC response to biaxial loading, as is to be expected in road pavement repair layers, or other repair layers. This paper reports the results of biaxial testing of 20 mm thick SHCC specimens produced in such a way to have dominantly two‐dimensional fibre orientation, and another group of specimens produced by cutting from larger specimens, whereby three‐dimensional fibre orientation was preserved in the resulting 20 mm thick specimens. Biaxial tests were performed in three quadrants, i.e. compressioncompression, compression‐tension, and tension‐tension. A clear fibre orientation‐related difference in the failure patterns involves out‐of‐plane splitting under biaxial compression of specimens with twodimensional fibre orientation, at significantly lower load, as opposed to in‐plane tensile splitting of specimens containing three‐dimensional fibre orientation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vervormingsverhardende sement‐gebaseerde saamgestelde materiale (SHCC) is veselversterke saamgestelde materiale wat ontwerp is om verskeie fyn krakies te vorm onder trekspanning en buig spanning. Die kraakbreedtes word beheer, waardeur betekenisvolle taaiheid verkry, of energie verlies beheer word aan die een kant, en die hoë weerstand teen die gas en die vloeistof penetrasie aan die ander kant gehandhaaf word. Hierdie twee fisiese verskynsels definieer die toepassingsvelde van SHCC, d.w.s vir byvoorbeeld elemente van geboue en infrastruktuur vir verbeterde aardbewing weerstand, en die beskerming van staal stawe onder die dienslaste wat lei vorming te kraak. By eksploitasie van die potensiële beskerming aangebied deur SHCC aan bestaande strukture, is dun oorlae op bestaande dam walle, versterkte beton keermure, water kanale en staal‐versterkte beton paaie gebruik. Die SHCC lae wissel tussen 20 en 40 mm in dikte. Met inagneming van die vesel lengte, gewoonlik 8 of 12 mm, sowel as die toepassingsmetode, kan so 'n dun lag ‘n oorheersend tweedimensionele vesel oriëntasie hê, met min of geen komponent in die rigting van die laag dikte nie. Terwyl verskeie navorsingsgroepe eenassige trektoetse en buigtoetse op SHCC monsters gedoen het; is daar min of geen inligting beskikbaar op SHCC se reaksie op biaksiale belasting, soos verwag kan word in die pad herstel lae, of ander herstel lae. Hierdie verslag rapporteer die resultate van die biaksiale toetsing van 20 mm dik SHCC monsters wat op so 'n manier gemaak word om dominante twee‐dimensionele vesel oriëntasie te hê, en 'n ander groep monsters wat deur die sny van groter monsters, waarvolgens die drie‐dimensionele vesel oriëntasie verseker is. Biaksiale toetse is uitgevoer in drie kwadrante, d.w.s druk‐druk, druk‐trek en trek‐trek. 'n Duidelike verskil in die falingspatrone, aan die hand van vesel oriëntasie, behels uit‐vlak splyting onder biaksiale toetsing van monsters met twee‐dimensionele vesel oriëntasie, op 'n aansienlik laer lading, in teenstelling met die in‐vlak trek splyting van monsters wat ‘n drie‐dimensionele vesel oriëntasie het.