Title:
Using Drinking Water Treatment Waste as a Low-Cost Internal Curing Agent for Concrete
Author(s):
Qiwei Cao Nowasell and John T. Kevern
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
112
Issue:
1
Appears on pages(s):
69-78
Keywords:
compressive strength; curing agent; degree of hydration; internal curing; scanning electron microscopy; shrinkage
DOI:
10.14359/51686980
Date:
1/1/2015
Abstract:
This paper presents results from a preliminary study that investigated the potential of using drinking water treatment waste sludge as an internal curing agent for concrete. The concept consists of using the high water content, primarily calcium carbonate material, as a concrete admixture. Two other commonly used internal curing agents—prewetted lightweight fine aggregate and a superabsorbent polymer—were investigated as a comparison. Cement
mortars were tested for compressive strength, degree of hydration, and shrinkage. Micrographs of mortars containing the three different internal curing agents were compared visually to evaluate the distribution of internal curing agents and relative hydration. Results show that drinking water treatment waste is an effective internal curing agent, improving cement hydration, compressive strength, and mitigating autogenous shrinkage.
Related References:
1. Coates, K.; Mohtar, S.; and Weiss, J., “Can Soy Methyl Esters Reduce Fluid Transport and Improve the Durability of Concrete?” Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, National Acadamies of Science, Washington, DC, 2009, 17 pp.
2. Kosmatka, S. H.; Kerkhoff, B.; and Panarese, W. C., Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, Portland Cement Association, Skokie, IL, 2002, 460 pp.
3. ACI Committee 209, “Prediction of Creep, Shrinkage, and Temperature Effects in Concrete Structures (ACI 209R-92),” American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI, 1992, 43 pp.
4. Hwang, S. D., and Khayat, K. H., “Effect of Mix Design on Restrained Shrinkage of Self-Consolidating Concrete,” Materials and Structures, V. 43, No. 3, 2010, pp. 367-380.
5. Bentz, D. P., and Weiss, W. J., “Internal Curing: A 2010 State-of-the-Art Review,” NISTIR 7765, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC, Feb. 2011, 94 pp.
6. Kovler, K., and Jensen, O. M., “Novel Technologies of Concrete Curing,” Concrete International, V. 27, No. 9, Sept. 2005, pp. 39-42.
7. RILEM Report 25, “Early Age Cracking in Cementitious Systems,” Report of RILEM Technical Committee 181-EAS - Early age shrinkage induced stresses and cracking in cementitious systems, A. Bentur, ed., RILEM Publications S.A.R.L., Cachan, France, 2003, 350 pp.
8. Bentz, D. P., and Jensen, O. M., “Mitigation Strategies for Autogenous Shrinkage Cracking,” Cement and Concrete Composites, V. 26, No. 6, 2004, pp. 677-685.
9. Jensen, O. M., and Hansen, P. F., “Water-Entrained Cement-Based Materials – I. Principles and Theoretical Background,” Cement and Concrete Research, V. 31, No. 4, 2001, pp. 647-654.
10. Jensen, O. M., and Hansen, P. F., “Water-Entrained Cement-Based Materials – II. Implementation and Experimental Results,” Cement and Concrete Research, V. 32, No. 6, 2002, pp. 973-978.
11. Jensen, O. M., “Use of Superabsorbent Polymers in Concrete,” Concrete International, V. 35, No. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 48-52.
12. Kevern, J. T., and Sparks, J. D., “Low Cost Techniques for Improving the Surface Durability of Pervious Concrete,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Issue 2342, 2013, pp. 83-89.
13. USGS Water Science School, “Water Questions & Answers: Per Capita Water Use,” 2013, http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html. (last accessed Mar. 17, 2014)
14. Sanin, F. D.; Clarkson, W. W.; and Vesilind, P. A., “Sludge Engineering: The Treatment and Disposal of Wastewater Sludges” DEStech Publications, Inc., Lancaster, PA, Nov. 15, 2010, 393 pp.
15. Rodriguez, N. H.; Ramirez, S. M.; Varela, M. T.; Guillem, M.; Puig, J.; Larrotcha, E.; and Flores, J., “Re-Use of Drinking Water Treatment Plant Sludge: Characterization and Technological Behaviours of Cement Mortars with Atomized Sludge Additions,” Cement and Concrete Research, V. 40, 2010, pp. 778-786.
16. Vesilind, P. A., “The Role of Water in Sludge Dewatering,” Water Environment Research, V. 66, No. 1, 1994, pp. 4-11.
17. Moller, U. K., “Water Binding,” Sludge Characteristics and Behavior, Proceedings of NATO Advanced Study Institute on Sludge Characteristics and Behavior, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague, the Netherlands, 1983, pp. 182-194.
18. Tsang, K. R., and Vesilind, P. A., “Moisture Distribution in Sludges,” Water Science and Technology, V. 22, 1990, pp. 135-142.
19. ASTM C150/C150M-12, “Standard Specification for Portland Cement,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2012, 9 pp.
20. ASTM C109/109M-11a, “Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Hydraulic Cement Mortars (Using 2-in. or [50-mm] Cube Specimens),” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2011, 10 pp.
21. ASTM C778-12, “Standard Specification for Standard Sand,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2012, 3 pp.
22. Kevern, J. T., and Farney, C., “Reducing Curing Requirements for Pervious Concrete Using a Superabsorbent Polymer for Internal Curing,” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Issue 2290, 2012, pp. 115-121. doi: 10.3141/2290-15
23. Farney, C., “The Use of Superabsorbent Polymer in Standard and Pervious Concrete,” master’s thesis, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, 2011, 160 pp.
24. ASTM C494/C494M-12, “Standard Specification for Chemical Admixtures for Concrete,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, 2012, 10 pp.
25. ASTM C596-09, “Standard Test Method for Drying Shrinkage of Mortar Containing Hydraulic Cement,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2009, 3 pp.
26. Bentz, D. P., and Stutzman, P. E., “Curing, Hydration, and Microstructure of Cement Paste,” ACI Materials Journal, V. 103, No. 5, Sept.-Oct. 2006, pp. 348-356.
27. Fagerlund, G., “Chemically Bound Water as Measure of Degree of Hydration: Method and Potential Errors,” Report TVBW-3150, Division of Building Materials, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, 2009, 28 pp.
28. Molina, L., “On Predicting the Influence of Curing Conditions on the Degree of Hydration,” CBI Report 5:92, Swedish Cement and Concrete Research Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, 1992, 96 pp.
29. Bentz, D.; Lura, P.; and Roberts, J., “Mixture Proportioning for Internal Curing,” Concrete International, V. 27, No. 2, Feb. 2005, pp. 35-40.
30. van Breugel, K., “Simulation of Hydration and Formation of Structure in Hardening Cement-Based Materials,” PhD thesis, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands, 1991, 171 pp.
31. Henkensiefken, R.; Bentz, D. P.; Nantung, T. E.; and Weiss, W. J., “Volume Change and Cracking in Internally Cured Mixtures with Saturated Lightweight Aggregate Under Sealed and Drying Conditions,” Cement and Concrete Composites, V. 31, No. 7, 2009, pp. 427-437.
32. Kovler, K., and Jensen, O. M., “Internal Curing Concrete,”, State-of-the-Art Report prepared by RILEM Technical Committee TC-196 ICC, 2002-2007, 139 pp.
33. Bentur, A., and van Breugel, K., “Internally Cured concretes,” Early Age Cracking in Cementitous Systems, A. Bentur, ed., RILEM TC 181-EAS Committee, RILEM, Cachan, France, 2002, pp. 295-305.
34. Zhutovsky, S.; Kovler, K.; and Bentur, A., “Influence of Cement Paste Matrix Properties on the Autogenous Curing of High-Performance Concrete,” Cement and Concrete Composites, V. 26, 2004, pp. 499-507.