In the process of crushing concrete waste, significant amounts of fine by-products, the so called fine recycled concrete aggregates (FRCA), are generated and excluded from potential use. Limited research has thoroughly investigated the performance of concrete mixes with FRCA, very likely due to the complexity in analysing non-negligible amounts of adhered residual cement paste (RCP). Although some studies have proposed promising sustainable mix-design procedures accounting for the different microstructure when using coarse recycled concrete aggregates (CRCA), no similar approach exists for FRCA concrete. In this work, two promising procedures for mix-designing eco-efficient concrete with 100% FRCA are proposed accounting for the presence of RCP to reduce cement content in new mixtures. First, built on top of the existing procedure for CRCA mix-design, modifications to the Equivalent Volume (EV) method were introduced toconsider full replacement of fine natural sand by FRCA. Second, based on the concept of continuous Particle Packing Models (PPM), an optimized procedure was proposed to allow maximum packing density of FRCA mix linked to a given level of measured RCP content. Results verified the feasibility of producing eco-efficient concrete mixes with 100% FRCA, emphasizing the PPM mixes to report superior rheological and mechanical performance along with suitable durability-related properties. Yet, results also indicated the influence of simple or multistage crushed FRCA on the overall performance of mixes.

Concrete, the major construction material used in the civil industry worldwide, displays remarkable performance and economic benefits. Yet, it also presents a huge environmental impact producing about 7% of the global carbon dioxide (CO2). Given the rise of global warming concerns, studies have been focusing on alternatives to reduce the amount of Portland cement (PC), which is the least sustainable ingredient of the mixture, for example by adopting particle packing model (PPM) techniques. Although a promising alternative, there is currently a lack of studies regarding the efficiently use of PPMs to reduce PC without compromising the fresh and hardened properties of the material. This work appraises the influence of PPMs and advanced mix-design techniques on the fresh (rheological behaviour) and hardened (compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, porosity, and permeability) state behaviours of systems with reduced amount of PC, the so-called low cement content (LCC) concrete. Results show that is possible to produce eco-efficient concrete maintaining and/or enhancing fresh and hardened properties of the material. Nevertheless, further durability and long-term behaviour must be performed on LCC systems.

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.

Submitted by SBI Biblioteca Digital (sbi.bibliotecadigital@puc-campinas.edu.br) on 2017-03-23T12:34:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RENAN SERRALVO CAMPOS.pdf: 14804663 bytes, checksum: d21aa4db3ac6aef546c6f30dc795691b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-23T12:34:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RENAN SERRALVO CAMPOS.pdf: 14804663 bytes, checksum: d21aa4db3ac6aef546c6f30dc795691b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-15 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / The high consumption of natural resources and energy, coupled with the significant amount of solid waste generated by the construction activities, makes this sector one of the most responsible for environmental impacts. The recycling of mineral fraction of construction and demolition wastes (CDW), in form of aggregates, is seen as an alternative to reduce these impacts. In this way, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of recycled aggregates on the rheological, mechanical properties, physical indexes and surface finish of self-compacting concrete (SCC). For this, eight compositions of SCC were analyzed, using the Repette-Melo method and Alfred model, which is based on the concept of particle packing, for the mix design of concretes. Thus, two reference mixtures, composed only of natural aggregates, were established. The other mixtures used recycled fine and/or coarse aggregates instead of natural aggregates, at 20% by mass. The properties of fresh concrete were evaluated with respect to the flowability, viscosity (measure of the speed of flow), passing ability and segregation resistance. In hardened state, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, static modulus of elasticity, water absorption by immersion and by capillarity, density and voids index were determined. In this study, rheological characterization of cement pastes and mortars destined to the production of SCC was also carried out using rotational rheometry. Rheological characterization of pastes, mortars and concretes is a suitable way to evaluate the behavior of these composites in fresh state, providing useful information that will aid in mix design process and quality control. Another property evaluated was the surface finish of concretes and mortars and the possible correlation of this with the rheological parameters. Through the results obtained it was possible to verify the loss of fluidity in mortars and concretes that used recycled aggregates. Regarding the mechanical properties, different behaviors were observed in concretes produced with recycled aggregates: those that were dosed by Repette-Melo method did not show a significant decrease of these properties; while the concretes dosed by the concept of particle packing exhibited a great reduction in mechanical properties. Concretes produced with recycled aggregates still showed an increase in water absorption by immersion, voids index and capillary absorption, when comparing to the respective reference mixtures. It was possible to observe a good linear correlation between surface finish and shear stress of mortars. In the case of concretes, the slump-flow was the property that best correlated with the quality of surface finish. / O elevado consumo de recursos naturais e energia, associado ao expressivo montante de res?duos s?lidos gerados pelas atividades de constru??o civil faz deste setor um dos maiores respons?veis por impactos ambientais. A reciclagem da fra??o mineral dos res?duos de constru??o e demoli??o (RCD), na forma de agregados, ? vista como uma alternativa para a diminui??o destes impactos. Isto posto, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a influ?ncia dos agregados reciclados nas propriedades reol?gicas, mec?nicas, ?ndices f?sicos e no acabamento superficial de concretos autoadens?veis (CAA). Para isso, foram analisadas oito composi??es de CAA, sendo empregados o m?todo de Repette-Melo e o modelo de Alfred, que tem por base o conceito de empacotamento de part?culas, para a dosagem dos concretos. Assim, foram estabelecidos dois tra?os de refer?ncia, compostos apenas por agregados naturais. As demais misturas utilizaram agregados mi?dos e/ou gra?dos reciclados em substitui??o aos agregados naturais, no teor de 20%, em massa. As propriedades do concreto fresco foram avaliadas no que diz respeito ao espalhamento, tempo de escoamento, habilidade passante e resist?ncia ? segrega??o. No estado endurecido foram determinadas as resist?ncias ? compress?o e ? tra??o por compress?o diametral, o m?dulo de elasticidade est?tico, a absor??o de ?gua por imers?o e por capilaridade, a massa espec?fica e o ?ndice de vazios. Neste estudo tamb?m foi realizada a caracteriza??o reol?gica das pastas de cimento e das argamassas destinadas ? produ??o dos CAA?s, por meio de reometria rotacional. A caracteriza??o reol?gica de pastas, argamassas e concretos ? uma forma adequada para avaliar o comportamento destes comp?sitos no estado fresco, podendo prover informa??es ?teis que auxiliar?o no processo de dosagem e controle de qualidade. Outra propriedade avaliada foi o acabamento superficial dos concretos e argamassas e a poss?vel correla??o deste com os par?metros reol?gicos. Atrav?s dos resultados obtidos foi poss?vel constatar perda de fluidez nas argamassas e concretos que empregaram agregados reciclados. No que tange as propriedades mec?nicas, foram observados comportamentos distintos nos concretos produzidos com agregados reciclados: ?queles dosados pelo m?todo de Repette-Melo n?o apresentaram decr?scimo significativo destas propriedades; enquanto que, os concretos dosados com base no conceito de empacotamento de part?culas exibiram grande redu??o nas propriedades mec?nicas avaliadas. Os concretos produzidos com agregados reciclados ainda apresentaram aumento na absor??o de ?gua por imers?o, no ?ndice de vazios e na absor??o capilar, quando comparados aos respectivos tra?os de refer?ncia. Foi poss?vel observar boa correla??o linear entre o acabamento superficial e a tens?o de cisalhamento das argamassas. No caso dos concretos, o di?metro de espalhamento foi a propriedade que melhor se correlacionou com a qualidade do acabamento superficial.

Concrete, the second most used material in the world, presents great performance and economic benefits. Yet, it is often characterized by a brittle behaviour, low tensile strength, and toughness. Fibers are usually added to concrete to counteract its brittle behaviour, increasing ductility and toughness, controlling crack propagation and delaying concrete failure. However, their addition significantly worsens the fresh state performance of the material. To improve fresh state of the so-called Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC), conventional mix-design methods recommend the use of high paste content, which results in a significant increase of Portland cement (PC) content and raises the carbon footprint of the material. The latter is responsible for 8% of the global annual carbon dioxide (CO2) anthropogenic emissions. Given the current worldwide concerns on global warming, the construction industry is in a need to lessen the demand, and thus production of PC. Recent studies have been focusing on the use of advanced mix-design techniques (i.e. particle packing models- PPMs) along with Inert Fillers (IF) as an alternative to reduce PC content in concrete. However, the latter was not applied to conventional FRC. In this work, advanced mix design techniques (i.e. PPMs) are used to overcome the aforementioned issues and mix-proportion eco-efficient FRC with low cement content (< 300 kg/m3). Fresh (i.e. VeBe time, slump, rheological behaviour) and hardened (i.e. compressive strength, and flexural behaviour) state tests were performed on the proposed mixtures and compared with control high PC content (375 kg/m3) FRC mixes. Results show that PPM designed mixes presented higher minimum torque (yield stress) but quite comparable apparent viscositiy when compared to conventionally designed mixtures. Moreover, the flowability (i.e. VeBe time, and slump) tends to decrease as fiber content, length, and/or as the amount of fillers increase in the mixtures. In addition, PPM mixes exhibited a shear thinning behaviour following the Herschel-Bulkley model, which enables the design of FRC PPM mix-proportioned mixtures for applications requiring high torque regimes such as vibrated and/or pumped concrete. Finally, results show that the use of PPMs to mix proportion eco-efficient low cement FRC mixtures produced improved hardened (i.e. compressive strength, and flexural performance) state behaviour with lower environmental impact than conventional ACI designed FRC mixtures.

Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, die Herstellung von Grünkörpern mit vereinzelt unter Zentrifugalkraft sedimentierenden Partikeln und kontinuierlicher Partikelzufuhr zu untersuchen und ihre Eignung als neue Herstellungsvariante für metallische Grünteilhalbzeuge zur weiteren Verarbeitung mittels CNC-Zerspanung zu bewerten. Zur umfassenden Einordnung der Herstellungsmethode untergliedert sich die Zielstellung zum einen in die Beleuchtung des Einflusses des Ausgangspulvers auf die Packungscharakteristik der Sedimente. Dabei sollen vorteilhafte Partikelgrößenverteilungen identifiziert und typische Packungsphänomene bei der vereinzelten Sedimentation aufgedeckt werden. Zum anderen richtet sich der Fokus auf die Untersuchung prozessbedingter Einflüsse. Ziel ist hier die Ermittlung von Prozessgrenzen und erreichbaren Gründichten sowie die Identifikation potentieller Defektquellen. Alle Untersuchungsschwerpunkte werden im Hinblick auf den Sinterschritt bewertet. / The aim of the present work is to investigate the production of green bodies with particles sedimenting individually under centrifugal force and continuous particle feeding and to evaluate their suitability as a new manufacturing variant for metallic semi-finished green parts for further processing by means of CNC machining. For a comprehensive classification of the manufacturing method, the objective is subdivided on the one hand into the examination of the influence of the starting powder on the packing characteristics of the sediments. In this context, advantageous particle size distributions are to be identified and typical packing phenomena in isolated sedimentation are to be revealed. On the other hand, the focus is on the investigation of process-related influences. The aim here is to determine process limits and achievable green densities as well as to identify potential defect sources. All investigation foci will be evaluated with respect to the sintering step.

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma nova estratégia para o problema de empacotamento de discos sem sobreposição para gerar arranjos aleatórios densos. O algoritmo geométrico adota uma abordagem frente de avanço que, com o apoio de uma malha poligonal, utiliza novas heurísticas para determinar as próximas posições para as próximas partículas. Além disso, propomos esquemas de realocação para melhorar o empacotamento no interior do arranjo e perto das bordas dos objetos arbitrários que contêm as partículas. Os resultados provam que nosso algoritmo pode superar trabalhos anteriores, não apenas com a função de distribuição de raios de partículas desejada, mas também aumentando a densidade de empacotamento e o número médio de contatos. / [en] This work aims to present a new strategy for the non-overlapping disk packing problem to generate dense random assemblies. The geometric algorithm adopts an advancing front approach that uses new heuristics to determine the next positions for the incoming particles with the support of a polygonal mesh. Furthermore, we propose relocation schemes to improve the packing at the pack s interior and near the container borders. Experiments prove that our algorithm outperforms previous results, w.r.t the desired particle radii distribution function and increases the packing density and mean number of particle contacts.

Devido à demanda dos países em desenvolvimento, a produção de cimento e as emissões de CO2 relacionadas aumenta progressivamente, colocando esta indústria sob pressão devido às preocupações com o aquecimento global. Como diminuir a produção não é uma opção sustentável do ponto de vista social, deve-se primar pela diminuição dos impactos ambientais mantendo-se o aumento da produção. Porém, as principais estratégias de redução das emissões substituição de clínquer por adições, aumento da eficiência de fornos e uso de combustíveis alternativos não são capazes de uma redução que compense o crescimento da produção, mesmo com a disseminação dos maiores esforços industriais possíveis, devido a limites tecnológicos e de disponibilidade de materiais. A captura e sequestro de carbono, por sua vez, pode vir a aumentar significativamente o custo do cimento, prejudicando justamente os países mais necessitados. Novas alternativas são necessárias. Uma delas, ainda pouco desenvolvida, é o aumento da eficiência do uso dos ligantes em materiais cimentícios, como os concretos. Esta tese tem o objetivo de explorar o potencial desta estratégia para contribuir à mitigação das emissões de CO2 da cadeia concreto/cimento. O êxito nesta tarefa tem relação direta com o uso de ferramentas de empacotamento e dispersão de partículas para permitir comportamento reológico adequado à aplicação com uso de menor teor de água na mistura. O trabalho foi dividido em três etapas: 1) levantamento de dados para criação de benchmark da tecnologia atual de concretos com relação e eficiência no uso dos ligantes através de dois indicadores de eficiência Índice de Ligantes (IL) e Índice de CO2 (IC); 2) levantamento da teoria de empacotamento e dispersão de partículas; e 3) estudo experimental demonstrando como a eficiência do uso dos ligantes pode ser aumentada através da aplicação dos conceitos da etapa 2, do controle mais preciso do comportamento reológico e do uso de finos inertes para substituir clínquer para obtenção de parâmetros reológicos. Concluiu-se que o potencial de aumento da eficiência é superior a 50%. Porém, sua implantação em escala comercial dependeria de aumento do controle tecnológico das dosagens de concreto e de profundas modificações na cadeia produtiva e na definição de agregados, fillers, cimento e ligantes. / Due to the increasing demand of developing countries, cement production and related CO2 emissions increases steadily, putting industry under pressure due to global warming constraints. As decreasing production is not a sustainable option from social point of view, environmental loads need to be decreased even maintaining the increase of production. However, current strategies for reducing emissions clinker replacement by mineral additions, increase of kiln efficiency and the use of alternative fuels are not capable of a reduction which could compensate the increasing in production, even with the dissemination of highest industrial efforts due to technological and materials availability limits. Carbon capture and storage, by the time, could increase significantly cement cost, which could harm exactly the neediest countries. New alternatives are needed. One of them, few developed yet, is increasing the efficiency of binder use on cementitious materials, such as concretes. This thesis has the aim of exploring the potential of this strategy for contributing to the mitigation of CO2 emissions of concrete/cement chain. The success in this task is directly related to the use of tools of packing and dispersion of particles for allowing an adequate rheological behavior for the application but with a lower water content in the mixture. The thesis was divided in three main steps: 1) literature research for creating a benchmark of current concrete technology in terms of binder efficiency by two efficiency indexes Binder Intensity (BI) and CO2 Intensity (CI); 2) research of particles packing and dispersion theory; and 3) experimental planning for demonstrating how the binder use efficiency can be significantly increased by the use of concepts from step 2, a more precise rheological behavior control and the use of inert fillers for replacing clinker to obtain rheological parameters. It could be concluded that the potential of efficiency increase is higher than 50%. However, the implantation in commercial scale would depend on the increase of technological control in concrete designs, and also on deep changes in the productive chain and in the definitions of aggregates, fillers, cement and binders.

Devido à demanda dos países em desenvolvimento, a produção de cimento e as emissões de CO2 relacionadas aumenta progressivamente, colocando esta indústria sob pressão devido às preocupações com o aquecimento global. Como diminuir a produção não é uma opção sustentável do ponto de vista social, deve-se primar pela diminuição dos impactos ambientais mantendo-se o aumento da produção. Porém, as principais estratégias de redução das emissões substituição de clínquer por adições, aumento da eficiência de fornos e uso de combustíveis alternativos não são capazes de uma redução que compense o crescimento da produção, mesmo com a disseminação dos maiores esforços industriais possíveis, devido a limites tecnológicos e de disponibilidade de materiais. A captura e sequestro de carbono, por sua vez, pode vir a aumentar significativamente o custo do cimento, prejudicando justamente os países mais necessitados. Novas alternativas são necessárias. Uma delas, ainda pouco desenvolvida, é o aumento da eficiência do uso dos ligantes em materiais cimentícios, como os concretos. Esta tese tem o objetivo de explorar o potencial desta estratégia para contribuir à mitigação das emissões de CO2 da cadeia concreto/cimento. O êxito nesta tarefa tem relação direta com o uso de ferramentas de empacotamento e dispersão de partículas para permitir comportamento reológico adequado à aplicação com uso de menor teor de água na mistura. O trabalho foi dividido em três etapas: 1) levantamento de dados para criação de benchmark da tecnologia atual de concretos com relação e eficiência no uso dos ligantes através de dois indicadores de eficiência Índice de Ligantes (IL) e Índice de CO2 (IC); 2) levantamento da teoria de empacotamento e dispersão de partículas; e 3) estudo experimental demonstrando como a eficiência do uso dos ligantes pode ser aumentada através da aplicação dos conceitos da etapa 2, do controle mais preciso do comportamento reológico e do uso de finos inertes para substituir clínquer para obtenção de parâmetros reológicos. Concluiu-se que o potencial de aumento da eficiência é superior a 50%. Porém, sua implantação em escala comercial dependeria de aumento do controle tecnológico das dosagens de concreto e de profundas modificações na cadeia produtiva e na definição de agregados, fillers, cimento e ligantes. / Due to the increasing demand of developing countries, cement production and related CO2 emissions increases steadily, putting industry under pressure due to global warming constraints. As decreasing production is not a sustainable option from social point of view, environmental loads need to be decreased even maintaining the increase of production. However, current strategies for reducing emissions clinker replacement by mineral additions, increase of kiln efficiency and the use of alternative fuels are not capable of a reduction which could compensate the increasing in production, even with the dissemination of highest industrial efforts due to technological and materials availability limits. Carbon capture and storage, by the time, could increase significantly cement cost, which could harm exactly the neediest countries. New alternatives are needed. One of them, few developed yet, is increasing the efficiency of binder use on cementitious materials, such as concretes. This thesis has the aim of exploring the potential of this strategy for contributing to the mitigation of CO2 emissions of concrete/cement chain. The success in this task is directly related to the use of tools of packing and dispersion of particles for allowing an adequate rheological behavior for the application but with a lower water content in the mixture. The thesis was divided in three main steps: 1) literature research for creating a benchmark of current concrete technology in terms of binder efficiency by two efficiency indexes Binder Intensity (BI) and CO2 Intensity (CI); 2) research of particles packing and dispersion theory; and 3) experimental planning for demonstrating how the binder use efficiency can be significantly increased by the use of concepts from step 2, a more precise rheological behavior control and the use of inert fillers for replacing clinker to obtain rheological parameters. It could be concluded that the potential of efficiency increase is higher than 50%. However, the implantation in commercial scale would depend on the increase of technological control in concrete designs, and also on deep changes in the productive chain and in the definitions of aggregates, fillers, cement and binders.

The overall objective of this study was to develop an optimised Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) matrix based on the modified Andreasen and Andersen optimum particle packing model by using available South African materials. The focus of this study was to determine the optimum combined fibre and superplasticiser content for UHPC by using a response surface design. The UHPC was appropriately designed, produced and tested. Various changes in mechanical properties resulting from different combinations of steel fibre and superplasticiser contents was investigated. The flowability, density and mechanical properties of the designed UHPC were measured and analysed. Both the fibre and superplasticiser content play a significant role in the flowability of the fresh concrete. The addition of fibres significantly improved the strength of the concrete. The results show that the superplasticiser content can be increased if a more workable mix is required without decreasing the strength significantly. The statistical analysis of the response surface methodology confirms that the designed models can be used to navigate the design space defined by the Central Composite Design. The optimum combined fibre and superplasticiser content depend on the required mechanical properties and cost. Using the modified Andreasen and Andersen particle packing model and surface response design methodology, it is possible to efficiently produce a dense Ultra-High-Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) with a relatively low binder amount, low fibre content and good workability. The effect of heat curing on the mechanical properties was investigated. It was concluded that heat curing is not recommended when considering the long-term strength development. The estimated strength development of concrete obtained by using the fib Model Code 2010 (2013) does not incorporate the detrimental effect of high curing temperatures on long-term strength and therefore overestimate the long-term strengths. The strength estimates for both early and long-term ages can be improved by considering this effect in the strength development functions obtained from fib Model Code 2010 (2013). The effect of specimen size on the compressive and flexural tensile strength of UHPFRC members were established. It was found that the specimen size has a significant effect on the measured cube compressive strength. Smaller beam specimens showed higher ductility compared to those of the larger beam specimens. The crack width decreased as the beam’s depth decreased. A lower variability was experienced in the beams with limited depth (< 45 mm). Further testing is required to determine whether a span-to-depth ratio of 10 would yield optimum results. The utilisation of by-products, such as undensified silica fume and fly ash, as cement replacement materials makes UHPFRC sustainable, leading to a reduced life-cycle cost. The calculated Embodied Energy per unit strength (EE/unit strength) and Embodied Carbon per unit strength (EC/unit strength) values for the UHPFRC mixture yield lower values compared to that of the 30 MPa concrete mixture, indicating that UHPFRC can be used to reduce the environmental footprint of the concrete industry. The inverse analysis method used was successful in providing an improved simplified stress-strain response for the UHPFRC. The analysis provided valuable information into the stress-strain, load-deflection and moment-curvature responses of the UHPFRC. Standard material test results were used to theoretically calculate moment-curvature responses and were then compared to the experimental results obtained. The study demonstrated that it is possible to efficiently produce a dense and workable UHPFRC with relatively low binder amount and low fibre content. This can result in more cost-effective UHPFRC, thus improving the practical application thereof. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Civil Engineering / MEng (Structural engineering) / Unrestricted