Environmental Engineering / Çevre Mühendisliği
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/4321
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Article Citation - WoS: 17Citation - Scopus: 19Development of Ca(oh)2-Based Geopolymer for Additive Manufacturing Using Construction Wastes and Nanomaterials(Elsevier, 2023) Mortada, Youssef; Masad, Eyad; Kogbara, Reginald B.; Mansoor, Bilal; Seers, Thomas; Hammoud, Ahmad; Karaki, AymanRecent growth in additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing in the construction field has motivated the development of various materials that vary in its composition and properties. This paper introduces, characterizes, and evaluates the performance of a sustainable and environmentally friendly geopolymer mixture composed of construction wastes. The geopolymer mixture has calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) as the main alkaline activator and incorporates nanomaterials such as nano-silica and nano-clay to enhance its suitability for AM. The combined use of Ca(OH)2 for alkali activation, and nanomaterials for tailoring the behavior of construction wastes for 3D printing, is novel and addresses the shortcomings of conventional alkaline activators. The paper includes the outcomes of the analysis of the mechanical properties, printability, and microstructure of the geopolymer mixture. The 28-day compressive strength of the mixture reached 42 MPa with ambient temperature curing, which is comparable to traditional geopolymers. The inclusion of 1 wt % of nano-silica accelerated the geopolymerization process and led to the largest (35 %) reduction in the setting time. Similarly, incorporating 1 wt % of nano-clay led to reduction of the thermal conductivity from 0.709 W/mK to 0.505 W/mK, due to the introduction of thermal barriers. The printability of the studied waste-based geopolymer mixture was validated through the successful fabrication of a 3D-printed model. © 2023 The AuthorsArticle Citation - WoS: 5Citation - Scopus: 5Stabilization of Calcareous Subgrade Soils With Polyelectrolytes: Mechanisms and Mechanical Properties(Taylor & Francis, 2023) Huang, Jianxin; Kogbara, Reginald; Mohomad, Yosef; Kogbara, Reginald B.; Masad, Eyad; Sukhishvili, Svetlana; Little, DallasOrganic polyelectrolytes, i.e. anionic poly(sodium 4-styrenesulphonate) (PSS), cationic poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) and their polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) were evaluated for stabilisation of calcareous sandy subgrade soil. This paper investigated the effects of polymer type, surface charge type of PEC, concentrations of PEC solutions and dosages of polymer solutions added to the soil on improvement of soil mechanical properties. We found that anionic polymers, for both PECs and individual polyelectrolytes, were superior to their cationic counterparts in improving soil strength. Besides, the constituent polyelectrolytes, PSS and PDADMAC, worked better than their PECs for the specific soil investigated. The strength of polymer-treated soils was also found to increase with the increase in dosages of the polymer solutions as well as curing periods. Furthermore, polymer-treated soil specimens exhibited significant toughness improvement, which was higher than cement-treated samples. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed the abundance of long palygorskite fibres covering the surfaces of larger calcite and dolomite particles and linking surrounding aggregates after adding polymers. This observation suggests the interconnection of palygorskite fibres and their linking networks between and among coarse aggregates as the likely mechanism of polymer stabilisation of the soil studied.
