• Architectural research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2010

This paper describes a numerical method for estimating the elastic moduli of cement paste. The cement paste is modeled as a unit cell which consists of three components: the unhydrated cement grain, the gel, and the capillary pore. In the unit cell, the volume fractions of the constituents are quantified using a single kinetic function calculating the degree of hydration. The elastic moduli of cement paste are calculated from the total displacements of constituents when a uniform pressure is applied to the gel contact area. The cement paste is assumed to be a homogenous isotropic matrix. Numerical simulations were conducted through the finite element analysis of the three-dimensional periodic unit cell. The model predictions are compared with experimental results. The predicted trends are in good agreement with experimental observations. This approach and some of the results might also be relevant for other technical applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2016.10a
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• pp.100-101
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• 2016

The fineness degree of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC henceforth) usually used in Korea's construction sites, is designated as over 2,800㎠/g. But the higher the fineness, the surface area of hydration reaction on water increases as well, resulting in large early age strength and high-intensity; so the trend is to prefer a high degree of fineness. But from a pore-space filling perspective, fine-particled cement is not always beneficial to intensity. Therefore in this study artificial modifications were given to cement fineness to analyze the effect of various fineness changes on the liquidity, air quantity and intensity of lean mixture cement mortar. As a result, the greater the degree of fineness, the better the cement was, with fine particle+OPC having the most satisfactory results due to consecutive particle distribution.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.423-432
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• 2020

Hydraulic conductivity is one of the engineering properties of soil. This study focusses on the influence of cement content on the hydraulic conductivity of cemented sand, which is investigated based on the results from numerical analysis and laboratory testing. For numerical analysis the cemented samples were scanned using X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) while laboratory testing was carried out using a triaxial setup. Numerical analysis enables us to simulate flow through the sample and provides insight to the microstructure. It quantifies the pore volume, proportion of interconnected voids and pore size distribution in both cemented and uncemented samples, which could be computed only through empirical equations in case of laboratory testing. With reduction in global voids, the interconnecting voids within the samples also reduce with cement content. Gamma cumulative distribution function is used to predict the percentage of voids lesser than a given pore volume. Finally, the results obtained from both numerical analysis and laboratory testing are compared.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.43 no.3 s.286
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• pp.156-161
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• 2006

Impedance spectroscopy was applied to the initial hydration of calcium phosphate bone cements in order to investigate the electrical/dielectric properties. Hydration or equivalently setting was monitored as a function of the amount of water and initial powder characteristics. Higher amounts of water produced more open microstructures, leading to higher conductivity and enhanced dielectric constant. The effects of the initial characteristics in the powder were investigated using bone cement powder prepared with and without granulation. Granulated powder exhibited a significant change in resistance and produced a higher dielectric constant than those of conventional powder. Through a simplified modeling, the effects of thickness in reaction products and pore sizes were estimated by the frequency-dependent impedance measurements. Furthermore, impedance spectroscopy was proven to be a highly reliable tool for evaluating the continuous change in pore structure occurring in calcium phosphate bone cements.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.81-90
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• 2009

This paper proposes a semi analytical model to describe the pore structure of concrete by a set of simple equations. The relationship between the porosity and the microstructure of concrete has been considered when constructing the analytical model. The microstructure includes the interface transition zone (ITZ) between aggregates and cement paste. The predicting model of porosity was developed with considering the ITZ for various mixing of mortar and concrete. The proposed model is validated by the rapid experimental programs. Although the proposed model is semi-analytical and relatively simple, this model could be reasonably utilized for the durability design and adapted for predicting the service life of concrete structures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.248-249
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• 2017

Red mud is an industrial by-product produced during the manufacturing aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)₃) and aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃) from Bauxite ores. In Korea, approximately 2tons of red mud in a sludge form with 40~60% moisture content is produced when 1 ton of Al₂O₃ is produced through the Bayer process. An annual production of approximately 20tons are produced by company K, which is responsible for most of the domestic production. Therefore, in order to utilize Red Mud in the construction industry, this study evaluated the pore characteristics of ordinary portland cement mortar according to the red mud replacement ratio.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.18 no.1 s.91
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• pp.125-132
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• 2006

Recently, surface finishing and protection materials were developed to restore performance of the deteriorated concrete and inhibiting corrosion of the reinforcing-bar. For this purpose, surface protection agent as well as coatings are used. Coatings have the advantage of low Permeability of $CO_2,\;SO_2$ and water. However, for coatings such as epoxy, urethane and acryl, long-term adhesive strength is reduced and the formed membrane of those is blistered by various causes. Also when organic coatings are applied to the wet surface of concrete, those have a problem with adhesion. On the other hand, surface protection agent penetrates into pore structure in concrete through capillary and cm make a dense micro structure in concrete as a result of filling effect. Furthermore, the chemical reaction between silicate from surface protection agent and cement hydrates can also make a additional hydration product which is ideally compatible with concrete body. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of penetrative surface protection agent(SPA) by evaluating several concrete durability characteristics. The results show that the concrete penetrated surface protection agent exhibited higher durability characteristics for instance, carbonation velocity coefficient, resistance to chemical attack and chloride ion penetration than the plain concrete. These results due to formation of a discontinuous macro-pore system which inhibits deterioration factors of concrete by changed the pore structure(porosity and pore size distributions) of the concrete penetrated surface protection agent.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.847-864
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• 2015

This study aimed to develop models of sulfate diffusion and ettringite content profile in cement paste for the predication of the damage behavior in cement paste subject to external sulfate. In the models, multiphase reaction equilibrium between ions in pore solution and solid calcium aluminates phases and the microstructure changes in different positions of cement paste were taken into account. The distributions of expansive volume strain and expansion stress in cement paste were calculated based on the ettringite content profile model. In addition, more sulfate diffusion tests and SEM analyses were determined to verify the reliability and veracity of the models. As the results shown, there was a good correlation between the numerical simulation results and experimental evidences. The results indicated that the water to cement ratio (w/c) had a significant influence on the diffusion of sulfate ions, ettringite concentration profile and expansion properties in cement paste specimens. The cracking points caused by ettringite growth in cement paste specimens were predicted through numerical methods. According to the simulation results, the fracture of cement paste would be accelerated when the specimens were prepared with higher w/c or when they were exposed to sulfate solution with higher concentration.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.289-301
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• 2017

The synergistic interactions of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) with ordinary portland cement (OPC) in multi-blended systems could enhance the mechanical and durability properties of concrete and increase the amount of cement that can be replaced. In this study, the characteristics of the hydration products as well as paste microstructure of blended cement containing 20% coal fly ash, 10% rice hull ash and 10% sugar mill lime sludge in quaternary blended system was investigated. Portlandite content, hydration products, compressive strength, pore size distribution and microstructural architecture of hydrated blended cement pastes were examined. The quaternary blended cement paste showed lower compressive strength, reduced amount of Portlandite phases, and higher porosity compared to plain hardened cement paste. The interaction of SCMs with OPC influenced the hydration products, resulting to the formation of ettringite and monocarboaluminate phases. The blended cement paste also showed extensive calcium silicate hydrates and calcium aluminate silicate hydrates but unrefined compared to plain cement paste. In overall, the expected synergistic reaction was significantly hindered due to the low quality of supplementary cementitious materials used. Hence, pre-treatments of SCMs must be considered to enhance their reactivity as good quality SCMs can become limited in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.282-288
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• 1987

Diffusion of Cl- ion in hardened cement paste with slag and siliceous powder such as silica fume and white carbon was investigated. The addition of admixtures reduces the content of Ca(OH)2, which is the main cause of pore formation by corrosive action of sea-water. The addition of admixtures makes the hardened cement paste dense, thereby restricting the diffusion of Cl- ion and improving the resistance to sea-water. Apparence diffusion coefficient of Cl- ion in hardened ordinary portland cement paste was 3.7${\times}$10-8$\textrm{cm}^2$/sec, while that for the hardened cement paste with the admixture was 1.2∼3.2${\times}$10-8$\textrm{cm}^2$/sec.