Nano- and Microscopic Investigation on the Strengthening Mechanism of ITZs Using Waste Glass Powder in Modeled Aggregate Concrete
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 4
Abstract
As a pozzolan, waste glass powder (WGP) can improve the mechanical properties and durability of concrete, especially at a later age. However, the modification mechanisms should be fully understood and discussed. One of the effective approaches is to investigate the improvement in interfacial transition zones (ITZs) between aggregate and mortar matrix. In this paper, soda-lime WGP was used as a supplementary cementitious material and replaced 20% by weight cement in the sample with modeled aggregate. The phases and chemical composition within the ITZs and the adjacent mortar matrix were investigated by backscattered electron (BSE) imaging combined with image analysis. Advanced nanomechanical techniques were simultaneously applied, and the results obtained from nanoindentation and nanoscratch were compared. The results show that WGP can significantly reduce the width of ITZs and increase the content of calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) and Si/Ca ratio in both ITZs and matrix. The high heterogeneity of ITZ with WGP made it susceptible to errors caused by unreacted WGP during the measurement of C-S-H nano- and micromechanical properties. For the control group without WGP, the test results of nanoindentation and nanoscratch showed a high degree of consistency. However, for the samples with 20% by weight WGP, there are some differences in the test results between nanoindentation and nanoscratch. Nanoscratch was able to acquire abundant data in a short testing time and proved more suitable for the tests of homogeneous materials. On the other hand, for the sample with 20% by weight WGP, nanoindentation was found to more likely to reflect the real micromechanical properties of ITZs based on abundant indentation tests.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors appreciate the support from the Australian Research Council (ARC), Australia (FT220100177, IH200100010, DP220100036, and DP220101051), and the University of Technology Sydney Research Academic Program at Tech Lab (UTS RAPT).
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 4 • April 2024
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© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: May 17, 2023
Accepted: Sep 8, 2023
Published online: Jan 18, 2024
Published in print: Apr 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jun 18, 2024
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