Moisture from concrete has been estimated to be responsible for over $1 billion annually from damages in floor coverings. To prevent damages, flooring manufacturers require installers to test concrete moisture levels to determine if the concrete has dried sufficiently to receive flooring or covering. Two of the main tests used in the United States to determine concrete moisture levels are moisture vapor emissions rate (MVER) tests and relative humidity (RH) tests. Changes in ambient temperature can affect the results of both RH and MVER tests. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of ambient temperature changes on the RH of concrete, and compare the sensitivity of RH measurements to the results of MVER tests at the same ambient temperature. The RH of concrete was measured at 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of depth in each sample and tracked over a period of 24 days to develop drying curves at each depth, and drying profiles of each sample. The changes in concrete RH due to a change in ambient temperature were predicted using the psychrometric process and a model developed during this study. Due to size constraints on the concrete samples, ASTM 1869 had to be altered during the MVER tests. Typical RH change in the concrete samples was under 4% RH after either an increase or decrease in an ambient temperature of 5.5°C (10°F). The psychrometric process predicted that the concrete RH would change between 20% - 40% RH after the ambient temperature changed by 5.5°C. Psychrometric properties were not able to full describe the behavior of air in concrete pores so a new model was created to better predict the change in concrete RH after a change in ambient temperature. The developed model was able to predict concrete RH change within 5% error over the range of tested temperatures. / Master of Science

Orientadores: Antonio Ludovico Beraldo, Holmer Savastano Jr / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agricola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T18:06:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pimentel_LiaLorena_D.pdf: 8380973 bytes, checksum: ef3487c321678b6667f0d10a5d68da33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004 / Resumo: A grande quantidade de resíduos agro-industriais, aliada à proibição do uso do amianto e à necessidade de solucionar problemas ambientais decorrentes do depósito e/ou queima destes resíduos, impulsionam a pesquisa para o desenvolvimento de compósitos fibro-vegetais-cimento. A durabilidade desses compósitos é um dos fatores mais importantes para a colocação deste material no mercado consumidor. Existem várias pesquisas desenvolvidas ou em andamento, algumas propondo o tratamento químico das fibras vegetais, outras fazendo uso de produtos que alterem a composição da matriz cimentícia. A utilização de polímeros em concreto e argamassa, com o objetivo de melhorar sua durabilidade é cada vez mais freqüente e a característica de certos polímeros de melhorar a aderência entre fibra e matriz, além de reduzir a capacidade de absorção de água, pode vir a melhorar a durabilidade desses compósitos. Este estudo visou a caracterização de propriedades físicas e mecânicas de compósito biomassa vegetal-cimento modificado com polímeros e a análise da durabilidade desse compósito. Foi testado um polímero de base acrílica em dois tipos de compósitos: um executado com polpas celulósicas (de Eucalipto e da reciclagem de papel jornal) e outro executado com resíduo de Pinus caribaea. Foram realizados ensaios de envelhecimento acelerado por meio de ciclos de imersão em água e secagem, e por imersão em água quente, além do processo de envelhecimento natural, por exposição dos corpos-de-prova às intempéries. As propriedades físicas do compósito avaliadas foram: a massa específica, a absorção total de água por imersão e o índice de vazios. As propriedades mecânicas avaliadas foram determinadas por meio de ensaios de resistência à tração na flexão analisando-se a tensão e a energia de ruptura; também foi determinado o módulo de deformação dinâmico, com auxílio de ultra-som. O microscópio eletrônico de varredura permitiu constatar a modificação da característica morfológica do compósito com a adição do polímero e o estado das fibras dentro do compósito ao longo do tempo. O uso do polímero melhorou o desempenho mecânico do compósito nas primeiras idades, além de promover uma significativa redução da capacidade de absorção de água, denotando sua adequação para aumentar a durabilidade do compósito / Abstract: Several researches on vegetal-fiber-cement composites have been developed aiming to solve problems related to the banishment of asbestos and environmental damages due to deposition or burnirng of agro-industry residues. The durability of the cellulose-cement composites is a key factor to introduce such material in the market. Several researches have been developed aiming to avoid the degradation of vegetable fiber-cement, some of them using chemically treated fibers and others modifying the matrix. Polymers have been used in concrete and mortar production to increase the durability. Composite degradation can be controled by polymers that modify the fiber-matrix bond and the amount of water absorption. The goal of this work was to characterize the physical and the mechanical properties of cellulose-cement composites modified by a polymer and to evaluate the subsequent durability of these materials. The dispersion of an acrylic based polymer was evaluated with two types of composites: one with cellulose pulps (Eucalyptus and wastepaper) and another with Pinus caribaea particles. The physical properties under observation were water absorption by immersion, apparent void volume and bulk density. The mechanical properties of toughness and modulus of rupture were determined by flexural test. The dynamic elasticity modulus was obtained by ultrasonic method. Samples were subjected to natural aging tests and to accelerated-aging tests by repeated soak and dry cycles and warm-water immersion. By the range of composites analyzed, the use of the polymer improves the initial mechanical properties of composites and promotes a significant decrease of the water absorption. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) allowed to verify the modification of the morphologic characteristic of the composite with the polymeric addition and the preservation of the fibers along the time. The use of the polymer improved the mechanical performance of the composite in the first ages, besides promoting a significant reduction of the capacity of absorption of water, denoting its adaptation to increase the durability of the composite / Doutorado / Construções Rurais e Ambiencia / Doutor em Engenharia Agrícola