Technical Papers
Jan 24, 2022

Rheology and Porosity of Ultralow Density Foamed Cement Pastes Derived from Ordinary Portland Cement and Hydrogen Peroxide

Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34, Issue 4

Abstract

Foamed cement-based materials possess outstanding flame resistance, fire thermal, and sound insulation, but it is difficult to obtain the desired porosity and pore size due to the complicated equilibrium relations between the fresh paste rheology and hardened porous matrix. In this article, we develop ultralow density porous Portland cement pastes to evaluate the rheological properties and foaming process. The results show that air permeability and temperature are essential parameters for altering the pore size of foamed cement pastes. Furthermore, the equilibrium relationships between the pore radius and the rheological parameters of cement pastes are established. Moreover, the mix ratio design of foamed cement pastes is also promoted. Accordingly, this work sheds light on the formation mechanism of the porous structure for ordinary Portland cement pastes, as well as presents a new strategy towards fabricating other inorganic materials with desired porosity and mechanical property.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Data Availability Statement

All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.

Acknowledgments

This work was jointly supported by the National Science Foundation of China (52008359), Sichuan Science and Technology Program (2019YJ0554), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M673284), Deyang Key Science and Technology Program (2019SZ74), as well as the Opening Fund of State Key Laboratory of Green Building in Western China (LSKF202115). We are grateful to Wang Hui (Analytical & Testing Center, Sichuan University) for her help in SEM observation and Chen Li (Analytical & Testing Center, Sichuan University) for her help in the Micro-CT test.

References

Assaad, J., J. Hard, and Y. Maalouf. 2014. “Measurement of yield stress of cement pastes using the direct shear test.” J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 214 (Dec): 18–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnnfm.2014.10.009.
Bahafid, S., S. Ghabezloo, P. Faure, M. Duc, and J. Sulem. 2018. “Effect of the hydration temperature on the pore structure of cement paste: Experimental investigation and micromechanical modelling.” Cem. Concr. Res. 111 (Sep): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2018.06.014.
Bartholini, G., A. Pletscher, and H. Bruderer. 1964. “Decomposition of dilute hydrogen peroxide in alkaline solutions.” Nature 203 (4951): 1281. https://doi.org/10.1038/2031281b0.
Bede, A., A. Scurtu, and I. Ardelean. 2016. “NMR relaxation of molecules confined inside the cement paste pores under partially saturated conditions.” Cem. Concr. Res. 89 (Nov): 56–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2016.07.012.
Chen, B., and N. Liu. 2013. “A novel lightweight concrete-fabrication and its thermal and mechanical properties.” Constr. Build. Mater. 44 (Jul): 691–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.03.091.
Chinese Standard. 2007. Common portland cement. GB 175-2007. Beijing: Chinese Standard.
Dimitriou, A., M. Hale, and M. Spear. 2018. “The effect of pH on surface activation of wood polymer composites (WPCs) with hydrogen peroxide for improved adhesion.” Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 85 (Oct): 44–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijadhadh.2018.05.012.
Ducman, V., and L. Korat. 2016. “Characterization of geopolymer fly-ash based foams obtained with the addition of Al powder or H2O2 as foaming agents.” Mater. Charact. 113 (Mar): 207–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2016.01.019.
Eisenklam, P. 1957. “Flow of gases through porous media: P. C. Carman. London: Butterworths Scientific Publications, 1956. x + 182 pp. 22 illustrations. 30s.” Combust. Flame 1 (1): 124–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-2180(57)90038-X.
Evans, D., and M. Upton. 1984. “Studies on singlet oxygen in aqueous solution.” Cheminform 25 (52): 545. https://doi.org/10.1002/chin.198539106.
Falliano, D., G. Crupi, D. Domenico, G. Ricciardi, L. Restuccia, G. Ferro, and E. Gugliandolo. 2020a. “Investigation on the rheological behavior of lightweight foamed concrete for 3D printing applications.” In Vol. 28 of Proc., 2nd RILEM Int. Conf. on Concrete and Digital Fabrication and Digital Concrete, 246–254. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49916-7_25.
Falliano, D., D. Domenico, G. Ricciardi, and E. Gugliandolo. 2020b. “3D-printable lightweight foamed concrete and comparison with classical foamed concrete in terms of fresh state properties and mechanical strength.” Constr. Build. Mater. 254 (Sep): 119271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119271.
Falliano, D., L. Restuccia, and E. Gugliandolo. 2021. “A simple optimized foam generator and a study on peculiar aspects concerning foams and foamed concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 268 (Jan): 121101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.121101.
García, G., M. Dobrosz-Gómez, and J. Toro. 2017. “Thermal safety assessment for catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by dynamic analysis.” Process Saf. Environ. 109 (Jul): 46–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2017.03.025.
Gu, G., X. Fang, H. Xiao, R. Shao, P. Chao, and L. Jun. 2020a. “Foamed geopolymer: The relationship between rheological properties of geopolymer paste and pore-formation mechanism.” J. Cleaner Prod. 277 (Dec): 123238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123238.
Gu, G., F. Xu, S. Ruan, X. Huang, J. Zhu, and C. Peng. 2020b. “Influence of precast foam on the pore structure and properties of fly ash-based geopolymer foams.” Constr. Build. Mater. 256 (Sep): 119410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119410.
Hajimohammadi, A., T. Ngo, P. Mendis, T. Nguyen, A. Kashani, and S. Deventer. 2017a. “Pore characteristics in one-part mix geopolymers foamed by H2O2: The impact of mix design.” Mater. Des. 130 (Sep): 381–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2017.05.084.
Hajimohammadi, A., T. Ngo, P. Mendis, and J. Sanjayan. 2017b. “Regulating the chemical foaming reaction to control the porosity of geopolymer foams.” Mater. Des. 120 (Apr): 255–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2017.02.026.
Hédreul, C., and G. Frens. 2001. “Foam stability.” Colloids Surf., A. 186 (1–2): 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-7757(01)00489-7.
Houst, Y., and F. Wittmann. 1994. “Influence of porosity and water content on the diffusivity of CO2 and O2 through hydrated cement paste.” Cem. Concr. Res. 24 (6): 1165–1176. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8846(94)90040-X.
Huang, Z., T. Zhang, and Z. Wen. 2015. “Proportioning and characterization of Portland cement-based ultra-lightweight foam concretes.” Constr. Build. Mater. 79 (Mar): 390–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.01.051.
Hunter, T., E. Wanless, G. Jameson, and R. Pugh. 2009. “Non-ionic surfactant interactions with hydrophobic nanoparticles: Impact on foam stability.” Colloids Surf., A. 347 (1–3): 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2008.12.027.
Jiang, J., Z. Lu, Y. Niu, J. Li, and Y. Zhang. 2016. “Investigation of the properties of high-porosity cement foams based on ternary Portland cement–metakaolin–silica fume blends.” Constr. Build. Mater. 107 (Mar): 181–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.12.190.
Kumasaki, M. 2006. “An explosion of a tank car carrying waste hydrogen peroxide.” J. Loss Prev. Process Ind. 19 (4): 307–311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2005.06.032.
Lakes, R. 1987. “Foam structures with a negative poisson’s ratio.” Science 235 (4792): 1038–1040. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.235.4792.1038.
Lee, S., II. Nedrygailov, S. Oh, and J. Park. 2018. “Hot electron flux at solid–liquid interfaces probed with Pt/Si catalytic nanodiodes: Effects of pH during decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.” Catal. Today 303 (Apr): 282–288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2017.09.038.
Li, D., D. Wang, and Y. Cui. 2020. “Study on pore structure and thermal conductivity of aerogel enhanced porous geopolymers.” J. Therm. Anal. Calorim. 1 (1): 1–10.
Li, Z., Y. Chen, and W. Lin. 2014. “Experimental study on formation mechanism and stability of three-phase foam cement.” J. Saf. Sci. Technol. 10 (11): 54–59. https://doi.org/10.11731/j.issn.1673-193x.2014.11.009.
Liu, M., U. Alengaram, M. Jumaat, and K. Mo. 2014a. “Evaluation of thermal conductivity, mechanical and transport properties of lightweight aggregate foamed geopolymer concrete.” Energy Build. 72 (Apr): 238–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.12.029.
Liu, P., A. Tang, C. Ai, C. Zhang, S. Xian, and C. Pan. 2018. “Foam stabilizing mechanism of calcium stearate and its effects on pore structure of foam cement thermal insulation board.” J. Cent. South Univ. 49 (5): 1672–7207. https://doi.org/10.11817/j.issn.1672-7207.2018.05.005.
Liu, R., O. Peng, Y. Yang, and Q. Wei. 2014b. “Relationship between freeze thaw resistance and air void characteristics of foam concrete with hydrogen peroxide as foaming agent.” J. Chin. Ceram. Soc. 42 (8): 1055–1063. https://doi.org/doi/10.7521/j.issn.04545648.2014.08.16.
Masi, G., W. Rickard, L. Vickers, M. Bignozzi, and A. Riessen. 2014. “A comparison between different foaming methods for the synthesis of light weight geopolymers.” Ceram. Int. 40 (9): 13891–13902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2014.05.108.
Melo, P., J. Aguilar, and F. Olivares. 2014. “Rheological properties of aerated cement pastes with fly ash, metakaolin and sepiolite additions.” Constr. Build. Mater. 65 (Aug): 566–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.05.034.
Nambiar, E., and K. Ramamurthy. 2007. “Air-void characterization of foam concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res. 37 (2): 221–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2006.10.009.
Narayanan, J., and K. Ramamurthy. 2012. “Identification of set-accelerator for enhancing the productivity of foam concrete block manufacture.” Constr. Build. Mater. 37 (Dec): 144–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.07.025.
Navarro, J., M. Rosa, M. Roncel, and F. Rosa. 1984. “ChemInform abstract: Carbon dioxide-mediated decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in alkaline solutions.” Chemischer Informationsdienst 15 (19): 249–253. https://doi.org/10.1002/chin.198419026.
Panesar, D. 2013. “Cellular concrete properties and the effect of synthetic and protein foaming agents.” Constr. Build. Mater. 44 (Jul): 575–584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.03.024.
Patel, R., Q. Phung, S. Seetharam, J. Perko, D. Jacques, N. Maes, G. Schutter, G. Ye, and K. Breugelc. 2016. “Diffusivity of saturated ordinary Portland cement-based materials: A critical review of experimental and analytical modelling approaches.” Cem. Concr. Res. 90 (Dec): 52–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2016.09.015.
Pugh, R. 1996. “Foaming, foam films, antifoaming and defoaming.” Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 64 (Feb): 67–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8686(95)00280-4.
Ramamurthy, K., E. Nambiar, and G. Ranjani. 2009. “A classification of studies on properties of foam concrete.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 31 (6): 388–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2009.04.006.
Rämö, J., and M. Sillanpää. 2001. “Degradation of EDTA by hydrogen peroxide in alkaline conditions.” J. Cleaner Prod. 9 (3): 191–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-6526(00)00049-4.
Richardson, I. 1999. “The nature of C-S-H in hardened cements.” Cem. Concr. Res. 29 (8): 1131–1147. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-8846(99)00168-4.
Salvador, R., S. Cavalaro, M. Cincotto, and A. deFigueiredo. 2016. “Parameters controlling early age hydration of cement pastes containing accelerators for sprayed concrete.” Cem. Concr. Res. 89 (Nov): 230–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2016.09.002.
Sercombe, J., R. Vidal, C. Gallé, and F. Adenot. 2007. “Experimental study of gas diffusion in cement paste.” Cem. Concr. Res. 37 (4): 579–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2006.12.003.
Sharif, A., K. Loughlin, A. Azad, and C. Navaz. 1997. “Determination of the effective chloride diffusion coefficient in concrete via a gas diffusion technique.” Mater. J. 94 (3): 227–233. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1794(199706)6:2%3C151::AID-TAL90%3E3.0.CO;2-M.
Shen, Y., Z. Xiang, F. Ma, F. Mi, and Z. Chen. 2018. “Experimental study of the gas diffusion coefficient of heated concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 170 (May): 627–636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.03.090.
Siddiqui, S., M. Keswani, B. Brooks, A. Fuerst, and S. Raghavan. 2013. “A study of hydrogen peroxide decomposition in ammonia-peroxide mixtures (APM).” Microelectron. Eng. 102 (Feb): 68–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2012.04.003.
Sugama, T., L. Brothers, and T. Putte. 2005. “Air-foamed calcium aluminate phosphate cement for geothermal wells.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 27 (7): 758–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2004.11.003.
Unnarkat, A., A. Namdeo, S. Mahajani, and A. Suresh. 2017. “Palladium catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in alkaline medium.” In Proc., 7th Asia-Pacific Conf. on Conceptual Modelling (APCCM 2010). Brisbane, Australia: E-Decisional Community.
Venkatachalapathy, R., G. Davila, and J. Prakash. 1979. “Catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in alkaline solutions.” Electrochem. Commun. 1 (12): 614–617. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1388-2481(99)00126-5.
Voitko, K., R. Whitby, V. Gun’ko, O. Bakalinska, M. Kartel, K. Laszlo, A. Cundy, and S. Mikhalovsky. 2011. “Morphological and chemical features of nano and macroscale carbons affecting hydrogen peroxide decomposition in aqueous media.” J. Colloid Interface Sci. 361 (1): 129–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2011.05.048.
Wang, Z., L. Liu, J. Zhou, and C. Zhou. 2016. “Impacts of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) catalyst on properties of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) foamed porous cement slurry.” Constr. Build. Mater. 111 (May): 72–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.02.076.
Yokoyama, T., Y. Matsumoto, and G. Meshitsuka. 2002. “Enhancement of the reaction between pulp components and hydroxyl radical produced by the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide under alkaline conditions.” J. Wood Sci. 48 (3): 191–196. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00771366.
Zhdanov, V. 1996. “Flow and diffusion of gases in capillaries and porous media.” Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 66 (Aug): 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8686(96)00291-6.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 34Issue 4April 2022

History

Received: Mar 2, 2021
Accepted: Sep 3, 2021
Published online: Jan 24, 2022
Published in print: Apr 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jun 24, 2022

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Yuanyi Yang [email protected]
Lecturer, School of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Southwest Petroleum Univ., Chengdu 610500, China; Researcher, State Key Laboratory of Green Building in Western China, Xian Univ. of Architecture and Technology, Xian 710055, China. Email: [email protected]
Postgraduate, School of Civil Engineering and Geomatics, Southwest Petroleum Univ., Chengdu 610500, China. Email: [email protected]
Lecturer, Dept. of Engineering Management, Sichuan College of Architectural Technology, Deyang 618000, China. Email: [email protected]
Associate professor, School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan Univ., Chengdu 610065, China (corresponding author). Email: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share