Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2010 Thixotropic behavior of cement-based materials: effect of clay and cement types Zhuojun Quanji Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Quanji, Zhuojun, "Thixotropic behavior of cement-based materials: effect of clay and cement types" (2010). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 11724. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11724 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thixotropic behavior of cement-based materials: effect of clay and cement types by Zhuojun Quanji A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Major: Civil Engineering Materials Program of Study Committee: Kejin Wang, Major Professor Chris Williams Stephenson, W. Robert Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2010 Copyright ©Zhuojun Quanji, 2010. All rights reserve ii Table of Contents List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. vii Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 General ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Objectives .............................................................................................. 3 1.3 Scope of Thesis ...................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................... 6 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Basic rheology principles ...................................................................................... 6 2.3 Concrete Rheology .............................................................................................. 10 2.4 Measurement of Concrete Rheological Properties .............................................. 11 2.5 Factors Affecting Concrete Rheology ................................................................. 16 2.5.1 Water Content ........................................................................................... 16 2.5.2 Temperature and Elapsed Time ................................................................ 17 2.5.3 Chemical Admixtures ............................................................................... 18 2.5.4 Supplementary Cementitious Materials .................................................... 20 2.5.5 Aggregate .................................................................................................. 21 2.5.6 Clay Addition............................................................................................ 21 2.5.7 Others ........................................................................................................ 24 2.6 Thixotropy ........................................................................................................... 27 2.6.1 The Origin of Thixotropy ......................................................................... 27 2.6.2 Origin of Thixotropy of Cement Paste ..................................................... 28 2.6.3 Experimental Quantification of Thixotropy ............................................. 30 2.7 Flocculation ......................................................................................................... 34 2.7.1 Attractive Forces ....................................................................................... 35 2.7.2 Repulsive Forces ....................................................................................... 38 2.7.2.1 Electrostatic repulsion ................................................................... 38 2.7.2.2 Steric Repulsion ............................................................................. 41 2.7.3 The Effect of Hydration on Flocculation Mechanism .............................. 42 Chapter 3 Experiment Program ........................................................................................ 44 iii 3.1 Material Characterization and Mix Composition ................................................ 44 3.2 Mix Proportions ................................................................................................... 47 3.3 Mixing Procedure ................................................................................................ 48 3.4 Test Methods ....................................................................................................... 49 3.4.1 Paste Rheology Measurement................................................................... 49 3.4.2 Heat of Hydration ..................................................................................... 55 3.4.3 Compressive Strength ............................................................................... 57 Chapter 4 Evaluation of Structural Rebuilding Rate ........................................................ 58 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 58 4.2 Rheology Test Results ......................................................................................... 58 4.3 Understanding Rheology Results Based on Statistical Analysis ......................... 67 4.3.1 How to Understand Analysis of JMP ....................................................... 67 4.3.2 Actigel....................................................................................................... 67 4.3.3 High Reactivity Metakaolin ...................................................................... 71 4.3.4 Ground Clay Brick .................................................................................... 75 4.3.5 Different Types of Cement ....................................................................... 78 4.4 Discussion ............................................................................................................ 82 4.5 Correlation between Flow Table Test and Structural Rebuilding Rate ............... 94 4.6 Comparison among Different Clays .................................................................. 103 4.7 Chapter Summary .............................................................................................. 105 Chapter 5 Evaluation of Effect of Heat Generation Rate on Structural Rebuilding Rate ........................................................................ 108 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 108 5.2 Effect of Heat generation Rate on Structural Rebuilding Rate ......................... 109 5.3 Chapter summary ............................................................................................... 116 Chapter 6 Compressive Strength Test ............................................................................ 118 6.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 118 6.2 Test Results........................................................................................................ 118 Chapter 7 Conclusions and Recommendations .............................................................. 122 7.1 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 122 7.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................. 124 References ....................................................................................................................... 126 iv List of Figures Figure 2 - 1. Newtonian Model for fluid............................................................................. 8 Figure 2 - 2.Bingham Model for fluid ................................................................................ 8 Figure 2 - 3.Thixotropy measurement and hysteresis loop ................................................. 9 Figure 2 - 4.Thixotropic ratio measurement (two hysteresis loop) ................................... 11 Figure 2 - 5. Thixotropic measurement method (break and rebuild) ................................ 12 Figure 2 - 6. Mutiple hysteresis loops for evaluating structural rebuilding rate ............... 13 Figure 2 - 7.Three categories of rheometers ..................................................................... 16 Figure 2 - 8.Physical description of the thixotropic behavior of cementitious materials 29 Figure 2 - 9.Visualization