The effects of initial particle moisture content, wood-cement ratio and density on physical (thickness swelling and water absorption) and mechanical properties (MOE, MOR, IB and edgewise compression) were investigated. Five initial particle moisture content levels - 0-6%, 8-15%, 25-30%, 40-50% and 60-80%; three wood-cement ratios - 1:1, 1:1.5 and 1:2; and three density levels at each wood-cement ratio - 1:1 -0.472 g/cm³, 0.528 g/cm³ and 0.622 g/cm³, 1:1.5 - 0.636 g/cm³, 0.707 g/cm³ and 0.809 g/cm³; and 1:2 - 0.763 g/cm³, 0.847 g/cm³ and 0.939 g/cm³ were used. Combinations of the above variables gave 45 treatments. Three replicate boards were made for each treatment thus giving a total of 135 panels for the study. A total of 135 test specimens were used for each property tested. Results from the tests were compared to the German and ISO Standards for similar boards and to the Canadian Waferboard Standard. Initial particle moisture content was highly significant in the development of physical and mechanical properties of magnesite cement-bonded particleboard. Increasing initial particle moisture content from 0-6% to 60-80% resulted in the reduction of the physical and mechanical properties of the boards. The highest initial particle moisture content of (60-80%) yielded the lowest physical and mechanical properties. For manufacture of boards of favourable mechanical properties, an initial particle moisture content of not more than 15% is recommended. On the other hand, a higher initial particle moisture content (>40%) is considered desirable if board thickness and water absorption are to be minimized. All the mechanical properties tested consistently increased by increasing wood-cement ratio and density and were highest at 1:2 wood-cement ratio and density level 3 of each wood-cement ratio. Thickness swelling and water absorption were consistently reduced by increasing wood-cement ratio and density. In both physical properties tests, the 1:2 wood-cement ratio and density level 3 yielded the lowest values. Thirty-two of the forty-five treatment combinations of initial particle moisture content, density and wood-cement ratio pass the MOE requirement of the German Standard DIN 52 362 for Portland cement-bonded particleboard; forty-one treatments met the minimum MOE Canadian Waferboard Standard requirements, while no treatment meet the MOR requirements for this Standard. Eleven of the forty-five treatments met the minimum IB Canadian Waferboard Standard requirements. All the 45 treatments pass the ISO building board requirements in thickness swelling, while 18 treatments pass the water absorption requirements for this Standard. Most of the treatment combinations compare favourably with results obtained in tests conducted in Europe for cement-bonded particleboard. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

This research includes the potential for resistance and the expansion that the soil presents, this evaluation was carried out through CBR tests. The soil cement technique was used to improve the physical and mechanical characteristics; this process consists in mixing the material with Portland cement type I. That combination forms soil cement 10%, 15% y 20%, which present an increase of the CBR (max: 138.7% and min: 91.9%) achieving a type of extraordinary subgrade to resist the structure of the pavement and a reduction of 7.18% in the expansion of the samples.

The deterioration of the surfaces of the constructions made with mortar C/A 1: 5 of Portland cement, are produced by being exposed to the emission of toxic gases emanating from the growing automobile fleet, this problem causes alternatives to be sought in order to counteract its effect on buildings and the environment. A new method to deal this problem is the incorporation of the titanium dioxide photocatalyst (TiO2) into the Portland cement mortar, which can develop self-cleaning and air purification properties to be in contact with sunlight. This work seeks to introduce this organic component to the Portland cement mortar, used for the facade charging and structural elements, for this purpose, different percentages (5%, 7.5% and 10%) of titanium dioxide (TiO2) are added and the properties of the modified mortars making use of [1] compression tests, [2] fluidity tests, [3] absorption tests and [4] photocatalytic activity tests with which the self-cleaning capacity was verified. This study concludes that the best percentage of titanium dioxide addition is 5%, with which the Portland cement mortar is granted self-cleaning property without substantially damaging its mechanical properties.

Abstract  Aim: To determine the shear bond strength of two commercially available self-adhesive resin cements on four different materials and to analyse the degree of conversion (DC) of those resin cements.  Materials and Methods: A total of 45 embedded specimens made of four different materials were prepared for the notched-edge shear bond strength test. Ten specimens each of resin composite, glass-ionomer, zirconia and 15 of human dentine. Pillars of two different self-adhesive resin cements were luted onto these specimens. Five of the dentine specimens were treated with Katana Cleaner before being luted with Panavia. A single sample from each self-adhesive resin cement was used to determine the DC using ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy. The samples were measured uncured, right after being light cured and 10 min thereafter. Results: The highest shear bond strength values were seen for RelyX, irrespective of the material tested. This difference was statistically significant. No statistically significant difference was seen between the dentine specimens pre-treated with Katana Cleaner and luted with Panavia, compared to no pre-treatment. No statistically significant differences were found regarding DC between Panavia and RelyX.  Conclusion: The bond between the dental materials and the tooth structure is extremely important for the longevity of the restoration. The bond strength of RelyX for all materials tested were 2.1 to 37.5 times higher than that for Panavia and the differences were statistically significant. Panavia had virtually no bonding to the dentine in this study which might be due to the treatment of the dentine. The differences regarding the degree of conversion between the two resin cements were not statistically significant. However, the DC 10 min after curing was 1.3 times higher than directly after curing for both resins.

In the theoretical part, I mentioned the project management of buildings and the construction of prices in construction. In the next section I have described the building site and its water supply requirements. Finally, I have dealt with the cost of water and its consumption. The aim of the thesis was to analyze the influence of water prices on the cost of construction. I transferred this analysis to the model building in the practical part of the thesis. I determined the water consumption during construction, and then I analyzed the impact of the change in water prices on the construction cost.

In this study, the freeze-thaw performance and other engineering properties of different cementitious mixtures containing Type I/II portland cement, Type IL (10) portland Limestone cement (PLC) and Coarse Ground cement (CG-P) with or without partial replacement of fly ash (Class F) were examined. The goal was to develop a concrete mixture with better or similar freeze-thaw durability without adversely affecting other engineering properties of concrete. Crucial engineering properties reviewed include compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, workability, the degree of hydration, setting time, shrinkage and resistivity. The study was divided into two parts, one consisting of mechanical testing of engineering properties including the freeze-thaw test. The second part consisted of microstructure study which involved detection and quantification of micro-cracks/defects using μ-CT and fluorescence microscopy. The results showed that the portland limestone cement in combination with fly ash demonstrated better or similar durability in comparison to the conventional portland cement concrete mixtures.

The subject of the diploma thesis is the study of moisture resistance of macrodefect-free (MDF) cements based on calcium-aluminate cement and polyvinylalcohol used as polymer. MDF cements are perspective materials providing unique properties relative to traditional cement pastes with great potential to incoming constructional utilization. But it is known that MDF cements exhibit sensitivity to water, with swelling and reduction of strength. Therefore the work is aimed in monitoring of an organic polymer effect on the moisture resistance of MDF materials and phase changes. Aluminate cement (SECAR 51) and polyvinylalcohol/acetate copolymer have been used for the MDF cement preparation. The moisture resistance of model MDF cement samples was investigated at two different curing conditions: in the moist atmosphere and immersed in water. The influence of composition and individual curing on the properties of model MDF cement samples was observed. The characterization of MDF samples was based especially on test of flexural strength, FT-IR, EDAX and optical microscopy analyses.

This thesis explores the posibility of using of foundry filter ash for production of inorganic composite materials, that could be used primary in the construction industry. The thesis is divided into theoretical and experimental section, where theoretical section contain literature review of used materials and the experimental section summarizes the results of laboratory tests performed on tested mixture based on portland and alumina cement with various content of foundry filter ash. For comparison was also used another foundry waste - foundry sand. Prepared test bodies with dimension of 40 x 40x 160 mm was subjected to mechanical strength tests and the influence of amount of foundry waste on the strenght of the prepared mixtures was monitored. Next the thesis deals with possibilities of alkaline activation of foundry waste, where sodium water glass, sodium hydroxide and commercially supplied baucis L 160 component B were used as alkaline activator. These test mixtures were also subjected to mechanical strenght tests and the influence of amount of foundry waste on the strenght was observed too. The analysis of input materials were performed by XRF, TG – DTA – EGA and XRD powder diffraction methods. All strength tests were tested by testing equipment desttest 4310.

In theory, this work is devoted to the principles and methods of measurement of volume changes of mortars and concretes. Emphasis is placed on cement self-levelling screeds with initial shrinkage compensation. In the practical part of the work is devoted to the development of prototype measuring system designed for non-contact detection of volume changes hydrating silicate. Using the new measurement method is also practically examined the influence of boundary conditions on hydration volume changes of selected silicate binders, cement mortar and cement levelling compound based on four different connective concepts. In the calculation, this work focuses on the numerical modelling of volume changes of the examined compounds.

The thesis deals with possibilities of FBC fly ash utilization for composite cements. It focuses on thermodynamic stability of ettringite, which is produced during composite cements hydration. Specific tasks are dedicated to observation of influence of outdoor environment and influence of calciumhydrosilicate environment to stability of ettringite.