Microstructural Examination of Black Seawater Mixed Sulfate-Resistant Cement Concrete
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 1
Abstract
The use of seawater as the mix water has been thought to be inevitable for the near future as a result of increasing water scarcity. Hundreds of papers related to seawater mixed cement-based materials were published in recent years. Even though sulfate-resistant cement can be beneficial for internal sulfate attack and binding chloride ions, there is no related study on the sulfate-resistant cement together with seawater. In this study, the microstructure of seawater mixed sulfate-resistant pozzolanic cement was studied for the first time to understand possible reactions. Tap water and seawater mixes were designed by using Portland cement and sulfate-resistant cement with and without fibers. To examine the effect of seawater as the mix water on the microstructure quantitatively and to construct bridge between mechanical properties and microstructure, Rietveld refinements were performed on the obtained X-ray diffraction patterns. Thermogravimetric analyses were also carried out to correctly interpret and verify X-ray diffraction data. The possibility of internal sulfate attack, possible reactions and resulting hydration products were discussed. The results showed that internal sulfate attack is not a threat for seawater mixed concrete and sulfate-resistant cement can be a better alternative than portland cement owing to more chloride binding ability for seawater-mixed concretes.
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Data Availability Statement
No data, models, or code were generated or used during the study.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by Bogazici University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit under Project No. 14861. The support of AKÇANSA, Bogazici Beton, and BASF Turkey are highly appreciated. The authors would also like to acknowledge Mr. Umit Melep for his contributions to experimental studies.
Author contributions: Olcay Gürabi Aydoğan: conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft, and visualization. Abdullah Huzeyfe Akca: conceptualization, supervision, and project administration. Senem Bilici: investigation. Hande Öztürk: methodology, formal analysis, and writing-review and editing. Alphan Ali Dilber: investigation. Nilüfer Özyurt: conceptualization, writing-review and editing, supervision, and project administration.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 1 • January 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 11, 2022
Accepted: May 5, 2023
Published online: Oct 24, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 24, 2024
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