Thermal Conductivity of Seawater Cement-Based Materials: Effect of Water-to-Cement Ratio, Curing Age, Sand Content, and Porosity
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 9
Abstract
The microstructures of seawater cement-based materials normally are influenced by the salinity in seawater, which could result in different properties. The thermal conductivity (-value) of seawater cement-based materials is a key input parameter for the heat transfer analysis. However, few studies have been conducted on this issue. This study investigated the -value of seawater cement-based materials using experimental and numerical methods. The influences of water-to-cement (w/c) ratio, curing age, and sand content on the -value of seawater cement-based materials were examined experimentally. Then a three-dimensional mesoscale finite-element model was established to assess the influences of pore size and porosity on the -value of cement-based materials. It was found that the -value of seawater cement-based materials increases with increasing curing age or sand content, and a low w/c ratio contributes to a high -value, similar to that of the tap-water cementitious material. The -value of seawater cement paste with curing ages of 1 and 7 days was slightly greater than that of the tap-water cement paste. However, no significant difference was found between the -values of the 28-day seawater and tap-water cement pastes. Pore size had a negligible influence on the -value. The -value of cement-based materials decreased with increasing porosity, and the decrease in -value of cement-based materials with pores filled with air was more significant than that with pores filled with water, indicating that the pore-water saturation has a great effect on the thermal conductivity.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52108263) and the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Nos. 2022A1515010847 and 2020B1515120083) for the financial support.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35 • Issue 9 • September 2023
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 17, 2022
Accepted: Feb 15, 2023
Published online: Jun 23, 2023
Published in print: Sep 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Nov 23, 2023
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