• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.101-107
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• 2017

This study aimed to conduct the basic analysis on the fractal characteristics of cementitious materials. The pore structure of cement paste incorporating ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) was measured using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and the fractal characteristics were investigated using different models. Because the pore structure of GGBFS-blended cement paste is an irregular system in the various range from nanometer to millimeter, the characteristics of pore region in the different scale may not be adequately described when the fractal dimension was calculated over the whole scale range. While Zhang and Li model enabled analyzing the fraction dimension of pore structure over the three divided scale ranges of micro, small capillary and macro regions, Ji el al. model refined analysis on the fractal characteristics of micro pore region consisting of micro I region corresponding to gel pores and micro II region corresponding to small capillary pores. As the pore size decreased, both models suggested that the pore surface of micro region became more irregular than macro region and the complexity of pores increased.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.419-428
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• 2021

The pH of cement-based materials (CBMs) is an important factor for their durability, sustainability, and long service life. Currently, the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) is becoming mandatory due to economic, environmental, and sustainable issues. There is a decreasing trend in pH of CBMs due to incorporation of SCMs. The determination of numerical values of pH is very important for various low and high volume SCMs blended cement mortars for the better understanding of different defects and durability issues during their service life. In addition, the effect of cement hydration and pozzolanic reaction of SCMs on the pH should be determined at initial and later ages. In this study, the effect of low and high-volume fly ash (FA) and ground granulated ballast furnace slag (GGBFS) cement mortars in different curing conditions on their pH values has been determined. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was carried out to support the findings from pH measurements. In addition, thermal conductivity (k-value) and strength activity indices of these cement mortars were discussed. The results showed that pH values of all blended cement mortars were less than ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mortar in all curing conditions used. There was a decreasing tendency in pH of all mortars with passage of time. In addition, the pH of cement mortars was not only dependent on the quantity of Ca(OH)₂. The effect of adding SCMs on the pH value of cement mortar should be monitored and measured for both short and long terms.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.275-282
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• 2017

The aim of this study is to build Machine Learning models to evaluate the effect of blast furnace slag (BFS) and waste tire rubber powder (WTRP) on the compressive strength of cement mortars. In order to develop these models, 12 different mixes with 288 specimens of the 2, 7, 28, and 90 days compressive strength experimental results of cement mortars containing BFS, WTRP and BFS+WTRP were used in training and testing by Random Forest, Ada Boost, SVM and Bayes classifier machine learning models, which implement standard cement tests. The machine learning models were trained with 288 data that acquired from experimental results. The models had four input parameters that cover the amount of Portland cement, BFS, WTRP and sample ages. Furthermore, it had one output parameter which is compressive strength of cement mortars. Experimental observations from compressive strength tests were compared with predictions of machine learning methods. In order to do predictive experimentation, we exploit R programming language and corresponding packages. During experimentation on the dataset, Random Forest, Ada Boost and SVM models have produced notable good outputs with higher coefficients of determination of R2, RMS and MAPE. Among the machine learning algorithms, Ada Boost presented the best R2, RMS and MAPE values, which are 0.9831, 5.2425 and 0.1105, respectively. As a result, in the model, the testing results indicated that experimental data can be estimated to a notable close extent by the model.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.171-176
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• 2009

The chloride threshold level (CTL) in mixed concrete containing, ordinary Portland cement (OPC), pulverized fuel ash (PFA) ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), and silica fume (SF) is important for study on corrosion of reinforced concrete structures. The CTL is defined as a critical content of chloride at the steel depth of the steel which causes the breakdown of the passive film. The criterion of the CTL represented by total chloride content has been used due to convenience and practicality. In order to demonstrate a relationship between the CTL by total chloride content and the CTL by free chloride content, corrosion test and chloride binding capacity test were carried out. In corrosion test, Mortar specimens were cast using OPC, PFA, GGBS and SF, chlorides were admixed ranging 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0% by weight of binder. All specimens were cured 28 days, and then the corrosion rate was measured by the Tafel's extrapolation method. In chloride binding capacity, paste specimens were casting using OPC, PFA, GGBS and SF, chlorides were admixed ranging 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0% by weight of binders. At 28days, solution mixed with the powder of ground specimens was used to measure binding capacity. All specimens of both experiments were wrapped in polythene film to avoid leaching out of chloride and hydroxyl ions. As a result, the CTL by total chloride content ranged from 0.36-1.44% by weight of binders and the CTL by free chloride content ranged from 0.14-0.96%. Accordingly, the difference was ranging, from 0.22 to 0.48% by weight of binder. The order of difference for binder is OPC > 10% SF > 30% PFA > 60% GGBS.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.191-202
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• 2023

Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is a newly emerging pozzolanic material having high amount of silica content. Various forms of POFA were used in cement-based materials (CBMs) in replacement of cement in different dosages of low and high volume. Although, there are many researches on POFA to be used in concrete and mortar, however, this material was not practically used in the construction industry. Engineers and designers need to be confident to use any new developed materials by knowing all engineering properties at short and long terms. As durability concern, concrete pH value is one of the most important properties. Portland cement produces are alkaline initially, however, it may be reduced due to aging and its components. It is believed that by incorporation of supplementary cementitious materials in CBMs the pH value reduces due to utilization of Ca(OH)₂ in pozzolanic reaction. This study is the first attempts to understand the pH value of mortars containing up to 30% POFA under different curing conditions and its changes with time. The results were also compared with the pH of ground granulated ballast furnace slag (GGBFS) and fly ash (FA) content mortars. In addition, the compressive strength of different mortars under different curing conditions were also studied. The results showed that the pH value of control mix (without cementitious materials) was more than all the blended cement mortars indifferent curing conditions at the same ages. However, there was a reducing trend in the pH value of all mortar mixes containing POFA.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.127-136
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• 2015

To evaluate the effects of limestone powder and silica fume on the properties of high-strength high-volume ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) blended cement concrete, this study investigated the rheology, strength development, hydration and pozzolanic reaction characteristics, porosity and pore size distribution of high-strength mortars with the water-to-binder ratio of 20, 50 to 80% GGBFS, up to 20% limestone powder, and up to 10% silica fume. According to test results, compared with the Portland cement mixture, the high-volume GGBFS mixture had much higher flow due to the low surface friction of GGBFS particles and higher strength in the early age due to the accelerated cement hydration by increase of free water; however, because of too low water-to-binder ratio and cement content, and lack of calcium hydroxide content, the pozzolanic reactio cannot be activated and the long-term strength development was limited. Limestone powder did not affect the flowability, and also accelerate the early cement hydration. However, because its effect on the acceleration of cement hydration is not greater than that of GGBFS, and it does not have hydraulic reactivity unlikely to GGBFS, compressive strength was reduced proportional to the replacement ratio of limestone powder. Also, silica fume and very fine GGBFS lowered flow and strength by absorbing more free water required for cement hydration. Capillary porosities of GGBFS blended mortars were smaller than that of OPC mortar, but the effect of limestone powder on porosity was not noticeable, and silica fume increased porosity due to low degree of hydration. Nevertheless, it is confirmed that the addition of GGBFS and silica fume increases fine pores.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.245-253
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• 2009

The importance of chloride ions in the corrosion of steel in concrete has led to the concept for chloride threshold level (CTL). The CTL can be defined as the content of chlorides at the steel depth that is necessary to sustain local passive film breakdown and hence initiate the corrosion process. Despite the importance of the CTL, due to the uncertainty determining the actual limits in various environments for chloride-induced corrosion, conservative values such as 0.4% by weight of cement or 1.2 kg in 1 $m^3$ concrete have been used in predicting the corrosion-free service life of reinforced concrete structures. The paper studies the CTL for blended cement concrete by comparing the resistance of cementitious binder to the onset of chloride-induced corrosion of steel. Mortar specimens were cast with centrally located steel rebar of 10 mm in diameter using cementitious mortars with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and mixed mortars replaced with 30% pulverized fuel ash (PFA), 60% ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and 10% silica fume (SF), respectively, at 0.4 of a free W/B ratio. Chlorides were admixed in mixing water ranging 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0% by weight of binder(Based on $C1^-$). Specimens were curd 28 days at the room temperature, wrapped in polyethylene film to avoid leaching out of chloride and hydroxyl ions. Then the corrosion rate was measured using the polarization resistance method and the order of CTL for binder was determined. Thus, CTL of OPC, 60%GGBS, 30%PFA and 10%SF were determined by 1.6%, 0.45%, 0.8% and 2.15%, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.619-626
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• 2008

There have been numerous studies to develop eco-friendly concrete. The attempt to reduce the amount of cement usage is suggested as one of the solutions for eco-friendly concrete. To reduce the amount of cement usage, the pozzolan-reaction materials such as ground granulated blast furnace slag, fly ash, and meta kaolin are widely used as the mineral admixture. Hwangtoh which deposited broadly in Korea is a well known eco-friendly material and the activated Hwangtoh with pozzolan-reaction can be practically used as a mineral admixture of concrete. Meanwhile, PET fiber made of recycled PET bottle is a type of recycled material, which can be used to control micro cracks in concrete. But the study about concrete mixed with recycled PET fiber is insufficient and the research of Hwangtoh concrete mixed with PET fiber is urgently needed presently. In this study, experiment and analysis flexural behavior of Hwangtoh concrete blended with recycled PET fiber are carried out. The results are discussed in detail.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.37-46
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• 2024

This study investigates the evolution of concrete damage due to chloride-induced steel corrosion through Impact-echo (IE) testing. Three reinforced concrete specimens, each measuring 1500 mm in length, 400 mm in width, and 200 mm in thickness, were fabricated using three concrete mixture proportions of blended cement types: ordinary Portland cement, ground granulated blast-furnace slag and fly ash. Steel corrosion in the concrete was accelerated by impressing a 0.5 A current following a 35-day cycle of wet-and-dry saturation in a 3% NaCl solution. Initial IE data collected during the saturation phase showed no significant changes, indicating that moisture had a minimal impact on IE signals and highlighting the slow progress of corrosion under natural conditions. Post-application of current, however, there was a noticeable decline in both IE peak frequency and the P-wave velocity in the concrete as the duration of the impressed current increased. Remarkably, progressive monitoring of IE proves highly effective in capturing the critical features of steel-corrosion induced concrete deterioration, such as the onset of internal damages and the rate of damage propagation. These results demonstrate the potential of progressive IE data monitoring to enhance the reliability of diagnosing and prognosticating the evolution of concrete damage in marine environment.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.287-294
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• 2019

GGBFS(Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag) has been widely used in concrete for its excellent resistance chloride and chemical attack, however cracks due to hydration heat and dry shrinkage are reported. In many International Standards, GGBFS with low fineness of 3,000 grade is classified for wide commercialization and crack control. In this paper, the mechanical and durability performance of concrete were investigated through two mix proportions; One (BS) has 50% of w/b(water to binder) ratio and 60% replacement ratio with low-fineness GGBFS, and the other (TS) has 50% of w/b and 60% replacement ratio with 4000 grade and FA (Fly Ash). The strength difference between TS and BS concrete was not great from 3 day to 91 day of age, and BS showed excellent performance for chloride diffusion and carbonation resistance. Two mixtures also indicate a high durability index (more than 90.0) for freezing-thawing since they contain sufficient air content. Through improvement of strength in low fineness GGBFS concrete at early age, mass concrete with low hydration heat and high durability can be manufactured.