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This dissertation presents the results of a study performed to investigate methods for increasing the damping capacity of concrete. A variety of additives, both particle and latex based, were added to standard concrete mixtures by replacing up to 20% of the fine aggregate to measure their effects on strength, stiffness, damping, and air content. The additives included rubber particles from recycled tires, calcium carbonate particles, styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) latex, and a commercially available product named ConcreDamp which contains vegetable gum suspended in styrene butadiene latex. An initial investigation resulted in the observation that all of the additives with the exception of the SBR latex would both increase air content and decrease compressive strength. As a result, combinations of additives were investigated to see if both the mechanical and dynamic properties could be improved. The addition of steel fibers to mixtures with ground rubber were found to significantly increase air content which offset any gains in compressive strength. The combination of ground rubber and latex was shown to improve both increase compressive strength and reduce air content. The study advanced to investigate the effects of rubber size on air content, strength, and damping. It was found that for the same volume of rubber, a larger rubber particle would decrease air content, decrease compressive strength, and improve damping. The results of this study show that the best performing additive was the vegetable gum latex which improved the concrete damping by a factor of 2 when added as 15% of the fine aggregate. Additionally, an equation is presented for calculating a strength reduction factor for concrete containing rubber particles of different sizes. Finally, two full scale footbridge laboratory specimens were tested to investigate the effect of increased material damping at the structural level. One footbridge was constructed using a base concrete mixture without damping admixtures. The second was constructed with a concrete mixture that contained a replacement of 15% of the fine aggregate with ground rubber. The results were used to create a finite element model in SAP2000 that was used to predict the effects that high damping concretes would have on the footbridge specimen. / Ph. D.

Estruturas de concreto mais arrojadas têm sido executadas ao longo das últimas décadas, utilizando-se de projetos e técnicas construtivas cada vez mais avançadas, às quais, por sua vez, procuram manter a qualidade na execução da obra e proporcionar maior durabilidade e rapidez na entrega do empreendimento. Dentro deste contexto evolutivo, também se enquadra a tecnologia do concreto, incluindo o estudo dos efeitos de seus materiais constituintes (agregados, aglomerantes, aditivos, adições, etc) sobre as mais diversas propriedades do concreto. Frente a este desafio, a tese se propõe a contribuir de maneira planejada na avaliação de como algumas adições minerais e os aditivos plastificantes podem afetar as propriedades do concreto, com ênfase dada à fluência nas primeiras idades de início de carregamento. A fluência além de ser de difícil obtenção de resultados em laboratório é uma propriedade que possui sua complexidade associada às diversas variáveis intervenientes no fenômeno e ainda ao seu mecanismo de atuação, o qual não é totalmente compreendido. A atual bibliografia sobre o assunto tem se mostrado incipiente e algumas vezes contraditória nos trabalhos disponíveis, principalmente quando se refere aos efeitos na fluência nas primeiras idades, apesar dos esforços depreendidos por pesquisadores consagrados desde a década de 30 do século passado. Assim, surgiu a necessidade de se delimitar a pesquisa a partir de um programa experimental capaz de avaliar, mesmo que ainda restrito a uma amostra de materiais e dosagem limitada, mas que permita uma visão geral de como as adições e os aditivos interagem no comportamento da fluência. O programa experimental compreenderá basicamente na avaliação matricial das possíveis combinações das adições minerais: metacaulim, escória de alto-forno e argila calcinada, associadas aos aditivos plastificantes, base lignossulfonato e naftaleno, sobre a fluência do concreto nas idades iniciais de carregamento de 1, 3 e 7 dias, e ainda sobre outras propriedades mecânicas, elásticas e térmicas, também nas idades de 14 e 28 dias. Os resultados demonstram que tanto as adições minerais estudadas como os aditivos plastificantes e suas combinações, avaliados por meio da análise estatística de variância, interferem decisivamente no comportamento da fluência, mesmo mantendo o proporcionamento dos materiais inalterados em relação à referência. A idéia é de que esta pesquisa contribua para a atualização dos padrões normativos atuais sobre o assunto, e que estimule futuras pesquisas para detalhar o efeito de outras adições e aditivos químicos sobre a fluência e também sobre uma série de traços de concreto e condições além das abordadas nesta tese. / Bolder concrete structures have been performed in the past decade. They use increasingly advanced building projects and techniques which, in turn, aim at keeping work quality and providing higher durability and quicker project completion. Concrete technology also has a role this evolutionary setting. It studies the effects of its component materials (aggregates, binders, chemical and mineral admixtures, etc.) on various concrete properties. In face of this challenge, this thesis aims at contributing to a planned assessment of how some mineral and chemical admixtures can affect concrete properties, mainly regarding creep at early ages at loading. Besides being difficult to assess through laboratorial testing, creep is a property whose complexity is associated to several intervening variables and to its working mechanisms, which are not fully understood. The current relevant literature has shown to be incipient and sometimes contradictory concerning the available studies, mainly those referring to the effects of creep at early ages, despite the efforts renowned researchers have made since the 1930s. This explains the need of limiting the investigations to an experimental program which is able to assess, even if restricted to a sample of materials and limited mix proportion, but also allow an overview of how mineral and chemical admixtures interact creep behavior. For assessing the possible mineral admixture combinations, this experimental program will comprise basically: metakaolin, blast furnace slag, and calcined clay associated to lignosulfonate and naphthalene-based admixtures on concrete creep at ages of loading 1, 3, and 7 days, as well as on other mechanical, elastic, and thermal properties, at ages 14 and 28 days. The results show that both mineral and chemical admixtures and their combinations, assessed in this study through statistical analysis of variance, significantly interfere in creep behavior, even though material proportion remains unchanged compared to the reference concrete mix. The idea is that this research can contribute to update the current standards in this field, and stimulate future studies detailing the effect of other mineral and chemical admixtures on creep and also on other concrete mixes and conditions that have not been approached in this study.

Estruturas de concreto mais arrojadas têm sido executadas ao longo das últimas décadas, utilizando-se de projetos e técnicas construtivas cada vez mais avançadas, às quais, por sua vez, procuram manter a qualidade na execução da obra e proporcionar maior durabilidade e rapidez na entrega do empreendimento. Dentro deste contexto evolutivo, também se enquadra a tecnologia do concreto, incluindo o estudo dos efeitos de seus materiais constituintes (agregados, aglomerantes, aditivos, adições, etc) sobre as mais diversas propriedades do concreto. Frente a este desafio, a tese se propõe a contribuir de maneira planejada na avaliação de como algumas adições minerais e os aditivos plastificantes podem afetar as propriedades do concreto, com ênfase dada à fluência nas primeiras idades de início de carregamento. A fluência além de ser de difícil obtenção de resultados em laboratório é uma propriedade que possui sua complexidade associada às diversas variáveis intervenientes no fenômeno e ainda ao seu mecanismo de atuação, o qual não é totalmente compreendido. A atual bibliografia sobre o assunto tem se mostrado incipiente e algumas vezes contraditória nos trabalhos disponíveis, principalmente quando se refere aos efeitos na fluência nas primeiras idades, apesar dos esforços depreendidos por pesquisadores consagrados desde a década de 30 do século passado. Assim, surgiu a necessidade de se delimitar a pesquisa a partir de um programa experimental capaz de avaliar, mesmo que ainda restrito a uma amostra de materiais e dosagem limitada, mas que permita uma visão geral de como as adições e os aditivos interagem no comportamento da fluência. O programa experimental compreenderá basicamente na avaliação matricial das possíveis combinações das adições minerais: metacaulim, escória de alto-forno e argila calcinada, associadas aos aditivos plastificantes, base lignossulfonato e naftaleno, sobre a fluência do concreto nas idades iniciais de carregamento de 1, 3 e 7 dias, e ainda sobre outras propriedades mecânicas, elásticas e térmicas, também nas idades de 14 e 28 dias. Os resultados demonstram que tanto as adições minerais estudadas como os aditivos plastificantes e suas combinações, avaliados por meio da análise estatística de variância, interferem decisivamente no comportamento da fluência, mesmo mantendo o proporcionamento dos materiais inalterados em relação à referência. A idéia é de que esta pesquisa contribua para a atualização dos padrões normativos atuais sobre o assunto, e que estimule futuras pesquisas para detalhar o efeito de outras adições e aditivos químicos sobre a fluência e também sobre uma série de traços de concreto e condições além das abordadas nesta tese. / Bolder concrete structures have been performed in the past decade. They use increasingly advanced building projects and techniques which, in turn, aim at keeping work quality and providing higher durability and quicker project completion. Concrete technology also has a role this evolutionary setting. It studies the effects of its component materials (aggregates, binders, chemical and mineral admixtures, etc.) on various concrete properties. In face of this challenge, this thesis aims at contributing to a planned assessment of how some mineral and chemical admixtures can affect concrete properties, mainly regarding creep at early ages at loading. Besides being difficult to assess through laboratorial testing, creep is a property whose complexity is associated to several intervening variables and to its working mechanisms, which are not fully understood. The current relevant literature has shown to be incipient and sometimes contradictory concerning the available studies, mainly those referring to the effects of creep at early ages, despite the efforts renowned researchers have made since the 1930s. This explains the need of limiting the investigations to an experimental program which is able to assess, even if restricted to a sample of materials and limited mix proportion, but also allow an overview of how mineral and chemical admixtures interact creep behavior. For assessing the possible mineral admixture combinations, this experimental program will comprise basically: metakaolin, blast furnace slag, and calcined clay associated to lignosulfonate and naphthalene-based admixtures on concrete creep at ages of loading 1, 3, and 7 days, as well as on other mechanical, elastic, and thermal properties, at ages 14 and 28 days. The results show that both mineral and chemical admixtures and their combinations, assessed in this study through statistical analysis of variance, significantly interfere in creep behavior, even though material proportion remains unchanged compared to the reference concrete mix. The idea is that this research can contribute to update the current standards in this field, and stimulate future studies detailing the effect of other mineral and chemical admixtures on creep and also on other concrete mixes and conditions that have not been approached in this study.

Estruturas de concreto mais arrojadas têm sido executadas ao longo das últimas décadas, utilizando-se de projetos e técnicas construtivas cada vez mais avançadas, às quais, por sua vez, procuram manter a qualidade na execução da obra e proporcionar maior durabilidade e rapidez na entrega do empreendimento. Dentro deste contexto evolutivo, também se enquadra a tecnologia do concreto, incluindo o estudo dos efeitos de seus materiais constituintes (agregados, aglomerantes, aditivos, adições, etc) sobre as mais diversas propriedades do concreto. Frente a este desafio, a tese se propõe a contribuir de maneira planejada na avaliação de como algumas adições minerais e os aditivos plastificantes podem afetar as propriedades do concreto, com ênfase dada à fluência nas primeiras idades de início de carregamento. A fluência além de ser de difícil obtenção de resultados em laboratório é uma propriedade que possui sua complexidade associada às diversas variáveis intervenientes no fenômeno e ainda ao seu mecanismo de atuação, o qual não é totalmente compreendido. A atual bibliografia sobre o assunto tem se mostrado incipiente e algumas vezes contraditória nos trabalhos disponíveis, principalmente quando se refere aos efeitos na fluência nas primeiras idades, apesar dos esforços depreendidos por pesquisadores consagrados desde a década de 30 do século passado. Assim, surgiu a necessidade de se delimitar a pesquisa a partir de um programa experimental capaz de avaliar, mesmo que ainda restrito a uma amostra de materiais e dosagem limitada, mas que permita uma visão geral de como as adições e os aditivos interagem no comportamento da fluência. O programa experimental compreenderá basicamente na avaliação matricial das possíveis combinações das adições minerais: metacaulim, escória de alto-forno e argila calcinada, associadas aos aditivos plastificantes, base lignossulfonato e naftaleno, sobre a fluência do concreto nas idades iniciais de carregamento de 1, 3 e 7 dias, e ainda sobre outras propriedades mecânicas, elásticas e térmicas, também nas idades de 14 e 28 dias. Os resultados demonstram que tanto as adições minerais estudadas como os aditivos plastificantes e suas combinações, avaliados por meio da análise estatística de variância, interferem decisivamente no comportamento da fluência, mesmo mantendo o proporcionamento dos materiais inalterados em relação à referência. A idéia é de que esta pesquisa contribua para a atualização dos padrões normativos atuais sobre o assunto, e que estimule futuras pesquisas para detalhar o efeito de outras adições e aditivos químicos sobre a fluência e também sobre uma série de traços de concreto e condições além das abordadas nesta tese. / Bolder concrete structures have been performed in the past decade. They use increasingly advanced building projects and techniques which, in turn, aim at keeping work quality and providing higher durability and quicker project completion. Concrete technology also has a role this evolutionary setting. It studies the effects of its component materials (aggregates, binders, chemical and mineral admixtures, etc.) on various concrete properties. In face of this challenge, this thesis aims at contributing to a planned assessment of how some mineral and chemical admixtures can affect concrete properties, mainly regarding creep at early ages at loading. Besides being difficult to assess through laboratorial testing, creep is a property whose complexity is associated to several intervening variables and to its working mechanisms, which are not fully understood. The current relevant literature has shown to be incipient and sometimes contradictory concerning the available studies, mainly those referring to the effects of creep at early ages, despite the efforts renowned researchers have made since the 1930s. This explains the need of limiting the investigations to an experimental program which is able to assess, even if restricted to a sample of materials and limited mix proportion, but also allow an overview of how mineral and chemical admixtures interact creep behavior. For assessing the possible mineral admixture combinations, this experimental program will comprise basically: metakaolin, blast furnace slag, and calcined clay associated to lignosulfonate and naphthalene-based admixtures on concrete creep at ages of loading 1, 3, and 7 days, as well as on other mechanical, elastic, and thermal properties, at ages 14 and 28 days. The results show that both mineral and chemical admixtures and their combinations, assessed in this study through statistical analysis of variance, significantly interfere in creep behavior, even though material proportion remains unchanged compared to the reference concrete mix. The idea is that this research can contribute to update the current standards in this field, and stimulate future studies detailing the effect of other mineral and chemical admixtures on creep and also on other concrete mixes and conditions that have not been approached in this study.

Plasticizing and superplasticizing admixtures are the key components of nearly every concrete. These admixtures improve workability of mortar and fresh concrete which lead to facilitation of depositing and compaction. Adding of plasticizers or superplasticizers enables to change properties of fresh and hardened concrete, especially to reduce water-cement ratio, thereby increasing strength and durability of concrete or to improve other properties. The main aim of this thesis is to monitor the effect of plasticizing admixtures and their dosage on the rheology and hydration of concrete with emphasis on the development of hydration temperature. The other goal is to examine their strength qualities. Behaviour of plasticizing admixtures is analysed at first on cement pastes, as simple systems, and then verified on concrete.

Cracked pavement slabs lead to uncomfortable and eventual unsafe driving conditions for motorists. Replacement of cracked pavement slabs can interrupt traffic flow in the form of lane closures. In Florida, the traffic demands are high and pavement repairs need to be carried out swiftly typically using concrete with high cement contents and accelerators to create rapid setting and strength gain. The concrete used in these pavement replacements is usually accompanied by a high temperature rise, making the replaced slabs susceptible to cracking. Cracking is a result of developed tensile stresses in the concrete, which exceed the concrete's tensile strength capacity. This research is being conducted to determine the risk of cracking for pavement slabs with varying dosages of chloride based accelerator used to promote high early strength. To analyze the effect of the accelerator, five different concrete mixtures including a control were assessed in a series of tests with varying accelerator dosages. Experiments included: mortar cube testing, concrete cylinder testing, autogenous deformation measured with a free-shrinkage frame, and restrained stress analysis using a rigid cracking frame. The findings indicate that accelerators are necessary to meet the strength requirements, and that the higher the accelerator dose, the higher the early shrinkage in the first 24 hours determined from the free shrinkage frame. Accidental overdose of the chloride-based accelerator results in the highest cracking potential and the highest shrinkage when tested under field generated temperature profiles.

Admixtures like reactants and byproducts are solublenon-crystallizing compounds that can be present in industrialsolutions and affect crystallization of the main substance.This thesis provides experimental and molecular modellingresults on the influence of admixtures on crystal nucleation ofvanillin (VAN). Seven admixtures: acetovanillone (AVA),ethylvanillin (EVA), guaiacol (GUA), guaethol (GUE), 4-hydroxy-acetophenone (HAP), 4-hydroxy-benzaldehyde (HBA), andvanillic acid (VAC) have been used in this study. Classicalnucleation theory is used as the basis to establish arelationship between experimental induction time andsupersaturation, nucleation temperature, and interfacialenergy. A novel multicell device is designed, constructed, andused to increase the experimental efficiency in thedetermination of induction times by using 15 nucleation cellsof small volumes simultaneously. In spite of the largevariation observed in the experiments, the solid-liquidinterfacial energy for each VAN-admixture system can beestimated with an acceptable statistical confidence. At 1 mole% admixture concentration, the interfacial energy is increasedin the presence of GUA, GUE, and HBA, while it becomes lower inthe presence of the other admixtures. As the admixtureconcentration increases from 1 to 10 mole %, the interfacialenergy also increases. The interfacial energies obtained are inthe range 7-10 mJ m-2. Influence of admixtures on metastable zone widthand crystal aspect ratio of VAN is also presented. Theexperimental results show that the admixtures studied arepotential modifiers of the nucleation of VAN. Molecularmodelling by the program Cerius2 is used to identify the likelycrystal growth faces. Two approaches, the surface adsorptionand the lattice integration method, are applied to estimatequantitatively the admixture-crystal interaction energy on thedominating crystal faces of VAN,i.e., {0 0 1} and {1 0 0}. However, a simple and clearcorrelation between the experimental values of interfacialenergy and the calculated interaction energies cannot beidentified. A qualitative structural analysis reveals a certainrelationship between the molecular structure of admixtures andtheir effect on nucleation. The determination of the influenceof admixtures on nucleation is still a challenge. However, themolecular and crystal structural approach used in this thesiscan lead to an improved fundamental understanding ofcrystallization processes. Keywords: Crystallization,nucleation, vanillin, admixtures, additives, impurities,induction time, interfacial energy, molecular modelling,interaction energy.

Accelerating and mineral admixtures, one of the major ingredients in concrete, are primarily used to modify the properties of both fresh and hardened concrete. Within the scope of this thesis, there were four types of cements having almost identical fineness. The mixes were prepared by using natural pozzolan, blast furnace slag and limestone conforming to TS EN 197-1 and two types of accelerating admixtures, namely triethanolamine (TEA) and calcium formate (CF). The effect of set accelerating admixtures with different cement types on the setting time, water demand and compressive strength has been analyzed by an experimental study in accordance with relevant ASTM standards. Finally, it has been observed that the amount of the accelerating admixtures used is suitable because of their effects on the water demand, setting and strength. Due to the density difference of mineral admixtures and clinker, the normal consistency and 110% flow water content should be considered on a volumetric basis. The effectiveness of the accelerating admixtures on the normal consistency water, 110% flow water content and setting time depends on the type and amount of mineral admixtures. The increase caused by CF in the normal consistency and 110% flow water content is higher than that by TEA. The accelerating effect of TEA and CF on the setting times is more significant for cements incorporating 6% mineral admixture. The effects of accelerating admixtures on the compressive strength change with specimen age, type and amount of mineral admixtures. Generally, for all cement types, early age compressive strengths increase with the increase of TEA, however long term strengths increase by increasing CF.

<p>Admixtures like reactants and byproducts are solublenon-crystallizing compounds that can be present in industrialsolutions and affect crystallization of the main substance.This thesis provides experimental and molecular modellingresults on the influence of admixtures on crystal nucleation ofvanillin (VAN). Seven admixtures: acetovanillone (AVA),ethylvanillin (EVA), guaiacol (GUA), guaethol (GUE), 4-hydroxy-acetophenone (HAP), 4-hydroxy-benzaldehyde (HBA), andvanillic acid (VAC) have been used in this study. Classicalnucleation theory is used as the basis to establish arelationship between experimental induction time andsupersaturation, nucleation temperature, and interfacialenergy. A novel multicell device is designed, constructed, andused to increase the experimental efficiency in thedetermination of induction times by using 15 nucleation cellsof small volumes simultaneously. In spite of the largevariation observed in the experiments, the solid-liquidinterfacial energy for each VAN-admixture system can beestimated with an acceptable statistical confidence. At 1 mole% admixture concentration, the interfacial energy is increasedin the presence of GUA, GUE, and HBA, while it becomes lower inthe presence of the other admixtures. As the admixtureconcentration increases from 1 to 10 mole %, the interfacialenergy also increases. The interfacial energies obtained are inthe range 7-10 mJ m^-2. Influence of admixtures on metastable zone widthand crystal aspect ratio of VAN is also presented. Theexperimental results show that the admixtures studied arepotential modifiers of the nucleation of VAN. Molecularmodelling by the program Cerius2 is used to identify the likelycrystal growth faces. Two approaches, the surface adsorptionand the lattice integration method, are applied to estimatequantitatively the admixture-crystal interaction energy on thedominating crystal faces of VAN,<i>i.e</i>., {0 0 1} and {1 0 0}. However, a simple and clearcorrelation between the experimental values of interfacialenergy and the calculated interaction energies cannot beidentified. A qualitative structural analysis reveals a certainrelationship between the molecular structure of admixtures andtheir effect on nucleation. The determination of the influenceof admixtures on nucleation is still a challenge. However, themolecular and crystal structural approach used in this thesiscan lead to an improved fundamental understanding ofcrystallization processes. Keywords: Crystallization,nucleation, vanillin, admixtures, additives, impurities,induction time, interfacial energy, molecular modelling,interaction energy.</p>