• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.241-246
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• 2016

This paper discusses the influence of organic matter contained in aggregate on the emission characteristic of ammonia ($NH_3$) from cement mortar. $NH_3$ can be released to indoor-outdoor environment through diffusion in mortar (or concrete) and have resulted in the increasing air pollution, and especially well known as a harmful gas for the human body. The concentration of $NH_3$ released from cement concrete was then compared to the contents of organic matter contained in the aggregate. The result indicates that the contents of organic matter in the aggregate significantly differ with types of aggregate from different areas of production. The organic matter becomes organic nitrogen through the process of microbial breakdown for a certain period and pure ammonium ion ($NH_4{^+}$) is produced from the organic nitrogen. The $NH_4{^+}$ was reacted with alkaline elements in the cement and released as $NH_3$ from cement concrete through a volatile process. The released $NH_3$ was proportional to the contents of $NH_4{^+}$ adsorbed in the aggregate from different areas of production and the concentrations of $NH_3$ emission from cement mortar according to the aggregate differ by more than 4 times.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.113-124
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• 2016

This paper presents the effect of silica fume and nano silica, used individually and in combination with the set accelerator and/or hydrated lime, on the properties of class F high volume ultra fine fly ash (HV-UFFA) cement composites, replacing 80 % of cement (OPC). Compressive strength test along with thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were undertaken to study the effect of various elements on the physico-chemical behaviour of the blended composites. The results show that silica fume when used in combination with the set accelerator and hydrated lime in HV-UFFA cement mortar, improves its 7 and 28 day strength by 273 and 413 %, respectively, compared to the binary blended cement fly ash mortar. On the contrary, when nano silica is used in combination with set accelerator and hydrated lime in HV-UFFA cement mortar, the disjoining pressure in conjunction with the self-desiccation effect induces high early age micro cracking, resulting in hindering the development of compressive strength. However, when nano silica is used without the additives, it improves the 7 and 28 day strengths of HV-UFFA cement mortar by 918 and 567 %, respectively and the compressive strengths are comparable to that of OPC.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.385-389
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• 2012

The application of microorganisms in the field of construction material is rapidly increasing worldwide; however, almost all studies that were investigated were bacterial sources with mineral-producing activity and not with organic substances. The difference in the efficiency of using bacteria as an organic agent is that it could improve the durability of cement material. This study aimed to assess the use of biofilm-forming microorganisms as binding agents to increase the compressive strength of cement-sand material. We isolated 13 alkaliphilic biofilmforming bacteria (ABB) from a cement tetrapod block in the West Sea, Korea. Using 16S RNA sequence analysis, the ABB were partially identified as Bacillus algicola KNUC501 and Exiguobacterium marinum KNUC513. KNUC513 was selected for further study following analysis of pH and biofilm formation. Cement-sand mortar cubes containing KNUC513 exhibited greater compressive strength than mineral-forming bacteria (Sporosarcina pasteurii and Arthrobacter crystallopoietes KNUC403). To determine the biofilm effect, Dnase I was used to suppress the biofilm formation of KNUC513. Field emission scanning electron microscopy image revealed the direct involvement of organic-inorganic substance in cement-sand mortar.

• KCI Concrete Journal
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.10-18
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• 2001

The spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) method, which is an in-situ seismic technique, has mainly been developed and used for many years to determine the stiffness profile of layered media (such as asphalt concrete and layered soils) in an infinite half-space. This paper presents a modified experimental technique for nondestructive evaluation of in-place cement mortar compressive strength in single-layer concrete slabs of rather a finite thickness through a correlation to surface wave velocity. This correlation can be used in the quality control of early age cement mortar structures and in evaluating the integrity of structural members where the infinite half space condition is not met. In the proposed SASW field test, the surface of the structural members is subjected to an impact, using a 12 mm steel ball, to generate surface wave energy at various frequencies. Two accelerometer receivers detect the energy transmitted through the medium. By digitizing the analog receiver outputs, and recording the signals for spectral analysis, surface wave velocities can be identified. Modifications to the SASW method includes the reduction of boundary reflections as adopted on the surface waves before the point where the reflected compression waves reach the receivers. In this study, the correlation between the surface wave velocity and the compressive strength of cement mortar is developed using one 36"x36"x4"(91.44$\times$91.44$\times$91.44 cm) cement mortar slab of 2,000 psi (140 kgf/$\textrm{cm}^2$) and two 36"x36"x4"(91.44$\times$91.44$\times$91.44 cm) cement mortar slabs of 3,000 psi (210 kgf/$\textrm{cm}^2$).

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.137-143
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• 2017

There has been a number of research on concrete durability. specially, as a research on chemical ingression, the research on the degradation against acid, alkali, and sulfate has been conducted. On the other hand, for the research on oils, especially, the influence of various oils on cement mortar with Supplementary Cementitious Materials(SCMs) is not sufficiently studied. hence, in this research, the degradation of cement mortar incorporated fly ash and blast furnace slag is researched when the cement mortar is submerged in various oils. For the result of experiment, as the content of fatty acid in the oils, the degradation of cement mortar with SCMs was occurred more, and the cement mortar with SCMs suffered more degradation than the ordinary portland cement regarding the oil submerging.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.125-132
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• 2014

Steel fiber is a effective composite for crack resistance and improve structural performance under tensile loading. This study presents an evaluation of crack resistance and structural performance in cement mortar with steel fiber and expansion agent through internal chemical prestressing. For this work, cement mortar samples with 10% replacement of cement binder with CSA (Calcium-Sulfo-Aluminate) expansion agent and 1% volume ratio of steel fiber are prepared. Including basic mechanical properties, initial cracking load and fracture energy are evaluated in cement mortar beam with notch. Initial cracking load and fracture energy in cement mortar with CSA and steel fiber increase by 1.75 and 1.41~1.53 times compared with those in cement mortar with steel fiber. With optimum mix design for steel fiber and CSA expansive agent, the composite with chemical prestressing can be applied to various members and effectively improve crack resistance to external loading.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.25-34
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• 2012

It has been well known that concrete structures exposed to acid and sulfate environments such as sewer etc. show significant decrease in their durability due to chemical attack. Such deleterious acid and sulfate attacks lead to expansion and cracking in concrete, and thus, eventually result in damage to cement mortar by forming expansive hydration products due to the reaction between cement hydration products and acid and sulfate ions. In this study, the effect of fly ash and blast furnace slag on the bond performances of structural synthetic fiber in latex modified cement mortar under sulfate environments. Fly ash and blast furnace slag contents ranging from 0 % to 20 % are used in the mix proportions. The latex modified cement mortar specimens were immersed in fresh water, 8 % sodium sulfate ($Na_2SO_4$) solutions for 28 and 50 days, respectively. Pullout tests are conducted to measure the bond performance of structural synthetic fiber from latex modified cement mortar after sulfate environments exposure. Test results are found that the incorporation of fly ash and blast furnace slag can effectively enhance the PVA fiber-latex modified cement mortar interfacial bond properties (bond behavior, bond strength and interface toughness) after sulfate environments exposure. The microstructural observation confirms the findings on the interface bond mechanism drawn from the fiber pullout test results under sulfate environments.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.475-482
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• 2020

In this study, three levels of solid capsules were prepared according to the composition ratio of core materials for the crystal growth type self-healing solid capsule, and a cement mortar was prepared with the crystal growth type self-healing solid capsule. The prepared solid capsule was mixed with 3% of the cement mass to evaluate the healing properties according to the crack induction age of the cement mortar. As a result of test, the crack healing properties according to the crack induction age of cement mortar mixed of solid capsules, it was confirmed that the self-healing performance of the cement mortar with the solid capsules was increased self-healing performance of 7 days than 28 days. This is because the unhydrated binder remains.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.251-267
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• 2023

In this paper, an experimental investigation is carried out to assess the inherent self-compacting properties of geopolymer mortar and its impact on flexural strength of thin-walled ferro-geopolymer box beam. The inherent self-compacting properties of the optimal mix of normal geopolymer mortar was studied and compared with self-compacting cement mortar. To assess the flexural strength of box beams, a total of 3 box beams of size 1500 mm × 200 mm × 150 mm consisting of one ferro-cement box beam having a wall thickness of 40 mm utilizing self-compacting cement mortar and two ferro-geopolymer box beams with geopolymer mortar by varying the wall thickness between 40 mm and 50 mm were moulded. The ferro-cement box beam was cured in water and ferro-geopolymer box beams were cured in heat chamber at 75℃ - 80℃ for 24 hours. After curing, the specimens are subjected to flexural testing by applying load at one-third points. The result shows that the ultimate load carrying capacity of ferro-geopolymer and ferro-cement box beams are almost equal. In addition, the stiffness of the ferro-geoploymer box beam is reduced by 18.50% when compared to ferro-cement box beam. Simultaneously, the ductility index and energy absorption capacity are increased by 88.24% and 30.15%, respectively. It is also observed that the load carrying capacity and stiffness of ferro-geopolymer box beams decreases when the wall thickness is increased. At the same time, the ductility and energy absorption capacity increased by 17.50% and 8.25%, respectively. Moreover, all of the examined beams displayed a shear failure pattern.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.321-341
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• 2011

Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring was conducted for mortar specimens under three types of static loading patterns (cubic-splitting, direct-shear and pull-out). Each of the applied loading patterns was expected to produce a particular fracture process. Subsequently, the AEs generated by various fracture or damage processes carried specific information on temporal micro-crack behaviors of concrete for post analysis, which was represented in the form of detected AE signal characteristics. Among various available characteristics of acquired AE signals, frequency content was of great interest. In this study, cement-based piezoelectric sensor (as AE transducer) and home-programmed DEcLIN monitoring system were utilized for AE monitoring on mortar. The cement-based piezoelectric sensor demonstrated enhanced sensitivity and broad frequency domain response range after being embedded into mortar specimens. This broad band characteristic of cement-based piezoelectric sensor in frequency domain response benefited the analysis of frequency content of AE. Various evaluation methods were introduced and employed to clarify the variation characteristics of AE frequency content in each test. It was found that the variation behaviors of AE frequency content exhibited a close relationship with the applied loading processes during the tests.