Concrete is a material obtained by mixing raw materials such as cement, aggregates and water, and its per capita utilization is only behind water. Due to its large volume of use, it presents itself as a growing generator of waste and waste in civil construction. From the need to minimize these impacts on the environment with the possibility of reuse of concrete residues, transforming them into recycled concrete aggregates (ARGC). These materials are presented with high water absorption capacity and low specific mass. An alternative to improve this feature is the use of accelerated carbonation, which acts through the pores of the mortar adhered to the natural aggregate, producing carbonate elements that reduce the water absorption capacity and increase the specific mass. The objective of this research is to analyze the properties of the carbonated ARGC for concrete application. For this, a chamber was used in which the ARGC were submitted to concentrations of carbon dioxide. From the verification of the impact of carbonation on the samples, analyzed in mineralogical, thermal, microscopic and physical characterization tests, using as determinant impact value of the process, the capacity of absorption and specific mass, it was developed the reproduction of the carbonation parameters In scale for concrete production. They were produced: a reference concrete, with aggregates without carbonation, and their properties were compared with the samples of concrete with carbonated CGA, and analyzed its properties in fresh and hardened state. The ARGC presented, in its non-carbonated form, high absorption and low density, when compared to the natural aggregate, in contrast carbonation modified this picture with the formation of expansive products based on carbonates, which decreased the water absorption capacity and increased The density of carbonated ARGC when compared to untreated ARGC. Carbonation through the chamber proved to be an efficient method in this process, reflecting the behavior of the ARGC, which showed a decrease of 16.5% in the absorption capacity, a 1.53% increase in the specific mass and the formation of carbonates between the pores Of the ARGC. The concretes presented fluid abatement, mechanical strength of 25 MPa at 28 days and a mean carbonation depth of 12 mm. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O concreto é um material obtido pela mistura de matérias-primas como cimento, agregados e água, e sua utilização per capita fica atrás somente da água. Devido ao seu grande volume de utilização, apresenta-se como crescente gerador de resíduos e de desperdícios dentro da construção civil. A partir da necessidade de se minimizar estes impactos sobre o meio ambiente com a possibilidade de reutilização dos resíduos de concreto, transformando-os em agregados reciclados graúdos de concreto (ARGC). Estes materiais apresentam-se com alta capacidade de absorção de água e baixa massa específica. Uma alternativa para melhorar esta característica é a utilização da carbonatação acelerada, que age através dos poros da argamassa aderida ao agregado natural, produzindo elementos carbonáticos que reduzem a capacidade de absorção de água e aumentam a massa específica. O objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar as propriedades dos ARGC carbonatados para aplicação em concretos. Para isto foi utilizada uma câmara na qual os ARGC foram submetidos a concentrações de dióxido de carbono. A partir da verificação do impacto da carbonatação nas amostras, analisado em ensaios de caracterização mineralógica, térmicas, microscópicas e físicas, usando como valor de impacto determinante do processo, a capacidade de absorção e massa específica, desenvolveu-se a reprodução dos parâmetros da carbonatação em escala para produção de concretos. Foram produzidos: um concreto de referência, com agregados sem carbonatação, e suas propriedades foram comparadas com as amostras de concreto com ARGC carbonatado, e analisadas suas propriedades no estado fresco e endurecido. O ARGC apresentou, em sua forma não carbonatada, alta absorção e baixa densidade, quando comparados ao agregado natural, em contraponto a carbonatação modificou este quadro com a formação de produtos expansivos a base de carbonatos, que diminuíram a capacidade de absorção de água e aumentaram a densidade do ARGC carbonatado quando comparado ao ARGC sem tratamento. A carbonatação através da câmara mostrou-se um método eficiente neste processo, refletindo no comportamento do ARGC, que apresentou diminuição de 16,5% na capacidade de absorção, 1,53% de aumento na massa específica e a formação de carbonatos entre os poros do ARGC. Os concretos apresentaram abatimento fluido, resistência mecânica de 25 MPa aos 28 dias e uma profundidade de carbonatação média de 12 mm.

Main concerns in the building industry includes the development of alternative building materials that reduces the amount of energy spent during manufacturing process and easier to work with. Wood-crete is a composite material developed in this study, made up of wood waste (sawdust), paper, tradical lime and water. Wood-crete is developed to provide an alternative material in construction solving problems associated with the delivery of low-cost housing across all income earners, reducing the amount of energy spent during manufacturing process of construction materials and the ease with which these construction materials are developed and solve issues related to waste management. This thesis presents the processing technologies, factors which affect the performance and properties of wood-crete. Wood-crete properties were found to be closely related to the composition of the constituent elements though compressive strength and modulus of elasticity were low when compared to other building materials like concrete and steel. In a bid to improve the strength of the developed wood-crete, the properties were investigated based on the modification of sawdust by hot water boiling and alkaline treatments which help to modify cellulose fibre surface to reduce the hydrophilic nature of sawdust thereby improving the sawdust-matrix bonding. It was found that the surface modification, processing of cellulosic fibril and the extraction of lignin and hemi-cellulosic compounds with alkali had an effect on the compressive strength of wood-crete, with treating sawdust with 4% NaOH at 140mins of boiling time achieving the highest compressive strength and boiling sawdust from 100mins to 140mins had a gradual increase in compressive strength but reduced at higher boiling time. Furthermore, treating sawdust with NaOH more than 4% weakened the individual wood particles thus leading to poor strength of wood-crete. Additionally, the properties of wood-crete were investigated based on the type of wood sawdust – hardwood (beech and oak) and softwood (pine and cedar). Apart from individual wood density having a significant effect on the density of wood-crete, other factors such as lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose contents including fibre length of individual wood species affect the strength properties of wood-crete. The compressive strength of wood-crete was closely related to the wood species, with highest compressive strength of 3.93MPa recorded for hardwood wood-crete compared to 1.37MPa and 0.26MPa of wood-crete from softwood and mixed wood respectively. Results from thermal conductivity tests on wood-crete also show that wood-crete blocks can be produced with good insulating properties for building construction. Addition of different types of paper fibres to reduce the density of wood-crete and improve the insulating properties of composite developed also had a dominant influence on both strength and thermal conductivity, reflecting its effect on the structure of composite and contribution of self strength of paper fibres. The addition of various percentages of waste paper (de-fibred) had a significant influence on the thermal conductivity of wood-crete with 75% addition of waste paper achieving a thermal conductivity value of 0.046W/mK performed with the TCi thermal conductivity analyser. Thermal conductivity results for wood-crete made from hardwood and softwood sawdust was closely related to the chemical composition of various wood species, with softwood wood-crete having about 20% lower thermal conductivity compared to hardwood wood-crete. The developed wood-crete was able to withstand impact load and considered, like hempcrete, most suitable for wall panelling or other non- and semi-structural applications with good thermal insulating properties. Findings of this study provides an alternative new material for the construction industry and an important background for achieving better strength of wood-crete, choosing what type of sawdust to be used for development of wood-crete and for directing a better use of this potential material with very small embodied energy and carbon negative.

In this study, the ageing effects on powder used for cemented carbide insert production are examined. Ageing is throughout this study, defined as the time dependent change of the magnetic properties: coercive field strength and saturation magnetization. Testing is done using eight different powder compositions stored in both air and in an argon cabinet for 10 weeks, where sampling is done at specific intervals. Samples are stored in vacuum sealed bags for a combined sintering at the last phase of the test. Magnetic properties are assumed to be dependent on the amount of oxides needed to be reduced by taking carbon from the material itself during the vacuum stage of the sintering. To achieve interpretive results, this study also tested available sintering furnaces (DMK and DEK) by sintering trays with patterns of test pieces. This shows that DEK furnaces are much better for the ageing tests performed in this study, since less variation of the magnetic properties are measured because of the symmetrical heat gradient over each tray. Ageing tests strongly suggest that the cause of ageing comes from water absorbed by the PEG in the powder composition. Changing the molecular weight of the PEG seems to have an effect on the powder's ageing sensitivity. Measurements performed in this study show less ageing for Cr-rich DA-powders than for cubic carbide rich DQ-powders.

A norma brasileira NBR 7212 (ABNT, 1984), para execução de concreto dosado em central, estipula o tempo máximo para que o concreto seja descarregado (aplicado) completamente em 150 minutos. O tempo para utilização do concreto está vinculado às reações de hidratação do cimento e à perda de abatimento que ocorre com o concreto fresco, um fenômeno normal definido como sendo a perda de fluidez com o passar do tempo. Essa propriedade do concreto é particularmente importante no caso de concreto dosado em centrais, pelo fato do primeiro contato da água com o cimento ser na central enquanto que o lançamento/adensamento ocorrerá alguns minutos ou horas depois, quando o caminhão betoneira chegar ao canteiro de obras. Na prática, muitas vezes, ocorrem situações onde caminhões ficam carregados com concreto por 4 ou 5 horas, em função de atrasos no transporte ou na descarga, caracterizando um tempo bem acima do limite especificado pela norma. A dúvida de utilizar ou não o concreto nessas condições existe, pois não há conhecimento consolidado quanto às suas propriedades finais quando empregado com tempo de mistura que já tenham excedido o limite máximo especificado por norma. O objetivo desta pesquisa é investigar o comportamento de concretos do ponto de vista da resistência à compressão e absorção de água, quando utilizados com tempo de mistura de até 6 horas. Os concretos foram produzidos com dois tipos de cimento, CPIV e CPII, e o abatimento foi mantido ao longo das 6 horas em mistura com a incorporação de aditivo superplastificante à base policarboxilato. Nesse estudo adotaram-se três relações a/c e a produção dos concretos foi realizada em laboratório e em condição real numa central dosadora de concreto. As propriedades estudadas, resistência à compressão e absorção de água, foram analisadas aos 28 dias para vários tempos de mistura. O estudo mostrou que o tempo para utilização do concreto pode ser estendido acima do tempo especificado pela norma, sem que haja perda de sua resistência à compressão e alterações na absorção de água ao longo do tempo. / The Brazilian standard NBR 7212 (ABNT, 1984), for execution of ready-mixed concrete, specifies the maximum time for concrete to be discharged (used) completely in 150 minutes. The usage time of the concrete is due to reactions of the cement hydration and slump loss that occurs with fresh concrete, a normal phenomenon defined as the loss of fluidity along the time. This property of concrete is particularly important in the case of ready-mixed concrete plants, because the first contact of water with the cement is in the ready-mixed concrete plants while launching / densification occurs minutes or hours later, when the mixer truck arrives at the construction site. In fact, often, there are situations where trucks are loaded with concrete by 4 or 5 hours, due to delays in transportation or unloading, characterizing some time well above the limit specified by the standard. The question is to use or not use the concrete on these conditions, because there are no studies that confirm the final properties of the concrete when used with mixing time that have already exceeded the maximum limit specified by the standard. The aim of this study is to investigate the behavior of concrete from viewpoint of compressive strength and water absorption when used with mixing time up to 6 hours. The concretes were produced with two types of cement, CPIV and CPII, and slump was kept up to the six hours in a mixture with the incorporation of superplasticizer based polycarboxylate. In this study were adopted three relations w/c and the production of concrete was done in laboratory and real conditions in a ready-mixed concrete plants. The studied properties, compressive strength and water absorption were analyzed in 28 days for several mixing times. The study showed that the time of use from the concrete can be extended over the time specified by the standard, without loss of compressive strength and changes in the water absorption over time.

A norma brasileira NBR 7212 (ABNT, 1984), para execução de concreto dosado em central, estipula o tempo máximo para que o concreto seja descarregado (aplicado) completamente em 150 minutos. O tempo para utilização do concreto está vinculado às reações de hidratação do cimento e à perda de abatimento que ocorre com o concreto fresco, um fenômeno normal definido como sendo a perda de fluidez com o passar do tempo. Essa propriedade do concreto é particularmente importante no caso de concreto dosado em centrais, pelo fato do primeiro contato da água com o cimento ser na central enquanto que o lançamento/adensamento ocorrerá alguns minutos ou horas depois, quando o caminhão betoneira chegar ao canteiro de obras. Na prática, muitas vezes, ocorrem situações onde caminhões ficam carregados com concreto por 4 ou 5 horas, em função de atrasos no transporte ou na descarga, caracterizando um tempo bem acima do limite especificado pela norma. A dúvida de utilizar ou não o concreto nessas condições existe, pois não há conhecimento consolidado quanto às suas propriedades finais quando empregado com tempo de mistura que já tenham excedido o limite máximo especificado por norma. O objetivo desta pesquisa é investigar o comportamento de concretos do ponto de vista da resistência à compressão e absorção de água, quando utilizados com tempo de mistura de até 6 horas. Os concretos foram produzidos com dois tipos de cimento, CPIV e CPII, e o abatimento foi mantido ao longo das 6 horas em mistura com a incorporação de aditivo superplastificante à base policarboxilato. Nesse estudo adotaram-se três relações a/c e a produção dos concretos foi realizada em laboratório e em condição real numa central dosadora de concreto. As propriedades estudadas, resistência à compressão e absorção de água, foram analisadas aos 28 dias para vários tempos de mistura. O estudo mostrou que o tempo para utilização do concreto pode ser estendido acima do tempo especificado pela norma, sem que haja perda de sua resistência à compressão e alterações na absorção de água ao longo do tempo. / The Brazilian standard NBR 7212 (ABNT, 1984), for execution of ready-mixed concrete, specifies the maximum time for concrete to be discharged (used) completely in 150 minutes. The usage time of the concrete is due to reactions of the cement hydration and slump loss that occurs with fresh concrete, a normal phenomenon defined as the loss of fluidity along the time. This property of concrete is particularly important in the case of ready-mixed concrete plants, because the first contact of water with the cement is in the ready-mixed concrete plants while launching / densification occurs minutes or hours later, when the mixer truck arrives at the construction site. In fact, often, there are situations where trucks are loaded with concrete by 4 or 5 hours, due to delays in transportation or unloading, characterizing some time well above the limit specified by the standard. The question is to use or not use the concrete on these conditions, because there are no studies that confirm the final properties of the concrete when used with mixing time that have already exceeded the maximum limit specified by the standard. The aim of this study is to investigate the behavior of concrete from viewpoint of compressive strength and water absorption when used with mixing time up to 6 hours. The concretes were produced with two types of cement, CPIV and CPII, and slump was kept up to the six hours in a mixture with the incorporation of superplasticizer based polycarboxylate. In this study were adopted three relations w/c and the production of concrete was done in laboratory and real conditions in a ready-mixed concrete plants. The studied properties, compressive strength and water absorption were analyzed in 28 days for several mixing times. The study showed that the time of use from the concrete can be extended over the time specified by the standard, without loss of compressive strength and changes in the water absorption over time.

Orientador: Fernando Galembeck / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T12:34:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gouveia_RubiaFigueredo_D.pdf: 6255414 bytes, checksum: b9783ee801d3d18f57579c596a700bab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Os fenômenos eletrostáticos e suas consequências são familiares para a maioria das pessoas, mas o conhecimento sobre este tópico ainda é bastante empírico. Persistem grandes dificuldades na correlação de idéias fundamentais da teoria atômico-molecular com observações experimentais da eletrostática de materiais isolantes. A hipótese explorada nessa tese é: a atmosfera é uma fonte de cargas elétricas em isolantes, devido à partição de grupos OH- e H+ associados à adsorção de água. Logo, interações específicas entre íons presentes na água e sólidos isolantes contribuem para os padrões de cargas. Neste trabalho foram analisados padrões eletrostáticos em uma superfície de sílica recoberta por eletrodos de ouro produzidos por técnicas microlitográficas e partículas amorfas de fosfato de alumínio e sílica de Stöber utilizando a microscopia de força Kelvin (KFM) sob umidade relativa controlada. Os potenciais elétricos sobre a superfície de sílica dependem fortemente da umidade relativa, bem como da polarização dos eletrodos de ouro. A formação e dissipação dos padrões eletrostáticos são mais rápidas sob altas umidades. Já em baixas umidades a preservação dos potenciais elétricos é mais efetiva. Os potenciais elétricos das partículas de sílica e fosfato de alumínio são fortemente influenciados pela umidade relativa, sendo alterados mesmo em um ambiente completamente isolado eletricamente e aterrado. Os potenciais são modificados por eventos de adsorção e dessorção de água: sílica de Stöber torna-se mais negativa com o aumento da umidade, enquanto o fosfato de alumínio torna-se menos negativo, na ausência de qualquer ação de indução por um campo elétrico. Os resultados mostraram que a adsorção de água modifica os padrões de cargas de superfícies inorgânicas em escala nanométrica e que a eletroneutralidade não é uma característica geral de materiais isolantes. Neste trabalho também foram examinadas propriedades mecânicas de rigidez e adesão em nanoescala de partículas de fosfato de alumínio e dióxido de titânio, utilizando a microscopia de força pulsada digital (DPFM). As partículas apresentam uma grande heterogeneidade mecânica, mostrando domínios bastante diferenciados entre si. A nanoindentação da ponteira do AFM sobre as partículas mostrou que o dióxido de titânio apresenta maiores valores de rigidez, módulo de Young, força e energia de adesão e de histerese na deformação de suas superfícies. / Abstract: Electrostatic charging is familiar to most persons but knowledge on this topic is still rather empiric, mainly because fundamental ideas on the structure of matter are not well connected to the phenomenology of insulator charging. This thesis explores the following hypothesis: the atmosphere is as an electric charge reservoir for insulators, due to the partition of OH- and H+ groups associated to water adsorption. Thus, specific interactions between ions of adsorbed layers of water and insulating solids contribute to charge patterning. In this work, electrostatic patterning was examined in a silica surface partially covered with sets of interdigitated gold electrodes produced by microlithography techniques and also in aluminum phosphate and Stöber silica amorphous particles, using Kelvin force microscopy (KFM) under controlled relative humidity. Electric potentials acquired from the silica surface depend largely on the relative humidity as well as on the applied potentials at the gold electrodes. Pattern formation and dissipation are much faster under high relative humidity while the charged or discharged silica states are both more stable at low humidity. The electric potential measured along the surface of amorphous particles changes with relative humidity within an electrically shielded and grounded environment. Thus, water adsorption and desorption modify charge status of these particles: Stöber silica surface becomes more negative at higher humidity while aluminum phosphate becomes less negative, without any external electric potential or inductive input. These results show that water adsorption modifies charge status of inorganic surfaces and that electroneutrality is not a widespread characteristic of insulating materials. Another section of the thesis describes local nanomechanical stiffness and adhesion properties for aluminum phosphate and titanium dioxide particles, using digital pulsed force microscopy (DPFM). Aluminum phosphate and titanium dioxide particle domains present a large degree of heterogeneity. Aluminum phosphate particles are softer materials than titanium dioxide, undergoing greater nanoindentation of the AFM tip. On the other hand, titanium dioxide particle surfaces present larger stiffness, Young modulus, tipadhesion force, energy dissipated by hysteresis and detachment energy than aluminum phosphate particles. / Doutorado / Físico-Química / Doutor em Ciências

Orientador: Lucia Helena Innocentini Mei / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T12:29:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oliveira_JorgeMayerde_M.pdf: 2881095 bytes, checksum: e00a73f8e95aefd825ead7bdff943f4d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: A indústria de tintas é uma grande consumidora de látex obtido pela técnica da polimerização em emulsão. Os surfactantes, essenciais à estabilidade do látex, exercem um papel fundamental na produção e na aplicação destes polímeros, pois agem de forma a estabilizar as gotas de monômero na forma de emulsão. Eles são necessários para a formação de micelas, onde ocorre a polimerização, e para a estabilidade coloidal das partículas, durante e após a polimerização. Contudo, podem também produzir efeitos adversos nas propriedades do produto em razão de sua adsorção física às partículas de polímero. Os surfactantes não ligados podem migrar através do filme para as interfaces, formando agregados que podem aumentar a sensibilidade à água e afetando desta forma as propriedades de barreira, que são um dos requisitos principais em aplicações para tintas e outros revestimentos protetores. Um caminho promissor para minimizar este efeito dos surfactantes convencionais tem sido o uso de surfactantes polimerizáveis, ou reativos, que estão covalentemente ligados ao polímero e, desta forma, não podem ser dessorvidos e migrarem durante a formação do filme. Neste trabalho foram preparados látices de acetato de vinila ¿ vinil neodecanoato (VeoVa 10 ®), estabilizados com surfactantes não-iônicos convencionais e reativos, e avaliado o desempenho das dispersões e dos filmes poliméricos obtidos a partir destes látices. Foi observado que os látices estabilizados com surfactantes não-iônicos polimerizáveis em combinação com surfactantes aniônicos conduzem a dispersões estáveis com melhor resistência à permeabilidade à água e ao vapor de água. Contudo, os resultados obtidos sugerem que o principal fator de sucesso no uso de surfactantes não-iônicos polimerizáveis é sua incorporação à superfície da partícula de látex através de copolimerização com os monômeros principais. Foi também observado que para sintetizar látices utilizando um surfactante polimerizável no lugar de um convencional, mantendo propriedades similares tais como o tamanho de partícula, a estabilidade mecânica e eletrolítica, bem como a sensibilidade à água do filme formado, os produtores de látex terão de ajustar a quantidade e a reatividade do surfactante reativo no processo de polimerização / Abstract: The paint industry is a huge consumer of latex from emulsion polymerization. The surfactants, essential to the stability of the latex, play a crucial role in the production and application of emulsion polymers. They act to stabilize the monomer droplets in the emulsion form and are required for the formation of micelles, where the polymerization will occur, they are also essential for the colloidal stability of the polymer particles, during and after the polymerization process. However, they can also have adverse effects on the product properties due to their physical adsorption on the polymer particles. The unbound surfactants can migrate through the film toward the interfaces forming aggregates which increase water sensibility of the film, affecting in this way barrier properties which is one of the main requirements in applications for paints and other protective coatings. A promising way to reduce the negative effects of the conventional surfactants is to use polymerizable or reactive surfactants (surfmers) that are covalently linked to the polymer which avoid its desorption and migration towards the interface during the film formation. For this work, vinyl acetate ¿ vinyl neodecanoate (VeoVa 10 ®) latexes stabilized with conventional and reactive nonionic surfactant were prepared and the performance of dispersions and films obtained was compared. It was seen that the latexes stabilized with nonionic polymerizable surfactants in combination with anionic surfactant lead to stable dispersions with better resistance to water and water vapor permeability. However the results obtained suggested that the main factor of success for the use of nonionic polymerizable surfactants is its incorporation at the surface of the latex particle by copolymerization with the main monomers. It was also observed that to synthesize similar latexes by using a reactive surfactant instead of a conventional one, maintaining the same properties such as the particle size, the electrolyte and mechanical stability as well as the water sensibility of the formed film, latex producers will have to adjust the amount and the reactivity of the reactive surfactant in the emulsion polymerization process / Mestrado / Ciencia e Tecnologia de Materiais / Mestre em Engenharia Química

Coatings for exterior wood have two basic functions. One isto give an aesthetically acceptable surface appearance andcolour. The other is to provide protection against wooddegradation by microbiological or physical attack. Theseprotective properties, often called the barrier properties,play an important role in the selection of proper material forsupreme durability. The assessment of these barrier propertiesis of great importance. Within the CEN Technical Committee 139,Working Group 2, Coatings for exterior wood test methods andperformance specifications have been established. Forassessment of water protection efficiency a standard testprocedure, EN 927-5, has been launched. The present work hasfocused on its applicability in assessing water protectionefficiency in relation to the degradation of coatings duringexposure. Assessments according to EN 927-5 is shown to givesignificant differences in water absorption values fordifferent types of coatings on wood. The proposed performancespecifications in ENV 927 - 2 for the water absorption valuesfor coatings to be used in different constructions seem to beset at acceptable levels. It has been shown that there is agood correlation between the level of water absorption andpractical experience of the performance of paints inScandinavia. However, it has also been shown that thecombination of a standard procedure for water absorptionmeasurement and an artificial weathering procedure gives moreinformation regarding expected durability and longtermperformance than a single measurement of water absorption onfresh, unweathered coated wood. A combination of waterabsorption measurement and artificial weathering could become auseful tool in product development as well as in benchmarking.Together with statistical tools, such as reliability-basedservice life prediction methodologies for predicting theservice life of coating systems a reduction in testing timesmay be achieved. Surface-active substances in coatings have a negative effecton the coatings ability to prevent water ingress, which mostprobably is due to the hydrophilic character of thesesubstances. The presence of these substances, which are commonin waterborne coatings, alters the moisture sorptioncharacteristics of wood. Considering that these substancesoccur in waterborne coatings, may be mobilised during and afterfilm formation and accumulate at the coating/substrateinterface, there is a great probability that these substanceschange the moisture sorption characteristics of the woodsubstrate in an unfavourable way and create unexpected dynamicmoisture conditions at the coating/wood interface. Computerized tomography has been found to be a valuable,non-destructive tool for visualising the spatial moisturedistribution of water and moisture in coated wood panels. Themethod is suitable for recurrent testing of a specimen exposedto a series of processes of wetting, drying. This thesis showsthat high moisture contents occur locally at and around cracks.In these areas there is an increased risk of internal tensionand stress resulting in crack initiation and propagation andthat high moisture contents may occur in the first fewmillimetres under waterborne coatings despite intact coatingfilms. Even with good barrier properties of the coating,moisture may accumulate by water-vapour absorption in air gapsbehind the cladding thus causing favourable conditions formicrobiological colonization. The work that has been carried out regarding assessment ofthe water protection efficiency shows promising resultsregarding the possibility to use reliability-based service lifeprediction methodology for the assessment. The aim of futurework will be to establish more reliable techniques andprotocols for assessing service life expectancy and durability,especially for waterborne coatings with special focus ontendencies to early failure and robustness of the coatingsystems. Keywords:Coatings, surfactants, water absorption value,EN 927, paint, additives, moisture dynamics, absorption,desorption, artificial weathering, artificial exposure,computerized tomography, MRI. / <p>NR 20140805</p>

Road and rail tunnels are important parts of the modern infrastructure. High strength concrete (HSC) is commonly used for tunnels and other civil engineering structures, since it allows high load carrying capacity and long service life. In general, Swedish road and rail tunnels should be designed for a service life of 120 years. However, HSC has shown to be sensitive to severe fires in the moist tunnel environment, i.e., fire spalling may occur. Extensive research shows that addition of polypropylene (PP) fibres in the fresh concrete mix significantly reduces the risk of fire spalling. The durability of a concrete structure is mainly governed by the transport properties. Further, experimental studies aimed at understanding the protective mechanism of PP fibres indicate that fluid transport increases in connection with the melting temperature of such fibres. This might reduce the durability of fire exposed concrete with addition of PP fibres. This study aims to investigate whether the use of PP fibres has any significant effect on the durability of moderate fire exposed concrete structures. The experimental study focused on transport properties related to durability and stiffness reduction of fire exposed civil engineering concrete with and without addition of PP fibres. The study consists of three parts; (i) unilateral fire exposure in accordance with the standard time-temperature curve (Std) and a slow heating curve (SH), (ii) uniformly heating of non-restrained samples to 250oC, and (iii) moderate unilateral fire exposure, 350oC, of restrained samples. Changes in material properties caused by the fire exposure were studied by means of ultrasonic pulse velocity, full field-strain measurements during uniaxial compression core tests, polarization and fluorescence microscopy (PFM), water absorption and non-steady state chloride migration. The study shows that fire exposure influences different properties of importance for load carrying capacity and durability. To get a clear image of the fire damage one has to combine different test methods during damage assessments. Transport properties of concrete both with and without addition of PP fibres were considerably affected even at moderate fire exposure. Hence, the service life might be reduced. All series with addition of PP fibres exhibited higher water absorption compared to the series without PP fibres. The practical importance of this might, however, be small since also the water absorption of concrete without PP fibres was considerably affected for the fire scenarios considered in this study. Behind the fire exposed surface, i.e., between 30 and 60 mm, no change in water absorption was observed for concrete without PP fibres. However, higher water absorption of the series with addition of PP fibres was observed. Indicative fire tests aimed to evaluate the resistance to fire spalling during a subsequent severe fire was also conducted. The concretes with addition of PP fibres showed no signs of fire spalling, while progressive spalling was observed for the concrete without PP fibres. / <p>QC 20150603</p>

This thesis includes the study of the mechanical performance of two different types of fibers reinforced hybrid composites. Two kinds of fibers, natural fiber (flax) and synthetic fiber (E-glass), are used to reinforce epoxy resin. To evaluate the effective properties of the hybrid composites, a micromechanical analysis of the structure genome (SG) of a unidirectional fiber hybrid composites is performed using nite element analysis (FEA). Both fibers are assumed to be circular and packed in a hexagonal pattern. The effects of varying volume fractions and fiber locations, of the two fibers, on the elastic properties of the hybrid composites are studied using FEA. Rule of hybrid mixtures (RoHM) and Halpin-Tsai equations, which are analytical equations, are used as a preliminary prediction of the elastic constants of the hybrid composites. Then, the comparison is made between FEA and analytical results. The predicted elastic constants through numerical homogenization are in good a agreement with analytical results. The effect of changing fiber locations on the tensile strength of hybrid composite is investigated using tensile tests. Impact strength of single fiber composites and ax/glass fiber hybrid composites, in which various stacking sequences of ax and glass fibers are used, are obtained using Charpy impact tests. Moisture absorption test was performed by immersing single fiber composites and various stacking sequences of hybrid composites in deionized water at room temperature for a week. To investigate the effect of water absorption on the tensile properties of composite, tensile test was done on various stacking sequences of the hybrid composite. FEA and analytical equations showed that Young's and shear moduli increased and the axial Poison's ratio decreased linearly with the glass fiber content. Also, FEA showed that changing fiber locations have no effect on the effective properties of the hybrid composite. However, changing fiber stacking sequences showed a significant effect on tensile strength, impact strength, and water absorption properties of the hybrid composites. It was concluded that better design of the hybrid composite was achieved when glass fibers placed on the extreme positions and flax fibers in the middle. Positive hybrid effect is achieved from hybridization of E-glass fiber with flax fiber.